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Spaulding Smails

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Posts posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. 1 hour ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

    Not sure about scorpions since we don't have very many (if any) in Fort Bend County, but they do clear out the other crawly bugs. My wife lets ours free range in her vegetable garden in the spring and they go to town on the pests. 

    I tried that.  Once.  They mowed down the veggies along with the bugs.  Now, they're the perimeter defense and I had to weld on another panel to the bottom of the gate to keep them out of the garden.

  2. 15 hours ago, Anastasis said:

    And gook up the spinner. 

    Spot on.  If you go with protein / corn mix, make sure it's no more than 50/50 and make sure you have a water tight feeder.  We've fed 50/50 from May - August the last two years and have seen really nice improvements to the antler growth in that timeframe.  Will probably move to a stand alone protein feeder next spring.  We want to let the areas around the feeders "rest" for longer than just that February - May timeframe.  

  3. Chickens will eat the shit out of bugs.  I built our chicken run adjacent to our garden.  Pest count in the garden went way down once we got the chickens.  My only complaint is that they mess up the mulch in the flower beds.  More of an annoyance than anything.  

  4. 6 minutes ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

    Orange is predicted to see a 6' + storm surge and Starks will be wind and rain only.

    I hope you're right about wind and rain only.  But, their house is surrounded by huge trees as well.  Rita took down 50+% of their timber.  I'm guessing this could be worse based on projected wind speeds.

  5. Good news:  My wife's 90 year old grandmother evacuated her house in Orange Monday night.  The house flooded in Harvey and will probably flood again with this storm surge.  

    Bad news:  She evacuated to her 70 year old daughter's (my wife's aunt's) house in Starks, LA.  More directly in the line of the storm.  They have a farm and didn't want to leave their animals.  My wife begged them to let us come get her and bring her to Dripping Springs.  They all politely declined.  The farm has somewhat of high ground where the house sits, but they're surrounded by swamps.  So, best case scenario, the house survives the storm, and they're probably landlocked with no power for a pretty long time.  I don't want to think about the worst case scenario...

    More bad news:  My FIL left his house in Cypress to go to his fish camp on Toledo Bend this morning to help out his buddies that live there.  While possibly admirable, he literally drove into the path of the hurricane where he's going to ride out what will surely be hurricane force winds in a mobile home that is surrounded by 100' pine trees and faces due south on the main body of Toledo Bend.  Awesome.  

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  6. Within the last week, we've had a checkered garter, ribbon snake and rat snake all in the back yard.  Have yet to get a picture, but it's nice to see some variety, and I definitely think they're controlling the insect population.  I just wish they'd take care of the mosquitos too.

  7. 17 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

    117771108_785119518890347_24287641190925

    Ha!  Did this come from someone in Austin?  Because I'm relatively certain we framed the new portion of this house after they finished the demo.  Modern stunner with a historic front facade.  

  8. 52 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

    Well that's f'n interesting man. 

    I wish that post had a few more pictures between the 3rd and 4th, but I bet I can dig around and find some more stuff on the internet.  What did you put the bulb in to protect it?

    We just mounted it directly in the concrete.  Those bulbs are pretty durable.  

  9. On 8/17/2020 at 10:08 AM, The Royal We said:

    Has anyone ever run an underwater light off of their dock/pier?  I'm looking at the ones that sit on the bottom and have a timer - the ones that look sturdy are expensive af.  The cheaper ones look flimsy and like they won't last for very long if they are left on the bottom 24/7.  This if for fresh water, something like this:

    https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Glow-Green-Underwater-Fishing/dp/B00GWTRFDI/ref=sr_1_26?dchild=1&keywords=green+underwater+fishing+light+bottom&qid=1597676775&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-26

    We built ours homemade years ago when we had our place on Lake Medina.  5 gal bucket, metal halide ballast + bulb, concrete and lots of silicone.  Worked like a champ for 5+ years and was still going strong when we sold the place.  Kids loved fishing for catfish at night.  Plus, easy to move on a variable level lake like that.  Here's a forum where they talk through something similar if you're into DIY.  

    https://fishwestend.com/forum/threads/1851-DIY-Underwater-Lights

  10. 4 minutes ago, Both Tacos said:
    13 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:
    Heading out this weekend for season prep.
    It's not going to be as hot as it normally is but we bought a blow up pool to use for relief.  With well water and some canopies it is a welcome cool down after we get done with the work.  

    One of the best things I've done in the past couple of years was getting a trailer at the ranch. I was out on Sunday in 106 degree temps and was glad to have a place to cool down other than my truck.

    Same.  Just bought a 12' trailer that I keep out at the ranch.  I got tired of pulling my 16' trailer out there when needed.  So much easier to load rocks and move brush.  Not to mention the lower height for sitting and taking a break.  We also use the hell out of it now for moving road base instead of a bucket at a time with the tractor.  

