Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[Denim Deb]

Yes, they have a 5 tray dehydrator. I will be buying something better later on, but for now, it's working. I do rotate the trays, though. This has no fan so the bottom dries quicker. And, you can't do jerky in it unless you use precooked meat. But, w/a 20% off coupon, it was only $20.00.

It's cold out there! It is more like late January than November. I doubt very much that I can do anything that involves any digging today. It just barely got above freezing yesterday, is down to about 19* now, and is not supposed to get much above freezing today. I will try, though. I need to put in a fence post for expanding the chicken run and get the new house built. I still have 5 young roos that need to go to freezer camp, but it's just too cold out there to do anything w/them. At least tomorrow it is supposed to warm up.

The only good thing about this weather is it's pretty much dried up all the rain. I'm going to try and deliver a load of manure to KN on Friday. She may want 2 loads, but whatever she takes is good. Then I need to get rid of the rest of it to my friend SB. It will be so nice to have Mt. Manure gone. I figure I should have my field looking good about the time that I finally get my own place.

Today the wind is not supposed to be too bad, so I'm going to try and get the hay shelter finished. I really need that done. I had to staple 2 of the tarps back in place yesterday, and finally ended up putting a couple of boards on.

Since it's dried up out there, I'm hoping to get some wood done. I'll also clean the goat pen. But I don't know that I'll be able to get anything else done w/as cold as it is. And I'm supposed to go for a hike over at the Nature Center today. I don't know if we're still going to do it w/the cold or not. We'll see. In spite of the cold, I need to get going. So, here's my list for today:

1. Trash and recyclables
2. Housework
3. Laundry
4. Normal farm chores
5. Finish hay shelter
6. Put in post for chicken pen and put up some temp fencing to keep the horses out of that area!
7. Hike at the Nature Center
8. Goat pen
9. Feed animals at home
10. Firewood
11. Dishes
12. Dehydrate apples

If I have time this morning, I may also try and get the zipper in my vest. I just haven't had the time, and I really need it.

 

[hqueen13]

You're not kidding its cold out there! Crazy!
I hope this doesn't set the terms for record setting this winter....
good luck getting work done outside. I've got some things I need to do, too, and I'm not looking forward to it!
Oh, you might appreciate another thing from harbor freight. They have a truck cargo unloader that is great. It attaches to the tailgate and has a heavy tap that you lay in the bed, then put the load on over it. When you are ready to unload, you attach the crank handle and crank it off. Much nicer than shoveling manure back out of the truck! And even better than shoveling chicken sh** or of the truck, lol on sale is only $40.00, I think.
Thanks for the top about the dehydrator, I might have to go get one!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh wow - do I need one of those cargo unloader things! I need to check that out like yesterday!

 

[Denim Deb]

I have one of those cargo unloaders. It's great! That's what I used to unload the 4 loads of manure and the load of mulch last week. I just wish I had had it B4. There are so many times I could have used it.

Yesterday was fun. I worked on the hay shelter, but forgot to take the batteries for my saw in the house, so I couldn't finish since I needed to cut some boards. I'll do that today.

I was in the process of putting the post in for the chicken pen when I realized that a certain bratty pony had figured out that I did not have the electric on for the parking area and had gotten out, so I had to go and round her up. It was not easy to do. She had no desire to be caught. I was finally able to catch her in RU's back yard.

Got home later than I'd planned from the NC. So I only had time to rake up some of the goat pen, not work on actually finishing it. And while I did some firewood, some of it is longer than I'd realized and some of it is wetter. Because of the cold, the wood seemed dry-until it got in the house and thawed out.

I got the dehydrator filled, but didn't have time to do dishes. Hubby wanted in the kitchen and he was drunk. The house felt cold, so I went down in the basement in front of the fire and read a book. I'll have to do them today.

Today is going to be the best day so far this week for getting stuff done. It's going to be in the 40s! I'm hoping I can get out to the farm early so I can get stuff done and get home early. It's our son's birthday. More often than not, he doesn't have money because he blows it all. So, rather than giving him money, we're giving him a gift card to a local supermarket. This way, we know he's at least eating. So if I can get done early, I can get the gift card and then get home early enough to do stuff outside here. So, here's my list for today:

1. Laundry
2. Housework
3. Normal farm chores
4. Finish hay shelter
5. Finish putting in post and putting up fence
6. Clean field-I'll probably have to run the spreader 2x
7. Get card for DS
8. Goat pen
9. Feed animals at home
10. Firewood
11. Dishes

That's enough for today. I need to get started soon.

