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Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Seat Belt Installation
I fixed breakfast and then the school called Linda to work. She left a little before 9 AM to help with Jamison getting around the building. Stacey and I went to the bank and ate lunch in town then stopped at the NAPA Auto Parts to check on prices for some shocks for the 65 Mustang. Linda will have to decide whether to put on air shocks or just regular shocks. Back at the farm, the UPS driver dropped off a package and when Linda came home she opened it. It was 2 sets of Mustang seat belts. We installed one set for the driver and for the front seat passenger. We'll replace the rear ones with the other set in a day or two. We drove the Mustang to Sonic in Columbia and ate, then stopped at Wal-Mart and bought a pair of shoes for me to work in around the farm. Stacey picked up a music CD and Linda got a few odds and ends, then back to the farm. We rode a 4-wheeler back in the 'holler' and checked out the little trees we had planted 2 years ago. I had been worried that the recent spring freeze had killed most of them, but there are some signs of life with little leaves budding out. The TV news has stated that, "The spring freeze was a once in a life time event that had not happened since 1851."
Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007
Flowers Planted
After breakfast with the sky looking like it might rain anytime, we
decided to drive to a greenhouse near Greensburg. It was a little over
thirty miles, but we had been there the last two years and they always
have nice plants. Linda picked out some plants that she liked and I
picked out some that I liked and we decided where we would plant them
and how many we needed. I also picked up 8 tomato plants while we were
there that were setting outside and ready to be planted. We ate lunch
and then returned to the farm, I backed the HHR to the back of the upper
barn and we unloaded the plants. In the bottom of the pots, we used some
of the dirt from when we tilled the spot for the new strawberry patch.
It was already mixed with manure and humus, then put the plants in and
topped it off with potting soil. Linda planted some of the flowers in
the old tub at the corner of the house and the whiskey barrels at the
front of the barn. I mowed back in the 'holler' while Linda and Stacey
were finishing the flower planting.
It
rained a little while and then Linda and I took the tomato plants to the
little patch I had worked up inside the fence near the mum patch. We
planted the 8 plants and drove the Mule around the mum patch checking on
the condition of the ground. I will need to make sure I have disked the
mum patch at least twice more to remove any remaining weeds before the
mums we ordered arrive around the end of May.
Posted on Sunday, May 06, 2007
Rain And Weekend
Saturday started with a few mild thunderstorms and rain. I went to the
hay shed on a 4-wheeler and glued together the PVC pieces to hold the
sprayer heads for the 12 volt sprayer I had bought a few weeks ago. I
set the PVC bracket on the back rack of the 4-wheeler and strapped down
the tank on top of it to hold it in place. Linda worked on 'dry
brushing' paint on several pots and planting flowers in those. The rain
stopped a little after noon and later I mowed several places with the
tractor and finish mower.
Sunday started with a heavy fog that
dissipated by 9 AM. I brought the 4-wheeler to the garage and filled the
sprayer tank with water and then added the weed killer to the tank. I
made passes across the front yard spraying the yard end to end. I had to
refill the tank and finish the front yard, then I sprayed along the
sidewalks and moved to the barn lot part of the yard. I was able to
cover most of it before the tank was emptied. Linda was planting flowers
and she also used the string trimmer to trim around the barn and several
other locations. I also noticed Regina and Linda setting behind the
upper barn in lawn chairs relaxing while I used the tractor to mow the
ditches that I couldn't mow on Saturday.
Posted on Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Nice Couple of Days
The last two days have been perfect weather here in south central KY, in
the lower 80s during the day with partly cloudy skies and mid 50s at
night. Linda has been working at the school this week. Jamison and Miles
have both showed up for school and the school has called Linda in to be
an aide. Linda had scheduled to have NAPA replace the shocks on the 1965
Mustang, so I drove it to the store and Linda drove the HHR. We dropped
the Mustang at NAPA and then Linda off at the school and then Stacey and
I were on our own. Back at the farm, I used the tractor to mow around
the mum patch and around the hay fields with Stacey following in the
Mule. As I was finishing, I noticed one of the chains and turnbuckle
that holds the implements attached to the three point hitch directly
behind the tractor had broke. We went back to the hay shed and I parked
the tractor and took the broken parts off. After NAPA called and said
they were done, we drove back to town to pick up the Mustang. Later we
picked Linda up at the school.
