Posts Tagged ‘images’
Oh Brother
It has been six weeks that I have worked full-time at home in my new role as ranch manager. For me, that is a lot of work days with no one to talk to other than our animals. Yesterday, I got a break from the solitude when my brother, Elliott, showed up with all his tree climbing rigging gear, offering me a day of his services. Not only did I have someone to talk with, but it was family!
Not only was he offering his assistance, he was providing a priceless service of trimming tree branches that were well out of my reach. In particular, one “widow-maker” that had fractured long ago, but still clung to the base of its branch and swung near the location of the wood shed. That one has been bothering me for a long time.
I had originally tried my own crude methods to toss a line into that branch in hopes of snagging it so I could pull it down. I couldn’t get it to let go, so the branch continued to menacingly dangle there.
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It was an incredible treat to watch my brother work. I had no idea it was possible to toss a line as high into a tree as he did, and successfully drop it down on the other side of a limb. Seeing him pull himself up made my arms tired just watching. Actually, after a while my neck muscles were complaining about how much time I spent with my head tipped back, looking straight up.
When he made it high up into the tree, he rigged two more points of security and then pulled out his saw to begin the cutting. From his new vantage point, he was able to spot dead branches to cut that I hadn’t even noticed from the ground. As he worked, we moved ever closer to the roof of the wood shed that is laying on the ground beneath this tree. To protect it, Elliott tied a rope to the branches about to be cut so they could be lowered in a controlled fashion.
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It is quite a process, and I was very intrigued by it, if not feeling a bit addicted. For the rest of the day after he left, I kept wanting to go back out and do more of that work. While helping to put away his gear, I asked Elliott to teach me how to “braid” the long ropes for storage the way he does. It’s slick because they easily come undone when you are ready to use them.
Being able to do these climbing and rigging skills would be a very handy thing for me, with the number of trees we have. It would require that I do a lot of learning to master tying the knots I need. I have difficulty remembering how to tie a knot soon after I learn it.
I don’t know that I would have the arm strength to do this, though. I have a permanently separated shoulder that means I have no skeletal strut supporting my collar-bone, and that leaves me significantly weaker on my left side.
I’ll just have to rely on the graciousness of my brother to make the trip out with all his gear again someday, to bring down more of the dangling dead branches that loom.
Elliott, I hope I didn’t drive you nuts with my excitement about having someone to pal around with yesterday. I can’t thank you enough for the “workout” you put in here. I am exceedingly grateful to have these branches down! Hope your arms aren’t too stiff today…
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Just Chippin’
I’ve been getting in some hours on the chipper, working on clearing a path for the real fence that will be installed around our grazing pasture. The PTO-powered chipper is working really well for me. I did run into one situation where it was kicking out dust that almost looked like smoke. It took me longer than it should have to recognize what was going on. The exit chute was plugged. It was pulverizing the wood fed into it, because it couldn’t go anywhere else.
Our neighbor said we should use the wood chips for ground cover in our paddocks. That would require a LOT of tree branches to produce what we would need. The idea has some merit, though.
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Goodbye
(This is not a reflection of any loss from our brood, but was inspired by the passing of a neighbor…)
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Words on Images
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Horse Joy
John and Cyndie playing with horses; two pictures that I did not take. Thank you to Julie Kuberski for the beautiful photo of Cyndie exercising Legacy in our arena space. I realize that I just included a picture I had taken of Cyndie and “Legs” doing this same exercise a couple of days ago, but this image by Julie is just too wonderful to pass up.
The other one, Cyndie took with my new rugged-duty, waterproof camera. I carry it in one of my pockets most of the time, so it gets exposed to a lot of dust and dirt. There is a sacrifice of some image quality, but it gets the job done well enough to tell the story. I am interacting with Cayenne in this shot.
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.Horse wisdom is bringing us great joy.
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More Designing
I recently built a platform outside the back door of the barn for Cyndie’s portable sink. She said she liked it, but that she was also hoping to have a work station for washing horses in that area. On Friday, I worked on a design for a way to provide that, just beyond the sink.
The area will require a fair amount of fill, so I decided it was time to use the loader bucket on the diesel tractor. Moving massive amounts of manure was one of the reasons I figured I needed this tractor, but up until now, we have been managing just fine without it.
Actually, our neighbor, George, was just asking about our manure pile, and happily offered us the use of his manure spreader, as long as we can fill it using the loader on our tractor. That would allow us to spread our fertilizer on the hay-field. His asking created incentive for me to practice my skills using the loader for something other than snow.
It doesn’t come naturally for me. I have better control using hand tools. However, there is no denying the increased efficiency the loader provides. I can move a lot more fertilizer in a lot less time. One of my problems with mechanized assistance is that it also allows me to make a lot bigger mistakes in a shockingly quick blink of an eye.
For now, I am using the mostly composted manure from long ago as clean fill around our property. I moved a few bucket-loads to the spot and now have a sense of space that will be needed. I plan to bury a couple of fence posts to make a hitching rail and build up a platform where the horses will stand. We have some plastic grates that interlock, which we will fill with pea-gravel, and then that will be covered by rubber mats. I expect there will be a layer of plastic beneath the pea-gravel to cause water to drain in the direction we want it to go.
Luckily, Cyndie said she doesn’t expect to be washing horses for a while, so I have time to proceed in phases.
She was able to make use of the new arena space in the afternoon, exercising the horses with a lunge line. It was beautiful to see. The horses responded nicely to the exercise, and moved proudly around her in this new workout space that has been created.
