Having spent the better part of the morning enjoying the beautiful summer day at the harbor wall, Boxes in Fields had to return home to spend the afternoon repairing. Again. If major rust control did not happen soon, we will be living in piles of rust. Some of the repairs are due to design flaws such as all of the window hatches. The window hatches are made square tubing and Conex paneling as seen more clearly in post What Light! …
Three months have already come and gone since the Pity Pets were brought home. When released from the coop to free range, the first few weeks they stayed as their own individual unit. It did not take them long to roam with the pack. Being with the pack provided protection as Nurpel (the second acquired rooster) was on the hunt for a hen of his own and the new hens were his target. Just as the senior flock are not…
There comes a time when everyone needs their own space. Living in tight quarters usually promotes this more often than for people living in McMansions. Needing individual space comes more from having a tween than anything else. If you have had or currently have a boy tween then you understand this next statement. Boys stink. Must be a puberty thing cause it is not a shower thing as taking showers is a daily act of frustration for all at Boxes…
A couple of months on one of my many numerous trips across the deck, I happen to glance over and notice a marvel. Another monarch caterpillar chomping away on a tropical milkweed flower bud. Unlike the leaf chomper, this caterpillar was chomping as if his life depended on it. In a way, I guess it does. Also, unlike the leaf chomping video, this video contains no video editing as is filmed in real time. In a little over five minutes,…
In the last few weeks, Boxes in Fields has turned into a nature’s playground. With warmer days, more and more hummingbirds have been seen and heard flying about, bees in various shapes and sizes are always within sight of the Esperanza, and the butterflies are appearing on their migration paths. What an amazing experience!
The Circle of Life: with life comes death, with age comes growth, with usage comes wear. Repairs are just a natural part of life. Having been potted and re-potted two or three times since its capture from the cow pasture back in October 2017, the olive tree has been officially placed in its final pot. Not trusting the salt laden ground to adequate growth in minerals and nutrients, the olive tree was placed in a scrap sonotube pot. Having been…
Boxes in Fields consists of an acre and half of native grasses and flowers, half dozen potted plants picked especially with hummingbirds and butterflies in mind, and two sugar water feeders always filled fresh and clear from April to October. After almost four years of filming and photo, a hummingbird has been caught on film. Years of planning, planting, and pruning have finally paid off. It was a very exciting moment!
These four new feathered additions really are some ridiculous pity pets. Just ridiculous. Hearing a great commotion in the coop late one evening, the culprit was not four footed and furry nor sneaky and slithery. Instead it was two footed and feathered. Just two days into her new surroundings, a rebel has developed. Just two days and this little brown leghorn was already causing trouble. by wanting to roost in the coop. Much to her dismay, the senior coop residents…
Genetics control a persons characteristics, hair, height, eye, etc. Simple biology everyone remembers from Bio I and Bio II. What genetics does not control is what I refer to as generational characteristics. There is a current field of study called epigenetics, “a term used to describe inheritance by mechanisms other than through the DNA sequence of a gene” researching traits passed from parent to child that are not genetic. In trying to better understand this research I stumbled upon this…
In the last post, I commented about trying to tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly. In furthering up my studies, I have since discovered one can distinguish between the two during the pupa stage (but not always) and only sometimes during the caterpillar stage. So much to learn, so little time to learn it all. Couple of weeks ago I went to the local mom and pop feed store for some chicken nourishment. At the front of…
Spring officially began on Wednesday, March 20, two weeks ago today. However, spring at Boxes in Fields has been in bloom for over a month. A month into springy goodness, there are now more vibrant flowers in more vibrant colors. Blue is my most favorite color and blue flowers are hard to come by. This tiny specimen is the size of a nickel and sadly only appears for the day. Did you know that while there are blue plants/flowers in…
Here it is the week of Spring Break and as I stated weeks ago, you may dream of warm spring activities, South Texas is in a throws of winter. Spring Break started out and stayed funky all week long. To the detriment of spring goers across the state, Funky is the Kids M.O so this random weather did not deter his Spring Break plans: Sailing Regatta. On Tuesday’s practice it was chilly, windy, and cloudy. On Thursday’s practice, the weather…
Here it is the first week in March and while most breathing bodies are pondering Spring Break in a few weeks, South Texas is in the midst of full on winter fury. Winter is the least of my concerns, though because sometimes life throws a punch. I am not talking about making lemonade out of bright shiny tasty lemons, I am talking about trying to make lemonade from bitter rotten lemons. It started two weeks ago on a sunny Friday…
Having some beautifully warm spring days, Boxes in Fields took a break from all things work and went for a ride. A bike ride. About an hours drive away is a national wildlife refuge with the bay on one side and tree filled marsh land on the other. There are miles of hiking paths if one is crazy enough inclined to fight mosquito swarms and all roads are bike friendly. Since this is a Texas coastline, all paths are flat….
