Rebuilding our utility trailer

Our 18' utility trailer gets used around the property a lot and we use it to haul the tractor around.  In recent years the guys from our church youth group have used it as a diving platform.

One of my favorite pictures of Aaron Melder and Cody Meaux.

The boards started rotting really badly and the metal started rusting.  One of the guys stepped on the rotten boards and went through.  It turned out the boards were not treated from the factory.  So we decided it was time to rebuild it.  (Change the boards, remove rust and repaint it)

I don't have any good before pictures of the trailer before we started removing the boards.

Eric resting his back from the hard work.

Now the rust removal and painting can begin.

Rustoleum primer is complete.

Ready for final paint color.

Now that's a one of a kind trailer.

We decided to paint it Safety Blue so that it would be different and a one of kind.

Ready for the boards.

The first boards going down.

Eric ended up having to grind the weld off the back channel to pry it up to fit the new boards in the grove. 

After all the boards were put in, he welded the channel back in place and I did some touch up painting. 

Now it is ready for the boards to be bolted down.

Of course I had to get under the trailer to put the nuts on the bolts.

Here is proof, I do work on some of the projects we have around the house.

Buster came up for an inspection.  I guess it passed!

As with anything, Eric has to make sure it is perfect.

Eric stained the boards and now it is complete.

 I think we did a pretty good job and totally changed the look of the trailer.  Now we can actually use it.  Not only can the guys use it again to dive from but we can use it to haul the tractor around on.  We will be using it at church for a hay ride this Saturday when we have the live Nativity. 

Planting Trees, adding to the landscape of the property.

Earlier this month we made a trip to visit Eric's sister and her family in Katy, TX and bring our nieces to an airshow.

Jessie, Ann-Marie and Grumpy, (Eric's Dad) in front of a P-40 Warhawk.

Yes the girls call their grandfather, Grumpy.  It started out as a joke but it stuck and everyone loves the name. 

 The girls waiting to tour the inside of a WWII airplane.

  It was very cold when we first got there but it later warmed up. 

 Everyone enjoying the Blue Angel's performance.

Eric's sister gave us a parting gift when we left.  They had recently gotten some landscape work done at their home and had an extra tree that they couldn't use.  She gave us a Texas Ash tree that was about 15 feet tall.  We had to haul it in the back of Grumpy's truck, (Glenn).

Strapped in good for the trip.

  I hope it looks this healthy when it gets to our house.

Well as you can see the tree lost most of it's leaves on the trip home but it's Fall and it would have lost them soon anyway. 

Now to water it and get it ready to put in the ground.

 

 

 

  Eric dug this hole by hand.

A little fertilizer and lots of water and hopefully some sun and I think it will make it.

We are hoping it gets real big and shady so that corner of the yard will not be so bare.

Later in the week Eric's dad gave us a nectarine tree that he didn't have room to plant so we planted it in the front yard..

Osmocote, the best fertilizer and lots of water.

All mulched and ready for the winter.

While we were digging the hole for the nectarine tree we found a healthy live oak tree so we transplanted it out by the pond.

It was so tiny that we had to mark it with a piece of PVC pipe.

I would say that we had a pretty good week of taking unwanted and unneeded and planting them around the property.  I love planting and growing things especially when they will provide food and shade later.  We are so Blessed to have been the recipient of these two trees and I can't wait to see how they look come Spring.

Floating Flower Bed

I recently posted a picture on Facebook of this floating flower bed that we built and put in our pond. I figured I would share the details of it.  It was simple to build and really cheap since we had leftover wood from another project, which I will post about later. 

The frame is simple, 4 1x4s strengthened with 2x4 blocks in the corners. 1/2" hardware cloth lining the entire inside. 

3 1x4s across the bottom for support to keep the contents inside. 

Pool noodles zip tied to the bottom to make it float. (Pool noodles were purchased at the dollar store for 10¢ each after summer)

A quick check to make sure it will float, with 9 noodles I can't imagine it not floating. 😉

The inside lined with weedmat to keep the dirt from falling through the holes in the hardware cloth. 

 Pointing soil added. 

Elephant ear plants and other bulbs added. (The elephant ear were very root bound so I took the excess roots and spread them around the top of the bed to provide fertilizer as they rot.) I also added osmocote fertilizer. 

And it's off to float around in the pond. It will provide shade for the fish and the pond water will continue to fertilize the plants.  We plan on making an anchor for it to keep it in one place. We will use a 3" PVC pipe filled with cement.  The types of plants I used will die off in the winter and come back year after year so I'm hoping very little maintenance is needed. Only time will tell. 

Since the wood and hardware cloth were left over from a previous project and the potting soil was left over from other planting in the spring, the only cost for this project was the weedmat ($10) and I only used a small piece so lots left for future projects and 9 -.10¢ Pool noodles. So this entire project may have cost a total of $2.00. We also have the supplies on hand for the anchor. So that won't cost a penny. That's my kind of project!!!