We’ve begun to slowly chip away at the mess of down trees that this winter’s freak ice storm brought us. What a job, I’m thinkin’ that we have a lot of things on our to do list for the year that will be carried over to next year because of the unexpected work we were handed.
I find it amazing that the old tractor and wagon still keep on puttin’ out for us here at the Farm. The wood in the wagon is red alder, the saw cuts are white when Dirt makes them, see in the photo above just how white, then the cuts quickly oxidize and turn very red.
Dirt ran the chain saw and axe, I hoicked split wood into the wagon and began making burn piles. I think the bulk of our spring and summer “free time” will be making brush piles and cleaning up debris in the wood lots …and pastures
After lunch Dirt did other things will I sat on the tractor and drug the back pasture or sheep pasture. Most of the sheep are in the barn with their lambs, there are a few left out here but they are corralled inside the electro-net in the corner, so I was able to do the majority of the pasture, save the edges covered by downed trees.
Dragging the pasture serves two purposes, it spreads the manure and roughs up the turf a little. It doesn’t make for a perfect application of manure (nitrogen and other nutrients for the pasture plants) but it is a fairly good approximation and saves much labor and fuel from the alternative, picking up the manure daily, storing it and then spreading it out of the back of a uni-tasking wagon called a manure spreader.
Roughing up the turf stimulates growth and allows nutrients get down into the root zone. In the next week or so I will pass over this pasture with a pelletized lime and a mineral salt, Sea90, more on that later.
And for us, on this particular pasture, dragging knocks down mole hills. Most of the big brown smears in the pictures where the drag has gone over are mole hills not manure.
What is it that is drug, why a drag of course. This one is a bit old, missing a few links but it works. It is wicked heavy in spite of its lacey look. And the pasture, definitely not as smooth as it looks, its bumpy and lumpy. Sitting on the back of the tractor isn’t as restful as one might think.
I didn’t expect to be able to get the whole pasture done (all that I could access) but I did, just in time for the working light to leave the sky. I headed in pleased that one more item off the to do list.
gosh honey y’all work SO hard! be careful…
hugs, bee
xoxoxoxoxo
The sheep field looks good..do you try to trap those moles..do they make holes that a sheep could break a leg in? They are doing some plowing for you..mixing up the dirt.
Very cool about the Red Alder changing color… we have an old trailer and tractor that look a lot like yours..not sure ours have been driven for a couple of years…except by the Grandboys when they wanted to pretend:)
Always eager to see what you guys are up to. I hate moles – we had lots at the old home and they are tough to get rid of. I also know how much work the downed trees are. Take care and love to you all.
Sounds like you put in a full day, Lanny. That tractor ride sounds more jarring than restful! My gosh you must have a lot of moles there. I don’t know much about them. I don’t think we have them here as much like you have them there. What a nuisance they must be!
Just when you think you’re making progress on your to-do list, something like that ice storm comes along and throws a monkey wrench into your plans. I know how that is. I hope eventually you can get back on track where you want to be.
W ell done Lanny – you deserve a rest.
great day of work done – when you live (and work) in the country if it ain’t one thing it is another – this year you had the big storm knock down a lot of trees – look at all that nice burning wood and burn piles – we could call’em bonfire potential and think of all that fun that might be!??? love checking in with you – Vicktory Farm is a busy place
Even with the storm damage, y’alls place is so pretty. You deserve a rest.
Moles where ruining our grass. So Hubby found a good way to fight them. He puts the garden hose down the hole and lets the water dribble (kinda fast but not too fast) until the hole is flooded. Kills ’em everytime. My hero!
October seems like a lifetime ago, yet the damage it wrought remains and insists on our attention. You have me rethinking time. I need this. Thank you.
i”d say the dragging better than a manure spreader, eh?