Peace Place Ranch

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated the postings… I’ve been pretty snowed under at work and on various projects. I’ve got an event I’ve been a major planner on as well as getting the final details done for joining the Sheriff’s Office… but I’ve also been hard at work thinning the cedars and freeing up the oaks!

I’ve even found time to work on the fountain…

With all of the rain we’ve had in the first part of the year Spring is here in force! Everything looks nice…

I need to get started on the pergola for the back porch.. the Texas Summer sun will be her before you know it…

All of the bluebonnet seeds I’ve been collecting and spreading over the years are blooming all over. The entire ranch is covered in bluebonnets now…

My Christmas garden gnome that Lyn gave me is in the zeriscaped garden at the back…

The fountain is close to being done and Chucho loves to sit in it too…

The front yard in lush and green…

The ground cover at the side is lush, flowering and doing well too…

The trees are budding out and flowering, it is a riot of colour around here now…

Started Spring cleanup of the gardens… lots of mulching, pruning and trimming to do.

The front looking pretty sad after a Winter of neglect…

Looking better after mulching…

Other side done with Valé supervising from behind the bush. Now to trim the shrubs…

I’ve got the complete fountain on its base. Now I have to finish the lower pond wall…

The fountain project is coming along nicely… though it is a lot of work!

The idea…

The deconstruction…

Current status…

We’ve had some badly needed rain over the past few weeks… raining again today…

Things are a little greener at last, the sitting tree with refreshed leaves…

The yuccas perked up…

Even the grass and the ‘bonsai’ oaks looked greener…

For some trees the rain came too late…

The electric gate opener that’d served faithfully for so many years just up and quit. Press the button and nada… oh well time for some diagnostics.

After opening up the controller it appeared that the battery didn’t have a full charge so I checked the solar cell’s output and that was the culprit. I’d read the output fell by about 2% per year so maybe that’s the cause. Anyway time to take things apart and inspect and replace.

First off the solar cell is 30 feet in the air on a mast along with a gate camera and the receiver. So I had to lug a bunch of tools out. The BMW makes an ideal pack mule.

The BMW and tools at the gate, mast down and gate opener off.

The top part of the mast down with the replacement solar cell and gate parts ready to install.

The old cell and the camera housing, too time to clean the lenses a bit too.

More painting around the ranch. The good weather and the upcoming fiesta here got me in gear and I finished the garage and pump house…

We got a little dusting of snow this week, just enough to make some things white…

As a part of my conversion to using rainwater over well water at the ranch I’m looking for ways to use less water as well. I found a company that makes a retrofit valve that converts toilets to the European type of two flush system. Small handle for liquid waste and a second larger handle for solid waste. Very cool… the company is Aquanotion and the web site is www.twoflush.com.

I installed one as a pilot experiment, works great! The other toilets will be converted soon.

Installing the Aquanotion valve…

Better shot of the handle…