Curb Appeal

When I built the pond in front of the house (the one that catches the rainwater overflow) I was left with several yards of spoils.  They had been stacked up for several months and were quite unsightly – with weeds growing in great abundance.  So I finally broke down and rented a dump trailer from

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Surviving the Storm
Surviving the Storm

Hurricane Harvey passed through this month and dumped about 12″ on the ranch over a 5 day period.  It was rather insignificant as the water fell at a steady slow rate, and had plenty of time to move through the terrain and make its way off of the property.  Of course it all moved towards

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And More Water – Part III
And More Water – Part III

If you were with us for And More Water – Part I, you saw the cisterns that we put in to capture rain water from the house.  Yesterday I finally got around to completing the system. When I built the cistern, I left a 2″ stub up in order to draw water out of the

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Working on Working Cattle
Working on Working Cattle

Working cattle is a necessary endeavor that every rancher dreads.  Lots of pushing and prodding, a few rambunctious animals, and tons of poop and flies.  The challenges start when you try to round up the cattle.  It’s important to incorporate you’re working area into the cattle’s normal routine – otherwise they’ll know something is up

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Something Smells Fishy

After several months of waiting, Dunn’s Fish Farm showed up at a local feed store.  I bought 200 Channel Catfish, 200 Black Crappie, 100 Copper nose Bluegill, and 10 lbs of Fathead Minnows ($475).  Unfortunately, half of the crappie were dead when I got home.  The bags, which are filled with 1/4 water and 3/4 oxygen,

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We’re in the Cattle Business
We’re in the Cattle Business

So after several weeks of building fences and other preparations, we finally have cattle on the ranch. We have 9 adults and 5 calves that I bought from my father-in-law. The two cows that don’t have calves should be bred, so I’m off to a good start. These are Black Angus crosses.  Additionally we purchased

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Getting Hot in Here – Part II

Well, I had my day in court.  Totally unsatisfying. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, read part 1 here. Back to the story.  I spent several hours preparing my presentation to face Jon Muran in small claims court.  I prepared three copies of my invoices, cashed checks, receipts, text log, etc.  I even wrote

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A Look at the Numbers
A Look at the Numbers

Monday, November 18, 2019 We’ve been in the home for 2 months now and are wrapping up the build.  Still have a few odds and ends that hopefully will be complete in 2017.  But at this time I think it’s safe to publish the numbers – what it took to pull this off.  I’ve made

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