New Landscape at the Sugarhouse
August 10, 2013
I have been busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger! The rains keep coming pushing the hay season back even further…further than I can ever remember. A long stretch of off farm days at work, coupled with a few days of good sunshine, made me feel as if I was meeting myself coming and going out the door.
We took a large portion of my son’s basement dirt and put it in the low spots around the sugarhouse. We hauled dirt for over eight hours … there were lots of low spots ! 😮 Some of this dirt is over four feet thick! We created a new swale for the water to run off, leveled up the bridge and made a once swampy area resemble a gravel pit … well at least for now.
The dirt is all roughed out, but finish grade will have to wait until drier days and more free time. I do have a plan to make it all nice very soon. The sugarhouse will one day be set in a grassy lea. A small creek will flow by the building shaded by the nearby woods. In my mind it is beautiful…I think it will be great one day before too long.
I did manage to get my oats all baled. They are more mature than I wanted, but they will make great bedding for the sows and their babies. The grain was mature enough to be full of protein, yet still stay on the plant while it was baled. I managed to get the oats cut, raked and baled over several days, while working night shifts at work. I was pretty tired, but well satisfied to see the oats all baled and stored ready for winter.
We also got a little bit of hay made and have more down and drying as I write. The timothy has gone to seed, but the trefoil is rank and the grass is lush underneath. The timothy will reseed itself making for a good crop next year. Like a Cleveland Browns fan … I can always say… “Wait until next year!”
We took some farm products to the County Fair. Potatoes, Onions, Speltz, Honey and Maple Syrup all represented us. Our potatoes won a blue ribbon. We also got second prize for our speltz and a third for our Maple Syrup. I am pleased with the results. It was fun to compete. We have taken almost two gallons of honey off the beehive so far this year…I did that while working away too.
Be assured that I have been busy. I have lots of stuff to share in the coming days. In other words I’ll share the dirt on what I am doing 😮
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
RicelandMeadows 