What's Up

Tres Colinas-on the road less graveled

What's Up

It's been a while since I last blogged.  We had computer problems that lasted about two months and it's been a busy time.  The house was finished and we spent a hard 2-3 weeks getting moved in.  We still have 10-12 boxes and some furniture in the barn but don't have anyplace for them in the house.  Our house in Knoxville was considerably larger and we have a lot of "stuff" that simply won't go in the new house.  It's hard to have a yard sale in the middle of nowhere so not sure how we will deal with the leftovers.  I do plan to have my barn for other things so something has to give.  I will say that we had an excellent building experience with Tilson Homes and would recommend them to anyone building a home in Texas.  Here are three views of the house.

 

 

I will do some landscaping this fall.  Planting trees and shrubs at the beginning of a Texas summer is a recipe for disaster (unless you want to water every other day for five months). 



 Bluebonnets

Indian Paintbrushes

We had a good wildflower season with both Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes being very showy.  This is a pretty typical scene on many county roads in central Texas.  The State tries to enforce a "no roadside parking" law to reduce wrecks but people stop to take pictures anyway (I may be on the most wanted list myself).

 

 

 

Learning to eat cat food.

We had our first births on the farm in April with the arrival of six kittens.  They were born in the barn in the top bucket in a pile of black plastic buckets.  They outgrew that in a week or so and Lilly moved them all to a larger bucket.  They stayed there for five more weeks.  Lilly has been an excellent mother, getting the kittens to six weeks with no problems.  At that time, she moved them all from the bucket to the floor of one of the barn sheds.  They are now venturing out to explore a bit.  Two are them are almost identical and one of our neighbors will be taking them in a couple of weeks.  I guess we'll keep the other four along with Matt and Lilly.  Matt doesn't spend much time with us.  He has other pursuits that take him away for days at a time.  He wanders back looking thinner and often with a few new scratches.  Love is painful.

Checking out the outside world (under a watchful eye).

Home, home on the range.

 

The cattle are doing well since we finally got some rain.  We had a dry period from February to May and until the last two weeks were about eight inches below average rainfall for the year.  Thankfully, we've had about seven inches of rain in May and the grass is growing again.  That seems to be the rain pattern for central Texas.  No rain for extended periods then several days of heavy thunderstorms.  Reminds me of the man in west Texas who when asked how much it rained there replied, "Eleven inches a year".  The questioner responded, "That's not very much."  To which the Texan answered, "Nope but you should be here on the day it comes."  Most if not all of the cattle will have calves early this fall.  My plan now is to sell them at weaning time.  I've got to get a corral with a squeeze and loading chute built sometime this summer to make working them easier. 

We finally got chickens in mid-May.  One of the largest hatcheries in the country is about 10 miles north of us, so we placed our order and picked them up on May 12.  I built a brooder box with some of the left-overs from the house construction.  Chicks have to be kept warm (around 95 degrees the first week) dropping 5 degrees per week until they grow feathers.  They also have to be protected from predators such as snakes.  We put heat lamps in the brooder box and have it in the barn for now.  They'll be ready to go the coop and pen in a few more weeks as the outside temperature will be well within their range of tolerance.  We got 26 chicks (Ameracaunas, Black Sex-Linked, Production Reds, Leghorns, Silver Wyandottes and Buff Orpingtons- you can see that we embrace diversity at Tres Colinas).  That should give us a good mix of white, brown and green eggs.  I didn't expect all of them to survive but at the 2 week point all are doing well.  Of course, they haven't met the dogs yet (more on that below).  When they start producing eggs this fall, we'll be looking for people wanting eggs. 

A box of day old chicks

Checking out their new home in the brooder box.

 

 We also got some Guineas, mainly for pest control.  Guineas are known for their stupidity but do a good job eating grasshoppers, ticks and other bugs and they excel as an early warning system.  They emit a loud series of rapid clucks anytime anything unusual is going on near them such as stray dogs, snakes, hawks or other visitors.  They roam the farm during the day scouring the ground for bugs and roost in a tree at night.  Unfortunately, they are easy prey for Owls who (can see better at night) knock them out of the tree and kill them when they hit the ground.  One got cornered and caught by our dogs.  Pam looked out the window around dusk and saw Shane loping across the yard with a guinea in his mouth.  She yelled and he dropped it.  Fortunately, he has a lot of Lab in him (they have soft mouths for retrieving) and all the guinea suffered was the loss of a few feathers.  I hope they can survive and stick around for the reasons I listed above.  They do lay occasional eggs which are considered a delicacy but you have to hunt for the eggs.  They are terrible mothers, laying eggs wherever they are at that moment and forgetting to go back and hatch them.

