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

[frustratedearthmother]

Sorry you had such a rough day yesterday.... I hate it when my horses get out. They tend to get real stupid when they do and run around like total idiots - just because they can! Mud - yuck! Thee's nothng about mud that makes animal husbandry any easier. But, I'm sure the critters hate it even more than we do!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

You sure have been busy. I know what you mean about the mud too, it's so muddy here I have to wear boots to do anything.

I had to laugh when I read "This afternoon I got the new bar and chain on my chainsaw." I never thought I'd read that sentence coming from a woman.

 

[Denim Deb]

You sure have been busy. I know what you mean about the mud too, it's so muddy here I have to wear boots to do anything.

I had to laugh when I read "This afternoon I got the new bar and chain on my chainsaw." I never thought I'd read that sentence coming from a woman.

Years ago, my son gave me an electric chainsaw for Christmas. His friends were ready to give him the Redneck of the Year Award and had trouble believing I'd be happy w/it. Well, they were right, I wasn't happy w/it. I was thrilled! I had a part break on it, and we couldn't find a replacement piece. I still miss that saw.

Today I haven't gotten much done. I feel like I'm trying to get strep-not a good thing. I did a load of clothes got them out on the line, practiced the piano for awhile, got something to eat, went to the farm, fed the animals, picked the field and took a nap. I was so glad I got my tack shed all clean. Otherwise, I would have had to clean off the cot B4 I could have taken one! After I took my nap, I gave Stormy his 2nd feeding, bagged feed, got hay out, collected eggs (another 3 egg day!), got him away and went home. I took it easy this afternoon. I had leftovers for lunch, and did nothing but get the fire going, take the clothes down, feed the animals and do dishes. Other than that, I've read, played on the computer and slept. I'll be putting clean sheets on the bed and getting a shower, but that's it. I'm planning on going to bed around 8:00.

 

[Denim Deb]

Today for the first time since last Thursday I was able to get into the woods and cut down some more little trees! Because of the warmer weather, the wood I cut last week lasted until today. I did go out and get an armful this morning, but that was it. I didn't get as much wood as I did last week, but the majority of the wood is bigger. So, I have at LEAST enough wood to last until Saturday!

I also worked some on the cover for my hay shelter. I cut off the part that was too long, hemmed that, took the part I cut off, cut it in half long way, then hemmed the one side and sewed the two pieces together. I got it all pinned to the tarp to make it a bit wider, but found I couldn't get it sewn together. It's just too big to do by myself. I need someone to help pull it thru as I sew it. Hopefully hubby will get home earlier enough tomorrow to help. Then, I'll do the door, then get in grommets and will finally be able to get it on!

I had hoped to get another load of hay this week, but there's just no way. It's just too wet. The "showers" that we got were quite heavy at times and just lingered for days. :/

 

[snapshot]

That hay shelter cover sounds like a huge project! Have you and your dh got it sewn up yet?

 

[Denim Deb]

Nope. The only place I have enough room is in my yard and he didn't get home until after dark! I don't know if I'll be able to do it B4 the weekend. He leaves in the dark, and it's getting dark by the time he gets home.

Today I tried something different. I decided to try and make my bread using my kitchen center. I'm not sure if I liked how it worked or not. I have it doing its first rising now. Guess I'll wait and see how it comes out B4 I decide. It was a bit easier, but still was a bit rough getting the right amount of flour worked in w/out having it too sticky to work with.

 

[Denim Deb]

Well, I know for a fact it wasn't the yeast that was a problem when I made the rye bread. I used the same yeast, and the bread I made yesterday rose quite nicely. And, I think this is how I'm going to make my bread from now on. It was less work and less clean up.

I'm going to be extremely busy the next couple of days doing stuff outside. There's a chance for rain from Sunday to Wednesday and maybe more rain later in the week for next week! My hay guy may be able to deliver 4 more of my RBs this morning, but he's not sure-he's busy too. I'll be glad when I have it all. I'm hoping next year though, that I can get it from the guy I was going to get it from. The RBs were just as nice and the same size but while these are 4 ft high and 5 ft wide, his were 5 ft high and 4 ft wide. To peel the hay, I store them upright w/either boards or pallets on top for air circulation, then double covered w/tarps to keep them dry. I can only store 9 this way w/the 4x5 ones. W/the 5x4, I can store 16. So, I'm having to stack the RBs for now, then go back in later on and unstack them so I can have them upright. Having them stored the other way will mean that I don't have to run the tractor as much which will mean I won't need as much gas. Plus, it will mean less work for me.

