Backwards

Last week as I came out to add hay to the feeder I found this...

Yup.  How dumb is this?  And what's the point?

Fortunately the heifer didn't add any more manure than what was on her hoofs. I had to toss out the hay she stood on.

I caught her one other time standing like this.

February storage auction

Saturday I attended another storage auction.  They were auctioning only one unit.   That is the way it has been lately - an occasional storage auction involving only one unit.  They are usually held at 9 am or 10 am.  Usually I skip them as it can be a bother to drive across the Valley for one auction early in the morning.  I went to this auction as it was nearby.

I arrived right at 10 am as they were opening up the gate to the storage unit business to let the people in.

Here are pretty much everyone who attended the auction.  Not a big crowd.  A couple dozen people?

The auctioneer (in blue) had trouble cutting the lock.  The lock was in the style shown below and it is difficult to get a good grip with the bolt cutter.  He and another guy worked on it for 5 minutes before finally cutting the lock.

The unit had lots of stuff.  Old furniture (behind the auctioneer), contractor tools, some toys, a decent sized telescope with stand, and a mish-mash of other stuff.  I saw a hand-made sign on one side of the storage unit with the words: storage sale.   This unit would have made an interesting unit for a Storage Wars TV show.

The storage unit was big.  The unit was the entire width of the building shown below.  It looked to be the size of two storage units placed end to end.  So it was hard to see what was in the back.  The guy with the light above had an advantage.

While we were at the auction the business closed the gate behind us.  The people were waiting for the gate to be opened when I arrived.  Another guy and I saw a side gate and I opened it and went through.  Everyone else followed.

There were only four or five people who bid.  The winning bidder got the unit for $1050.   Cash payment only.  We were out of there by 10:18 am.

Shoveling shit

I could have called this post "Moving manure" but after all the work and smell I did, I wanted the crude title.

Usually the coming of Spring brings wonderful earthy smells.   Not in the corral.  One smell overrides all other smells - and that is not a good smell.   In the evening when I come back in the house from feeding hay to the cattle Tammy says I smell like "cattle".  I have to wear my 'mud' boots now when I go into the corral when the ground is not frozen.

One area that get lots of manure is by the feeder.  Especially the back end where the cattle stand as they eat.  Hay comes in the front and out comes...

Here Momma and the bold heifer are pointing out work I have to do.

A long line of ....

I scraped and shoveled the sloppy smelly manure into a pile away from where they stand.  Another day I will haul it out of the corral and spread it in a pasture to fertilize it.

Here Momma and Baby are checking out my handiwork.

It smells worse than it looks.

Refrigerator dying a slow death

My refrigerator is slowly dying.  While the freezer is hanging in there, the fridge doesn't cool things much.  I took most of the stuff out of it, put most of that in a cooler with ice, and put everything outside.  The temperatures are great: lows in the 20s and highs in the 30s.

So the past few days Tammy and I have looked at refrigerators in various stores.  My current refrigerator is the common type: freezer on top, standard doors.  For my new refrigerator Tammy and I wanted the freezer to be on the bottom.  After all... what do you use the most... the fridge or freezer, and do you want to bend or not?

We wanted the standard door and not the french door.  That was in the mistaken belief that all french doors had water and ice in them and I didn't want that. Water and ice in the door are not needed and seem to me to take up too much space.  Believe it not, the style we wanted was not common.  Each store had only one or two models. Not much to chose from.

Then at Lowes I saw a french door model without water & ice.  Aahhh!   My refrigerator is 19.5 cubic feet (cf) in size. The non-french door models we had looked at were 21.8 cf in size.   This french door model was 25.7 cf.  I like!  I want a larger refrigerator as Tammy mentions all the time how I fill it after my grocery shopping trips.  Bigger is better.

The french door non-water & ice also are not common.  Again the stores had only one maybe two models each.

So I did research online.

Tammy's daughter has had nothing but trouble with their LG brand of refrigerator (and other appliances).  The Sears saleswoman told us that the Kenmore brand was made by LG.  Several store personal warned us the Samsumg brand has no authorized service rep in the Valley and they felt the people in the Valley who did repair refrigerators seemed not to have an interest in becoming a Samsung service rep.

I focused in on a Whirlpool (same brand as my current refrigerator) and a Maytag.

The problem with online reviews is that most are either love it or hate it.  The "love it" reviewers just got the refrigerator and gush at how wonderful it is.  The haters are people who have had a problem.  It is tough to get an idea how pervasive a problem is or whether that refrigerator was a lemon.

I kept going back to the Samsung.  Something about it I liked.

Thursday Tammy and I again visited a number of stores and re-looked at the refrigerators I was interested in.  It was difficult as no store had them all and I couldn't do a side-by-side comparison.  But I again was drawn back to the Samsung.  While most all refrigerator have the same look, I think the Samsung's handles had a better feel.  I also liked the shelves.  They seemed a little more sturdy and cleaner looking.  The drawers had a cleaner look.  I know... its a refrigerator - who cares about the look?  But in the look I saw an attention to detail and that means quality to me.  Once I get the refrigerator I'll see if it is true.   The bottom drawer - the "Cool select pantry" - has its own temperature control.   I also thought the Samsung doors closed better.  It also has an "open door left open" alarm.

