Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Perfect Timing

Jupiter must be aligned with Mars or some such, because everything fell into place yesterday.  Getting the pullets moved over when I did was propitious.  After daybreak and before letting everybody out of their coops, I checked the perimeter of the big pen and plugged a couple of potential escape routes.  Even the trash got down to the big road in a timely fashion for a change.  The sun had risen into a cloudless sky, so it was hard to accept the weathermen's prediction of rain for later in the day, but who am I to question those infallible oracles?  To hedge my bet, I did water the vegetable garden just in case.  Star thistle was coming up on the west point and I needed to get it cut down before it set blooms.  After barn chores, a high cloud cover had moved in so I gassed up the lawn tractor and started mowing.  Mowed the west point, mowed the front yard, mowed the side yard, mowed the driveway and down by the road, and then started on the back yard and the section by the driveway loop.  I'm ashamed to say that the latter two had not been touched so far, and the weeds in back were literally three feet high.  It became a race with the darkening sky and the lifting wind.  The greater part of the day was spent going around in circles.  (Who'm I kidding...a lot of my days are spent like that, without the tractor.)  Finishing up about five o'clock, the tractor was put away for a well-earned rest and I, feeling like I'd ridden five hours on a stiff-gaited horse over rough ground, headed into the house for a Jack Daniels on the rocks just before the first raindrops fell. 

The pullets had been accepted by the resident hens without incident.  They'd have been miserable crammed together in the rain had I not moved them when I did.  It would have been days or longer if I hadn't mowed when I did.  As it is, all the chickens are happy, the yards look great, and other than feeling like I'd taken marathon hula lessons, I am well satisfied with the day's work.  It was a good, steady rain all night long and it's still drizzling this morning.  Guess I didn't need to water the garden after all. 

2 comments:

Cally Kid said...

After all that work and a JD were you able to remember where you put your glasses and ...dang it where the heck is the remote? You might check the chicken pen!

Kathryn said...

Marathon hula lessons...you crack me up. Although I have never been on a riding lawn mower, wimpy city slicker that I guess I am, I have watched my friend almost have to say, "Whoa, Nellie" as she mowed the huge "lawn" that was really weeds and small rocks before it got "lawnified," and it really did shake her up a bit, so I DID get the picture when you said hula! Aloha!