 

[Denim Deb]

I had one of those duh moments the other day. At the bottom of the door to my tack shed there was a gap. Not too much of a problem in the summer, but come cold weather, it let a lot of cold air in! I've tried various things to block the air. Then the other day it suddenly dawned on me what I need to to. And, it was a real simple fix. I measured the distance, then took a piece of 2x4 and cut it to size. Today, w/KN's help, I moved the pallets that serve as a porch, then nailed that in place. So now, when I have the door shut, there's no longer a gap there! Why didn't I think of this B4.

In other news, I got the wood moved from behind my tack shed! Some of it was too long to put in the stall, so it's living in my horse trailer for now. I do have at least 1-2x12x12 board that I don't need. I'm thinking of selling it.


Now that Honey's not in my field, and I don't have any legs on the RB feeder, the horses can't move it. The problem w/that is that they can't reach any hay in the middle of the RB feeder. So I came up w/an idea for that. I had a small wooden spool from electric wire, so I put that in the middle. And, it's just the right size so that they can reach it all!

I have one less chicken now. Nothing happened to her, but this is the one that came from RU earlier in the year. She's just never settled in w/my girls. The other day, she got back in w/her old flock and I couldn't catch her, so I left her there overnight. Yesterday, I was able to catch her, and stuck her back in w/mine. She was not happy. Today, 2 of the other hens went for her, so she took off to be w/RU's chickens again. So, I've left her there. She's happier and isn't getting picked on. And, since she lays green eggs, I'll still be able to get the eggs if I want them.

I spent about an hour and 20 minutes in the woods this afternoon. I have almost a whole truck load of cherry! I didn't bother to cut it up since I still have enough wood to last until tomorrow. I'll get it all cut then and if I have time, go and get another load of wood. I was telling hubby about the Blaze King stoves that someone on here mentioned. He looked them up and is now talking about going and looking at them next year. The one he likes has a burn time of 30 hours! I'd love that when it's really cold out. It can be such a pain to keep the stove going in the winter if I'm not home. And, since it's supposed to be more efficient than the stove we have, I'd love it if we didn't need as much wood.

OK, that's enough blabbing for now.

 

[Denim Deb]

Well, I still didn't get the cover finished. Hubby had to work on DD's car, so he didn't have time to help me w/it. So, I stuck it where it won't get rained on for now. Hopefully, when the rain clears up, we can get it done. The other option I have would be to try and do it in the kitchen, but I'm not sure there's enough room. I did get the wood out of the back of my truck. I filled up the wood holder in the basement, and had more wood left! I just didn't have time to cut it all, so I just threw it in the wood shed.

Other than the wood and feeding the animals, I didn't really get much done. Hubby and I went out and did some shopping this morning, then we came home got some lunch and I took a nap while he was working on the car. I was really beat for some reason. Then, I did the wood, went back out to the farm, then went out to dinner. It's not even 7:30, and I'm about ready to go back to bed!

 

[Denim Deb]

Today was another miserable day so far as the weather goes. It was foggy all day long and just kind of miserable out. My field had JUST gotten dry enough to be able to get back in it w/the mower and cart. Then, we got the rain and the fog, so it was a muddy mess again. I hadn't cleaned the field all weekend, but w/the mower and cart, I would have been able to get it done in about 30 to 45 minutes. Instead, it took over 2 hours! I had a whole lot more that I wanted to get done, but needless to say, it didn't happen.

Stormy was a bad boy. He wanted to go and graze on RU's backyard. And since he's never gone out of the yard, I let him. I'm not sure how long he was out there when I just happened to look up. He had walked all the way around the house and was now grazing by the side of the road! Not really where I wanted him. So, I got out of the field and started to walk towards him. He started towards me, but wouldn't let me catch him. Instead, he walked past the lane and into the neighbor's field. I was able to use body language to get him to go back towards where he belonged and got him into the parking area. He thought I was going to give him his 2nd feeding, but it was too early. Instead, I put him back in the field. I'm not letting him out any more.

Came home and worked on cleaning the house some. It was just too miserable to even think about doing some stuff outside. Hubby wanted to go to the supermarket, so when he got home, we went. Got the stuff we needed and were heading out the door when I looked at the recipe and realized I had been charged wrong for something I had gotten, so I went back in. Got that straightened out and we left.

We were going down the road. Hubby says he's having trouble seeing the road so I suggest he slow down. He does. Right about then is when we realize that there is a car in our lane HEADING RIGHT FOR US! He hits the brakes, but it wasn't enough. I don't know how he was able to do it w/out losing control, but he was able to steer to the right onto the shoulder, around the car and back into our lane. This other car missed us by inches! Needless to say, we were quite shaken up. Thank God, we were OK. I thank God for protecting us.