Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[Denim Deb]

I was so tired yesterday that I had trouble getting anything done. I was able to clean the kitchen B4 leaving, but didn't do the dishes. My plan was to do them when I got home.

I was able to jump the mower yesterday morning, so I got my manure spread. Then went to Bible study, came back to the farm and fed Stormy. Went to my allergists, then got gas. I had plenty of time to get to my chiropractor's. I really needed a hair cut and I always see a sign for haircuts for $8.00 across from the gas station, so I got it cut. I will go back! I'm loving how my hair looks. It's short, but not too short. It's no longer in my eyes, is easy to care for and looks nice! I have just enough natural wave to make it look like I've done something w/it. I may try a curling iron and see if that enhances it even more. Then I went to the chiropractor's, went back to the farm, fed Stormy, closed up the windows on the chicken houses, covered the mower and the spreader and went home.

By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was sleep. But, hubby was working on DD's car. So, I had to stay outside w/him for just in case. I basically got nothing done. By the time he was done and we took it for a test drive, it was after 8:00! I got a shower, relaxed a bit on the computer, then went to bed. I slept well, so feel more rested today.

We may have some time w/out rain. I have a meeting this morning. I was going to take the bike, run out and feed, then go to the meeting. But w/the forecast, I wasn't sure if I could. I checked both the radar and the hourly. I may be able to get away w/that. Then I can go home from the meeting, grab a quick lunch, then head out to the farm. That way, if it rains, I have less time to kill at the farm between feedings. And if it doesn't rain, I can hopefully do the rest of the work I need to in the pit B4 I start to fill it in. I may even be able to do some filling!

So, I'm not making a list today. W/the weather, my plans are just too iffy. I just hope RU got more diesel. The tractor was pretty low last time I ran it. When she had her old tractor, I'd get gas when I needed to use it. But, I don't have a can for diesel. If she doesn't have any, I'm going to have to run out and get some.

 

[Denim Deb]

Well, my plan kind of sort of worked. I rode my bike to the farm, then went to my meeting. While I was sitting in the meeting, the skies opened up and it started to pour! It had almost stopped by the time the meeting was over, so I took a chance and rode home. Needless to say, I got wet. I turned on the radar when I got home. Most of the area was dry. The main area that was wet was where I was. I'm going to make myself some lunch, then head out to the farm. I don't know what I'll be able to do, but hopefully I can do something.

 

[Mini Horses]

Some days, if I get anything done I consider it a decent day, LOL. We've had rain every day for 7 days, more predicted for all this week with possible 7-8 inches Fri night into Sat. THEN the hurricane is prob going to hit us around VA Beach and I live 50 miles inland. Sooooo more rain and some winds. Bad part is that we have had so much rain that it takes very little wind to uproot trees -- which always go onto a power line. So, be sure to have gas for generator is on tomorrow's list -- as well as an 8 hr work day for one of my PT companies.

We did have off-on showers today and yesterday, mostly it has been a constant, very heavy drizzle. The kind of rain you want for "A DAY" each week or so. Not every day. It's muggy & about 70-75 each day. We'll survive and gripe. Was going to bring hay in this week -- obviously not doing that. Goats are tired of the barn and have actually ventured of when it was just misty They lived thru it !!!! My Boers didn't care, unless it was a real downpour, they were ok in it.

Maybe you will luck out and get the pit somewhat filed. The rain sure helps settle that loose stuff & packs it in.

 

[Denim Deb]

We got 2.5" of rain yesterday, so there was just no way I could do any tractor work today. And we could get several more inches this week. It's going to depend on the hurricane. We needed the rain, just not all at once!

Figures. The only time it rained was this morning! It tried to rain a couple of other times, but didn't amount to anything.

I wasn't sure what I was going to get done today, so I basically just winged it. I had some housework done this morning, got the dishes put away and even practiced the piano. I was going to do dishes when I got home, but never got to them. I have to do them tomorrow.

After getting some lunch and getting dry, I went back to the farm. I hadn't fed the other horses this morning, so while Stormy was eating his lunch, I fed them. I also did some work to my "deck". The pallet I was using was falling apart, so I used a piece of 4x4 to fix it enough to still use it. I plan on making a real deck for it, but not until after it's been moved.

