On the farm front
Dec. 5th, 2012 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
midnightsjaneIt's turned into a construction zone! Yesterday the old hay barn was torn down. Sue and I shed a few tears to see it go, much to the confusion of the guys. The builder said most people are really excited to see the old buildings go, and wasn't prepared for our reaction....but then, he didn't understand how much of a symbol that old barn has been for us. It was such a pretty barn, and even though it was just a storehouse for a lot of old junk these last few years it was also the place where our barncat Caramella had her litters, the place where my Chloe and Sam, and Sue's Blazer cats were born. There were a lot of memories stored there too. It was a bit of an emotional day for us, especially for Sue.
Our biggest worry was that the horses were going to be very agitated by all the noise, so we kept everyone in their stalls for the day. We were most concerned about the two yearlings, Buddy and Teddy, because their barn is right beside the old hay barn, and all that machinery made such a racket, and when the barn came down it was not very nice. They were both really good, surprisingly so, actually. All the horses handled it way better than we'd thought they would.
Even the weather gods co-operated. The rain held off until the day was done, and again today it was only showery from time to time. The forecast has been for lots and lots of rain, but so far it's only been at night. Fingers crossed for the rest of the week.
Today they started excavating the foundations; they have to dig down four feet, and then do whatever it is they do for the foundation. All that dirt has to go somewhere, and for whatever reason they started dumping it down in the field! At least they did until Sue saw it, and put a stop to that nonsense. What the hell were they thinking? You can't just dump a bunch of fill on our lovely field! She tore a few strips off all of them, Jack included. Don't know who was using the company brain, but it was not any of the guys. They levelled out all the dirt they'd dumped and then had to gravel the road and the gateway to the field because of the mess they'd made. So in the end, the thought that dumping the dirt on the field instead of hauling it away didn't save any time, in fact it made more work. But we got a nice gravelled road to push our wheelbarrows on, so that didn't suck. The contractor and the workers didn't seem to realize that we have to keep on with our work as well, and that everyone has to know what's going on, so that had to get sorted. Good thing Sue is on top of it all; she makes an excellent project manager. Someone has to do it or everything goes to hell. We're all trying to do our work and not get in their way. This is the hardest part, getting it all started.
All the horses went out today, and they were so good! Sue and Kelly had it all planned out, just in case they all went nuts, but not a one of them did anything but snort at the giant excavator in the yard. Buddy and Teddy had to walk right past the excavator, the trucks and all the workers on their way to the paddock, and they didn't even flinch. Not many yearlings would be so steady. We were so proud of them! Actually I think the boys are enjoying watching all the action; it's entertaining for them!
I'm in charge of keeping us all fed, so I've been making soup and vegetable pies and good things to eat, so Sue doesn't have to worry about making dinner for herself and Jack. Tonight I'm making a big pot of vegetarian chili; it smells great in here.
Must get myself off to bed now. I stayed up way too late last night, finishing the new Dresden Files book. The mark of a good book, making you stay awake reading way past midnight. Now I can hardly wait for the next book.
And that's what I've been doing the last few days.
Our biggest worry was that the horses were going to be very agitated by all the noise, so we kept everyone in their stalls for the day. We were most concerned about the two yearlings, Buddy and Teddy, because their barn is right beside the old hay barn, and all that machinery made such a racket, and when the barn came down it was not very nice. They were both really good, surprisingly so, actually. All the horses handled it way better than we'd thought they would.
Even the weather gods co-operated. The rain held off until the day was done, and again today it was only showery from time to time. The forecast has been for lots and lots of rain, but so far it's only been at night. Fingers crossed for the rest of the week.
Today they started excavating the foundations; they have to dig down four feet, and then do whatever it is they do for the foundation. All that dirt has to go somewhere, and for whatever reason they started dumping it down in the field! At least they did until Sue saw it, and put a stop to that nonsense. What the hell were they thinking? You can't just dump a bunch of fill on our lovely field! She tore a few strips off all of them, Jack included. Don't know who was using the company brain, but it was not any of the guys. They levelled out all the dirt they'd dumped and then had to gravel the road and the gateway to the field because of the mess they'd made. So in the end, the thought that dumping the dirt on the field instead of hauling it away didn't save any time, in fact it made more work. But we got a nice gravelled road to push our wheelbarrows on, so that didn't suck. The contractor and the workers didn't seem to realize that we have to keep on with our work as well, and that everyone has to know what's going on, so that had to get sorted. Good thing Sue is on top of it all; she makes an excellent project manager. Someone has to do it or everything goes to hell. We're all trying to do our work and not get in their way. This is the hardest part, getting it all started.
All the horses went out today, and they were so good! Sue and Kelly had it all planned out, just in case they all went nuts, but not a one of them did anything but snort at the giant excavator in the yard. Buddy and Teddy had to walk right past the excavator, the trucks and all the workers on their way to the paddock, and they didn't even flinch. Not many yearlings would be so steady. We were so proud of them! Actually I think the boys are enjoying watching all the action; it's entertaining for them!
I'm in charge of keeping us all fed, so I've been making soup and vegetable pies and good things to eat, so Sue doesn't have to worry about making dinner for herself and Jack. Tonight I'm making a big pot of vegetarian chili; it smells great in here.
Must get myself off to bed now. I stayed up way too late last night, finishing the new Dresden Files book. The mark of a good book, making you stay awake reading way past midnight. Now I can hardly wait for the next book.
And that's what I've been doing the last few days.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-07 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-07 05:08 am (UTC)