Easter Weekend project #1

The farmhands from Rockford came for a visit over Easter weekend. Our goal had been to get the garden in, but IT WON'T STOP RAINING! The ground is a muddy mess and can't be plowed right now. So we got to work on some other big projects - and many hands made for light work.

The first project was clearing out a fence row.

Here are the "Before" pictures:

"You mean there's a fence in there?" Yes brother, there is!

The dogs were going to help too.Farmer John worked with the chainsaw to cut out the bigger shrubs and trees. My mom and I used clippers to clear some of the smaller shrubs. Then it all got drug down the hill to make a pile of brush. Here's the view from the brush pile looking up to the fenceline. We all made a lot of trips up and down that hill!And the cows kept an eye on everything. There was some bloodshed. There were a LOT of briars along that fencerow. Wow! That's a nice brush pile you've got guys!After we'd cleared most of the big trees and shrubs out, Farmer John used the "Brush Hog" to mow everything down. "Brush Hog" was not a word I even knew before moving to the farm - let alone knew how to use as a noun and a verb! A "Brush Hog" is an attachment for the tractor, it has large heavy-duty blades that chop up everything in it's path. It's like a mega lawnmower that can deal with shrubs and brush without any problem. It's pretty cool!

Did I mention how it's been raining non-stop? Because of that, the ground is saturated, which makes it tricky to drive a tractor on the side of the hill. Farmer John "brush-hogged" as much as he could without sliding down the hill, but there will still be some to finish up once the ground dries.

And now (drum roll please!) the "After" pictures:

Doesn't that look SO much better??!The cows approve. And so does Farmer John.

Thanks to the Rockford Farmhands we completed a BIG project in just a short afternoon!