Brooding: showing deep unhappiness of thought. Setter: a person or thing that sets something. Truer words have never been spoken about brooding hens, especially this hen. Brooders. Setters. One in the same in the world of chicken as they both have the same end result. A brooding hen can either be good or bad depending upon if 1) the hen is knowledgeable in this matter and 2) your desire to have little peppers. Having thought I had a broody chicken…
Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary has been predicting the spring forecast since 1886. People have been planning their crop plantings and livelihoods on the decision of a rodent with a brain the size of a cashew. A rodent whose batting average is less than 40%. A rodent who is given credit for something he has no control over as it is really his “handlers” who determine if there…
Raising chickens in warm humid environments can be challenging. Especially if the hens are egg layers. The longer they sit in the nesting boxes, the hotter they become. To ward off heat, hens will pluck off chest feathers. With extreme heat, hens pluck off feathers under wings and from around backside. Add an additional hen inside the nesting box with the high heat and anger issues arise. Angered hens pluck feathers off each other resulting in naked hens. Plucking feathers…
There is always something a little off at Boxes in Fields. Sure the majority of the oddness comes from the residents, but to be fair, we came by it naturally. Genetically even. Today a packaged arrived from my mom. The outside box was addressed to me but I let the Kid open it. When the inside package was discovered the Kid muttered something along the lines of what a dork, my whole family is crazy. As it was under his…
Holy moly, the new year already. Can’t believe how quickly time flies. Every year people set crazy new years resolutions. Boxes in Fields has fallen victim to this in the past. Not this year. If 2017 and 2018 have taught us anything, it is that plans are not set in stone, rules are made to be broken, and laughter is the key to happiness. Boxes in Fields has only one goal for 2019, to be happy. If what you are…
Look it, look it. Conex one of two for the house has arrived. One half of the house is visibly sitting at Boxes in Fields. This is not to be confused with the Halfway House as in a previous post. This is just half of the total house. Having been purchased many many months ago, the two Conex boxes have been sitting in storage at the Doubter property. At the end of February, the Doubter is retiring and moving to…
When the Kid was a toddler and his age was asked, I was NOT one of those parents who held onto the month’s stage. Oh, he is 18 months, 24 months, 36 months. No, the Kid was a year and a half, two years, three years. Last year he was double digits and being a deal to kids I did not steal this moment from him. However, from this point forward he is now just 11, 27, 57. He is…
There are several modes of thought when it comes to job completion. Depending upon the situation Boxes in Fields has used all of them. Everybody has used them all unless you are a freak of nature. Even still, I bet there is that time. That time that is hidden deep in the dark corners of your personal skeleton closet. You can lie to others but cannot lie to yourself. Get It Done. The job may be done but it probably…
Have you ever seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie? The original movie, before Disney went crazy with sequels? There is a scene where Miss Elizabeth has been left on an island and she burns the rum in order to be saved and Jack Sparrow keeps muttering about why the rum. That has been my line for the last three days. WHY THE BOOT! Why! After weeks and weeks, no maybe even months and months of rain, the last…
Holy moly batman. Boxes in Fields has gone from cooler fall days to full on winter! Last week the Kid and I worked up a sweat on our 5mile bike ride. The weather was cool enough to warrant a long sleeve shirt in the AM but nothing more. This week the doggo is demanding her electric blanket for her old bones. This week, it is dark and gloomy, cold and windy, and wet. Temperatures never reached above 60’s and the…
Somethings in life fall into the never again category. When summer is beating down, the mosquitos are ramping up, and the relentless winds are blowing away your resiliency, one being to ponder if fall is never again going to come. This pondering always leads to the whys. Why does anyone voluntarily live here? Why did I move back again? Why do I live here now? Why, why, why? But just as you are debating the ramifications of moving away to…
The last week of September started out as such a beautiful week. Monday started clear and remained clear as the off the shelf windows were installed. Tuesday was equally as fantastic. Wednesday was Simpsons blue sky and white puffy clouds. Add the with little wind and less than hot temperatures and it was weather worth dreaming about. Writing about. Living about. Then the rains came as predicted on Thursday. More than predicted, actually. When you look outside to this, all…
