More Track Work

I had to do it...I called in the big guns. 

I had Corey come back with his superior tractor and york rake to do the job Reputa and my toy rake couldn't.  After showing him what I wanted, we both thought we were looking at a couple hours raking up vines and roots, then he was going to start digging post holes for me.  Well, the bittersweet and Virgina Creeper had other plans.

It's not surprising I couldn't tackle them with a garden tractor, now is it?  And look at the vines wound up in the rake! 

After his six hours of raking and probably 25 trips into the woods with equal sized loads of vines and roots, I still have some work to do. 

It's probably safe to let the mules out on this now, because the roots and vines have at least been snapped so they're not a tripping hazard like they were, but I'd like to get in there and chew up what I can with my mower. 

It's really coming together, though.  I love the area beneath the oaks, it's so peaceful and inviting with the shade.  I think the boys are going to really love this!

Track Work

I've been trying to get a little bit of work done on the track each day.  So far, it's been yet another exercise in frustration.  I thought I could use my little york rake to clean up some of the debris left behind, but it's much too light and no matter how I set the depth, it just lifts over anything I manage to rake.  Also, the bittersweet and Virginia creeper vines get all entangled around the teeth, and it takes forever to clear it.  I've changed my strategy and started hand picking the bigger objects; rocks, sticks, parts of logs, etc.  Once I get a section picked up I then run my mower at half height for a while, go back and pull any large vines or pick up any leftover large chunks of branch, then lower the mower to the almost lowest height and drive around for twenty minutes chewing stuff up even more.  It's hard to see the difference, but trust me, it's a huge improvement.

Pre-mowing

Post mowing

It's easier to see the difference in the photo below; the area in the back has been twice mowed, the area in the foreground is untouched.

It's slow going, but I want as much temptation gone before I let the boys out on it.  I also want to be sure to leave a mower's width on the outside of the fence so I can keep it cleared.  I have some pressure treated posts and no climb horse fence ready to put up as soon as possible. 

And Fargo knows what's up - when I'm down there working he'll stand at the fence and bang on it with his foot as if to say, "Hurry up, Ma!".  He's nobody's fool, that mule.

Garden Woes

I was watering the garden the other day and was shocked to discover one of my tomato plants that had been gloriously healthy the day before was suddenly bereft of leaves. 

A quick inspection of the other five tomato plants confirmed my suspicion: I was under siege from the dreaded Tomato Hornworm. 

the monster in my garden

Hornworms are horrible pests and if not dealt with immediately they can quickly devastate your tomato plants.  They will not only eat leaves, but love to snack on the fruit as well.

The most common clue one will observe when Hornworms are about is the droppings of the offending creatures, which are quite large.  Fresh droppings are the green of newly digested leaves, and as the poopies dry they become black. 

If you see the droppings, look for the freshest ones and follow a line up the plant, and you'll usually find the Hornworm.  They can be difficult to see at times since they blend in so well with the plants, but then you see one that's five inches long and an a half inch in girth and wonder how the hell you ever missed that creepy thing! 

The worst part of this onslaught is that I have just learned, though unfortunate experience, that tomatoes aren't the only plant on the Hornworm's list of favorites.  It seems they also enjoy stripping pepper plants.

Note the old Hornworm poop on the pepper...gross.

The easiest way to get rid of these nasties is to pull them off and squish them underfoot.  The neon green fluids that burst out are quite surprising at first, but you get used to it.  I've heard there are dusts you can use, but I'm not big on pesticides.  I've also heard diatomaceous earth can be a deterrent.  After all the hard work I put into my gardens, the pop under my size 10 shoe is much more satisfying.

Also satisfying is my onion success.  Here I thought a late planting was going to render a dismal first crop, but the onions are coming along great.  I'll definitely continue to plant these in the future.

And an update on my grass patch in front of the barn - it's growing, albeit slowly.  I didn't do a great job spreading it by hand, so I think I should buy another bag of seed and do a second seeding. 

Note the weeds growing like crazy in the driveway...Mother Nature thumbing her nose at me.

The Track - Phase One

I've wanted for years to build a proper track system for the mules.  No, not a race track.  Track systems toss the notion of large, open pastures or small, square paddocks out the window in favor of long, meandering alleys that promote movement and provide enrichment.  The idea comes from something known as Paddock Paradise, and is supposed to be a real game changer for equines like Flea, who can't be let out to graze. 