W/that done, I still had a lot of time to kill. So, I went down to the other field and did some measuring. I found the half way point on both ends. The field is wider on the one end than the other, so it's a good thing I was already planning on putting the RP where I am. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do it the way I want.

That didn't take long, so I had to find other stuff to do. I still had some weeds to pull out of the pit, including perilla mint. I really wanted that and the jimson weed out. They're both poisonous to the horses! http://msucares.com/crops/weeds/perilla.html W/that out, I started pulling out baling twine and round bale netting. I have never been able to understand why people just leave it. If I had had a feed bad w/me, I would have had it full. I'm hoping I can take one down tomorrow and get it all out of there.

I got home just B4 hubby did. I got animals fed, and that was it. I was just too tired to do more. Hubby wanted to take DD's car for a ride since it was too late last night to really check it out, so I went w/him.

I've eaten and had my shower and am thinking bed. In the morning, I need to fix rain sheets B4 I leave. I'll be putting them on the horses tomorrow.

 

[Denim Deb]

Today's forecast is really iffy. It depends entirely on what forecast you look at as to what we're going to get. One shows showers in the morning, one shows showers in the afternoon. I'm hoping my mower will start. When it's dry out, I'm going to clean my field. I know from experience I won't be able to use the spreader, I need the cart. The spreader won't spread wet manure. I'm probably going to have to go thru LF's field to get to where I can dump it. I doubt very much that I can get thru CL's field.

I wish hubby had sharpened a chain for me. I may just take one that's dull and hope I can cut enough of that tree to have it where I can pick it up. I left my generator at the farm. I figure if I can go down after I get the field cleaned and get the wood out of there, and the weeds that I got out yesterday. Then, when it dries up, I can start on filling in the pit. There's some stuff that I'll probably have to move w/the tractor, but don't want to do that until I'm ready to fill it in. I'm thinking there's a stump that was dumped in there. I don't want it where I'm going to have the chickens, but it can stay in the back part along w/old telephone poles, etc. When I get my own farm, I want to find black locust poles that aren't cut for slip board fencing. That way, when one needs to be replaced, I can burn the old one.

I need to fix the rain sheets B4 I leave so I can get them on the horses. They're calling for rain until Monday. Today and Friday are going to be the coldest days, so I really want the sheets on them for then. And I'll probably just leave the sheets on them until it stops raining.

I also need to do laundry today and clean the bathroom. That can all wait until I get home. Then that way, I'm using the hot water all at the same time, as well as the dryer since I need to do 2 loads. And of course, I need to do dishes. I want to get some apples and make apple crisp and bread today. I really miss my dehydrator. But, I don't have time to dehydrate anyway. Next year should see me getting things really set in place.

 

[Denim Deb]

Today was a long, tiring day but I got a lot done.

I was able to get the rain sheets fixed this morning. I couldn't find my pins, and the material is really slippery, so it was hard to do. But I got it done good enough so that they can be used. And, it's a good thing that I did. Both Misty and Stormy were shivering when I got to the farm. So, once they were done eating, they got a quick brushing, then got the sheets on them.

I had to wait to feed CL's horses. They were in the wrong field since RU needed to work on that fence. I did give her a hand for a few minutes, but for the most part she was good by herself. Little by little, she's getting good fencing up around the farm.

W/the horses fed, I got the field clean, but didn't dump the manure right away. Instead, I got started working on other stuff. I moved the wires in the field. I got chicken waterers scrubbed and refilled. I cleaned the one chicken house. I scrubbed water buckets and filled them up. I got my horse blankets out of my feed stall and threw them in the back of the truck.

After Stormy ate his lunch, I went thru LF's field to dump the manure. But, since I didn't have a whole cart full, I cleaned out her run in for her. That filled the cart. I dumped the cart, then went in the new field. I had a couple of smaller bags w/me for the baling twine. I filled them both. I was ready to drive out when I noticed another piece of twine. When I pulled it, I found it wasn't just a little piece, but a whole big glob. I don't know how much is still in there. I don't plan on going nuts getting it out. When I see some sticking up, I'll pull it out.