You can’t even tell last Monday there was standing water after Boxes in Fields attempted to be washed off the face of the map. Hurricane Harvey winds was last year. Flooding 17+ inches of rain in two days was last week. Can’t even tell. Look how dry the sand is. Good ‘ol Texas heat. With things drying out the Work Box had windows installed. Unlike the windows in the Kid’s Box, these are new construction windows. The local hardware box…
By Monday afternoon after the weekend’s rain, water was receding. Again. This time in its wake, it left a mess. Sticky mud. Water rushing across the flat and peoples yards washed mud into the roadways and low spots. Mud here is not mud of most places. It more sand and clay with salt and marine debris mixed together. But for some reason, it is super sticky. Sticky like bog mud. It is fun. It sticks to shoes and dries like…
If you follow this blog, then you know there is already a post with this title. Water, Water Everywhere the first time (almost two years to the date of this post) dealt with our lack of drinkable water. This post will deal with our lack of catchable water. Wednesday morning dawned wet and sticky. After a night of thunderstorms, the day cleared out to a fantastic blue sky clear of haze and summer dust. No, the above two pictures are…
Let it be said when referring to Cyberdyne this is in reference to the Terminator movies, not the real life Japanese based company. Cyberdyne as in the idea of machines/computers taking over the world. If it suits you better, then refer to the title as the Matrix. That is probably a better title, anyways. We think only what the computer wants us to think. Hmmm…. Food for thought… See this is how it starts. You take an innocent picture on…
It’s Labor Day, let’s get laboring. After taking a few days off from ALL work, I woke up this morning and decided today was the day to get back at it. There is a list of work to do that grows longer every day. Remove one, add two. However, not wanting to overdo the holiday and the weekend, I settled on installing the Work Box man door. It is an easy job and not having to open, close, and lock…
It all started so innocently three years ago. The in-laws took the Kid to their house for a week to participate in a summer sailing program. My father in law sailed off and on again since before he could walk and thought the Kid would like to sail. Heck, we live on the bay and getting a small sailboat is cheap. Yes, the boat is cheap. It’s the rest that adds up. If it weren’t for family and friends all…
In the last post, I promised you an update on Boxes in Fields. Unfortunately, there has not been much going on as all the time is devoted to the Work Box and it entails. There have been so many trips to the Big City #1 and #2 over the last six months I can’t even keep count. Miles and miles of Texas… Or how about this one: the sun has risen, the sun has set, and we ain’t left Texas…
Stress. What an amazing experience. The last post about the Work Box left you with the framework that needed sandblasting and painting. That was at the end of January and today it is the end of April. How did it happen three full complete months have passed with little to show for it? Stress. That is how. It is not as there was not plenty of work accomplished and completed in those three months. It is just that there are…
There is nothing more spring than colors. And this spring is becoming more springy than last year and Spring Has Sprung was nothing shabby. I am not even going to attempt to name these fantastic beauties. That would require a degree in plantology. Yes, plantology. A botanist I am not. Nor a Master Naturalist which I would love to become if I had 500 hours of time to devote to class and field study. Okay, not 500 hours but more…
I never want the Kid to grow up and say all his parents did was work. While there is plenty of work, there is plenty of play too. One just needs to redefine the word play. There has been plenty of time for mad knot tying skills on end bed plates, LEGO building… tree stump removal via the Tonka truck… some electric spider thingy build and modification… and don’t forget sailing. Yes, practice sailing is still fun. Now, if you…
Yes, you may have noticed that the first post of 2017 was the Shop Box Outlined and that the first post of 2018 is the Work Box Outlined. No, it was not planned that the first post of 2018 would also be about box outlining and footings, it just happened that way. With things as they were in the last part of 2017 I am truly amazed we are pouring footings for yet another two boxes at all. Now here…
