Best5Zach's ESPN College Pick'em

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Are you looking for a free weekly pick'em game? Look no further. Join me and many of my friends and blog subscribers in our yearly Pick'em group, Wild Wild SEC West. It's free. It's easy. And, it's something to do each week when you are recovering from the previous wild weekend in the SEC. 

As a BONUS, each weekly winner will be featured in my weekly Best Games of the SEC pick'em posts. So, if you want to be gratified, sign up and win. What can be better than having Best5Zach grovel at your picking prowess? Just ask my wife! It's pretty nice! There may even be a special prize for the winner. 

Anyway, follow this link: Wild Wild SEC West

If that doesn't work, do a quick search for the name or the group ID, which is 1187. Then, drop me a comment below to let me know you are in!  

Best5Zach's German Cucumber Salad Recipe

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If you follow me on social media, you know I love to post about my food...both what I cook and what I eat. Well, Saturday I was getting blown up over a recipe that I had posted. Well, people wanted the recipe for the picture I posted. So, I said I would. It's a very easy (and very good) recipe for enjoying the fruits of your labor!

You will need around 5 small cucumbers (or 3 extra large store bought ones) for 4-5 adults. De-skin them and slice them as thin as you can. Place them in a colander and liberally sprinkle Kosher salt on them. Shake the colander. The object is to remove as much of the water from the cucumbers as possible. It will allow the finished product to be nice and thick. 

While the cucumbers are draining, go pick some fresh herbs from your raised herb garden, which you built like mine! 

How to Build a raised Herb Garden from Repurposed Box Springs

I like to use a small palm full of a combination of rosemary and dill. You need about 15 small leaves of the former and around 10 full sprigs of the later. Mince these finely. 

Prepare a mixture with the following:

• 2 Cups of Sour Cream
• 1 TBL spoon of mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• Dash of sage
• Crushed black pepper to your desire

Mix this with your minced herbs

Resalt the slices cucumbers and shake well. The salt you have added for pulling out the water will be adequate for the whole dish. 

Dump the cucumbers in a quarter at the time and stir well to ensure each is properly coated. 

Enjoy! Make sure to share this with your friends and family!

Best5Zach Garden 2014

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I have really been slackin' on updates on the garden. No worries. No one reads them anyway! And it's a shame, because I usually include some yummy meal ideas with these updates.

So, everything is up and running (literally) in the garden. We ended up with just short of 20 tomato plants, a single row of corn, single row of okra, 6 cucumber plants, 9 zucchini and  6 crookneck squash. 

I have done my best to keep the garden weeded, but I am facing some trials with that. I was gone for a week on vacation to Jamaica (tough life) before coming home. Then it rained for 3 days straight. I finally got caught up on weeding, but now I am finding that my chickens are eating everything in sight. I don't want to keep them in their pens all day, but I can't have them eating the whole garden, either. 

My grandmother just told me and my wife yesterday that you never plant a single row of corn because it won't get pollinated. If anyone knows, it's her. I guess we will see. I have done single rows of okra and they don't have a problem. In fact, I had more than I could deal with last year. Anyway, if the corn doesn't turn out, I guess we will know why.

The cucumber plants are just starting to run and I have done my best to redirect them to run along the rows instead of across the rows. Though they were small, I did pick 3 small cucumbers last night....I just couldn't help myself. More on them later.

Zucchini has been producing bit by bit for the last week. I have averaged about 1 a day. But, many have been picked early because of the rain. I would rather pick them too early than let them blow up because they absorbed too much rain. They simply lose flavor. Also, the baby has a bad habit of picking them on his own and doing this:

Yesterday was the first crookneck squash was ready to be picked. 

Final count was 2 zucchini, 1 squash, and 3 small cucumbers. If I added a nice bowl of soup to that, I figured it would be a nice meal.

So, I started with the zucchini and squash first. I preheated a pan with a mixture of olive oil and butter. You don't want too much of it won't fry. Instead, it would be rather limp and won't have the perfect amount of char on the outside. While I cooked it in 3 separate batches, I seasoned each finished batch with some basic rosemary/garlic seasoning with a slight bit of salt and cracked black pepper. When all 3 batches were cooked at least 80%, I dumped the oil and butter solution and threw all of the slices back in the pan for just a few seconds while letting them sear. 

