Deer Stand Window Repair

I planned to replace the lower window sill on two deer stand windows today.  However, I only had time to replace the main window.

The original lower sill was installed with a quarter inch of caulk underneath.  I expected the 2" x 4" frame under the sill to be even with the metal but it was not.  As a result, after pulling off the rotten sill, I had to strip off the caulk, and then cut the metal so that it was flat with the lower window frame.  The job took much longer than I was expecting.

Unfortunately, the job was not done at that point.  I cut two new pieces of molding for the sides of the window opening.  When I installed the one on the left side, I realized the water had penetrated in and rotted part of the 2" x 4" frame.  I made it work anyway as in the end it is a deer stand but it bothered me as I'm a perfectionist.

After installing all the wood, I caulked it all.  Several hours later, I stopped back by and put a second coat of paint on everything.  

While I was at it, I installed a latch and lock on the stand. Since I don't expect to hunt there a great deal this winter, I didn't want it be wide open for someone else to sneak over and use.  I've no reason to believe someone would but why risk it when you can just lock it up.

Unexpected Windfall - Future Cabin for the Land

In 2008, my parents purchased some rural land.  They started off by placing an RV on the property but within a year or two decided to add a premanufacturered cabin.  The cabin served as a gathering place for meals, to relax, or to stay the night in while hunting on the property.  The cabin is no longer receiving as much use as my parent finished building their house on the property this past December.  

Today, while vising my mom at MD Anderson, my parents surprised my wife and I by deciding to give us the cabin.  We will need to arrange to have it moved but that is not a problem.  This with make a huge change in how we are able to use the land.  It gives us a place to stay the night, somewhere for us to stay when hunting, and a place to get out of the rain, cold, or heat.  I'm really surprised and thankful.  

The cabin is 16' x 32' which includes the 6' front porch.  

The back of the cabin has a rolling door which we will likely remove.  My parents added it as they thought they would eventually turn this cabin into a storage shed.

The interior has been strayed with insulation (walls and ceiling).  My dad covered the walls with paneling.  The cabin is wired with a few outlets and two overhead lights.  

Hog Hunting in the Rain

This morning, we set the scope on my wife's new Savage 30-06 and decided to go for a quick hog hunt in the evening.  We were not exceptionally serious about it but thought we would see what would happen.  We were in the stand by 5 o'clock and it was cooler than expected for August with recent rain we received.  

Within 30 minutes, it started to rain.  I rained off and on for the next 3 hours.  Unfortunately, we did not see anything except a few birds and a rabbit.  However, it was nice to sit in the stand and just watch it rain.  Not sure if you can make it out but the next picture was taken during the rain.

Afterwards, we tried a new mexican food place in the nearby town but it was not really that good.  We then headed back home making it back to our house around 11 PM.

Antenna Tower for Future Use

My grandad moved out of his home a few months ago and is in poor health.  The family has decided the best decision is to sell his home.  If he is able to recover, he will return to the assisted living home he has been staying in for the last several months.

I visited his house recently to take care of a few things before it was sold.  I noticed my dad had left the large antenna mounted to the house.  I asked about it and he said he intended to remove it but never found the time.  He stated that if I wanted it to go ahead and removed the antenna so I quickly removed it and brought it home.

Since our land is on a hill, I thought that we could put this up there and likely receive either a large number of radio stations or TV stations.  I've no idea when I will use it as we don't even have a cabin in place.  However, its free and in good condition so why not?

The tower section at the bottom has two damaged joints so I don't know that it can be used.  The one above it is 10' long and in really good condition.  The one immediately above it is 8' long and was mounted in the ground as you can tell by the rust.  The final piece at the top is also 8'.  If I just use the three top pieces, I'll have a tower which is 26' tall which is likely high enough since we are on a hill.

The damage to the joint section of one of the pieces is visible above.  It was actually not used at my grandad's house.  It was just in the yard so I picked it up.  My thought was that if I wanted to use it, I would use sleeves over the outside to connect it without using the joints.

There is also an antenna I picked up that mounts to the top.  I don't have a picture of it.  I thought it was just an AM/FM antenna but I've told it will also pick up HD television stations.  This will work good at some point to pick up TV stations at the land for free.... once we save enough for a cabin!

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.