Monday, April 30, 2012

All of April

 It's the last day of April.
 So, I guess I better share all the things I was too lazy to post.   Like birds making a nest in all the tractors, trucks and wherever else.
 My very weedy garden.  Good news, since then I have sprayed and pulled weeds.
 I haven't seen a real frog at Frog pond, but I did find one in the garden.
 Yet, another view of the same mountain.

 Even the tractor has to have seed bags shoved in crevices to keep the nesting from taking over.
 Here's to a May with more motivation to take and post photos.








Thursday, April 26, 2012

Aloe and Then Some

 Two aloe vera plants that are 3ft + tall.  They started out as one almost dead plant when I arrived at the Dismal Land and Livestock Company.  They have since been divided many times over.  Here we are doing it once again.

 And my helper.
 Boyd dumped the dirt in for me and on my arm!

 Two plants turned into 13.  They are growing in the south window of the old house. Anyone need an aloe vera plant?

Ramp

My dad got a new shed about 10 yrs ago and he built a ramp so that the riding mower could get in and out.  Over time and many seasons of flood irrigation, it basically rotted.  So, Boyd and I offered to fix it.
 This is a cool view of the mold under the wood.  Looks like a piece of art to me!

 I don't have a picture of the bottom section, but it was certainly the worst.
 We took out all the boards and replaced them with redwood 2X4's.
 Pressure treated lumber for the 2X4's to rest on.
 Added gravel under all the places wood was touching the ground.

 Kind of handy to have a helper whose foot is exactly 12 inches long.  Makes for a great spacing tool!
 We used the EXPENSIVE decking, but it shouldn't rot. Did you know if you use your left-hand to build, it is good luck?  Yep, that's right! And Boyd put all those hours of watching the home repair shows on KUED to good use! 
And, now a finished ramp for mom!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Are you there?

Hi,
    Is anyone even checking in on this poor, neglected blog?  I have a whole lot of things to post about, but not enough time/desire to find the photos and get them uploaded.  Sometime soon!  Just wanted to apologize for the header changes.  Just playing around with photoshop.  FYI, the one that is up certainly isn't staying.
   

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Setting Sun

It's been a while since I posted any sunsets.  I had to trespass on the neighbor's land to get these shots, hope he doesn't mind. 
 

 The guy who taught my class would say that the clouds are uninteresting.
 I like them.
 I did use my tripod so they wouldn't be out of focus.
 The next three are an example of bracketing.  You take one shot underexposed like the one below.
 Another shot over-exposed.
 And, then one on the "0".  Then you get to decide if your camera is reading everything correctly and then adjust as needed.  The one in the middle (one the "0") should be perfect.

Friday, April 13, 2012

And It Wasn't Even Friday the 13th

(This post provided by Boyd, including the photos, story and the BIG, FAT LIES about the wife's willingness to help!)
It happened it at 9:00 at night. I had spent two days getting the two fields ready to plant before the storm came in.  The ground seemed dry, but wouldn't you know it!  I found a muddy, wet section.  Knowing that my wife was asleep and wasn't willing to help me anyway, since she hadn't called me in hours, I knew it was up to me to get myself out.   The tractor could still move backwards and forwards, so I rocked it. Since I was attached not only to the seedbed maker, but also the harrows, I ended up driving over the top trying to get out.  The harrows were buried in mud and required a separate tractor to come pull them out of the mud. I finally got everything straightened out, but there will be a hole in the field there for a season or two  I just wish that I was married to a wife who loved me enough to come pull me out 









It looks like he is going really fast, but it is just over 6 miles per hour.

Last Day of Class

Tomorrow is the last day of my photography class and we get to have our photos critiqued. These are the ones I plan on showing. I am really curious to hear the review.





















Clouds - March 14th