The farm gets Brush Hogged

I had been trying to cut the weeds, grass and brush with a riding lawn mower I had gotten about an acre and a half done in Ooooh two or three days of work off and on. at that rate I might get the place mowed down by the middle of July.

My neighbor said he would do it as he is also the one that shares my hay field. But, his brush hog was down for repairs and I was getting tired of looking at the place with all the weeds and brush.

I guess he got his mower repaired and came to my rescue with his big John Deere tractor and huge brush hog. He looked like he was enjoying himself out there chopping all those weeds and brush. Grunt, Grunt more power says the "Tim Toolman". The writers of that sitcom must have been rolling on the floor laughing at that one.

The old place looks nice now that one can actually see it without all the weeds and stuff in the way

What a day is like

Saturday began work at 7:30 am
Filled gas trimer with fuel and oil mix and got it running started trimming around the house then worked on the barn entrances, moved on down the road trimming where the mower can't go, got to the mail box and turned around and came back. Put up the trimmer. Took a walk through the front pasture with dogs checking on whether or not I could us the mower, saw the mailcarrier deliver the mail went to the mail box to fetch it, waved to folks passing by rewarded dogs for "sit stay". Walked back to the house with the dogs. When I got to the house I had a soda got the mower running and mowed the yard and some of the fence line. I went to move the pick up truck and the yellow lab wanted in so I let her ride in the truck as I parked it in another spot so I could mow under where the truck had been, she thought she was going for a ride I guess. When I got out of the truck she wouldn't come out, she didn't want to miss any truck rides:) Still to wet to take the mower into the field so I brought it back to the barn.

Now it is lunch 12:30 made a PBJ and drank a soda, put some cookies in my mouth and pocket got the ladder out of the barn got my hammer knee pads and caulking gun went up on the roof and caulked here and there trying to get the places I thought the leaks might be comming from. While up there it got to hot took off my sweat shirt that was wet and covered with grass from trimming and mowing and threw it down on the ground; the knee pads went with it next as they are the wrong kind and didn't do any good. I was looking around and noticed that I hadn't cleaned the rest of the siding on the second floor north side so I got down off the roof and got out the cleaning brush and cleaner went up the stairs to the second floor and tried to reach the mold from the window with some success. I couldn't get at some of the mold so I came down the stairs got out a new brush hooked up a new hose got some rope out of the truck tied it to the hose and threw the other end up on the roof of the pantry so I could get it from a window on the second floor. Went back up stairs opened the window climbed outside washed as far as I could with new brush got myselft wet and covered with cleaner, chased cat back into the house she wanted to be out on the roof with me I guess. Went down the stairs and outside chased the geese away from my little dog tried to roll up the new hose and it kept kinking up on itself. Got the hose put away noticed the chicken run was drier now and went over and let the girls out to play and got seven eggs. Put away the eggs the brushes the hose got out the tools for building my square foot raised bed garden boxes. Built three boxes got them in the garden. I then thought hmmmm might as well plant something I got out the box with the seed envelopes and pulled the ones marked pumpkins and went around the garden to the west side where it was not so wet and dug up some spots and planted the pumpkin seeds. Took my garden tools back to the barn, put the other tools away, rubbed the dogs belly, got the shower bag off the porch where it was laying in the sun warming my shower water took it the wash room hung it up and the got a soda checked my email answered my mail petted the cat. It is now 5pm

Sheesh where did the day go?

I am back-oh you didn't know I was gone?

I took a trip to visit family in Idaho. It has been a long time since I have seen them and I missed them so much. The visit went well, got to spoil the kids and watch them play baseball, and pick them up at school and watch them at Brownies. Children grow so fast in blink they are past each stage of their young lives. (sigh)

We caught up on the comings and goings of the various family members and all the things the children have been up to since I was there last. It was very hard to leave when the time came.
On the way home all I could think about was was how they looked and how much I missed them.

When I got home I found that my dear urban dog had an encounter by the local rural skunk and was still ordor-iffic if you know what I mean. Nothing like a skunked dog in a warm car to enhance the journey home....

The rest of the animals were in fine shape and the house looked good the siding was cleaned in my absence so the house is looking better all the time.

The chickens are now laying five to six eggs a day and all of them are not laying yet... so there are enough eggs to go around. We built an addition for the geese so they can get out of their jail now and get some sun and play in a big wash tub of water. They are still not friendly critters....one of them laid an egg...just one egg... don't know which one either and they ain't tell'n... I spent most of one afternoon catching up on mail... A neighbor has two horses for sale, one is green broke to pull a buggy the other is still a young thing... I am tempted to get them, they are sisters and look very nice and healthy. I would need to get a trainer to help me with them but it might work out....

Since I have been home I have had a refridgerator put in the house and bought a used riding lawn mower. I have mowing all day and I got tangled up in some barbed wire and had to trek back to the house to get my wire cutter and then trek back to the mower. When I started to drive the mower back to the barn to work on getting the rest of the barbed wire cut off the blades I ran out of fuel.... sooo I trekked back to the barn and got the gas can and trekked back to the mower to fill it up. Luckily the mower started and getting the wire off was not a big problem and it still mows :)

Frick and Frack the delinquent geese got out of their encloser today and strutted around the farm looking like they were in charge. So far they have hung around... how long they will is in question, they are very independent critters.

I spent a lot of time in the sun today and I am paying for it now thank goodness I wore a hat.