Halfapint's Getting Some Land

[Halfapint]

I was so confused when I saw this! I was like WTF are you posting this for, then I realized the “large beans” I can tell my NSA guy is back at work. I read through my posts and have actually seen words change from what I spelled (correctly) to something different.

I just wish the NSA guy (or gal) would introduce themselves.

[flybynight]

I was so confused when I saw this! I was like WTF are you posting this for, then I realized the “large beans” I can tell my NSA guy is back at work. I read through my posts and have actually seen words change from what I spelled (correctly) to something different.

I just wish the NSA guy (or gal) would introduce themselves.

Haha. I found a picture of some car sized beans ( for structural repair ) but couldn't post that pic. Amazingly the picture of the fresh large beans was too large to post . Had to content myself with the inferior canned variety ( with pork for the win) .

[Halfapint]

Time for an update:

I caught the plague, so Sunday\Monday were a bust. I just felt like crap. I went to on Sunday just to get the truck because it was suppose to snow, and snow it did. We got about 6” of snow. Monday night I finally started feeling better.

Today the gf and I went and got a wood chipper, we looked for a used one and just didn’t see anything that seemed to fit what we needed or was way overkill (PTO driven or 12+ HP). So we bought a harbor freight one, takes 3” branches, and I can attest it takes 3 1/2” maple, it didn’t like it, but it chewed it up. We ran it for about 20 minutes and came out with 2 bags (comes with a 5’ long tube bag) of chips. We plan on covering the ivy with the chips to kill it off and to “beautify” areas.

Also we got the new tires put on the tractor and it does really damn well! Still didn’t have enough weight to get up the steepest part of the hill with a loaded trailer (300-400lbs) without spinning the tires and going no where. Oh well, something to work on.

[ZMace]

If the tractor needs more weight, those fat tires will hold a lot of ballast. An ag dealer near you could put in something like rim guard, or if you feel like doing it yourself, cold temp windshield washer fluid could also work. Depending on the tire size, should be able to get 60 or more pounds per tire, cheaper than wheel weights.

[Halfapint]

Thanks for the suggestion, I’m probably going to bring it somewhere. I should have asked when I was getting them mounted, but totally spaced.

I’m also going to add some weights to the front as well. It’s got a little recover hitch on the front I’m going to weld a bar to hold some weights up there. The front wheels really don’t like to grip when turning.

[ZMace]

Chains would also help, my snow removal tractor doesn't leave the shop without them. I only run rear chains (2wd tractor) but I have heard of people running all four tires, even on two wheel drive tractors to improve turning ability.

I can't tell from the pictures, but if you have independent breaks, that can help a lot too.

[Halfapint]

Chains would also help, my snow removal tractor doesn't leave the shop without them. I only run rear chains (2wd tractor) but I have heard of people running all four tires, even on two wheel drive tractors to improve turning ability.

I can't tell from the pictures, but if you have independent breaks, that can help a lot too.

It actually handles really well in the snow, even going up the hill (without trailer), it never started to break free. It’s only when trying to tow the trailer up the steepest point with about 300-400 lbs ok it. With less I’m sure it wouldn’t have an problem.

I’m not sure exactly how the brakes work on it. I know when I press the brake, it loosens the drive belt, I assume it does have actual brakes. I’m going to get it into the air and take the back end off it to inspect it a bit (and clean it up, this thing has 2” of caked on grass clippings on everything) and to fab some brackets for another project. I plan to check how it actually brakes and if I can upgrade them a bit.

[Halfapint]

Snowpoclypse happened. We gor over 16” of snow on the property. Which doesn’t sound like a lot but when the hill coming up to the property is 19% grade and about 200’ of elevation gain. It makes for a bit of a pain in the ass.

We actually didn’t do shit, I went up to help clear snow so grandparents could get around, I tried to borrow a trailer so I could get the tractor out to help clear snow places but couldn’t get one. I did use the truck and pulled people out of ditches, ran errands for people who couldn’t get out. All in all it was a total waste.

I did do some reloading, I reloaded about 4000rds of 223 and ghetto sealed then with nail polish. Gotta say, nail polish is a great sealer. Had 10 ex’s sitting in water for 48hrs and when I pulled them apart not a single one had any moisture in it, powder was as dry as a bone and lit and burned as it should. So yay!

[Halfapint]

Hey all, I apologize for not updating. Tthough I’m sure people are thankful for not seeing my thread at the top all the time It’s been a few weeks well, a month actually so here’s an update!