On Tuesday, Stacey and I took the
piece from the tractor to Grandview Welding and Equipment and showed
them the broken part. They gave me a replacement and didn't charge me. I
also bought a turn signal lens for the tractor to replace one I had
broken by driving too close to a tree. Back home, I replaced the chain
and turnbuckle and the turn signal lens on the tractor, then mowed the
slope in front of the house. Stacey and I went to town for lunch and
rented some DVDs, then returned to the farm. Linda came home for a short
time, then went back to town for a meeting at the CC Extension Office
concerning scholarship money to be given to graduating seniors. When she
came home we ordered a taco pizza from Pizza Hut for supper and I drove
to town and picked it up.
Posted on Friday, May 11, 2007
Heading Out
Linda had planned a trip to IN with Pauline and Brent for the weekend,
so this morning Stacey, Linda and I loaded in the HHR and headed towards
their house. Our first stop was at Hardee's for breakfast and a sausage
biscuits for all the dogs. We crossed the parking lot to K-Mart and
bought a bassinet for Brent and Pauline's upcoming baby. After that, we
headed on over to their house. Brent was messing with the TR3 when we
drove up and Pauline had not returned from her checkup with her doctor.
Stacey fed Missy, Pico and Poco the sausage biscuit while Brent
assembled the bassinet. Pauline came home about 20 minutes later with a
good report and after a few minutes of checking out the bassinet and
some conversation, Pauline, Brent and Linda loaded up their stuff for
the trip to IN.
Stacey
and I left for Bowling Green with our first stop at Lowe's to pick up a
electrical receptacle box for Brent, then to Sears to buy some Craftsman
Tools for the farm. I had checked out the tool sets online and with a
catalog at Brent's, so I had a good idea of what I was going to buy.
But, of course, the store didn't have what the catalog had in it. I
picked out a set with a 3/4" drive ratchet and sockets. I also chose a
set of combination wrenches that were the large size. I asked the
salesman if there were any discounts on the tools, he laughed and rung
them up on the cash register. I looked at the price, then he said, "You
should join the Craftsman Club." I asked him about it and he put in his
number and showed me how much money I would save, so I said, "Sign me
up." We did that and I saved over $50 by simply giving Sears my name and
address so they could mail me catalogs (I think that's all they will
do). We left Sears and went to Zaxby's for lunch, then to Sam's Club for
some groceries. We loaded our stuff in the car and drove to P&B's house
to pick up all the dogs. We gave them a minute to go sniffing around
outside, then rounded them up and headed for home. Poco always seems
freaked out in a car and rode in the floorboard all the way. Pico and
Missy rode on a pillow in Stacey's lap for most of the 68 miles back to
the farm.
We
unloaded our groceries and put them away while the dogs ran around near
the garage, then we called them inside. I finished mowing a few places
just before dark and it began raining a few minutes after that.
