Farmer Ed

My older brother Ron in MN has a hobby rebuilding old sleighs...  It takes a little more skill to navigate around a sleigh because there isn't any brake to pull if you get into trouble you just hold on and talk real nice to the horse.

The plastic that we grew our produce on last year is in poor shape so we are removing it and laying new for next years crop... pulling up the old stuff is a wee bit of a bugger because the edges were buried in the dirt and you can't just pull up the plastic without the edges tearing off.  The walk behind plow seemed just the ticket for getting those edges loose.  Ellen led our big mare along the edge of the plastic so I didn't have to fight the plow over.

Ellen and Jed ground driving Ruby the colt for the 1st time

Learning to back up

Ellen now driving her colt Annie (horse on the right)...  she still doesn't got the knack of pulling her part of the load but that will come 

Colts showing their stuff

Jed riding Dolly... she has taught all of our kids how to ride.

Ben resting on a 106lb melon

Rosie getting ready to work with her colt Rowdy

Rosie ground driving him... when he was given to us he hadn't been handled much but now he enjoys being combed and worked with sometimes you have to wake him up to get him respond.

Ellen harnessed up her 14 month old colt Annie to our older mare Abby today...  Annie didn't seem to mind and even pulled a little and Abby didn't let Annie get away with  any nonsense.

Sunday evening

We have a pretty steep hill which the horses like to charge up

It's all exciting!

 

 

Away we go off on our date!

 

Rosie giving me a hand hooking up the tugs to the 5 shovel 

Grace getting ready to lead off

Away we go

 

 

Heading out to the pasture to cut firewood as you can see it started raining.  The path to the downed trees had some little valleys to navigate and the horses did a good job of controlling the load even though they had sliding to contend with.

Listening to advice from Neil Diamond http://www.draftanimalpower.com/, I tied them to a tree by their halters while cutting.

Wood is free but you have to work at it.  Horses will come in handy pulling logs out of the pile.  Trees where cut down and piled up to make pastures usable again. 

Heading home with the load.

Was blessed to meet Leo at the farmers market he has been working with horses since he was a kid.  He is a real treasure with all the knowledge he has.

101 degrees in the shade...  Leo takes us for a refreshing ride down a flooded road!

 

 

 

 

 

We all need neighbors who willing pass on their knowledge...

Leo plowing with a sulky 1 bottom plow with a team 3 abreast

 

Leo, Jerry and myself examining the furrow.  The horse on the right walks in the furrow and pretty much keeps the team walking in a straight line.