The snow melted, and I was able to get to eork. The HF wood chipper we bought? An absolute BEAST! No joke, if it fits down the shoot it’ll chip, 4” dried and cured maple? No problem. We chipped nearly all of limps that we had thrown to the side from the trees we cut down. We are using the chippings to cover ivy in areas we aren’t trying to go in by hand and clear. So far, it’s working. I made a tow bar for the chipper, the first one I made was shit, just a piece of scrap metal with some stiff to hold it on. This one is heavy duty and works great.

We moved a bunch more stuff. Mostly clearing to get ready to level, dug up s few big ass boulders that we thought were rocks. Funny how the iceberg effect happens.

The gfs mom came up for a couple days. I don’t remember if I posted she had an accident a ew months ago when her and the gf were working. She slipped and buried the chainsaw into her leg. She was fine, a few stitches and good to go. She’s now banned from chainsaw work, obviously. But that woman is a machine! You point at an area you want cleared and she’s die there ripping everything out! She single handed my ckeared probably a 70’x20 foot section of ivy, garbage scrubs, debris, trash, whatever. It looks amazing. But now has me worried. All that underbrush and leave material helps cover the ground when it’s git to keep moisture in.

With that thought I transplanted a bunch of germs from other areas of the property to help keep the ground covered. I’m also looking at buying native shrubs like huckleberries, Oregon grape, even nonnative like currants, and possibly other stiff to start an edible food Forrest and help protect the ground from direct sun.

I worked on a lot of progrcts whole the snow and rain were in town. I found s spoon blank my grandfather had cut out and carved it. It’s amdzing his things like that just come back. I haven’t carved in, 20 years? And once I felt the wood it just came back.i ckeared and organized some of the shop. The gf and I went and bought a bunch of the black and yellow totes from Costco and organized our garage. I went full OCD and deprecated, organized, labeled on three sides the contexts, and stacked them. We wet from a couple dozen odd shaped totes and containers, to a single set and it’s easily accessible.

I wend down to the side of the property and checked out the orchard. It’s been neglected for grandma estimated at least 15 years. Found some good and bad stuff. The good is that the deer have bend though there along with mountain beaver taking care of a lot of the vegetation. The bad is the part they haven’t ckeared is 15 years of blackberries. So I went through with a machete and cleared a bath and today put the blade on the weedehscker and went to town. I went crazy on everything and think I cut most stalks at the ground level. So it’s just maintaining making sure it’s doesn’t start up again.

With that said there is no way I will be able to move all the old dead blackberry vines, it’s in an area that the big tractor can’t get to, but Puttputt can. So I’m looking for a snowplow or something I can mount, add teeth to, and go through and rip everything out. Add that to projects.

I’m dire there’s stuff I’m forgetting but it’s been busy. I forget how much I love working out there when it’s nice.

I’ll post a picture dump later, and I’m not proofing this before because I’m exhausted.thanks everyone for reading along. I’ll post pictures in a day or so with captions!

[SCBrian]

4am posts are allowed to have grammar/spelling errors, it's in the rules somewhere. Cant wait to see the pictures, vicariously living the dream!

[MPMalloy]

4am posts are allowed to have grammar/spelling errors, it's in the rules somewhere. Cant wait to see the pictures, vicariously living the dream!

Yes. We all live the dream thru you, Half.

:awesome: !

[ineffableone]

Hey thanks for giving me the tip on the tractor last night Halfapint. I have been going down the rabbit hole of internet searching the topic of turning them into atv's.

I liked some of the mods this guy did on his

[Halfapint]

Hey thanks for giving me the tip on the tractor last night Halfapint. I have been going down the rabbit hole of internet searching the topic of turning them into atv's.

I liked some of the mods this guy did on his

Yep! That’s awesome! I’m definitely doing the rear dif weld. And once I get sometime I’m sealing the pullies. But yeah, you can see a little weight in the tires, and minor work, you got yourself a redneck quad!

The only other thing I would add to list of thing is reinforcing the rear tow hold thing. I use mine to haul trailers and thing and with some of the weigh the small gauge steel was starting to warp. I welded some washers on it and it really made all the difference!

[Halfapint]

INCOMING! Here’s a pic dump from the last few weeks. I’m terrible at taking pictures I get in the mind set and just go. So these are not in any order, but I’ll throw some catptions in on them.




