Southwest Corner

 This corner of the house has been on my blog before because of the Brambles.  My neighbor calls the Devil Weed.  Yeah, I can relate because wild Berry plants are very thorny.  This started as my annual clean out the brambles event, but I wond up refreshing the whole corner.

 There was a very large Euonymus taking up this whole corner.  I dialed it back considerably to take off dead wood, and try to invigorate the plant.  Growing out of that same space I have two Hearty Hibiscus plants.  The pink and purple one is heartier than the white one.  The Hibiscus flowers are heavy, and cause the whole plant to bend over.

 I also found another Hearty Hibiscus over buy the Yeopan Holly, and a Nandina.  The start of the job was to take out the Brambles, and I was a little more thorough this time going after the roots.  Then, in that process, I am pulling weeds in general, and sometimes that includes a lot of volunteer plants.  The Ruellias are always happy to grow into space that is not for them.  The Yeopan Hollies are the same, going wherever they want.  Then I added the red mulch to give a finished look.  The garden stuff is never finished, were just sprucing it up a little, then it will grow back into a mess...  LOL!

Maple Root

I got down to the root of the problem...  We need more power.  The idea of completely excavating this root was too much digging for what I was trying to do here.The answer was brute force.

 I didn't need to preserve the wood, or protect anything around that area.  The idea was only to remove the root that was blocking my path.  I had already cut the end of the root directly in the way.  The other end of the root went down toward the trunk.  So I thought maybe I can just break it.  It has been a few years since we removed the tree.

 But I still needed the right tool.  I have a hydraulic floor jack which does generate enough force, but has a rather short throw.  So I got a Farm Jack which does seem to be the right tool for this job.  However it is rather awkward, and precarious.  I used some 2x4s to make stabilizing braces that attach at the top clamp of the jack.  I'll use this jack to pull some fence posts soon.

 This was the first configuration of the chain.  That didn't feel right, so I moved the chain closer to the stuck end of the root.  Then gave the chain a couple wraps around the root.  I also moved the hook part of the chain down from the large runner  Then I applied enough force to break the root.

 With a couple attempts I was able to mostly break the root.  Then after some prying and wrestling I was able to get the root out of the hole.  That was a task...

 Just a little Saturday Afternoon Fun with Doggo...

Minerals and Summertime

 Why does it seem that atomic science is always associated with radioactive elements?  Maybe because you can do neat things with those elements, but Hey!  There is a whole rest of the Periodic Table out there.  You know the rest of those atoms are pretty cool too...  LOL!

Look at copper and all the neat stuff it can do.  Look at that , I am off track already.  Um, yeah its, uh, Summertime, the season of mineral deficiencies.  I have had some great success using minerals to help my recovery after strenuous work outside.  You sweat a lot more during the Summer, and electrolytes are a big part of that process.  So you are spending more electrolytes, and it would make logical sense that you would naturally be craving, or needing more.

Did you know that you can run out of electrolytes and potentially die from a severe deficiency?

Well, I have some experience with this.  I was hospitalized for Hyponatremia, which is an extreme sodium deficiency.  This was maybe 4 years ago.  I was aware of sports drinks, and even used them periodically.  I was nutritionally aware, thinking I was doing everything right.  I was, and still am taking a colloidal mineral supplement.   What I found out then was that I am not getting a large enough volume of the electrolyte minerals, not salty...

Now, just recently I had another event where the symptoms were very similar to Hyponatremia. This was very familiar to me in a feeling really bad way.  This time I have been getting more electrolytes.  Also still taking the colloidal mineral supplement.  I didn't really put it together until I tried something new.  I had been using a popular sport drink with a "classic" flavor.  I've got a nice, mined mineral salt that I use on food.  I'm getting lots of minerals, but somehow have a mineral deficiency.  The hard part is figuring out what mineral that is.

This was sort of a happenstance thing.  An associate had given me this trendy electrolyte powder that you dissolve into a liquid.  I looked at it cautiously, but took it.  Then when I was feeling really bad, and grasping at straws for a solution I remembered the electrolyte powder, and tried it.  It didn't have any instant effects.  It took a day or two to notice that I felt better.  I formulated a theory then dug into the interwebs.

So the mineral du jour is magnesium, and the deficiency is called Hypomagnesemia, a protracted deficiency of  magnesium.  The funny thing about this is that I have magnesium supplements, and I guess I don't like them.  They are gummies covered in sugar, kind of candy like.  There are some observations I have made about these things.

 The colloidal mineral supplement is great.  I'm going to continue to take it because it provides a large spectrum of minerals in tiny amounts.  This stuff is rather miraculous in this way.  What I wasn't seeing was that they are trace minerals which means there is a tony amount of each mineral.  With the electrolytes you need mass quantities...

