Hello from Deep East Texas

[farmerjan]

Snapping turtles will get them around here... up in Conn, when I was a kid and we would fish in my grandmothers big "pond"... it used to be an ice pond in the day; we would see a snapping turtle surface with his head up a little... and the mallards would have their little ducklings... one day out in the little boat we watched the snappers snatch the ducklings from below... HATED snapping turtles... they are powerful and can break a persons arm if they are good sized... We would catch the bigger ones with a baited rope end... they never let go... and put them in the huge wash tubs and there were a couple cooks at the restaurant across the road that loved to get them and make "turtle soup".... we were just glad to get the population cut down.

 

[gman4691]

Got the small concrete water trough moved closer to where it is going to end up...sprayed down with 50-50 bleach-water mixture, gave it a good pressure washing, then sprayed it with the bleach mixture again. Didn't know if I would be able to move it without breaking it but a good strap and the old John Deere 5520 came through in fine style. Moving this one and the larger one is part of the larger barn project. Was feeling pretty satisfied with myself after pulling that off without incident. Then fixed a fender on the old 16' trailer that was rubbing a tire and mowed both our yard and Mom's yard. All in all, a pretty productive day. There were about 1000 things that could have gone wrong lifting that water trough out from where it was but all went without incident...between the bleach and the washing, that thing looks almost new.

Cows still have plenty of grass due to all the rains. They are looking good with calves growing like wild. Not a bad first half on 2025. Keeping it in a nine line bind...no surrender, no retreat. Looks like the rain might ease up over the next week or so...one pretty good rain today but didn't last long. Rained a good bit through all of last week.

 

[gman4691]

Concrete guy set the big square water trough on its side so I could wash it down…cleaned it up after work today. He and I will set it in place tomorrow. Had to set up a temporary water trough until we get this all done…used an old Rubbermaid trough. Once the new concrete (to be poured Monday) and the troughs are set up, I will install Jobe Megaflow fill valves in both. A bit more expensive than the cheap ones at Tractor Supply but everyone I've spoken to who has used them or something similar has had only good things to say. Changing the location and set up of those two troughs is another thing that has needed doing for years.

He called me at work late this afternoon to let me know he got the trough up on its side & that the bull has been swimming laps in the pond…lol. Hot & humid since it stopped raining…so Big 50 has been cooling off…lol again… To be continued…

 

[gman4691]

Well, that plan had to change. The big concrete trough already had a couple of small spots where water was slowly seeping through the concrete…got worse after moving it around. Scrapped that idea and bought 2 plastic troughs last weekend. Got them set up today with Jobe Megaflow bottom filling valves. In the process, discovered a small crack in a shut-off valve located nearby in a valve box…had to replace that ball valve and then set up the 2 troughs. Wouldn't be a worthwhile project without at least two trips to town…lol

Barn should get finished Monday except for electrical and adding some crushed limestone in one spot. I'll get some pics at some point and post here…I keep saying that and keep going down there without my phone (sigh). Also got both yards mowed…again. Word of advice: If you have Bahia in your yard and it's being a pain to mow, sharpen your mower blades…sharp blades make a big difference when dealing with that stuff.

Last weekend, scooped up some excess dirt from the barn project and smoothed over the ground by my mother's house near a fence where trees have uprooted over the years and left holes too big to drive the zero-turn over. Drove the mower down a little stretch today for the first time in a long time. No more running a string trimmer while standing in old stump holes…I'll call that a win,

 

[1982vett]

Some Patriot herbicide will slow down the Bahaia. If you also have Dallis Grass or Johnson Grass I'd opt for MSMA. It will get nutsedge too.

 

[gman4691]

I've been spraying the last couple of days - quite a bit later than usual but that's just how it has turned out. I have one grazing area that has blown up with what I believe is Palmer Amaranth (might be spiny amaranth)…used Gunslinger P+D on some and 2,4 D Amine on some…guess I'll see what works best…been reading some of the threads on Duracor but I've never used it. No hay will be baled in that area so I guess it's fair game for the Duracor. The goat weeds and bitter weeds, along with a few others are already responding well…wilting quick. The goat weeds started showing signs of wilting before I finished with the first 200 gallon tank. Included Triclopyr 4 in one pasture due to the presence of Chinese tallow and privet…thinking a good spot treatment with Eraser Maxx in a 2-gallon hand sprayer might be better for some of those. Just have to be precise with the application as that stuff kills pretty much everything. Got a couple of small pastures that will get the 2,4 D Amine treatment. The rehab pasture will need some Cryder in a few spots for Johnsongrass and some spot treatment with a hand sprayer and Panoramic 2SL on some small spots with bluestem. Speaking of the rehab pasture (about 30 acres), after burning it off earlier this year, it came back almost entirely with Bahia - not ideal but it looks a lot better than the 30 acres of weeds that was there when I started on it.

Anyone had much luck with the Amaranth? I've read where some have had success with Duracor…the Grazon P+D and the 2,4 D Amine puts noticeable stress on it but it will come back next year with a vengeance. I've read where Valor works as a pre-emergent on this stuff but I am completely unfamiliar with Valor. Has anyone out there used it and do you have any insights on it? Any input would be appreciated.

 

[gman4691]

Sire: Red Angus
Dam: Beefmaster x Black Angus

At least that was supposed to be the case…obviously, the sire had to be mostly Brahma…