It Looks SO Much Better

Freshly mowed and looking oh so sweet!

A quick update before I head off to bed. I'll be working for the next two days at my new job so I'm not sure how much time I'll get to blog. Tomorrow will be an 8a-5p shift but Tuesday is my first solo 16-hour shift.

Uncle J and Auntie P came out for a visit today. Bringing along with them their riding lawn mower, a push mower, and a good sized weed eater. We spent the day mowing and trimming the entire area around the farmhouse. It looks SO much better. A path was mowed to the barn which will make it easier to spot any potential snakes. Bonus!

This also cut down on all the bazillion grasshoppers that were everywhere. Trimming around the house exposed the remaining critters that hadn't succumbed to my kamikaze pesticide spraying spree. I bet I sprayed over ten spiders on the back of the house alone. That giant bottle of pesticide was the best $5 I've spent at Walmart in a LONG time.

"Come on in Pilgrim...if you have the GUTS!"

Thanks to Auntie D and her youngins, we enjoyed hamburgers and hotdogs as we discussed the evils of this world in our own little paradise. Then we discussed bringing back chickens and horses, cattle and crops to the old family farm. It is most certainly doable and it electrifies me to think about it.

For those of you following the Ford 8N saga, we spent some time on her today. Uncle got her fired up a few times but only after injecting her with starter fluid up the air intake side of the carburetor. She never would run for more than about five seconds. I'm planning on attempting my first carburetor rebuild (kit) this Wednesday, as long as finances can afford it. I'll video my endeavor so hopefully, somebody can learn from my inevitable mistakes.

I'm hoping that is all it will take. The brush hog hooked to the back needs a crucial welding repair before I'll be able to use it. Uncle said he'll take it back to the city with him sometime and have one of his welders fix it. Then we'll be all set. There's a 35-acre field directly in front of the farmhouse that I'm dying to play with. Right now it is full of weeds.

I brought in some more of the moving boxes that were still out in my trailer. Along with the boxes, I brought in my roommate and made him at home in the kitchen.  He used to stand behind the CT Scanner at my old hospital and scare the crap out of unsuspecting patients. I always got a kick out of that.

About half a load in the Wonderwash

I quickly did some more laundry with my Wonderwash as well. I've gotta say, I'm pretty impressed with this little gizmo. It really gets the job done and doesn't take up much space or effort. I can clearly see the dirty water that I pour out AFTER a load is washed. I recommend you pick one or two up like I did...as a part of your redundancy plan.

I opened two cabinet doors and perched the extendable tree pruner across the tops creating an impromptu clothesline. A nice box fan provided enough wind to dry the clothes in about four hours. The yellow trash bag is one week's worth of trash. I think that's quite a bit considering it is just me out here. I think I'll start burning my trash from now on. There's a burn barrel next to the barn for just such an occasion.

~OJD

New Rules for the Farm

#11) When you're weed eating for the first time, pay extra close attention to what you are doing. Phone cords and ground wires can EASILY get caught up in an overpowering weed eater and jam it up. So can random ropes that are left lying around in tall grass.

#12) Just because a tractor battery is brand new doesn't mean you can crank on it all day. More like 20 minutes...which I think stinks. Either be prepared to crank less or have your charger with you.

Back Home Report

Wifey and the girls spent the day with her Dad for his birthday. Happy birthday Other Dad. Glad you could provide a swimming pool on a ridiculously hot day for the family.