  11. 1 hour ago, Both Tacos said:
    1 hour ago, Spaulding Smails said:
    That's a bummer on the CWD.  What a gut punch.  We haven't seen any signs at our place (yet).
    We did have three younger deer dead on our place last year.  No signs of trauma.  No bullet wounds.  No signs of predator attack.  Nothing.  Found them both before the buzzards got them.  My dad called the wildlife biologist to verify we didn't have anything funky going on, and he felt like it was most likely enterotoxemia.  Basically, the deer just gorge on acorns, and it throws off their digestion.  He said he was seeing a lot of that in 2019 due to the amount of acorns being produced.  Makes sense because we had an insane amount of acorns on the ground last winter.  

    The biologist didn't come out to take a sample?

    He did not.  We sent him pics.  Deer were very healthy and none of the CWD signs were present.  He said if we found another, he'd come out.  Have not seen one since.  

  12. 2 hours ago, HOOKEM4 said:

    This one has correct spaces in the title.

    @Spaulding Smails looks like you dodged the CWD zone. I was not so lucky. I am on the boundary of the zone so it looks like I will find out about the testing process.

    That's a bummer on the CWD.  What a gut punch.  We haven't seen any signs at our place (yet).

    We did have three younger deer dead on our place last year.  No signs of trauma.  No bullet wounds.  No signs of predator attack.  Nothing.  Found them both before the buzzards got them.  My dad called the wildlife biologist to verify we didn't have anything funky going on, and he felt like it was most likely enterotoxemia.  Basically, the deer just gorge on acorns, and it throws off their digestion.  He said he was seeing a lot of that in 2019 due to the amount of acorns being produced.  Makes sense because we had an insane amount of acorns on the ground last winter.  

  13. 11 hours ago, Horns99 said:

     

    Probably right around 27”. Looks to be a fairly young axis, he doesn’t have the gray in face yet & isn’t filled out.

    The more I looked at him, I totally agree.  I found a pic of the one that I shot last year (30"), and side-by-side, he was noticeably younger in the face and neck.  

    We saw two HUGE axis at separate times last week (neither on our property).  One when leaving the Llano River Saturday and another behind a high fence on 290 between Harper and Fredericksburg.  The second was so big, I turned around to get a better look.  He was a legit 36" and super wide.  I think we're going to pass on this guy.

  14. I was out at our place in Kimble County this weekend.  Saturday, afternoon, we left downtown Junction at 4:40 and it was 106.  Pulled up to the gate of the ranch at 5:00 to a torrential downpour and 69 degrees.  We got a little over a half inch of rain in 30 min then another decent downpour around 8 PM.  It was actually chilly sitting out on the porch.  Total surprise and absolutely awesome and much needed.

  15. 31 minutes ago, hornian said:

    Why do I imagine that when you look at pictures of other people’s smokers you think to yourself “You call that a smoker? Now this is a smoker!”

    Ha!  It is total overkill, but it was a fun project.  I had a 12 lb pork butt and a big turkey breast and some sausage and it just looked puny.  May need to start just cooking more and freezing it.

  16. Mostly finished up the pit this weekend with some help from a few buddies.  I had the doors cut by my fab guy.  I screwed up on the fire box door dimensions, so had to get those re-cut at the last minute.  Everything went pretty smoothly, but we ran into a few issues along the way.  I'd do about a dozen things differently if I did it over again, but all-in-all, I'm super stoked.  Broke it in with some chicken and sausage Saturday night, then a pork butt and a whole turkey breast yesterday.  Takes a while to get up to temp, but holds heat really well.  I do have some smoke leakage and some of the exterior stonework has already cracked despite the fire brick liner.  I need to go back and patch some areas with refractory mortar.  Biggest issue is the counterweight for the larger door isn't heavy enough.  I'm going to have to add a second weight.  

    IMG-3850.jpg

    IMG-3852.jpg

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  17. I'm now 100% convince that @Ghost of LL is dealing with a mouse.

    We've been working a skeleton crew at our office since March due to COVID.  Pretty much everyone is working from home.  I have to come in to the office a few times a week for misc stuff like checking the mail, signing checks, etc.  

    One of my project managers has a ton of kids and nowhere to work from home, so he gets his admin stuff done at the office.   He called me last week and asked if I was playing a prank on him because he's found dog food in his printer paper tray twice in the last month.  I was baffled and said it wasn't me.  I usually take my dog with me to the office, and he has a sealed container of food that I keep in my office closet.  So, it was natural for him to suspect me.  But, it wasn't me.

    Fast forward to this morning, and I went to our shop closet to grab some plastic for site protection.  I looked down and happened to notice about 30 pieces of dog food in a paint spray gun bag.  My dog doesn't always eat his food, and I never think to dump it back into the sealed container.  This HAS to be a mouse hoarding food.  Gotta be it.  

    IMG-3815.jpg

  18. Great feedback and suggestions.  I probably should have qualified this more.  Needs are pretty mixed and varied.  Oldest son is a fishing machine and can be on the water all day.  Dude just did a two day paddle into a headwind on the Devils River with me and didn't miss a beat while outfishing me.  My middle son is special needs.  Good mobility, but wouldn't fish, and would probably tolerate the boat for an hour max.  My daughter's too young to really get a feel for her fishing interest long-term, but I'm guessing she can take it or leave it.  Wife loves to fish, but would only be able to do so when we have respite or family in town to watch my middle son.  Personally, I'd wade fish over anything else.  But, I'd probably take clients and employees down there a few times a year.  I'm doing that right now, but it's almost always with a guide.  I'd say 40% with my just my oldest son wading or drifting with artificials, 10% with my whole family except the middle son soaking bait, 10% with all five of us just cruising, 10% solo wade fishing and the remaining 30% with guests as a mixed bag depending on their interest and skill.  

