Stimulus check spending wish list, anyone?

[gtaus]

I spent some of my stimulus money this week. Bought the yearly tune up supplies for the riding lawn mower, oil, oil filter, gas filter, air filter, and spark sparks. I had planned on just taking the entire mower into the shop for an annual tune-up special that the store usually runs. In the past, they would do everything, oil filter and change, new gas filter, new air filter, and new spark plugs for about $89.00.

So I called them this year to see if they would be running the yearly special this spring. Found out they plan on having the special in a couple of weeks, BUT, now they just change the oil filter and oil, check everything else, and if need anything else, you have to pay extra. Not so special anymore... So I just bought everything I would need for about $20.00 and will do the servicing myself.

And speaking of sticker shock, I was considering building a new shed/out building this summer for my lawn mowers and to store bags of wood chips and/or leaves over the winter under a roof. A couple years ago, when I built my chicken coop, I was paying less than $8.00 per 4X6 sheet of OSB.

I checked the price of that same OSB today at Home Depot, and it is now $35.00 per sheet! So my wooden shed idea has dropped down to the bottom of my wish list. Instead of buying new wood, I bought a couple gallons of new paint to preserve my chicken coop wood, which I guess is now worth 4X more than when I built it!

I am now looking at building a cattle panel greenhouse instead. The cattle panels and plastic are still about the same price as last year. If I build it big enough, then I could get the lawn mowers in there along with bags of wood chips and leaves for the winter months.

I will be trying to expand the chicken run this year, so I bought 2 14X14 bird nettings to cover the top. That would triple the covered space my girls have to run around in the backyard.

Nothing too great on the list so far, but I'm stimulating the local economy a bit.

I might be building some raised garden beds with corrugated sheet metal panels. I have most of the lumber I need sitting behind the garage, so it would be a great use to put that lumber to work before it rots out. Dear Wife wants me to build some raised beds out by the chicken coop and run in the backyard. I have been thinking of doing that for a couple of years, so we are both thinking along the same lines. With all the chicken run compost I make, it would make sense to have a number of raised garden beds close to the source of the compost.

 

[CSolis]

I spent some of my stimulus money this week. Bought the yearly tune up supplies for the riding lawn mower, oil, oil filter, gas filter, air filter, and spark sparks. I had planned on just taking the entire mower into the shop for an annual tune-up special that the store usually runs. In the past, they would do everything, oil filter and change, new gas filter, new air filter, and new spark plugs for about $89.00.

So I called them this year to see if they would be running the yearly special this spring. Found out they plan on having the special in a couple of weeks, BUT, now they just change the oil filter and oil, check everything else, and if need anything else, you have to pay extra. Not so special anymore... So I just bought everything I would need for about $20.00 and will do the servicing myself.

And speaking of sticker shock, I was considering building a new shed/out building this summer for my lawn mowers and to store bags of wood chips and/or leaves over the winter under a roof. A couple years ago, when I built my chicken coop, I was paying less than $8.00 per 4X6 sheet of OSB.

I checked the price of that same OSB today at Home Depot, and it is now $35.00 per sheet! So my wooden shed idea has dropped down to the bottom of my wish list. Instead of buying new wood, I bought a couple gallons of new paint to preserve my chicken coop wood, which I guess is now worth 4X more than when I built it!

I am now looking at building a cattle panel greenhouse instead. The cattle panels and plastic are still about the same price as last year. If I build it big enough, then I could get the lawn mowers in there along with bags of wood chips and leaves for the winter months.

I will be trying to expand the chicken run this year, so I bought 2 14X14 bird nettings to cover the top. That would triple the covered space my girls have to run around in the backyard.

Nothing too great on the list so far, but I'm stimulating the local economy a bit.

I might be building some raised garden beds with corrugated sheet metal panels. I have most of the lumber I need sitting behind the garage, so it would be a great use to put that lumber to work before it rots out. Dear Wife wants me to build some raised beds out by the chicken coop and run in the backyard. I have been thinking of doing that for a couple of years, so we are both thinking along the same lines. With all the chicken run compost I make, it would make sense to have a number of raised garden beds close to the source of the compost.

Sounds like very practical items you are working on. Too bad things have gone up in price so much, but getting projects done is important too.

 

[gtaus]

Sounds like very practical items you are working on. Too bad things have gone up in price so much, but getting projects done is important too.

Yeah, I am kind of a practical guy by nature. Dear Wife has spent 30+ years trying unsuccessfully to break me out of that mold.

Anyway, quick update, today I bought some 8 foot tall T-Posts and a T-Post puller plate with my stimulus money. I plan on increasing my chicken run maybe 3X bigger than current size. I bought a 50 foot roll of 6 foot high 2X4 welded wire last year, so that is just sitting in the shed ready to be put to good use this year.

I bought a corrugated sheet metal panel I needed to make my raised garden bed. Had to buy a metal cutting blade for my circular saw at the same time so I can cut the metal down to size. I plan on building one 4X4 foot raised bed out of the sheet metal, and if that turns out OK, I might be buying more material and building a few more.

I also used some of my stimulus money to order a Heavy Duty Pocket Jig (Milescraft PocketJig300) for 2X4 and larger lumber. I had to order a box of special screws to go with the jig. I will be using that pocket jig and those screws to make the frame of my raised garden bed(s). If the project turns out good, maybe I'll post a pic or two.

Dear Wife wanted me to build a raised garden bed, or a few more, in our backyard by the chickens. Makes good sense to have a garden bed(s) close to the chicken compost. I grow the veggies, Dear Wife is into flowers.

Finally, I had to buy a new starting battery for one of my riding mowers. So I guess that came out of the stimulus money too.

