Storm weathered

8" of new snow and a day later...

Waiting on the tractor

The sun was out, and the roads out to the farm were semi-passable - if you had 4-wheel drive, enough horsepower, and ample clearance to bust through the drifts without high-centering, cause the plows sure hadn't been through! - although the temps were discouragingly low. Shiny clean new snow isn't terrible, I guess.

The ponies bounced around doing the "horrors! it's a tractor-dance" while T pushed the bale forward - chasing one another in loops, bucking and kicking for no apparent reason and generally being super silly. I expect they were glad it wasn't snowing any longer, either!


(Please be kind and ignore the nasty sagging woven fence in the background - there is a line of electric up to keep them out of it, and that whole section is on the "spring-fix" agenda.)

I know, that doesn't look like 8" of snow, and actually it's not - there. The lot is in a nice little hollow, and combined with that treegrove it keeps the snow amounts way down when the wind's out of the northwest. Saturday morning the wind was out of the southeast - never a good direction as it's the one angle they don't have anything to stand behind, so I was really glad to see it switch later in the day, even if it meant colder air was moving in.

But I waded through some lovely (deep) drifts to get the gate open for the T & tractor, so I can tell you exactly where some of the snow that isn't in the lot went!

Farm watch weekend

On the good news end of things at the farm, the tractor was back up and running last Tuesday, which meant no more hauling small bales and that G's cows could move back out where they belong, ending the livestock juggling act he'd been doing to make sure everything had access to feed and water. The ponies are very content with their new bale.

We fed critters for friends this weekend. Cows, horses, dog, cats. It's a much more pleasant task in the summer, although I don't mind doing it at any season.

But winter means bale-moving. And Friday night dealing with the often tractor turned what should have taken 45 minutes into a three hour marathon.

The entertainment started Friday a.m. at O-dark:thirty when, after we finally got it to crank, the power steering was frozen up. Since we needed it to actually TURN, that didn't bode well. At well below zero and still dark, I lobbied for trying again in the afternoon - the cows were okay, plenty of water and enough bale remains to scavenge for the day. And the weatherman said it we were going to have a heatwave - relatively speaking - nearly 20'.

At 4 p.m. and 17', the power-steering was cooperative, but it was too soon to celebrate. Unfortunately, the hydraulics weren't. No three-bar lift, no claw. Nothing doing. We let it run to see if maybe warming it up would help. Finally, after two hours in the cold monkeying with one thing after another - we could hear the pump trying - it finally whined slowly into action. Sluggish, but a start - the diagnosis? Low on hydraulic fluid, although it wasn't showing as low. Probably some water in the lines somewhere, but at least it was working.

Of course, by that time it was dark. The tractor doesn't have lights, and the bales are 1/2 mile down the road aligned along the fence in the hay field. The drive to which is completely drifted in.

I gave T my headlamp and waited by the cattle pasture gate with the big Maglite stuck in my sleeve and my hands buried under my arms, hopping up and down periodically to keep warm. At least the moon was nice and bright.

Looking down the hill I could see the shadow of the tractor, tiny light atop it blinking in and out of view as T checked for tracks to follow. Turning off the road... coming to a sudden stop, engine revving, and then a lovely streamer of sparks heading skyward. Ummm... bad word, bad word, did the engine just blow? No, I can still hear it running, say a prayer or two and cross my fingers, hop up and down some more... Hooray! It seems to be moving again.... Half an hour later he chugged back up the hill with a bale on both ends, trailed by a line of cows along the fence. The ladies were hungry!

They barely let us get a bale dropped and the strings cut before they were attacking it.

The horses were just as eager to dig into their new bale the next morning.

It being daylight (and slightly warmer), it was a lot easier to navigate.

Happy Valentine's Day

Guess what we got? More snow and lots of wind...
The howling outside had the cats freaking out. But at least there was some sun, and with enough layers it even felt sort of warm. Or at least not too terrible if you could manage to stay out of the wind.

When we got to the farm the driveway was drifted in badly enough that even 4-wheel wasn't going to get us up the driveway. We hiked up. I headed out to hay the horses. G was hooking up the trailer to deliver a load of sheep, so T hopped in the tractor to get the drive cleared.

Which, of course, had to be just a tiny bit exciting.See the trailer? It was sitting half into the ditch. The driveway's glassy-ice under the snow. G turned and the trailer just started sliding. The pick-up's white, so you can't really see it, but I think it may have a new dent or two from the mailbox.

The horses found the un-sticking process must-see TV. Me? I stayed busy with the hay. It was much more entertaining from a distance - LOL! They eventually unhitched the truck and used the tractor to push the trailer back on to the road, and G headed out. I fussed with the horses and played with the dog while T finished cleaning up the driveway.

