Planting Seeds
I put in an extra-long day yesterday, planting grass in addition to the normal daily chores of caring for our animals. Getting grass seed planted in the new drainage swale took almost the entire day. It was a day when I really wished I wasn’t working alone. Back and forth I walked, so many times, to get hoses strung together to reach the full length of the swale and then to turn the water on and off. The distance I seeded is almost 2 football fields long.
Just getting the full length watered down took over an hour. I did have a little “help” with getting it wet before seeding. I let Delilah chase the spray and run around in the dirt to stir it up a bit. From now on, I will need to restrain her somewhere when I want to water. With the seed down, I don’t want her tearing it all up when she chases after that irresistible spray.
I purchases a seed mixture from our local feed mill that has oats in it and is supposed to germinate within three days. That’s about all the growing time we have left this year. This is one occasion when I will be fine with a warm week or two in October.
The concern is, if I don’t get something to take root and help hold the soil in place, the water that will flow down this path in the spring could create a huge washout. I’ll deal with that if I have to. It’s just nice to have this improved definition for drainage finally in place.
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Relative Something 
Re: Luis, I’d better start teaching him English then. He has never been further afield than Porto, where he had his operation. Hopefully, he will live a long life and make it there one day. Otherwise, he never really has holidays, for when he does he finds other work to do. In sum, he is a ‘fish in water’ here – he is in his element and transmits a natural happiness.
Ian Rowcliffe
September 29, 2014 at 3:49 am
Re:It was a day when I really wished I wasn’t working alone. Indeed, you worked HARD! And I remember how you work tirelessly. Try to remember to take things easier today to give your body a chance to recover. I must admit I no longer tend to work hard on my own but rather with Luis as together we are much more effective. It might pay you to look round for a helper, someone to come in for a day or two: it makes a world of difference and permits you to be somewhere else when it suits you and is necessary.
P.S. I was thinking that having all four horses lying on the ground as in yesterday’s picture is not a likely event with our horses: they tend to go down for a roll one after the other. Interesting, therefore, about your horses. It is almost as though someone might have trained them to do that. I also loved the picture with all four galloping.
Ian Rowcliffe
September 27, 2014 at 4:35 am
Re: they = the – a typo:-)
(Fixed. For some reason, I am given the ability so to do, JWH.)
Ian Rowcliffe
September 27, 2014 at 4:37 am
Yes, Ian, we have given thought to how we might find someone like Luis. (I was thinking how much he might enjoy a visit here if I was able to finance a “vacation” for him, but I wouldn’t want to do that to you!)
I have more going on during our early years here, as we develop the infrastructure for our long-term visions, than I will need to deal with on an ongoing basis in the future. I frequently review the situation and feel that daily activities will be much more reasonable when the “special” projects (building structures, fences, improving drainage) have all been achieved.
Our herd rarely all lay down at once. More often one stays up to keep an eye out. We see their comfort with laying down on the ground as a sign they feel very safe here. Also, the minutes they stay down are rather short. I always consider it my good luck that I can get the camera out before they stand up again.
johnwhays
September 28, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Re:We see their comfort with laying down on the ground as a sign they feel very safe here. Yes, most definitely – I can’t think of a truer complement! The fact that you can get your camera out and take photos also speaks of the trust shown.
Not that it has been my policy, but I have heard that people give horses carrots the moment they lie in order to increase this activity. That was why I was wondering whether your horses have been trained to do so. That not being the case, your presence must be seen as rewarding in and of itself. As I said, SOME complement!
Ian Rowcliffe
September 29, 2014 at 3:36 am