Posts Tagged ‘thawing’
Thawing Happening
The most significant sign that we are making progress on breaking loose from the icy grip of winter is that I was able to wrench the large barn doors free and slide them open yesterday afternoon. That’s just in time for the next delivery of feed bags scheduled for today.
I bet I’ve taken this picture many times over the years, but it always fascinates me when the ground thaw process causes rocks to drop away from the surface. Later, when everything is equally thawed, the moss will be back to flush against the rocks.
I watch it happen every year, and I still don’t completely grasp how it works.
The footing is very treacherous in the woods where the blanket of leaves is thawing, causing each footstep to slide upon the slurry of mud on the still-frozen ground below. That layer between the leaves and frozen ground acts like ball bearings.
When I walk in the paddocks, I strive to place my boots where the surface looks like it will support my weight. If I make enough trips back and forth, I can pave a smooth path. At the same time, any ground that is thawed where a horse places a hoof becomes a deep crater. A 1,300-pound body can sink its feet more than half a foot into the soil.
However, if they decide to lie down, they can pack the surface smooth over a wide area. I found four spots where Mix had lain down and left behind a significant mat of shed hair. I gotta believe the other horses are doing the same, but their hair is harder to spot unless there’s a lot of it.
They are all taking advantage of rolling to scratch their itches as the winter coat is beginning to shed.
When the mud stays on their coat and clumps their hair together, we try to brush them out. Cyndie was able to do a cursory pass over three of them while they ate their morning feed, but Mix was very expressive about not wanting to be touched.
Cyndie leaves today for a couple of weeks to visit her mom in Florida, so grooming may not happen until she returns. I’ve never enjoyed much success in enlisting their cooperation when I’ve tried brushing them out. Luckily, Maddy will be here on Friday with the farrier, and I’ve seen her accomplish great things when brushing the mares.
Of course, there is a chance of rain on Friday, so any mud they’ve rolled in won’t be dry for brushing if that happens.
.
.
Eventual Success
We finally got the break in our weather that allowed us to deal with all the leaves on the front lawn yesterday. How many weeks have I been whining about this issue?
You don’t have to answer that. It was a rhetorical question.
I am well aware of how long this dilemma has been dragging on. I have been looking at it every day since the big oak tree over the driveway suddenly let go of more leaves all at once than in all the previous years that we’ve lived here.
It was a big year for acorns, so maybe the two things are related. The tree put so much energy into growing acorns that it let go of the leaves in greater volume than usual? Yeah, that’s stated as a question. I have no actual knowledge on the subject.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
We had some help on the project yesterday. The chickens were very interested in all this scratchin’ that was going on and came up to check things out. If I wasn’t working fast enough for them, they would step into the leaves and start clawing away themselves to get at the goods.
It looked to me as though they just peck at the ground after invisible nothings, but pausing to crouch down and get up close and personal with one of the Australorps, I was surprised to see it pick up a big fat green caterpillar that I had no idea was there.
I sure hope all the pecking they are doing is reducing the tick and fly population that would otherwise emerge to trouble us next spring. The current brood of nine are covering a surprising range of territory with impressive thoroughness, based on the cute little scratching circles they leave behind throughout our forest floor.
The weather finally warmed above freezing enough that the ground surface was just pliable enough to give up the leaves, but the annoying push-up tunnels of moles and voles were still solid. It made for some all-terrain raking complications.
Unfortunately, some precipitation moved in with the warmth, so after we barely finished with the front yard, it started to rain. Now the ground is frozen beneath a thin slippery wet layer to give us something else to chirp about.
Will I ever be content with the way things are? Eventually.
Beyond the surface of petty complaints I am so deft at plying, I am more content than ever. Just yesterday I was pointing out how much simple joy the chickens bring every day. I had no idea how much pleasure they would provide.
Regarding the art of reframing all my petty whining, I am visualizing eventual success.
.
.
Soft Ground
Nature didn’t live up to what the forecasters had predicted for us on Sunday. The temperature struggled to approach 50° (F) and the sky never really cleared enough to allow the sun to make much difference. Despite the less-than-inspiring conditions, Cyndie and I rallied our energies to pull out the wood chipper for another round of chewing up brush piles.
Since we are in the wonderful season when the top layer of soil is freezing and thawing daily, I had hoped to park the tractor on the driveway again, near the next largest pile of branches. Unfortunately, that meant the chute would be pointed directly into the wind and everything coming out would blow right back at the tractor.
Plan B had me moving a short distance off the pavement so we could point in a direction where the wind wouldn’t be a problem. Things progressed swimmingly until I apparently tossed in a limb that too closely resembled the petrified oak branches that foiled our efforts last time out.
I instantly realized I had completely forgotten to shop for more robust shear bolts after the previous go-round when the hardware replacement broke as fast as I installed it. Details, details.
I think I’ll remember to buy new bolts this time, especially if I do it on the way home from work today. No time like the present.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Relative Something 