The Old Radio Ranch

It’s been a long time since the last post here at the Old Radio Ranch. Mixture of hibernation due to cold weather (anything under 60 degrees) and what some would call responsibly quarantining. We just call it another day out here on Woodpecker Ridge. The pandemic hasn’t changed much visibly in this area except the wearing of masks. I haven’t gotten out to see what businesses have survived and what might have closed for good. Breaking the monotony of the winter, I got out of the house yesterday and made the rounds on the property. I’d been kicking myself for...

We had a patch of chilly weather and I burned through some of the wood that I’d cut from the downed tree that had fallen over the Dam road. Many of the limbs that didn’t need splitting I had loaded in my back porch log rack. That rack holds approximately a quarter of a cord. The weather had turned warm and I wanted to get the logs that I’d stacked in the woodshed split and resupply the back porch log rack. Enter my electric Chinese Log Splitter. It supposedly had a 5 ton capacity but I had seen it struggle...

Needed to admit defeat on my Dogwood Propagation. There was not a single cutting that developed roots. I question two things as most likely causing my problems (other than my brown thumb). First was that the soil probably was too acidic for the plant and, secondly, I believe I actually took cuttings from a plant that had sprouted at the base of the dogwood and it wasn’t even a dogwood. Ha, how about that for going wrong? I will try again next season and will attempt to do a better job of preparation for the task.

Nice to have an outside faucet on the Northeast side of the house but when I used it last, I had water puddling in the garage. I was lucky that the faucet only leaked when it was used and didn’t require an immediate repair. It was time to fix it before the weather changed to cold here and the task became “less fun”. The house has it’s positives and it’s negatives and sometimes these things intersect. What always strikes me about the construction of this house is that no thought what so ever was put into the ability to maintenance...

The weather held this week and the chainsaw worked flawlessly with the exception of operator error. I had come to dread chainsaw sessions because they usually and quickly turned into an “opportunity” to work on the chainsaw and endless attempts to get the chainsaw started. I still have a Husqvarna chainsaw that I’ve operated less than half a dozen times because it is so difficult to get started and to run. It is hard enough to do lot clearing when the equipment cooperates so when it turns on you the result is great frustration. Glad to have the Echo chainsaw....

I had a dead tree fall sometime during the latest rounds of rain and wind. Normally, that is no issue out here because it didn’t fall anywhere to get in the way. This time I was not so lucky. This tree fell across the new road that runs across the dam. I did get a bit of luck that it fell on the road in a spot where the slope is not the most severe. I first saw the downed tree the last time the boys and I went down to the pond for some pictures. I can’t see it...

I removed the cuttings from the plastic bags after about 4 days. My reading on the subject made it sound like the leaves needed to be retained on the cuttings. One method even talked about splitting the leaves in half so they wouldn’t use plant resources. Maybe in a different environment where plastic sheeting instead of plastic bags are used, that method might allow the leaves to survive. The leaves on my cuttings shriveled in the plastic bags even if they were not touching the plastic bag sides. Was worried that the experiment was over. I took the planters out...

Wanted to see if I can get a few White Dogwood cuttings to grow. Did some reading on the world wide web and there seemed to be a few themes in most of what I read. Cuttings were to be taken at different times according to different sources but I came to the conclusion that the best time is in late June or early July. It is an experiment so we shall see. Sources said that success of propagation was not particularly high even when rooting hormone is used. Followed instructions to attempt to get 10 Dogwood cuttings to root....

I wonder how many of us have used the various lockdowns and shelter in place orders due to the Covid-19 virus to clean out or repurpose at least one closet. In my case, it was the pantry. Late in the building process, I had the opportunity to share the pantry space between groceries, staples, and cookware on one side and on the other side, the audio/video and communications hub. Very old school meets high tech. At least, that was how it was supposed to be. I had requested that a closet storage system called Easytrack be used in the appropriate...