The 2013 Project List

Despite my complaining about the lack of Spring-time weather and temperature movement, today actually turned out fairly nice for a few hours. After I got the morning blog post finished and set a lamb roast going in the slow cooker I went out and attacked the "fence line full of junk" project and made some decent headway before the clouds moved in and the wind came up making it slightly less than pleasant outside and killing my motivation. Not much further to go on that project before I can get out the wheeled weed wacker and begin seeing what I missed before grooming it fully over with the push mower. The real slow up right now is all the baling wire and twine left along that fence line that has grown into the ground and weeds. It's almost impossible to find it all and extract what I do find. I am sure I will be extracting a bunch of it out of my mower blades this Summer as well.

I managed to finish all but 1 project on my to do list before Winter really hit. The shop is now completely repainted and the solar charging setup complete as well. The solar got it's last battery placed into the bank last month and has been charging all batteries used around the Small-Hold for well over a year. To finish up the solar project I eventually need to purchase or make a battery cart and pick up a few more electric or battery tools here and there. It's all for pretty lightweight work of course but so far has proven more than enough for routine maintenance around the Small-Hold. For the heavy stuff I still must rely on gas powered engines.

The only real project on the leftover list is pouring a new cap on the cistern and installing a deck over it with a removable hand pump and overflow pipe from the rain barrels. Since I can't seem to get the family owned cement mixer back from the cousins I am more than likely going to have to hand mix this project but I believe I have all the particulars worked out now. I won't bother with this project until the rains have stopped and the weather is guaranteed to be warm.

So additions to my to "To Do Project List" are....  

Building shelves in the newly cleared out storage shed off the barn. Planning and measuring are already done along with the first purchases of wood. Shouldn't take much time at all once I go out and start cutting and installing just been putting it off trying to get the fence line cleared while I can.

Four new raised beds for the main garden section. The raised bed garden is now complete except for the need to finish hauling in dirt for the last two beds I made last Fall. It is now time to begin converting the Western half of the acre garden area into raised beds. I plan on doing four this Spring and constructing the next four this Fall for use next Spring then adding another 16 overall four at a time as long as the situation allows. The Spring rains are simply too unpredictable to have all of my planting eggs in one basket. I still prefer the open system over raised beds for real garden production but drainage is a real problem and weeding impossible here once the rains start.

More fruit trees. So far using the techniques I read and a few hints from readers the Mid-Summer tree planting has worked with no casualties to date and only a bit of rabbit damage. Waiting until the local nurseries place huge discounts on their remaining tress has saved us a bunch of money so far in that department and I see no reason to change right now. So once the trees go on sale I hope to have the first section of old pasture/paddock land converted, tilled and ready for the first installment of fruit trees. Not sure how many we will get this year but eventually I hope to have about 15 in the space allotted for them. Add that to the ones I have already scattered around the place and we should total out at 25 assorted fruit trees. Eventually I may open up another section for more but that is all I am going to be able to plant until some of these useless nag horses begin keeling over. No I am not allowed to help them either.

So those are my initial first Spring/Summer projects this year. I have an abundance of woodenware already constructed and painted so the usual rush in that department is not an issue this year. Priority is brush busting until the growth and rain force me into the other projects or take up too much time mowing and weeding to get much else done.

Once the Spring growth really hits routine maintenance will become the major issue. I usually only have a month at best to get any real brush busting completed.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!