And Lowes was having a sale! I had read that the best times to get a refrigerator was during the Black Friday sales or the Presidents Day sales. And Presidents Day is just around the corner!  In addition to getting a rebate gift card for $180, the refrigerator was on sale at $400 off.  Instead of $1999, it cost $1599.  I know... that is expensive for a refrigerator.  I could have gone with the freezer on top style and paid well under $1000.

The Samsung refrigerator I bought is model:  RF260BEAESR.   It is a stainless steel model.  I originally planned on getting white appliances for the kitchen to lighten the room up, and white and black are cheaper than stainless steel, but once Tammy and I saw the white stoves I changed my mind.  I can handle a white refrigerator but not a white stove.

Here is the refrigerator I bought:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_186006-149-RF260BEAESR_4294857963__?productId=3773537&Ns=p_product_avg_rating|1#BVRRWidgetID

The Sears web site is nice as they also have interior views of the refrigerator.  Note, Sears sells the "stainless look" which is stainless steel with a "Stainless Platinum" covering.  One can stick magnets to this door.  Not a feature I had to have.

http://www.sears.com/samsung-26-cu-ft-french-door-refrigerator-w-internal/p-04682036000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1


The model in the Lowes store was black.   They would have to order a stainless steel model for me.  While this normally takes 5 to 7 business days, the warehouse is out of this model.  The salesman checked and 34 of them right now are on a boat traveling from Korea.  So I should have the refrigerator by the end of the month.  I guess we'll be eating out of a cooler a little while longer.

Now to decide whether I want to buy the extended warranty plan from Lowes.

Lastly... remember where I earlier mentioned this was a larger cubic feet sized refrigerator? That also means that french door models are larger physically.  This french door model is 35.75 inches wide.   My current refrigerator is 32.25 inches wide and the counter and cabinets are built right up to the refrigerator.  In my kitchen remodel plan I had decided to move the refrigerator to a new location.  Until I do the remodel this refrigerator can sit in the dining room.  It will work - it just won't be hooked up to a water line to make ice.

Shining mountains

 A change of pace from all the recent blog posts about Daisy...

Wimpy Canon camera didn't capture the true beauty.   Snow was lit up by the late afternoon sunlight.

Falling apart

When Tammy was gone things began to fall apart.

My front bicycle tire was flat and the new glue is not ideal for patching the tube so I am still working on it.

My pickup tire was flat.

The refrigerator (without Tammy to torment with its popping and wheezing noises) got very quiet.  A side effect is that the temperature is not as cool even with the controls turned all the way up.  The freezer keeps stuff frozen but ice cream is soft.  The refrigerator is cool but not as cold as it should be.  Looks like a new refrigerator may not wait until the kitchen is remodeled in a few months.

Then the vacuum cleaner died Sunday morning.  Good thing I have the vacuum cleaner from when I lived in Minnesota.

26 second video of the end of the vacuum cleaner.  It had been even noisier than what you hear in the video.  Just like Daisy and Tammy who are camera shy, the vacuum cleaner tried to clean up its act for the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgxA1Ex1moE

Baby rubbing

Baby decided one day to rub against my leg and pull on my clothes.

Here is a 1:48 video of Baby rubbing against me and trying to pull my clothes off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78eJXuV2HuM

Nursing

Baby is still nursing.  I think that is why the females from the "Gang of Four' seem to be jealous of Baby.

As you can see even after five months Momma seems to have plenty of milk.

Here is a 1:34 video of Baby nursing.   Momma is pretty calm, even when Baby is hitting against her milk bag.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOl33oqQyWg

Feeder guard

To stop Momma from climbing into the feeder from one side I nailed a board to block her while allowing the cattle to still reach the hay in the feeder.  Simple but effective.

I didn't nail a board on this side as I want easy access to add hay to the feeder.  Monday night Momma hung around this side wanting to access the feeder.  I blocked her and let Baby have her spot even when Momma tried to slip between Baby and the barn.  After trying to wait me out Momma gave up and went back to her usual feeding spot.  If Momma continues to misbehave I'll have to add a board to this side.

Well check

With the Winter thaw I lifted up the board covering the corral well.  The frozen ground on the surface doesn't extend down below.  As you can see gravel has fallen onto the stand I had built for the pump.  Good thing I decided not to install the pump last Fall.

Here is how the stand looked when I quit work last Fall...

Here is how the stand looks now.

Daisy decided that even though the ground was a little icy and a lot wet she had to come over and see what I was doing.  She was careful and had no mishaps.

Hay on the head

My uncle Larry emailed that he missed seeing photos and stories about Baby, Momma and the other cattle.  I guess I have been caught up in the love of Daisy.


Sometimes the cattle are in such a hurry to eat they don't let me fill the feeder before they start.  Adding to that is that I had a half dozen bales of hay that were packed together hard.  If I wouldn't break the hay apart the cattle would violently shake it to loosen it up. That could be fun to watch except that sometimes they would shake the hay out of the feeder into the muck.