W/that all done, I got hay out, then filled up the hay bags for tomorrow. I had some stuff to take out of my truck, got that out and put away. Got Stormy fed and CL's horses. Got the chickens taken care of. Since we could lose the electric, I got my water jugs filled up, then stuck a 55 gallon barrel under the hay shelter roof. By this time, it was raining and was also time for me to leave.

Hubby needs my truck tomorrow, so when I got home, I fed the goats, and bunny. Then I took the blankets out of the back of the truck and hung them over the deck railing. This will get off some of the dirt B4 I wash them. I took a bit of a break so I could check out the radar. It stopped raining, so I cleaned out most of the truck. By the time I was done, it started to rain again.

I decided that I wanted some vegetable beef soup and bread for dinner, but had neither made. Nor do I have any soup bones. So, I took a chunk of beef, thawed it out some, then threw it in a pot w/some water. W/that cooking, I got my bread going. Then I threw a load of clothes in the washer and did dishes. I got most, but not all of them done.

W/that done, I got the bathroom clean, then got a shower. By then, the meat was meat was cooked enough to make my soup. So, I got everything else in the pot, the bread was ready to cook, so I put that in the oven. And the clothes were done, so I put them in the dryer and put another load in the washer.

My soup and bread are done. I've eaten them. The 2nd load of clothes are in the dryer and I'm beat!

 

[Denim Deb]

Today is going to be another wet day. I'm so glad I have to go to work this morning. Otherwise, I'd be stuck at the farm for several hours w/nothing to do. Once I get everything moved though, and get my shed finished, it won't be that bad. If nothing else, I can do some craft stuff or work on a book.

As of last time I checked, we've gotten 3" of rain for the week. And, it rained all night. They're calling for another 1-2" of rain today. But at least we're not supposed to get the hurricane. We could have used the rain from one in August, don't need it now.

I'm not sure what all I'll get done today other than normal animal chores and work. I still have dishes that need to be done. I have 2 load of clothes to put away and another to iron. And I want to work on my basement. I'll probably start w/the dishes and ironing since I need electricity for them. Then that way, if we lose the power, I can work on stuff that doesn't need the power.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Glad the hurricane is headed AWAY from land!

 

[Denim Deb]

Same here! And while the hurricane is supposed to miss us, we've had rain and wind all day! In fact, I felt bad. It was much colder than they were calling for. So, even though the horses have their rain sheets on, they were still cold. If I had known it was going to be that bad, I would have made sure their blankets were clean and mended. I had put hay in the hay nets yesterday, so I hung them up B4 I left.

It's a muddy mess out at the farm in places. So, even though it wasn't bad in my field, I had to slog thru the mud to feed the other horses. I had been going to wait and feed them later in the day. It's a good thing I didn't. It wasn't raining too hard when I got to the farm, so I went ahead and fed them. 2 of the horses don't get fed in the run in. So even though I had to dump water out of their buckets, their feed didn't turn to mush B4 they ate it.

Once I was done w/the horses, I went to work. I stayed later than I'd plan because she really needed the help. Hubby called when we were almost done wanting to know when I was coming home. He wasn't sure how to get where he needed to go, and wanted me to go w/him. So rather than spending the rest of the afternoon out at the farm, I went home after giving Stormy his 2nd feeding.

It's a good thing I went w/him. He would have gotten lost. But, we picked up what he needed, then went back to the farm. By then, the horses were done eating all the hay I put out and were shivering again. Their run in faces north, so the wind was just blowing in there. While Stormy was eating, I put more hay in the hay nets and hung them back up. That's one reason I'm looking forward to moving in the back. The run in down there faces south, so they'll be warmer in weather like this.

By the time we got home, it was almost dark. I got the goats and Thumper fed, then came in and got a shower and something to eat. If my basement was clean, I'd have a fire going. As it is, we have heaters turned on. The rain is supposed to stop early tomorrow morning and it is supposed to warm back up. I hope they're right. I need to get the basement clean so I can make a fire if we get another system like this.

 

[Denim Deb]

It's stopped raining. I don't know if we'll get more rain or not. I hope not. I'm supposed to go on a bird walk. Plus, JT is teaching a lesson on insects at the Nature Center. For just in case, I told her I'd bring my bug collection from college. I just hope I can get to it and that it's not in too bad of a shape. Then when I get home, I'm working on my basement. I want to be ready when we get more cold weather.