Flea suffers from PPID, which in the past was known as Equine Cushing's Disease.  He also suffers from Insulin Resistance, which causes debilitating pain in his feet when uncontrolled, and can cause the hooves to literally fall apart.  The PPID is mostly controlled with medication, the IR is controlled through low starch/low sugar diet, proper hoof trimming, exercise, and medication, and grazing is a big no-no until things are under control.  Some equines never return to grazing, some can graze in short, regulated blocks, and some can only graze using a muzzle that prevents them from ingesting too much grass at one time. For the past two and half years Flea's condition has been a roller coaster ride of 'doing so well' to 'he can barely walk'.  Since we moved from the old house, the mules have been confined to small dry lots; paddocks with zero grass.  The areas are big enough that they can move around, and Fargo can get a pretty good tight gallop going, but they can't really stretch out and move. 

My hope is to start the new track at the existing paddock and build it around the edge of the pasture.  I'm counting on this giving them the incentive to move more instead of hide in the barn all day.  It's been hot, and I purposely situated the barn to make the most of the winter sun.  Unfortunately that means the summer sun is relentless and there's little to no shade in their paddock.  I have two fans constantly going inside the barn to provide them with a bit of a breeze, and the bug curtains across the run-in door keep the horseflies at bay, so they spend a lot of time inside.  The track will meander down through some large trees, and that will provide shade outside the barn.  I'll leave hay nets at different stations to encourage them to travel for their food, and as I'm able I'll add different patches of footing to help naturally wear their hooves.

The first step to this project is to decide where to put the track.  In my case, the edges of the pasture, which had become horribly overgrown.  Since I'll need to get rid of any tempting greens, mowing the brush and then turning the dirt over makes the most sense, versus tearing up valuable established pasture.  I hope that some day Flea can go out on pasture again, so the plan is to retain the grazing area in the center and allow the mules to graze small portions of it.  This is known as strip grazing, and helps to prevent overgrazing.  I was able to hire a local property maintenance contractor to bush hog the pasture edges.  He arrived yesterday, and in three and a half hours the pasture was transformed.  The lighter areas in the photos are the newly mowed areas. 

I swear just cutting that mess added an acre to the pasture!

As an added bonus, I had him mow the small area on the other side of the house that used to be a tiny paddock.  My mother is hoping to utilize this area once she gets it cleaned up.  I can't remember the last time this part of the property was actually opened up!  You can see how overgrown it was; that's an old fence post in the center of the photo that was completely hidden from view before mowing.

The next step is to use the york rake to tear up the ground in the area for the track to get rid of any plants or grass.  I'll start with my little rake, but the contractor will be back soon with his larger, more powerful rake to do the brunt of the work.  I'm very excited to start this project, and hope I can get a small section of track in use before too long. 

Garden Goodness

Though my radishes were less than edible this year (so weird, so woody), and my peas went downhill fast, the rest of the garden is doing great.  After the last round of torrential rain that lasted nearly 3 days, everything just exploded.  I can't keep up with the lettuce, the cucumbers are beginning to vine like crazy, and the celery is amazing.  The squash plants doubled in size; I've already picked one zucchini and three summer squash. Scallions are textbook perfect and the onions are actually beginning to bulb.  Although I'm still patiently waiting for cauliflower heads to form, the broccoli has finally come to.  Green peppers are going nuts and the Fresno chilis are doing well.  The beefsteak tomatoes are massive and I think it's the first time in many years I haven't had blossom end rot.  I transplanted the strawberries into the empty bed and the herbs are gorgeous.  So...yeah.  Very pleased with everything so far. 

The other garden?  Welllllllll...that's a story for another day. 

Actually, that's a project that probably won't happen until fall.

Ugh, weed city.

Happiness is...

...a full hay room. 

399 bales (1 bale didn't pass muster) plus around 25 bales left over from last year.  So much hay that some of it had to be moved into Flea's stall, which has been closed off and is now my hay bag filling station.  Things are pretty darned tight in my little barn, but I'm prepared for another year, and that feels good.

I also had 5 yards of topsoil delivered, which I spread out in front of the barn. 

The next day I spread a little well aged manure over the top, laid down some grass seed, and covered that with the sweepings off the hay truck.  Let nothing go to waste!

Of course, going to waste is a subjective term; Fargo firmly believes spreading good hay where he can't reach it is a colossal waste.