Sunday, March 8, 2009

A Harrowing Experience

Some time over the winter David told me about a piece of steel cable he had found deeply buried in the grass at the far end of the pasture. The horses never go into that area, so we decided that its extrication could wait until spring. David's brother Gareth appeared last night for a quick visit, and today he volunteered to help David remove this accident waiting to happen (most likely to Raven). They walked down the pasture together and spent five minutes poking around before coming back for two spades. They walked back down the pasture and spent another five minutes digging around before returning for the Red Menace. About twenty minutes later they all came rumbling over the rise with a 10-foot chain harrow in tow. It looks like someone welded it together with leftovers from some big piece of machinery. Who knows how long it has been buried out there for a long time with nothing but its drag cable sticking out? Roger, Gareth and David with the kill:

While the brothers were down the back Roger was working on our burn pile, which has been getting steadily larger for a couple of months now. The stuff was pretty wet, but a little gasoline goes a long way.

And before any of this started Gareth was kind enough to help me finish topping the planter boxes off with composted manure. Nice to have such good company around for a few days, and also nice to have such willing pairs of extra hands.



8 comments:

EvenSong said...

Wow! That's quite a little implement. Is it still intact/usable? It could be handy for dragging the pasture. Mine has the little spikey teeth VVVVV for areating the soil some, but that one would at least break up manure piles (I know, you pick yours up--over-acheiver!)

Nice looking planting beds, too. I've never had the self-discipline for gardening--to busy playing with horsies.

Nice to have such a muscular work crew available--and volunteers, no less!

fluer = a species of small brown bird that builds their nests in your chimney

Carole said...

I garden in raised planter boxes too. With the addition of a little composted horse manure... well, let's just say we were giving away cucumbers by the pailful last year.

Impressive pasture find, too!

russellp said...

The menfolk look quite pleased with themselves in the top photo, much like 19th century paleontologists (I'd like to see a sepia version). Gareth looks a little skeptical of DT. And I'm sure getting Roger to help around the farm is about as hard as getting Pepper to chase a ball!

Brandy said...

Wow, that thing is HUGE! Hopefully it can find a use around the Farm in some form or another!

Hooray for muscly help! Will work for pizza and beer, my favorite kind!

Those are nice garden boxes! I love container gardening, it's so much easier to deal with. I actually tried potatoes in hay one year, and I THINK they grew...

It gets too hot here to grow much beyond tomatoes and zucchinis, as long as you water daily. Once I fix my door, I can get out to water more often! Yay!

--
intoote: harmonizing flatulence?

Black Jack's Carol said...

That is some farm implement! And those are some good looking volunteers. Lucky you!

All of you are looking very fit and happy. Great that you managed to get so much work done before the snow hit. Curious to know what sort of things you grow.

jme said...

what a great find! do you think you'll have any use for it?

i could use a few extra hands around the farm for spring clean-up too! i've started picking up manure, and it is slow going... can't wait for dryer weather! but at least is isn't freezing/snowing now :-)

allhorsestuff said...

Oh..that is a thing of beauty!Glad it was so far down till now!

We were just talking about how to drag fields and spread manuer!
Do you know anything(bet you do!) about how to rotate fields for good grass potiential??My new PBO is trying to dicde how to go about it. I think she has an incorrect thought about every three weeks...doesn't the grass need more like" a season" on and off???

Kac

dp said...

ES: Thanks for the vote of confidence, but do not pick up manure in my pasture -- only in the paddock. We may start using this find in future.

And yes, nice to have a work crew. Of course David is with me and Gareth is with Sylvia (a vet, and also into horses) but Roger remains mysteriously single. Any eligible ladies out there?

Carole, Brandy and BJC: We built the boxes last year, so this will be our first season using them. I have no clue what we will grow -- that is David's domain.