When I broke apart the hay bales pieces of loose hay fell on the cattle's head as they ate.

Baby got the worse of it as she was the closest to me.    "What you looking at?!"

Does the hay on my head make my butt look fat?

Baby dropped a ball of hay on the ground and then ate it up.

Here is a 1:02 long video of Baby eating hay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvnkSa2y9Lk&feature=youtu.be



Two of the heifers from the "Gang of Four" still push Baby around.  Quite a number of times I hang around after putting out the hay to protect Baby.  They must have rammed her in the ribs hard quite a lot as sometimes all they have to do is swing their head around and look at Baby and she backs away from the hay.  They then move in and take her spot.

A few times the mean girls get impatient and when I am sweeping up loose hay in the barn they will try to push Baby away from the feeder.  I have to step out and tell them to back off, which they do and Baby comes back to eat more hay.

Below is after I told the mean girls to back off and let Baby back to her spot for eating hay.  Baby is deciding whether to go back or come over to me.

Pantry is complete

I bought a door kit for the pantry doors instead of buying the parts separately.  It cost a few dollars more for the kit even before replacing the door hinges.  The hinges in the kit were gold colored and Tammy insisted on brushed nickel hinges.  So I had to take off the doors to switch the hinges.  Which was just as well because...

The door kit for our pantry was not stained when we bought it from Lowes.

Tammy and I decided on Golden Oak as the stain we liked.


It has taken longer to stain the doors and door jam (frame) than I expected.  Then again, I have never stained any wood before, so what did I know?!


The first to be stained was the door jamb.  In case I made a mess of things it would be good to practice on the jamb so it wouldn't be noticeable.

The staining of the jam went well.  Two coats of stain applied by a brush and it was done.


Then it was on to the doors.

In the meantime I spoke with a knowledgeable employee at Lowes about post stain sealers.  He also clued me in to use a pre-stain treatment.  That was tricky to use as one has to immediately stain before the pre-stain treatment could dry after applying the pre-stain treatment,   Working around the windows were time consuming so I was rushed.

The first photo below shows the first door I had stained next to an unstained door.
The second photo shows the first stained door on the left next to the second door I stained on the right.  Yes, the door on the left is the same door in both photos, albeit upside-down.  Context is everything.

The difference is that for door number one I used a soft cloth to apply the stain.  For two reasons: one, people I spoke with claimed to use a cloth instead of a brush to apply the stain and two, I thought it would be easier to use a cloth to apply a stain around the windows.

It was time consuming to carefully go around the windows and I found the stain at the start would dry by the time I got to the end.  It then was hard to touch up or smooth out the stain and I ended up with a few darker areas and a few areas of blotchy looks.

For the second door I used a brush.  Each door has two coats of stain but the brush ended up applying more stain to the second door and it became darker. 

So I had to go back and apply more stain to the first door so they would match.  I was done with using a cloth except to touch up around the window corners.  So I had to carefully apply more - very light - coats of stain with the brush.  Because the new coats were so light I had to apply multiple coats.  I didn't want to risk making this first door darker than the second door.


As you can see, I placed tape on the windows which turned out to be a waste of time.  The windows were still covered in the shipped protective plastic.  Also, some times the tape was against the wood and prevented the stain from reaching it.  I took the tape off for the later coats of stain.


When talking with my uncle Curt the end of November I was confident I would be done with the pantry doors easily by Christmas.  That was before I started staining.

Slowing me down was that I did the stain inside the house as it was too cold outside.  Due to the limited room I could only work on one door at a time.

Day 1: one side of one door.
Day 2: the other side of the door.
Day 3: the second coat on side one.
Day 4: the second coat on side two.

Day 5: side one of the second door.

and so on.  Each coat was another day.

Days went by.

Once I finally got the doors to a similar shade of stain it was time to apply the polyurethane coat of sealant.

You know the drill: two doors, two sides, two coats -- multiple, multiple days.

It would have been nice to apply the polyurethane sealant outside as it had a strong smell as it dried.

As you can see multiple coats of stain left the stirring stick dark.  The other side of the stick was used to stir the polyurethane sealant.

Once the staining was finally complete it was time to permanently install the door frame and doors.

The rough opening wasn't completely square so I had sand the upper right side to get everything to fit perfectly.  A side effect is that the shelves didn't not fit once I permanently installed the door frame.  If you remember I had installed the shelves while waiting for the doors to be done staining.  Because I had now squared the door frame the shelves on one side no longer fit.

After a little more cutting and trimming they did.

Because I moved the shelves repeatedly I had to touch up the red walls with paint.

Because my hands are never clean - even after washing them with soap - I had to repaint the white shelves several times as merely washing them did not remove my dirty finger prints after handling the shelves.


After a few bonks and cuts on my head due to the re-mudding and re-painting...

I was done.  I finished the work on Saturday.  Tammy complains it took me 20 months to finish the pantry but I don't think it took that long.
 

Here are photos from the beginning of the remodel...

The final result (against an unpainted wall):

It looks a little better now don't you think?