Posted on Sunday, May 13, 2007
Travelers Return
Stacey and I had been on our own since Friday. We had pop tarts for breakfast and had been eating out most of the time. We drove the 65 Mustang to Albany and ate at McDonald's new restaurant. It was strange, a really small eating area with offices on the opposite end of the building. There were other strange things, they were out of ketchup and about to run out of ice and a few of the customers were complaining. We picked up an extra 'double cheeseburger' and took it back to the farm for the little dogs. Stacey fed them as we began watching the NASCAR race. About 3 PM, Brent called and told us they were in Elizabethtown on their way back to the farm. Stacey and I went to town and picked up a few groceries and then back to the farm. Stacey browned the hamburger and I drained it and put in the stuff to make sloppy joes. A little before 5 PM, Brent, Pauline and Linda returned from their trip to IN. The little dogs were 'happy' everyone was back together. Everyone talked a little bit about what had been going on and then we went inside and had taco salads, nachos or sloppy joe sandwiches. Pauline had been able to visit with some of her family on the way to IN and she said they had all went to Kingfish for dinner. Some of the news from IN was that they had visited with Nana and all of them went to see how Mike Bankson was feeling. Linda and Brent said Mike looked good, better than they had expected. The doctors had began work on replacing his left eye. His jaw had been unwired and Mike was beginning to talk and eat better. Brent also said that Imon was working on the 1956 Chevy and was sealing the primer and getting ready to start painting the car. Linda had visited Kim for a few hours while she was in IN too. Kim gave Linda some items she had bought for her while on her trip in South America. Some times, they come back saying, "It's crazy up there!", but this time the way it sounded to me, they had a better time on this visit. Pauline and Brent loaded their dogs in their car around 6 PM and headed on home to their house near Smith's Grove.
Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Potted Flowers and Garden Spot
Weather wise, it was a tough start for plants this spring, but now the
weather has stabilized and it's getting back to normal. Most of the
trees have leafed out and all but a few of the bushes are fully leafed.
The flowers we recently purchased near Greensburg have begun to bloom.
We
stopped at Subway for lunch and then the hardware store and bought some
onion sets, radish seeds and sweet corn to plant. I tilled up part of
the patch I had disked several days ago and planted the radish seeds and
3 rows of sweet corn. Linda and I rode back down to the patch later in
the Mule and planted half of the bag of onion sets. It's supposed to
rain later tonight so that should get the seeds and sets started.
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2007
New Flower Pots and Cement Things
It did rain last night and was still raining this morning. Linda needed
to pick up some cement characters for the Home Makers Club to paint at
their next meeting and Cave City is a hub for manufacture and sales of
those items, so we decided to take a road trip. We stopped at a place
Linda had bought the characters last year, but they really didn't have
much to choose from, so we went across the road to another shop. They
had hundreds of different items with several of each. I walked through
the rows of items and then went in the side of the workshop. I was able
to watch as a worker took apart a mold and popped out the cement urn. He
then painted the mold with castor oil using a brush, placed the rubber
mold inside the metal container and bolted the 4 side pieces back
together. Lastly, he bolted on the metal top piece that would later keep
concrete from filling the center of the pot. There had been holes left
in the block wall of the building where sand could fall in, the workers
would dig the sand and put it into metal troughs where they mixed it
with bags of dry concrete and water. Next they scooped out the mixture
with 5 gallon buckets and poured the mixture into the molds and left it
to setup, only to repeat the process over and over. Outside, Linda had
made her selections, so I drove the truck around the lot and picked up
the 16 pieces she had decided to buy. The last thing I loaded was the 4
flower pots that I had picked out. Those pots must have weighed around
60 pounds apiece. We paid for our items and went to Mancino's to eat,
then to Lowes. Linda wanted some dirt to fill flower pots and we just
happened to be in the flower and garden section when a manager decided
to sell some of their freeze damaged plants really cheap. We bought
perennials for $1.50 each that had cost quite a bit more and burning
bushes for $5 each that were originally $17.98. We ended up with two
carts of stuff, then it was time to check out before we ran out of space
in the truck. We drove home and backed up to the barn to unload.
I
used a two wheel cart to move the large pots into the barn for Linda to
paint before we fill them with dirt and flowers. Linda will take the
small items to the Home Makers meeting on Monday, so I left those in the
truck bed.
Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007
Beautiful Weekend Ends A Little Shaky
Saturday, I disked the mum patch again. It's good to go for planting the
mums next weekend unless we get a hard rain that packs the dirt. The
forecast is for 20% chance of rain late Wednesday or early Thursday.
