Field project nearing completion and the loss of our dearest friend Mario

Well, I posted a picture very similar to this just before Christmas.  I decided to take down the last section of trees in what used to be a field 60 years ago.  I got started with the bull dozer I rented before Christmas but due to the extremely wet weather at the time and the fact that the dozer was quite small I didn't get very far.  I originally decided this wasn't a big deal and that I would just work on it as I got time like I have always done.  However, over the last month I have been thinking more and more about it and the more I thought about it the more I decided I didn't want to wait any longer.  Time is a very valuable thing, and once it is gone, it will never come back.  So, I am now in a position where I can save some time and energy and get some help.  So I did!!

We have a contractor that we use at work quite often and I gave him a call and he stopped out and we talked.  He told me he could be out to help me in three days.  So I said go for it!  He brought out his new 314 Caterpillar excavator and in one day did what took me two years to do when I started my first clearing project to the left of the area in the pic above.  The trees used to extend to within 30 feet of the road to the left side of the picture above.  It took me three years to clear off the first section and another year to get it into production.  

I am hoping to have this new section into production this spring or summer.  I am contemplating planting the entire section into a seasonal crop and harvesting for silage hay and seeding in the hay crop among the silage crop.  I have a month or so to get the large pile burned down for him to come in to finish up the project.

Here you can see the large pile of limbs and stumps from the clearing project.  This will be an awesome fire when I light it.  Should be able to roast hot dogs and marshmallows from about 300 feet away!  Even though this looks like a lot of left overs it is not that much.  I have been cutting and splitting as much of the wood as I can between snows and selling to offset the cost of clearing and seeding.  The wood is being used to heat houses in the local area that, due to the extremely cold winter we are having, are out of wood already.

Now on to some sad news.  Anyone who has followed my blog or has been to the farm has seen our miniature donkey Mario.  He joined our family a few years ago and has been a friend and fixture here every since.  He has been very protective of the herd and babies and has kept the coyotes away from all the baby piglets.



During the last snow storm he apparently quit going to the creek for water.  It has been colder this year than it has in the last 20 years and we did not realize he wasn't drinking as normal.  Tragically he came down with Colic last weekend and even though we tried our best he did not make it.  My wife spent many hours with him trying everything we could to help him but he still passed away with her comfort and care to the last minute.  He will be greatly missed and I know some day he will come back to us as a new little baby and we will get to spend his entire life with us instead of such a short time.




Goodnight everyone.