Oh, what a year…2017 turned out to be…A freeze and heat and in between…As I reflect, it was a year… What did you think of my Four Seasons “December 1963” impression? Not bad for being not musically talented. Every year thousands of people claim the past year was a year to remember. Well, 2017 at Boxes in Fields was most definitely a year to remember. A year to remember for years to come. Years… This happened and that happened. Things…
Here today, gone tomorrow. Truer words have not been spoken about Texas weather. Two weeks ago it it was 33℉ and snowing. Two days later it was sunny and upper 60’s. Crazy. The last couple of weeks of November and the first week of December have been busy, busy. According to the schedule, the next coming weeks are going busy, too. Not busy, busy. Just busy with some hiccups along with way. With the ground prep work done on the…
Walking in a winter wonderland… Is this not the most beautiful picture ever? There are no filters, modifications, or alterations. This is exactly the same picture as it was taken straight from a cheap smart phone camera. Ahh-mazing! Thank you Caretaker for driving to the casa to take pictures of a snow covered Boxes in Fields! All of this beautiful winter weather and Boxes in Fields were not at home to experience it. Boo-hoo. Three glorious fluffy inches of snow…
Hot dog, more work. There is no shortage of work right now. Plans for the next two weeks are detailed down to the last minute of each day. Hoping the weather does not change, the Planner has rounded up family and friends to expedite work. It all started with this simple delivery on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Have you figured out what was delivered? Yup, you’ve guessed it. Sono tubing. Do you know what that means? More conex boxes. I…
Like father, like son. Like, mother, like daughter. Well, this kid may look like a mini-me, but he is his father’s child. From his mannerisms, to his quirky remarks, his taste in music to his artistic abilities, this kid is more like his dad than me. Never have you seen me carrying around notebooks to meet the sudden urge to doodle. That is a Planner trait. The Planner and his excessive amounts of notebooks. Never have I had created beautiful…
The Kid has been staying in our teeny tiny Airstream again and let me tell you, NOBODY has patience for that anymore. It was one thing when he was three, four, and five. It’s a whole other story when he is almost 10. Poor thing he doesn’t fit on the couch without scrunching into a ball. When did he get to be so big? No, not old because that implies I too am older and I am not. I am…
On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again….. Oh, Willie, who knew your words would strike an accord with so many people for so long time . Yeah, we are on the road home. Goodbye squatting home and welcome Boxes in Fields home. Goodbye to AC and full sized stove/oven. Goodbye two bedroom, one bathroom with tub. Hello to three people and a doggo in one teeny tiny trailer. Ahhh, home. The closer we got…
Since Plan473 still does not have any electricity and as we can no longer just sit around, we decided to keep removing, cutting, and sorting of the broken trees. Some would say that it is busy work but at least I can show something for my efforts. Just think in two years or so, we will have plenty of dried wood for BBQing. Besides, cutting firewood makes me happy as I get to use the chain saw. Hot dog, I…
Normally, I like to start a post with a picture. It kinda sets the ground for the post. However, a note must be said in order to move forward. Today’s date as I publish this post is November 20, 2018 and I started writing this post five days ago. It has taken me that long to process emotions and feelings onto paper. Yes, you read correctly, it has been fifteen months after Harvey. Fifteen months since I have looked at…
You know, maintenance is designed for those who enjoy self torture. After spending a few days re-caulking the Rainstream, scrubbing baseboards with a toothbrush, wiping down walls, and cleaning out of all cabinets from the past three years of residue, I decided enough was enough. Truer words have not been spoken when children complain about making their beds. Why make the bed when it is just gonna be unmade tonight? Why scrub the trailer when we are just gonna move…
O’ Brother Where Art Thou is probably one of the best movies ever. EVER! One of the best lines before Harvey: “Well ain’t this place a geographical oddity! Two weeks from everywhere!” One of the best lines after Harvey: “Well ain’t this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere”. It has been two weeks since Harvey forever changed Boxes in Fields. Friends and family and people unknown continue to offer support and assistance from clean up crews, to meals,…
Because at this point there are just no words…. The highlight of the adventure home, besides the fact very little damage was received, was the chickens. All eleven survived and all ten seemed to be laying eggs. Hurricane or no hurricane, these are some egg laying peepers!
