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Spaulding Smails

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Everything posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. The rainfall along Cow Creek last night is astonishing. Almost 13" of rain in 3 hours.
  2. I'm on Onion near Drip and it's not up much. Definitely not a flood threat at the moment.
  3. About two years ago, I was putting in some temporary fencing along the road through my front pasture. That area is mostly caliche, so it wasn't too tough to drive in T-posts. Not as easy as loam, but much better than solid rock. I had about 30 or so 6 footers to get in the ground before I strung the barbed wire. It's the middle of summer, just shy of beer:30 in the afternoon, I'm on the last post, and I'm dog tired. I've got it almost all the way into the ground, so the top of the post is pretty low. Evidently, I lifted it up a tad too high and the driver caromed off the top of the post, turned a few degrees away from me which mean I slammed the butt end of the driver down squarely in the middle of my forehead. I think the brim of my baseball cap saved me from needing staples and probably prevented a concussion. I was still seeing stars and bleeding like a stuck pig. I walked the 200 yards back to the house with blood dumping down my face. My wife turned white as a ghost when I walked in the house. I told her "tis but a flesh wound" (which it was). Crazy how much you can bleed from a scalp wound. I had to throw away my shirt and jeans.
  4. Team #SanAngelobar here on the nomenclature. I keep one at the house and one at the ranch. Just replaced the one at the house. Bent it trying to leverage up a big boulder. The point was worn to a nub, so it was time.
  5. Gotcha. That was well before my time. Riverside is where I started to play golf during college (98-01). Been the same since them from what I can recall. Never had a chance to see it pre-ACC.
  6. Haven't played there in probably 6-8 years. What has changed?
  7. What are the existing conditions like? I'm three years into a similar situation. I had about 3 acres of open pasture with good soil with established native grasses. I also took out about 2 acres of THICK Cedars and that's been a process. This is the first year where that area is starting to take shape. Lots of manual work getting thistle, horseweed, croton, and sticker burrs out. Where native grasses were present, they're finally filling in those areas where Cedar was removed. In other areas that were absolutely barren, I had lots of luck with Austin Hydroseed. I think I spent about $5K and did a few different blends including their "Damaged Earth Mix". The first year I thought it was going to fail, but it's really taking shape now. They have both native grass mixes and wildflower mixes. Great customer service and I thought the pricing was fair. https://austinhydroseeding.com/ It seems like the wildflowers weren't the best this spring, but my front pasture is thick after recent rains. There's some verbena, antelope horn and Indian paintbrushes, and I'm getting a ton of Mexican hat popping up in recent weeks as well. It's so awesome to sip coffee on the front porch and watch rabbits and deer. We had two fawns that were bedded down in that pasture this spring as well. Definitely seeing mother nature do her thing.
  8. Whittlesey Landscape Supply is your best bet. They deliver or you can pick it up if you have a truck and/or trailer. South Austin location is near the airport on Dalton. https://www.989rock.com/
  9. CSB.. Did a week long San Fran trip with my wife in September 2004. Alcatraz, Golden Gate, Lombard, Coit Tower, a day trip to Napa, a day trip to Carmel, and of course a Giants game. I went online to search the Giants' schedule when we booked the flights and hotel. The last night we were there was the only home game after a long road trip. Bonds was chasing 700 HRs that year. I remember saying to my wife "Bonds is just enough of an asshole to wait to hit that home run at home. Let's see what we can do to get some tickets down the right field line and maybe catch a piece of history." Sure enough, there's tickets available in the RF arcade on StubHub. First row. BUT, they said "obstructed view" on StubHub. What?!?! How is that possible in freaking right field?!?! StubHub had just rolled out the "view from the seat" clickable link where you could see the vantage point before buying. I clicked on it... no issues. I guessed it was some sort of glitch, so I bought the tickets. Fast forward to September, and sure enough, he's sitting on 699 after that road trip. The area around the stadium is abuzz as we're walking up. I had a scalper looking to buy tickets offer me $500/ea for those right field seats. Nope. Got in early, enjoyed some garlic fries and a a cold beer, and walked to our seats. We quickly figured out why it said "obstructed view". RF foul pole is in the middle of the seat. Not next to it. Not in front of it. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEAT. As in, one of us was straddling the pole for 3+ hours. My wife is a trooper. She sat with the right field foul pole in her lap for 9 innings because I thought I may have a chance at catching history. This guy did a post as part of a series on terrible seats about how truly dreadful that seat is. Of course, Bonds goes hits #700 but goes oppo. So, at least I can say I've been at one of just four games where a 700th HR was hit.
  10. Love this thread!!! I haven't been to a ton, but the top 5 I've been to are: 1) Wrigley 2) Oracle 3) Camden 4) Coors 5) Target And honorable mention to Enron / Minute Maid / Daikin as an Astros homer.
  11. I've done several of these types of projects with my former business over the years. It can revolutionize the space, but costs can balloon pretty quickly depending on access, how much material you need to bring in and infrastructure / hardscape needs. I have a few landscape architects I can recommend, depending on budget. Feel free to shoot me a DM with details, and I can provide some contact info.
  12. Seventeen years ago, the morning that my wife was to be induced with our first child, she got up to get some water around 3 AM. I heard her walking back into the bedroom, and she calmly said "there's a snake in our kitchen". I was still half asleep, so I didn't take her seriously. She said, "A real, live snake is in our kitchen. Under the floor mat in front of the sink." Sure enough, about a 2' half-dead ribbon snake was shoved up under the crinkled floor mat, but still alive enough to be agitated. Evidently, our cat found it outside, decided it would make a fantastic gift, brought it in through the doggy door and shoved it under the mat for us. He was sitting proudly nearby, occasionally playing with it and excited that we were there to enjoy his gift. Not a copperhead, but definitely not what I had on my bingo card the day we were going to have our first child. My wife has her flaws like they all do, but she has no issues with critters.
