Filed under: April 2017 | Tags: grandson, little boys, playground, spring work, swing set
April 27, 2017
My son and daughter-in-law thought it would be a great idea to make a playground that they wouldn’t have to mow. They placed landscape fabric under the swings and playset. Next they bought a load of washed smooth stone. The pile of stone was too much for my grandson. He just had to climb it, roll in it and frolic like a baby goat. I laughed at his antics. The washed stone was COVERED with a fine mud…after a little while…so was my grandson!
We have been enjoying some nice spring days. The soil is finally drying out. Plowing for corn will begin in a day or so…as long as the wet weather holds off. Sure we need spring rain. We even look forward to it. Right now we get a washout followed by a few days of drying. The weather teases us all who want to get into the fields. Experience tells us to wait. Our clay soils will bake like a brick if worked when it is too damp…so we wait.
One good thing about the rains. It will wash that playground free of mud, but if it doesn’t…I know one little boy who could not care less!
Filed under: July 2015 | Tags: Border Collie, faithfulness, little boys, straw small farming
Great is thy faithfulness
July 24, 2015
My dog Cinch goes everywhere that I go. He runs back and forth as I go to the field. He waits by the gate while I work. He sits at my feet or lays nearby. If I move, he is going too. I could not ask for a better canine companion. He loves to ride in my truck, even if it is only for fifty feet. He will nudge my hand once in a while, but is not a pest. We are fast friends who look out for each other.
Lately, with all the farm work, we have made hundreds of trips to the fields and back, or at least it seems that way 😮 In every instance Cinch is with me….panting like mad. Today it is hot and dry. The straw is drying in the sun and most farm creatures are laying in the shade. I let Cinch into the breezeway where it is cooler. He gets fresh water often but what quenches his fire best is a word of praise and a pat on the head.
When I use the sickle bar mower, I keep Cinch in his kennel or in the breezeway. I don’t want an accident. When I was a boy, there were lots of farms with 3-legged dogs. Many farmers cut their hay with sickle bar mowers. The dogs would lay in the high grass or even jump at the sickle bar. The often fell victim to the sharp blades. I sure don’t want that to happen to my buddy!
Panting dogs, sweating men and drying straw are three things that can be counted on today. It reminds me of a time not so long ago when two little boys followed me around whining, “it’s hot dad.” Dang I miss those days………….
Filed under: November 2014 | Tags: Community, firewood, Friendship, hard work, little boys
Two hours of work!
November 1, 2014
Today, my Amish friends and their sons showed up to help me reduce a pile of logs to sugarwood. We went at it for two hours. The 10×20 tent provided just enough protection from the rain to make it a great job. We stayed mostly dry. The skid steer brought logs to the tent. Then men with chainsaws cut them to length quickly. Three men on the log splitter made the pieces fly. Five little boys stacked wood like professionals and this job was behind us in record time.
The rain slowed to a misty drizzle after lunch. We decided to buck up a giant tree into logs. The tree blew down a year ago. The horses and I will pull the wood out. We made over twenty logs from the giant limbs. The trunk is still almost five feet across on the small end. The tree has a base measurement of over twelve feet in diameter. The hulking trunk log is mostly hollow, but will take me many hours to reduce it to firewood.
Today, I was reminded of just how a sense of community is a wonderful thing. Friendship is power beyond any ability. We had fun. We worked hard. We accomplished much. I am ahead of my own schedule and all because we trade labor. I worked at different times this summer for my friends. I took machinery and tools along with my knowledge. We finished a few projects at their place…and today it came full circle. I am not only amazed at what a bunch of guys can do… I am humbled!
RicelandMeadows 