 

[Denim Deb]

Today was a Murphy's Law type of day. It seemed like everything was going wrong. First off, I couldn't find my watch. I have no idea where it could have gotten to, and had to use my phone as a watch.

I was happy w/the amount of stuff I got done at home today, even though it meant I left later than I'd planned. I had waited for awhile since I was hoping I could take my bike. But, it was cloudy out, so I finally just drove the truck.

I get to the farm and find out that I now had a waterfall in my field! The automatic waterer was running over. So of course part of my field is now flooded. I got both my horses and CL's horses fed, then tried to call RU to tell her. Got no answer on either her cell or home phone, so I walked over to her house. She wasn't home, but her hubby was, so I let him know. They both came over after awhile, and were able to get it stopped. Of course, that doesn't mean it won't start again. The base needs to be redone-it wasn't done properly in the first place, and it needs a new part. Hopefully she can at least get the part that it needs.

I get my mower, and tied the spreader on it. Then I drove it into my field and almost got stuck. The water made a muddy mess in one spot that I had to drive thru, so I knew that I couldn't go back that way to get out of the field. That meant I was going to have to go down the lane, then into the neighbor's field since there's still dirt piled in the lane, then cut over. I get the spreader loaded and almost get stuck heading for the gate. I didn't realize the water went that far. I was spinning tires. I was able to finally get out of the field, but tried to cut it a bit too sharp when I got out of the gate. I was finally able to get down the lane, cut over into the neighbor's field, go around the dirt pile, then cut back in. The grass was really high here, so I started to mow it since I was having trouble driving. Look back, and realize that I had lost the spreader! The rope I used to tie it on had broken. Got it back on, had a bit of trouble getting down the rest of the lane, but finally made it. I started spreading-and lost the spreader again. So, I just tipped it over and dumped it. Tied it back on the mower and headed back for the gate. Almost got stuck again, but was finally able to get down the lane. Only problem being the spreader was dragging. I decide to just go in the parking area. Forgot about the rope I use to keep the horses in there, broke one, and the other stopped me. I decided not to do another load.

I got working on the hay shelter. I was able to get the old tarp off the back. Got my saw out so I could saw a couple of boards. I had charged the battery yesterday, and left it inside since the cold seems to drain it. I didn't even get 1/4 way thru the board B4 the battery died so that meant I had to charge it back up again. I was able to get the boards cut and get them in place. Then I went to put the new tarp up on the back. Couldn't find my staple gun. I went nuts trying to find it. I finally found it under a piece of tarp that I cut the other day. It was getting late, so I just stapled the tarp a bit, but still have more to do to finish it.

I was able to get the post in, but didn't put any fence up around it. I was able to get some of my roosters out of the main flock and put them in half of the broody pen. I stil have 2 more to take out, but I think the hens will appreciate that they have 3 less roosters chasing them.

By the time I got home, it was getting late. I got the animals all taken care of and raked out part of the goat pen. Then I did some firewood, put more apples in the dehydrator and did some dishes.

Now I'm sitting back relaxing. I'll be going to bed soon.

 

[Denim Deb]

It's cold out there, only around 26* or so and I have a lesson. I did the smart thing and brought Misty's bit home. That way, I won't be putting an ice cold bit in her mouth this morning. When I leave, I'll stick the bit on my dashboard so it will (hopefully) stay warm. My instructor has to take her hubby to the doctor this morning, so that means I'm going to have an early start. I plan on leaving the house by 7:00 so I can get everyone fed and leave by shortly after 8:00. So my list for today is:

1. Housework
2. Normal farm chores
3. Lesson
4. Work on cleaning out feed stall. I need to see what I have in there so far as wood goes. W/or w/out hubby's help, I need to get done certain things
5. Take a load of manure to KN
6. Errands
7. Goat pen
8. Feed animals at home
9. Firewood
10. Go w/hubby to get card for DS, then stop at his house
11. Dishes. I actually don't have a ton to do for once. Hopefully I can keep caught up.