The mined mineral salt is very flavorful, which is because it is loaded with trace minerals.  A large spectrum of minerals in tiny quantities.  I'll continue using this one because it tastes good.

The popular sport drink with the "classic" flavor had a critical omission for me.  It contains potassium but no magnesium.  I get plenty of sodium, no problem there, don't really need more.  Potassium was there, but maybe not enough.  It was the magnesium, not there, that was the root of the problem, and the sickness.  This illness kept me in bed for several days, and by what I have read could have been fatal.  Not eating the Gummy Magnesium and not getting enough magnesium elsewhere caused a dangerous deficiency.

Another product that I had been using in this same realm of interest is that seltzer with the plopping, and fizzing.  I think that is a good product, and I never really took it with the idea that it was for electrolytes.  However it does contain a massive dose of sodium, but I don't think you can consider it to be "electrolytes," plural, unless it has potassium and magnesium.

Since I have gone through this I looked at the market place and noticed that there are a lot of good electrolyte products out there.  You just gotta pick the one that has the right stuff for you, and your condition.  Stay Salty...

 

Little Obsticle

  Every project has its prerequisites, and deviations.  I try to look at these things before starting a project.  But sometimes I get surprises like that time when I found misassembled irrigation pipes was causing the fence to rot, Moisture and Fence Failure.  This time it is also moisture, but drainage, and preemptive.

 The vertical trench is my drainage trench, and crossing the drainage trench is a Maple Root.  OK, we just have to exorcise the Maple Root, and we can get on with it.  LOL!  Great Plan.

  So I go straight at the place where the Maple Root is in the way of the Drainage Trench.  To use the saw I have to get the dirt out of the way.  Red Flag #1, Texas Clay Soil...  Now starting to excavate...

Yes, this is close to the area where the trunk was, and this was a big tree.  After getting down into the ground away I realize that this root is a lot bigger than I visualized... 

 I'm gonna have to work this some more before I can get a saw on it.  But, you know there is always a silver lining.  Now I know exactly where the phone line, cable line, and irrigation supply lines are...

Chiles 2026

  I got to plant new Chiles this weekend.  I've been working on the yard mostly over the past couple months.  So I finally cleaned the winter out of the Chile garden, and am ready for the heat...

 There are some plants that have been there and persist.  Mainly I pulled out the winter weeds, and then planted the 10 cages.  The Chiles are Habanero, Cayenne, and Chile de Arbol.  What has persisted over the winter are Oregano, Sage, Onions, and Lemon Balm. 

 I pulled a lot of usual plants like Wild Strawberries, Clover, and Grass.  Also lots of my perpetual friend Trumpet Vine.  I did also find one tiny sprig of Poison Ivy, and made it go away...

Muckworking

 There is another fence project on the west side.  If there is an untamed portion of the yard it is the west side.  It is open, and level which are problems that I want to take care of this spring.  First it is open which creates traffic through my side yard, wildlife, and otherwise.  Next it is level, the one part of the whole yard that is level.  This is a problem because the water doesn't move.  Peanut Galley erupts "You need a French Drain!"  No, I need drain slope.

Previously there was a lattice structure here that held climbing plants.  There was a white Rose plant that grew on it for years.  But I had issues with whatever I was growing there because of drainage issues that took a long time to realize.  I always knew it was swampy, but didn't make the connection to the problems with the plants in that area.

 As I started to dig into the problem I realized also that there was only a couple of inches of top soil, and then hard clay underneath.  This is a problem for plant roots, and absorption, and retention of water.  Also the entire side is level so low spots turn into long lasting ponds.  The biggest pond is right where I want to build.

 This area is typically overgrown with Ruellia which are a cane like plant that produce purple petunia like flowers.  They are commonly called Mexican Petunias.  Well they hide this swampy patch well, and love the water.  They grow like crazy, and hide the swampy mess underneath.

 So, first before I build anything I need to drain this area.  When we did the fence work here it was relatively dry because it had not rained for weeks.  But this area was still moist, and I used mulch to limit the muddiness.  So the next thing to do is to make a drainage trench to get the water out of here.

 I'm looking for the lowest spot I can get to be the outlet of the trench.  Then I work up the hill into the level area.  This will help me map the low spots in the side yard, and I can begin to move soil around to expedite the drainage.  I call this Muckworking because we have had some significant rain this week, and the west side yard is sloppy wet, and I am digging.  Very messy, but good because I am just a kid playing in the mud...

