Harry, the steamer is the ticket. You will love how fast it softens that glue and makes paper removal much more palatable. I found that the steamer alone works fine, don't waste money on the 'glue' remover liquid. I thought it was overrated.

I welcome our overcast and now a nice light rain after a couple weeks of heat and sun, it's nice to have the clouds back ( for a little while.) For your sake I hope the dry lightning holds off.

Just a quickie on wallpaper removal.

Yes the steamer is the way to go.

NO, DO NOT pull the vinyl facing off before using it. What a mess. The paper backing still stuck to the wall is going to come off in small pieces and take 3 times as long as it would have to do it right. Should have known better as I have used steamers in the past.

Too soon old, too late smart.

Harry K

Thats a messy job, Harry. I don't envy you. But when you got the bug to get it done,,,get it done. I've been in my house for going on 8 years and still haven't painted my den (been meaning too!) so I know how time gets away.

Where is everybody? Just busy or did everybody jump over to
'that other site'?

Duane

Busy. Going back to work this week and have so much to do. Got the last piece of fence put in so I can let my horses out this week in their revamped pasture. Bushhogged the fields, cleaned, etc. It will be awhile before I can get back to outside chores again. Work is starting out with a bang this year. My email is constantly full and running over, everyone is already scheduling meetings for me.... I just need to win the lottery!

Got to go.

It is HOT HOT HOT here. But at least I'm not steaming off wallpaper--HA! We did that about 5 years ago to a tenant house we were living in at the farm where I was working. There were 4 rooms with horrid wallpaper that was peeling off so we thought it would be easy to remove. 3 weeks later we realized why the previous tenants had left it there. But, we decided that if our relationship could survive remodeling a house that wasn't even ours, we could survive anything!

My vacation is now over and it's back to work. While I was gone, they got the roof on the barn/breeding shed, and the second story and the roof is on the office. One of my weanlings has a fractured coffin bone, and he has to stay inside for 3 weeks. :( The grass is brown again, and I'm worried if we feed hay now we won't have enough to make it through a bad winter.

My big dilemma for the week is my pony's colt. He needs his feet trimmed. He's 3 months old and has never met the farrier, although I can pick his feet while he's out in his paddock with no protest. The problem is, he's not broke to lead (gosh, I am a horrible mom--I take better care of my client's horses than my own). So I am going to have to get this guy into the barn and work on his manners so he can meet Mr. Nippers and Mr. Rasp. A great project for a hot week, eh?

Hope it's raining for somebody, cause it sure isn't raining for us! Have a great week.

It's been awhile since I've posted. Hot and dry seems to be common thread among us. We are still heavy into big projects trying to set up an intensive grazing system. All the paddocks have been fenced and today we are setting waterers. Backhoe was supposed to be here yesterday but of course, was a day late. In September we will build another pond and add two more paddocks; then we are finished! The farm will be divided into nine paddocks. So far with just four paddocks operating, we have been very pleased with the system. The herd has caught right on and all you have to do is call them and they come running to the new paddock. They were leery of the electric fence but one cow always assesses the situation and then leads them through the opening. She is a big fat sterile cow and we need to cull her but since she's the brains of the outfit, it's hard to let her go.

We're supposed to get a little cool front and possibility of rain tomorrow. Let's hope they are right.

Sarah

Yes, it is hot here too, 90's with high humidity. We're not used to this kinda weather in western NY... 80's is the norm. Beginning of this month, appears to be the start of "black August" for us: stuff is breaking faster than we can repair it:
- both chainsaws went down
- just put $800 worth of repairs in my car and now the transmission is starting to hiccup
- DH's Ford pick has leaky gas tank
- DS's Chevy pick up runs like there's marbles in the gas lines
- hydraulic hoses on Massey Ferguson just went
- DH went to put heat patches on cows, got all of them in head gates regardless of sex. Wound up putting a heat patch on back of a steer LOL. I'm going to harass him this weekend, offer to put up sketches in barn of heifers vs steers he can use as reference.
Wonder if steer is gonna get a complex running around with heat patch on his rump?
Oh, and Sunday, a couple of dumb steers broke thru electric fencing and wound up in neighbors woods. Fortunately, I was at the store when it happened and didn't have to get all hot and buggy running them downLOL !!!- Ellen

It has been a very busy week here for me. Not so much with the animals and gardening as with children that I keep. I have two little girls staying with me this summer and then Sunday step daughter called to see if I could also keep two of the grandchildren. Tomorrow I have two more little girls coming for the day and then it is back to school for them and back to taking better care of my animals and deciding what I want to plant for my winter garden. (DH has been seeing to the animals before he goes to work in the mornings because I have to get the children fed. I miss working with the animals every morning) Also, trying to figure out or read up and find out what kind of grass I can plant here in east central Mississippi for my goat and hopefully a calf to have to graze on over the winter.

