09/16/2008 Tuesday: Hot today. Of course we think anything over 80 degrees is way too hot.
When I went to feed the chickens their cracked corn what did I see but two newly hatched chicks. We'll see if they survive. I have no idea if the mother hen has ever raised babies before. If they do survive, chances are one or more of them is a rooster. Quite delightful as it/they will become dinner one day in the future. If hens, both will become egg layers.
Right after breakfast and a short rest I took the wooden gate I'd removed from the green barn and brought to the middle stall on the trailer and installed it. I hammered in some fencing staples, put the gate outside the doorway and, using the farmer's handy tool, binding twine, tied the gate to the side of the barn.
The stall that the Dexters like to lie in is just filthy and very wet. I need to clean it out and lay in some wood chips. In the process of clearing the doorway to the stall with my pitchfork I also tossed some rocks over the fence to get them out of the way. They'd been a PITA for quite some time.
Maybe tomorrow I can scrape away the built-up manure and hay and spread it out on the Dexter's winter pasture. Plus I can also clean out that stall.
Deana and I both painted today. I painted most of the tool shed by the garden. I started with the east side, did the west side and then finished the south side. I also painted around the inside where the door closes but did not get the door finished. The siding we have on the house requires a lot of brushing in the cavities between what is supposed to look like panels.
Deana put primer on the south side of the L and on the east side. She also started to put primer on the south side of the main section of the house. It was really hot work. We're trying to get as much of the outside done as possible before the rains come this weekend. After I get the door of the tool shed painted I'm going to help Deana on the house. I'm sure she can find something for me to do - maybe put primer on the roof of the upper deck (east side).
Mike H came with the tractor and with the new forks for me to use to pick up round bales without having to use a chain to keep it on the tractor bucket. The idea was to be able to slip the forks under the bale and easily lift it up and carry it to the feeder. Unfortunately when I went to pick up the first bale the tool fell apart. It broke into three pieces. Mike hadn't tested it against a real bale of hay; he did tell me that with the high carbon steel forks made from car springs (no that's not the word) that the tool might not stay welded.
Sooooo, Chas and I used the bucket and a chain to put a round bale in the Dexter feeder and one in the Hereford feeder. I am so happy to be able to feed round bales again. The Dexters came right over once I'd finished unwrapping the bale and started chowing down. When I called the Herefords who were in S5 right nearly at the end of the property ("Moo Cow", they came running, Myrtle in the lead. They all investigated the hay but didn't seem very excited since there's still some grass left - but not much. In a few minutes they did begin eating the hay.
When I called Mike to tell him the bad news he just shrugged and said that he'd try something else. That's fine with me. He did fix the bucket which is a good thing. It doesn't sag in the center any more. It's well reinforced with 1/4 inch channel steel along its whole length.
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