Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween moon

The fog came in well before sunset.  Creeping across the pasture.  When I came out of the corral well the fog was thick.  Perfect for Halloween night.




Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Two pumps on the corral well

With all the recent cold and wet weather I have not been able to work much on my corral well.  A little here and there but not much.  Today I was able spend the afternoon working on the corral well.

Last week I came up with a solution to my ladder problem.  The well is so small I can't work with the ladder in the well, and while I am in the well I can't reach the top of the ground to place the ladder.  I put a really long nail in the corral fence to hang the ladder on while I am in the well.


Last week I had placed a couple sturdy metal screens in an effort to hold back the gravel from sloughing off from the sides.  The tin sheets I had been using were not sturdy enough to do the job.  The metal screens were an odd shaped item I found in my pile of treasures.  I cut the screen in half and the two pieces fit perfectly in the well.


As you can see I cut the ends off so I could drive bars through the metal pieces and into the ground to hold the pieces in place.  Otherwise as I dig deeper the gravel and sand shifts and so would the metal pieces.


While water flowing into the pit to replenish the water supply is not a problem, having screens makes the water flow even easier.


Today was dry and the temperature actually was in the 50s, a few degrees above normal. Time to work on the well again.

One pump only lowered the water level a three or four inches.  Today I used two pumps.  The second pump was the one with the bad bolt I had repaired.   However, I could not get that pump to suck up water no matter what I tried. 

So I switched to using the pump that will eventually be the well's pump.  Wyatt completed the latest brazing work and I put the pump back together.  The seal between the chamber and the motor was gone and it had leaked water when I used the pump earlier.  To solve this problem I cut a rubber ring from the leftover shower pan liner.  This worked.  And Wyatt's last brazing job worked.


I fashioned a crude screen from another small scrap piece of metal from my treasure pile and used that to filter the rocks and gravel from being sucked into the pump.

The second pump worked great.  So good that the old garden hose was partially collapsed from the suction.  So I switched to using a combination of solid metal and plastic pipes I cobbled together.  I am not sure what the problem was, whether the pipe was too large or more likely an air leak was somewhere in the piping, but I couldn't get the pump to suck up water.

Back to Plan A - or a variant of it.  I found another garden hose, a longer hose, but a sturdier hose.  This one didn't collapse from the suction.  Both pumps now pumped a good flow of water.


Yes, the pumps were pumping the water into the corral.  It was time to stop pumping the water into the back yard / driveway.

The well's water level dropped more but the water flow into the pit was enough that I could not pump the pit dry.

Sometimes I wonder why I insist on having a pit of water two feet deep when six inches will do.

Now that I got both pumps pumping it was time to get to work inside the well.

Then it began to rain. 

I spent most of the afternoon getting the pumps to work - I'm not quitting now.  Down into the well I went.

First I had to fix the metal screens I had placed there last week.  Some more gravel sloughed off against the metal screens and they did what they were suppose to do - hold the gravel away from the water.  However the tops of the screens leaned in instead of standing straight.  *sigh*

So I searched another treasure pile for rods, bars, pipes, whatever I could use to brace the screens upright.  I was able to find some pipes the right length.  I was out of metal screens or sturdy pieces of metal to brace the other sides of the pit.   I was able to find several sheets of tin the right size that I could brace against the side of the pit.

Two sides of the pit had sloughed back a foot or two beyond the concrete casing.  On those two sides I had placed the sturdy metal screens under the concrete casing.  The other two sides barely went beyond the casing and I placed the metal sheets of tin against the sides.  The two pipes went between the tin and sturdy metal.

Now that I had that done I now was in a smaller area again.  I was able to dig up some gravel and rocks before it got too dark to see well.  The gravel and rocks I placed behind the study metal screens.  A win-win situation.  I don't have to haul the gravel and rocks out of the well and I can fill in the area behind the screens to stop the sloughing.  Those areas go out so far that sloughing from above happens and not just the sides.  Not good.

My learning lesson is that in hindsight, when Wyatt was here with his tractor and we removed the top concrete casing, I should have dug out and removed the second casing.  Even though I would have had to dig more and the pit wider, it would have been easier and quicker to do.  Then I could have lowered the concrete casings back into the pit along with new casings.  I didn't realize the sides would slough off as much as they did once I hit water.

On the other hand, the concrete casing has held the gravel walls in place behind the casing.  So I don't know what is the best option for digging.  I so close to the corral fence that I can't go wider on that side, and I do have a tall pole on another side of the well which could be affected if I had to dig wider than the casing.  So maybe I am making the best of a difficult situation.

At the end of my day of work it was dark and I was wet.  I got some done though not as much as I had hoped.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Shelves, screws and showers

One of the things I did today was put up shelves in Tammy's office so she could organize the stuff in her office.  She couldn't find the screws she used on her shelf brackets back in Minnesota so I found some of my own that would work.  Opps... that was unacceptable to Tammy.  My screws were old and used and looked like they may have rust.  Tammy is like my uncle Curt who wants new over old.

My old screw

So she looked around more and finally found her bag of new and shiny screws and we used them.

