Monday was a bit of a day of rest. Rain is moving in for most of the week, which is going to hamper the pond dock work. The ground I'm working on is heavily sloped - perhaps a 30 degree angle, although it varies a lot. Two days of wind and the surface is dry enough for the tractor to maneuver without concern. However a bit of rain turns it into very slick and sticky clay.
Still managed to accomplish a few things: Called the fish guy for Thursday delivery of our initial pond stock. We are stocking fathead minnows and shiners in the little 1/2 acre pond. That will become a bit of a bait pond, and a refugia, beyond its primary duty as a water supply for the cattle. During heavy rains, some minnows and shiners will be washed down into the main pond, providing an everlasting supply in case things get out of balance. For the main pond (~4 acres when its full, perhaps 1 now) we are stocking those plus some bluegill and redear sunfish. In 2016 will will add bass, channel cats, and crappie.
We could stock at a heavier rate and add the bass this fall, but are opting to use time to our financial advantage. Its real easy to spend thousands on stocking fish in order to have a fishing pond sooner rather than later. I prefer hundreds and later...
Have hopefully made progress fixing the bed cover on the pickup truck. The metal trailing edge of the fiberglass rolling cover broke free. This is the edge we normally handle the cover with, so pretty much made the cover useless. Found some slow drying, extra strong Loctite glue that I'm giving a try with. I've had this problem in the past, and used a silicon based glue, but it only lasted a year or two. Hoping this will be more permanent. Alas, it takes 36 hours to reach full strength, so will avoid using it until Wednesday.
I did manage to get a few more boards up on the dock before it started to drizzle. Nothing much, just some spacing and alignment guides in preparation for drilling the next set of holes. Needed my plumb bob, which was in the house, and decided that was a good excuse for calling it a day. Besides, Tad (my boss) had called and asked if I could participate in a client call around 5:30pm, and I didn't want to miss that.
Call went well, although followup required a couple of hours of evening work for Tad and I. Unfortunately my Internet connection started acting up: dropping, taking 5+ minutes to reestablish itself, then dropping again 5-15 minutes later. In the city, one would call an 800 number, provide various levels of identification, go through a front line help desk, perhaps be given the sage advice of "Please power cycle the box - that should clear it up" (which, of course, I did after the first issue), etc. Out here in the country, I called Jason, who works for the phone company, at his home, and was greeted with a "Hello Mr. Carpenter, how are things going?". He offered to come out Tuesday morning (actually, now... typing this while I wait for him).
Gotta love country life: Lumber yards that apologize if they can't deliver (for free) the same day, and don't require a signature "because I forgot to grab a pen and you always pay your bills". Telephone/Internet support that is perfectly happy when customers call them at home in the evening. Neighbors that watch out for your house and property - because its the right thing to do. Auto mechanics that actually charge you the real price for parts and actual time spent fixing something - not some inflated book time. Hardware stores where the staff knows you name... (oh, and there actually is a helpful staff). And of course, peace and quiet (except for the bullfrogs, and now the geese).
Why the cat photo? Everyone loves cat photos! Now if I could just teach him to stop walking on the keyboard...
Still managed to accomplish a few things: Called the fish guy for Thursday delivery of our initial pond stock. We are stocking fathead minnows and shiners in the little 1/2 acre pond. That will become a bit of a bait pond, and a refugia, beyond its primary duty as a water supply for the cattle. During heavy rains, some minnows and shiners will be washed down into the main pond, providing an everlasting supply in case things get out of balance. For the main pond (~4 acres when its full, perhaps 1 now) we are stocking those plus some bluegill and redear sunfish. In 2016 will will add bass, channel cats, and crappie.
We could stock at a heavier rate and add the bass this fall, but are opting to use time to our financial advantage. Its real easy to spend thousands on stocking fish in order to have a fishing pond sooner rather than later. I prefer hundreds and later...
Have hopefully made progress fixing the bed cover on the pickup truck. The metal trailing edge of the fiberglass rolling cover broke free. This is the edge we normally handle the cover with, so pretty much made the cover useless. Found some slow drying, extra strong Loctite glue that I'm giving a try with. I've had this problem in the past, and used a silicon based glue, but it only lasted a year or two. Hoping this will be more permanent. Alas, it takes 36 hours to reach full strength, so will avoid using it until Wednesday.
I did manage to get a few more boards up on the dock before it started to drizzle. Nothing much, just some spacing and alignment guides in preparation for drilling the next set of holes. Needed my plumb bob, which was in the house, and decided that was a good excuse for calling it a day. Besides, Tad (my boss) had called and asked if I could participate in a client call around 5:30pm, and I didn't want to miss that.
Call went well, although followup required a couple of hours of evening work for Tad and I. Unfortunately my Internet connection started acting up: dropping, taking 5+ minutes to reestablish itself, then dropping again 5-15 minutes later. In the city, one would call an 800 number, provide various levels of identification, go through a front line help desk, perhaps be given the sage advice of "Please power cycle the box - that should clear it up" (which, of course, I did after the first issue), etc. Out here in the country, I called Jason, who works for the phone company, at his home, and was greeted with a "Hello Mr. Carpenter, how are things going?". He offered to come out Tuesday morning (actually, now... typing this while I wait for him).
Gotta love country life: Lumber yards that apologize if they can't deliver (for free) the same day, and don't require a signature "because I forgot to grab a pen and you always pay your bills". Telephone/Internet support that is perfectly happy when customers call them at home in the evening. Neighbors that watch out for your house and property - because its the right thing to do. Auto mechanics that actually charge you the real price for parts and actual time spent fixing something - not some inflated book time. Hardware stores where the staff knows you name... (oh, and there actually is a helpful staff). And of course, peace and quiet (except for the bullfrogs, and now the geese).
Why the cat photo? Everyone loves cat photos! Now if I could just teach him to stop walking on the keyboard...
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