What an amazing, life changing experience last week held for Boxes in Fields. There was sandlands, desert lands, and mountainlands, moose, elk, and pronghorns, and highways, backways, and dirt ways. There was camp food, fast food, and local joint food. Just a few hours short of one week from the start date, the Solar Eclipse traveling truck was returned, traveling gear switched vehicles, and the solar eclipse viewers continued traveling for another three hours to get home. Last week Thursday…
Thursday started out like any other work day at 6:15am. Work from 7-4 and at 4:39 pm we are finally on our way to our vacation! Aren’t we just the epitome of happiness? I had a rough day at work, the Planner was sunburned from a day spent packing travel goods, the Kid is just a kid and happy to be doing anything new, and the doggo, well the doggo is indifferent. Friday, started out with breakfast with the Doubter…
It is Wednesday and tomorrow we leave for Solar Eclipse 2017. Just less than 24 hours and we will be headed for the long, glorious trip North. North, to the land of cooler, drier weather. North, to the land of the flat, grasslands in front of treed mountains. North to watch an event that has not happened in the continental US in over 30 years. North to a much-needed vacation. Because this week has been just as hectic as last…
Do you have children? Nieces? Nephews? Younger cousins? Neighbor kids? Well if you do or you don’t, the following statement will not matter. What matters is that you hold true to it. This statement, depending on your age, will go against how you were raised, how you might have raised your children, how you will continue to raise your kids, and will be a running thought at the back of your subconscious mind if you ever raise your own kids….
Time is a tricky thing. Some days it snails past you. Other days it subsonics past you. Here it is the 9th of Aug, a full third way into the month. We leave for Solar Eclipse 2017 one week. One week and there is so much to do still in preparation for vacation. Work, window, work, sailing, work, secure chicken checkers, work, you get the idea. Wanting the Shop Box fully windowed and hatched before our trip, the Planner has…
Good grief! It is a good thing most other projects do not take so long to complete. The third window took three days to complete. First, the frame wouldn’t fit. Then, the wind protection box had to be modified two additional times before it worked as needed, sort of. Finally, on the third day’s attempt, the hatch was installed with little complications and the window was completed, finally. Why a solid week from start to finish. Well besides the Planner…
What a busted weekend. Started window number three in the Shop Box and did not complete it. Started an outside shower and did not complete it either. Having so many uncompleted projects leads to more uncompleted projects. They seem to multiple, exponentially. Not wanting more uncompleted projects, Monday the parts to the shower were bought at the local box hardware store. A change of plans about how to build the shower is one thing. A change of plans when driving…
Somethings in life are just not fair. In college, it was taught fair is what is right for the individual student, not the class as a whole. While I adhere to this thinking to most everything I do in life, sometimes life is just not fair. The summer heat is upon us here in South Texas. Temperatures are in the upper 90’s and the humidity is in the 90th percentile. Okay, I don’t really know how high the humidity has…
Gosh, where has the time gone? These tiny, little fluff balls are already five months old and have been in need of a much larger watering system. With a vacation in the next few weeks, now was the time to build one. Didn’t want to wait until the last minute in case the original idea did not work as intended. Besides, a larger, self filling system would mean one less thing the Sailor will have to check on while we…
Guess you are wondering where the posts have been? They have been working, that’s where. Summer is a busy, busy time for me at work. Summer is a busy, busy time for me at Boxes in Fields. Last month after the Kid participated in the local regatta, he was given a grant to attend a month long sailing camp in the next city over. He did so well we continued classes for the month of July, too. Classes are Tuesday…
What is a sailor’s favorite joke?Knot Knot Jokes! Thank you, I will be here all night. Hey there, what a fan-dancy looking knot! Because the Kid is now participating in sailing, and I feel it is important to understand the knots he is supposed to be learning, I am learning them too. This is a barrel knot, one of the many stopper knots used on boats. What is a stopper knot? It is simply a knot used to stop the…
Try as I may, I never seem to complete an idea for a blog. Cameras were purchased for the purpose of recording at various angles and compiling a video instead of taking picture after picture. However, as of yet, getting the camera to record the idea in my head has not happened. Not to mention how time-consuming videos are to take, prepare, and load onto the blog. Don’t get me wrong, I watch a fair amount of vlogs but just…
Help we are being robbed by the masked sailor! This last week has been spent preparing the Kid for his very first sailing regatta. Nothing like a drop kick to the butt to ge tone going. “Hey Kid, there is gonna be a youth regatta at the local sailing club. You sailed for a week last year at camp, you wanna participate?” Three days later after trip to the next city over for borrowed sailing gear, a quick refresher in…
I have put this off and put this off and have even omitted discussing in several posts because I had this great idea to write a tool post. Yet here it is, a year later and I have decided now is the time and I have more tools than anticipated. In order to proceed, clarification is in order. Some of these tools are new to us on loan and some of these tools are new to us because they were…
Don’t you just love Star Trek? Cheesy lines, trouble with tribbles, and bad acting. It was great! First, there was no power, now there is no easy access to power. The main power pole to Boxes in Fields is less than 20″ away from the man door. To have power into the shop, an extension cord must be run outside. This has been working just fine and would probably work just fine for most situations. However, in a shop of…
Lexico.com states a mandoor is “a slave who acts as the foreman of other slaves”. Thankfully we are not talking about slaves and slave foremen. In modern society, man doors are doors to the man cave. When I was a child, hell until just a few years ago, I had never heard of the word man door or man cave. Reference.com states a man door is “is a standard swing-style door that is built into a garage door. It may…
In 1993 there was an ever so popular country song that here 25 years later the songs still plays in my head on Monday. “With the alarm clock ting a ling a ringin’ in my head, I woke up dog tired, beat down half dead. Tryin’ to recover from another wild weekend, chuggin’ down the coffee when I should’ve been sleepin’ Well, it sure is Monday, isn’t it now.” I think Mark Chesnutt had something going there with that song….