Most of my stimulus money went to local businesses I want to support, but I did have to order the jig and screws from Amazon.

Well, I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy. Hope to hear what other people are spending their stimulus money on as it relates to chickens, or not.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Indeed I do.. not the greatest shot in the world, but works for me.
How I did the door frame was to bolt the cross bar on top and bottom to the outside with the 2x4's going up and down on the inside. If you get my picture. then build a door and hang it. I basically stood in the center of the cattle panel and kept bending the outer edges to me, then tied them in place while I was putting on the door frame.

The pen in the back ground was an older dog pen I had bought for Gator and didn't need. Last year it was around the kitchen garden, and this year it became a 5 x 15 foot run for Prince Charles and his two ladies. Talk about repurposing!
View attachment 2568194

How many cattle panels does that round pen take and how big is it? I love that idea, no corners for someone to get, well, cornered

 

[gtaus]

How many cattle panels does that round pen take and how big is it? I love that idea, no corners for someone to get, well, cornered

Yes, that is a good idea. Cattle panels are 16 feet long, so if you formed one panel into a circle, it would be about 5 feet across. IIRC, poster stated they made a larger circle out of 2 cattle panels, so that would be about 10 feet across. Considering that idea myself.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Our stimulus money is mostly going to our local Chevy dealer. Two of our three cars are Chevys and both of them suffered damage during the February blizzards. The little car got stuck in a drift and a neighbor threw a chain around a corner of the frame to tow it out. Note: don't do that. We had to replace the frame, at a cost of over two grand. We still owe about seven grand on it, so we couldn't just total it, sigh. And insurance doesn't cover the damage when you break your own car, so unless we wanted to sue our neighbor for helping us out .... which, no.

The other vehicle broke both front struts from hitting potholes on our gravel road. Close to a thousand for that. Sure was a blessing the stim money came just when it did! But obviously, no cruise to the Bahamas for us, lol.

 

[gtaus]

In case anyone is interested in making a raised garden bed out of corrugated steel panels and a 4X4 wood frame, here is the YouTube video that is the basis of what I will be building.

I went with this design because I already had the scrap lumber laying around behind the garage. So I did not have to buy any wood. I bought the steel panel and a steel blade for my circular saw. I also invested in the Milescraft 1326 PocketJig300 - Complete Heavy Duty Pocket Hole Jig Kit for 2X4 and larger wood which I will use to frame up the garden bed.

I may be converting this raised bed into a sub irrigated planter (SIP), which would be to add a waterproof liner in the bottom so it can hold about 3 inches of water. Then you lay down 4 inch perforated drain pipe along the bottom. You drill an overflow hole in about 3 1/2 inches so you don't flood out the planter. A vertical PVC pipe is added in one corner to fill the planter so the water wicks up from the bottom. Then you fill it up with a potting mix made up of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss or coconut coir, and 1/3 vermiculite or perlite. That's the basic idea for a SIP.

My other idea is to make a hügelkultur garden bed, which uses old rotting wood and such to fill the bottom of the bed and then compost and topsoil is put on top. I have lots of old rotting wood stacked up ready to be used for something. I already have three 4X8 foot hügelkultur raised garden beds out in the main garden, and they are working out well.

Now I just need some temps above freezing to get started....

 

[gtaus]

The little car got stuck in a drift and a neighbor threw a chain around a corner of the frame to tow it out. Note: don't do that.

Sorry for your bad luck. That was tough to read.

I have some older cars and my insurance company would not let me carry towing insurance unless I bought full coverage for my vehicles. Well, the cars were all paid for, had declined in value over the years, and it did not make sense to pay for anything more than basic, minimum legal, coverage. I got AAA towing for Dear Wife and myself, and we are covered for any tow, on any of our cars, up to 100 miles. That AAA policy sets me back about $100 per year, but it is much cheaper than paying an extra $500 for full insurance on my old vehicles just to get towing insurance from my main car insurance company.

I have not considered what would happen if the AAA approved tow truck damaged the vehicle while towing, but I suspect the towing company insurance would have to cover the damages.

Not trying to sell AAA insurance, but years ago I had bought a AAA policy for my mother on her van. My sister's family took her on a trip to Las Vegas, where my aunt was living at the time. The car broke down or had some kind of minor accident. My sister called AAA and they had a tow truck take the van to one of their approved repair/body shops. They got excellent service from the shop and they got the van back in a few days. AAA tracks the feedback on their approved shops and those shops don't want to rip anybody off because they know it will cost them in future referrals from AAA. So, not only did they take advantage of the AAA towing, but they were able to avoid a potential major ripoff for the repairs by using the AAA approved shop.

No trips for Dear Wife and me, either. But that's OK. I'm knocking off some items on my wish list with the extra money, so it's all good for me.

 

[CSolis]

Yes, that is a good idea. Cattle panels are 16 feet long, so if you formed one panel into a circle, it would be about 5 feet across. IIRC, poster stated they made a larger circle out of 2 cattle panels, so that would be about 10 feet across. Considering that idea myself.

well, there's a 4' door way so add that to the 2 16' cattle panels and you get 36' circumference. That's nearly 12' in diameter. Or 16' + 4 foot for a single and it's just over 6' in circumference.. Here's a shot of the big one I made as a turn out pen. Nice thing about it for me is I can still 'walk' it to a new location. Would be easier by far with two peeps.

 

[gtaus]

well, there's a 4' door way so add that to the 2 16' cattle panels and you get 36' circumference. That's nearly 12' in diameter. Or 16' + 4 foot for a single and it's just over 6' in circumference.. Here's a shot of the big one I made as a turn out pen. Nice thing about it for me is I can still 'walk' it to a new location. Would be easier by far with two peeps.View attachment 2592904

Yep, I like that idea.