That's not much of a chance, so maybe I won't need to disk again. With
the nice weather, I washed the HHR and Linda washed her 97 Mustang. Our
dog, Missy, wanted to go somewhere, so we loaded her in the pickup along
with Stacey, Linda and I and headed to Sonic in Columbia for some
burgers. We ate and then drove to Wal-Mart and bought 20 bags of mulch.
Back at the farm, I unloaded the mulch along the sidewalk and parked the
truck.
Sunday morning, I was outside planting two of the burning
bushes and spreading the mulch when Linda came out the front door and
said, "Don't go too far, I just gave Stacey a Diazapham. I went inside
and sat down at 10 AM, where I could watch Stacey. Sure enough, she was
having involuntary muscle movements. Linda came back in the room and
gave Stacey another 5 mg tablet about 15 minutes after the first. I went
to take a shower and when I finished I went back to the living room
where Stacey was sitting. About 11 AM, Stacey was experiencing more
movement so Linda gave her another Diazapham, then about 10 minutes
later I gave her another. That was four 5 mg tablets in an hour, which
was getting close to the limit that Dr Rice had gave us. I called the
emergency room and asked what doctor was on duty, well it's against
their policy for them to give out that information, so I asked the nurse
if I should make the trip to the hospital or not. She said to bring
Stacey on and they would take a look just in case. OK, we walked Stacey
to the truck and I drove to the hospital emergency room entrance. We
wheeled her into the hospital and they placed Stacey in an examination
room. By that time, Stacey had settled down and the Diazapham was doing
it's job. They took Stacey's vital signs and history, then Stacey told
Linda that she was hungry. Linda went to the cafeteria and picked up a
scrambled hamburger and fries and brought them back for her. Stacey was
eating the sandwich when Dr Rice came in to check on her. Dr Rice said,
"Well, Stacey, what happened, did you hear we were having scrambled
hamburger and came in just to eat?" Linda and I laughed and said that
was what we were wondering too. He checked her out a little bit, then
asked us what had happened, we discussed how we should continue with the
Diazapham the next time. He gave Stacey a small coke to drink with her
lunch then he told Stacey that she could go home when she finished
eating. We left the hospital, made a stop at the grocery store, then on
to the house. Around 5 PM, Stacey was OK, so Linda and I went outside
and finished spreading the mulch around the plants. Stacey didn't have
any more problems that evening.
Posted on Monday, May 21, 2007
Monday Dr Appointment
Linda got up early and fixed breakfast for us, then left to work at the
day care about 6:15. She will be working from 6:30 AM till 1 PM this
summer on Thursdays and Fridays, but today was an extra day. I sent
Stacey to get dressed and told her to let me know if she was getting
'twitchy'. A few minutes later she came back and told me her arm was
twitching. I went and helped her finish dressing, then we laid down on
the bed and watched TV with my arm over her so I could feel anything
that happened. About 5 minutes later, I noticed involuntary movement in
her hand and arm, so I gave her a 10 mg Diazapham and called Linda at
the school. I told Linda what was going on, so she said it would take a
few minutes for her to get somebody to come over and take her place. I
mentioned that there wasn't a real hurry because I had already gave
Stacey a pill. She wanted to come home anyway in case something else
happened. Stacey settled down and Linda came back home to find us laying
on the bed without any other problems. Stacey and Linda laid down and
took naps until around 10:30, when I woke them to get ready for Stacey's
scheduled doctor's appointment. We checked in at Dr Rice's office for
our 11 AM office visit. Stacey went in and was weighed while Linda and I
waited. When they called her in to the examination room, we went in too.
Dr Rice checked Stacey and her prescriptions. He was thinking about
raising her Keppra dosage, but decided that Stacey had really done
fairly well since the first of the year. Stacey had not had any seizures
though she had come close. We agreed that we should keep giving the same
dosage on her medicines until more problems developed. We were out of
the office a few minutes before noon and drove to Pizza Hut for lunch.
