Today was a very good, productive day. The morning began with the surprise of doughnuts. It is likely to be a good day when somebody provides doughnuts! That adage proved to be true today on the farm. Shortly after partaking of the doughnut delight, we headed out to begin some much needed projects. First off was borrowing the skidsteer from the neighbors. While we were back the neighbor’s lane, the milkman was there. We got to see what the milkman does. My son and I watched as he drained the tank. We got to see the agitator in motion, which stirs the milk.
English: Skid steer loader, Toyota Jobsun 4SDK6 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Once we arrived home, the work began in earnest. Using the skidsteer, we moved a few telephone pole pieces that had been laying in the chicken pen. These were moved easily up along side of the barn. Next, we emptied the burn barrel into the skidsteer bucket and proceeded to dump the ashes out on the back hill. The reason for borrowing the skid steer was to help hoist the set of seven headlocks into place and hold them while they were being mounted. Prior to doing that task, I elected to scoop some manure and move it around the barn a bit. This will help to dry it and turn it over. I am also hoping that it may help stave off the flies for a bit. One thing that I noticed today was the abundance of flies. The other thing is the need for a good barn cat or two. I counted at least 7 mice today alone.
Portrait of a male tabby cat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Angle grinder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So the next project was to hang the headlocks in place. We cut out the row of fixed gates that were up. These were hung in the barn about 30 years ago. The panels are rusted, but strong. The section had to be cut out using a cutting wheel on an angle grinder. The angle grinder was a Christmas present and this proved to be the first use of the tool. Once the cutting was done, the old panel was removed. The new (very heavy) panel of self-locking headlocks was moved into place and hung with very little effort. Fortunately, I had measured the headlock dimensions perfectly. They were manufactured to precision. The only surprise was that the headlocks were not as high os the previous panel, so a bracket had to be removed and welded into place again. The bottom bracket was moved up and set in place. THe only thing left to do is to get two vertical braces and once more bracket for the I should mention that the tank is empty and the propane company was supposed to remove it months ago. At what point do we simply own it outright? Possession is nine tenths of the law, right? i would call them, but we terminated our service and they want to charge us $100 for terminating. I have not received an invoice, nor have they come to pick the tank up. I may charge them $100 for tank storage fees and call it a day–LOL)
Okay so I digressed. Now that the heavy lifting was done, the skidsteer was cleaned and taken back to the neighbors. We headed out to the store for some more supplies and a rest. Once we returned home, we finished the day with a nice dinner, some mowing, and a little bit of play mixed in. My mom was here for a visit, so she decided to pick peas. All of us shelled the peas and the were blanched and put up for freezing. That was a nice addition to the day’s work. The ladies ended the evening with some knitting, driven by the newest member of the Knitting club. That would be my seven year old daughter, who learned to knit this morning and has already finished four projects!
Well that about wraps up the day!
Until Next Time!
