"Come here! Come here!" Carrie called.
"What?" I asked as I ran over.
"You can see the baby grass growing! It's in lines!"
Carrie the pasture nerd!
We spent a chunk of change on the project, so it was good to see results. The conditions have been perfect for growing grass.
Meanwhile, all of the equines are locked into their dry lots for the next two months to let the grass grown in. Extra poop to scoop and hay to throw are sure to follow.
Abby has an unusual method for nabbing fresh grass under the fence. She's figured out the bottom wire isn't electrified.
Loki finds it terrifying! He must think Abby is going to crawl out and come get him!
Carrie asked Micayla and she said Abby's been doing it for as long as she's known her (10+ years!).
On the Ernie front, he's graduated to 10-minute hand-walks twice a day and standing wraps instead of bandages. He should be able to go back into the dry lot at the start of November which will lessen the workload.
And with those things going right, it was time for something to go wrong. The coupler on the spreader broke.
I was driving. I don't think I made a crazy turn, but I was turning when I heard the crack. The grass was thick and wet and the hopper was overloaded with extra-heavy, wet poop from the rain, so that could have factored in.
I was half-annoyed and half-glad it happened while I was in the saddle. I'd rather it didn't happen at all, but I react better to annoyances than Carrie....and I got to photograph it all!
I drove the mower back, grabbed some supplies, and rode back in the gator. We have a ton of twine from all the hay bales we burn through, so I put them to use!
I drove slow, steady, and looking backwards as much as forward. I didn't want to drag the arm and make a furrow.
When the poop was emptied out I tightened up the twine some to get the spreader back as I completed the circuit.
Just because you can get away with something once doesn't mean you should make a habit of it. Carrie ordered a replacement coupler ($24 + $12 shipping) right away. I've managed to get two runs out of my twine so far. If it fails, I'll cut it off and retie the apparatus to tide us over until the new coupler arrives!
The coupler broke while Jason and a helper worked on installing the automatic gate opener.
This has been months in the making. Jason was supposed to come out several times earlier. One of his friends dropped off the excavator (after the friend cancelled on Jason a couple of times, Carrie called him to ask about a quote for more gravel dust in our dry lots. The excavator showed up the next time Jason was supposed to come. Coincidence?)
I was working the day of the install (Friday 10/23). Carrie was working, too.....with them!
Jason and his helper had reinforced the gate and installed the equipment, but they were having some trouble with the electronics of the gate. Carrie looked up their problem, told them to unhook the red wire, and then took over the programming!
It worked! Jason's helper went out and attached the keypad Carrie had programmed. "If you don't get back before the gate closes, you're fired!" Jason joked.
We now have an automatic gate. Shane will be happy to be off gate duty!
Carrie put up the sign that's been in our garage for at least half a hear.
She used marking paint to signal people to give the gate room to swing open when they leave, too.
Next, Jason needs to install the backup generator. It was a Black Friday deal and thankfully we haven't needed it while it's sat in the garage (next to the unused snowblower!).
The barn has come a long way in less than a year and a half. I'm happy with the progress and looking forward to a time when things can be status quo for a bit!
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