After lunch, Daddy and I headed off to town to go get a couple gas cans full of desiel. I also filled up the truck at the gas station and we checked the engine fluids. I was feeling slightly self concious at the time because last time it rained, some water leaked in and got part of my seat wet, so because I was driving, I had a wet spot on my jeans. I also cleaned the windshield.
From there we went to our place and picked up the old ladder which I've always been rather scared of and filled up the Kubota with desiel. Soon we were back on the road, with me driving quite concious of the ladder hanging out of the back of the truck, not strapped in. Like I told Daddy, it reminded me of the time I brought those 16 foot boards home...
We got back here and poured the remaining desiel into the John Deere, gathered up some tools, and some water bottles, and headed off down the driveway to trim back this one tree in particular. (It's spliting.) Of course, Daddy actually did all the chainsaw work while I just stood back and watched and/or held the ladder. I'm really in no hurry to do any chainsaw work--particularly up on a ladder! After the big hunk came down, Daddy sent me off to go bring the tractor down.
As I got close, he started yelling something at me and waving his arms about in a way that should have told me something, but left me more confused than ever. I got scolded for shifting gears without idling the tractor just right. Well...now I know. Turns out, this wears out the clutch too fast, but when I first started driving the thing Daddy didn't tell me this (of course, it was over the phone)...it's a good thing he caught me or I'd have been even more distructive! So...even though it's never pleasant to get chewed out (stinkin' pride, you know), I'm thankful I was! :D
We got the first log hooked up to the tractor and headed off, Daddy driving and me hanging on to the side of the tractor standing on this out cropping hunk of iron with a post out the top of it. I haven't any idea what it is for, but it's handy for dual riding! I watched how Daddy operated the tractor as well as the log plowing up the drive way.
We made over half a dozen trips, (I think). On one I rode back half sitting on Daddy's lap...but determined that it really was more comfortable standing on the iron slab off the side--despite the fact that I had a nut pushing up through the sole of my boot into the arch of my foot that was rather uncomfortable. Another time, Daddy suggested to carry the 'new' gate down on the tractor. I ended up perched somehow sort of on the sidewall over the tire, standing on one foot, with my other knee resting on Daddy's thigh. My horse riding muscles came in handy as I held onto the gate over and behind Daddy's head.
It was my job to hook up and unhook the limbs...I'm alright at that kind of work. :) I think overall, we had as fun a time as one can have while doing such work. Daddy said at one point (yelled rather since that's what you have to do on a tractor), "We're doing a mechanized Indian trick!" Meaning of course, that the leaves of the branches were covering our trail...
Snip got his poor, confused look everytime we drove by. He eventually came down closer to where the main body of the chainsaw work had been done and I fed him some leaves and spanish moss. He likes that stuff a lot!
We went along the fence in the front and Daddy trimmed out some branches to make it easier to work on the fence. I managed to knock my hat off with a limb I was attempting to throw over the fence. I must say, it was rather reminisent of the time I pulled my hatted head into the fence (loosing the hat into the ditch) while we were cleaning up after Hurricane Charlie...
After a bit of determined work we got the old gate off. It took different tools, the main one of any use being the car jack out of the truck, and some elbow grease. Once again, Daddy did most of the work. The long and the short of the gate tale is that a new hole is going to have to be drilled for the upper hinge. The distance between the hinges is less on the new gate (which is currently chained to the gate post to keep any light fingered feller from just snitching it easily--though it's heavy enough that it wouldn't be "easy as pie" to use that strange metaphor). The new gate is also several inches shorter, but it'll still work.
As it was closing in on 6 o'clock, we decided to call it quits for the day--except that I still had to feed my critters. It took a little extra time because I had to fill up a five gallon watering can in the hen coop. Charlotte was pleased to see the bottle this evening and if it were possible, the thing would have been sucked completely flat! It gets concave and I pull it out of her mouth and lift up the edge of the nipple to let some air back into it, the whole while the silly little calf spins around me, pressed close to my legs (and occasionally stepping on a toe). Sometimes I think she's going to knock me down! Anyway, she's not acting like a scaredy nut like she did on Sunday...I was so frustrated about that that I blew up. It also prompted me to separate Charlotte from the other heifers (names go like this: Big Whitey, Big Red, Little Red [the one who really gets Charlotte worked up], Blondie, and August [so called because she was born then--in fact, she's the white calf in this video]).
Anyway, we had a busy, fairly productive day. I spent a good portion of the morning reading my narration to Savannah and doing some editing. It's always nice to have that second set of ears to tell you why something just doesn't set right.