Every day is something new around here. The progress of late has been invigorating for the soul, yet taxing on the body. That end-of-the-day shower is becoming a ritual of renewal and recovery after long days of heavy laboring.
During a brief pause between tasks yesterday afternoon, Cyndie brought out popsicles and invited me to join her on rocking chairs overlooking the back yard. With a cool breeze washing over us, it was a precious (and intentional) opportunity to take a moment to enjoy the richness of blessings we are surrounded by here. They are more than enough justification for the hard work we find ourselves engaged in day-after-day.
Horse Stuff
Here is what the arena space looks like after I hung the polytape fencing. I devised a gate which will allow Cyndie to pull up one post and move it to the side without changing the tension of the tape on any other posts.
Cyndie arrived home early enough to do some grooming of the horses yesterday. She surprised me with a text message that said she was “ten minutes away and bringing Dairy Queen ice cream treats.” What a sweetheart. Am I not the luckiest man alive?
A couple of the horses have been bothered by bug bites, and Cyndie took time with each horse, hooking to their halter with cross ties to keep them standing in one place so she could do a thorough job. 
The horses seemed to really appreciate the attention, willingly cooperating to get into the harness and lead rope for their turn.
After she had brushed them out, she applied a chemical fly repellant in hopes of giving them a break from the constant pestering, followed by a reward-treat to thank them for tolerating the funny smell. I was amazed that each horse didn’t just walk out into the paddock and roll in the dusty dirt afterwards, especially Hunter. He is notorious for getting himself covered from head to hoof.
Actually, he has been spending extra time when he does lay down, wriggling around to scratch himself against the ground, sending clear signals that the insects were bugging him.
I captured a picture of Hunter communing with Delilah (in her lopsided vest), in a rare moment when one or the other weren’t trying to demonstrate their perceived dominance.
In all fairness to each of them, Delilah and the herd have behaved with increasing poise toward each other in the days since I stopped driving across the cities to the day-job. I suppose it is a combination of the extended daily exposure they have been able to have, and the maturation Delilah is developing as she approaches the ripe old age of 2.
I’ll take it. Life is so much more pleasant when everybody is able to get along.
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Finally Chipping
My plan was to get both the tractor and the ATV down the hill to the spot where I’m clearing trees to make space for a new fence that will enclose the back grazing area. I put a bundle of tools in the ATV trailer and drove it down, parking between two existing brush piles. Then I walked back up to get the diesel tractor with the wood chipper mounted on the back.
To my surprise, I found the front right tire was completely flat. That certainly wasn’t in my plan.
I pumped it up and verified the leak was serious enough to need attention. The morning agenda suddenly had a new priority. First order of business would involve getting the wheel off the tractor, no small task when you don’t have the proper tools. Five of the six bolts came loose with a reasonable amount of effort, leaving the one that was obligated not to budge, to keep the project from being too straight forward.
Patience —albeit thin— and fortitude, produced eventual results, leading to the second order of business: I needed to find out where to take the wheel for repair. A call to my neighbor produced a recommended service station in town, but that place turned out to be too busy to help me right away. They offered up an alternative. I called the second option and learned they could take a look at it right away.
Now, I definitely know better than to blindly rely on the results produced by a Google maps search, and I even commented to Cyndie that I was surprised it was that direction out-of-town, but nonetheless, I fell for it without a second thought.
After a pleasant drive to discover the error of my ways, which took me down into a beautiful valley where there is absolutely no cell signal, I turned around and drove back up to high ground so I could call for directions. Sure enough, I should have headed the other direction out-of-town. Ironically, this place is where I recently stopped to inquire about finding someone to bid improving the footing of our paddocks. Two businesses operate out of this one location.
They fixed my tire, patching a hole in the tube, and after I got it remounted on the tractor, I was back to my original plan. The rest of the afternoon involved chainsawing and wood chipping. Everything worked pretty well for the rest of the day. I took down some more trees, and created a pile of wood chips by the labyrinth, to be used as mulch.
Working through the dinner hour, and into the mosquito feeding frenzy of early evening, I cleared some of the nearby trail with the trimmer so I could dump a trailer-load of chips there. While doing that, I came to one of the fallen trees that has been blocking the trail since May. Not anymore. I cut it into logs to be split for firewood.
The flat tire was a hassle, but all’s well that ends well. I got a chance to test my ideas and it looks like things are going to work as well as we hoped. The chipper eats brush as fast as I can feed it and the wood chips look perfect for the trail and mulching around plants in the labyrinth.
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Unnecessarily Helpful
Our dog, Delilah, learned too well to use the kiddie pool to wash up before coming in the house. Now she automatically steps in it whether she needs to or not. When it was muddy, this really was an “every time” necessity. Since it has gotten dryer, there are times when a dip in the pool could be skipped.
It’s a sad thing to get frustrated about, but she creates extra work by getting wet, instead of just walking right inside with me. I’ve gotta drop what I’m carrying, go inside while keeping her out, find a towel, and come back out to get licked all over while I try to dry her off.
It’s frustrating, but how can I be mad at her when she is being so darn cute? Plus, there are days when she’s choosing to use it to cool off, not to get clean. I don’t want to deny her that comfort.
She may not need to be washed, but she looks so proud of herself when she does it, I can’t help but thank her for being so darn helpful.
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Morning Light
After the horses finished their morning feed, they moved out into the hay-field. We are giving them access to the big field for a few days, post baling. That gives the grazing pasture a chance to recover a bit. I liked how they looked in the early morning sunlight, and in the absence of having my camera with me, I pulled out my cell phone to capture the image.
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Relative Something 