Guineas busily searching for bugs to eat.

 
 

A 24" Redfish caught near Hackberry,

 I did find a day to go fishing in Louisiana for Redfish with Pam's Dad and Brother.  We caught our limit and had a big fish fry the next weekend.  It's not Trout fishing in a stream but it was fun enough.

Can you see the wires holding her in this position?

Pam has started teaching Yoga/fitness again.  She teaches a couple of classes per week at an assisted living facility in Bryan (she loves teaching yoga and water aerobics to eighty-year-olds) and ten or twelve yoga classes at the Yoga Pod in College Station.  I am busy enough with the animals and trying to get the garden to produce something.  The drought has been tough plus our soil still needs improving.  With the manure the cows and chickens will produce it should be in better shape next year.  I may throw some mushroom dirt in the mix to add a little more texture for moisture retention.   

 

OK, that should catch you up to date.  I'll try to blog again soon.





Winter in South Texas

Tres Colinas on the road less graveled



 

 

Blizzard conditions at the barn. 

 

With Christmas and New Years behind us we have optimistically moved into 2014.  After last winter in Knoxville, I was looking forward to "wintering" in South Texas.  I had heard that I should expect a few mornings in the 30's and the occasional light frost but should also expect days in the 70's.  Not exactly. We've had a lot more 30's and very few 70's.  We had our first Knoxville friends drop in for a visit.  David and Nancy-shown left in the picture with Pam-were visiting their son and daughter-in-law in Austin and drove over to spend the day with us.  They lived in Texas for many years and were used to the quickly changing weather. As you can tell from their coats it was chilly but nothing like what was to come in a couple of weeks.  We had a good visit and got them a chicken fried steak fix at the Longhorn Steakhouse in Bryan. 




They got out just in time.  The polar vortex that gripped most of the country hit us a week or so after they left.    While we are acclimated to  high temperatures, anything near the other end of the thermometer results in a lot of complaining in these parts.  When the temperature hit 9 degrees it was the equivalent of a four-fold rip in the ectoplasmic continuum.  This was the result of a "blue norther" that came through and actually stayed almost a week.  We didn't make it to the grocery store but I am confident the Lone Star beer and salsa chips (Texas equivalent of milk and white bread) shelves were empty.  We had more of an ice storm than snow accumulation but you can see the devastation in the pictures to the left and below.  Thankfully, two days later the temperature was back in the 60's allowing life to return to normal.  I can only imagine how much worse it would have been without global warming.

 

Hungry children left SOS messages in the snow



 

This warmer weather gave me the opportunity to do some tree planting.  I headed to a nursery near Independence, TX and bought a trailer full of fruit trees and shrubs.  Maybe I should send this picture to President Obama as an example of what "shovel ready work" actually looks like.  Here's what I bought:  three fig trees (Brown Turkey, Celeste & LSU Gold); four peach trees (Sam Houston, TexPrince, FloridaKing & Earligrande); two pear trees (Moonglo & Shinko); one Sugar Cane Jujube; two Fuyu persimmon trees; three apple trees (Dorsett Golden, Anna & Einsheimer); one Gold Kist Apricot; two Burgundy plum trees; one Wonderful pomegranate; one All-in-one Almond tree; thirteen blueberry bushes (Climax, Tifblue & Premier); nine thornless blackberries bushes (Natchez); six Heritage raspberry bushes;  two American elderberry bushes and three muscadines (Black Beauty, Black Noble & Black Old Fashioned) .  I managed to get them all in the ground in a day and slept pretty well that night dreaming of cobblers, jelly and wine.

 

 

 Work on the house has continued at a consistent pace with the roof, doors and windows installed (the front door is temporary so the house can be closed to the elements-hogs, dogs and cats, mostly).  The walls have been insulated and all of the plumbing and electrical is roughed in.  As you can see in the pictures below, the sheet rock and the stone have been delivered and are ready for installation. 