Winter Pizza

 Snowed under in North Texas by 2 inches of sleet.  Its too cold to work outside with the ice pellets covering everything.  So this kind of weather usually pulls me into the kitchen.  I've had a new flour I've been meaning to try, and this is a good time.  Pizza is solid comfort food for frozen weather.

 I have a Pizza Doh! recipe that I have been making for many long times.  But this time I am using a recipe from the manufacturer of the flour.  This one is double ought Pizza Flour, specifically for Pizza.  This one is high in gluten which is the protein that gives Pizza dough its characteristic chew.  The gluten is formed as protein molecules bind together, and form chains during the kneading process.

 The recipe for me is very different than my usual Pizza Doh!  It is only half the size of my normal batch which produces around 40 ounces.  This recipe produced 18 ounces, and I wound up making one large pizza with it.  I let the dough proof for around 12 hours on the counter, and another 8 in the refrigerator

 This recipe has no oil in it.  I was a hesitant to not add oil.  I can't think of another recipe that I have seen that did not use Olive Oil.  But, well OK, I'll try it, and assembled the recipe as instructed.  The result is that the dough is whiter, and not as rich, but closely resembles New York style dough.  It worked correctly as a hand formed, and not rolled, flatbread.

 The toppings are going to be the usual stuff I put on a pizza so all other things are the same, and only the dough has changed.  For me Pizza is the main course so it is protein packed with Pepperoni, and Sausage.  Next we'll toss it into the Thermal Reactor at 500F for a while.

 I cook Pizza on Stone, and use Corn Meal beneath the Pizza to make it moveable.  This dough is very moist even though I added extra flour to dry it out a little.  If the dough is too wet it is more like batter, which is not the way pizza works.  Maybe I added a little too much water at first, but adding a little more flour will balance that out, and take the mixture back to dough.

 I think my Pizza Stone is almost 15 inches.  So this Pizza is maybe about 14 inches.  It is much larger that the pies that I normally make.  So I think it will probably be a couple meals, and some snacking.  Dior is more than OK with that.

Renewed

New to Old comparison...  New, January 2026...

 The Old in October 2025...

 This is after I started working on it.  It did have all its pickets before I started...

East Fence Alignment

 The East Side Fence is the bottom of the property.  There are more rotted post in this area than all the rest of the fence.  The fence line was pretty messed up, so the first thing to do was to get the fence back in line...  Notice the blue line in the picture.  That is where the fence should be, sort of...

 The rotten pasts can be leveraged to make the fence straight again.  Posts usually rot right at the base of the post where it sits in the concrete slug.  The rot starts at that line but travels up and down, leaving a weak spot right at the ground level.

Of course the top of the post comes off, but you can dig down into the concrete slug and remove the rotten post there.  In this case the center of the post had composted into dirt.  This leaves a hard footprint to hold a temporary post.  I was was able to dig into it a few inches, but that is enough to hold the bottom end of the post temporarily.   Replacing the floppy, rotten post with a solid post puts the foot of the post in the right place.

 With the bottom end of the fence in line now we get all the posts plumb.  You get the long construction level, go down the line making each post plumb.  This is a little more than just pushing the fence in a repair.  I have been adding support posts, and also using old support posts.  Some of these repair posts are in the wrong place, so I have to shim the bones to fit the fence line.  Then we have a straight fence, and can begin adding new support posts, and repairing broken posts.  

Re-Post

 My back yard fence was first built in 1978 I assume because the house was built in 1978.  I have no evidence of this except the artifacts I dig up in the process of renewing the fence.  And it not like I find dated materials but I find things like soda can pull tabs, and glass coke bottles.  When I was cleaning out the shrubbery in front I found a very old schnaps bottle.  What I am getting to is the tasks that I am doing now.  Replacing rotten fence posts.  In this case I have to excavate the post stump.  I can't get a grip on the post or the slug, so I literally dig the thing up.

 These posts were planted at a 2 foot depth.  The photo above shows the mostly excavated hole with the remainder of the slug at the bottom.  I'm using a two pronged approach where I breaking up the slug with a hard chisel, and then dig around the circumference as needed.  I really don't like to do this because it breaks up the ground around the new slug, but we can work around this.  The post hole I am working on now is between the nursery pots below.

 In order to dig out this one hole I had to disassemble two fence panels.  One was already reworked, and the other is the old fence.  The post in question is the post that joins the two panels.  For this design it is the point where the fence in switching from outer bones to inner bones where east side fence starts.  The fence to the north is the outer facia towards the alley, and the east side faces the neighbors yard.  So I am going to orient the "pretty" part of the fence toward my garden.

