First Real Weekend As Hobby Farmer

Since we purchased our place in Jonesburg in November there hasn’t been the best weather.  Although I have spent most of my weekends there I haven’t been able to spend a full weekend doing things that need to be done instead of “busy work.”

I started the weekend off with dinner at my parents down the road.  After dinner my dad and I went out to his barn to start checking out the finish mower that he doesn’t use anymore.  I check the oil level and he had to take a part off and beat the steal straight in order for it to hook up and work properly.  I then went back to my place with a piece of fish to try to bait my intruder into a trap that I had set.

Last weekend I was going into the back of my barn where the horse stalls are to get a couple of fence posts for my dad.  As I was walking up to the posts I noticed to big raccoon behind the posts.  I was only about 5 feet away when I noticed him.  He obviously saw me because he was standing up, which I heard meant they were pissed off.  I am getting off subject but this story is too good not to tell.  I ran out of there as fast as my feet could take me.  I went down to my parents and got a trap from them and went back to catch me a coon.  I went back to set it armed with my .22, a trap, and a little bit of tuna fish and apple.  I set the trap and went back inside and had a beer to ease my nerves.  Before I went to bed I went in back to see if I caught the coon.  I turned the lights on and peaked out the back door.  Nothing.  But just as I was about to go back inside the big bastard showed himself.  Not only did he walk out in the open, but he walked out toward the trap looking at me the entire time.  He knew what was going on and must have known that I didn’t bring my gun with me.  I still haven’t caught him.

Let me get back on topic.

After I set the trap with some fresh bait I watched a movie and went to bed.  Saturday morning I woke up to a sunny day.  I have been waiting for a weekend like this since November.  I went down to my parents to get a tractor with a airator so I could do our front yard and some spots in the pasture that need to be reseeded.  As I finished my first task of the day I went to return the tractor and bring the finish mower up to our place.  All the real farmers were also taking advantage of the nice weather by fertilizing their wheat.  As they were running around doing real farm work I was just trying not to look like I didn’t know what I was doing.

I got back with the mower just as Annie got up there.  She was making her once a month appearance.  She has been wanting to learn how to run a tractor for quite some time now so I decided today was the day she would attempt to learn since I had 70 fence posts to pull and it would take me all day to do it myself.  I tried to teach her the way my dad teaches me to do things, by just saying here’s what needs to be done, figure it out as I hear him yell at me.  But I figured that wouldn’t work with her and I would probably lose my helper.  So I gave her a quick crash course on the operation and what I needed her to do and how we were going to do it.  She did okay, I don’t know it she roasted my clutch, but she didn’t run me over so I can’t complain.

After we pulled all the posts and stacked them in the barn I had some repairs to do to the barb wire fence.  After that our day was over.  After we showered we went up to town to get some dinner and drinks.  We went to my favorite, Frumpy Joe’s.  We had a couple of beers and a Frumpy Burger.  We then went back home and sat in the pasture and finished off the day with a few more beers as the sun went down.

Sunday morning I woke up and took the blades off the finish mower and sharpened them.  I then went to the pasture and finished weedeating the fence lines that I started in between the snows.  I finished off the weekend with giving my dogs a bath, my real helpers.