Another lovely day on the farm. The lilacs scent the whole yard and the apple tree is gorgeous this year. I was up by 4:30AM and doing morning chores. Then I went out and started watering the seedlings in the cold frame. I’d finished them when my helper friend arrived.
I’d made up extra for the seedlings inside the house, but that would have to wait until later.
We went up and got the cement mixer from the barn to make (I hoped) 5 batches of little tree amendment. (Sorry for poor photo.)
The gypsum for calcium has been sitting in the shed on the bottom of piles for several years. It had turned hard so we had to break it up and pound it to powder again. Made a bit of a mess.
I had found the mix form for what I’d made last year and would be replicating it.
We’d been working about ½ hour when the wood guy appears around the end of the shed. They were bringing the wood for the masonry heater shed and would stack it for me.
We got all 5 batches made, didn’t run out of materials, cleaned up the mess, and took the cement mixer back to the barn.
Then we loaded up the 2 totes of compost I’d made and brought them up. We’re about as ready for the trees as we can be.
They finished filling the shed about 2PM and it took 3 cords to fill it. I had gotten some of the inside seedlings watered. I didn’t have the energy to make up a new batch to finish them. I laid down on the couch for a nap.
I was awoken by the sound of a lawnmower a lot closer than neighbors. So eventually I got up and found Tom out mowing the new garden area.
In the early morning I had called the hay guy to see when he was coming to hay the pastures and he said he wasn’t. The 2 front pastures were too small for his chopping equipment and the driveway too narrow. But he gave me the name of another guy doing hay near me so I called and he said he’d be out in the afternoon to see what I had.
He showed up just as Tom was finishing and he also said those 2 pastures by the house were too small. Too much wear and tear on U joints he said. But he also runs cows and was interested in bringing some over to pasture.
I told him I couldn’t do fence repair until the vegetable gardens were done, probably by late June. The hardest part would be putting in new posts in the foreshortened pastures, just finding someone to do it. I can do the wire.
I also told him I wouldn’t be able to do much in the way of daily moves, some if they were either set up ahead, or easy to set up. I could help with the moving if he decided to use the 2 free lease fields we’d used in the past.
So he was going to think on it and let me know.
I had gotten some weeding done in the New South garden as Tom was finishing up before the hayman arrived. I’ve been chipping away at ones around the house, not doing a thorough weeding, just getting the worse of it.
On Wednesday, after a very cold night in the 30’s, I have the rest of the seedlings to feed, house plants to feed, and 4 piles of sods to shake out. It’s supposed to be another lovely day. I may weed somewhere if I have the energy. And the little trees will be arriving.