I sliced the baby cucumbers up and put them in a small amount of apple cider vinegar. I added chopped white onion (just big enough to use a fork) along with some fresh herbs from my raised herb garden, which I recently completed. The herbs I used, specifically, were fresh minced mixture of dill and sweet basil. I dumped half of this mixture in the cukes.  Another bit of salt and fresh cracked pepper. You can read about my herb garden below. 

How to Build a raised Herb Garden from Repurposed Box Springs

On another eye, I started a plain can of tomato soup. Now, doctoring up tomato soup has been a favorite hobby of mine since I was probably 10 years old.  Instead of using a whole can of water, I use a half water/half milk solution. When the soup is simmering, I add the other half of the dill/basil mix, plus about 10 minced leaves of rosemary and a clove of garlic. You can then salt and pepper as you desire. To top the soup off, I cut 3 chunks of mozzarella up and place in the center. 

Talk about a fine meal! 

 

Magnum Shaky Heads: The Answer to Finesse Fishing in High Wind and Current

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Typically, days with current are your better days to catch fish. The current usually fires the fish up, making it a day for power fishing. But, we all know that sometimes the fish aren't really digging your favorite power fishing technique, whether that is topwater, cranking, or any other moving baits. Some times they are just as finicky as those days with no current. Though the current may group them together, getting a typical shaky head down to them can prove to be nearly impossible. Throw in a solid 10MPH sustained wind, and you can be right on top of the fish and unable to get the bait down to them....and, with that wind, being able to feel it becomes just as impossible. 

Last year, Josh and I were fishing Logan-Martin, looking for those Coosa River magnum spots. We had already caught and culled over 20 fish in shallower water with 1/8th ounce shaky heads on our spinning gear. We found some fish in 25 feet of water on a submerged rock pile. Still using that shaky head and a PTL 5" Sick, I was fighting wind and current. I just couldn't get the bait where I wanted, and when I did, I couldn't feel it. Josh had the same issue, so he made a change from a 1/8th ounce shaky head to a magnum 3/4th ounce shaky head with a larger worm. After he had caught 3 or 4 fish before I could even feel the rocks, I made the change. I dropped the spinning rod and went to a 6'6" medium heavy bait casting setup. We went on to have a stellar day as the bigger head allowed me to quickly get the bait down to the fish despite the current, resist the wind from blowing the bait, and allowing me to feel the rocks....and the bites. You can read about that trip and watch the video below.

Fishing Report for Logan-Martin Lake 4/3/14

We didn't use that technique much for the rest of the year, but I found myself this year in situations eerily similar. Fishing Wheeler right after the spawn, we were targeting solely smallmouth on ledges. The same problem presented itself. We were fishing tight to the bluffs and a smaller shaky head would not get the bait down fast enough before the combination of wind, current, and boat positioning got the better of me. 3 of my 4 casts were wasted trying to get the bait down to the depth I wanted...and I missed many...many.. bites because the spinning rod with 8 pound test didn't have the backbone to bury a hook in the fish's mouth due to the line stretch. I remembered what Josh had done just 12 months before, so I went to the rod locker and brought out a 7' medium heavy rod with a baitcaster spooled with 17 pound flouro. I selected a PowerTeam Lures Triple X Pea Head in 3/8ths. But, I had a little apprehension about bait selection. I didn't like the ratio of the 5" sick stick to the size of the head. Additionally, I wanted a bigger bite than I had been getting. I selected a bait that I had bought a few years ago and never quite found a niche for. It was something larger than the Sick Stick, but not as big as a 8-10" magnum worm. Though I wanted that bigger bite, those magnum worms create a lot of drag as well as being very buoyant, both working against the idea of getting the bait to the fish. I selected the 7" Tickler from PTL. The combination of the larger head size and its ability to get me (and hold me) in the strikezone, plus the in-between size of the 7" Tickler got me loading the boat. Not only does the slimmer design of the Tickler help me get the bait in the strike zone, but the construction of it allows the worm to have excellent action in current....I.E. waving while remaining upright, something magnum worms don't do. In fact, I went through my one-and-only propack that day. Naturally, I remedied that. You can read about that tournament and watch the vid here:

Fishing Report for Wheeler Lake 4/25/15

Here is the 7" Tickler and Triple X Pea Heads

After the post spawn, the fish headed out to the ledges. You may recall that we fished Pickwick last week where we won a club tournament. 

