Survey Pins Set in Concrete

I arrived at the land early this morning with my son to put the survey pins which were placed last Friday in concrete.  We arrived with several 10" pieces of rebar, five bags of cement, and a 15 gallon barrel full of water.

Placing survey pins in concrete would normally not be necessary.  However, the discussions about the property line with the neighbor have me thinking it is a good step.  I'd just leave the flags but he made a strange comment once about having a survey done before and then someone removed all the flags.  The way it was stated it made me wonder if he did not move them as he did not like where they were placed by the surveyor.

Regardless, I used the post hole tool and dug about an 18" deep hole at each flag the surveyor added.  I filled it with concrete and let it setup a little.  Then I inserted the rebar allowing it to protrude about an inch out of the top.  I left the flags at each pin so that I can locate the pins until I'm really familiar with their locations.

I've not done anything yet with moving the fence but it is still on my list of projects to complete.  I'll probably get a few really long T posts and then put them beside each of the pins.  I'll paint the tops purple and will probably tie the flags to them too.  Then I'll be able to visually connect them even better as they will be taller.  I'm not going to rush that project but will try to take care of it in the near future.

Property Lines - Pink vs Purple Markers

The surveyors which recently added property markers to my land used wooden sticks with a pink flag at the end.  However, I've also seen corner posts of my property painted purple.  This made me wonder the significance of the color so I did a little research:

Purple Paint:
Laws were passed in 1997 in Texas which stated purple should be used to designate a property line and that trespassing was not allowed.  This was done because signs were constantly being pulled down or used for shooting practice.

The paint must be a vertical mark at least 8 inches long and one inch wide.  The bottom of the mark must be between 3 and 5 foot off the ground.  The markers must be within 100 ft of one another in heavily wooded areas.  In wide open areas, they can be as far as 1,000 ft apart.  This is covered in HB 793, under Texas Penal Code 30.05, Criminal Trespass, section 1, subsection D.

Strangely, I found a purple flag means irrigation lines in urban environments.

Pink Paint:
Pink is used to designate a temporary property line marker.  It seems as though the only use is for temporary marking.

Other Colors:
Red - Power lines, cable, or conduit
Yellow - Gas, oil, or petroleum
Orange - Communication or alarm wire/conduit
Blue - Water
Green - Sewer or drain lines

Old Shed - Cleaning & Repairs

I've done some recent work in the shed to both clean is up and make it suit my needs a little better. 

I've been cleaning some of the garbage out of it on each trip.  I've thrown away old paint cans, broken light fixtures, and other random items.  Strangely, the entire floor has carpet spread out over the dirt.  The carpet is covered in small pieces of trash and dirt which I've not yet cleaned as I've been taking care of the larger items first.

This weekend, I added the shelf on the side of the shed.  This gives me a place off the ground for a few items including my gas cans.  

Last weekend, I pulled down the rack that was installed in the back of this first stall for holding wood.  While the rack was a good idea, it gets in the way of parking the four wheeler in the shed.  I think I'll put in a new wood rack but it will be smaller and most likely in this far back left corner.  

About three or four weeks ago, my dad and I put the freezer you see in the picture above in the shed.  It does not work but seals.  This allows me to put a few tools and other items in the freezer so they do not rust up or have a chance of a rat messing with them.

The shed is a little rough but it is functional.  I would like to work on the door a little by covering it with galvanized sheet metal, I'd also like to fix it so that the ground is flat by the door and it seals better, I'll eventually add a wood rack, and then clean up the floor.  

Property Line Concerns - Survey Pins Complete

The surveyor added the additional pins along the north property line yesterday.  I was able to visit the property today to inspect the work and am pleased with the outcome.  

The surveyor placed the pins within eye sight of one another but spaced them fairly evenly.  I expected him to use the large rebar style pins he used during the original survey along with the pink flagged posts.  However, he just used what appears to be a long galvanized nail and a wooden stake with a pink flag on the end.  Regardless, the work does the job well and I'm glad its complete.

The plan at this point is to use a post hole digger to dig up the area where each new pin was placed.  I'll then put my own rebar in concrete to mark the property line.  For now, I'll probably end up placing a T post at each point so that I don't lose them but it will not be in concrete.  This will allow me to later change to use any type fencing posts I want when the time comes to install the fence.  

The neighbors fence is not on my property as much as I expected.  There is a small area near the front where it crosses over and also a small area near the back.  I'm going to clear enough around the pins such that I can clearly see where the fence is over the property line.  I'll then work on moving the fence so that it is not on my property.

Moving the fence likely sounds crazy until you see the fence.  The fence is very old, is by no means pulled tight, and was run around trees and through brush such that no part runs in a straight line.  The fence is falling over in sections and the T posts are not firmly in the ground.  The most I'll need to move it is 3-5' so I'll move it over and set it up a little better so donkeys can't cross.  I don't expect the neighbor will ever notice.

Filling Holes in the Trails

My daughter and I took the four wheeler to fill a few holes in the trails around the property today.

The east and west sides of the property were recently cleared for new fences.  It looks like they must have took out some rather large trees.  I suppose these holes are wash outs from where the roots of the removed trees were located.  

This one was the largest and is deep enough to cause a problem if you hit it on the four wheeler.  There were a total of three that we ended up filling.

When the fence line was cleared, they pushed up  some piles of dirt in the process.  We collected some and used it to fill in the hole.  We also used surrounding dirt to level things out a bit.  It was rather hot but we got the job done.

Tank Update - Little Water Left at Mid-Summer

The tank has lost a considerable amount of water since we first looked at the property back in March.

The water level is now low enough that you can see what forms the bottom of the tank.  Most of it is just hard packed sand but there are also large sheets of rock.

There are plenty of animals drinking from it including some deer and hogs.  When I'm at the current water's edge, I can tell the water is about 4.5 to 5' below maximum depth.  I'd guess there is probably another 2-3' of water in the tank but it is really hard to say.

The water always has this murky color to it.

There are also a few birds visiting the tank.  Didn't see any bobcat tracks.

Bobcat on Game Camera

I've been running my feeder during the summer this year with my game camera active to get an early look at the animals on the property.  By luck, I caught a picture of a bobcat walking by with a squirrel in its mouth.  Until this point, I did not expect to have a bobcat on the property.

The camera time is correct and shows the picture was taken at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.  That is rather strange a bobcats typically are most active immediately before and right after dark and then in the morning.  

From what I understand, bobcats are often solitary animals that do not tolerate others in their home area.  As a result, this is probably the only one on the property.  I'll have to keep an eye out for him.  It's much better than looking at pictures on donkeys on the game camera.