3RRL
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Huge Kama
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Post by 3RRL on Feb 8, 2010 11:32:29 GMT -5
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3RRL
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Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on Feb 8, 2010 11:46:58 GMT -5
Like I said, there were plenty of boulders to move around. They will come in handy when we raise the level of the dam as additional backstops. I had to use the Nardi Backhoe and the bucket grapples to move the larger ones. I can see why it takes so long build a good sized pond now. Even after moving dirt all day, we hardly made a scratch on the final shape of the pond. But at least we were starting to outline the perimeter near the dam. The pond will eventually be deeper than what is shown in these last couple photos. And the dam will end up higher than it is now as well. We have to keep in mind the access to the top of the dam and to the back of it so we can compact as layers and layers of soil are being moved to it, and over it. We figure the trail Loretta pushed in from the back side will eventually lead right to the top of the dam. There will be a gradual very long slope so we can climb it from either side. But for now, we need to keep the dam low and keep working it backwards. Heck, it might end up 50' or 100' wide? Then before we start increasing the height, I will trench for overflow pipes, backfilling an compacting along the way. But we are a long ways from that. Rob-
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3RRL
Administrator
Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on Feb 8, 2010 13:11:32 GMT -5
I had another little episode with the tractor. After working it for about 14 hours on the pond, I shattered the radiator fan and had to braze a small hole in the radiator. You can read about in this thread: New Water Pump, Fan & Accu-Link Belt, Kama 554This morning, after a couple rains, I saw that the pond had filled up a bit and was holding water. Loretta and I are waiting for Brian (MtView Ranch) and Dave (D_Krug) to get here. They are staying with us to attend the Tulare Ag Fair. Rob-
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quikduk
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Dog House
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Post by quikduk on Mar 24, 2010 20:46:20 GMT -5
Hey buddy! Did you figure out if you could get a deal on some Bentonite to line it? It is really taking shape now.
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3RRL
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Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on Mar 26, 2010 12:26:34 GMT -5
No bentonite Ken. At least not yet. I read where mixing up clay and DG (decomposed granite) can make a suitable liner. I have tons of both. The pond will be an ongoing project as we find time to work at it. There are always other chores of greater importance to do. I have been working on a little red wagon project that I will use as my chainsaw cart, but most of the time now is spent servicing the tractors, the jeep and Silverado, the standby generator, the solar trackers and batteries, the three smaller portable generators (and welder) the lawn mower and the two weedeaters. Not to mention constantly sharpening the chainsaws and what have you.
Just a lot of that to do. Then there is the maintenance of the road, of course. Something I look forward to because it is really very relaxing. Other pending projects are to install the South lawn irrigation system and also catch basins from the rain gutter run-off. I will bury some 3" corregated line that runs down to the pond. Thanks for asking... I will post some photos in the near future. Rob-
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3RRL
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Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on Mar 31, 2010 14:38:38 GMT -5
Hello, Time for a quarterly update I guess So many things have happened, but most are just "must do chores". We've had our annual rain season so there was not much work done to the pond. Instead, there was a little project I got done, and that was to build a little Chainsaw Wagon that carries all my stuff. Below are a couple pictures of it, but I have a thread posted about the building of it here: My Special Chainsaw Cart During that time, I was also asked to make some billet aluminum collars for Cyril's mower. We also have a new addition to the family. We got a new little (10 week old) Golden retriever mix puppy named Daisy! She will be Coco's little pal up here and Coco is very protective of her already. Daisy is very cute and has one brown eye and one blue eye.
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Post by Rich Waugh on Mar 31, 2010 17:35:17 GMT -5
Cute pup, Rob! Nice chainsaw cart, too, but the pup looks like fun and the cart looks like work, so you can guess which one I like better. Rich
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GuglioLS
Administrator
Jinma354 LE
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Post by GuglioLS on Apr 1, 2010 21:30:33 GMT -5
Hi Rob, Daisy sure is cute! Nice addition to the family. Coco's got a good buddy to hang out with now. Interesting about the eye color. My guess is she's part Siberian Husky? Blue or rainbow eyes (one blue one brown) are very common in Huskies. Does her tail curl up at all?
I've been really lax at replying to everyone's posts. Been slammed with work travel all over creation. I still make time to check in regularly to see what's up with everyone though. The pond project is coming along nicely too. I know you two are working diligently on it in between all the must do maintenance and upkeep chores plus picking up machining work in-between all that. So you got lots of rain? Has the pond held up? We've had what I call a normal winter for a change (lots of snow) and I mean many snow falls with a good snow pack . In fact in the woods we still have huge 5' + drifts up our hill. And there are still snow pack on the north side of the house and barn. The open fields and south facing slopes are dry now so the mud is not as bad as it was when all that melted. It could still snow more here through mid May, after then all of a sudden it's instant summer.