It is hot here but we have had showers on Sunday afternoon and late Monday afternoon. DH (Special Education Teacher) went back to work yesterday so my good help isn't around now. He would watch the girls while I did outside work. Now I take them with me to do anything outside and if it doesn't have to do with the animals they complain about the heat. It's funny because as long as I am working with animals they are fine but if I begin to pick tomatoes or pull weeds all of a sudden they are about to burn up.

Next week (if the Lord is willing) I will get my outside work caught up. I need to move my chicken tractor and finish digging up that area for a bed of fall lettuce. Need to clean out under the rabbit hutches and make some manure tea to go around the tomatoes, peas and cucumbers. I will try to go through my seeds tomorrow and see what I have and what I need.

We are planning to go to see the rabbit breeder the weekend of August 12th and get some does and bucks (NZW. These will be the start of my rabbit farm to raise meat rabbits. I have picked out a name for it. I call the children I keep "hunny bunny" so I will name my rabbit farm Hunny Bunny Haven Rabbit Farm. The children will love that.

That's about it for me this week. Hope every one is having a great week. And those of you needing rain...Sure hope it comes soon.

Been busy here, too. Also dry, though we got a surprise shower last week.

Gotten deeper into writting web sites. Started fancying up ours, since I've got to learn more anyways. Wish I could make a living at that, it's a lot of fun.

Hens are laying 4 eggs a day, faithfully. I thought pullets only laid every other day? Well, we are drownding in egss, so I'll start selling them. The yolks are very dark, the eggs look colored when they are cooked. Read the Mother Earth News webpage about the tested difference between free range and store bought eggs. Pretty neat, actually, there is half the cholesterol in free range eggs.

Take a look, chicken fanciers, you will really enjoy this:

Here is a link that might be useful: Results of egg testing.

Got the ?good? news yesterday from the radiation people. Yep, 6 weeks, 5 days/week for a quick treatment. 100 mile roundtrip drive each time. Ouch!. I'll know I'm losing it when I start naming the weeds growing along the road. A quick math says I'll be doing about 3000 miles in the next 6 weeks.

Sorta hot and definitely dry weather continues, high 80s, low 90s. Nights are already getting that fall feeling, cool. Up at 5 this morning, still just starting to get light and CHILLY!. I usually went around when I got up and opened doors/windows to let in a bit of cool air in the morning before things heated up, not today, even gave some thought to running the furnace a few minutes but didn't.

Gopher under the 2 tomatoes must have given up. Haven't seen and sign of him for a while. One 'mater is surviving, the still doubtful. Very little fruit on either one. The patio tomatoe has just started to set fruit. Looks like another season of no tomatoes for me.

Think I will go out to the wood pile and do some more split/stack of the last load I hauled several weeks ago. Looks like it should be cool enough until about 10. Then start scrubbing kitchen ceiling/walls. Don't know how far the new paper/paint will get what with the treatments. Not going to be in the mood to do much after the drive each day.

Nice hearing/seeing combines running. Harvest doesn't last long any more what with the sizes of machines they run. Last time I ran one it was the pull type with a 14' header, now they are running 30 foot and up headers. Can't imagine how they can monitor that much expanse.

Harry K

Well, we got the cool front but no rain. I have given up watering to keep the garden growing and now am watering for survival. The lower temperatures will help but this is August so can't expect cool weather to stay. We are dry here but nothing like areas around Springfield so we won't complain.

DH took me to see his construction project last night and it looks great. He has worked through the heat almost every day and has made lots of progress. After tomorrow, we should be able to turn cattle back in to the paddocks with the new watering system. His cows are so spoiled and have their favorite paddocks so they haven't been happy about being relocated for the construction project. We cut the dam on a couple of old ponds that were shallow and muddy. The watering systems are going in on a new pond we built last summer and that filled over the winter and spring. It all had to be coordinated so they would have at least some place to water. Now they won't have a swimming hole. That's good.

Sorry to hear Alma has to do the radiation Harry but it will pay off in peace of mind. Maybe you could get a book on tape to listen to on your long trips.

Have a good weekend everyone, with rain if you can arrange it.

Sarah