Bought some ammo because it’s getting so cheap, I can’t reload 300bo for as cheap as I bought it. Plus a shoutout to StormCrow for the knives. Also stocked up on 5k 22lr. These got sealed with thicker gasket and absorbers for long term storage. Then I got OCD, and cleaned the garage and organized the ammo. This is about half, I keep finding cans here and there but they are getting top labels and front labels for easy storage. I did the same to the totes with camping and other items.


Tractor hit 100.0 hrs, maintainance on it was checking the fluids, but I got new hydraulic filters and air filter.


I was digging out rocks and moving mulch from the chipper when I saw this sticking out, so I dug it up. The property was logged about 40 years before my grand parents bought it and built on it in the mid 70s so you’re talking a 80+ year old stump, did I mention it’s pure fat wood? Yep. That’s getting sectioned up.



A buddy called us up and asked for help, wind storm came along and knocked this down. He doesn’t have any tools to do it so, we came over for some beer and cleaned it out of his neighbors are. Did I mention the GF LOOOOOVES chainsaws?


The tow hole was starting to elongate so welded some washers. Not the best weld job but hey, works out.


At the same time I made a new tow bar for the chipper.



Found this thought it was a rat tunnel, come to found out there are things called mountain beaver. Look similar to a traditional beaver but doesn’t have a big tail. Who knew!



Went down to the orchard and saw this, I’m guessing it’s some sort of fungus or something but the tree is just dripping sap. I’ve been collecting it. I believe it’s an apple tree waiting until spring to find out for sure. They are all getting ripped out and replaced. I want to identify which is which so I can chip then for smoking.





Found an old blank grandpa had cut to make a spoon. I wanted to play with the lathe so I put it on and next time I know I’m carving a spoon. I have carved in 20years but it comes right back once you feel the wood. Not bad I think. I’ve hactually has people request I make them a set. We’ll see I want to make a few more vetoes I decide but the money they were talking for wooden spoons was a bit crazy, so I probably will.

Thanks for the kind words above everyone! This is it for now, the gf just landed I will get her to send me some of the pictures she took. And do another dump for giggles.

[Halfapint]

Sorry I haven't updated, big changes at work. I spent the last month getting a training schedule set, then training the new people. The weather has also been crap after an incredibly dry winter we got some rain. I've been doing some small projects like reorganizing things, I picked up 4 6'x4' windows for the greenhouse I'm going to start this late summer. I found a small trailer that is going to become my dump trailer for the property, the last trailer did not work out well. Helped a buddy out by towing a truck from one friends house, to the property, and we are going to get it up and running so he has a truck.

I got the shaft at work, I have the most knowledge, did the training classes, but have the least seniority so I now am on 8's and have Wed/Thrus off..... But I'm off a lot earlier so hopefully I can get things going after work as well!

[Halfapint]

I'm back! Well hopefully I'll be back to updating this more often only one more week where I work 9 days in a row.

Had some minor health issues I've had to deal with. First was food impaction in my esophagus. That was an interesting evening, ended up having to get scoped and when they were in there saw I had a pretty severe narrowing of the esophagus and that I need more tests. So I had some biopsies done on Tuesday. Nothing major just to see what's wrong.

Only having 2 days off now kind of sucks as far as trying to get things done on the property. I was able to get up there and do some work on our trailer we are converting to a mini dump trailer. It's previous life it was a jetski trailer. it had a really long tongue so I cut if off a bit, removed the wood rails, removed the lights, and mocked up a rough design. I was originally going to build a scissor lift with a some linear actuators. but that's just added complication and for what I'm going to use it for, a hand crank winch would be faster and lift more. Plus if I want to get lazy I can just use an electric winch.

I also picked up from my buddy who runs an industrial laundry a basket from one of his washers that got destroyed by when it was getting repaired. This is going to be the start of my trammel. This thing is huge. I'll use it as the main sifter, it has holes about a 1/3 of an inch or so which will be great for getting plain dirt. I'll eventually do something to attach some barrels or something and allow the larger rocks to go out the back then get classified to aggregate and stones for walls.

I forgot to take pics of the trailer so I just added the one from when I hauled it off. Also the windows we picked up after stripping all the plastic and aluminum siding off.







This one I sent to the GF (she was working) and titled it. How to work the tractor when your partner isn’t here. I looped a ratchet strap around the arm rest and attached it to the bucket actuator. So I could lift the bucket up and hold the basket because it would t stay on.


