Saturday and Sunday It Rained

The evening of July 18th, just at sundown a chill wind started that felt so much like snow I suited up for it and watched the sky.

Alas, no snow, but what cool anticipation.

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The rains came hard and often both Saturday and Sunday. I got soaked to the skin when the sky opened up as I was bringing the tractor back from the TW ranch where Tim Hardin (my distant cousin through the outlaw John Wesley Hardin) was kind enough to fit the box blade to the 3-point hitch. He is a skilled blacksmith, machinist, carpenter and welder, as well as a first class tractor mechanic; a good man to know. He said this box blade is better than the one that came new with the IH 3414.
It took some new replacement hardware and some sleeves and pins (total cost $45.00), a gallon of hydraulic oil, a couple of turns with a 1 inch wrench on a leaking hydraulic fitting, adjust the brake pedal free-play, fill with fuel, and it was good to go. It always starts immediately.


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Here's the results of my first learning/practice session. I successfully leveled and graded the circle driveway to the shack. (I won't show you the parts that still look ragged). It requires a good deal more skill with the box blade than it appears. It's very easy to dig too deep or not move any dirt at all. Four levers control the whole process and coordinating them to achieve the desired result can be HUMILIATING.

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The well head off in the distance. I only included this picture so you can see the beginning green tinges that are appearing daily in the Gramma grass.

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I graded the road to the Cibola National Forest fence line. My whole practice session lasted about an hour. I only quit because I was beginning to get a krick in my neck from trying to look forward and backward at the same time. It's really easy to do some major damage with an 8000 LB tractor.

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Tomorrow at 09:00AM, Ted Mosley (the Electric CO-OP) staking technician is coming to start the process of getting us power. I show him the well, the location of the house and the metal building and he does a layout, determines the number and placement of poles and of course the cost, which by the way can be amortized out in the electric bill if needed.
The CO-OP offers a good enough deal to make it very attractive to go all electric. They use a thermal mass heat pump (heating and air conditioning) sized for a 2500 square foot house that costs around $7000.00 for the whole installation. And they encourage the use of solar and wind power to reduce overall grid dependence.
The best enticement is a really significant discount in the cost of electricity for using the system that they recommend.

I'll probably have more to say when I find out the details of power poles, service amperage (I'm going to ask for 200 amp service because I'll have a wood and metal working shop).