valleylynn said: What a team, they can handle from rodents up to dangerous carnivores.

Here is my team.

However, if you have ground squirrels and gophers (like here in CA), the wire won't stop them. They'll just go in from underneath, and within one season, the whole area will be bare, and full of loose dirt. They started off in the front yard, and within a season or 2, they were burrowing up the backyard.

The wire is hog panels. We use them for growing tomatoes. Nikki and Susie are teaming up for hunting. Great team. We don't have a single gopher for years now.

Inspection cat was back on duty this afternoon.

Wow!

I recognize the cat as something we've seen before but...what is that long horned long haired creature looking at the cat?
I've only been raised in CA and not seen everything...

webesemps said: I recognize the cat as something we've seen before but...what is that long horned long haired creature looking at the cat?
I've only been raised in CA and not seen everything...

A cow. The calf may be a bit premature, still waiting for it to get up and nurse.

Moo Meow Woof inspectors

And afterbirth clean-up crew.
Nice Scottish Highland cow.

The cow is kinda cute looking

Doesn'ta appear to be a cow, maybe a yak.

Aeonium2003 said: Doesn'ta appear to be a cow, maybe a yak.

Definitely a cow. Highlands are one of the few breeds that can breed with yaks and produce fertile offspring though. An old breed that still looks the same as when the Romans described them.

And to keep this somewhat on topic. That pile behind her is Sioux Quartzite stones that formed the streets in the Jobbers Canyon area of Omaha before ConAgra tore it down and built their new headquarters there in 1989.

Had a couple free hours this afternoon and set the rest of the large rocks for the raised bed. Was even able to align all the bands in the boulders so they will look natural. Hard to believe there is a full cubic yard of 3/4" & fines already packed under and around these six stones. Should have good sub drainage.

Back to grit. Here are some pictures of that 3/4" Class A Crushed Sioux Quartzite after a rain to settle the surface fines. It runs $24.40 per ton around here.
Typical mix of large and small pieces:


and here are where some big pieces rolled down the pile:


and here on a flat spot where I had taken a scoop before the rain. This is probably the best representation of it undisturbed:


and what it looks like loosened up in the tractor bucket:


It works great as a compacted base under rocks and for lanes and trails. For the new raised beds I plan to run it over some 1/2" grate and used the small pieces that pass through for lightening up the soil and the larger pieces for surface rock mulch.


Hope this information is useful. I had to get a load just to find out.

The price is certainly right.
At my age I would not be able to do the work it would take to make use of that beautiful pile.

Cheap!

valleylynn said:
At my age I would not be able to do the work it would take to make use of that beautiful pile.

But I cheat. I have been abusing this little utility tractor for almost forty years and it still cooperates in the heavy lifting.

Nothing wrong with using tools and equipment for gardening!

Ohhh, love that little tractor. I could have used that at the old place.

I screened some of that 3/4" Class A crushed Sioux Quartzite for different uses. Quickly ran it over 1/2" hardware cloth. It yielded right at a 2 to 1 ratio both in weight and volume. Twice as much coarse gravel through sand as there was pieces over 1/2".