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A lot of it depends on the rain on any given year, your locale etc but some maters are just prone to splitting. I grew Black Cherry this year which did ok but the Rosella I grew last year, which are also a purple cherry would split if you looked at them and they tasted better than Black Cherry. Chadwick Cherry go absolutely insane for me. Those are what I posted pics of that would split into 3-5 new leaders or shoot out a sucker that was not in the armpit of a branch but straight out of the/a main stalk.

White(mostly) frames galore. The legs were too close to the ground to even try and paint but those are easily done later. The choice was gloss or flat white so I went with the flat. My preference would have been a low gloss. High gloss would reflect the UV rays right back up through the plastic film, giving it UV rays from both sides on/near the frame. From the electric sign business, I know that low gloss white diffuses light. I didn't want to buy a gallon of each to make a semi-gloss or low gloss and one gallon is plenty. Flat white also diffuses light but gets dirty easy.

If the day was longer... This frame would be dangling in my starter holes if I pulled the truck up a foot. As it is, they're in the holes with a bit of lean to keep them steady overnight

Yes, I made a crane out of my truck and an extension ladder plus lots of straps, chains and a come-a-long and yes, my crazy ass climbed up it like that. Good thing I'm a featherweight. The first sign company I worked for actually had something similar that was engineered to lift a certain weight, 4-500 hundred pounds iirc. Can't see it in the pic but there are two, 2 inch straps going from the hooks down low in the front of the truck bed, up to the top of the ladder

The soil is so dry, digging is slow. Not a bad thing being dry since I'm driving my truck on it. Less apt to compact the soil. I really need to get this first one nice and straight because it's the one that all the rest will be measured off of. It was close to sunset so that wasn't going to happen today.

Having to wait for 50+ degrees made for an extra short day. I'll get this one set tomorrow. Then I work two days and then have two days off to get another one or three in. Maybe all 6 of them?

Looking at the picture now, and thinking, the legs are 7 foot and I hadn't fully decided on how deep to set them in the ground; 2-3 feet I was thinking. I think I'll go with 30" aka 2-1/2 feet. That'll put the peak close to 15 foot up and with good sized gable vents, should let the heat flow right out in Summer.

The camera's facing just about East in the second pic and yes, I've got some trees to cut down in that direction. I'll be doing that this Winter and have already scoped them out and none will land on the frame. For the South direction, in the first pic, I'm going to hire my cattle farmer/dozer guy to knock them down in early 2024. I have enough stumps around here.

Til next time,
Crazy Man

I gotta’ tell you ... looking at your ladder ‘crane’ made my stomach hurt ... imagining you climbing up that thing almost made me dizzy. I do not do heights at all! More power to you to be able to handle it & thus get your project done!

We have 11’ ceilings in part of the house including the kitchen. Mom has this huge, decorative clock hanging way up on the wall. Twice a year, when the time changes, I have to bring in a large step ladder, climb up there & get that clock down so we can change the time/battery. The clock is over a bookcase so I have to go up beside the bookcase & lean off the ladder a bit to reach the clock rather than a straight on approach. Getting it back on the hanger, since I can’t actually see anything, is the worst - I found if I take blue painter’s tape & mark on the wall the bottom & left side closest to the ladder, I have better luck because at least I am in the ‘neighborhood’, not moving the large (& getting heavier by the second) clock all over the wall. In the meanwhile, I am close to hyperventilating because I am so high (for me) up on that ladder. I haven’t changed the time on that stinkin’ clock yet this month, keep finding reasons to procrastinate.