Well hopefully the yields will be better this year. I would send you some straw off my neighbor’s place but it’s a very short wheat. Shortest I’ve seen since my NE Colorado desert farming days. Is there any temporary fixes to wait for thatch like tarps or anything?
I’d love to see that! I’ve never seen cows and donkeys eating watermelons. LOL I have tried video on here but I think the only way is to have it hosted somewhere like YouTube and link to it. Beyond my capabilities obviously…
Shouldn't be any wild oats this year as the seed was dressed for it but the wheat had the same wet start again. Yeah, tarps will work. Probably best to use something breathable like canvas.
A lot of houses and barns switched to corrugated iron when it became available in the early 20th century. Some of these reverted to thatch anything up to a hundred years later. Does that count as a temporary fix in a building that's 500 years old?
Makes sense. Holding in moisture would speed the degradation of the thatch. That makes me come up with another question. Does the amount of ventilation under the thatch make much difference in longevity? I would say yes!
I don't think there is any ventilation under the thatch. It's laid onto boards. I've never seen a fully stripped roof though so I'll ask.
. Well this isn't a video or the exact same area but here's a consolation prize of sorts. The Peace River at low water earlier this year, cattle graze along its banks And I'm going to get my motorcycle endorsement my next weekend off. It's a second degree misdemeanor if they catch you without it on your license and I don't need any of that! So I need to go ahead and get it because who the hell has a motorcycle that doesn't ride it?
Well, you show me prettier places than I saw on my trip to Florida. I needed you as a tour guide. Yep, get your “M” endorsement ASAP! I’ll be taking the old 883H tomorrow up the highway to move tractors and equipment around. I can park it anywhere out in the trees etc. and have my wife drop me off another day to pick it up if I end up bringing the tractor home. It’s supposed to be 104F tomorrow so the motorcycle AC should feel pretty good!
Living out in the sticks does have its advantages. It's kind of a pain in the butt getting the endorsement here though. I have to go to a Harley dealership 35 miles away for a 3-day course.... So back and forth six times. and pay some old fat biker to ride his Sportster around a parking lot to the tune of a couple of hundred dollars. They can't just make it like getting a license for a car that would be too simple. I bought the bike brand new, a Kawasaki KLX 230. I have 160 miles on it at this point and all but some of those have been on private property dirt roads. You want to find the backwoods that nobody knows about? I can get you there!
That seems like a lot of hassle to get a motorcycle endorsement. Here you take a written test and then a driving test where the DMV employee follows you around town giving you turn by turn directions in an earpiece. No classes etc. I grew up on Honda dirt bikes out in the foothills of the Rocky Mtns. in Colorado. Be careful, I was a kid and managed to damage a couple body parts bad enough to still feel it from time to time! If I had ever had anything like you bought I’d probably be dead. LOL If I ever go back to Florida I would love to see more back country. I wasn’t impressed with the cities and burbs. Spent a few days at Zephyrhills but didn’t get out in the country unless you count orange groves.
Sounds like a much more logical and sane process to obtain your endorsement. This is the first real bike I've ever had. I rode mountain bikes on and off road all my life and I have road motorized bicycles and mopeds but nothing you have to shift. I just wanted a bike that could go at highway speeds and go anywhere. It has a top speed of 77 but you can cruise at 60 easy enough and I don't think I ever need to go much faster. This is Kawasaki's latest offering and it's supposed to attract New riders to the world of motorcycling. I'm 6'1 and I can easily sit on it flat-footed. I do need to get some more protective gear though, I have a helmet but that doesn't do much for road rash. Fortunately I can practice on these private dirt roads with little traffic to speak of and no worries about being pulled over since it's private. I haven't been through Zephyrhills in over a decade, probably just becoming another suburb of Tampa at this point. I'm from North Central Florida but now I live in Southwest Florida and I haven't lived in Central Florida in many years. I do miss all the springs up there with their crystal clear water. Not many springs to speak of once you get south of Tampa or really Ocala and Marion county. That bike is perfect for around here because there's lots of dirt roads and even on our paved roads on the back roads the potholes have little baby potholes and they write letters back and forth to each other with their own ZIP codes! Lol. At 25 mph on a dirt road that bike almost feels like you're on blacktop. Almost 9 in of travel front and rear. But of course when my 215 lb sits on it I soak up about three of those. What is the 88 3H ? A tractor?
