RUG HOOKING BLOG

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Friday, August 31, 2012

I'VE BEEN IN THE TRENCHES AND THE ONLY GUN FIRE I HEAR...

Today has been another busy day here at the farm. We've had such an abundant hay harvest this year that we ran out of place store it. The barn is full, the tarp building is full and there are several large piles outside covered with tarps but the high wind did some damage to the tarps  so my husband ordered another tarp building. It's going to be 120' long X 22' wide. The floor will be raised up and cement will be poured later.

 Today I was asked to help the guys getting the trenches ready to receive the cement. The heavy digging was done with the back hoe yesterday but it still needed to be levelled for the footing. My son Vaughan and the hired hand were also there to helped my husband. I helped in making sure that the lines were level, then I shovelled in the trenches to level the soil ( no pictures of me working since I didn't had my camera with me. You'll have to take my word for it...)  We were all rushing as the cement truck was supposed to arrive at 1:00 PM. It arrived about half an hour late.

 I carried the long boards in the trenches to hold the cement, then I cleaned up all the little scraps of wood that was left behind from the sawing. My husband  had a generator on the back of the truck so he could use the table saw to cut wooden stakes.

When my work was done I went home and made a lunch for the workers and brought it on site. Sorry, no pictures of the lunch.   There was a few drops of rain and the wind was blowing and since the soil was dry and there was a lot of dust flying. The weather forecast was calling for thunder storm in the afternoon but it did not materialized except for the wind. That was lucky.

 It's just as well that there are no pictures of me. My hair was a mess and I had my big safety rubber farm boots on. I should have wore a white hard hat so my hair would have looked OK. lol
Yes I've worked in the trenches but the only guns shots I heard were my own tooting in the wind, thanks goodness.

Here are some pictures of the site.


120 feet long by 22 feet wide.






You can get an idea how deep the trench is.
My son Vaughan directing the flow into the trough while my husband George rakes the wet cement level with the board.

All in all, it was a good day but I was tired after all that and my afternoon barn chores. The best that I could come up with for supper was grill cheese sandwiches and tea.

A special welcome to all my new followers. I can't believe that I've reached 120 followers since I've been a bad blogger for so long this summer.I hope that you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

JB

18 comments:

  1. What a blessing it is, indeed, to have an abundance of hay! It sounds like you've had quite a busy day! Hope all goes well with the tarp building. I'd like to see pictures when it's finished.

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  2. you never cease to amaze me. It is so good to see you posting again. I looked back at the last post what a great gift. the spagetti looks yummy.
    Cathy

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  3. I'm just speechless ... you .. I mean ... are you ever still? ever ? I didn't know hay was a crop !? I thought it was ... well I don't know what I thought it was ... Never thought about hay much ...

    You're an entity all your own, Julia .. You do it all

    I never

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  4. What a great post! I'm glad you have a good crop of hay! You are amazing! I am sure George is thankful for you. Have a great weekend! Hug.

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  5. Hi Julia,
    Your husband and son are so lucky to have a woman like you who is willing to work as hard as any farmhand doing all the hard taskes that are necessary around a farm. I certainly admire you!
    I think I'm missing something. What is the trench for? Is it the foundation for the tarp building? Does it get filled with hay? When it's copmpleted, please post some more pictures.

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    1. Pat, the cement at the bottom of the trench is what is called the footing. It's wider than the walls will be. Next the foundation will be poured and then the building will go up. This building will hold round hay bales.

      I'll post some pictures as it progresses.
      JB

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  6. Wow...that was a lot of work! Hope you and yours get some time to relax this weekend.
    Love to see a pic of the completed job.
    Have a great weekend,
    Robyn

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  7. Whew! Thats a lot of work! Methinks it should be either yard work or kitchen work... not both... I think you deserve a rest for at least a month after all that! :-)

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  8. gosh julia, i think ive said it b/4 but you are such a tough little cookie! what a huge job! will be nice to have it done tho... careful! enjoy your weekend!

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  9. I am just amazed at your strength and energy. You work so hard and never complain. WOW.
    I think others would understand about your blogging. You are always so sweet to make comments and give me advice.....and I take that advice.
    I hope this week-end you get a little rest.....but farms don't take off for holidays, do they?
    What a good thing about having so much hay. So many are worried about not having food for their livestock.
    ((((((HUGS)))))

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  10. Wow, you are the WOMAN!!!!...at the end of a day like that I would have to call 911 and skip the grilled cheese. I'm happy the Lord has blessed you with a good harvest and good men to help get it under cover and they are lucky to have a good woman to help right along side and get some grub together too. Now I know this is Labor Day weekend and if you have a farm there is no "resting"..atleast for very long, but try and get a chance to sit and enjoy the day.

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  11. I really enjoy seeing what you do around your farm and what you do on a day to day basis. I really like seeing the pictures of the footing being poured.
    I can't wait to see the finished result.
    I think it is so great that you got so much hay this year.
    Have a nice weekend Julia.

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  12. Julia ~
    You remind me so much of my mom. She was the hardest worker I knew and would tackle any job. You, too.
    Lucky that you have hay. If you read That'll Do Farm blog, she just mentioned how expensive it is this year, if you can even find it, and our state has even set up a hay hotline.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  13. You just amaze me. You work along side the men plus make them lunch! Your new building is huge. I think hubby should reward you with a spa day.

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  14. What hard work! You put me to shame. I complain about weeding my tiny yard! I'm sure your grilled cheese was delicious. Rest up.

    Sarah

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  15. You are so amazing, Julia!! You work so hard and are such an inspiration to me!! The trench will be a wonderful help on the farm and every-time you look at it, you'll be reminded of the hard work you put into it.

    Rest some this weekend too and enjoy the grilled cheese!!

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  16. Julia, Your like a woman out of the bible who can do everthing!I love your energy and kind spirit,Hugs from California, Cheri

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  17. Up until the last few days, it's been really hot and dry here. I work with a man who is also a farmer and they have been cutting corn to make corn silage, because all of the hay is dead and gone....farmers are paying over $100 per bale for hay now. Glad to know someone is having a good harvest!

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