Fishhead Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 A lot of you know this already, but we bought a small hay farm back in August. Finally sold our old house, closed last Friday and officially moved in (ish) to the farm house. I have been taking photos and even some videos since we bought it. Lots of work to be done, but we're here and already started doing the work. I'll share photos as we go. The Property: We were looking for a decent piece of land to build on, but outside of Bexar County to avoid the crazy San Antonio taxes. Problem is, everything we found was WELL outside of Bexar County, and we wanted to be SORTA close to SA to be close to friends, church, family. Also, everything we found was JUST land, no water, no sewer, most didn't have electric although it was accessible. But 20K/acre for land that far out that needs that much up front, no thanks. About to give up, I entered exactly what we wanted for the most we could afford without selling our house first, and forgot to pick the county. Also, I decided to look for a parcel with a house. A single property showed up in the search, and it was in Bexar County. Dammit! BUT.....reading the description, it was 5 more acres than we wanted, and because it was an active hay farm, it was exempt from taxes due to Texas' ag-exempt status! So...we offered the next day and got it! (of course, a few weeks of fighting with lenders and other small issues, but it worked out) This one happens to have a house and a pool, 300' deep water well that passes through TWO cavities of water, a barn, a horse pen (dog pen now), and 6 beautiful live oaks in front of the house. It's 15 acres, in Bexar County so close to everything we'll need. Even before we moved in, I had to have someone cut the hay. I wish they could've done it in September because the drought relented in August (actually rained a good bit the day we signed on it, was the first rain in over 3 months). But we waited until mid October and by then drought had set back in...we weren't able to get many bales. That's OK though, because we cut hay and that's what's needed to extend our ag-exempt status for next year. So now, with our old house sold, it's time for updating. We had a new AC unit installed today. New roof is coming shortly, at which point we'll be replacing all the floor coverings. The place has been vacant since late 2019, and the water from the well had not been running through the treatment devices. The sinks, faucets, etc...ALL have to be replaced. I have a little work to do to the water heater (replace the anode rod which collects all the impurities), and I have been and will continue upgrading the water well accessories. I'll be upgrading from a 1 hp well pump to a 3 hp pump for irrigation purposes. I already had the pressure tank replaced, and I'll be upgrading the booster pump that gets the water from the well to the house, installing a slightly larger pump there. And we'll be replacing and upgrading the water treatment devices...had those guys out Monday. Then...TRACTOR AND HAY EQUIPMENT! I have no idea why, but I'm fascinated with the prospect of growing, cutting, raking, baling, and selling my own hay! I'll be doing square bales on the left side of the property (6 acres)...that of course I call "Left Field". That's the side I'll be irrigating, as the well is located on that side. The right side (9 acres) will be round baled by a friend, and we'll split the bales he gets 50/50. We want to put a pond (or as these weird Texans call it, a "tank") in Right Field, about a 3/4 acre pond. If we can get that done, we'll irrigate that side as well out of the pond. I'll throw some pics up but there will be plenty more to come. Enjoy the book lol 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 The neighbor down the road bale what little hay we had a couple weeks ago. I let him have it but next year I'll be handling those duties and selling it. That's Right Field 20221016_143021_001.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 This was after a few rains in August. Wish we had cut it then lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 The pool 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 Lazy B Hay Farm We're keeping the name...gonna have a bee box or 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 The house and trees 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchertiger Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Congratulations looks like a beautiful setting! Any chance you’ll have fish in your “tank” LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 1 hour ago, Hatchertiger said: Congratulations looks like a beautiful setting! Any chance you’ll have fish in your “tank” LOL So the people that had it before were here over 30 years. There actually IS a "tank", but it hasn't had water in it for probably 20 years. They only dug it 6 feet deep. But the little old lady swears there was nice bass in it and her husband used to catch em from time to time. My plan is to dig it out (it's full of small sapling trees now) and get down to about 15-18 feet. According to the well chart, at that level, there's good white clay. And to make it much larger than they had. It wasn't even 1/4 acre when they had it. But at the very least, I'd like to have something to... irrigate right field with test out my lures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchertiger Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 If you stock it , I'm sure you know not to stock with sac-a-lait, with that size pond they will take over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchertiger Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 We moved to a new house in June. 800 square feet less than other house aka "downsizing". I am not responsible for a single blade of grass. My only maintenance is some easy to care for flower beds. My "yard" consists of a side patio, half of which is covered with a TV, BBQ pit and natural gas burners to cook on. Spending most of my time there now. Have nicknamed it The Swig! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSUDad Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 4 hours ago, Hatchertiger said: We moved to a new house in June. 800 square feet less than other house aka "downsizing". I am not responsible for a single blade of grass. My only maintenance is some easy to care for flower beds. My "yard" consists of a side patio, half of which is covered with a TV, BBQ pit and natural gas burners to cook on. Spending most of my time there now. Have nicknamed it The Swig! My downsizing, I went from three houses, down to one. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houtiger Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 My son in law has a machine shop outside of Victoria. He can design stuff, do CADD, weld, cut sheet steel up to 8' long on his plasma CNC cutter. In case you need such service. He made a part to repair a mowing machine the county used to mow down in steep ditches; the part would have cost the county an arm and a leg, SIL did it for half, and its a stronger part. https://crossroadsmfgtx.com/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 The wife enjoying "Left Field" on her Christmas present. She's gonna run the wheels off that thing! 20221211_160438_001.mp4 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted December 16, 2022 Author Share Posted December 16, 2022 So our house currently has no flooring. Interior will be painted tomorrow and Saturday including cabinet faces. New countertops next, then new flooring. Wife ordered a double oven and new dishwasher today. New toilets and sinks next week. Exterior paint will probably wait for spring, along with outdoor kitchen. Changed my mind a little on the pond... gonna consider placing it in the very back of the property and fill in the old dried up one that sat right in the middle of right field. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 Potential pond location 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dachsie Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Thats not too far from your house then. Are you gonna stock it with fish? You could go out and catch dinner. lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 On 12/17/2022 at 9:10 AM, dachsie said: Thats not too far from your house then. Are you gonna stock it with fish? You could go out and catch dinner. lol That's the barn, but yeah, it's just 15 acres so not far lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 So suddenly we have rain, and I fertilized the hay on 4/15. We've had over 5" since then. This is the entire field's appearance now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 We have "whistling ducks" Had never heard of them, but they're a thing. They walk around in the live oaks... and yes, they whistle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 The hay field has a lot of moles. The cats kill a couple a week, but these dudes are on another level... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 It's rat snakes... y'all calm down 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchertiger Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 9 hours ago, Fishhead said: The hay field has a lot of moles. What is the CIA doing on your land? What have you gotten yourself into bro? I always knew there was something fishy about you 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Me Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 21 hours ago, Fishhead said: It's rat snakes... y'all calm down i will NOT calm down about those slithering bastards. only one of the three snakes in my yard so far this spring has been a water moc. i hate those bastards. two years ago, my neighbors helped me coral and off one on my front porch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 20230502_191028.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 Dear God there's no better smell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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