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...
More infoGetting 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...
More infoWe’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...
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 Fathead Minnows ($475). Unfortunately, half of the crappie were dead...
More infoWorking 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...
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 got around to completing the system. When I built the cistern, I left a 2″ stub up in order to...
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 rate, and had plenty of time to move through the terrain and make its way off...
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 for several months and were quite unsightly – with weeds growing in great...
More infoReview of Cattle Business
Well 2017 concludes my first year in the cattle business. And I must say, I made some big mistakes. 1. I paid too much for most of my cattle. I was paying premium price on moderate quality animals, and I was paying bred heifer pricing...
More infoLessons from Winter Calving
Heading toward Christmas I could see the bellies swelling and the udders filling. I knew we were going to have some winter calves. I pulled two heifers out of the heard (#12 & #21) and put them in a paddock with hay so I could...
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 being that runoff acclimates in the ditch and slowly infiltrates the soil instead of running off...
More infoLiving la Vino Loco
I’m not a big wine drinker, but when Molly and I visited Fredericksburg this spring I couldn’t help but pick up a few grape vines. I picked up 2 of each of the three varieties available – Black Spanish, Blanc du Bois, and Champanel. ...
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