Hi I'm Mike, we've got the new cover on the old high tunnel, with a little help from
some friends that are here on the ranch for hunting from Sacramento California.
Today we are going to show you what went into getting them here, the modifications we made
to the old high tunnel to hopefully make it better and stronger and what almost turned
out to be a disaster of getting the new cover on, it's all coming up, on the project list
on our Wyoming life.
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along with us as we explore the ranch life and escape the ordinary, 3 times per week
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Not every single day can I be out working with cows, or moving hay, or cleaning the
pig stalls.
As much fun as that sounds.
Projects can come from all over the ranch, and this board behind me is where we keep
track of what needs done.
We call it the project list and we bring it to you every Tuesday.
Most people know how the honey do list goes and Erin has gotten smart and started writing
her honey do's right here on the list along with other projects around the ranch.
They usually get bumped up in priority, mostly because I want to stay married but also because
the things that Erin adds to the list here, help keep the ranch going.
The big book says man cannont live on bread alone, and just like that saying, the ranch
cannont live on cows alone.
We diversify to bring money into the ranch and keep things going, everything here is
very fluid.
Some years you might have good calf prices and that's enough, others they might be
in the toilet.
Its years like that we really appreciate Erins gardens and other ventures that help bring
that bottom line up and keep the ranch going.
Its all a give and take and if you know Erin she keeps growing to help.
This year we added a new high tunnel to the market gardens here on the ranch, giving Erin
more and more produce to take to farmers market.
Today we are going to be finishing work on the old high tunnel, which lost its cover
this spring but I'm trying to plan ahead here, because we have hunters arriving today
from Sacremento California.
I'm hoping that those hunters are going to be able to help us get it done in one day.
It's a huge undertaking, as we are going to be replacing the ribbon board on the tunnel,
making it stronger and hopefully able to hold up to wind load better.
But before we get that far, we need to prepare for the hunters arrival.
And that means getting their hunters den cleaned out and ready for them and their equipment.
Hunting season here on the ranch is the entire month of October.
They will be hunting mainly Pronghorn Antelope and they utilize the sales barn as their headquarters.
Right now it is in disarray, as all year long, I use it for storage.
Tractors live in here throughout the winter, sometimes animals, you just never know what
you are going to find.
Anything, that doesn't have a place, usually ends up in the sales barn to keep it out of
the weather.
Cleaning it up, is mostly a game of rearranging and organizing, something I should be better
about all year long, but I'm not.
So a few hours of back and forth, taking things to the incinerator to burn.
Moving shelves and cleaning up, will hopefully give them a nice place to hang out while they
aren't hunting.
They will park 4 wheelers in here and we will keep them locked up and safe, they will also
sometimes butcher their animals here as well, and freezers allow them to preserve their
meat.
In the end, the whole area looks different and a lot more organized.
And when our first group of hunters arrive, they kids give them a huge welcome.
They have been looking forward to the hunters return for almost a year and for them it's
a part of their lives they will remember for years.
Hunters that come to the ranch are like family to us, they have to be.
We turn them lose in our back yard, armed and trust them to do the right thing, to treat
our home like it is theirs and for years we didn't even allow hunting due to some bad
experiences but now I wouldn't pass these friendships up for the world and even Erin
and I look forward to their arrival, although no one brings us candy.
As the hunters get settled in we can get to work on the tunnel.
We are going to be installing a new 2x6 ribbon board across each side.
The existing 2x4 ribbon board will be removed and we are increasing the size to accommodate
two rows of channel that will hold on the wire that secures the cover to the structure.
Using our old ribbon board as a guide we add new 2x6 one at a time, securing them together
and to the ribs of the tunnel using bolts.
Then its off with the old board, salvaging the old channel to reuse on the new one.
After snapping a chalk line for a guide, new channel is installed along the new board making
up the top row, an inch below that, we add back on some of the old recycled channel to
help hold the cover on and this side is complete.
Then we repeat for the other side.
Erin and I then get a little break as we wait for the hunters to finish up their first day
of hunting but not long after, they are volentold to come on out and give us a hand.
Hunting season for me, is the busiest month on the ranch.
Not because I have any more to do, or more projects, but because we have a constant flow
of people though the ranch.
A new group every few days, each and everyday we spend time with them, helping each other,
going out to dinner, and basically getting a bunch of the socialization with people that
a lot of the year we don't get out here.
No one wants to come visit when its 30 below and the wind is blowing you over.
Luckily these guys are here and we can start the process all over again of pulling another
cover on a high tunnel, we just did this a few months ago with the new high tunnel, but
each day brings with it unexpected surprises and complications.
Today it's the wind, we don't have much of a window to do this in.
We would love a calm day to do it, and as we get closer to evening a 10 mile pre hour
average wind of the day starts to die down.
We are expecting winds up into the 20s and 30s the next few days, along with temperatures
dropping into the 20's and snow.
More snow is coming, we are forecasted for 5 inches next week.
So getting this cover on to protect the seedlings and plants inside is imperative.
The new cover on both high tunnels is now 12 mil thick, our old covers were half the
thickness at 6 mil but the big difference is now we are working with a woven plastic,
with threads woven throughout.
This fabric should be stronger, less likely to rip and tear and last a lot longer than
the regular plastic ever did.
Light transmission is cut a bit, but it's a trade off we are happy to take if we can
keep these covers on longer.
So just as before, we attach ropes to the cover and over it goes and right off the bat,
this is starting to look like a bad idea.
The wind kicks up a bit, maybe only a few miles per hour but that's all it takes.
A sheet of plastic that is 75 feet long and almost 40 feet wide is a big sail and our
job is to keep it on the frame and not in the next county.
Buckets full of bricks are used to hold it down in place while we quickly start attaching
it to the channel we installed earlier to hold it on while we try to figure out a solution
for the massive amount of air blowing the plastic up and out.
We attach what we can and sometimes the best strategy is just to wait and as the sun starts
to set, everyone helps hold the plastic in place.
The wind starts to die down and soon the plastic lays down just like its suppose to and we
can start securing it all the way around.
Pulling it tight and laying a spring like wire called wiggle wire into the channel to
hold it down.
As we move to get it all attached the sun continues to set of course and soon we are
left in the dark to take the final steps.
Headlights for light and a crew of 8 to finish it up.
For now.
Its not all done, in fact even this morning there are still a few things to finish up.
We have to install the roll up sides and add rope to keep the sides from billowing out
with the wind but other than that we are good to go.
Erin is excited it is done, and I am relieved.
Not only that its done but that we had the help here to do it.
For many weeks out the year, Erin and I are by ourselves out here, figuring out how to
do things by our selves that in some instances you should tackle with a crew of 3 or 4 but
that's just the way it works.
When we do have help, its like a godsend and you appreciate it even more.
That's one thing the ranch has taught me, everything is a give and take.
Sometimes you struggle by yourself but others you have all the help in the world and it
always seems to work out right.
When you need that help, its there and its something you can count on.
With that, I am off to get the rest of the tunnel buttoned up.
I have hay being delivered today also and I need to work that in too.
Hunters are back out doing their thing and we will have more from them this week, a livestream
featuring myself and Erin and maybe a hunter is coming up on Thursday and on Sunday we
have a hunter filled episode for you, which is going to be a blast.
Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a beat and until I see you again have a great
week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life.
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