Road rash heals. Heads and backs not so much. My back is what I injured worst as a kid. I remember once letting my older brother drive while I rode behind him on my Honda 80. Of course he wrecked us on the gravel road. As ‘80’s kids we were wearing only shorts and t-shirts. My mom stood me in the bathtub and poured an entire bottle of peroxide down my legs. *****! The 883 is the Harley Sportster with the small 883cc engine (as opposed to the 1200cc). They made H models off and on. They are “Hugger” models cut down a bit for lower seat height and lower center of gravity. Which is good off road. We have a standard frame 1200cc sportster as well we ride when my wife goes, which isn’t often anymore because we have a helmet law and they give her a headache. It’s center of gravity is very high and not good off road. I can only imagine how smooth modern dirt bikes must be. Technology has come a long way since my off road days. Hell, even mountain bikes have suspension systems now. Not my old mountain bike I bought as a kid. You just had to tough it out because it was as rough riding as lumber wagon. Are you going to do nitro circus stunts? Those guys are messed up in the head.
I got a crawl before I can walk now! I used to do some fairly crazy stunts on mountain bikes but not in years. I rode a wheelie once more than a mile and I could straight carry the mail in a hurry off-road on single track on a mountain bike. I don't see myself doing any Motocross wheelies, I'm in my early 40s now and I don't bounce back as easy. About the craziest thing I did was get it up to 45 on a well maintained dirt road. Still breaking it in so I haven't even gone over 55 on pavement. I'm more interested in just basic safe bike handling skills and maybe some off-road riding but nothing too crazy. I was initially looking at a Royal Enfield Himalayan. It's a 400cc bike it has some off-road capability but it's more of an adventure bike. The cargo capacity and passenger seating was much better. But the dealership was about a hundred miles away which meant I would have to pack it up in the van and ride it there or ride it... And it was 100 lb heavier my bike is a little over 300 with all the fluids. But the Royal Enfield was also 1 in too long to fit in my van which would have sucked... And parts could be somewhat difficult to locate I heard. You can find parts and service for a Kawasaki anywhere It's fuel injected and air cooled. It put a hurting on my bank account but I outright bought it known it 100% with no financing. But if it's not raining or cold I'll be riding it instead of putting miles on my van. Also a plus with the stupid gas prices now. Has a 2 gallon tank and gets 80 miles a gallon
Since this thread has already been hijacked. I will show you my project. I am starting my creeping phlox. Or more precisely moss phlox. I have a place that I don't want to mow or take care of so I am going to cover the when area with "thrift". I will plant them in plugs starting in July. I have over a thousand started. My first two trays only had about 50% success. The ones taken later look really good.....close to 100% so far. As I plant I will take more cuttings.
I can take cuttings clear into the fall. 10,000 thrift plants would look really cool come spring. I will plant them as plugs. I have pink, red, and candy stripe so far.
Well Fatback is probably doing some fishing and Politicalcenter grows food so in the “where food comes from thread” I’ll allow it! Here’s the 883H. I just dropped it off at a field where I picked up a tractor I have to use to go get a drill I rent from the neighbor.
I actually got some pictures today. They weren't all massed up by the front gate like they were the other day but they're all scattered about the pasture. I guess they're waiting on the farmer to come bring some grain or something.
Mmmmm....future beef.... There's nothing better than Mesquite smoked beef. I cooked some of that in a red wine and Portabella mushroom sauce last weekend and it was carnivore heaven....
What a coincidence - my wife's family originally hails from Devon. From what I understand they were once in the smuggling business....
Long time since I've been to Zephyrhills. Mostly at the drop zone, though I don't jump myself. That takes quite a mindset.
Beans have started producing, have a couple of squash not ready to pick yet. The raccoons trashed my strawberries, they weren't even ripe yet. Thinking a line with 440 around that patch may be effective. Gonna be hot this week, I'm sure the crops will be loving it.
I don’t know if I could jump. I’m deathly afraid of heights but flying doesn’t bother me. Probably need someone to push me out…
If they are true Devonians they put their cream on the scone first with the jam on top. The Cornish have jam first and cream on top. This is very important, you mustn't get it wrong. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/poll/2010/may/20/cream-tea-scone-clotted-cream
I don't do well with heights either. Pushing me out would be even worse. (bad event as a kid being pushed off a rock wall) The jumpers tried to talk me into it, and I of course made the usual statement: There is something intrinsically wrong in jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.
