Tree Stump 3

Tammy and I got a late start to burn the third tree stump.  It was dark by the time we drove out to the stump.  Fortunately, earlier that afternoon, we had prepared the stump by placing boards around it for us to start a fire with.

The cattle were in the corral as we drove through and they wouldn't quickly move as I drove the pickup through the corral.  I think it was a combination of them being accustomed to us and being confused as to why we were driving through the corral after dark.

The fire...

We were near a large tree.  Fortunately the light breeze blew the smoke and heat away from the tree.  In these photos the tree is lit by the fire's light.

The embers put on a show.

The stump was a large stump and it didn't completely burn the first night.  The few brief rain sprinkles during our burning, and the rain later that night didn't help the stump to smolder and burn later.

This is what was left after the first night of burning.

The second fire...

The embers from the second fire...

The second fire took care of the rest of the stump.

Tree Stump 2 - dug

When I raked dead grass in the area close to the first tree stump I was burning, I discovered another tree stump.

Yup... just when I thought I had found all the tree stumps in the south pasture...

So I started to dig around this tree stump.  Once I started to dig it looked like it would be a big stump.  However, to my pleasant surprise, its roots didn't go down far.  When I stepped on the stump to cross to the other side it rocked.  What?  Could I lift it out?  Yes!  I did.

The two main pieces of the stump are shown on the right side, and on the left side are the smaller side roots from the main stump.  The stick in the ground is a marker of the hole until I get it filled back in.

Another tree stump taken care of!

Tree Stump 1 - second night

Here is what remained after the first night of burning the tree stump.  For as long and as hot that we burned the stump you'd think it would be all burnt, but nope.  At the bottom of the photo is where I had dug around an extra root from the stump.

The second fire.  I used my old TV console box to start the fire.  A few years ago I had removed the TV from inside the box.  It is amazing how fast and hot that man-made wood products burn.

Here you can see how hard and dense the stump is.  The stump is hot and burns, but notice that no flames come from the stump itself.

What was left after the second fire.

I took an axe to the stump.  Even after two long and hot fires the inside of the stump was still damp.  That is stumps are so hard to burn.  And this is a stump that has been dead for a minimum of 15 years.

The next photos are of before and after I chopped out the remaining stump.  As you can see from the smoke on the left side, the stump that remained under the ash still smoldered.  I raked some dead grass and tossed it on the ashes to ensure my chopping hadn't stopped the smoldering.

Tree Stump 1 - first night

Tammy and I burned a few tree stumps while she was here.  We burned all three tree stumps I wanted to get rid of in the south pasture.  I have a few more tree stumps in this pasture but either I am keeping them for the cattle to use as scratching posts or the stumps are too close to a live tree to safely burn.  The three tree stumps we burned are the ones I discovered last year after I thought I had gotten rid of all the stumps I no longer wanted in the south pasture.

Here is the stump after I dug around it to prepare it for burning.  This lets the stump dry more and also gives me more of an area to have a fire as the stumps barely peek above the ground.

The fire...

We had lots of embers rising from the fire.  The night was cool and the grass green so the embers never started any other fires.  But they were pretty.

Enjoying the fire

Here is a 40 second video of the bonfire.

Hay holes

Here is how cows eat down in the hay.

Barn hay feeder

When Tammy was here we rebuilt the hay feeder next to the barn.  The last time I had cattle a few years ago several of the cattle liked to stand in the feeder with their front legs to claim their spot.  With the wood being so old this led to several of the bottom boards getting broken.

Also the side boards in the front were nailed to the inside of the posts.  Over time the cattle pressing against the boards popped a few boards off the posts on one side.

So I completely rebuild the feeder.

Here is the old feeder partway through the dismantlement of it - after I took its sides off.

Tammy helped me with the rebuild.

Here is the rebuilt feeder.  As you can see I placed the front boards outside the post.  This enlarged the feeder by the width of the posts. The cattle seem to be able to reach all the hay in the larger feeder.  In addition to replacing all the boards on the bottom of the feeder I added an extra board in the middle to provide more support if cattle against stand in the feeder.

Box elder seeds in June

Here it is the beginning of June and seeds are still on my female box elder tree.  You know, other years I haven't paid attention to when all the seeds have dropped from the trees, but I thought it was when the new leaves came out.  Either not this year due to it being such a cold wet Spring, or I was wrong as to when all of the seeds dropped.

Tammy feeding cattle

Tammy returned to Minnesota on Tuesday, May 31.  The cattle miss her as she would feed them some fresh green grass.

Party at Curt and Cathy's

Our last night in the Tacoma area was spent eating homemade tacos along with chips and a salsa that Curt loves.  Also there were Curt and Cathy's friends, Bob and Carolyn.  We had a fun irreverent time.  We got on the subject of cruise ships and Curt ended up showing us the medals he had earned on one cruise, along with other souvenirs from his cruises.

Then Curt gave Tammy an "eyefull".

Tammy's reaction...

A fun time was had by all.

Down at the River

After visiting my cousin Jen on her sailboat, Tammy and I drove down to the "River" where many of my uncles/aunts and cousins have property and trailers.  Tammy got to meet more of my relatives and their friends from down at the river.  We sat around Curt's campfire and chatted and some of us drank wine that Linda provided.  Tammy had a strawberry wine and I a peach wine.  My cousin Tony teased me about drinking a fruity wine, but I liked the wine.

My uncle Curt likes to play poker.  He even has a special building for his poker get-togethers.

Boot birdhouse

Tammy trying to stay warm by the late morning campfire.

Curt putting an end to the campfire.

While at the river Curt had me earn my keep as I helped split many of those logs.

Jen's sailboat

My cousin Jen bought a used sailboat last February, and Saturday May 21 Tammy and I went to visit Jen and her boat.  Jen treated us in style with wine, cheese, crackers and much laughter.

The weather that day was calm with threats of rain so we didn't go out sailing on Puget Sound, but we had a great time nonetheless.

Jen's boat has a name but she is thinking about renaming the boat to have a name with more meaning for her.