Posts Tagged ‘ground moisture’
Drying Out
Ground moisture has changed dramatically in the last 36 hours, which bodes well for my planned post-burying project scheduled for next week. The current 10-day forecast continues to show nothing but sunshine until next Thursday, the day after we intend to auger post holes. Color me eager to get that next milestone accomplished.
I had a little episode yesterday that felt like my brain might be drying out because I couldn’t find two things in the barn that I knew had to be there somewhere. After much searching for my tape measure and one of the 6” turnbuckles, I gave up and moved on with an effort to tighten the snugness of the shade sail hanging inside the barn. While moving a ladder from a rarely visited corner, I spotted the turnbuckle hanging on a hook near where I had been making adjustments a week ago.
A few minutes after that, something clicked in my brain, and I realized I had left the tape measure in the hay shed when I was cutting wood blocks for the posts. I guess it’s good to recognize that there is nobody else to blame for my missing things, but I’m a little sour about the evidence of gaps in my memory about them.
Is it possible the dry conditions are putting a bend in one of the posts waiting to be raised for the shade sail?
I noticed the bend going sideways yesterday, so I turned the post to see if gravity would make any difference in the amount of curve. If the bend remains, I figure we can use it to our advantage against the pull of tightening the sail if we install it just right.
The trickiest part of this installation for me is definitely going to be achieving the proper dimensions, which is why I contracted a professional for assistance. Well, that and the operation of a power auger to drill holes as deep as I want them. Oh, and whatever the mechanism is to get header boards attached at an angle 8-to-10 feet overhead.
We are getting closer every day to the point where I want to put up temporary barriers to block the horse’s access to the space where we will be working. It’s a balance of trying to minimize the disruption to their environment, but give me adequate time to do as much preparation work as possible before next Wednesday. I don’t know what the ideal number of days is. I’ve been going through the steps I think will be involved in my mind repeatedly, but that has yet to help me definitively decide when to start.
At this point, I figure I’ve thought about it enough that the horses already know exactly what is about to happen, so I probably don’t need to worry about them at all. I expect they just want me to get on with it, give them the shade, and be done with the whole project.
If that is true, then it just shows we are of like minds. I would like to be done with it, too.
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Forest Pasture
I got out and about yesterday afternoon for the first time in days. Cyndie was away and I had charge of animal care. Near the middle of the occasionally sunny day, after an impromptu nap, I set out with Delilah to walk her around the property.
We did the usual perimeter trek at a leisurely pace, returning to the point we had started from near the house. Delilah was ready to rush back indoors, but I wanted more. I dropped off my extra shirt, because it was more than I needed, and took Delilah down to the pasture so I could spend some time with the horses.
They didn’t disappoint me. The herd approached us instantly and we mingled and lingered together for a long time. I unhooked Delilah’s leash and let her romp, as I wandered around the back pasture to see what changes may have transpired since my last time out.
Cyndie had done a lot of work in the round pen, and there was evidence of greater runoff from recent thunderstorms than I was aware. The ground continues to be the wetter than makes sense to me for this time of year. I sure hope it makes the trees happy and helps them get through the winter in peak health!
I strolled down to the portion of our back pasture where we have preserved an area of tree growth. With the usual thick foliage gone for the season, I could better see how much horse activity goes on among the trees. The herd followed close behind, with Cayenne roaming right into the thick of it to show me how she seeks out the best bites that grow in hard to reach places.
If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was seeing a moose munching away in there.
No wonder we are having such a difficult time getting our horses to lose a little weight, with the abundant food sources available in the areas we allow them to graze.
We are probably a little more lenient this time of year, however, knowing that very soon the green growth will be gone and buried for a long few months under plenty of ice and snow.
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Relative Something 