Texas

[erikk]

Nice tractor. I would like a riding mower, but right now it isn't a need. What I do need is a rototiller. They are pricey!

I finally got a used tractor about a year ago. Can't honestly say I need it, but man I hate digging. Just loathe it. Wife was certainly skeptical, but has come a long way since the tractor allows me to get yards and yards of chopped mulch loaded up at the city recycle center for $6/yard and then fill up all the flowerbeds for her after she's done her planting. I think we got at least 25 yards of mulch distributed this year into flowerbeds just on our 1 acre suburban lot.

I got a 5' rototiller to hang on the 3-point and we did a nice in-ground garden this year. It was much larger and therefore much more productive than the little raised beds we'd been gardening with.

I'll admit I do believe renting is better. Maintenance is a huge $$$ factor. Little front tires are $150+ EACH. Haven't been willing to even look up $$$ for the bigger rear tires. If I were going to do it again I'd rent the tractor, but might still have bought the tiller outright. 3-pt tillers are difficult or impossible to find at a rental yard, but if you ask around you'd find someone like my friend who'll come in with this tractor/equipment to do whatever you wanted (shredding, tilling, dirt leveling, etc) at very reasonable rates. Even I could be convinced to rent my tiller out with a large enough deposit to ensure it'd come back. Solutions are out there if you know the right circles to ask in. I have rented the little 5 HP walk behind tillers in the past. My back is much happier to have a 3 point tiller! ;-)

 

[TexasLisa]

We got a 1/2 inch of needed rain. It has been a fairly wet this fall but the lakes are still very low.
Oh my! I am going to have some fun there. My grandpa was from Norway and he was a baker by trade. I have baking genes.

Nice tractor. I would like a riding mower, but right now it isn't a need. What I do need is a rototiller. They are pricey!

So far we have received 3" of rain. The gullies have runneth over!

Ms. Jellybean you need to go to Craigslist for your equipment.

I actually don't mind the cold. I did a lot of winter camping growing up in Northern Utah. Its the Scouts that I am worried about.

My son was in the Scouts. It seems like it would always rain, etc. when they would go camping. Having a good leader is the key to a good experience! Be safe and enjoy!

Lisa

 

[TexasLisa]

I finally got a used tractor about a year ago. Can't honestly say I need it, but man I hate digging. Just loathe it. Wife was certainly skeptical, but has come a long way since the tractor allows me to get yards and yards of chopped mulch loaded up at the city recycle center for $6/yard and then fill up all the flowerbeds for her after she's done her planting. I think we got at least 25 yards of mulch distributed this year into flowerbeds just on our 1 acre suburban lot.

I got a 5' rototiller to hang on the 3-point and we did a nice in-ground garden this year. It was much larger and therefore much more productive than the little raised beds we'd been gardening with.

I'll admit I do believe renting is better. Maintenance is a huge $$$ factor. Little front tires are $150+ EACH. Haven't been willing to even look up $$$ for the bigger rear tires. If I were going to do it again I'd rent the tractor, but might still have bought the tiller outright. 3-pt tillers are difficult or impossible to find at a rental yard, but if you ask around you'd find someone like my friend who'll come in with this tractor/equipment to do whatever you wanted (shredding, tilling, dirt leveling, etc) at very reasonable rates. Even I could be convinced to rent my tiller out with a large enough deposit to ensure it'd come back. Solutions are out there if you know the right circles to ask in. I have rented the little 5 HP walk behind tillers in the past. My back is much happier to have a 3 point tiller! ;-)

My husband is a mechanical engineer. He loves working/tearing things apart. His brother convinced him to get a tractor with a front-end loader on it. That front-end loader has been used a LOT. We use it to pick up branches, dead skunks, to hold the turkeys while we process, dig holes, etc.

Lisa

 

[Aphrael]

We had the freezing rain start in the middle of the night. It may remain at or below freezing all through the weekend. I opened my coop but none of the birds have wanted to go out and I can't blame them. ;-) Filled and hung the feeder and waterer in the coop and they pounced on those.