Larry
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Post by linus69 on Apr 4, 2010 19:31:00 GMT -5
Great looking dog Rob congratulations, very sweet face, mixed breeds are so much healthier and are usually smarter than a purebred.
Paul
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quikduk
CTW Life Member
Dog House
Posts: 552
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Post by quikduk on May 3, 2010 15:52:30 GMT -5
No bentonite Ken. At least not yet. I read where mixing up clay and DG (decomposed granite) can make a suitable liner. I have tons of both. The pond will be an ongoing project as we find time to work at it. There are always other chores of greater importance to do. I have been working on a little red wagon project that I will use as my chainsaw cart, but most of the time now is spent servicing the tractors, the jeep and Silverado, the standby generator, the solar trackers and batteries, the three smaller portable generators (and welder) the lawn mower and the two weedeaters. Not to mention constantly sharpening the chainsaws and what have you. Just a lot of that to do. Then there is the maintenance of the road, of course. Something I look forward to because it is really very relaxing. Other pending projects are to install the South lawn irrigation system and also catch basins from the rain gutter run-off. I will bury some 3" corregated line that runs down to the pond. Thanks for asking... I will post some photos in the near future. Rob- Damn Rob!!! Good thing you're retired or you would never have time for all of these projects...
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quikduk
CTW Life Member
Dog House
Posts: 552
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Post by quikduk on May 3, 2010 16:01:24 GMT -5
Daisy sure looks cute. I bet Coco is going to be just fine with her. Maybe Daisy will be big enough to play with Kona and Kahlua when we visit again around Thanksgiving. They might be 100+ lbs now but they are still big lovable labs (not like Oliver...he was a PITA most of the time). Here is what they looked like when we got them a year ago... ...and here are some fairly recent updated pics... ...lets just say that they eat...a lot...and Kahlua has developed an underwear and sock fetish...while they both destroy new tennis balls in under 5 minutes... Oh...now that I have partially hijacked your thread (again?), nice chainsaw cart. Do you find that the wood scabbards are holding up to the chains o.k.? I need to weld up something for mounting on the 354 (saw(s), fuel, chains and tools etc) but compact.
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3RRL
Administrator
Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on May 6, 2010 11:39:28 GMT -5
Thanks guys and sorry for not posting much lately... We've really been busy around the ranch the last couple months. One of the projects was to get irrigation into the ground on the South lawn. You remember all the valves I ran around the decking last year? Well, Loretta and I finally used up the South corner front set for this project. Last year we used the North set for the North lawn. Anyway, we used the Jinma to rip trenches for all the PVC lines. I used the home-made subsoiler and spade, so I still had to hand dig them out to make a clean, smooth bottom. Only snapped it off one time! The South lawn not only had irrigation lines for the lawn itself, but also 10 sprinklers for the berm where Loretta wants to plant more flowers. In addition to that, we also got catch basins to route all the rain gutter run-off down towards the pond. We buried a 3" corrugated drain pipe and attached all the catch basins to it. So there were multi-trenches and lines to lay for this project. Here are a couple photos of the trenches and PVC lines going in. Rob-
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3RRL
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Huge Kama
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Post by 3RRL on May 6, 2010 11:41:18 GMT -5
Of interest is some PVC pipe bending we did. Instead of using 90 or 45 degree elbows, I used a heat gun to put bends in the PVC lines. I talked to a landscaper and he told me there is a lot less restriction when you make a gradual bend instead of using a fitting. So I tried it and it works pretty good. Below are some photos where I used the technique . It worked also when I had several lines that needed to get out of each other's way or over the concrete foundation posts too. This guy also told me to use poly pipe when connecting the pop-up sprinklers to the main PVC line. That way they can move freely without breaking when you drive over them with the tractor or whatever. Rob-
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3RRL
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Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on May 6, 2010 11:53:36 GMT -5
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3RRL
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Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on May 6, 2010 12:01:00 GMT -5
After we got the irrigation done, we started another project. Our chicks are grown up and we decided to get several more. With that in mind, it was time to build a permanent, much larger chicken coop. We are keeping the convertible, mobile coop. We're going to lend it to the neighbor who wants to raise a few chickens too. BTW, in the Spring it sure is beautiful and green around the home. Here are a couple photos of the valley below and the remains of the pond project. We haven't done anything with the pond project for quite a while. Rob-
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