On the way in, I mentioned, 'don't get the buffet'. We did, because that
is what Stacey and Linda like. It was bad, people were waiting on pizza
to be put on the buffet table, we were able to pick up 2 pieces of pizza
for each of us and a 2 liter of pop. That was all we ever had a chance
to eat, they never put any more pizza on the buffet. Bonnie and Henry
Holly were there and they were upset too. Linda ended up going up to the
cashier and paying $8 and telling them we were leaving. The buffet is
supposed to be all you can eat and cost $5.95 each. The cashier said
they had too many people show up and they couldn't keep up. That wasn't
our fault, so we left. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up
some stuff for the Home Makers meeting later. Back at the house, I
sliced the ham while Linda cut a watermelon and other fruit for the
picnic meeting. She left for the meeting about 4:15 with the cement
items, paint and the food. I kept an eye on Stacey while we watched TV.
Then we took the Mule down to the garden spot and checked on the tomato
plants. We noticed that the radishes were coming up.
There
were a few onion tops starting to pierce the top of the soil too. We
drove the Mule across the road to Nancy and Steve's house. We stopped
and asked Steve how Nancy had done with her surgery. She had outpatient
surgery on her leg and Steve said it went well. Stacey met their niece,
Melanie, while we were there. After about 20 minutes we went back to the
farm and Linda came home a little before 8 PM and said the meeting had
went great. Everyone was there and they all painted a cement character.
Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Farmhouse & Star Point
Stacey was normal at breakfast and Linda was home so I decided to use the tractor to mow a few places before it became too hot. I mowed the area above the hay shed and the slope going back to the 'holler', then called Stacey on the radio and told the girls I was coming inside so they could get ready to go eat. For a few days, Stacey had wanted to go to the Farmhouse Restaurant, but we had put it off due to her medical condition. We loaded into the HHR and drove through Albany to Static and turned towards Byrdstown. We ate lunch and then drove towards Star Point boat dock on Dale Hollow Lake. We stopped at Beck's place and he was in the garage wiping off a boat. We went inside the garage and set down and talked with Bruce for nearly an hour, then drove on down to the edge of the water. I'd guess the water was up about 10 feet above summer pool. I've read that boaters should expect higher and lower water levels than usual this season. The USACOE has stated they will use water from Dale Hollow to adjust the level of the river this year because they are draining the rain water out of Lake Cumberland as soon as it falls to keep a constant water level of 680' above sea level. This will cause Dale Hollow's water level to rise during rainy times and be lower during dry weather. We returned to the farm and after 5 PM, I again mowed while the temperature was cooler. As I was returning the tractor to the hay shed, Stacey called on the radio and said the mums had been delivered. Once I was back inside, I opened the 3 boxes and the mum sets look nice and healthy. It seems like, this year, the problem with planting will be lack of rain. The forecast is for dry weather for the next week or so and the ground is fairly dry now. We will have to water the mums as we set them Saturday and probably for the next few days.
Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007
Mum Planting Day
Pauline (8 months pregnant) and Brent brought their dogs along with them
to the farm Friday night. We talked a little while and went to bed
around 10 PM. Linda fixed sausage biscuits for our breakfast and then
Brent and I headed to the mum patch. The girls followed a few minutes
later with a cooler and other things to help get through the day. Brent
and I used string to lay out the rows and I had the generator running to
provide power for the electric drill that we used to drill holes for the
mums. I had borrowed a 100 gallon tank from our neighbors, Nancy and
Steve, to use for watering. I had purchased a garden hose adapter and
put it in the drain hole on the tank and I used the scoop on the tractor
to fill the tank with water from the creek. Stacey removed the plants
from the shipping boxes, in the order we needed them, and passed them to
Pauline, who dropped the plants in the holes, while we drug the hose
down each row and let gravity drain the water through the hose to water
every plant. Regina and Linda set the plants with dirt as we moved from
one end of the row to the other. Around 10 AM we were doing good, with
22 rows planted, so we took a break for a cold pop from the cooler under
the canopy we had setup to get out of the sun. I drove back to the house
to pick up the snack goodies we had forgot to take with us. Stacey and
Pauline went along for a bathroom break for the dogs. We returned to the
patch and continued planting and taking breaks from the near 90 degree
heat. The generator failed, but this year, we had a backup plan. We used
a cordless power driver to finish drilling the holes for the rest of the
patch. I mentioned quitting for the day a few times, but most wanted to
finish the work, so we kept plugging along until we had done the 45 rows
with 1,125 mums planted and watered.
