HOT

Prepped for the hottest day of the season so far.  Cranked up the PepinoII and chilled the house down to 61.9 this morning.  Running the swamp cooler all day, it only made it up to 82.8 inside twelve hours later with a high of 110 outside.

 

Had a visit this morning from the Mahanays.  They tried to come out for a visit just one year and a day ago but my road was too swampy because of rain so I met them at the GrubShack.  Glad they finally made it out to the Field Lab for the official tour.  Got a mug from them with an award winning photo they shot during last years visit.

Benita just passed the 1,400 fans mark on Facebook today.  Haven't seen her granddaughter Penelope for a couple of months but she just happened to come in today with her momma Beatrice.  I think they knew this was a special day for gramma.  Penelope laid claim to the food bowl right away.

It's been 6 months since I last checked on my battery systems.  Only had to add a little water but I think it's time for a cleaning overhaul.  101,110,66,0,B

solar omelette

Morning meet'n'greet with my new filmmaker friend Ian Midgley  http://www.youaregodmovie.com/   He is in SW Texas looking for more folks for his film project.  Hopefully he will be back to shoot a couple of days here next week.  He needs some work footage and I need a spotter - perfect!

Seems we are entering a really good HOT spell out here.  Forecast for over 110 on Saturday and Sunday.  I think the longhorns know it's coming.  They sure seem to know what shade is all about.

Cooked up a bacon(on the bottom), egg and cheese omelette in the solar over this afternoon.  Sliced it all up and added some boiled chard on flour tortillas for dinner burritos.  99,107,65,0,B

UV be gone...

Visit this morning from Rodney and Tammy and their grandson Tirstan.  They came bearing gifts (two satellite dishes and lots of beer) and they got the full tour.  Now that I think about it, Rodney hinted about a photo but it went right over my head at the time - sorry I forgot to get their picture.  Will make sure to get a photo next time they visit.  Off and on the rest of the day finishing the first flush plumbing and painting the PVC parts of the new greenhouse gutter system.  As long as I was busy with spray paint - broke out the stencils and worked 5 special order Field Lab "Staff" tshirts into the work schedule.  95,104,63,0,B

toll road...

Popped the first test pavers out of the forms this morning...a little on the rough side.  Have to keep them covered with plastic for about a week to let them cure.  Got a break in having to make a decision on how to proceed with the greenhouse floor.  I'm now officially permitted to proceed with welding work thanks to our County Commissioner.  Will have to track down a spotter to watch for fire while working (as per the permit) - I don't think the webcam or Benita qualify for this role.

The bumpy roads out here have taken their toll on my truck suspension.  The front struts lost their stuff today which prompted an emergency run to Alpine for repair.  I have a feeling the rear end is about to go but will save that for a near future regularly scheduled trip.  92,102,54,0,B

paver test...

Still mulling over the paver dilemma.  Decided the first thing to do is try casting a couple to see how it goes.  I thought one bag of concrete mix would fill two 17" sq forms 2" deep - came up short.  Will cut the forms down to 16" and try that next.  The wooden forms are sealed with spray shellac and lubricated with a touch of WD40.  The cost of casting them myself is about 1/2 the price of buying pre-made pavers at McCoys, but the same price as Home Depot in Odessa - but getting them from Odessa to here would be cost prohibitive.  I reckon it will all work out...it just has to.  Still plenty of options to consider.

Had a cold dinner tonight...flour tortilla wraps with raw chard (thanks to a second shipment from Dr. Deb) colby and monterey Jack cheese, and chilpotle sauce.  89,101,54,0,B

$2 WELLS

Set up blocks and rebar to firmly attach all four first flush downspouts off the greenhouse gutter system - to the ground.  Porter Construction finished the spill way off the east side of the dam.  Now I have to work out a deal on getting a big load of bentonite to line the water side of the reservoir.  Did the Starlight tonight with JustMe (winner of the blog contest) and our friend Bob (who I have named a longhorn cow after - too complicated to explain.)  Thought I would get a really good deal tonight because of the sign outside the restaurant.  87,100,61,0,B

link sunday...

New calf came in this morning...knew this would happen soon cause the momma was "springing" a couple of days ago.  Bindi is its name.  Got a brilliant new drawing of Benita today from Jeremy McElwrath...brother of Jess - aka http://theshady80.blogspot.com/   Harvested my first 3 tomatoes for supper tonight.  Researched CEB's ( compressed earth block) half the day.  Best links I could find were plans to purchase at http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com/cinvaramplans.html  and this video where I can probably figure it out if I really want to build one.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHfSd1Lkgss&feature=related

Did some digging online for music videos I built props for back in the early 90's and found four - all directed by my filmmaker friend Marcus Nispel.  Really took me back to the day hearing these songs again.  When they shoot a music video, they play the song over and over and over - I still know these songs by heart after all these years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnBOUTtnRBA 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaHxdBs5sOs
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1nan1_curt-smith-calling-out_music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQX2q6WCrbE
92,105,55,0,B