Spring is near!!

[gearhead]

http://www.harborfreight.com/propane...ter-91037.html

Here is what Texas ranchers call a pear burner. Used to burn the thorns off prickly pear cactus so cattle can eat it in bad times. This ought to get you out of the barn!
That Old Ocean area is an interesting part of early Texas. I need to get down there and visit that Varner-Hogg State Historical Park. You've also got Brazos Bend State Park right there. I think old Jim Bowie was trying to build a big sugar cane operation down there before he got trapped in the Alamo.
We used to go offshore out of Freeport. You get to deeper water quicker than off Galveston down there. Further south the trout and reds should be turning on with some south wind and warm water. Good luck! Give us a fishing report!

[JRTJH]

Yup, that part of southeast Texas is in a "world of its own" so to speak. Way back when, I spent several summers with my Uncle in Old Ocean. For a high school kid from the sticks, it was great to be that close to Houston yet still able to go rattlesnake hunting every morning. We used to start fishing at sunup and eat supper well after the sun went down and it got cool enough to sit on the porch and swat flies LOL Great times and many memories of that area when I was growing up.

I've got one of those burners that I bought at Harbor Freight years ago to burn fire ant hills (didn't work BTW). Mine doesn't have the igniter, I use a long reach propane lighter to get it going.

My only concern is that the pole barn door is 2x8 construction with the metal screwed to the framework. If, with my luck, I should happen to get too close, the volunteer FD is in the next town over and would have to dig out to get to me. I'd hate to stand by and watch my boat, 4 wheelers, lawn tractor, brush hog and trailer turn into charcoal. Now that would be one UGLY sight......

If I had a metal framed door, I wouldn't mind scorching the paint on the bottom to "escape", but I hesitate with all that wood..... I know, no guts no glory.... LOL

An additional "current status report": Current temp: -5 (it's noon) High today: 1 Low tonight -16 Snowfall: 6-8" with drifting. Schools are closed today and tomorrow (again)..... Now, where the heck did I put that "pear burner" ????? It's getting to be more and more a matter of "I gotta leave" LOL

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

. Now, where the heck did I put that "pear burner" ????? It's getting to be more and more a matter of "I gotta leave" LOL[/B][/I]

With your luck .... IT'S IN THE BARN!!!!!!

[SAABDOCTOR]

John since everything is in the "freezer"(It won't go bad) I would jump in the f250 and head down south and rent a camper before you completly lose your mind! or is the truck in the barn too? I know the mind is gone... just like mine. I know more snow is coming on monday! FLARP! now that feels better

[mikell]

9 and snowing hard out, here in Southwest Michigan. supposed to get up to 20 next week.

[JRTJH]

Hank, It's in the barn behind the house with all my tools. The tractor, 1 4 wheeler, the snow blower, tools, etc are "real close" I can get in this pole barn, it has a roll up door (10x10). They didn't want to put a 14' rollup in the "new pole barn" and I needed at least 13'6" in case I wanted to add anything to the roof of the Cougar. I can get in that barn through the side "people door" and once in, I can get the 10x10 roll up door open, I just can't get the sliding door "unstuck"..... It'll happen, sooner or later (I HOPE!!!!)

Barney, We could head south and stay with relatives or in cabins at some of the fish camps along the coast. My "hope" was to spend about a month in south Texas, then "mosey" back north via Dallas, OK city, Wichita, St Louis, and then over to Ohio to visit grandkids. That's hard to do without that "thing" dragging along behind us... <sigh> I know how you feel about more snow.... I'm fast running out of places to stack it. It's past just pushing it, has been for a month plus.... I've got an 8' high reach with my front end loader and I'm dumping right now with it rolling back down partway. I can't get over the pile to dump more and it's frozen so tight it's nearly impossible to push it at the top. So, Now I'm stacking it across the drive where the rose bushes are.... <SHHHHHH> If DW doesn't notice, I won't get yelled at

mikell, You say it's 9 out and snowing hard... supposed to be 20 next week. Is that 20 temperature or added snowfall???? <Yikes> LOL

I just finished plowing the drive and back yard... Yeah, I plow the yard so the dog can go out.... It's -2 right now. I don't think we're going to see that "daytime high" of 1 today. So far it's been below 0 all day.....

