Install complete !

Katie & i put the pool together today , by the way , don't try it alone, lol. It's gonna feel good these next couple of months. The nice thing about the rain we have been getting. The creek is up and my submersible pump is filling the pool. What a beautiful thing , it's saving us like $250 , to have a truck deliver the water.Check out the timber retaining wall

! Another project bits the dust....

Mind as well jump ! Jump ! Go ahead and jump !

Since we expanded our flock the chickens are free ranging. The doe was right out the front door to greet me.  I have been working on leveling out the area for the new pool. I also spent several hours getting my " free delivery" to show up. Now i have to wait for it to dry up some before the installation. All its been doing is raining lately, but its great for the garden and the pasture!

Who needs brakes ?

So the only thing wrong with the dumptruck i bought was it needed a battery and the brakes didn't hold fluid. I looked at the master cylinder and it was wet so i figured the rubber was worn, so i ordered a rebuild kit. Then i noticed the rear cylinders were leaking too, i figured no problem , i'll rebuild them too. Well after diagnosing the cylinders , i saw the problem. When i bought the truck the guy said they had dual wheels on the back at one time, i guess so they could carry more weight. He tells me that they fell off and they didn't put them back on. What he forgot to tell me was the drums rode on the wheel cylinders and wore a groove in them. So those i have to replace, i still got a great deal. Oh yeh and the last pic is of the area i'm leveling for the now swimming pool the wife has wanted. You know what they say " If the wife isn't happy, nobody's happy" love ya baby !

Farm Truck !

Today i purchased a dump truck for the farm. I saw this and had to have it , the price was right too! It's a 1951 Willys dump truck and everything works! It was a stake body converted into a dump. It's got a 302 , 3 speed stick, 4wheel drive, it will go thru anything and the paint job is cool.

Check out the pictures...

Stormy !

So i have been so busy with the farm . Mostly fencing since Stormy got out twice. When i strung the fence , i had too much distance between. I guess maybe i thought i was raising kangaroos not cattle! So i had to lower all the barb wire strands and close them in. Then the one day i attempted to moved them to my other field, they bolted. I opened the gate and had grain with me , i figured they would follow me, not !They walked like 3/4 of a mile up the hollow and i followed . Katie called my buddy Gary , he came down and we all worked together to get them home. Since this is," my first rodeo", i owe everything to Gary. Since i wanted to start raising cattle he stepped in and mentored me. Thanks buddy, your the best! Then thanks to my loving wife , she has helped me get the calf back in. Don't try farming by yourself, you need help, lots of help! My latest project is fencing in the lower end by the pond. Knowing the placement of the strains, sure makes me feel better!

What a day !!!

Finally today the calf was born. I was working on cleaning up the old barn , far from where the cows were. So i have been watching Momma closely because she was getting close. So i look over and she has something long and red hanging out of her hind end. I ran up and here the calf was in the ditch on the other side of the fence from Momma, she was not happy. I reacted quickly and picked the calf up and carried it to the barn. Momma followed and i helped the calf onto her teat , then he got the milk he needed. So it's a boy! Then my hole day changed when i turned around and only two of my three dogs were there. Little trixie ran somewhere, so i got on the 4 wheeler and shearched all evening for her. I couldn't find her , i was heartbroken. Because it's so vast around here , that if she chased something , she may never find her way back. So after hours of shearching , i gave up at dusk. I went up to the barn to see if Momma pasted the afterbirth and she did. On my way back to the house , here comes Trixie running down the mountain, thank god ! What a day , but it ended fantasticly ! It was brought to my attention that i forgot to tell you his name. It's "Stormy" because while i was helping him get on Momma's teat in the barn , it was raining , lightning and thundering the whole time. I have heard that alot of birth's are in the worst weather!Thanks Mom for bringing this to my attention!!!

Yum ,Yum & Spring !

So in the last few days i have tried two new foods that grow wild here in West Virginia. One is "Morel mushrooms" the other "Ramps" ! The mushrooms we picked ourselves , breaded and fried them, boy where they good ! The ramps i ate at a " Ramp feast benefit dinner" , their like onions that taste like garlic, yummy! While i was shroom hunting i took some pictures of spring !