I have 4 one-week-old chicks in the coop. If the 3 silkies who are co-mothering can't keep 4 chicks warm in a coop with 8" of litter then I'll be out $3, oh well. I'm expecting them to all be fine, after all chickens have been living wild out in the open long before humans started shutting them up into coops.

Here the wind started howling through like a freight train yesterday afternoon and the temps plummeted almost instantly. By late evening the freezing rain started and then sometime last night it snowed some. I went out this morning to let everyone out and there was nary a chicken or duck to be seen or heard (usually they are complaining VERY loudly that they want out NOW). The ducks (this is their first winter) waddled out a few steps and came to a complete halt, feathers fluffed out on end. Then they billed the snow a bit and gave me a very offended glare (because obviously it had to be my fault there was nasty cold stuff in their way). The chickens didn't follow the ducks out so I went in the coop to check in on everyone and they just fluffed feathers and looked at me like I was an idiot for suggesting they go out. When I opened the bantam coop they started with their typical mad dash out the door, but it was arrested about half way down the ramp (causing a traffic jam), and they very promptly turned around and went right back in. None of them have been back outside the coops again yet.

 

[hungnguyen]

I just drove outside for lunch. Normally I ate my sandwich in my car and took a nap. Well, it's too .. tooooo ... kolddddd !

And when I went back to my office, i just found out that we're out of hot chocolate. Geez, what's a disaster !

 

[TammyTX]

We also bought the backhoe attachment with a thumb for picking up large objects or burying old horses.

Jajeanpierre - our old guy is doing well! He is back up to full feed servings and seems fine. I'm worming him this weekend and I need to peek at his teeth. The vet thought he may have lost some back teeth so he is going to come back out and look.

Thank you for asking! This is a recent photo. He used to be coal black...which is why his name is Black. He is a quarter horse...stocky and not too tall.

Hung - The tractor is a "gift" for our birthdays and christmas, just like my new coop will be. Believe me, it's like getting a new vacuum...you need it more than want it. We only have one car payment at the moment, so that made it affordable. Pssst! My husband doesn't realize this was the first step toward my FUTURE dairy goats!! HAHAHA!

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Pssst! My husband doesn't realize this was the first step toward my FUTURE dairy goats!! HAHAHA!

It's 36* and raining. Damp cold is the WORST!!

Bread turned out nicely. Second loaf is in the oven.


c'est si bon!

Fresh herbs from the garden - rosemary, basil, and lemon thyme with lemon rind.
Crusty outside, soft inside. Turns out perfect every time.

 

[Teri Metcalf]

I have 4 one-week-old chicks in the coop. If the 3 silkies who are co-mothering can't keep 4 chicks warm in a coop with 8" of litter then I'll be out $3, oh well. I'm expecting them to all be fine, after all chickens have been living wild out in the open long before humans started shutting them up into coops.

The cold front arrived in College Station in the wee hours of the morning. It was 45 degrees by the time we got up. We went out to the henhouse and brought the peeps into our kitchen. They were peeping up a storm, but didn't seem any the worse for wear. For the time being, they're living in a big plastic storage container in the kitchen. It may well be that in another week or so they will be robust enough to weather the weather in the outdoor coop while we're out of town. Our others are free-range, but I want to hold off on these until they're older. They don't have a mother hen to protect them. I'm the only one they've got.

 

[TammyTX]

It is 38 here now and raining! The poor young chickens don't see to mind. I don't have heat in their coop because they are still in the hoop-coop and the covered area where they sleep is only 4x4, so for 18 half grown chickens that makes for a cozy temperature. The older chickens have a heat lamp on. It's not that cold but the rain makes the air feel damp. They all received extra feed today, even the horse.

 

[TammyTX]

Bread turned out nicely. Second loaf is in the oven.


c'est si bon!

Fresh herbs from the garden - rosemary, basil, and lemon thyme with lemon rind.
Crusty outside, soft inside. Turns out perfect every time.

YUM!! I need to make bread this weekend. Unfortunately, I eat it all!!