Just trying to keep up with everything around here. Husband has been working Luke to be fit for Metamora in August. Hard to stay motivated in the humidity! Luke is getting better at the details of extensions, bending and speed control. He will need to be body clipped to help lose body heat as much as possible with his heavy build. He is a good sweater, humidity has him soaked at the end of his drives, puddles on the floor. So he gets hosed off and scraped down. He sure rolls a bunch when they go out for the night!
I have spent a LOT of time weekly, mowing pastures and paddocks to keep them producing well. We decided to cut hay off the biggest pasture, making it unusable for grazing unail the hay was off much later than usual. This has meant a constant rotation of the smaller paddocks to prevent overgrazing. The rain has helped keep the grasses growing, so they also needed weekly mowing to stay under control. Funny how the more you mow high, the better they grow! Horses are fat and shiny on the grazing.
The regular rains did prevent getting hay in early, not enough dry days (3 to 4) to get the cut hay dried for baling. We were finally able to cut and bale hayfields before the 4th. Got the big pasture cut and baled, on the wagons last Tuesday. Wagons are under cover, breezes helping them dry some more. The guys will come Sunday to unload bales into the barns. I have cleaned up both the hay fields and big pasture so I can let horses back on it tonight. I expect they will enjoy the bigger area, new space to act silly running around. Hoping the rain actually happens today to kick start the pasture grasses growing again. We did well on the bale count and should have 2nd cutting coming around Labor Day, gIving us extra. The guys stacking off the wagons into the barns are good workers, did a nice job.
Husband has been tinkering with his carriage for marathon. It is an older Bennington 4-wheeler. He has added a spring seat to cushion the ride. There were some rubbing issues, so he had me sit on it to bounce it up and down so he could pinpoint the rubs. The noises were like comedy loud farts!! I told him that would certainly have all the spectators watching him in the Hazards!! I was laughing so much I had a hard time stepping down! He laughed as well, said it was back to the shop to fix them. His drive today will see if the fix-its stay working. Or if any less noisy noisy sounds can finally be heard and fixed.
We got in a Club drive at the Park before cutting hay. Such a beautiful day, perfect for driving. Upper 70Fs, not humid, good breeze, no flies! Luke enjoyed the new scenery, met hikers and bikers quietly. We then ate the potluck lunch, talked a lot, catching up. Then out again for another drive. He was well behaved, happy with his hay bag at the trailer. It was a fun day!
