bad cows...

Found a group of longhorns here when I woke up....chewed through 2 extension cords (no injuries) and my camera cable - and one of them found some alfalfa in the courtyard.  Chased them all away but they hung near the perimeter almost all day.  Benita and crew stood guard by my entrance for half the day.

Chopped out another 4 inches in hole #1 this morning.  Went south for supplies and while I was gone, Capt. Kirk dropped off a nice big drill bit for me....foot long - 3/4" diameter masonry bit.  That should speed things up.  Spent the afternoon extracting the front wall partition and more extraneous bits out of the Airstream.  96,106,69,0,B

Delivery!

Checked in with Dale at the TSB Mine this morning to get the bentonite numbers.  Took a ride out to the mine to drop off a check.  Passed a couple of longhorns I hadn't seen for months.  All the bentonite for the dam came in at only 4.5 cents per pound including delivery and dozing onto the dam.  I got 58,080 pounds.

Started working on a hole for the future awning on the west side of the greenhouse.  Figured it was time to at least get started since holes don't happen by themselves.  Gotta chop four 3' deep holes through the rock to set my posts into place.  Best way to do this by hand is to drill pilot holes and pry the rock loose.

The GrubShack still lives if only in spirit today...Jerry and Eva dropped by to deliver lunch to me!  They wanted to let my readers know how thankful they are for the support of so many - the Friends of The GrubShack.  

Due to this blog - they have received encouragement and financial support from as far away as South Africa. 

They are still plugging away with all the red tape involved in getting the operation up and running again, and hope to post some progress soon.  The State of Texas does not make it easy to install a septic system for a commercial establishment.  

IMHO - Jerry and Eva seem to be getting the run around from the local authorities and I can't help but think there are other ranch forces involved in their hardship, or surely the GrubShack would never be allowed to open in the first place.  99,110,75,0,B

If you are thinking of moving to Terlingua...

For those who think a move here might be right for them - today it got up to 116 in the shade and it hasn't rained in almost 9 months.  A brilliant quote from my friend Ian Midgley - there are no posers in Terlingua - only survivors.

Decided on a perfect work combo for a HOT Sunday.  First thing - I detached the shredded roll out awning feature on the trailer.   Fired up the AC on the Airstream next to test it out and extracted the offensive cabinetry installed 2 owners ago.  Sure it was functional - but oh so wrong for this creature.  Spent 3 hours in air conditioned comfort (thanks to generator power) taking apart the mess and chucking it out the door.  Already have a taker for the counter tops and cabinets.  106,116,76,0,C

just bein' neighborly...

Day off at TFL.  Helped Chuck with some construction at his place in the morning...till it got HOT.  Made a water run down to Study Butte and ended up driving my north neighbors Fred and Mario back to their ranch - one of their trucks broke down.  Meanwhile...my buddy Czar was in Vegas researching fountains for my greenhouse.  99,112,68,0,C

the eagle has landed...

Did the deed today...the Airstream followed me home.  White knuckled it for the first 20 miles then I felt confident nothing bad would happen.  The trailer pulled like a dream.  The last 2.5 miles was the worst - my washboard dirt road was magnified quite a bit pulling all that weight.  Got it parked and leveled in a spot for me to ponder the future interior...perhaps like this?  http://www.betterlivingthroughdesign.com/renovate/hofarc-airstream-renovation.html
103,111,71,0,C

record heat day...

Boy it was a hot one today...

Spent the swelter gathering parts for the tow job coming up.  Weight distributing hitch from JustMe and a couple of spare hitches and a mongo tool set from my buddy Chuck...he must have big nuts.  106,113,67,0,B 

last load

Screwed the rack down

Mounted the panels

Bentonite done...waiting for the final tonnage tally.  102,112,65,0,B