Fishing Report for Pickwick 5/30/15

Leading up to blast-off, we noticed there would be no current. To combat that, we concentrated on largemouth on the ledges. We quickly had a limit on power baits, but the sun came up and the bite died. We idled for miles looking for a good ledge, as we had been taught by Guntersville guide, Basswhacker. You can read about that experience and watch the vid here:

How to Catch Ledge Fish on Guntersville Lake

We located fish on structure on the ledges. After catching a few on Spro cranks, the bites disappeared. But, we knew the fish were there, so we started throwing finesse baits. About the time we busted out our gear, the wind kicked up....HARD. So hard that smaller weight shaky heads and texas rigs were not going to cut it. I went back to the magnum shaky head setup. And, off we went. Wind no longer blew my line and made me lose feeling or contact on the bottom. Being able to use that heavier rod allowed me to really snap those hooksets. 

Each and every year, I lay out a plan to get better as a fisherman. Last year was about getting better with a shaky head. I think I did that and you can read about my results and thoughts in the blog post below. In fact, it's the 3rd most popular article on this blog. 

Stick Baits: Not Just a Last Resort

The combination of the larger head design and bait allow you to make a lot of quick casts down a ledge, regardless of boat positioning. The current won't blow your bait down stream and past the fish. As it sits on the bottom, you will be able to really feel that bait working through the rocks. The wind won't be able to blow the line and move the bait, nor allow you to lose feeling. And, that tickler won't hinder the fall rate. Most importantly, that Tickler will stand on end and beckon the fish to come take a bite. When they do, the ability to use a heavier rod will allow you to really rip lips, without the worry of breaking off. 

What I think is amazing is that gaining confidence in one bait allows you to start experimenting with the technique. You take an existing and wildly popular technique and you tailor it to be even better. My experiences with magnum shaky heading are exactly that. Not only is it a work around for current and wind for a proven tough conditions fish catcher, but it is something a little different than can really pay off!

Staining an AK-47 Stock

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In the last two years, I have started collecting firearms. That's awfully hard to do on a budget, which caused me to get rather creative on how I could manage to start a collection. Being willing to learn and fairly handy, building AR-based guns was a real option. Instead of paying ridiculous prices for off-the-shelf guns, I could build one of similar (and sometimes better) quality for a not-so-ridiculous amount of money. That worked real well....

Until I got tired of ARs. Well, it wasn't that I was really tired of them, but just how many ARs do you really need?

You can ready about my AR builds below.

AR-15 Build V2.0

All of my gun buddies laughed at me and told me  I was really missing out on REAL guns, specifically the AK. 

So, I started looking around. The private seller market (on Facebook groups, in particular) is absolutely ridiculous. These guys want more money for their guns than they cost new at the store. But, I detest buying from stores. Like...REALLY REALLY detest it. It takes hours out of your life (feels like years, sometimes).

But, after months crept buy, I went into the local gun shop. I already knew that I wanted a Romanian WASR-10. It isn't the nicest of models, but it is reliable and the price was right ($470). Additionally, it has a chrome-lined barrel. That may hurt the accuracy, but it really helps durability. You can read more about these rifles here.

 The gun shop had 6 and I inspected each one multiple times before I found the one that I wanted. The only thing I didn't like about the purchase was that all of the stocks were unfinished. That is, they had no sort of treatment on them, which gave them a very dull finish on top of a very light wood coloring. More importantly, I didn't want it soaking up oils from gun cleanings or even those from my hands, which would give it an unsightly finish.

After months of sitting in the safe, I finally brought it out after I had remembered to buy some stain from Lowe's. I decided on the WATCO brand and went with the Danish Oil in the Walnut finish.

