Fall Harvest

Not bad for a day with frost on the ground. At this point I think I need some kind of hothouse tunnel made out plastic sheeting. Have to wait I while before I have time.

VIctory is mine, again

Another battle with my mower won. The pulley I ordered from sears finally arrived yesterday. I have been waiting for a month. I waited two weeks then called to check and they had forget to order it even though I had already paid so I had to wait another two weeks. Opening the box was like opening a treasure. When we can't mow the yard feels like it is closing in around you and the minute you cut the foot tall grass it is as if it had doubled in size.

I have been battling with the mower since last April when I got back from Vegas and tried to get it started and running after a long time not being used. Finally when I had almost the whole yard mowed smoke came pouring it from under it and after a few seconds the belt that drives the mowers blade shredded. I was so mad I considered showering it in gas and set it on fire.

I put the mower on hold till my folks came to visit and worked on the garden. My dad thought it ridiculous that I hadn't bought a new belt yet so he drove me up to Sears and he bought one. Thanks, Pop. Back with the belt I stood it up and tied it to a post. Resting on the back wheels is the best way to access the blades, belts or front tires. I don't have a manual, but most riding mower's will have a diagram on the deck as to how the belt goes. Since there is no tension until the mower is engaged it is easy to install the belt. I quickly had the mower back down and was drove it out to start mowing. In the yard I engaged the mower blades and started to go when I smelled the familiar burnt rubber smell and watched tiny sparks coming from under the mower. Thankfully, I managed to get it shut off before the forty dollar belt was torn to shreds. Once again I considered going for the gas can. Standing it back up again I found the problem was a mishapen drive pulley. Then I waited in frustration for a much to long before I went back up Sears and ordered another pulley.

Now after a very long wait I have the new pulley in and all

is well. The grass is mostly short and the grasshoppers fled like locusts as I destroyed thier habitat. I probably should have taken the whole mower down to Tyler County Tractor eight months ago and had them do the work like I have done in the past, but I was determined that I was going to do this myslef and get it running. Or drink a few beers and watch the damn thing burn.

The deadliest weapon known to deer: CORN

Ah the sweet taste of corn. Today I bought my first two bags of deer corn, extra clean, as it says on the bag although they eat it off the dirt so I don't know why that matters. I feel committed now like there is no backing out once the corn touches the soil. Even if I don't manage to shoot anything I feel like I will have to at least get up before daybreak with the rifle and pocket full of shells to see if anything is wandering about. I don't have any camo yet and since I am hunting on our property I don't need the neon orange vest that you are required to wear when hunting on public lands. I am also just old enough that in order to get a hunting liscense I did not have to take a hunter's education class. I was a if I was born in September in stead of July I would be required by the state to take the class.
The two spots I have picked to put out corn on are only about thirty yards from the house. Basicly I will just have to get up and go sit in my front yard or on my back porch. Walking my shooting lane I see fresh tracks all the time and I don't think I would need to put corn out down there. I can use that spot on the weekends and use the ones near the yard during the week while Luci is getting ready for work and the kids are sleeping. Not quite sure how the kids will react to waking up to the sound of gunfire.

Slash Today, Burn Tomorrow

Yard work starts to take on new meaning when the yard is a couple of acres. Especially being warm and humid, small trees and brush grow so fast you feel like you could sit on the porch and watch them grow. With the gray sky's and light rain this morning I decided to get ready for burning time. Global warming is not gonna happen unless we all contribute a little, so I will do my part to raise the sea level and the property value for millions of Americans. People burn around here all the time. The county issue's burn bans when it is dry and as far as I can tell most people observe these restrictions.

I am pretty nervous about a lighting fires out here because I grew up going to the woods once or twice a year where many a ranger station posters of Woodsy Owl assured me that only I could prevent forest fires. So I try to only burn when it has been or is pouring rain. I try to cover a pile so it will dry out. Then the pile dries out and I can burn it when everything else is soaked. This pile had been here a while but I uncovered it and piled on some new stuff I cut up with the chainsaw.