 After I have finished excavating all the old post slug I have a post hole that is around 12 inches in diameter and 24 inches deep.  This is a lot bigger than my usual post hole.  So I want to fill up the extra space so that I don't fill such a large hole with concrete.  It is not hard to do, just fill it with concrete.  But I want to make consistent post holes, and slugs just for the design integrity, and also in anticipation of the future.  Some day I may want to dig up this post, and put something else here.  I'm gonna make it easier on my future self an put a reasonably sized slug here.  Part of the resizing the post hole process is filling the bottom of the post hole with gravel.  I want a 18 inch deep post slug.

 Now I have reduced the length of the post hole, and now we need to reduce the diameter of the post hole.  The companies that make concrete also make products to help you use concrete.  So, above is a concrete form which will help me make a nice uniform post slug.  I have reassembled the reworked fence to the north which will hold the new post in this hole.  At this point the post hole is finished, the concrete form is positioned, and the post is positioned.  But in order to pour concrete into the form we have to do one more thing, back fill the post hole.

 The concrete form is cardboard, and relatively light weight.  If I tried to pour concrete directly into it then it would just get knocked over.  I need to hold it in place to pour concrete into it.  So we are going to back fill the remainder of the hole with the clay soil that came out of the hole.  Again, because of the light weight nature of the concrete form, we have to back fill the hole in a uniform, and calculated way.  We want the post slug to be generally coaxial with the post, and keep this in mind when back filling the post hole.  I crumble the clay soil into small pieces to evenly distribute them,  During the fill I do some light packing of the back fill.  But don't pack it too much so as to deform the concrete form.

 The very last step in reworking this post is to add Mr. Concreto...  I like that the concrete form gives the post slug a uniform look.  You can even float the top of the post slug to make it look extra fancy, like it's finished or something...  Just one little note about the old rotten post, I'm trying to prevent that in the future.  After repairing the irrigation leak I think this section will do much better.  But, also, as general rot prevention I have used treated wood that is rated for ground contact and also a surface coating.  The rot starts at the surface, so stop it there...

 Now that the rotten post has been replaced we can put the fence back together so the yard is safe for puppies.  The fence panel on the left has been reworked.  The fence panel on the right in the one that is under construction.  The post I replaced this time was the one that joins these two panels.  Going up the east side of the fence to the right, south, there are several more post slugs that need to be reworked in this manner.  I'm glad this is fun for me, otherwise it might seem like work... 

Moisture and Fence Failure

 I had made note of the excessive rot in the fence panel I am working on now.  In the last post, Repair to Renew I noted of the advanced level of rot in this section.  The bottom runner was rotten.  Well there is usually a reason, and it is here in the same area.  The subterranean sprinkler...

 The riser is threaded onto the supply pipe at an angle.  This is the effect of making assumptions, and making blind connections.  The pop-up head that was in this place malfunctioned years ago.  I don't remember exactly what happened.  It could have been that one of the dogs decided to chew it up, I don't remember. 

I made an assumption that the supply pipe was rigid.  I unscrewed the pop-up head, and then screwed in a riser to make a fixed head.  It must have felt right at the time, and tested OK, but I didn't notice the massive subterranean supply pipe leak.  So, over the years I have noticed a inexplicable flow in that area on the property line, and assumed, again, that it was not my system, LOL!  Hindsight...
 

Repair to Renew

 So in picking the next section of fence to work on I usually go to the worst section first.  The one that needs the most help gets the first attention.  This section was very rotten at the bottom, the pickets, and lowest runner were falling apart.

 This is the East Fence I am working on now, by the garden.  This section has had scrap lumber piled up against it which helped the lower part rot.  I added some support posts in this area a long time ago, then went to work on other areas.  Now those other areas are reworked it is time to fix up this section.  Both of the old posts for this section were rotten as well.  I was able to clean out the post slugs a little to hold a solid Cedar posts temporarily.  I replaced the rotten runner, and put new planks on this section.

 This is an effort to strengthen the fence so that I can use it to hold the new posts when I am ready to set them.  This part is a little backwards.  I am repairing the old fence in order to hold the new posts when I set them.  After the new posts are set then I'll replace all the runners and planks.  Dior is very curious about the new view into the neighbors side yard.  There are critters over there she wants to chew on...

New View

 Now, a week later, I added the Bones, and Planks to the outside.  In this section the new fence is almost complete.  Now we have to deconstruct the old fence on the other side, and then mount the Planks on the backside of the new Bones.

 That sure does look nice considering what a mess it has been for decades.  But now we need to finish the new fence, but the old fence is in the way...