 

 

Meanwhile, back on the farm

 

 

 

We bought a bull to keep the cows entertained (one is ours
and the other belongs to Pam's brother-not sure which is which).



 

I bought some fish for the tank (bluegill, crappie, catfish and fathead minnows) to provide some amusement and maybe some food for the table.  As it is a new tank I needed to provide some structure to give some of the fish a little protection (the fathead minnows are basically food for the other fish) from each other and the local blue heron that flies over.  Here I am on my pontoon boat dragging some cedar trees out to sink in the center of the tank.  That's the first time I've used that boat in several years.  I used to take it to the Clinch River and float with the current as I fished for trout.  It's basically a lawn chair mounted on two air-filled pontoons.  Since we moved to Texas, it's been far less nobly utilized, spending most of the time in the barn providing the cats a comfortable place to sleep during the day.  Matt the cat hissed at me when I shooed him off it that morning. 









Hot biscuits straight from the Dutch Oven

I built a fire in the fire pit and used some of the coals to bake some biscuits in the Dutch Oven.  I felt a little like Gus McRae when they turned out well (I used the Tupelo Honey biscuit recipe which results in a crunchy outside and fluffy inside).  They were as good as they look with a pat of butter and some jelly.

There was a spectacular sunset that night

We sat by the fire that night and as you can see Matt had forgiven me for disturbing his nap earlier in the day.  He was mesmerized by the fire until it waned to smoldering coals.  He curled up and went to sleep soaking up some of the heat.  We called it a day about ten. 

Building Activities at Tres Colinas

Tres Colinas on the road less graveled

In my 12/1/2013 post, I outlined my plans for our chicken coop along with my intention to build a swing/play set.  I also shared that our house construction was finally underway.  The weather was uncooperative for about a week but that left plenty of time for lots of accomplishments.

Chicken Coop Update

I managed to get most of the coop built and one coat of paint on it before we had a week of rain and very cold weather.  I finished it around the middle of  December.  I used finished broadly as I still have to install my feeding and watering systems.  As, we won't be getting any chicks until around mid-March, I will wait and use the cooler weather for other outdoor projects (fencing and fruit tree planting being top priorities).  Here are pictures of the coop construction:



The framing is in place and the metal roof is on.  You can see
the hardwire mesh floor and venting just under the roof eaves.
 



The siding is on and the nesting boxes are built.

 
 

Painted and basically finished.

 

 

This shows how the nesting boxes are accessed from outside
the coop.  You can see the "human" door on the left.  The
"chicken" door is on the opposite side, going to and from
the chicken yard.

 



 

Swing set Construction

This little project was a Christmas gift for Ava and Cora, so only had a week to complete it.  Fortunately, it was fairly easy and the weather was good.  Here's how it was done:

Framing the play fort with 4x4s and 2x6s. 
It should handle anything the kids can throw at it.

Decking, railing, ladder and roof support added.

Finished product.  A little tricky building it by myself
(especially installing the swing legs and beam).  That's why
tractors have front end loaders.

House Construction

After signing a contract in August and seeing no activity until mid-November when the foundation was framed (picture in last blog), we were a little discouraged about the lack of progress on the house construction.  We realized a good deal of that time was spent on finalizing plans and other paperwork but still thought a lot of good weather days were passing without any construction.  Then December arrived and so did the builders.  Here are pictures showing the major phases of construction to date:

The plumbing is roughed in.

Digging out for the beams.

Cables in place and ready for concrete pour.  These blue cables
will be stretched to increase the concrete's strength.

Starting the concrete pour.  We used about 90 yards of concrete.

Concrete pour half finished.

Pour finished, finishing work underway.



Slab finished and curing. Note the cables (not the toe plate bolts
sticking up) sticking out near and horizontal to the ground.

Finished slab curing for about ten days.

Applying 33,000 psi of pressure to each cable to
stretch it tight.  Each cable was stretched five inches.

Walls going up as the framing begins.

All walls up along with some OSB siding.  Starting on the
ceiling and roof.

OSB siding on and major progress on the roof.

Framing essentially complete with moisture barrier in place. 
Adding soffits and siding at the eaves.

