Winter Ramblings

First snow of this winter and they couldn't wait to go outside an play in the snow! They had new snow shovels and were so excited but with about 1/4 inch of snow the shovels didn't work very well. It was quite cold and after half an hour they were ready to go back inside. We will just have to wait until we get some more snow! They had new snow boots and everything! They were disappointed, but I'm sure we will get at least a few inches of snow before April!

The horses are having lunch. Most days I am not home during the day to give them an extra bit of hay, but they sure enjoy it when I can do that! The building and the mess in the background belong to a neighbor. This sits right along our driveway, so have to see this daily but at least in the summer there are leaves on the trees to at least screen it from the house. They are making bio-diesel from used cooking oil that is collected from area restauants. Quite an oder in hot weater!

Last Saturday, E thought we should start spreading the manure pile on the hay field. We have an old antique manure spreader that is ground driven, meaning it unloads the manure with a chain that is turned as the wheels on the spreader are moving. It doesn't attach to the PTO of the tractor. Also it is small so doesn't hold very much. I used it years ago, pulled by a lawn tractor and it worked perfectly and was just the right size for that time. Now it could be a bigger size and the job wouldn't take as long. But it is better than using a shovel and a trailer, and I've done it that way too!