After removing the stock, I gave the pieces a pretty thorough work over with some 400-grit paper. Just enough to lightly scuff it. And, make sure that you get ALL the edges, not just the main surfaces. Make sure you get get those areas where the fasteners for the metal butt stock plate and the sling mount reside as well as the edges that butt up to the metal. If you don't, they won't soak up the stain the same as the main surfaces and will give you some unsightly areas. I made sure that the finish, post scuff, was uniform. I noticed that the grains on the butt stock were very linear and uniform, but those on the fore stock were not. In fact, the fore stock grains ran every which way, as it had been cut from a tree with knots, specifically the top portion on the fore stock.

The butt stock soaked up the stain, but didn't exhibit much color change, though it brought out several divots that it had accrued over its life. Also, where the metal end cap bolts on, it was obvious that the manufactures had to do some extra fitment work. Two places in particular had significantly more work done to them, which exposed more surface area. This surface area soaked up more stain, making it appear darker. But, the metal endcap would cover most of it. 

The foregrip was another animal. Because of its varying grain structure, it pulled much more stain in, giving it a much darker appearance than the butt stock. I gave it a second coat 24 hours after the first, but didn't want it to be any darker than it already appeared. I did like the look the stain exposed, as it really brought out the twists and turns of the grains.

But, that led to another problem. I now had a butt stock several shades lighter than the fore stock. I gave the butt stock a once over with the 400 grit sand paper and stained it again. It made a little difference, bringing the color slightly darker.

Ever 24 hours, I repeated the process, eventually getting the coloration the same as the fore stock, with the exception that the intergranular regions on the fore stock are darker. Because the cuts of wood are so different, that is just going to be reality.

I am very pleased with the coloration, especially how pronounced the grains now are. I plan on giving it a urethane treatment soon. 

A-Day 2015 Adventures

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A-Day has become a Best5Family tradition for the last few years, and for good reason. Initially, we saw it as a great time to bring our kids to watch some Auburn football, cause, you know...tickets for real ain't cheap. Now, it's funny looking back because we started coming when we had 1 kid. Now we have 3. 

And, just as our family has grown, so has the Auburn A-Day experience. A-Day has become an entire weekend event that features softball and baseball, gymnastics, concerts, you name it. 

I've stepped up my game as well, as you can see from the post from last year. 

A-Day 2014

So, for 2015, the Auburn/Alabama softball matchup would be during A-Day weekend. As I have a daughter that is really into softball (hint, it isn't just her....we are really in to it too), catching this Top 10 matchup was a must. I knew that this would sell out, so I bough tickets months in advance. That was a good plan, since that is exactly what happened. 

But, as luck would have it, my wife was called out of town on business. So, I had an extra ticket. No worries. I convinced my best friend, and local guy, Kevin to come with. Even if it rained. Which it did. A lot. 

And, because of the rain, there were wrecks galore on interstate 65, including the closure of a section of 65, where they routed all the traffic into the small town of Clanton. Even though we left at 11am, we didn't get to Auburn until 5:30. My nerves were SHOT. But, we loaded right back up and headed to the game. Rainsuits and all. Also, the kids would not let us go on our car. We HAD to take the Jeep. Good. Cause I was tired of driving. 

The rain slacked off and we managed to stay somewhat dry. The kids enjoyed typical ballpark fare of nachos and chicken fingers. Then, despite the rain and the temps in the 50s....ice cream. Whatever. Oh...and Griffin tried sunflower seeds for the first time. initially he just crunched them all up. Then spit the whole thing out. I explained how it worked. The next time, he popped them all in...then spit them in his hand and worked them individually. Close. By the 3rd handful, he figured it out!

Aubree decided on a deep fried snickers! 

The typically hard-hitting Tigers struggled mightily and dropped the game...badly. It wasn't that they didn't play well, because they did. Their defense was impeccable, but the Tide's hitting was superb, sending a grand-slam and several other homeruns out of the park. Their pitch of choice? 2-strike riseballs. They obviously did their homework. 

The Auburn hitters? Ehh.....

