We closed on the property on March 4th, 2016. And while technically the bank owns it, we are now landowners. Everything went according to plan. It was actually quite a
More infoAmber Oaks Ranch is Ours
I Need a Drink
Water is fundamental to life, so when I we were choosing the property, it was one of the primary considerations for selections. I was told that the local water supply coop
More infoAnd More Water – Part I
As everyone is suffering from post-election exhaustion here in the USA, we at Amber Oaks are focused on ways to distance ourselves from those who wish to rule us. I’m
More infoAnd More Water – Part II
It didn’t take long for the cisterns and small pond to fill up, so I expanded the puddle to a full-fledged pond. This will make a nice water feature in
More infoSomething 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
More infoAnd 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
More infoSurviving 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
More infoCurb 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
More infoIsn’t it Swale
Added more earthworks to the ranch. This time I put a swale in as the first phase of my orchard. A swale is basically a ditch on contour. The idea
More infoDisappointing Hay Harvest
I had a few acres cut for hay this year as the cows weren’t keeping up and it was going to seed. On 25 acres I only got 15 bales.
More infoSecond Chance on Cutting Hay
My previous post was about a disappointing hay harvest. Well, the second cutting exceeded my expectations. I got 39 bales of hay off of ~15 acres. This same area only
More info