Refinishing Mom's Old Bench

I've searched but can't find a before picture of my mom's bench.  She gave it to me in 2016 after we purchased our land.  We sat it out in the elements alongside a picnic table and it held up reasonably well until around 2022.  At that point, the wood was rather rotten and it would likely collapse if you sat on it.

There are actually two of this exact bench and growing up they were on either side of our front door on the porch.  Once that house sold, they went to some property that my parents owned and one remains there today.  I believe these were purchased in either 1986 or 1987.

My mom passed away a few months after giving me the bench in November 2016.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the bench after restoring it but feel that it should be restored and used.  With that in mind, I brought it home from the land in 2022 and slowly, very slowly, worked to restore it.
 
The first and easiest step was to remove all the rotten boards and striped down the cast iron side pieces.  I used a wire wheel to clean the side pieces, cleaned then with mineral spirits, used some Rustoleum primer, and lastly some Rustoleum satin black paint.  They don't have any damage to them that I can tell and look almost new when painted.

After painting these in October 2022, I measured the boards and then the project froze as I debated what wood would look the nicest, last the longest, and not be overly expensive.  With too many options, I didn't do anything else with it until November of this year (2023).

While on vacation for Thanksgiving, I decided to just use really nice red oak boards from Lowes.  They are not pressure treated and are the most expensive of the options.  However, they with out a doubt will look the best when stained.  Additionally, I now plan to place it on a porch rather than out in the elements.

I purchased the red oak boards and cut them to match the original side boards.  The originals were all 4' long and there were 12 in total (9 x 2.5" wide, 2 x 1.5" wide, and 1 x 1" wide).  After cutting them all, I used a router to round over the edge of each which is how the original boards were cut.  Strangely, when looking at the original boards, some appear to have tonge and groove edges which is unique.

With the wood cut, I tested out stain that I have along with some that my father-in-law donated to the cause.  In the end, I purchased some Cabot Cordovan Leather Semi Transparent stain and sealer.  I stained all the boards one side at a time with two coats which took about a week.  After putting on two coats, I realized the can states to not use more than one but so far everything seems fine and dried fully.

I used a 1/4" brad point drill bit with a template a I made from a piece of 1.5" x 1.5" angle iron to drill perfect holes in each end of the boards so they could be bolted to the end pieces.  Everything is bolted together using a mix of 1.5" and 1.75" long 1/4"-20 stainless steel bolts with a large Truss head and Nylon insert nuts so they will not come loose.

I had an extra 1.5" wide board that I finished along with the rest of them in case something didn't work out (2.5" board ripped to 1.5" and 1").  In the end. I chose to use it as the top board along the back rather than the 1" board.  It looks a little better and will no doubt be more sturdy over the years.  I'll just set the 1" board to the size and use it to remember the color of the stain or on another project.    

While I don't have a picture of the bench before starting work, the following is a picture of a few of the boards I saved set beside the finished boards for comparison purposes.

There was a metal strap which ran up behind all the slates and screwed into them.  It was rather thin, had some rust damage, and the screw holes were not aligned well with the wood so I made a new piece from 3/4" wide 1/8" metal.  It took some time to bend it to match the contour of the wood.  I then painted it with the Rustoleum satin black and fastened it to the planks.  I finished the bench on Christmas Eve about a month after I started working on the wood.

2023 Hunting Season - 10 Point Buck

This season, I was finally able to shoot my first 10 point buck.  They are not as common in the area where I hunt and I have shot everything else including a 9, 11, and 12 point.

The buck came out on the afternoon of Saturday, November 10h.  It was only 3:25 in the afternoon so I was not expecting much to be out that early.  I saw him right as he came out of some brush on the neighbors property.  I was able to catch a quick glimpse of him through my binoculars before he went behind some brush.

My binoculars are only 10x while my rifle scope is 12x.  When something looks promising, I'll switch from my binoculars to my rifle.  I did that in this instance and by the time I had it up, the buck was nearing the edge of my feed pin.  He was on a straight line to the feeder, wasting absolutely no time.  The path he took is represented by the red line in the picture below with the red circle showing where I first saw him exit the brush. 

I watched him in the feed pin for what seemed to be a long time but was likely only a few seconds.  I wanted to get a good shot and also ensure the bullet would clear the bars of the hog panel surrounding the feeder.  When all was in alignment, I pulled the trigger slowly and saw no movement afterwards.  I checked my watch as I normally wait about 30 minutes before walking over and it was 3:27. 

I exited the stand after about 10 minutes and walked straight to the truck.  I then drove the truck over to the feed pin.  This was more to save overall time than anything as the feed pin is only 125 yards from the stand.  I found the buck fell in his tracks without moving a step.  He was immediately under the feeder.