Last week may have ended with beautiful warm sunny DRY days but this week is promising more rain. May/June are typically the wet months and while Boxes in Fields likes the rain, the rain makes it difficult to progress when the tractor is stuck in the Tractor Box and it is needed at the Shop Box. Oh, well at least the week started off with a bang. What a better way to start a week than with the purchase of…
Sundays are supposed to be slow days. Days spent at home relaxing before the return of the stressful work week. Sundays at Boxes in Fields are like any other day of the week. Work. At least here lately they have been just work. On the Sunday while the the Planner was welding the metal door frame on the Shop Box, the Kid was doing whatever nine-year boys do, I decided to get out the ever trusty old toothbrush and scrub…
After a productive weekend, Monday was used as a down day. The conex box was cleaned up from its weekend worth of work and then just observed for its general awesomeness. With nothing else on the agenda, the Planner and the Kid decided to make a hot shot run to the Big City #1 to pick up materials on Tuesday. Of course as with all things at the metal store, getting there is the easy part. Picking up the materials,…
Three days of hard work and one day of prep work has kept the Planner very busy. The Doubter came down for a three day weekend to help with the conex shuffle and slide. However, before any shuffling or sliding could happen, more prep work had to be completed. Paint. First step is always the hardest. Where to start, when to start, should I start. Make painting the first step and the step now becomes harder. Nobody likes to paint…
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Growing up there used to be a commerical played over the weekends enticing people to visit and shop a newly developed neighborhhod. At the time, the neighborhood was quite the drive from anything happening in Big City #1. The annoucer used to talk about the quite serene neighborhoods all while yelling into the mic. Hello, it is an advertisement on the radio. He did not need to yell. The ticket about this weekend tradition was that potential…
In one short sentence, rather video, I can wrap up the two weeks since The Conex Slide. Cock-a-doodle-doo the rooster is crowing! And crowing…. And crowing… And oh my word, just close your beakadee-beakadee-beak-beak already!!!!! Yes, I love my little peepers who are now two months old. They are fun and cute and yes, vocal. They are not however this freaking rooster vocal. I have never once said in all my years, “Let’s get a rooster!” There have many other…
Ah, chickens. After being released into their new chicken run on Friday, a lot of time was spent over the weekend just watching the little peepers do their thing. There is something very relaxing about chickens maintaining proper hygiene. Have you ever watched a chicken scratch? I am not talking about seeing a chicken scratch, I am talking about intently watching how they scratch. Satisfying was it not? How does a chicken even know where it scratched? To the untrained…
I originally started this post by saying that it was a slow week. But once I started writing it, I discovered it wasn’t a slow week but a week spent on the same thing. Completion of the little peeper run. At some point more 2×4’s were purchased including this southern yellow pine stamped “Made in Texas”. Didn’t know the great state of Texas made 2×4’s. This bit of new information perplexes me greatly. Where in Texas are trees grown for…
After working and working and working this weekend from sun up to sun down on sandblasting and paint sun structures, Boxes in Fields spent this week getting back to the basics of nature. Gardening. Look at this little gardener working so hard to plant squash seeds on Monday. Three mounds of yella squash with five seeds pushed in two finger digits deep. Precise depth measuring to ensure seeds are not washed away when watering. Thursday evening we went to the…
Wow, I am thirty something and yet I am still amazed at how quickly time flies. It has already been four months since moving to Boxes in Fields from the RV park. The Kid is going to be the big one-zero in just nine months. Nine months. Holy crap Batman, kick in the afterburners and get moving on living. Time is ticking away. But as life has it known over and over, one can neither wish to have time move…
Good grief, because there’s nothing going on the Planner and the Kid decided to ready a plot for a garden. Seriously, sometimes I don’t know about these two. Thinking the ground could be turned by pitchfork resulted in two things, a tired Kid and a broken pitchfork. Guess handed down tools don’t last forever. As it was only the handle that broke and a new handle was not readily available, the Planner finished the job with the tractor. Once done…