My camera has decided to do weird things in the cold. See the lower right edge of the middle picture up above where it looks sort of spliced? Well I didn't Photoshop it - and I also ended up with this one. Both of them look perfect in the previews, but when I open them...
Not sure what's up with that. Hopefully something a change of batteries and/or a new disc will fix.

Sunday wrap-up

The tractor's issue - one of them at least - turned out to be needing the clutch bled. The horses have their bale.

And the weekend didn't completely revolve around sheep. I picked up a mineral tub for the horses. They always have a mineral block, but they've been hanging over the fence to gnaw bark. Since they're all round and not squabbling over the hay at feeding time, I'm guessing they're not getting something nutrient-wise from the hay that they need.

After much label reading, the one I picked up is intended for horses getting hay, but not grain. (It has some other attractive qualities, too, but darned if I can recall exactly what they were without the label in front of me.

At any rate, the horses were thrilled.

Star discovered it immediately and left the first teeth marks, but at one time or another they were all nibbling at it. They also upped their water intake - another plus. For now the tub's located up by the waterer, so if they're locked out of water while G fills corn buckets for the sheep we don't have to worry about them eating at it and then not getting in to drink.

I also removed windtangles and checked the geldings' sheathes for stud crud. Too cold to actually do a cleaning, but maybe next weekend. They're also due to be wormed, but I didn't want to introduce the mineral tub and worm both the same weekend, and since I remembered the wrong wormer when I picked it up.... Next weekend for that.

This afternoon we took Aiysha back. I'll miss her furry little body keeping my feet warm tonight.

And discovered that the cows had pushed through one of the upper gates and followed the tractor tracks down to the hay storage area. They were happy enough to be herded back where they belonged, though.



So the weekend started and ended with escapees - none of them equine, thank goodness. Fingers crossed that trend continues.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend, too!

Sunday

The lamb this morning...


We weren't expecting much - honestly, lethargic as it was when we brought it in, neither of us expected it to be alive this morning. But not only was it still alive, but hungry - and vocal about it.

No more lambs, and feeding went smoothly. Except for the tractor. With the battery holding a charge and the oil warm... it still won't move. There's water in the hydraulic lines, and it's frozen. We'll be hauling hay to the horses the hard way this afternoon.

How to get a round bale moved*...

When I first moved to South Dakota almost 11 years ago I was newly out of grad school and looking forward to living somewhere for longer than 2 years. I wanted a place of my own and a horse, a barn, a couple of cats to chase mice, and a dog or so for company and feet warming.

Nine years later
I'd accomplished...

the horse part.

Sunny has always lived on the farm where he was born. I initially bought Sunny from J with the expectation of paying pasture rent until I found a place, but one thing led to another. I ended up earning his keep at the farm with vaccinations, worming, halter-training lessons for the babies, fence fixing, and various other horse chores.

J loves her horses - but she'd be the first to admit that she's more comfortable looking at them than looking after them. She's still working on the confidence it takes to handle them through the mundane stuff, but she's getting there.

Summers, the horses have good pasture and don't require daily feeding. In the winter, feeding duty has always fallen to J's husband. G handles the farmer duties on the farm. But his interests are more with cloven-hooved critters that go "BAaaaaaa" and "Mooo."

G's take on equines: Horses eat grass that sheep and cows could eat. They require different fences, different hay, you can't eat them, and they're demanding (hoof-trimming, vaccinations, worming, halter training, weaning, good grief!). They also don't sell very well when you want fewer of them.

But in spite of his preference for more marketable livestock, G's generally been a good sport about the additional work the horses require. He's always moved bales and dumped grain into feeders as necessary, leaving the remainder of the horse-related activities to J and me.

I'm ashamed to say,
I don't know how to run the tractor.
(But I fully intend to learn
When we find our own place
and there's one to be run.)

The big round bales have, therefore, always been hostage to G and his schedule. I can grain, but in the winter, horses need hay. Lots of hay. And they haven't always had it quite as promptly as a (fussy horse) person would like.

Nine years ago I met my now-husband. T grew up on a farm in Kansas, doesn't mind dirt and getting dirty. He knows how to put up a (horse) fence.

And not only can he operate a tractor, he likes to.

T didn't have horses growing up, but his friends did. He even rides. After he'd been out to the farm a few times, J, who also liked him, decided she'd help me keep him around.

She gave him a horse.
Don't you just love it
when your friends look out for you?

Of course there were a few strings attached to the deal. But since he was already acquiring one horse-loving woman (and her horse) marrying me, I've at least provided him with tractor-access to go along with his one-horse-power ride.

And now,
I can get those round bales moved
when & where I need them.
Although sometimes, it does
require a little bribery.

[*Regarding the title: How to get a round bale moved - I didn't say it was the BEST way to get a round bale moved, now did I?]