Stewie, great to see you back.  I got a 1/2 acre piece of land out front of our property that I plan to plant a big garden, fruit trees and berry bushes at some point....but I'm buried over in a building project that is going on 5 months now.....

ha, i have the same. i need to set it all ablaze soon and get wildflowers down for my bees (that's another exciting story i need to tell).

2017 taught me me that i am one man, and a limited resource. i have to plans and prioritize.

so we've had the 2500 for a year this week.

we've been 20000+ on it since, had to replace the fuel pump (which died unexpectedly at a gas station a few days before christmas), shocks, tires, evap can and now since the pump was replaced the gas cap indicator comes in (along with check engine light again).

we've had to put some $ into her, but my wife loves that truck and they'res something satisfying about hearing the roar of that engine while merging onto a road.

i need to get it in to get the check engine light looked at again.

Imgur, nice to see you’re still plugging away. Couple different guys have asked about you from here over the last few months btw so you have not been forgotten.

busy. check my thread in the parenting area and it'll give u more updates.
stewie is alive and well.

i may need to make my own 2017 stewie thread.
i put myself in the hospital making honey wine, too.

Update?

so 2017 was a very hard year for us. Rewarding but hard. we lost almost our whole garden during a terrible storm, but now we have sheep and goats and more chickens.

We shifted focus to the barn which is literally falling apart. that will be my project for most of the year along with this.
The barn needs to be systematically demo'd. the animals reside in one part now, so i need to make a temp structure (going to get a shed from home depot) before demoing the structure.
I hope to re-use the inner materials for other project but everything that faces the elements is rotted out.

i finally got the mini range setup and berms built courtesy of a friend who let me borrow his backhoe for a weekend. so i can actually enjoy myself on occasion.

it was so dry post-harvey i had the chance to get into the pond (tank) and get rid of all the trees and brush. it was so dry i was able to drive my car into it at one point. That took me 2 months of daily cardio and 3 chainsaw chains later it's done.

sorry, haven't been on here in a long time.

put almost 20K on her in just under a year.

had to replace shocks, evap can and windshield (totally my fault). Cooper ATP's are amazing tires.

got 21mpg one evening going home.

other then that, she runs strong and is an amazing traveling vehicle.

that's a good price for the GMC considering the age. they stopped making them that year IIRC.
since it has a plow, id assume its seen a lot of snow and possibly salt, so check for rust.

Any updates or issues with your 2500 suburban?

I wasn't really looking for one, but it became available nearby.  Debating whether I should buy it.  We have been pulling a 25 foot enclosed trailer weighing about 5000 lbs most weekends racing motocross.  The wife would rather drive this instead of my truck.  A little more space inside, room for dogs, etc.  I took it for a quick drive yesterday.  Body is near perfect, interior is 8 out of 10 for condition.  All options.  Drives like I would expect for 146k miles, front end is a little loose, but otherwise seems ok.  The plow was only used on personal driveway, its a one owner local vehicle.  So its really pretty ideal, just the mileage makes me worry.

http://www.greencc.com/VehicleDetails/used-2012-GMC-Yukon_XL-4WD_4dr_2500_SLT-East_Moline-IL/3069836103

haven't been posting here much. life is keeping me busy. Since ya'll are into masculine and offensive things like trucks, i'll provide an update.

We've had this beast for just over 5 months now. Logged close to 8000 miles already. Average MPG is about 16 (with me driving it), 14.5 with my wife. MPG goes out the window the minute a trailer is attached. My largest haul was about 6000 lb's of sand about 6 weeks ago. Truck handled it like a champ.

The right rear TPM often throws errors like telling me the tire is flat, i need to get that looked into.
left passenger door lock doesnt lock/unlock a lot of the time

Scheduling her for an oil change and tire rotation soon.

And what also helps is sugar water feeder, if they have a food source they usually stay!

i had a top feeder.

Quote from: stewie on May 09, 2017, 08:09:38 AM

i woke up real early this morning thinking about the swarm hive. i had to check on them.

They left. 
Probably saturday or sunday,
Im real disappointed. I think i disturbed them too much over the weekend.

That does stink there Stewie.....probably the swarm didn't like the proximity to the tame hive.....wild preservation montra "keep identity" don't become "secular progressive" 

they could have been offended.

i have way too many snowflake animals on this farm. i dont need snowflake bees, too.

i woke up real early this morning thinking about the swarm hive. i had to check on them.

They left. 
Probably saturday or sunday,
Im real disappointed. I think i disturbed them too much over the weekend.

and how are the 2 hives getting along?

fine. they do their own thing. It's not uncommon to have apiaries where hives are 4-6 feet from each other.

no MMA or gang fights breaking out.

If i see broken bottles and brass knuckles then i have problems.

2nd hive is here. they're busy... the swarm hive has made themselves at home. they're drawing comb now which is a good thing. I hope they thrive.


The LZ. Forward hive is the full one. Rear s the swarm hive. It has a larger feeder on top, while the forward hive has a smaller internal one since they're more established.



BURR comb from the swarm hive i had to remove.



inside swarm hive before i pulled the comb

lousy day at work.

come home. let dogs out. larger dog kills rooster.

wife pissed, me angry, daughter upset.

lock hens up for night. one laying in run..... something is up.

she dies in my arms a few mins later.

yep.

