I finally finished the honey equipment clean up today. The bees had licked all the honey they could get off the various tubs, buckets and extractor so I wasn't in danger of being attacked when I went to collect them. Took em to the local car wash and cleaned em good then put them away for Winter.
Another season has now come to a close. Only thing left to do with the bees now is put on the insulated wraps some cold day in early November.
We went from being 20 inches over in rain for the year in July to being 3 inches under normal today. It seems anymore nature has removed the fine tuning adjustment controls and only has an off and on switch. Either it rains all the time or none at all. We haven't had anything more than a couple of drops in two months now.
The ground is so dry and hard it is almost impossible to bust through it with the post hole digger even.
So I decided to blade out the barn and test out the old Oliver manure spreader. After getting all the sheep poop, used hay and fine dust remains of whatever else bladed up into a pile I went around lubing up the old manure spreader and sprayed some oil on all the old chains.
I noticed while we were loading and unloading her from the trailer that she squeaked a lot but after a good lubing and grease gunning she barely made a sound except for the mechanical clicking of her drive chains and ground wheels.
I say the maiden voyage but this old gal has been used before of course. The last time she was out of her spot in that shed was almost 20 years ago it is said.
Until today I had been using the wheel barrow to take all the barn waste out and dumping it in various compost piles or putting it directly on the garden. However I am not as attached to wheel barrows as my friend over at Sunny Brook Farm and no where near his Herculaneous feats with one either. Not to mention most of the compost spots are full to the brim these days especially with no rain to help break them down. So now I have the option of spreading the sheep and chicken infused barn waste out into the hay fields when/if I wish.
Someday when I am back to two working tractors again I should also be able to just dump the barn waste directly into the manure spreader. Right now the best I can do is blade and shovel though.
Still it's progress.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!!
My fleet of wheel barrows makes the world go round here. I got the Ferguson running yesterday and cleared the garden today and plan on plowing tomorrow so I am back in the tractor seat again.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather had an old wooden manure spreader that was horse drawn but he cut the tongue off and pulled it with a tractor. I remember spreading chicken manure when I was real little, I think I got to sit on the spreader. A while later the grass turned real green where we had gone over the pasture, strange how you can remember stuff like that 50 years or more ago. He had like a 52 tricycle Case tractor.
Sf - That's great news about the Fergy!!! Gratz.
DeleteI have an old John Deere L model series 51 spreader in the ram's paddock that I always said I was going to restore. All her gears and chains work but the wood sides and bottom are gone. Then I was offered this Oliver for 300 bucks. I really don't have the time to restore a manure spreader right now anyway. I have actually had offers on that old JD spreader so I will more than likely sell it to someone for a yard ornament.
Those old case tractors had some nice lines on them.
I haven't used the new 2 wheel, wheel barrel, since I got the tractor with a loader. A good thing, because I never could figure out how to use a shovel. :-)
ReplyDeleteMV - Well there are still places I can't get to even if I had a front bucket. So far the rear bucket is working for me but I need to make a raised area to back it up on for dumping in the manure spreader. Too bad the back lift won't go up far enough.
DeleteHe does have some impressive wheel barrow skills. I am afraid I also resort to the barrow but it is hard work and I don't move add much compost and manure as I should as a result.
ReplyDeleteLisa - No doubt he is the king of wheel barrow skills!!!!
DeleteI should clean the barn out more than I do but now I have more incentive and such.