  13. I'm 45 and can say the same. I've been hunting, fishing, hiking, playing golf, and pretty much living for the outdoors my entire life. I grew up in South Texas, I've lived in a very rural area for the last 20+ years, and I've owned a ranch in the Western Hill Country for the last decade. I've never once come upon a rattlesnake by myself. I've had employees find them in our warehouse. I've been hunting with buddies when they've spotted them. And, I've dispatched a few that others have come upon. But, I've never happened on one in the wild. Copperhead, Coral, and Cottonmouth... yes. All three many times. But, never a Rattler. I figure that means I'll catch one in the calf while dove hunting in the very near future.
  14. I switched homeowners and auto insurance from Farmers to Chubb in 2022. When I was getting everything set up, my agent was asking me a series of questions. How many miles driven, were the vehicles garage kept, etc. Then he asked "do you drive more than 10,000 miles per year in Harris County?" Before answering, I paused and asked him why that question was on the survey. He said "Because Chubb has a surcharge for drivers in certain geographies. Their data shows that more than 30% of drivers in Harris County are uninsured." Seems like that number would be pretty accurate.
  15. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the BBWAA and the HOF create a one-time vote for any of the obviously blackballed players and makes a special category (wing like has been said for so many years) for their induction akin to the Era Committee. Rose, Shoeless Joe, Bonds, Rocket, McGwire, Palmeiro, Sosa, A-Rod, ManRam.
  16. We've done both hen brooding and putting the eggs in an incubator. We had a broody hen years ago, snagged some fertilized eggs from a friend and let her sit on them until they hatched. They did, and she was no longer broody. Kids were young at that time, and loved the experience. We had a Silkie rooster and a Frizzle hen a while back. Incubated those eggs and ended up with two "Frizzle" hens. Really cool looking bantams. Unfortunately, we had a coyote problem and they were the low hanging fruit. Bottom line is, breeding is easy, natural and cheap with chickens.
  17. Would love to hear more about the turkeys. Do they roost in the same coop as the chickens? Assuming they free-range, do they wander much? We're about 10 years into chickens. Had two ducks for a while, but it was a pain keeping their little kiddie pool clean, and I'm afraid they'd end up in our swimming pool at the new house. We're considering adding turkeys later this year and/or meat birds. Would love to hear some feedback on the turkeys and the meat-bird situation if anyone does that.
  18. That was always a rational fear. This was on Lake Medina in the early 2000's, and we always made sure to do it back in Elm Cove where we knew there were no stumps, but I always worried about a log floating just under the surface. I'm 40 lb heavier, 25 years older and that lake has 98% less water now, so no chance I'd do it there or anywhere else for that matter.
  19. I've done it a hand full of times starting off a wake skate on my ass with behind a tow rope, and I needed to be right at 40 mph. I'd pull my buddy who was 5'6" 140 lb at right around 37 mph. Lots of fun until you fall.
  20. There's still a surprisingly significant amount of Orangeburg pipe around Austin. It was used commonly right around WWII when iron was at a premium and before PVC became the mainstay. @Armybrat those tunnelling / excavation jobs are no fun. There's a reason we sub out the excavation and just do the plumbing ourselves. Those guys make great money, but that's some hard ass work. We just finished a commercial tunnelling job that had two 4-man crews working for three weeks straight. Belly crawling with shovels and jackhammers pulling material out one bucket at a time. No thank you. [sales pitch] if anyone on the board in the Austin area ever has any drain issues, shoot me a PM. I have a drain specialist on staff with a badass Ridgid sewer camera. I'll run that thing for free for you. That thing helps a ton at identifying the location and diagnosing the problem. She's a journeywoman plumber, knows her stuff and is great with steering the conversation for insurance purposes as well. Lots of other companies will make you sign an open-ended contract and charge you for the exploration. We know exactly where the blockage / breakage / sag is and can typically cut down on the overall cost with that degree of accuracy and precision in the location. It's loud and costly, but much better than a hole in the middle of your living room floor. [end sales pitch]
  21. Just thought of another one I hardly see out from behind the Pine Curtain, let alone outside of Texas / Louisiana. Mayhaw Jelly. My absolute favorite. Love it on a hot, fresh sourdough biscuit. My wife's aunt has a pint or two for me every time we go visit the farm.
  22. We always called these Sport Peppers. Knew my wife was a keeper when she had those on the little bistro table in her kitchen when we started dating. I'm also a big fan of Chile Pequins in a vinegar sauce. Back before my big plant froze, I'd pick a ton in the late summer, jam them down in an old Crystal hot sauce jar, add vinegar until full, and pop the lid back on. Awesome on stuff like green beans and Texas hash.
  23. What, if anything are you doing to keep the hole plumb / square? Looks like you're doing a good job maintaining dimension, but are you doing anything to keep everything straight? Does it even matter?
  24. Total green depth.
  25. Where are you located? Depending on budget, you may be better off finding a decent set of used "game improvement" irons. I think for the value, they'll be better than an off-brand at Academy or Dick's. You may even want to go to PGA Superstore to hit some demo clubs. Figure out your swing speed and something that feels right, then try to find them used on FB Marketplace or some place like Play It Again Sports. Just my two cents.
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