Last weekend I rented a red Rototiller. A very nice model with a Honda engine the fellow said when he delivered it. Staff at the shop told me that if I needed it delivered for Saturday I would - unfortunately - have to keep it all weekend. It was delivered before two o'clock on Friday and they called before picking it up late Monday morning. The red rototiller and I did some serious bonding.
At first it was awkward as the blades scooted across the lawn. Gradually as the tines worked their way through the thatch and I gained better control of the machine, we successfully stirred things up. Over and over and over again, Red and I worked that new patch of ground. I took a break and moved a dozen wheelbarrow loads of well rotted manure from under the overhang in the Big Barn. I spread it over the patch and then Red and I stirred things up again.
Then there was a pile of manure, mostly hay, that had been piled nearby anticipated the newly broken ground. I moved this onto the new garden and spread it thinly as a first layer of mulch. This will keep the weeds from sprouting too madly until I get things seeded and a thicker layer of mulch between the rows. Today I planted 6 soon to be red tomato plants.
The horseshoe pitch is marked out with reflectors to alert snowmobile riders of the raised pitch. The lambs enjoy playing on this higher ground. From the photos you can see that the red lollipop is most popular.
We acquired a red riding lawnmower. I guess this is my real new "Red" since this is not a rental. With a huge lot to mow, even after cordoning off a large section for the sheep to munch on, Red and I are working on quite a relationship. It's a nice little machine. It does have a lot of safety features, many more than the last riding lawnmower I drove almost 40 years ago.
It pivots well, turning tightly and getting in close. Yet, it's not a tractor, it is a red riding mower, tractor with a small "t". I got it stuck the first day of mowing. The weeping willow tree out front is lovely and large. As I cut closer to it I could see that a number of roots are very shallow and that I would not be able to mow very closely. For my first pass over the raised root I went slowly, knowing I would not be able to mow over the root on the next pass. I was too slow, and the machine stopped. Then, as I accelerated from a standstill the back wheel spun. I was going nowhere.
I called my neighbour and she came over with her teen aged granddaughter. I called a neighbour as hubby is now away for ten days - and I could not wait ten days. The three of us lifted the red tractor with a small "t" and pushed it over the root. Well, Red and I won't do that again.
After several hours I was not finished but needed to stop due to a thunderstorm. As the first raindrops fell, Sheba the llama ran for the barn. I was quite amused by this.
Okay, Sheba is not running from the rain in this photo. She's sunning herself which she often does in the afternoon. She stretches out and rests. Sometimes she rolls. Other times she and Henrietta roll in a bare spot they found, rolling in the dust. But I digress...
On another topic I should be seeing red, as they say, but have remained calm and not too upset. Perhaps that is because there was no red to see. Beau dog found just a small heap of entrails; not much was red.
I figure the coyotes struck in the morning just after I put the sheep out. They silently scooted under the fence and scooped two lambs to the other side. There is not even any white fluff to be seen. It's all gone except a stomach and intestines.
I paid attention Tuesday afternoon when Marmalade kept bleating for a lamb. I counted and got to 19 but not 21. Over and over I counted but always I got 19. I walked the field with Beau on a leash but it was getting dark and I could do nothing anyway. There was no lamb in distress calling so I could find nothing.
On Wednesday I made a list of lamb numbers. Then I went back out with a list of those I not seen, including Marmalade's. Then I got it down to three on my list and knew I'd only find one of these in the flock. So, Dot lost one of her triplets too but she doesn't seem to miss it like Marmalade misses her twin.
It's a helpless feeling losing to coyotes. I saw and heard nothing; not even red. I'm sure the sheep saw and heard nothing too. I expected this, but not so soon and not two at once. So, now I'm looking for a guardian dog to go with the llamas. I'm a bit disappointed in the llamas but then who knows how many times they have already intervened. In addition, I have been excluding them from the barn with the sheep due to space. I recently opened up some more space and tonight the llamas came in the barn and stayed when I locked up. I need to push the bond between the llamas and the sheep. And I am hopeful that the addition of a guardian dog will make for one big happy family - and no more coyote losses.
So, what with the garden pressures, fallout from the coyote attack, extra checks on the sheep, mowing to catch up to the mad spring growth, etc. my house is a mess and my red list of overdue items grows....
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