Random Photos and Heat
howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas
where our heat wave continues unabated. Todays temperature is 108
degrees Fahrenheit which is 42 Celcius and and tomorrow it's
supposed to be 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43 Celcius. And that's in
the shade!
The temperatures wouldn't be so bad if they didn't affect this black
clay soil that we have down here in most parts of Texas because it
get so dried out every summer and then large cracks form like these:
The cracks range from 2 to 8 inches across and in length anywhere
from 2 feet to 15 feet and the depth is way deep, I haven't tried to
measure them but I will this year. The above photo shows one at 14
inches and I know they are at least that deep and these cracks are
what causes so much shifting and moving of building foundations
which causes stuff like this:
we have a crack like this one below
So it's just one of those natural phenomenons that you have to put up
with and take in stride. But the good news is that I caught a couple of
shots of our Road Runners which are much better this time. I know, I
seem obsessed with them but I'm really not. I'm just obsessed with
getting better photos of them because they're so cool.
Not bad huh? I mean for me. We ain't talkin @oldtimer quality
photos here guys sorry. Mrs. J saw this on the road yesterday
which I thought was interesting. There was no advertising any-
where so I'm not why they had glass siding, obviously they
wanted everyone to see their cargo:
not bad shots for going down the highway at 75 MPH.
And check this redneck out. This is the way rednecks haul their
refrigerators!
Lastly, I want to leave you with a photo that cracks me up
every time I see it. Call me mean, I don't know..I truly
appreciate artists and designers but for this one..they
need to go back to the drawing board! But if anyone likes
this then please let me know so we can talk about your
issues, I mean your opinions!
lol! thanks folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck
ps- today's redneck joke is above. you might be a redneck if this is the
way you haul your refrigerator!
That last photo really cracks me up! How do you sit down in this outfit? LOL The roadrunners are cool birds. We don't have any here. I can identify with cracks. We have them on our homestead too. We were 43 degrees today! Pretty darned hot but we are supposed to get rain later on, so maybe we will cool down a little.
howdy @cecicastor! wow is that normal for there to be that hot?
are you in some kind of drought there or are cracks normal in the summer time?
We are ending a drought and yes it gets that hot here, sometimes even hotter...
that's too hot. you can't do much when it gets that hot. I'd be a wimp and never go outside if I had central air, do you guys have air?
Nope! Just the ocean breeze and lots of shade trees!
oh my! is the ocean breeze cool? seems like it would be hot also.
It seems cool. Without it, it gets unbearably hot!
That earth/soil issue you have is something else. What a major economical problem. Now if it gets that dry, do you not have a termite issue then? I would think they wouldn't be able to thrive in such conditions even though they make "tunnels" to hold in moisture.
Great pics of the little cutie road runner! I don't even know what to say about the fashion show pic other than I'm with you.
I would haul a fridge by removing the trunk lid, stand the fridge upright, and duck tape it down. And I mean like duck tape the hell out of it. Too much work lifting it to the roof. That's what I would do. Hey, I think I'm turning more red as the weeks go by.
howdy @squirrelbait! what was asinine about that redneck moving the refrigerator is that they had nothing at all to at least try to hold the thing in place. I don't think termites are much of an issue out here, at least not that we have heard.
hey what do you mean you are turning more red? Red Communist? no..sunburnt?..Red state red? more of a redneck? like we could take a hilarious photo after you finished duct taping the heck out of that refrigerator? lol.
LOL!
Regarding termites, I just figured Texas would have termites like South Carolina does. I had to deal with them down there. Texas is much drier so it makes sense now that I think about it. I learn so much on here!
well maybe down South along the coast where it's so much more wet and humid but as far as I know, not too bad around here. those things suck! how bad was it in South Carolina?
I lived near the Georgia Border and they were quite prevalent. They made tunnels that climb up the foundation to your house. My neighbor was drunk all the time and didn't care and/or notice them. They did terrible damage to his home. My husband battled them with his house when he lived in North Carolina.
how do you battle them, constantly have Orkin come out and spray?
Yup!!!! Preventative treatments if you don't have an active colony. Gotta stay on top of it . It was a pain.
a time-consuming and expensive pain!
Thanks for the compliment, my friend.
you're welcome sir you earned it!
Hi @janton. Those are some serious cracks. Don't know how the model keeps a straight face wearing that. He looks ridiculous. If that is the next fashion trend then I guess I am way out again.
hahaha! what you didn't like that model either? I mean his outfit? that is the goofiest thing I ever saw. try walking down the street in that in your city!
ha! thank you sir!
Time to get out the sandbags. Sorry you're having to deal with that, man. It's a bummer. Hopefully you caught it quickly enough that it won't do much damage to the house.
Not a redneck. I haven't hauled a refrigerator in quite some time either. It's nice to have a place that came with one.
hahaha! refrigerators are a big hassle to move especially if all you got is a little compact car! no our house is fine, we do have one of those stair-step cracks but the house has been sitting here since 1980 and there is no other movement which is extraordinary.. but the guy who built this house was a custom home builder and this was his house so he really knew what he was doing, we're thankful for that.
the huge cracks in the ground are amazing but just a seasonal oddity.
well, I mean you gotta watch where you're stepping or running in some areas of the lawns, we have four large lawns but where we work Jack out and play with him there are no cracks for some strange reason.
thank you sir!
I'mg lad that your house is safe. I can imagine it would be unsettling (pun intended) if your house was in danger of collapsing. Keep a weather eye open for those faults appearing.
yes sir..well, they have all kinds of repair companies out here to fix foundations if they start to have trouble but that is outrageously expensive, like they start at $50,000.