Getting a pile to light up can be a pain when it is to wet. Personally I find the best way to get em going is diesel fuel topped off with a little spray of carburator cleaner. Yes, I will admit that in the beginning I used gasoline and may have burned a large amount hair off my arms once. Drive around here at night and you will see piles burning in peoples yard all through the night. I can't bring myself to do that I have to take a hose and put it out before I go to bed or leave the house.

A fist full of beans

Our oldest daughter tore through these beans before I could even get them out of the pan. Wasn't very much but she loves fresh green beans. Most of the beans I planted didn't sprout for some reason, but the ones that have are putting out well now. I they had all come up, I would be having the bean fest o9 that I had been counting on, but instead I will have to settle for a seven year old with a happy tummy tonight.

Bell peppers,at last

I trudged out to the garden this morning through the rain to see what is going on out there. I haven't had much time to fiddle with things lately so I wasn't sure what I would find. The weeds are insane the entire bottom half has given over to weeds. I need to follow the example of the neighbors I see when I drive the girls to school. Everyone I can see has plowed there garden under. I can't get rid of anything until it totally gives up the fight and dies completely. It's the cheap bastard in me. What I planted a few weeks ago is growing slowly, except for the beans which must need hotter weather or something because they put out one small bean and then start to die right away. Thinned out a few carrots and the ones I pulled has small little roots that looked like a good start.

There is still a few things from our spring planting still hanging in there. Finally some bell peppers, all during the summer I don't think I ever got more than one or two at a time and mostly those were thin, small and light. These aren't huge, but they are thick and heavy and smell great. As long as they are putting out I will try to show a little concern, so I pulled a couple weeds right around the base. I probably shouldn't have cause I don't think your supposed to weed when it is wet, but how should I know.

A view from the sky

Last night I went on the Remington website to look for 3 inch 20 gauge buck shot shells, which they don't have, but I did find there custom map service. You can get either color Ariel photos, black & white photo's, topo maps, or a topo-photo mix which is pretty nice because you can see the roads and streams through the trees and brush, but having the photo image makes it easier to figure out what your looking at.

The ones for our place must have been taken around 2006 after it was logged, because has grown up quite a bit since this was taken. So far I few different sources for ariel photos the Microsoft TerraServer, Google Earth, and the Remington custom map feature. I am still on the fence about order a map or some photos. I could see how is you bought a really big piece of acreage that you didn't know much about you could you the photo's to locate things that my now be so overgrown you wouldn't know it was there.

The blue x is where Luci's cousin is bow hunting. His spot is right across from the small branch next the property line. I don't know if he has taken anything this season yet, but last time we talked he said he was having a problem with the pigs eating all of his corn so he put out a timed feeder. He has a couple of game camera's set up so he can see what is coming to feed. I can't imagine it will be long before the tech will be cheap enough that remote web cams will be put out and hunter's will be able to get a look at there blinds in real time. If it wasn't for security concerns I would think you would be able to do the same with satelite imagery to locate game for hunting. The technology already exsists, but the only thing hunted with it are people.

A little test fire

This morning I walked the shooting lane pulling out all the large branches and cutting up a small tree that was laying across it. I need to get the whole area clean enough to mow the lane flat and give myself a good view. The row slopes down from the road where my blind will be to the small branch that cuts through our property so I will have a downhill view and I shouldn't need a raised blind. This is not how I imagined hunting all the years I lived in the city, but wandering through the thick brush and weeds that are often four or five feet tall you see pretty quick it would be damn hard to hunt that way. Besides this way I control the area into which I will be shooting. Walking past where I pour out the Buckjam I noticed it has already had some attention the dirt was spread around and right in the middle are two hoof prints.

Back at the house I got out our rifle and went out to make sure the scope is sighted in properly. I filled up four old milk jugs with water and set them on and old pile of logs. Only needed one because it was dead on and water went a spraying. This is of course no testament to any skill on my part as a marksman. Any credit would go the guy who designed this rifle and scope. Part of me would really like to take the scope off and take some target practice without it to see how much harder it is, but I know it would take me forever to get the scope sighted in again. One thing you learn quick when you start shooting is why wars cost so damn much. Bullets ain't cheap and you can burn through cash in no time. So of course I pop off the other three milk jugs, but each time all I could think was there goes a dollar.