It seems like every time plans finally get back on track another hooey is thrown. Almost two weeks since the last rain delay, another more potent deluge was received on the 11th. This time, there was an 8″ deluge. What a way to start a weekend! Sunday, with nothing better to do, it was decided to finally open the camcorder purchased a few days before. Of course, as it turns out, I was the practice dummy. And who loves the…
Texas weather is unpredictable during the spring. Hot then cold. Dry then drowning. And my favorite calm breezes then batten down the hatches winds. All of these can change at the drop of a pin and several times a day. Somehow in all this craziness, spring has managed to arrive in all its beauty. Knowing next to nothing about wildflowers. What is do know is that they are beautiful and I must take the time to enjoy their beauty. And…
Yeah, the swamp has finally dried out and the little peepers are out of the trailer, out of their brooding boxes, and in the coop. Without another moment wasted, the Planner was back at work on the subframes again. Two weeks have past since the outer frames were erected. Now for the inner frames and cross bracing. Upon erection of the outer subframe, a mistake in the design was discovered. Unlike other measured errors, this was more than an inch….
Not two days after being placed in the brand new chicken coop did I decide the standard chicken waterer and feeder had to go. I know, I know. I even ranted about why I used chicken nipples in the first place several posts ago but I thought maybe little peepers wouldn’t be as messy as chickens. Wrong, wrong, wrong. If anything, they are messier. Their little feets can stand within the water ring meaning when they poop it lands directly…
Ahh, the roller coaster of Texas weather. Last Friday, meltiiiing. Bet you remembered to read in your best witch voice today, didn’t you? Ha! Saturday, less than 24 hours after recording 116 in the trailer, layers were needed. Cold weather aside, the weekend’s plans were to continue on with the chicken box. Completion was the goal. As you are well aware, time is not on your side at times. Worked hard all weekend, and yet the coop is still not…
It is amazing how fast a week can fly by. Every day the realization: 1) another day is gone, 2) a post has not been written, and 3) there will never be enough time in a day to accomplish everything can be a little overwhelming. Last week Thursday and Friday, the subframe was started and it moved so smoothly it was thought to have been completed by now. But it turns out, timeline planning has the same accuracy of predicting…
Taking just under half a days time over a two day period, the Planner erected the outside subframes for the shipping container boxes. Why are you asking yourself did it take so long? Just one word for you: Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. The subframes were built with only inches to spare. No fudge room. No give room. Only precision. Ensuring the subframes were exactly where they supposed to be required them to be checked for “square and plum” over and over…
Happy Hallmark Day! Did you remember to buy every person you know a valentine day card, some chocolate, a flower? Oh, you did, well good for you. Not me. This is a not, nor has it been for a really, really long time, a holiday I embrace. This is a holiday solely for the purpose of buying crap we don’t care about to give to people we don’t care about. Guess you could say it was ruined in college when…
It’s is not spring, but it should be. The weather is warm, warm, warm and summer is months away. If temperatures keep with this trend, Texas will melt by summer’s end. What better way to spend a warm sunny winter day? Spring cleaning! Yes, spring cleaning in February. Many, many years ago I read a quote by Ellen Degeneres on ridding life of clutter. “One can spring clean or move”. How true her statement is. Nothing can rid one of…
The Planner and the Kid went to big city #1 for a week to build subframes needed to support the Shop boxes. According to regulations, the floor of the shop must be 18″ above base flood elevation of 7 feet which results in a finished floor height of 4 feet above natural grade. Before any frames could be built, materials were needed. This above all other steps in the subframe building process was the most infuriating and time-consuming. Apparently, it…
From start to finish, in cold and hot weather, with gentle breezes and gale force winds, with and without help from friends, the final footing was poured yesterday. Who-hoo, ten footings! Can you believe on this monumental moment only one single picture was taken! ONE! Oh sure, there was a camera running to capture the whole process but only one still image. No close ups, no steps of the process, no moment in time. And, to make matters worse, the…
It has been a while since I’ve posted about the Water Management System. Went on and on about not having any water and now that I do, not a drop. Figures, really. It is easy to rant and rave. It takes time and effort to report. Let us recap the great water debacle. I guess one could say it all started when the land was still under the 30 day option period way back in Nov 2015. The Request for…
