This is not taking it easy

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Remember on Friday when I said that I was hoping Matt and I would do nothing this weekend? Yeah, well, that plan didn’t work out at all.

Instead of sleeping in and sitting outside in lawn chairs for two days straight, we went and rented an auger.

We’ve had a number of people turn in the driveway and come all the way up to the house. Once they get to the top and realize our cars are parked there (i.e. we’re home), they make their way around the turnaround and go back down the driveway. Usually by this point I’ve come out of the front door to glare at them as they drive away.

We have a long driveway, so if people are lost and need to just turn around, we wouldn’t even know they were there. For people to end up at the house, they’re trespassing.

We decided we need a gate at the bottom of the driveway.

A gate needs posts, and posts need holes, so we needed an auger.

Matt and my Dad drill a post hole with the auger

Matt and my Dad ran the auger while I came behind and cleaned out the holes.

Why does the person with the shortest arms have to clean out the hole?

We do own shovels, but a hands-on approach worked better for me sometimes given what we found in the holes.

Lots and lots of stones

The auger did not like the stones.

It particularly disliked this stone.

This boulder became the bane of my existence for about an hour. We all took our turns working around it with the shovel, the prybar, even a pick. It was massive, and it wasn’t moving.

The post that was to go in this hole was supposed to be our hinge, so we needed it to be really solid. But with the rock in the way, we couldn’t get the hole deep enough. So, we decided to swing the gate the other way and drilled a new nice and deep hole on the other side of the driveway.

Then, it was a matter of mixing up our concrete and setting our posts in place.

I take a turn mixing while Matt adds the water

By the end of the day, we had four new posts in place: two at either end of the gate, one to hook the gate to when it’s open and a new post for the mailbox.

We braced the posts to hold them plumb while the concrete sets

Oh, and we also had more sore muscles and a few new calluses.

Have we reached the end of the to-do list yet? Has anyone spotted the end? Can you please tell me is it far away?

And please tell me someone out there got to sleep in and sit in a lawn chair this weekend.

Retraction

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Continuing with this week’s theme of manpower, Matt would like for me to formally retract the statement I made last week that trenching the satellite line was “no sweat.”

As the person who spent six hours burying the wire, Matt would like it made known that this job was no small task.

The distance from the satellite dish to the house was about 150 feet. Given that length, it didn’t matter that the trench was only six inches deep; this was a tough job.

The satellite wire is to the left of the trench

In addition to the length of the trench, the other challenge was the trench’s position through and alongside a stand of trees. Matt had to contend with a lot of roots while he was digging.

A particularly large root that Matt encountered on his excavation

Once he had the trench done, it was a simple matter (hope I don’t get in trouble for downplaying this part of the job) of laying the wire in the bottom.

The wire in the trench

As I mentioned last week, the wire runs under our patio for a short distance. While we’d already worked together to trench this section, once the wire was in place Matt had to backfill, level and reset the patio slabs.

Patio slabs back in place

He also had to cut an extra few inches of plastic conduit and slit it to go around the wire. This protects the wire where it comes out of the ground so that it doesn’t get pinched or cut.

He used just a basic plastic pipe for the conduit and slit it to go around the wire

When Matt was digging, he kept sod on one side of the trench and top soil on the other, so that everything could be neatly put back in place. This made for a very tidy lawn at the end of the day.

You can’t even tell Matt was there

And what does manpower look like after six hours of sweaty work? Matt documented that for me as well:

Note the staging with the feet on the table, the shovel in the shot and the satellite in the distance. Note as well the angle of the setting sun showing how long Matt was working at this job.

There you go, Matt. I hope that this post makes up for any downplaying of your efforts and skills. Thank you for all of your work on this job and all of the others you take on to make our home all that we want it to be.

Joyride

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

It’s a long walk from the house to the back field. So the other night when Matt and I went to check on the trails, we took the tractor. Why walk when you can ride?

However, Wylie’s a one seater, so my seat is in the bucket.

The view from the front seat

You know the look a little boy gets on his face just before he pinches his sister or pulls her hair?

Look familiar?

Matt gets the same look when he raises the bucket.

The bucket is not the most comfortable perch. At six feet up in the air, it feels extremely unstable.

I should be clear that Kioti in no way endorses or condones my efforts to turn Wiley into a two-seater. In fact, the manual is quite clear.

Only one person at a time!

As evil as he may look in the photo above, Matt is very careful with me, and eventually, he brought me back down to earth and we continued on our way.

With the help of a handy fencepost, we even managed to get a family portrait of the three of us.

Ahhh, farm fashion of rubber boots always.

This was my first joyride on a tractor. Overall, it’s a pretty good way to get around.

Fruits of the farm

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

We had our first harvest at the farm of actual edible food.

This black raspberry bush is growing beside the barn

There are clusters of raspberry canes in a few spots around the property. I thought that they were all just regular berries until the ones on this bush started turning black.

From tiny green berries to red and then to black.

I’ve been snacking on them every time I went up to the barn, and finally the other night enough were ripe to get a bowlful.

It’s a small bowl, but a bowlful nonetheless

They were an excellent dessert to have with dinner–and exceptionally tasty with ice cream.

Yum!

We’ve had strawberry season and now we’re in raspberry season. What summer fruit are you most looking forward to eating?

Snapshot

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Papa, mama and baby toadstools in the west meadow

And yes, that is old horse manure they’re growing in.

Wild kingdom

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I love seeing the wild animals at the farm.