 The fence is double walled at the moment.  The old fence is still attached to the posts.  I deconstruct to control the disposition of materials.  Hardware get thrown in the recycle bucket.  The rotten cedar is just trash, really that bad.  Then I find some not so old lumber, previous repairs, that can be reused.

 What is neat about this part of the process is that as you pull away the old rotted cedar it reveals the fresh new fence behind it.  Its refreshing...

 Eventually all the bad parts are gone, and what is left is a nice fresh fence.  This is the idea of maintain containment so the yard is safe for Doggos, and keeps the Varmints out...

 After the old wood is gone all we have to do is put Planks on the inside of the new Bones.  I think I need to get some Gargoyle Post Caps...

 

Can you Dig It?

 Another post about posts...  Now I am working on the north face of the fence.  I did the complex parts first.  The Gates, and the Corners were the more difficult parts of the project, and well as the parts that broke down the most.  With the gates it is traffic that breaks them down.  The corners on the original fence were kind of feeble, and there were too many fasteners in a post that was not structurally adequate.

The thing that kept the old fence standing was the steel joiners that I added to the fence.  These allowed me to attach all the boards at a joint to the post with multi directional fasteners.  The wind has knocked this fence over many times, and each time I try to find ways to hold it together better.  But, after all the impromptu fixes really what I want is a fence design that is not going to break in the first place.  This starts with posts...

Its kinda of a standard the way posts are used in fences with a post at each end of the panel.  Almost all pre-built fences are like this.  You buy panels, and posts, and then assemble in your yard.  That is great if you property is flat, level, and square.  I live on a slope, and matching the slope requires scratch making panels.  It is just a fence panel right?

So any construction starts with a foundation, Mass, the bigger the better.  But these are fence posts, and I don't want to pour a lake of concrete in my back yard. So what do you do?  How do you make many?  I want to have a uniform shape to my fence post Slugs.  I want significant mass, and compact size.  I have seen foam footing for posts, and I won't do that.  I would make the Slug out of Ultradensium if I could get it.  A lead slug that weights three or four hundred pounds would be great, but it is not practical.  So what is a high density material that is cheap, and plentiful?  That's right it's your old friend Mr. Concreto.

 I have seen all the kinds of WTF? when it comes to Post Slugs.  I quit trying to figure out why they are like they are, and just fix it.  So back to the standard fence design for a moment, posts at each end of the panel.  So the panels are sharing posts.  There are two panel ends on each fence post.  So each end of the panel is really only getting half a post, and if you add both sides then you have one post per panel, plus one post at the end of the line.  OK, for aesthetics that gets an A+, but for strength if fails hard, like flat on the ground.

There is a physical weight that is supported by the fence like the runners, pickets, and hardware.  But that weight is small compared to the force exerted by the wind.  A fence is subject to forces that are similar to a Sailboat.  The wind is pushing sideways on the fence, with dynamic vectors.  This exerts force on the fence, and if you want to fence to stand, it has to resist this force.  With a Sailboat your resistance to the force of the wind is the Keel.  Likewise for the Fence its resistance to the force of the wind is the Post Slug.

 We have a measure of mass with each post.  The easiest way to add more measures of mass is to add more posts.  So, first, lets just double the mass, two posts.  But, also make the posts a superior material.  I wish I had a way to simply calculate the increase in strength.  Its also impractical to test it.  But I think I can say this will significantly increase the strength of each panel.

But, no, I want it stronger.  The answer is already there.  Increase the mass, add more posts.  So, on the North Side of the Fence I have four existing, and in good condition, posts that I am going to bind into this run of panels.  This adds one more post to each panel, and joins the panels together at the ends.

 In this process of restoration I am going for sort of an OEM Plus upgrade.  I want an contemporary six foot wooden fence, but constructed with advanced materials, coatings, and hardware.  The idea is to make it look like it did in 1978, but made out of 21st century materials...

In the shot above I am setting the posts.  The grey old fence is cross braced, and supported in the correct position.  I am using the old fence to hold the new posts in position while Mr. Concreto cures.  Setting posts is a task, and I am usually really tired after doing that.  The posts will have a few days to setup before I attach the new dog boards, and runners.

 While Mr. Concreto is curing I am converting other panels from a closed fence to the Shadowbox Fence design.  This is the west side of the fence, by the driveway.  These were the first couple panels I built back in July with the closed panel design.  It was after that set when I decided to go with the Shadowbox Design, so now I have converted those panels.  Something neat about the Shadowbox Design is that you can see though the fence a little at acute angles.  It is an interesting feature.  There is depth to the fence, and you can see further a little.  It plays with your eyes.  Your peripheral vision sees the fence change as you walk past it.