[SAABDOCTOR]

john i am lucky i have malamutes they love this stuff! THEY DIG IN THE SNOW TO MAKE A HALF A#% IGLOO AND FALL AS SLEEP. once it hits zero they stop panting and realy love to run in the snow. when i have the blower on the tractor running the big one tries to eat the flying snow at least someone is having fun

[JRTJH]

Barney,

I've been looking at 3 pt snowblowers for my tractor. The most practical seems to be a 6' with hydraulic chute. My only issue is I don't really have any place to store it during the summer (assuming we do have one) and the cost. It's upwards of $2500 plus $500 to install the rear hydraulics. That also means operating backwards in the seat with no cab..... I'd really like a front blower, but that's almost $6000. Unless I'm going to plow for money (I really don't want to commit and not be able to leave/sleep late/just relax, so I prefer to just do it for myself). That's a chunk of investment for just my drives and yard. What I've got is a 7' back blade and a FEL. It works well most of the time, but this year.... YIKES.... My luck, I'll buy a blower and it won't snow for 3 years..... I do have a small walk behind blower for the sidewalks and to get to the gas meter/electric meter, but I'm not using that on a 1/4 mile drive LOL

We've got a German Wirehair Pointer. He loves the snow and would stay out all day if we let him. The problem is that when it's 4' deep and he's a 2' dog, it's not real conducive to squatting, so he sort of "won't go" until he can get on top of the snow. When it's powder and won't support him, he's not a "happy camper" so it's just as easy to keep him a place to "wander around and do his business"..... Otherwise, once he's done, he's buried in snow and smells like a wet dog all the time. Either outside or in front of the fireplace... What a life, eh??? LOL

[hankpage]

John, You might want to rig up something like this for the Wire Hair. Two inches of snow is a wake up call for a Doxie.

[PT RV`er]

Spring is right around the corner and I`m looking forward to it. Although our temps have not been bad, it`s all the rain. Seems like every 3 or 4 days we get another 2 to 3 inches of the wet stuff. I`ve been trying to build a pole barn for the RV but can`t get past the framing for the pad. Our water table is extremely high right now and if I were to get a load of crushed concrete in on my property, I think the dump truck might sink. I`ve been at this stage for several months waiting on some dry weather. Until the water table drops, I`m floating, hoping that spring will bring some much needed drier days.

[JRTJH]

PT RV`er,

We get much the same conditions in the spring with the snow melt. All the roads have reduced weight limits while the ground is saturated. Here, it's either get it delivered while the ground is frozen (and hope they dump it in the right place) or wait until summer when the ground is dry. Up here everything is sand, so we can get 2" of rain today and have dusty roads tomorrow. Certainly not like the "gumbo mud" in Louisiana that I'm familiar with LOL

Are you getting the crushed concrete to use as a foundation filler, a base in the pole barn or to build a drive? When we built ours last winter, we completed the building in January and then dumped crushed limestone for the drive and floor in June when the snow was gone. I pushed it into the building with the tractor and then leveled it all. To me, it seemed the easiest way to get the building up and dry. It was a sandy floor till spring, but the building was finished other than the limestone.

[SAABDOCTOR]

John That driving backwards is nuts I would go crazy. I have a blower on a Wheel horse tractor. I found a cab for it and as long as stay ahead of the snow. 12" or less it works great. I rigged up a heater off the muffler. like the heater cuff on an air plane so I stay nice and warm. My drive way is a long hill with a high wall on one side house on the other. so plowing is out! takes about 2 hours to do it. Now we have TITAN coming I think you'll be getting that storm tonight or saturday we get it on sunday through monday. Maybe after this one it will start to warm up. Stay safe everyone no heart attacks from shoveling!!!