Last week, I added a few new ones to my list:

Bunny–surprisingly, I’ve not seen a rabbit up until now, and last week I had two sightings, including one directly across from the front door when I came out in the morning.
Hummingbird–at a distance from the kitchen window. There were a lot of hummingbird feeders in the gardens around the house when we bought the farm, and I’ve just been stacking them on one of the wood piles. Maybe we should fill some of them instead.
A wild turkey family, complete with chicks–not actually on the farm, but on the drive to work on two separate mornings.
Turkey vulture–on the drive home from work. I’ve seen them before, but never up close. The nicest thing I can say is… ummm… her head was really red.

And in other wildlife news, my quest to photograph a deer continues.

The best I’ve done so far.

We see deer fairly frequently at the farm. Their tracks and trails are everywhere. One showed up in the flesh (fur?) walking along the row of pines right beside the house. She was within a dozen metres of us. Of course, as soon as she realized she’d been spotted, she bounded away rather than posing for a picture.

I do think the deer that we see are getting more accustomed to us. I can walk out into the fields trying to get closer to them and they don’t spook immediately anymore. However, documenting them is a different story. Maybe they’re just camera shy.

Field baseball

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Playing catch in the backyard is one of the joys of summer.

Batting practice in the hayfield is one of the joys of summer at the farm.

With a mowed field and no neighbour’s windows nearby, the farm takes baseball practice to a whole new level.

Of course, with only two people and a big field, the pitcher/basewoman/outfielder gets a workout.

Our baseball team plays tonight. We’ll see if all of our practice pays off.

What’s your favourite summer sport?

Hay there

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

We have hay!

I’m definitely not a farmer, even though I live on a farm. However, I think I have an instinct for this country thing.

A week ago I was showing you photos of hay growing in the field and saying that I thought harvest was imminent. It turns out, I was right!

Last Friday night I came home from work to see that all of the fields had been mowed.

Here’s the scene from the big field, which you saw last week.

Saturday work began to get the hay out of the fields and into a more useable form.

First step is drying the hay.

This tractor came through around midday and “stirred” the hay. In my ongoing attempts to show you as much of the farm as possible, I took pictures of each haying stage in different fields. This is the “field behind the drive shed” (official name).

After this, the hay was strewn all over the field. Good for drying. Not so good for baling.

Early evening, this tractor (and the really cool pinwheel attachment he’s towing) combed the hay into long mounds. Now we’re in the front field.

I thought we might be done for the day, but nope. (Maybe my instincts aren’t so good). A little while later, the baler showed up.

The baler scoops up the hay and little elves inside that big red box spin it into a huge bale. (What do you think about my farming know-how now?) My sense of direction is still working though. We’re now in the corner field.

Once the elves are done their work, they wrap the bale in a web of green mesh, and then the magic door opens and the baler spits out the bale.

These round hay bales are huge up close. They’re about 5 feet in diameter and really, really solid. And when they first come out of the baler, they’re warm too! (We’re still in the corner field).

By Sunday morning, we had five fields full of big round hay bales. (We actually have six fields total, but one–the far front field–is in rehab, so nothing’s growing there this year).

Here’s the scene from the back field.

The saying goes “make hay while the sun shines.” For the farmer who rents our fields, I think he follows the motto “make hay while the sun shines, as the sun sets, and by tractor light.”

Baling lasted well beyond sunset. We’re back in the field behind the drive shed now.

Perhaps our farmer’s instincts are better than mine though. When I would have quit and come back tomorrow for baling, he finished it all in one night. And early Sunday morning when the rain started, the hay was tucked nice and tight in its bales, protected from the precipitation.

One thing I do know about farming is it’s incredibly hard work. I’m happy to enjoy the sights of the harvest from the side of the field.

Roses among the thorns

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

In a true blend of the rustic and the fine, a big hedge of bright red roses has grown up at the front of the barn.

The big bushes edge the whole side of the bank, spilling over the old timbers stacked on the ramp.

Anyone have any tips on caring for roses? These seem to be doing just fine on their own, but I’d like to make sure their gorgeousness continues.

Wiley goes to work

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Up until this past weekend, we hadn’t really cut the grass at the farm yet this year.

Yes, we are those neighbours.

A few weeks ago, Matt ran around the house a few times with our push mower until it ran out of gas, but that was it.

Things were starting to look a bit unkempt.

And then last week, Wiley arrived.

Sunday, we fired him up and got busy.

First up, Matt and Wiley moved a pile of lumber up to the barn.

Matt and I have done a couple of walk-abouts recently picking up wood and sticks and rocks so that Wiley doesn’t hit anything and damage his blades. We still kept his mower really high, and I did all of the edging with our old push mower so that Wiley didn’t have to get too close to anything that might hurt him.

Yes, the grass was a little long–so long that we can probably bale the clippings on the driveway and Matt had to raise the bucket to see where he was cutting.

I’ve learned that the term “lawn” doesn’t really apply on such a large property. Grass cutting is more of a question of “Where do I stop?”

Matt and Wiley mowing the meadow down by the road.

Wiley is a good little worker. He cut grass, moved stumps and logs and even gave me a ride in the bucket.

Of course, his driver pretended he was going to tip me out of the bucket, but that wasn’t Wiley’s fault.

Once Wiley was done his work, Matt and his Dad went to work with their matching weed whackers and continued the battle to beat back the invading horde. There’s a manifest destiny thing going on in the fields, and the hay is definitely looking to expand its territory.

The property looks a little more groomed, and I feel like we’re making headway in tidying up the outdoors. Well done, Wiley and Matt.

This weekend it’s my turn to drive. Wiley better get ready.

What’s your mode of mowing? Anyone out there muscling along with a reel mower? Or are you a weed-whacking wizard?