The buck is 16" wide between the main beams and very symmetrical.  He isn't the largest that I've shot and based on my scoring is a 132.125 gross and 128.785 final buck by Boone and Crockett standards.  I had his antlers European mounted and they look great.  They will likely end up on the wall in my office at work.

Pumpkin PIe from Scratch

Today, I decided to make a pumpkin pie from a pumpkin at the store.  It turned out quite good so I'm posting this as much to save the recipe as anything else.

For a pumpkin pie, you need two small pie pumpkin.  There are a few different varieties that you can use.  However, our grocery store had a generic pie pumpkin label on them.  I picked two that were somewhat small but heavy as that was the recommendation I found online.  

With the pumpkins purchased, I washed them well, removed the stems, cut them into quarters, and removed all the seeds.  I then cut them up more into 5" chunks and placed them on a foil covered baking plan.  I then cooked the pieces for an hour at 375 degrees with the skin up.  

After the pumpkin was cooked, I used a spoon to scrape the pulp off the rind.  I put it in a blender and pureed it until it was smooth.  From this point, you make the pie using a standard recipe with the blended pumpkin replacing what you would buy in a can.

I made my pumpkin pie using the Libby recipe which calls for the following ingredients:

3/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

2 large eggs

15 oz pumpkin pulp

12oz evaporated milk

I used a bit more of the sugar and spices as my recipe stated it is needed when not using pumpkin from a can.  These are then all mixed together, poured into a 9" pie crust, cooked at 425 for 15 minutes and then 350 degrees for another 40 minutes.  I actually had to cook mine an extra 10 minutes as it was really runny at the start.  I'm tempted to try it next time with condensed milk which is a little thicker.  

Neighboring Property Development and Fence Work

Land prices have been on the rise since COVID began.  The increase in land pricing has caused more properties to go up for sale.  Additionally, those who don't sell have more reason to improve and invest money in the property they own.  I've seen a bit of this in the area of my land.  I'll include a few examples...

On the east side of the property about 100 yards from the SE corner, a neighboring property line runs into mine.  There was a railroad tie here that blocked my ability to extend the fence down to the corner properly.  I removed it and then put it back into place still on the property line but slightly over so I could finish my fence. 

I put the railroad tie back in place on December 17th and thought nothing more of it as that whole side of the neighboring properties is so grown up that no one ever goes back there.  Strangely, on April 22nd, I went back out to find that someone had cleared that property line, ran a new fence, and connected it to the railroad tie I put back into place.  I don't know when it actually occurred but rather strange timing on my part.

Before:

After:

In this same area, the SE corner of my property was super overgrown and I couldn't see the corner of the property which on the survey was marked as an oak tree.  When I had the mini excavator, I cleared back to the tree and along the fence line expecting to get from the railroad tie down to this corner ready for fencing.  This is another area so dense that this property owner never went back there either.  

This weekend, I drove the property line for the first time since late April.  I found the neighbor to the south cleared his east fence line up to the tree which marks the corner of my property.  He then installed a new fence along side that part of the property and connected it to the metal piping that I exposed when clearing back in November.  Also really strange timing despite being six months apart.

In the spring of this year, I began working a little on the north property line as the neighbor's fence crossed onto my property.  This particular neighbor, wrapped his fence through trees many years ago and had it run on to my property and the neighbor on the opposite side.  I started clearing it and then a large storm came through breaking the top out of several of the trees.  I ended up pulling the fence out of those trees, cutting them down, and then moving the fence closer to the right spot.

I noticed some unique cars going to that neighbors house while doing some of this work.  I learned this past weekend that he ultimately moved out and is suffering from dementia.  Seems his children are cleaning up the property now with plans of selling it in the near future.  I guess I need to hurry and get the rest done while I can before I have to convince someone else of where the property line I had surveyed is actually at.

Before:

After (opposite angle):

Lastly, I mentioned my neighbor ran his fence around trees rather than using posts causing it to come over onto my property.  He did the same with another neighbor I spoke with this weekend.  He is the one who told me about the case of Dementia.  We ended up talking as he is now cleaning his property line shared with the neighbor who came down with Dementia before the property is sold and there are conflicts over the property line.  You can see the clearing and the flags for the property line in the picture below.

I don't have pictures of it but this last fall, I noticed property markers show up on the east fence.  I looked into it and found the old man on that side started selling parts of his property to another neighbor.  He sold two different 20 acre segments of land that neighbor mine.  I've not seen anything of it yet except some mowing along that fence line which is a good change but I'm sure more of it will come in the future.  

We have owned the property for seven years now and nothing really changes.  The neighbors are all quiet and we are at the end of a private easement.  It is strange to have all of these changes happening around you on property that has largely been ignored.  I don't see it as negative but more just something to watch as you never know what happens next.