At this point, the house is considered forty-percent complete.  It's amazing to me that this required a total of eight days of work.  Allow me a moment to editorialize about that work.  So far almost everyone that has worked on our house has been of the Hispanic race and most likely Mexican heritage.  Many have limited English speaking abilities.  It is fascinating to me that so many Hollywood types complain about racism and stereotypes when almost all of my stereotypical opinions are due to what I've seen on TV and in movies.  Everyone knows that Mexicans are slow and lazy...always taking siestas (again from Hollywood productions).  I've been blown away by the work ethic of every one so far.  They arrive about fifteen minutes before sunrise and get prepared to work.  As soon as there is enough daylight to see, they go to work.  The first break they take is for lunch (many worked while they ate-especially the concrete workers) and that lasts about thirty minutes.  They work non-stop until it is too dark to see and then return the next day to repeat the process.  Everyone was busy all of the time, NEVER standing around talking or wasting time.  They have been professional, polite and respectful.  While this is the work ethic that made America great, I suspect it's hard to find among most citizens now.  That's all I will say on that other than I am very impressed with the workers I've seen to date.  

 

The next steps should be the installation of the windows, doors and the roofing.  Once that is done, I just might start sleeping in it.

Chicken Coop Plans

I have been researching chicken coops most of the summer.  There are a lot of plans and ideas on the Internet but none seemed to be exactly what we wanted.  Raising chickens is growing in popularity but most coop plans are designed for small yards (less than eight birds) or for someone intending to make a living off chickens by raising hundreds of them.  We plan to have between fifteen and thirty birds and so fell somewhere between what is commonly needed.  So, I was left to take what I considered to be the best ideas from various coop designs, mix in a few ideas from local farmers and meld them into a coop design to meet our needs. 

 

Here are some standards/requirements for a chicken coop:

• Minimum of two square feet of floor space per chicken
• Eight inches of roosting space per chicken (roost should be at least two feet above the floor)
• At least one nesting box per four hens
• Protection from predators (snakes, raccoons, foxes, etc.)
• Good ventilation

In addition, we had the following preferences:

• Easy external access for egg collection
• Easy provision of drinking water and food
• Easy cleanup of the coop
• Easy collection of waste products (chicken manure is a fantastic garden fertilizer)
• An attractive coop

After taking all of these factors into consideration, we came up with the following design features:

• The coop will be eight feet wide, eight feet deep and approximately five feet high.  This sixty-four square feet of floor space will accommodate up to thirty-two birds.  While that might be a little crowded, they will only be in the coop at night and will have a thirty-by-thirty foot pen for daytime use along with some free-ranging opportunities (after I train the dogs to ignore them).
• There will be eight nesting boxes that can be accessed from outside the coop by lifting a hinged door. 
• The coop will be three feet above the ground with two doors and two windows.  One door will be for the chickens (with a ramp) and the other for us.  All doors and windows will have spring catch locks.
• The top six inches on all walls will be open and covered with hardwire cloth for ventilation as will the windows.
• There will be a PVC feeding tube that is accessed from outside the coop to drop food into a pan.  The tube will be big enough to hold several days of food.
• We will buy and install an automatic drip watering system.
• The floor will consist of two inch by six inch joists covered with one-quarter inch hardwire cloth.  This will allow chicken waste to fall to the ground for easy collection with a shovel and no need to clean the coop floor or have or replace litter.  In fact, we intend to never go inside the coop.  Any inside cleaning can be done with a spray hose from the door. 
• The coop will be covered with wood siding (painted barn red) and covered with a white metal roof.

I hope to have it finished by the end of this week if the weather cooperates and will post a picture of the finished product.  Pam plans to order the chickens for spring delivery.  She has been studying the various breeds with a strong interest in heritage breeds.  She claims she will be the queen of the chickens after I get the coop built (we shall see). 

 

Once the coop is finished, I have to construct a swing/play set before Christmas for Ava and Cora.  I bought a kit that has everything but the lumber which I will buy, cut and put together.  Any spare time will be devoted to continued clearing of brush and repairing fences.  Last, its time to plant fruit trees and bushes.  While I am busy with all of this, we hope to see significant progress on our home construction.  The builder only worked about two days in November so this is as far as they got.

 

 

After twelve months, twenty four days and twenty and a half hours of living in this camper...we are ready for this house to be built.