Despite getting runners on with no outs, no less than twice did the Tigers manage 3 outs and no runs. We left early. 

Up early on Saturday, we headed to Jordan-Hare.

Waiting in my Facebook inbox was a strange request. Apparently my good friend Palmer's brother was in town and wanted to see the game. He is a Miss State fan from Buffalo New York...who lives in Atlanta. Though I had never met him, we were able to find him despite a typical crowded Tiger Walk. He used my extra ticket to get in.

On the way in, we spotted a tent that had some guys signing autographs. I didn't immediately recognize them, but Kevin did. It was Kevin Green and Chris Davis. Well, we had to get those signatures! 

We headed into the gates. I am not a real fast learner, so it's taken me 7 years to figure out the best places to sit so that we don't get rail-roaded onto the field after the game. We sat in the "Auburn" endzone right above the playclock. That was an awesome choice, as we were right by the gate to get on the field and the first row above the shrubs, allowing us to have a lot of leg room.

It also meant that anything dropped would be lost, as Griffin found out the hard way. He dropped his Lego R2-D2, which is now a permanent resident of the stadium. 

I really hoped the band would march. But they don't.....Arrgggg

Almost as soon as we sat, the kids sent me for food. Go figure. But, Sodexo is now allowing $2 refills in the 3rd and 4th quarter with your souvenir cups, so that was good.  The downside was that Griffin had to pee 20 times. 

The 2nd half was unwatchable. Not only does the clock dun continuously, but it was 90% run plays.  And, then we were on the field.

Luckily the first half was worth watching and even provided an answer to some of the questions I had going into A-Day.

Best5Zach's Best 5 Offensive Answers After A-Day

Now, I have been lucky enough to get all the autographs I want. How do I do that? Well, I am an awesome scout of talent, so I get them when the players are freshman and sophomores. I am only half serious. The truth is, I don't like waiting in line. 

We went the first 15 minutes without getting ANY. 

Along the way, I spotted Auburn recruit Elijah Holyfield, who is Evander's son. That was cool.

 

Our plan was to get all the RBs to sign one ball. Then Sean White. Then any NFL-talent guys, specifically Johnathan Jones. Then whoever else we could find.

The plan worked perfectly and we even got some pics! As always, the players were welcoming and polite!

After the autograph session, we headed back to Kevin's for some drunk chicken! 

How to Build a raised Herb Garden from Repurposed Box Springs

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Our new furniture FINALLY arrived the other day.  The old furniture was already out in the rec room, but our old bed was still in our room. Cause, you know, we needed somewhere to sleep for the past month.

I had just finished getting the chicken feeder project wrapped up, which you can read about below, so, ALyse was ready to put me to work.

Best5Chickens Update 4/13/15: How to Build a Chicken Feeder

So, after breaking down the old bed, Alyse informed me that I needed to drag the old box spring and mattress out to the curb. The box spring is actually two twin boxsprings that were sat together.  No problem. I have this lawnmower with a small trailer that will make quick work of that.

After reloading the mattress 5 times between the front door and the road and ultimately giving up on the lawnmower idea all together, I went back for the two box springs. 

In that moment of fatigue, the perfect storm of ideas hit me.

First, after building this chicken pen, I had a new appreciation for the cost of constructions. Laying before me were two perfectly good box springs made of wood. While I had no used for them in their current configuration, I was too cheap to throw out perfectly good wood. 

Ok, so let me just stop there and come clean. 

What really happened was that I complained to Alyse that I didn't want to go through that again. And, we could use the wood (totally an excuse not to work, but bear with me.) She took one look at the two box springs and said....

"You should build a raised herb garden to put inside the pool fence."

And Cousin Eddy said:

Sure, that got me out of a lot of work, but it also accomplished a lot of other things.

First off, if you don't cook with fresh herbs, you are missing out COMPLETELY. A fresh minced sprig of dill is worth a whole bottle of the dried equivalent. And, there is NOTHING better than fresh sweet basil on a caprese salad. Right now, I had no herbs. They were left at the old house. 