    I'm originally from Corpus, and still have a ton of family down there.  Most of my family that fish run Majeks.  Johnny Majek was a friend of my grandfather, so that may be somewhat sentimental.  My business partner and another buddy have Haynies and love them.  So, I really do need something that runs skinny but can take chop like @fattyflattie mentioned.  Needs to have sides for sure.  @Handcruser, that Robalo looks sweet, but I think the open bow and shallow draft are going to be must-haves for me.

     

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  19. 6 hours ago, CycleTex87 said:

    csb - In 2009 I spent more than 100 days/nights in Nigeria running a couple construction projects and more days in 2008 and 2010.  Our local Project Manager was a French dude (white guy) who was married to a Nigerian lady.  They had a nice house in an upscale Port Harcourt neighborhood.  I would go over there on Sundays for lunch and drinks, just to get away from our compound.  They raised chickens in the back yard.  One Sunday, they butchered the rooster, and we had coq au vin.  We would dine on the back patio, and when they brought out the coq au vin for lunch, the other (surviving) chickens began going crazy, making noise and flapping etc.  I guess they could smell their old buddy who was now cooked in the wine.  Interesting experience.  /csb.

    tl/dr - Had coq au vin in Nigeria with backyard raised chicken.

    I totally believe it.  My wife mostly takes care of our chickens.  I made sure that my son and I were the ones snagging them out of the coop and butchering them for that reason.  I didn't want them associating that experience with her.  Usually, when we open the coop to let them range during the day, they come busting out.  For the next week, they all kinda chilled in the corner when we opened the door.  Especially me.  Even though we did the butchering on the other side of the property, they wanted no part of leaving the coop.  And, they still want no part of me.  They know when something's awry.  

  20. So, I'm in the very early stages of looking for a bay boat.  Will probably pull the trigger next winter (21-22).  My experiences have been primarily with Haynie and Majek.  But, I really like the look of the Mowdy as well.  Probably something in the 23-25' range.  

    Needs will be mixed.  Some wade fishing.  Some drifting.  Some bait soaking.  Some cruising and messing around.  Primarily used around Rockport, but may run down to Baffin occasionally as well.  I have a wife and three kids (8-10-12), so dry and smooth ride trumps skinny water at this point.  Thoughts or suggestions?

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  21. We slaughtered and butchered our seven roosters two weekends ago.  Did beer belly chicken with one of them the next night.  Brined him overnight.  On the pit for a few hours over oak.  So damn good.  If he's big enough, that might be a good choice.  We vacuum sealed and froze the other six.

    Love the coq a vin idea.  Just sent that idea to my wife for supper tonight.  

  22. On 7/19/2020 at 6:22 PM, kmac30 said:

    1c5030b4f858f4be4e69d246ed7491c3.jpg
    0b0a5bf6bef485126542069d22f46d68.jpg
    Father in law’s yard has gotten in some trouble. Sprinklers go regularly. These look like tracks from the mowers. Grass is toast. Any ideas? They seem to think someone sprayed weed killer and then got it on the blade. I disagree. These are also the areas that get blasted by sun.

    I had that issue a few summers ago.  I think it had to do with me mowing during the heat of the day.  Too much stress, blades get mashed down by the tires.  I could be wrong, but that was my analysis.  Couldn't find any visible signs of disease or bugs. 

  23. On 7/22/2020 at 11:05 AM, crimsonlonghorn said:

    Anybody have any suggestions (or experience) for something good for scooping up cow manure under my pecan trees in the pasture? Have tried it with the regular bucket and it's not optimal. 

    Don't want to rake it because that will move pecans on the ground, too. Would rather scoop it up. 

    The problem with the regular tractor bucket is that it doesn't lie flat on the ground so it either misses the cow patty or it digs into the ground and scars up the dirt around it. 

    Would something like a low profile skid steer bucket work? 

     

    image.png.f3dd6f501938af9582f1942465a3a0a2.png

     

     

    Or a skeleton bucket?

    image.png.4b1390cb78b8b53bebcb7f41b5c3dffb.png

    image.png.b35148783183dbbf62bae7e3dc4a15c1.png

     

    I'm leaning towards trying the skeleton bucket. My only concern is that since it's open on the bottom it won't hold the manure for very long distances. 

    Anybody else have any advice? 

     

     

    I use the heck out of the skeleton bucket on my skidsteer.  Perfect for separating rocks from fill, etc.  I think it would work great.  If you have a little dump trailer or something you can move around with a utility vehicle or truck, that seems like it would be a great setup.  Plus, you could move the manure to a different area to compost.  

    Where are you located?  I bought mine from this guy.  Out in Marble Falls.  I've had it about three years and no issues.

    https://idigtexas.com/product-category/skid-steer-attachments/rock-buckets/

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