/rant

Cool.

Stewie, I was cutting a new trail through the woods and found a huge colony in a hollow tree. I guess they weren't Africanized since I didn't get lit up as I motored by throwing up dust and debris.

How might one go about utilizing those bees for honey?


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um, thats a tough one. you may wanna get a service to help move the hive. When i get more experience i can certainly come out there and help you!
i do have a friend who can help. he's out of Milam county. message me if you want his info.

I'm scheduled to be getting the nuc (bee nucleus) i purchased months ago this coming weekend. There's been a lot of activity on the property to get ready for the bees on top of classes and seminars to help me in this venture i am so excited about.

I cleared a small section of the property that provides afternoon shade, water and is not frequented by people. On top of that rise will be where i keep my hive boxes (2-3 tops).

After clearing bravo echo echo i saw a mass our of the corner of my eye that wasnt there yesterday. I thought it was some slime or pest i needed to shoot or set on fire or something. NOPE!

it was a swarm! swarms happen this time of the year as bees colonies either get too big or they force the queen out. Looks like i have me some bees!

I put on a sweatshirt and goggles just incase. I picked up the swarm with my hands and got it into a box. I need to get a perm home for them today (wasnt prepared for this) and pray they stick around.

Ferrell colonies tend to be great honey producers, but can be a bit more aggressive. No worries, that can be addressed with re-queening in the fall.

Here are a few pics. more on the way over the next week as i get things more situated.

Bravo Echo Echo


handling the swarm


the swarm before handling


yours truly.

Got the email notification this am. All i need to do is reply with my name, address and phone and they will western union me the $.

Happy times here I come!

while we know from the past 16 years we have zero say in what this govt does, we all can probably agree that no good can come of this situation.

The neocons are gunna do what they're gunna do from the safety of their bunkers while we all get to deal with the fallout. No pun intended.

Don't stop prepping.

Well, I'm good with it.

Much better to kill ISIS murders in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, anyplace other than Detroit, Chicago, Houston, or anywhere inside the US.

I mean we are going to have to kill them, I think negotiations went right out the window some time ago. They ARE coming for us, so why not now?

these people are born to die for their beliefs. to them it's a promotion, and they wont stop.

not a single politician or military tactician understands this.

you're up against an ideology that's hardcore. they can stomach a fight because the reward to them is dying for their beliefs.

stomaching a fight it not something the west has been able to go for 70 years.

the russians.

Had the same problem. buying a vehicle 2 states away had people responding like I was a scam artist. but almost the same scenario you had, but these people were saying my phone number was on google. STFU

no scam artist knows the ballistics of the 6.5 creedmoor.

im sure if i did show up at his place with my trailer and cash, he'd either still get in my face (which would get ugly real fast) or feel real stupid.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wZwyJVN1od8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

So my wife and I are in the market for a used UTV for the property. I am browsing craiglists and find a nice machine. I txt.

The guy txt's back like a used car salesman... avid hunter blah blah blah.
I asked if interested in trade (guns, etc). We start talking calibers.
He's 2 hours from me as i need to drive through that hell hole call austin. So obviously i know the geography of the area.
He txts me an hour later and says:

"google says you're a scam!"
"to bad i could not have met you in person!" (was this a threat)?

i responded back with a "you got me mistaken".

"get cash or no deal. google you and said its a scam"

... the internet doesn't lie!!!!

he then calls me and tells me that i am a scammer and google tells him i demand to pay with money orders and i then send couriers to get the item.

Never once did i mention payment...

Told him what i thought of him and his item for sale and what he could do with it.

I've been called a lot of things over the years, but never that!

Stewie. There is a way to tie any laces where they won't come undone. When you are putting the bow end through and then normal pull to tighten. Wrap a second wrap through where you did the first loop and then pull tight. They won't come loose and you can pull the tails like normal to untie them.


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ill try that out, thanks!

Some updates to the project. I finally got the relief valve added, i am sure i will get it tested this weekend with the proposed storms. below are pics of it horizontal and then the final solution of me using the remove elbow joint to put it downward which i feel will be better to create pressure to push the water into hose. The water will drain out about 100 feet from the house into my garden area (will help further saturate the wood chips). If it doesnt work, i will run 1.5" pipe all the way out as i was planning on putting the hose inside of it already to keep it was getting destroyed by the lawn mower.

also, i added a transfer pump to the mix so i can pump water under pressure and use a hose nozzle if needed. It works VERY well.

the pics are everything test fitted, i did not glue anything as of yet.

They served me well. From hiking the canyons of valley of fire in NV to multi-day training courses to keeping my feet warm and dry in the water and mud of my farm, They have finally been laid to rest.



Their next of kin are already being broken in.

ill give stewie credit, he at least is giving the granola burner a good run for its money with a trailer hitch.............

the granola burner has a can-do attitude.

Pics or it didn't happen....? ;)

these were not the day of, but the following. water subsided a bit, but you can see where the problem(s) started. Trailer is empty and moved off to side in the pics. the day before it was about 8" into that mud.

clearing that was one hell of a workout.