RDM

Hi Bob, Wow - that's impressive! You've really done a lot - to say the least! Very nice layout for the raised beds. I wish I had the time to work on home projects F/T. Maybe in a couple more years. Can appreciate the clearing work. After moving into our place in 2009 we reclaimed 1/2+ acre that was not maintained for decades. Removed 30+ trees, regraded the ground with a power rake, removed four 30 yd dumpsters of debris and spread over 100 yds of 50/50 topsoil and mulch and 400 lbs of seed. Managed to grow some great weeds! It was a lot of trips with the Kubota BX and a 4 foot bucket. You have a REAL tractor with that MX5200. Would love to have a Kubota B with the glass cab, AC/heat and 5 foot bucket, but can't justify it with our smallish spread. Below are a few pics of our wall project. Started the project 3 years ago by relocating some azaleas that were on the hill where the terraces are now - fortunately they all lived! In 2024 I removed the old steps, graded the terraces and relocated the water line running from our well to the house. (we live 1/2 mile from Vienna but are on well and septic - go figure). Started laying block last Fall with 42 pallets of wall block - 82 lbs each. Have a little over 1 pallet of block remaining along with 5 pallets of caps. The caps will be a patio at the bottom of the lowest wall to the right of the steps Will be happy when the project is done, but it's been fun - most of the time. Can relate to the humble part too. Part way through the pile of blocks I was not sure how it would go. Kept at it steadily with a focus on the big picture. Managed to lose 26 lbs in the process and feel pretty decent these days. Not as sore in the mornings as when I started. Good luck with the rest of your adventures on your homestead. R.

Picked up nearly an inch in 20 mins.

Can relate to all that Bob. Been working on a retaining wall project at home since last Fall. 166k lbs of prefab concrete blocks that weight 82 lbs each (42 pallets of block). Nearly finished with most of the block work, which sits on top of 50 cubic yards of #57 stone. Been working every weekend and most evenings after work, except early this past week. Dew pts in the 70's just sucks the energy out. I'm 60+ now and can feel every aching bone...

That's getting up there. Lived in India, Thailand and Japan before. India was the worse of the lot when it came to HI extremes. As the monsoons approached the end of June or early July we had heat indexes off the charts used here in the US. 113 to 118 or more every day for weeks with growing humidity. It was like hitting a wall when going outside. Even inside my house the large split pack units barely keep the heat at bay. It was brutal.

Humm - my Vantage VUE currently show 97/77dp which is 113 HI. Seems a bit hi.

Worked outside from 1130 until about 1900 on a retaining wall project. Using a hand held concrete saw with DPs in the low 70's made it pretty ugly. Could have been an episode on "Dirtiest Jobs". Got to a good stopping point in advance of the next few days. Currently 85/74 here.

Pouring here the last 20 mins. FFW for part of the area till midnight.

1.55" so far. Mainly a steady soaker here.

Wes - it's great to have you back amongst us again. We're honored. Hope you are doing well.

Woke up and saw 200+ posts in the LR thread and thought "are we back?" Then realized an appreciable number of the posts was the back and forth nonsensical banter of a couple of posters who should know better than to clog up the LR thread with that junk. So disappointing and text-book behavior for why some of the older foundational members of this forum and Eastern before it left. We had a couple of the older, (more experienced) crew make showcase appearances, which was great. Wish they would stick around more but suspect its too painful.

Indeed - don't recall seeing that many colors for a long time. The national view is interesting too. The expanse of the high wind watch is pretty amazing. https://www.weather.gov/

And it's a 10:1. Several others mentioned the ratios are likely going to be much higher this time around.

Great to see you are still at it. Hadn't seen any updates this year yet and was wondering. Recall seeing your setup years ago on the previous forum and was in awe at the effort.

199 pages... whew...