Like it never even happened...

 After getting stuck in the mud (see previous blogs), I skipped a day of work on the tank. Then I resolutely set out to finish the job of planting the cannas, horsetails, lilypads and ferns. Thanks to the good advice of Lee, I took a large scrap piece of plywood, laid it down on the mud and went to work without that old familiar sinking feeling. Kinda boring, to tell the truth.

 In no time at all everything was either planted or placed in a spot that was, if not perfect, acceptable. The work went quickly because I didn't have to dig any holes. The mud was so thin that all I had to do was press down on the roots and they sunk as far as necessary.














Now the tank looks like there never was any drama there. Too bad.

This is one of the ferns that Susie Stewart gave me. I planted them among the Cat tails thinking that the shade and moist soil will be just the ticket for the babies.

Screw the mud, I'm building something.

After yesterday's debacle I decided to work on dry land. With the drought in full swing, it wasn't hard to find. Dry, dusty, windy land. But never mind, I wasn't sinking and I wasn't stuck. What I did was go across to the neighbors field and avail myself of free used fence posts. Don Penchek was re-doing his fencing, and the fence guy was pulling what looked to me like perfectly good 6 foot posts. Not one to waste much, I took my trusty tractor with the front end loader over and picked out the best of the best. I've always wanted a zig-zag fence (Lord only knows what that design is really called). All I had to do was load about 4 in the scoop, dump them in the trailer, repeat a dozen times, and haul the trailer back home. Then one has to unload them, and simply stack them. Easy Peasy, Japanesey. This went incredibly fast, and looks fantastic. I now am over halfway to the goal of enclosing my front yard so that the alpacas will have more grazing, and we won't have to mow as much.

Just another tricky day....

 Spring has sprung, a few months ago, and it is time to get back to the creation of Wandering Spirit Trails. Barbara Smith gave me a literal truck bed full of plants to be used around the front tank. So I go prepared to do a little landscaping. I take my hat, sunglasses and most importantly, mud boots. That should make me invincible, right? Wrong.

After planting a few cannas in the muck, I get closer to the edge of the tank, and encounter a sludge fit to be called quick clay. Liquefaction is the scientific principle at work here. That and a vacuum. It took about 5 minutes to get to the top of my mud boots, another 5 minutes of struggling to get to the top of my knee. Once the left leg was firmly entrenched, I started working on sinking the right foot. Placing a shovel head under the foot distributes the weight enough that I won't sink, but then I couldn't remove the shovel. Previously I had used the shovel to dig my foot out, but at this depth, it was impossible. As soon as I removed a shovel full, the remaining muck flowed back in with a vengeance.
After 15 minutes of vain attempts to free myself, I realized I was going to die there, stuck in the mud. Fortunately I had my phone, called Lee and got his voice mail. Seven times. So then I went through my contacts list, looking for the closest friend who would understand. I then realized all my friends know me pretty well, and no one would have any trouble believing I was stuck in the mud, unable to free myself.
 The nearest neighbor, Kathy Sayer was beautifully home, So I explained that Lee was downstairs and his phone was upstairs. I asked her to knock on the door and tell him to bring a rope.

It's a good thing that Kathy got there when she did, because Lee was pulling out of the driveway to go out of town.

In no time at all Lee was running down the hill with a rope in his hands. It was not until he snapped a few pictures did he throw me a rope.

After the dramatic rescue by my knight in shining but muddy armor, Lee suggested I call it a day. I agreed, not caring if it made me look a little less tough, and explained that I would watch TV for the rest of the day. After all, that's why I watch so much television - its the only way I can stay safe. Referring to the infinite number of times Lee has come to my rescue,"It's the only way I can stay safe too" he replied. 

Tomorrow I'll try it again.

ROLL 'EM ROLL 'EM...ROLL 'EM

Today was simple work. All I did was place logs on the terraced walls. Not even interesting enough to take a picture. But I did have a good idea. Some of these logs are very heavy, about a foot in diameter and 8 ft. long. When I push them from one terrace down to the next level, they often get stuck. So I placed two smooth logs perpendicular to the direction I wanted the heavy ones to roll. Sort of like a sled. Then I rolled them down the sled. Voila! smooth rolling.
Today I placed all the logs I had, and next trip will fetch some more, and hopefully be finished within a week.  But I have been looking at the other side of the tank, and it is eroding fairly quickly. It may need at least one big terrace. But I will think about that tomorrow.

Live from Wandering Spirit Trails...

Here are some new additions to the park... Two Alpacas and one Llama.

The blond one is Layla and the black one is Mocca. Courtesy of my niece in Colorado, Amber Alcoser.
In the heat of the summer they love nothing better than a good cool shower.

This is Chico, the Llama. He is a regal sweetheart. Courtesy of Nancy Taylor in La Grange. I traded a day's labor for him. Best trade ever.

New Beginnings

Now that the opressive heat is over, I can begin working on the park again. No, wait...these last two days have been too cold. Frost on the ground is my visual sign that it's too cold to go outside.
However, I was able to accomplish a few things in the short Texas fall season.

Brick laying sounds hard, but if you are only placing them on the ground in a pleasant pattern, it can be Zen-like. I started with a radiating star pattern with full sized bricks,and then filled in the spaces between the rays with broken bricks in a random pattern. This went amazingly fast, only took a few hours. And when you are outside alone in the woods with only the gentle breeze, chirping birds and curious butterflies to keep you company, you are not alone.

The terracing of the large pond was put on hold until the heat dissipated.  Low and behold, it did, which, each year, is always a pleasant surprise. I was able to get some more logs from the neighbors across the street and lay them out for the retaining wall. That project is coming along swimmingly. Probably two more trailer loads of these used fence posts and I will be done. If the past is any indicator of the future, my estimate of two more loads means four more loads... And the ugly factory in the background will be hidden by bamboo (probably)

Bam!Boo!

Last week it was time to do something about two problems. Two empty, boring fields, and the view of my neighbor, a factory. O.K. that's three problems: two bland fields and the view of a factory and an oil company. Four problems. Two fields, plus two industries equals one problem. I have long studied a way to block unsightly blemishes, and bamboo seems to be a viable solution. Some species can grow up to 40 ft. high, which is about how tall the oil tanks are that need hiding. What I want to accomplish is a forest of Bamboo, similar to the ones featured in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

So, my point is, I went to a location outside of Gonzales, Texas and bought several species of Bamboo. My favorite being black bamboo. A nice young fellow named Billy (I re-named him Billy of the Beautiful eyes), helped me choose from over 8 different species. If you are interested, he has an ad on Craigslist, and his number is 512-470-0338.

I drove back with 10 freshly dug selections of 3 different kinds of bamboo, giant timber, black and verdis. All for $120. I drilled holes in the bottom of 5 gallon buckets, added an inch of gravel, transplanted them, added potting soil and now I will nurse them until this summer's coming drought is over. Then I will plant them along the fence line, leaving enough space to drive my tractor. That will help me keep them from growing into the neighbor's property, as ugly as it is.

Post script - The black bamboo doesn't look so good. The other ones seem to be recovering from the trip.