We
packed up the stuff, took down the canopy, parked the wagon in the old
barn and drove to the house. The time was 1:20 PM and we were exhausted.
We took showers and then I drove us to Columbia and we ate at a Mexican
Restaurant as we hashed over how the day had went. We fine tuned our
plans for doing better next year as we enjoyed our meal. Back at the
farm, we let Pauline take a well deserved nap, while Linda, Brent and I
unloaded the stuff from the Mule and pickup truck. Then Brent and I
removed the finish mower from the new tractor and hooked up an old bush
hog. It was a lot harder to do than it sounds. After a couple of years
of not being used, things weren't exactly easy to work into place. It
took some gentle persuasion from a sledge hammer and a new locking pin,
but things finally went together. I gave it a test run near the edge of
the creek and it reminded Brent of a time when we first got the farm. I
used to cut down trees and the old bush hog would clunk and sound like I
was chopping up rocks, but that is how a lot of the farm was reclaimed.
We both looked at each other and laughed as soon as it happened and
Brent said, "You're back!" I put the tractor in the hay shed and we went
to the house for the evening.
Posted on Sunday, May 27, 2007
Trail Trimming and A New Flag
I woke up early and drove the Mule to the mum patch a little after 5 AM
to check on how the mums had done. I walked through the rows and they
were in excellent shape. There were moist areas around almost every
plant, so I only poured water on a couple that looked like we might not
have watered them as much as the others, but that was about all they
needed. I returned to the house and the others were starting to wake up.
Stacey was first to get up, then Brent, Pauline and Linda along with the
dogs. Linda fixed us breakfast and then everyone but Pauline went to
clear the trail back in the 'holler'. I lead the way on the tractor with
the bush hog and then came Stacey driving the Mule. Linda would hop out
of the Mule and lope off limbs that were lower and Brent was standing in
the bed of the Mule loping off the higher limbs as Stacey drove along. I
made several trips back and forth over the limbs to chop them up as much
as possible. The entire expedition only took us about 45 minutes, then
we parked our equipment and went back inside. We turned on the TV and
watched the start of the Indy 500. I say 'watched', but several of us
were sleeping. Planting the mums the day before had taken a toll on us.
No one could stay awake the entire time, especially since the race was
rain delayed. During the rain delay, Linda wanted a new USA Flag hung
from the barn, so I drove the Ford tractor to the barn and raised Brent
up in the scoop. He unscrewed the boards and removed the old flag.
Then
Brent placed the new flag and screwed the boards back in place that held
it.
We
finished that job, then went back to watching the race. The NASCAR race
started and we were flipping between it and the restarted Indy 500.
Linda made lunch and we continued napping, eating and watching the races.
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
Pauline and Brent ate breakfast with us then loaded up their dogs and
stuff and headed home a little before 9AM.
I
used the FarmTrac tractor to mow the front yard, then went for a ride in
the Mule to cool off a little. I took a look at the mums, then crossed
the creek going towards Regina's old house. I noticed a tractor in the
field and it was Denise and Larry Anderson. They were both mowing the
hay. I stopped and talked a little while, then returned to the house.
