Will it never end?

In my last post I said I had a 3 day week-end coming and I would spend the 3 days building fence panels for the Dogs yard and the New Chicken Yard! What is the old saying "The best laid plans of mice and men".

The first day off was Sunday and it was a really nice day. I got some pallets broke down and a
lot of the wood stained (I love this DIY stain!). Also got some of the wood that I could not use burned.

But yesterday the Sun never shined. When I got up, It was overcast and it looked like rain. But I still wanted to get something done. So out to the pallet area I went and after I got all the tools out, Here comes the rain!
My work shop is so full of wood that I can not work in there, So everything was out side! And with an extension cord from the house as my only power source and the chop saw out in the rain, I called it quits for the day. Put it all away and came into the house.

Then late last night (about 2200) the real storm hit! A line of thunder storms that dumped a lot of rain and had high winds (gusts up to 40 MPH!!), Lasted for over an hour!

And this is what it look like first thing this morning......

Yep, the swimming hole is back!

This is the only part of the garden I have been able to get planted! The tires are planted with two kinds of potatoes and the raised bed has onions and Beets!

And this is the area I call the pallet work area. It's flooded too!

They are calling for more rain and Thunder storms for the next 3 or 4 days. And I know that somewhere down the road we will have our normal drought period, But does not look like it will get here any time soon!

What I really need is another building, bigger than the one I call the Work Shop (12 X 16) that I can at least move some of the pallets inside to work on. And it has to be big enough to allow me to move all my power tools in too!

I went by the place where I got the Work shop to see if they had any returned buildings on the lot and found two that would be perfect. Much bigger then what I have now, But there is no way I can work ether of them into my budget right now or in the foreseeable future! So another building will have to go on my wish list and wait until I become Rich and Famous!

So today I will do laundry and use the dryer because the Sun will not make an appearance today! And maybe I will do another post, An update on the new Babies That I really need to get out side and out of the brooder!

Until then, Maybe I need to think about getting a set of water wings!
Tom

This is too cool!

Ha, Bet you did not expect to hear from me again tonight? But I said I would post again tonight with something really cool to show you.

I posted a while back that I had found a place near by that is letting me haul away pallets by the truck load. And I have all kinds of projects I want to build with them. The main thing I have to build is a fence for the new Chicken yard and a fence for Terri's Dog yard.
Her three Dogs go thou wire fencing like it was not even there! So I though a wooden fence might be better. And the pallets are 30" X 30" and mostly white Pine.

Here is a picture of one of the pallets I get by the truck load.

I break them down with my "Pallet Pal" (see earlier post) and a wreaking bar. And yes there are a lot of nails to pull too, But I will reuse them too!

Here is the first fence panel I put together. I will stack one on top of the other and side- by side, using deck screws.

But because it is Pine, I wanted a way to stain the wood and water proof the whole thing. I also wanted to keep the wood bees out! (They bore holes into fresh cut wood to build a nest where they raise a family!). So I asked Google. Is there anything that Google does not know?

And this is what I found!

Iron Oxide! And it's DIY for less then $3.00 a gallon! 

I take a gallon of White Vinegar and 4 0000 steel wool pads and place them in a bucket for 48 hours. The vinegar breaks down the steel wool and makes Iron Oxide. I then place it in a tote that is longer then the wood, place the wood in and turn it over a couple of times. Pull it out and lay it out in the sun to dry. There is a chemical reaction and the wood turns a dark brown.

Before

And after!

Now this is not dark enough for me, So I wait until it is completely dry and then out them all back in for another go around.

And here is the first panel ready for the water proofing!

Google had the answer for that too! One part Diesel fuel to One part motor oil. Brushed on or it can be sprayed on with a paint gun. It will cost some $$$, but it can't be a high as some water sealant. But I will see!

Pretty Cool, I think! I'm thinking that I will some day put the stained slats up on the walls in my whole house! I dearly hate to paint drywall and I have always wanted to live in a log home. And this may be the closest I may get!

So, two posts in one night! How a bout that?

O' and another thing I got done today. I put together a fire pit, using recycled cinder blocks and bricks. Between the two posts I wrote tonight, I had to test it out! I got a good fire going and took the Dogs out to sit around the new pit. Also had a couple of BEERS while the fire burned and the Dogs curled up near enough that they were able to enjoy the warmth.

So, there you have it! The COOL thing I was able to use and pass on the information to you. Let me know if you try this stain!
Tom

I KNOW, I KNOW!

Your right, It has been forever sense my last post! And it's all winters fault! Old man Winter just did not want to get gone! Here it is the 21 st of April and it's the first day of Spring for us here in the Coastal Region of N.C.
Cold and rain has been the norm and night time temps have been in the 3o's! Frost most every night! It killer the blooms on the Pair trees and I'm not to sure about the Apples! It was so cold this winter that it killed all the Gardenia's. Terri had a plant that was 12 years old and now it's gone!
I started my garden seeds back in February and they are still sitting on the table under lights, waiting for the ground to dry out! And guess what? RAIN Tuesday!

This was my garden just last week

My Friend from next door felt sorry for me and my Garden and he was working a job the required the removal of a lot of dirt. See the dump truck in the upper left corner? Well he filled that thing up 3 times and dumped it in the garden!! And the very next day, It rained all day! That was 10 days ago. It was sunny and dry today. So he got out the big gun today and......

Got the job done!

Made the low spots disappear! (I hope!!)

Nearly done!

May not be pretty, But with a little work and raised beds in, it will be!
I will still use the raised beds, because I know that there are a 1000 weed seeds laying out there waiting to stick their  ugly little heads up!

Come Hell or high water (RAIN!), I will get the potatoes and onions planted tomorrow and hope to get some tomatoes planted by the week end. The seeds I  started  did not do very well, So I guess I will have to get starters from in town!

I have not been Idel while all this nasty weather has been around. And In my next post later tonight, I will show you something really cool!
Until then,
Tom