 

[hqueen13]

Hope your day is better today!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm sure Misty will be grateful for your thoughtfulness....and hope she proves it by being wonderful for the lesson.

 

[Denim Deb]

Today was a bit different from what I'd planned, but I still got a lot done!

I didn't leave quite as early as I wanted to, but was still able to get to my lesson on time. It was cold and windy out there! And again, I was on Misty by myself. She spooked, shied and jigged almost all the way back. Then she spooked, shied and jigged for much of the lesson. I finally got her to where she was calm, even got her into a nice trot. Only problem being, my one knee started to hurt immediately, so I had to pull her back down to a walk. When we headed back up, she spooked, shied and jig as well. But, EH was very pleased w/how I handled her and how I rode her. I can feel a big difference in how I'm riding. I'm much more confident in the saddle and it's making all the difference in the world. The only day I can have a lesson next week is Wednesday, so I hope the weather is good.

I didn't feed CL's horses B4 I left, so I had to do that when I got back to the farm. Then KN called and asked if I could deliver the manure another day. I actually didn't mind. W/as cold and windy as it was, I was glad for an excuse to not do it. I got some done in the feed stall, but w/as windy as it was, I didn't really get much done. Plus, it will be much easier if I have some help.

RU needed a hand w/something. And since it meant I had a chance to get out of the cold and the wind, I didn't mind in the least. Got done and went and fed Stormy. He didn't quite eat all his feed. I hope he does tomorrow.

The roosters that I put in the broody pen yesterday managed to get in w/the 2 pullets I had in the other half. So when I put the chickens away, I was able to get the pullets out of there. They are now in w/the flock. These 2 were raised in w/KN's chickens and every time I've tried to let them out, they've made a beeline for her area. Now that they're in w/the flock, I won't let anyone out for a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that will be enough to get them in w/the rest of the flock, especially since I'll be getting the other 2 roosters out of there on either Monday or Tuesday.

I ran my errands, then headed home. I don't know if it was because of the difference in temperature between outside and inside, but once I got in, I started to feel really tired, so I relaxed for about 30 minutes. Then I got up, and did some housework while waiting for hubby to call. Once he called, I went out, raked more of the goat pen, fed all the animals and did some firewood.

When he got home, we went out did some shopping and got the card for DS and stopped in to see him. He was thrilled. He went out shortly after we left and did some food shopping.

Once home, I sorted out a load of clothes, and threw them in the washer. I'll be putting them out early tomorrow. Then I washed dishes. It's so nice not to have a pile of dirty dishes any more, and am hoping I can keep up on them.

I'm tired and have to get up in the morning. I'm going out to breakfast, so I can't sleep in. And I have to put the clothes out in the morning. So I'm hoping to get to bed soon.

 

[Denim Deb]

I was beat last night and went to bed at around 9:00. And looking over what I did yesterday, I realized that I forgot one thing-I also did another batch of apples in the dehydrator. While this cheapy doesn't hold as many, nor get it done as quickly, at least I'm getting it done. The apples that I bought this time were deer apples. I think those are the ones that they pick up from under the tree. We called them juice apples when I worked on the farm. But, it only cost $5.00 for a basket of them and they taste just as good as the rest.

It's cold out there-only around 17*! It is not supposed to be that cold at this time of year. So while I'd like to get a lot of work done to the garden, I can't the ground is frozen. But at least it supposed to start to warm up w/a high on Monday in the low 70s! So hopefully next week, I can get it all done.

Not 100% sure what all I'm getting done today. Hubby and DD are going Christmas shopping today, so I'm going to try and get as much done here as I can. I'm going out to breakfast this morning, and want to get the clothes out on the line first. By the time I get home, it should be warmer. So I'm hoping I can get a lot of wood done, and maybe start cleaning up that area. So my list for today is:

1. Laundry
2. Breakfast
3. Firewood
4. Yard
5. Normal farm chores-might even be able to take the bike today!
6. Goat pen
7. Feed animals
8. Dishes

Looks like a good enough list for today. I'm going to play on the computer for a bit longer. It's just too cold in here to do anything other than sit in my chair wrapped up in a blanket!