Rancho Reid

For those of you who don't know, my wife and I purchased a four acre plot on which we plan to build a house in a few years - a "few" being anywhere from 2 to 5 depending on Son-The-Younger's ability to get a college scholarship. Discussing the love and care of four acres hardly puts this blog in the league of Pioneer Woman, but I also don't have that much time to keep a blog anyway.


So, what possible care could there be of this little plot? I mean, it looks pretty boring and empty, right? Looks like a lot of grass, mainly. A little pond.

Of course, that picture is after it has been mowed. This is what it looks like before it has been mowed. In Texas, if you don't plan anything, you just get Johnson Grass. Lots and lots of very tall Johnson Grass. If I ever discover a use for this junk, I will be a multi-bazillionaire. I'm not sure it is possible to kill Johnson Grass. Maybe you could with a blow torch.

But I digress. With that much tall grass on the lot, it must, of course, be mowed. And how does one mow such a lot?

With a tractor, of course! There is a small snag, though: I don't own a tractor. I have to have a friend come over and mow for me. Quite a friend, eh? This also involves some finagling of schedules and promises of help with his property, but it is a fair trade.

It also involves quite a bit of work. I mean, driving a tractor in and of itself isn't hard, but there is other prep work that has to be done. Like taking a good old string lawn trimmer to various spots on the lot and trimming around certain objects. And then there is the transport of the tractor to and from the lot, which is a process all its own. I don't have pictures, but I will tell you that my friend's trailor and truck are JUST big enough to haul the tractor. JUST.

So, now the land has been mowed and looks sorta nice (for a bit). What do we do now that is so difficult? Why, put in irrigation and plant trees! How fun!