I emptied and removed one of my two bedroom dressers left in the office to give Tammy more room.  Once we empty the other dresser we can list them on craigslist.


I also worked on the shower.  I installed the shower head and the faucet handle.  My uncles had installed the shower handle piece upside down.  Therefore the shower handle would go up inside of down.   This was not 'right' and bothered Tammy so I drilled the bottom of the handle's nut to take the locking screw and then was able to install the handle facing down.   We still need to remind people that the shower goes from hot to cold and not cold to hot as shown on the handle cover.


Now that the tile has been installed and the threshold is in place, I remeasured the handle's location.   My earlier measurement had the handle off to one side - 14 inches on one side and 17 inches on the other side.  I haven't installed the shower door yet, but the handle now looks to be close to the center of the shower.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Fixed one pump

Since the weather is still more like Winter and not Fall I fixed the sump pump that sucked up a small pebble and froze.  This is the pump with the broken bolt.  I did a little drilling and got the pump apart.  Then using a vice-grip I removed the rest of the bolt.


However when I put the pump back together I turned another bolt too tight and broke its head.     Are these bolts too thin for their heads? I found several others bolts and put the pump back together.  It runs.  Now I need a nice day so I can test if the pump still sucks up water.


With these Winter-like days I am getting stuff done around the house.  I got the shower tile grout sealed and caulked the shower's corners.  I also ordered the shower doors. I closed the crawl space's vents and replaced the insulation I had moved around the attic in order to put in the sun tunnel in the bathroom.  I also replaced the old fashioned furnace thermostat with a programmable digital thermostat.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Barn full of hay

Monday, before the snow came, I finished filling the barn with hay.  I plan on getting a few more head of cattle to keep Momma and Baby company this Winter and I need more hay for them.  It took four pickup loads of hay to finish filling the barn and I got the last load on Monday.

A bit of a workout as I had to load the bales on the pickup, then unload the bales and stack them in the barn.  The bales weigh around 60 lbs each.

I could carry 42 bales on a load.  This last load was 39 bales.


A little too much to simply back into my little barn.


In the end I could fit another 15 bales of hay in the barn but I wanted a small space behind the door.  As it is I have around 275 bales of hay in the barn with eight bales of straw.


Almost stacked to the roof

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Baby's first snow

Last night when I went to bed after 1 am Momma and Baby were standing in the leeward side of the patio to get out of the wind and snow.  They weren't there when I got up at 6:30 am to shovel the snow for Tammy before she went to work.  They were back when I got up for the day mid morning.  They looked a little bewildered by the early snow, especially as the snow covered all the grass.

The horses were out in the pasture so I closed the gate and let Momma and Baby into the corral.  I don't trust the horses around Baby so I don't want them mixing.   Then I put hay out for Momma to eat.

Baby ran around the corral checking everything out.  Horse poop was a new smell for her.  She also slipped on a snow covered board in a funny way.  She had a white face from the snow.


I also noticed that Baby's fur on her chest is thicker.  This is probably due to her laying on the cold ground.

I broke the thin ice on the water trough.




When I put hay into the feeder I also put a little hay on the concrete step outside the barn door. Later I noticed it looked like Baby had been eating that hay.  Else Momma had eaten it all.  I suspected Baby had eaten some of it.  Earlier I have been noticing Baby in the pasture with her head down like she was eating some grass.  I also have noticed her bottom teeth have come - or are coming - in.  It looks like she is still feeding from Momma.  Baby is a couple months old now.

Later in the afternoon I got a big bucket and put hay in it for Baby as the feeder is a little too high for her to eat from.  Naturally Momma was interested in this new 'fresh' hay.  But it looked like Baby was getting some hay too.


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

First snow

October 23... and we had a winter storm last night that dumped a bunch of snow on us.  Enough snow that it couldn't all be melted today.  Not even half of it.  And we have more snow in the forecast for the rest of the week.  Our normal high is in the low 50s F.  Today we made it to the mid 30s F.  Lately the first real snowfall has been later in November and some years not till December.  People haven't even mounted snowplows on their pickups yet.   This year the Sun Road wasn't opened until mid June, not all the mountain snow melted this year, and now we are already adding to the snow pack again.

This is annoying.  I have plenty of "must-do" things left to do outside before Winter should really start.

Global warming?  I don't get the 'warming' part.  Or the 'global' part.  I'm clinging to the long term weather forecast of a "La Nina" Winter with warmer and drier conditions.  One can only hope.




Monday, October 22, 2012

Tammy and the well

Sunday Tammy helped me with the corral well. Yes... I'm still working on it.   Time is slipping by.  Winter is coming.  Our weather now and for the foreseeable future is wet and well below normal temperatures with snow predicted.  *sigh*  I really would like some global warming.  Why are we missing out?

I have dug the well down to a level where I need help.  Standing in the well I can no longer reach up to get the ladder in and out.

Since I am down to the water level I have been trying to pump the water out to make further digging easier.