I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow...but I'll probably tell you all about it after it happens! :)
From there we went to our place and picked up the old ladder which I've always been rather scared of and filled up the Kubota with desiel. Soon we were back on the road, with me driving quite concious of the ladder hanging out of the back of the truck, not strapped in. Like I told Daddy, it reminded me of the time I brought those 16 foot boards home...
We got back here and poured the remaining desiel into the John Deere, gathered up some tools, and some water bottles, and headed off down the driveway to trim back this one tree in particular. (It's spliting.) Of course, Daddy actually did all the chainsaw work while I just stood back and watched and/or held the ladder. I'm really in no hurry to do any chainsaw work--particularly up on a ladder! After the big hunk came down, Daddy sent me off to go bring the tractor down.
As I got close, he started yelling something at me and waving his arms about in a way that should have told me something, but left me more confused than ever. I got scolded for shifting gears without idling the tractor just right. Well...now I know. Turns out, this wears out the clutch too fast, but when I first started driving the thing Daddy didn't tell me this (of course, it was over the phone)...it's a good thing he caught me or I'd have been even more distructive! So...even though it's never pleasant to get chewed out (stinkin' pride, you know), I'm thankful I was! :D
We got the first log hooked up to the tractor and headed off, Daddy driving and me hanging on to the side of the tractor standing on this out cropping hunk of iron with a post out the top of it. I haven't any idea what it is for, but it's handy for dual riding! I watched how Daddy operated the tractor as well as the log plowing up the drive way.
We made over half a dozen trips, (I think). On one I rode back half sitting on Daddy's lap...but determined that it really was more comfortable standing on the iron slab off the side--despite the fact that I had a nut pushing up through the sole of my boot into the arch of my foot that was rather uncomfortable. Another time, Daddy suggested to carry the 'new' gate down on the tractor. I ended up perched somehow sort of on the sidewall over the tire, standing on one foot, with my other knee resting on Daddy's thigh. My horse riding muscles came in handy as I held onto the gate over and behind Daddy's head.
It was my job to hook up and unhook the limbs...I'm alright at that kind of work. :) I think overall, we had as fun a time as one can have while doing such work. Daddy said at one point (yelled rather since that's what you have to do on a tractor), "We're doing a mechanized Indian trick!" Meaning of course, that the leaves of the branches were covering our trail...
Snip got his poor, confused look everytime we drove by. He eventually came down closer to where the main body of the chainsaw work had been done and I fed him some leaves and spanish moss. He likes that stuff a lot!
We went along the fence in the front and Daddy trimmed out some branches to make it easier to work on the fence. I managed to knock my hat off with a limb I was attempting to throw over the fence. I must say, it was rather reminisent of the time I pulled my hatted head into the fence (loosing the hat into the ditch) while we were cleaning up after Hurricane Charlie...
After a bit of determined work we got the old gate off. It took different tools, the main one of any use being the car jack out of the truck, and some elbow grease. Once again, Daddy did most of the work. The long and the short of the gate tale is that a new hole is going to have to be drilled for the upper hinge. The distance between the hinges is less on the new gate (which is currently chained to the gate post to keep any light fingered feller from just snitching it easily--though it's heavy enough that it wouldn't be "easy as pie" to use that strange metaphor). The new gate is also several inches shorter, but it'll still work.
As it was closing in on 6 o'clock, we decided to call it quits for the day--except that I still had to feed my critters. It took a little extra time because I had to fill up a five gallon watering can in the hen coop. Charlotte was pleased to see the bottle this evening and if it were possible, the thing would have been sucked completely flat! It gets concave and I pull it out of her mouth and lift up the edge of the nipple to let some air back into it, the whole while the silly little calf spins around me, pressed close to my legs (and occasionally stepping on a toe). Sometimes I think she's going to knock me down! Anyway, she's not acting like a scaredy nut like she did on Sunday...I was so frustrated about that that I blew up. It also prompted me to separate Charlotte from the other heifers (names go like this: Big Whitey, Big Red, Little Red [the one who really gets Charlotte worked up], Blondie, and August [so called because she was born then--in fact, she's the white calf in this video]).
Anyway, we had a busy, fairly productive day. I spent a good portion of the morning reading my narration to Savannah and doing some editing. It's always nice to have that second set of ears to tell you why something just doesn't set right.
I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow...but I'll probably tell you all about it after it happens! :)
RSS Feed