They drill holes about 20 or 30 ft deep at an angle away from your foundation and then fill those with concrete and connect them to your foundation.
however, I heard about a new design where they actually build the house on a bed of sand and that way if it shifts around the house moves with it and it doesn't crack and break up because it isn't secured to the ground.
I can imagine there's big business in fixing foundations if everyone built their houses on shifting sands. I like my houses to be built on solid ground, thank you very much. Keep your sands of time and shiftings, and I'll live on the rock. Or maybe a mountain top!
haha! yeah that makes perfect sense and it Biblical Blondie thank you!
Here is an unenlightened question: If foundation repair costs $10,000, and watering you house perimeter costs an extra $30 in water; WHY not spend the $30?
Roadrunner pictures are hard, because they are very mobile! I like these; good photos.
:)smithlabs! are you one who says that the foundation should be sprayed down with water everyday? what does that do? in laymen/redneck terms.
thanks sir about the photos, I work hard to get those dang birds and they can see me coming a mile away even inside the house! no coyotes ever gonna get them suckers.
Not unless he uses Acme traps, ROFLOL!
Yes, but the clay, not the foundation, so run a soaker hose around your house, and run it at night so it soaks in. You can even use wheat straw mulch around your house to hold the water, and to compose later. If the clay does not dry out, no cracks; in the clay or the building....
:)That’s actually a really good idea. You would need to get that clay wet as soon as possible and keep it that way, otherwise when it gets dry and solid, the water runs right off. @janton do you get flash floods when it rains?
yes Ma'am Texas, at least this area floods at the smallest rains, never seen anything like it! soil can't absorb the rain. we're out in the country on a higher level so it doesn't affect us though.
That is true, a soaker hose delivers it slow enough it mostly stays. Any run off is wasted, but filling the cracks will all soak in, and help jump start the recovery!
:Dok thank you sir!
Any time I can be of help!
:)Stay safe!
Okay, I like the fashion. kill me :D
Tell us more about the redneck with refrigerator :D is that how most people transport their goods in Texas?
The road runners are surely cute and You should capture them more <3
And at end, the cracks look frightening, I hope there is no much damage caused
hahaha! hey there @hananali! you really like that thing the model was wearing? that would be a little impractical wouldn't it? not to mention everyone in the world laughing at you, but hey, it would be a way to get attention from girls!
no the guy with the refrigerator was insane, that photo was supposed to be funny, ridiculously risky and dangerous that was.
Our place is fine, the cracks are out in our lawns not close to the house.
thanks man!
okay now for the first time I saw my upvote making a difference of 2 cents :D :D :D That is quite a change from 0 lol
it's great to be able to make a difference isn't it Hanan? good job.
Of course it is, I was just happy that it actually started making an impact (y)
howdy there my long lost friend! hasn't it been awhile? anyway, yes it is a turning point to finally be able to add and help someone.
Hello there @janton, apologies for being away, was a bit busy with job, some last days of notice period at job are being tough.
And Yes its good to finally being able to make some difference and help the community (y)
you'v been too busy to post right?
I had plans but then I wanted a well worked on post, Hopefully in a while I will post something
try not to wait too long because people like to go and check out your posts, if they haven't seen a recent one they might think you are not serious.
Ooof, still suffering from that heat, eh? When I came back from El Paso it was hot and humid and miserable up here too, but we had a huge wave of thunderstorms roll through the East Coast a couple days ago and now we are all enjoying low humidity with temps in the high 70s. Perfect summer weather if you ask me!
Stay cool and stay hydrated my friend. Interesting phenomenon with the cracks.
howdy there @dollarsandsense! 70's is indeed perfect summer weather, love the sound of that. Yeah it's too hot in southern Texas.
hey, I went over to your post today but it was so long I had to leave and will come back to it because I wanted to take the time to completely read it, I did read the vacuum story so far, I thought that was great! very funny and insane! lol. I never even heard of one costing that much, what kind is it anyway?
thanks so much for commenting sir!
Hah, no worries, yes I do tend to ramble on when I get going. I probably could have made that 3 separate posts, but oh well. The vacuum is a Kirby. I'll sell it to you for $2000 :D
oh my gosh I didn't know any were ever that expensive. We lived a few miles from the main Kirby plant in Ohio. They went out of business and our church bought their factory! Now it's a big mega-church. and it doesn't suck ha! my pitiful attempt at humor. I'm no dollarsandsense.
Hahah you made me chuckle!
Well their website is still up so hopefully they’re in business SOMEWHERE, haha. I have never had to use the warranty yet, but a lifetime is a long ways away (I hope!). The next most expensive vacuum I’ve heard of is a Dyson, but even those don’t cost more than $1000 I don’t think.
howdy today @dollarsandsense! yes I thought the dyson's were expensive, wow. nothing compared to the Kirbys back then. but at least you got that salesman his vacation I'm sure. yeah I think I made a mistake..yes sir, my bad..I was thinking of Hoover. It was the Hoover plant that closed or moved overseas not Kirby. I suppose they still make Kirbys right where they always did, I haven't been vacuum shopping for years so I haven't seen one forever.
Hi @janton, I am the first commenting on your post- I am impressed. We have cracks developing in brick walls in Australia. Hot dry weather is quite damaging. And @janton, I really don't know if women buy weird designer outfits. They do keep everyone entertained don't they?
howdy @angeimitchell and yes you are very impressive to arrive first, great job! what do they do with those cracked brick walls down there, do you know? patch them in some way?
I have no idea why anyone would buy something so impractical but it would certainly draw attention to themselves if that's what they wanted!
My dad was a Master Builder - a good one, he designed and built the houses we lived in. The cracking happened in the his last house. It required engineering and redoing etc. Dad was very thorough. It only occurred once during a very hot dry summer.
howdy again @angiemitchell..that is very interesting..so did they work on the foundation?