I use both in my favorite salad recipe:

Best5Zach's Vinaigrette Cucumber Salad

Secondly, it would allow me to have my herbs right out the back door. The fenced in pool area is right out the back door and there is no available land to plant due to concrete and lava rock. A raised bed would allow me to have my herbs within reach. 

And lastly, it allowed me to repurpose something while saving me work. Ok, that isn't quite right. I would be working MORE doing this, but at least it was for a good cause.

First thing I did was remove all of the padding and cloth. Easy enough.I even managed NOT to stick myself with 30 year old staples. 

Then came removing the staples. Not so bad. But, during all the prying and jerking to remove the old staples which held the cloth and padding on......

That's when I realized that the entire box spring was held together with staples, even the wood sections, which provided no structural rigidity. That would have to be addressed immediately before the entire thing fell apart..literally. So, I picked up a box of screws from my shelves(because I think fasteners are one of the most important items you should stock up on, read the following blog) and went to town.

Stocking Up: Fasteners...Things Commonly Overlooked

On the first box spring, I went ahead and left the slats on the bed (the slats run across the mattress between the rails to keep you from falling through) and added a screw to each end, plus on to the middle beam. Then, I flipped it over so that the slats were on the ground and the box spring was open end up.

On the second box spring, I knocked all of the slats off completely and added them to the first set, because the slats were spaced around 6" apart and that was too wide to hold the earth we would be filling these with. Now, instead of 6" centers, we were down to around 1" between each slat. Perfect for holding the earth. 

On both of the box springs, I left the center runner in so that I could divide the bed into two sections. Filling up the whole thing in one siting, even with earth, would be a chore. I figured I would fill one side up and plant it, leaving the other open for some other planting session.

I then stacked the second box spring on top of the first and screwed the running boards together, which secured the two into one solid structure. 

I then covered both sides with landscaping paper.

Then, we moved it inside the pool fence where we filled it with a mixture of potting soil and earth before we planted the 2 sweet basil, 1 Rosemary and 2 dill plants. It took 1.5 rolls of landscaping paper, 4 bags of potting soil, 2 bags of earth to fill half the frame. 

Now, I have half a mind to put a set of 6" caster wheels on this thing so I can move it. 

It will also need to be water proofed, either with stain, paint, or siding. Your choice. 

List of Materials

• Two twin size box springs
• 1 box of multi-purpose screws
• 2 rolls of landscaping paper
• 8 bags of potting soil
• 4 bags of earth
• Your choice of herbs or flowers
• Your choice of water-proofing agents (pain, sealant, stain, or siding)

List of Tools

• Hammer
• Pliers
• Cordless Driver
• Box Knife

Best5Chickens Update 4/13/15: How to Build a Chicken Feeder

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It's kinda ironic to me that the most frustrating part of setting up my chicken Mecca was the perceived easiest aspect of the whole process. Digging post holes, making a rain water collection system, assembling the chicken house? Easy. Putting together a feeder? Turned out to be a head scratcher...but for reason totally avoidable. 

Real quick: if you haven't kept up with all the other updates....here they are. Go read. 

Best5Chickens 3/31/15

Best5Chickens 4/6/15

Best5Chickens 4/9/15

Alyse had found some pretty cool feeders on Pintrest that used PVC pipe. The idea is to create a system that allows you to feed your chickens for several days without having to actually be there. A chicken feeder for the family on the go....which is totes us. She showed it to me one night before bed while I was watching Breaking Bad. A few PVC fittings and pipes. A little flashing. Some angles. Done. 

That next day, I headed to the local hardware store. 3" PVC pipe? Check. Several assorted 3" elbows and beds? Check. 

Got home. Realized that the OD on 3" is 3.5" and the ID of the bends is 3". After looking like a caveman for 10 minutes, banging pieces together that would never fit, I went on to the next project.

On my next trip to the hardware store, I took a tape measure. Overkill? Yes. I could just read the labels that say "3.5" ID Fitting." But that's too easy. And, I don't trust them. I sourced a few MORE elbows and bends and headed home to finish this seemingly easy project.

And so I did. Well, sorta.

