You probably remember this post, Tree Corral, from spring of 2013. We had used the corral panels we got in Liberty the previous October. They first appeared in this post. The baby locust trees have grown up and they are ready to be set free. I moved them out of the pasture with a little help. The sheep are going in there this Friday so they should clean up the area.
Naturally I had a lot of help.
We had to bark at the sheep on the way down.
She was biting it while Luna barked at it. No actual help was happening.
I dragged them to the fence and tipped them over so I could pick them up with the truck.
The big news for today was the Kia got repaired. It's been in the shop since it got towed. It's been sitting down there waiting for them to get time to do it. Apparently mechanics are backed up everywhere. Lisa was in town when they called so she stopped by to pay for it. We went down after work and picked it up. Lisa finish mowed the front sheep pasture today. It looks nice. She'll be moving the sheep out of there this weekend and it will be closed for about two weeks until weaning. When we got back from getting the Kia I watered the garden and picked some blueberries. It was late and hot so I didn't do much else.
The green beans are forming.
There are a bunch of them in there.
Please forgive the vertical video. It seemed appropriate at the time. It hasn't rained in a few days so everything was starting to dry out.
Not a lot but it's enough to have on cereal in the morning.
Today I finished up the salvage boards and got them put away in the loft. When I was down the hill putting away the boards I pulled out the fence wire unroller. We haven't used it in years so we're going to sell it. I'll put it on craigslist or Facebook marketplace. We're also getting rid of one of the bunk feeders.
It wasn't too bad stripping the nails and I think it was worth the effort.
I worked on the lumber salvage this morning when the shade was over the work area. I got all the nails out of the long 2x6s and started on the deck boards. Yesterday after work I mowed the pond pasture field with the bush hog. Today I did the front yard with the zero turn and the driveway by the gully with the push mower. When we were cooling down on the back porch the squirrels came out to eat some of the remaining cherries. These are the same ones that ate all our strawberries and have been taking a couple of bites out of each of the apples and dropping them on the ground. They made a mistake by showing themselves.
First board done. Most of the nails pulled through the deck boards and stayed in the stringers.
They had used these cement coated sinkers. They rusted and some broke off.
I marked the broken nails with crayon so I wouldn't hit them with the saw.
I'll take them down to the shed loft when I'm done.
They got to hang out with me most of the morning.
There wasn't a lot of high weeds in the pond pasture but the grass was thick.
I had the deck low for the front sheep pasture but had to raise it about three inches. You can see where I mad the first three passes with it low.
I was working in Lexington today so I didn't get home in time to start mowing the pond pasture. I took the zero turn out and mowed the driveway and equipment shed yard area. We really need to come up with a standard designation for each of the property sections. I made this from Google maps. The ones in the blue color don't have a clear naming convention. The yellow ones are fairly well set. Any thoughts?
The tractor stayed in the barn.
Poppy likes to play with the hose when I water the cows.
I finished taking apart the old wooden deck. There should be some usable pieces. The deck boards themselves are kind of shot but they may come in handy for something. Next step is cleaning them up and getting all the nails out.
We can work on the cleanup out there in the shade.
Since I was working in the yard the girls got to hang out.
Tequila is adjusting well.
Even Poppy is tolerating her. Sometimes.
I checked my lumber storage to plan where I'm going to store the salvage. There should be room.
I need to set a trap down there to catch whatever it is that likes to poop in the loft.
I got the smoker put together this morning. The directions were not too bad and there were no extra parts. After it was done I put it through the seasoning cycle and we put two Boston butt roasts on it for its maiden voyage. We had it on low so they took all day.
It helped having everything laid out.
There weren't many moving parts. The mechanism was a black box bolt-on.
It would have been better for us if the hopper and motor were on the other end.
Applewood pellets.
Pellet hopper.
Smoking.
Butts.
After the meat was on the smoker I went about regular tasks. I tightened up the tomato cages and added some bamboo and welded wire. The wind has been knocking the bamboo off so I lashed it down with baling string. Lisa had been mowing the middle pasture so I went out and did some of it while she was doing something else. When I got to the bottom I was reminded of the fallen tree I was supposed to cut out. So I parked the mower and brought the chainsaw down.
It dropped more and was actually on the fence.
I thought I should have cut that other little one that is bending over. But I had already packed up when I noticed it.
They got snacks again.
We had taken down the panels that where blocking the aisleway in the Reese pasture. The four foot panel had got left behind and the cows knocked it down. I put it over the fence and never went back for it. It eventually fell and got overgrown with grass. I found it mowing today. I just missed hitting it with the blades. When I took Poppy and Luna down to do waters we went out and retrieved it. I carried it, Poppy and Luna just barked an bit at it.
They got to run around in the pasture, some of which was mowed.
