Hot day for working!
According to the Environment Canada web site, it was supposed to get up to 34°c today. I don't know if it did, but I know the upstairs part of the house is at 28.8°c, which is why I'm sitting downstairs at the computer where it's a more comfortable 24.5°c!
The UV-Index was also at 8, or Very High, so a light-coloured long-sleeved shirt and hat were definite neccessities while working outside today. So was staying hydrated, a task made easier by having a water-cooler/mini-fridge out in the shop. I keep Gatorade in the refrigerator part, and of course there's the huge bottle of clean water (not from the well!) on top. We also checked on the horses' water several times during the day to make sure that they didn't run out either.
We began the restructuring of the boys' paddock today, dismantling the shelter section as it's no longer needed, and moving some of the panels around to make the whole thing bigger. The shelters were originally quickly made to give the horses a place to get shade or protection, but since we built stalls for them inside the former garage, the outdoor shelters were really no longer needed. Mostly, they served as wind-breaks, since the doorways into the stalls are facing West, and the winds just blow right in. We'll have to build new wind-breaks, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. We're expanding the boys' paddock to run along the side of the quonset-shop; The difficulties arise from the fact that there's a bit of a hillside involved, which makes using the portable corral-panels difficult as they're not flexible, so setting them on angles to get up the hill is tricky. The layout creates a run about 12' wide and 100' long between the shop and the outbuildings (the garage/barn and the old chicken-coop) that will be enclosed on either end by the corral panels. My plan is to set up a hot-wire "fence" along the side of the shop so the horses won't try to climb on the curved walls of the quonset. By letting the horses into that area, it solves two problems: It gives them more room to move around in, and it takes care of the difficult problem of keeping the grass trimmed in that area. Win-Win! :)
I finally took a truck-load of garbage to the dump; it took me longer than I had expected to unload it all, as they like you to sort things into Garbage, Wood, and Metal, and I had plenty of all three. It irks me when I take the time and effort to follow the rules, but see plenty of evidence of people who just dump everything in one spot. It's also disturbing to see people throwing away stuff that could be donated, recycled, or otherwise re-used instead of being dumped. As is often the case, I came home with another pile of old lawn-mowers, a small generator, and a small Briggs & Stratton engine. The generator I actually paid $20 for, as it wasn't in the dump itself but was owned by John, who runs the dump. All it should need is a tune-up, and it should be fully functional again. At 2000 Watts, it's a small generator, but that's plenty for running a few lights or small tools. I see 1200-Watt generators selling for over $150, so making a profit on this should be easy. :) Amoung the old lawn-mowers was an old MasterCraft (Canadian Tire) mower that used a Two-Cycle Tecumseh engine! Those are rare, so it would be a nice one to add to my collection if I can get it working again. Even if the mower can't be fixed, the engine-brake handle on the thing is worth $25 (my cost!) to order from the supplier, and this is why I grab old mowers out of the dump any chance I get!
Tomorrow I need to get some conduit-straps to attach the corral-panels to the sides of the garage and hen-house, so I'm hoping the Co-op Agro Centre will have some large enough ones in stock. I think I saw some there the last time I was in, otherwise I'll have to make a trip to Swift Current.
I drove the Chevy Diesel truck into town today to take the garbage in, and it performed flawlessly. I chatted with John about the issues it had last winter, and he asked if I had a cover for the front grill. I said I didn't, and he suggested that was probably why it was having issues - it's was just too cold to run properly, and a grill-cover would likely go a long way in correcting that problem. My only concern now is that it seems to be leaking around the new NAPA fuel-filter, so I may have to go to the GM dealership and get an official GM filter. Best pack some Vaseline first... :/
The UV-Index was also at 8, or Very High, so a light-coloured long-sleeved shirt and hat were definite neccessities while working outside today. So was staying hydrated, a task made easier by having a water-cooler/mini-fridge out in the shop. I keep Gatorade in the refrigerator part, and of course there's the huge bottle of clean water (not from the well!) on top. We also checked on the horses' water several times during the day to make sure that they didn't run out either.
We began the restructuring of the boys' paddock today, dismantling the shelter section as it's no longer needed, and moving some of the panels around to make the whole thing bigger. The shelters were originally quickly made to give the horses a place to get shade or protection, but since we built stalls for them inside the former garage, the outdoor shelters were really no longer needed. Mostly, they served as wind-breaks, since the doorways into the stalls are facing West, and the winds just blow right in. We'll have to build new wind-breaks, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. We're expanding the boys' paddock to run along the side of the quonset-shop; The difficulties arise from the fact that there's a bit of a hillside involved, which makes using the portable corral-panels difficult as they're not flexible, so setting them on angles to get up the hill is tricky. The layout creates a run about 12' wide and 100' long between the shop and the outbuildings (the garage/barn and the old chicken-coop) that will be enclosed on either end by the corral panels. My plan is to set up a hot-wire "fence" along the side of the shop so the horses won't try to climb on the curved walls of the quonset. By letting the horses into that area, it solves two problems: It gives them more room to move around in, and it takes care of the difficult problem of keeping the grass trimmed in that area. Win-Win! :)
I finally took a truck-load of garbage to the dump; it took me longer than I had expected to unload it all, as they like you to sort things into Garbage, Wood, and Metal, and I had plenty of all three. It irks me when I take the time and effort to follow the rules, but see plenty of evidence of people who just dump everything in one spot. It's also disturbing to see people throwing away stuff that could be donated, recycled, or otherwise re-used instead of being dumped. As is often the case, I came home with another pile of old lawn-mowers, a small generator, and a small Briggs & Stratton engine. The generator I actually paid $20 for, as it wasn't in the dump itself but was owned by John, who runs the dump. All it should need is a tune-up, and it should be fully functional again. At 2000 Watts, it's a small generator, but that's plenty for running a few lights or small tools. I see 1200-Watt generators selling for over $150, so making a profit on this should be easy. :) Amoung the old lawn-mowers was an old MasterCraft (Canadian Tire) mower that used a Two-Cycle Tecumseh engine! Those are rare, so it would be a nice one to add to my collection if I can get it working again. Even if the mower can't be fixed, the engine-brake handle on the thing is worth $25 (my cost!) to order from the supplier, and this is why I grab old mowers out of the dump any chance I get!
Tomorrow I need to get some conduit-straps to attach the corral-panels to the sides of the garage and hen-house, so I'm hoping the Co-op Agro Centre will have some large enough ones in stock. I think I saw some there the last time I was in, otherwise I'll have to make a trip to Swift Current.
I drove the Chevy Diesel truck into town today to take the garbage in, and it performed flawlessly. I chatted with John about the issues it had last winter, and he asked if I had a cover for the front grill. I said I didn't, and he suggested that was probably why it was having issues - it's was just too cold to run properly, and a grill-cover would likely go a long way in correcting that problem. My only concern now is that it seems to be leaking around the new NAPA fuel-filter, so I may have to go to the GM dealership and get an official GM filter. Best pack some Vaseline first... :/