Filed under: May 2022 | Tags: draft horses, memories, plowing with horses, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses
May 1, 2022
We enjoyed a couple of sunny days…in a row! We set up and sawed out some lumber for a couple of projects that we hope to complete soon. This young man in the photo helps me out from time to time. He owns this small sawmill. It did a nice job as we made logs into lumber. The logs were from a few white pine trees we recently harvested here on the farm.
The day we sawed was sunny and bright. The north wind had a bite to it, but it dried up some mud for us. We spent the day sawing and dreaming of field days to come. It is time to be plowing and working in the fields, but we are staying busy in spite of the wet weather.
We spent yesterday at the 2nd annual Baldwin Percheron Plow Day, just outside of Ashtabula, Ohio. Amee stayed home with her new foal. Abby was teamed up with our son Jake’s horse Belle. The horses and I pulled a people mover giving rides much of the day.
The event was well attended with teamsters and 20 horses of all sizes, but mostly draft horses. Percherons, Belgians, Shires, Suffolks and a team of mini paints were all represented. The weather was perfect. The grounds were dry and plowed nicely. The field has a gravel base, lays nice and is of very mellow ground.
My girls were looking at the other horses. There are just a couple other teams in the picture, but much action was happening behind us. This was Belle’s second time out in the public, but she took it all in stride. Abby kept her calm and her mind on her work. It was a fun day for us as we hauled folks of all ages, especially the children. Kids love horses and those kids are our future. We were glad to be there and make a few memories for them.
Today, the sun and clouds are having an argument. The sun peeps out for small parts of the day, but then the clouds gather and dump rain on us. The grass is growing and everything is green. This makes for a pleasing view as we wait for the fields to dry out so spring work can commence.
Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: corn, dead furrow, draft horses, maize, plowing with horses, Small Farming, Spring, spring plowing
May 28, 2019
After a very wet spring and many delays due to soggy conditions, our corn crop has been planted! The horses and I finished plowing the second “land” yesterday. This is a three acre field. If it gives us a normal yield, we will have plenty of corn for the animals.
I am happy with my plowing job. The horses worked beautifully. The soil turned over very nicely yesterday. This is the last strip in this section. In the distance, you can see my cousin discing with the tractor. Having his help made it possible to finish the field prep and get the corn planted by suppertime.
As the strip gets smaller, the horses have to walk a little differently. Here, Hoss walks in the main furrow. Abby walks on the strip of green. Knight walks in the furrow made from our last pass coming from the opposite direction. We plow this strip until all of the green has been flipped over. The last pass makes a small ditch that helps to drain water from the field. This ditch is called a dead furrow.
A view of my mixed powered farm. The horses do much of the work, but a tractor can be utilized when needed. Yesterday, we pushed hard to beat the coming rains. As we all ate supper last night, (horses included) we took great pleasure in knowing that the corn field and our main garden were both planted before the weather turns wet again.
It was a crazy past few days. The horses and I plowed almost every day for a few hours. They are improving in condition after having so many days off due to weather. We got the rest of the tillage equipment ready, knowing that the corn would have to be planted soon. We even captured a wild swarm of honeybees that had stop to rest on a tree in the chicken park. They are all snug and happy in their new hive too. So, as the month of May is coming to a close, we have much to be thankful for and thankful, we are!
A quick look at the dead furrow. Once disced, this makes a smooth swale for the water to flow out of the field.
RicelandMeadows 