Texas Metal Tanks Wildlife Waterer (Part 2)

This Saturday, I returned to work on the wildlife waterer a bit more.  I built a small fence around the perimeter using a spare hog panel and a small scrap piece of a cattle panel I cut a few years ago.  The two combined were just enough to circle the water tank so that hogs would not push it over and the cut piece formed a gate.  I cut a few 5' T-posts down slightly so that they are just a couple of inches below the ring of the funnel.

I mounted the funnel to the barrel itself using the 2" self-taping screws that they provided.  I'd considered coming up with brackets or something a little better but in the end just used the screws.  

The funnel is 6' in diameter.  If we get 1" of rain, it should amount to 17 gallons.  If I wanted the entire tank filled it would take 5" of rain to make it happen.

I ran a regular water hose from the bib at the bottom of the tank over to the watering pan.  I coiled the extra hose around the tank as opposed to cutting it.  

The tank is out of the way so that if I were to shoot anything in the pen, I'm not going to hit the tank with a bullet.  It is visible in the back left of the picture above.

I poured 15 gallons of water into the tank to get it to at least fill the water pan.  After waiting a while, it never filled the pan.  The bib is on at the tank so I'm not sure what is wrong.  The process to find out isn't hard but I called it a day as I'd been working for several hours, it was 2 o'clock, and the temperature was 101.  I'll work on it a bit more on the next trip.

Texas Metal Tanks Wildlife Waterer

Several weeks ago, I ordered a Wildlife Waterer from Texas Metal Tanks.  The tank itself is a 90 gallons and measures 30" in diameter by 33" tall.  On top of the tank is essentially a 6' cone to collect rain.  Additionally, it comes with a tank screen that goes into the bottom of the cone (TASS20 from rainwaterharvesting.com) and a galvanized water dish with shut off float (Pet Lodge PW13).

The company that made the waterer is in Dripping Springs.  Considering the size, it would cost $275 to ship it so I made the 2.5 hour drive to go pick it up today.  

There was a hose that came with the setup to connect the large tank to the watering pan but it was only 2' long.  I'll need to get another as I plan to have the tank quite a way from the pan.  I'd like the tank out of the way so that it is not in the way of shooting with the pan in the feeding pen so that hogs will not destroy it.

I also need to come up with a way to fasten the cone to the tank.  The company provided several 2" screws to screw it down to a flange on top of the tank.  This would work but they couldn't be very tight or they would distort the shape of the cone.  I'm going to try to come up with another option.

The last thing I need to do is put a fence up around the waterer so that hog does not try to rub against it and push the whole thing over.  A 16' hog panel is 5' in diameter when formed into a circle which should work.  I have a spare panel I can use and will just need a few T-posts to secure it to the ground.  

Lastly, I need to level the ground so that it is sitting perfectly flat as when full it will have 720 lbs of water inside.

More Brush Burning on North East Corner

In 2018, I used a skid steer to do some clearing at the properly which resulted in a burn pile in the north east corner.  That pile has now sat in that location for five years.  Yesterday, I started the pile on fire.  I made about eight trips to pick up bits of yaupon I pulled back in November and burned it on top of the pile.

This is what the burn pile looked like when I finished clearing on April 16, 2018.

The following picture is from yesterday morning right after I started the pile on fire.  Over the five years, some of it broke down which made burning it a little easier.  However, the big pieces that remained at the bottom are all oak.

The following picture is after the pile burned overnight.  Despite the heavy rain storm, the fire kept going and was burning still this morning.  There were parts of two stumps left and that is essentially it.  After five years, I'm glad this pile is now burned.

North Fence Work and Relocation (Part 2)

I've been slowly doing some work on the north fence line.  Many years ago, the neighbor ran fencing around his property by wrapping it around trees.  The trees did not perfectly follow the property line so there are some areas where it runs onto my property.  The fencing is so old that it has become part of the trees so moving it isn't that easy.  To this point, I've largely just moved existing T-posts over without touching any trees.

I storm came through recently which blew down several trees.  Some of those were coincidentally on the property line and had the fence grown into them.  I took the opportunity to remove the fence from these trees so it was not damaged (long process), cut down two of the trees, and then moved the fence closer to the proper spot.  

The challenge now is that there is a power pole that is near the property line.  One of the guy wires that hold it into place crosses over the property line.  In order to move the fence, I'd need to come up with some way to deal with this area.  Additionally, I wanted to install some field fence which would not work out too well with the guy wire the way it is.  While this is still something to consider later, I made some excellent progress today.  

Unfortunately, toward the end of this day, I was feeling horrible.  I probably should not have worked as I wasn't feeling that well to start with.  I found out a couple of days later that I had COVID.