pepino II

Went to bed last night planning on getting up early and doing the threshold pour.  When I woke up - I was no longer in the mood for heavy morning labor.  Transplanted 7 little palo verdes from their peat cups into larger pots.  Decided it was time to extract what was once a tiny volunteer growing with my pomegranate since it was growing like mad.  Not sure what it was but it sure grew fast.  Made 2 water runs today to add 250 gallons to my house tank.  Got pretty hot but the swamp cooler kept up well with a 30 degree difference in air temperatures.  Looks like the 10 day forecast is really gonna put it to the test.  98108,72,0,B

good neighbors...

Received a call this morning from my buddy Scot (delivery driver from McCoys) in Alpine - an hour later I got 84 bags of concrete dropped off to TFL.  There is another local mixer to borrow so I won't have to bust a nut getting the next couple of pours done.

Every now and then, I start to fill Benita's water jug and get side tracked. Next thing I know - I got a river pouring across the yard. It kinda hurts to let water go to waste especially since today is 8 months since the last rain (I don't count the sprinkle I got a couple of days ago)When I caught this one, Benita was already making use of the water fountain I had provided. Think I lost about 25 gallons. Benita didn't seem to mind at all.

It sure is nice to be away from it all but I must say that my closest neighbors have turned out to be really good friends.  The Mt. McKennites and I just hashed out a deal of exchanging some spotting time since we both have a lot of cutting and welding to do.  Tim came out today for an hour so I could get some vital parts in place for my west side greenhouse entrance.  Trading a chance to sit and watch is the best deal ever.

Checked out an update from my friend Ian Midgley's blog today.  Nice feature on his filming visit to The Field Lab and I love the sunset photo he shot of me and my girl.
http://www.youaregodblog.com/post/6239255394/the-field-lab  90,102,68,0,C

Sunday form...

Made a run out to check up on the waterboxx experiment that my friend Bill set up north of me...the drought is taking its' toll - only 4 out of 32 plants are still alive.  Put in a couple of hours prepping the forms for the west end threshold pour.  A couple of rainless clouds rolled in just in time for a decent sunset.  92,99,71,0,B

irony...

Alpine run this morning...groceries (skipped the meat section)...cow snacks...lumber for more concrete forms...and ordered 84 bags of concrete.  Ben the stilt house builder has been out for the past couple of days taking a break from building in Fredericksburg.  Nice as always to visit with him, but the sad thing is that he is taking the beloved Walter home with him.  I'm gonna really miss both of them.  89,101,73,0,B

more planning...

Yet another list underway for parts.  The greenhouse seems to have a lot of parts.  Chipped away at the rock about an hour for the concrete footer at the base of the big doors-to-be on the west side.  Another hot one out here today.  A second palo verde seems to have dried up so a new sprout to replace it soon.  Number 2 is doing quite well.  93,104,74,0,B

clear the way...

The good news is the humidity levels have dropped so my swamp cooler is doing a better job of keeping me cool.  The better news is I cleared half the greenhouse courtyard for the next phase of construction.  Gonna work my way from front to back.  Swept off then cleared the area with my compressor for the next slab to be poured.  The Field Lab site used to be all rock, but milling around out here for the past 3.5 years has created a 1" layer of dust'n'dirt on top...not to mention lots of cow poo.  95,105,72,0,B 

rain not...

Well....the storms looked pretty positive on the doppler radar last night - but much to my dismay, The Field Lab Vortex held firm.  Just as I started to get some sprinkles, the thunderstorms pouring out of the north died out.  Had gusts up to 45mph after the fact which made it a bit difficult to nod off.  Checked the rain gauge this morning...only .02" and seven dead bugs.  I don't think that really counts as rain.  Unfortunately, the accompanying lightning started a new batch of wildfires in the Ft. Davis area.

The windy conditions last night nudged my tanks again so I trucked in 125 gallons of water to weigh them down.  62.5 gallons = 521.25 lbs in each tank...that should certainly help.  Brand new calf was on hand while I was doing the water transfer.

I'm about half way through reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  I have to say this is a "must read" for anyone who eats store bought food without thinking about it.  For me...it is becoming a very powerful inspiration to get my greenhouse up and running.  97,105,75,0,B