Back inside, I was reading something on the PC in the study and Linda
said, "Garmons are cutting the hay." I looked out the window and Phil
was cutting the area next to the highway, his grandson, Cody was cutting
one field across the creek and Steve was cutting the other field across
the creek. I guess it was a good day for hay cutting and there isn't any
rain in the forecast until maybe Thursday (20% chance). That should be
plenty of time for the hay to dry and be raked and rolled without
getting wet. Linda fixed chicken breasts for supper along with sweet
potatoes and corn. After we ate, I drove the Ford Tractor to the mum
patch and Linda drove the Mule. We hooked the Mule to the hay wagon and
used the scoop on the tractor to fill the 100 gallon tank with water. We
then pulled the wagon along the edge of the mum patch and drug the water
hose to the opposite end of the rows. We watered each plant as we walked
back towards the wagon. Then we moved the Mule and wagon to the next two
rows and repeated the procedure until it was dark. I backed the tractor
up to the edge of the patch and turned on the work light and adjusted it
to shine on the last 6 rows. We finished watering those last few rows
and went to the house and took showers.
Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Some Hay Rolled and Mums Watered
Linda fixed breakfast and then I watered the flowers in front of the
house. I took a ride on a 4-wheeler a little after 10 AM and Lenord was
raking the hay in one of the fields for Larry to roll after he got home
from work. I talked to him a little bit while he took a break for a
drink of cold water from his cooler. As I rode back towards the house, I
could see the Garmons raking and rolling the hay in the fields across
the creek from the house. The extra dry weather and temperatures just
under 90 degrees have dried the hay in 2 days time. Normally, it takes
at least 3 days. I watched for a while, then went inside. Stacey and
Linda were ready for lunch, so we drove to Albany and ate. When we
returned to the farm, I mentioned to Linda that the Garmons must have
had trouble with their equipment because they weren't done. They came
back in about an hour and finished the field across the creek. I asked
Steve what had happened and he told me they had broke a belt on the hay
roller and had to replace it and those belts are about a foot wide and
20 feet long. They rolled the small field on the highway side of the
creek for a total of 41 rolls from all three fields. That's 22 rolls
less than last year.
I
had bought a cheap water hose and I unwrapped it and we went to the mum
patch to water the mums at 5 PM. Linda pulled the wagon out of the barn
with the Mule as I scooped up water with the tractor. I added the new
hose to the outlet on the tank and then dumped the scoop of water in the
tank. We pulled the wagon with the tank to the high side of the patch
and began watering each plant. The water flowed better and we didn't
have to move the wagon as many times, so we finished watering the entire
patch in about 2-1/2 hours. We returned to the house, took showers and
Linda fixed supper.
Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2007
Neighbor's Mess
Linda left to work at the day care this morning and shortly thereafter
the phone rang. It was our neighbor, Steve Riddle, and he was telling me
about his troubles with a guy he hired to clear some brush on his farm.
He was heading out there, so I told him that Stacey and I would ride out
there a little after 8 AM. I fixed another cup of coffee and we drove
the pickup out on Jone's Ridge to Nancy and his farm. Steve was already
there getting his Mule ready to take a ride. Stacey remained in the
truck listening to her MP3 player while we rode around the farm for a
few minutes. Steve told me about some of the trouble the guy with the
BobCat had run in to trying to clear some of the brush. Steve said the
guy had went over the side of a hill and nearly turned the BobCat over,
then hung it up in a wet spring. He was supposed to dig a hole near the
spring for the water to drain into for the cows to drink. That was on
Saturday, so on Wednesday, the guy rented a small machine with a back
hoe on the back and a scoop on the front. He used it to pull the BobCat
out of the gully, but then the rented machine caught on fire and was
still setting at the bottom of the gully about 75 feet below the top of
the hill.
It's
hard to tell how steep the hillside is in the picture, but it will take
quite a bit of work to get the machine out unless they repair it where
it sets. Steve and I talked a while longer, then Stacey and I returned
to the house. A little later, I mowed in front of Regina's house and
behind the trailer with the FarmTrac and finish mower, then I went back
inside and Stacey and I ate lunch. After Linda came home, I hooked up
the disk to the Ford tractor and disked the patch for the pumpkins.
Larry has finished rolling his part of the hay and there were 30 rolls,
which was less than last year.
