Wednesday, September 15

Making a flat place

For years we have been buying hay in the fall for use in the winter. If we buy a whole trailer load of around 200 bales, we save money. But storing that much hay has been a problem since we were doing it on pallets covered with a large tarpaulin. Mice, rabbits, and even frogs take residence in the hay making it a bit less palatable to the horses, I’m sure. (The frogs like the little rainwater puddles that form in the folds of the tarp.)

Yesterday Luke laid out a new area for a couple of large storage containers that we plan to buy. Using a rented Bobcat, he shoved dirt and rocks around while I manned the nozzle on the end of 400 feet (122 meters) of garden hose I had laid out the day before to control dust and perhaps soften the dirt/clay/rock soil mixture. One part of the project that took the longest was extricating a rock that eventually came out after a couple of hours’ work. What was left of it was almost as big as a washing machine.

Anytime we want to put up a structure we have to make a level place for it. On our entire two-mile-long piece of property there are maybe five or six natural level places, each the size of a postage stamp. Our new level spot is the size of 103,680 stamps! It could hold quite a stamp collection, but will have to settle for a couple of hay-filled aluminum freight containers instead.

5 comments:

HHhorses said...

Yay, a new flat place! How fun! Too bad about the trailer and rattlesnake story that followed.

Tom Hurley said...

Yeah, the story that followed. On the way back to the rental place, the Bobcat’s trailer broke. Luke drove the Bobcat off and parked it so he could fix the trailer. He shooed away a four-foot rattlesnake, who rattled back at him. Then the snake decided to slither onto the Bobcat! Luke had no choice but to put it out of its misery. Sad—we kind of like rattlers. Luke doesn’t, but felt a teensy bit sorry for it. Or at least that’s what he said. He’s forgiven, given the circumstances.

Susan Hurley-Luke said...

Eek! I'm glad Luke is safe.

Nice flat space you got there, too.

Pete S. said...

I too believe in a flat earth.

Tom Hurley said...

Pete S—Imagine the time and money saved if the earth was flat. But it would make the Caterpillar Company irrelevant, what with the non-need of bulldozers.