Can you believe it? The day has finally come. Footing #1 was poured, Oh, wait, what’s that you say? Footing #2 was poured, too. Hot damn!!! It was a very busy weekend and major progress was made at Boxes in Fields. With all the excitement on Saturday, yet another picture of the water collected in the holes was not taken. You just have to believe me when I say five wet/dry vacuum cleaner buckets were collected at a four-gallon capacity. …
Every new year seems to start out busier than the previous year. The new year represents plans and goals, resolutions, and normal work weeks. Everybody, even those who say they don’t, have New Year’s resolutions. Boxes in Fields has set their New Year’s resolution bar very high. Very high indeed. The plan at Boxes in Fields is to be out of the RV before Stinky Feet turns the big 1-0. What would be a better birthday gift than for the…
A Texas winter on the coast is unlike any winter experienced elsewhere. The usual signs of fall and winter with colored, crunchy, dead leaves don’t arrive until late December and into January. Vibrant colors are always so fantastic. Honestly, there is nothing like the multiple colored leaves of a poison ivy plant to set the winter moods. Sure, there are other signs, but they just happen and you don’t really see the changes. It is more like you wake up…
Here we go again. Another year, another moving of this pile of One Man’s Trash. Hopefully, this will be the last time this material is moved. If wasn’t so useful, it would just be scrapped. However, my waste-less (everything can be reused at least once more) side just can’t throw it away. So it gets moved. Again. This time, we are moving it to the far side of the property where it should be out of the way for any…
With the end of the year here, Boxes in Fields spent the last few days wrapping up some odds and end projects in preparation for next year. In order to move forward, one must have a good footing. Working around in a mess is not the start to a solid foundation. To obtain a solid footing foundation, the very first thing needing completion was the clean up and organization of the two Storage boxes. One box is mainly being used…
Aww, what a sweet dog! How old is your puppy? If you believed in pictures, then you’d be right. Honestly, how can anyone resist something with this level of cuteness? She is loyal to a fault. Her breed, which is pure-d mutt, must have some kind of pack dog breed mixed in because she follows the Planner around like a monkey on a leash. He walks, she walks. He sits, she sits. She sits even when she doesn’t fit. Like…
I am not even going to attempt to explain the water management system the Planner created. I am not going to explain because I don’t understand it. There are pipes controlling the water flow from the collection tank to the IBC storage tank, from the collection tank to the either one or both of the 3000 gallon storage tanks, from the collection tank to the trailer, and any other combination needed. It a 5 factorial (5!) math problem. All I…
Yeah, the holidays are among us. There will be ham, cranberry sauce, decorated cookies, and spiced drinks. There will be good gifts, bad gifts, forgotten gifts, and returned gifts. There will be kids home from school, businesses open but workers not working, packed stores, and busy streets. General attitudes will deteriorate at the biggest gift-giving day of the year nears closer and closer. Unless of course, you do not celebrate holidays. Then for you and me and many, many other…
Last week, the free water collection was worked out leaving the Planner with the next, more difficult step. The water management system. As mentioned before, the system for moving water from one tote to another is not as simple as turning on a valve. Fortunately, there is still time to work out all the details for the management system. Right now, there is a platform to build. And oh, what a platform it is, too. As with all structures built,…
After several setbacks from incorrect equipment and bad weather, Boxes in Fields finally has WiFi. Now that I know what the WiFi connection looks like, I am realizing even more residents and businesses of this fine county have WiFi service from this local mom and pop provider. It saddens my heart even more about the level of services unavailable in these great states. Since finding out last weekend about our source of free water it has been very busy here…
Since moving from the RV park to Boxes in Fields, just over one mile from city hall in a county of 20K+, it has come to our attention that we now reside in a black hole. I know you are thinking: A) we chose to live here and B) we are being dramatic. Yes, we chose to live here. But as discussed in previous posts, some things did not come to our attention until after signing on the dotted line. …