Challenges:

I have two sump pumps.  I got both working individually.  Each lowered the water level but after a few inches the water began to come in as fast as I pumped it out.  When I tried to use both pumps simultaneously they acted up.  They either wouldn't pump, or pumped at half strength.  Then one pump sucked up a small rock and froze.  To make matters worse one of the bolts holding the pump together had its head broken off.  Most likely from over tightening.  The rest of the bolt holds the pump together and I can't get the pump apart.  The potential fix of drilling the bolt out will have to wait as it will take time.

My neighbor brazed the cracks in the new used pump I got.  I tried to use the pump but discovered a leak in the brazing.  Apparently a new crack formed when the pump cooled down after the last brazing.   The other challenge of the pump is I need a seal/gasket between the pump and the water chamber as I had water leaking when I primed the pump with water.  So far I haven't found a seal/gasket.  Using silicone to seal the area is possible but I need to take a second look at how to do this and where.

So I am down to one pump.

A test run on Saturday with larger pipes didn't work.  Going back to a garden hose now didn't work.  I am going backwards and backwards.

Finally the pump took off and began pumping water.  And at full strength.  Why?  ...don't look a gift horse in its mouth.


The water level dropped quite a bit and quickly.  But not completely.  Once the water level dropped I could see fresh water rush in from three areas (sides).  The water came in quicker than I expected.

Then a small rock got sucked into the pump stopping it.

This time I was able to take the pump apart and remove the rock.

Within minutes the water level went back up.   That was quick!

My effort to find and buy a screened end fitting failed.  Then in the evening my neighbor Bob told me he had a useless/broken fitting from his well.   The screen was still good and I removed the inner broken stop whose purpose was to stop the water (prime) from flowing out of the pipe.  That is the silver object in the second photo.



This screened fitting is 2 inches in diameter.  Multiple reducer fittings from my dad's pipe bone-yard treasure pile and I was able to attach my garden hose to the screened fitting.

This screen fitting worked perfectly.  No more rocks sucked into the pump.  And I was able to work on digging (which stirred up the sand) as I pumped water.  Every so often I had to clean off the sand that clogged the screen.

While I dropped the water level a number of inches soon the inflow and outflow were equal.  Using a post hole digger was frustrating as most of the rocks and sand slipped out as I lifted it to the bucket.  So I switched to digging with my hands in the water.  It was much easier and quicker than using the post hole digger.

While it was in the lows 40s F and chilly on top where Tammy stood, it was warm in the well and the water was lukewarm too.  I quickly stripped off the layers of coats and extra shirt I wore.

Tammy and I removed many buckets of rocks and sand.  We worked until her arm about fell off.  The wet part of the pile in the center of the photo is what Tammy and I removed.  But evening Tammy fell sound asleep on the couch for two hours.


I was digging down a decent distance but then some of the sides calved into dug area.  *argh*    More to remove.

Having more to remove was annoying, falling rocks and sand while I was down in the well was a little unnerving.  I was thinking back to my uncle Curt telling me that he didn't want to put a marker "Here lies my beloved nephew" near the "Larry Light" on the power pole.

When Tammy and I quit for the day the area dug under the water is 13 inches at the deepest.  Almost a foot left to did.

I do have the calving problem.  The metal sheets I had down there helped slow the problem but did not prevent it.   I plan to replace the metal sheets and have another idea on what I can do to temporarily shore up the area as I dig deeper.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Blinds and grey

Here are how the new blinds look on my new grey wall.


Saturday, October 20, 2012

Latest with Momma and Baby

Here are the latest photos and video of Momma and Baby.  They are both doing fine.  Baby is growing nicely.

They have settled into a routine of where in the pasture they will be and when.  The routine was altered a few days ago when the neighbor brought back the momma cows and their new baby calves.  Momma and Baby rushed to the fence to watch the new cattle across the road.  I was afraid Baby would try to slip though the fence to join the other baby calves.  So far Momma and Baby have behaved and stayed in the hayfield.

Posing for Tammy

Who do you see?

Nice pose with a bit of a lower lip milk mustache





The video of Momma and baby is 1:19 long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZuKjeNJ4zM

Friday, October 19, 2012

2012 pocket gopher total

Earlier I mentioned that for the first time ever I got the entire ranch sprayed for weeds.  Today I finished gopher trapping for the year.  Last year I covered the entire ranch for the first time.  This year I finished trapping even earlier.  I avoided having to chop through frozen ground to reach the gopher tunnels.   The last few days I even set a few traps on the neighbor's land across the road and trapped one fat pocket gopher.

The total for the year is only 54 pocket gophers.  This is much lower than average.  Knock on wood... it appears I have the gophers on the run.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New blinds

Last week while Kevin was working on tiling the shower, and Tammy was in Minnesota, I finished painting the trim along the ceiling and around the windows. The color of the trim: horseradish.


Once I finished the painting I also installed the new window blinds from Bali. Their color is charcoal.  They are 3/8" light filtering double cell cordless top-down bottom-up cellular shades.  Whew!  That's a mouthful.

Here is an old photo showing the old wall color and curtains.


Here is how the wall looks now.


The blinds are charcoal on the inside and white on the outside.


They were easy to install are also supposed to be energy efficient.