Well I started to rake today. Raked everything I cut on Sunday.

This is the hay rake. It's old like the haybine and the farmer,but works pretty good. The farmer down the road has a rake that he can raise and lower with hydraulics instead of by hand and is equal to eight rakes like ours.

Before raking.

After raking.

Hopefully I can finish all the raking tomorrow. It will depend on how warm it gets and whether we get any wind. If I can rake tomorrow I can start baling on Thursday and finish on Friday. It's supposed to get into the 80's for the rest of the week and that will help along with no rain. Cross you fingers.

Started cutting hay this afternoon. Started on the new hayfield. The hay was tall and thick. The haybine and the farmer were old. Had to stop and unclog the haybine a few times and I had to cut one gear slower than I usually do because it was so thick. The hay from this field will go to The Farmer Daughter cause it still has alfalfa in it which is too rich for the Fjords.

I got both small fields cut this afternoon and a start on the big field. As soon as the dew dries tomorrow I'll get back on the big field. Should be a good yield as it's so late. I'll update again when I rake and when I bale. I just know you'all are so excited.

TV Antenna or Satellite

Gramma and I have been talking about getting rid of the satellite dish and just getting an antenna. Almost everything we watch on tv is local channels anyway and it's very expensive for the dish. So this weekend we bought a small flat screen tv, an antenna with a pre-amp and some pipe to mount it on.

The antenna is huge. We just thought we would try this to see if it would work. Didn't know if the antenna would be high enough, didn't know if we were too far North. Well I put it up and pointed it at where I thought the cities would be and went in the house and hooked it up. Didn't work. Bummer. Then Gramma played with the remote and found we were on the wrong input mode (Yay Gramma) and it worked. We were amazed. It comes in better than the satellite I think. We were prepared for disappointment. We are happy. So one more month of Direct TV and then we'll get a tv for the living room. Lots of stuff to watch online for free, just need a usb cable and you're in business.

Hay Time

Putting up hay is an iffy thing. For it to go well you need warm and dry weather, and a little wind helps. Now I said "a little wind" not a lot because that causes it's own problems.

As you can see the hay is as tall as Ingrid.

It's taller than the deer. (That's the hay behind them)This the latest I've ever cut hay. We had good haying weather when the Bayou Family was here, but we were a little busy. After they left for home it started to rain and it's been raining ever since. AccuWeather says starting Sunday we should get a week of no rain. That's about what I need to get the hay done. Now, with the hay this tall I should get more volume but less nutrients. But since the Fjords can get fat just looking at hay, we should be ok. This will give us a little more to give to the Farmer Daughter so she can save a few bucks. So please pray for a week of no rain for us.Thank you.

The disappearance and return of the eggs

After the Bayou Family left I built an addition to the coop to house the new chickens.

Now we did this for two reasons.

1. They were too big to stay in the garage.

2. We need to let the old chickens get used to the new ones.

Soon I will open up the wall between them and we will see what happens. I won't do this until they are all the same size which will give the new ones a better chance to defend themselves if necessary.They will figure out a pecking order in a short time. The roosters will be the most difficult. Anyway. After we moved the new ones into the barn the other hens stopped laying with the exception of Annie. She just keeps laying those crooked funny eggs. So after about 3 weeks or so the other hens have finally started laying again. Gramma told them if they didn't start soon she was gonna cook them. I guess it worked. I think I'm gonna build the coop bigger and make a bigger nest box. We might get some more chickens from the Farmer Daughter so we can get more eggs. I know our son and his family are waiting patiently for us to supply them with eggs. Who knew chickens could suffer from emotional trauma.

Horse Trip

Yesterday the Farmer Daughter and I took one of her mares to a horse farm in Wisconsin for a breeding. This is Hiedi and her filly. They owed the Famer Daughter a breeding because  one of her other mares didn't take and this filly is out of one of their studs and the FD really likes her. She hopes for another good breeding and a chance for a show quality foal. Anyway it was a nice drive through pretty country and a chance for a nice talk between Dad and daughter.


Happy Fathers Day

Frank's 2nd Reprieve

   Young Frank.

Older Frank.

Frank now.

You may remember that we once had 4 roosters. Well I liked Frank the most and that's why I gave him a name. Then the other roosters ganged up on him and almost killed him. So I rescued him and put him in the garage and nursed him back to health. In the mean time I dispatched the other roosters. As Frank got older he became a bit agressive, although it's his job to protect his flock. He attacked me a couple of times and Gramma too. Well it seems he only did it if I had my white tennis shoes on or was wearing shorts, and when Gramma was wearing her pink and white rubber boots or shorts. Well yesterday he attacked me from behind when I went into the barn and wouldn't stop until I got the chicken stick and whacked him and chased him into the trees. Needless to say I was hopping mad. I went to the house and got the .22. When I went to look for him I couldn't find him, and I looked good. Well I put the gun back in the house and went back to work. A little while later I saw two chickens running toward the haybine and I heard Frank crow. So I walked over to the haybine and looked and just then Frank walked out from behind it. He turned and when he saw me he he turned back and ran into the woods like his tail was on fire. I had to laugh cause it looked so funny. So I guess I'll let him live awhile longer and stop wearing my tennys in the barn. He is a handsome boy.

Lake

This is what happens when you don't go to the lake in over a month. I hauled up the big mower and had to cut it 3 times to get it done. Maybe I should have brought the hay equipment.

Here is the after pics. Looks much better. Pretty dog.

Didn't catch any fish but I caught a beautiful sunset. Too bad that the pictures can't do it justice.

So I guess I'll just have to go to the lake more often. Don't want to have a hayfield again. I also have some trees to take down. Two right next to the cabinette, and two dead oaks. A farmers work is never done, even when he just wants to go fishing.

Playing

And there was playing.

There was playing on hay piles.

There was playing on rock piles.

And there was playing on dirt piles. The playing on dirt piles seemed to be the preferred method of playing. This led to numerous bath times, and one hosing off outside. Luckily Grampa has a big sink and faucet in the garage so the water wasn't ice cold.

All the playing and baths can really wear you out.

And there was 4 wheeling.

I took all the kids for a ride.

And then I took Bayou Mommy for a ride and showed her the trails, and she took Dad and showed him the trails, and JB got to drive by himself. So there was lots of riding the whole week. I think they had fun.

Hay shed

Gramma has been helping me get the roof on the hay shed.

Yesterday the Farmer Daughter came over and gave us

a hand and stayed for supper. That was nice.             

This morning we finished it.  While putting on the trim pieces it started to rain.  So I finished it in the rain cause I figured getting done was more important than getting wet.  Besides I've been wet before.  You can ask my grandson JB, he'll tell you.  Its been raining quite a bit since the Bayou Family left, so I guess we were pretty lucky weatherwise while they were here.  Although it was hot, but that probably made them feel more at home.  Now I have to wait till it stops raining before I can cut and bale hay and fill the new shed.  Oh well, I might as well go fishing, fish don't care if it rains. 

And there was work.

JB helped me finish the deck. And all the boys helped

put the picnic table together.

JB helped me put 1/2 of this double chair together.

Bayou Mommy put the rest of the chair together cause

she felt sorry for her poor old Daddy.

Bayou Dad mowed. He liked the big rider mower so

much, we had to stop him from mowing down the hay.

So lot's of stuff got done, including Gramma and the

girls planting the garden.