Initially, I was going to let the 36" tall section of 3" PVC gravity feed into a long-sweeping 90 degree elbow, where the feed would trickles onto the ground. I recognized that I would have to cover the opening with flashing at some point, to keep rain from molding all of the food. But, I wanted to test it before we got that far.

So, we sat it up and poured feed down the shoot. It worked....too well. Every single piece of feed came flying out the other end of the tube at rocket speed. Cause, you know, gravity and a low friction environment. 

I tried several iterations of adding back-bends, steep angles, and other tricks...while Alyse continually reminded me that I should just look at the examples that she showed me. 

Follow some one else's directions? Never. 

But see, my wife isn't like most wives. She has no problem reminding me who utterly stupid I am. After moping in the shop for a few minutes, I asked her to pull up the Pinterest designs, of which there were two or three. 

I decided to make a hybrid of the ones I saw...because I am no conformist but I AM lazy. Also, I can't leave anything alone. I have to improve every design....even those that are perfectly fine. 

The solution? 

Here we go. 

The long section is 36" inches into a a long sweeping 90 degree elbow. Another 3" PVC section 18 inches long into a cap. 

In the 18 inch section, I used a 1"hole saw to make 3 holes equally spaced between the 90 degree bend and the cap. 

Now, it needs flashing to keep rain run off from getting into the feed. So, I took a piece of extra vinyl siding I had, measured the length of the lower section, and cut it to fit. With two small length multi-purpose screws, I secured it to the top of the pipe. Around the screw heads I ran a bead of silicone. I trimmed the vinyl siding so that I could fit the backside )away from the holes) flush against a surface. In the gap between the siding and the pipe, I ran some sealing expanding foam. 

Happy with my result, I took it into the pen to the fence post I would mount it to. After resting the bottome on 2 4x4 blocks (to get it off the ground), I secured it to the post with fencing wire. 

It was at the point that I realized that I had made the whole contraption the same over-all height of the fencing post. It looked good...like I took some measurements. But, it would make it AWFULLY hard to get the cap off, as the cap was secured tight to the post. 

With a sigh of exasperation, I cut the wire and headed back to the shop. 

I changed the 36" overall height to 48", reinstalled everything, and secured it. Boom. It works. 

I made sure the chickens knew where their food was and watched them enjoy it. 

I also added a batting cage netting top to the fence, which should keep out the birds of prey.

So, if you were wondering about a parts list, here ya go:

• 1 48" section of 3" PVC
• 1 18" section of 3" PVC
• 1 long sweep 3.5" ID 90 degree elbow
• 1 3.5" ID cap
• 1 1" hole saw
• 1 18" section of vinyl siding
• 1 small tube of silicone
• 1 can of expanding/sealing foam
• 1 roll of fending wire
• 2 short multi-purpose screws
• 1 metal fence post

Best5Garden Update for 4/9/2015

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Well, there isn't much to report. The weather has alternated between PERFECT and LOUSY. With the soil remaining wet, these perfect days have been put to waste as I can't till up the garden. All I've been able to do is transport my seedlings into and out of the garage for the daily sun. 

That's really an aggravation, believe me. I'd love to use my indoor grower, but it hasn't made it to the new house yet. Instead of leaving all of the cups in one place and letting them sit under a light, I have to pick each one up by hand and walk it outside. I tried using a plastic tote, but you STILL have to pick them up out of the tote and place them on the ground. Or, you can leave them in the tote and they will get around 1 hour of sun total. 

So, one at a time it is. Which means spills. I was beginning to think I had knocked every single seed out of the cups until this morning. We had several sprouts this morning from our tomatoes. No action from our herbs or flowers. 

As soon as the ground dries out (won't be this week) I will get the garden tilled and primed. 

I am very excited because we have a plethora of earthworms. Every time it rains, they come out of the woodwork...err...soil. Everywhere you step has worms. According to my sources, that indicated good soil....which we DIDN'T have at the old house. 

In the meantime, we have kept busy getting our chickens housed! If you haven't read up on that, check out our posts! 

Best5Chickens 3/31/2015

Best5Chickens 4/6/15

Best5Chickens 4/9/15