ETA: helps to add the photos

[Halfapint]

it Sucks only getting 1, maybe 2 days off. Spend today up doing some projects. Had a friend up who helped clean a lot of things (didn’t get pics due it pouring down rain. But we cleaned a lot of the stuff around the house. Cleared tons of ivy, lots of creeping ground cover, and lots of debis.

Driving up to the property what used to be 20+ acres of forest, disappeared in maybe 2 weeks. I noted some equipment up there a while ago, drove the back way in last week and this week this. I’m assuming a huge housing development. Problem is..... there’s already 1/2mile line of cars that held up going up and down this road. And unless they are going to excavate 80’ of hillside to build a wider road. There’s no way to ease it. Great.

Once finished I finally wired the new lights on top of Puttputt, day late, dollar short. Could have realize used it in winter but HS so many other things going I didn’t spend time on lights. Hooked them up to the original switch, works great! Even wired the wires through the original headlight plastic tubing. Also cut the back panel off puttputt to build myself a better hitch and have access the transmission. Going to take it apart and weld the diff together here in a couple days if I can.

Also nothing fancy but just a small bench outside. I much prefer working outside even when raining. So used the barrels and found some old hacked up fencing and poof! Work bench. I’ll upgrade it later and make it nicer.

[Halfapint]

Finally done with my messed up work schedule but still only have 2 days off a week which makes it hard when I'm trying to focus on getting our beekeeping operation up and going as well. So one day at the property and one day working on bees and getting other projects/errands done makes for little work on the property.

I did finish the major projects on the mini tractor I wanted. I've got the hitch on, weights on the front, lights hooked up and working (with the original switch!), and the new front tires installed. Only other major project would be getting a large tool box mounting it on the back with the extended hitch I built to add weight and making wheel weights, then welding the diff together on it so its posi-trac all the time. While working on Puttputt I was cleaning some rust and welds and the flap sand disk I was using caught an edge or something ripping it out of my hand and ripping through my ring finger on my left hand down to bone. Cleaned it out and bandaged it and it's doing well. Just hard to bend because its right on the joint. Other than

Would you guys like to see in here pictures of our beekeeping adventures? The gf has been thinking of starting a YT channel to document the bees. She does FB live videos and her friends seem to love it.

Next project is going to be building dump trailer. I'm just going to go simple with it and nothing super fancy, hand crank lift using a winch and some home made heavy duty hinges made out of bolts to start.

I've tabled the idea for the soil sifter, we are nearly done with the majority of the earth works projects for a bit. We will be clearing some land down by the well (it's flat down there) for some storage and what not but nothing like the amount of work we did on the road.

[boskone]

Would you guys like to see in here pictures of our beekeeping adventures? The gf has been thinking of starting a YT channel to document the bees. She does FB live videos and her friends seem to love it.

I would. When I get land I'm hoping for a mix of hives and cattle for an ag exemption, so I'm always interested in seeing how people handle it; seeing a newb setting up would probably be useful.

(No apologies at all for wanting to use you as a guinea pig. )

[Halfapint]

(No apologies at all for wanting to use you as a guinea pig. )

hahaha we'll I've been beekeeping for 10 years, but we've been neglecting it over the last 4 years or so due to the property and such. I'll get some pictures and such to post up.

[boskone]

(No apologies at all for wanting to use you as a guinea pig. )

hahaha we'll I've been beekeeping for 10 years, but we've been neglecting it over the last 4 years or so due to the property and such. I'll get some pictures and such to post up.

Curses...foiled again!

Thanks.

[Halfapint]

Here’s some of the pics I had taken this year.

Typical langstroth 10 frame hive


Here’s a great looking frame, you’ll see the capped honey all along the outside, and brood in the middle. They use the honey as insulation in winter.


Close up of the of the same frame. Capped wax on top, larve, and capped brood.


I did t have a pic of the honey super before I started decaping the honey. But this is he hot knive talking tbr was cappings off.


A perfect honey super.

[boskone]

Cool. So you just leave the combs with honey and brood alone, and decap the honey-only ones?

[Halfapint]

Cool. So you just leave the combs with honey and brood alone, and decap the honey-only ones?

Yes, here in the PNW we have long wintered, not cold, just looooong. So the bottom two boxes will always bee for brood and honey. Once those two are built up, it’s time to put a queen excluder on and start pumping out the honey.

I ran over to moms to drop something off and snapped this pic.