Arrival countdown

(This is Nora under the pseudonym Lynn) Sorry it has been a while since the last post. My monitor is on the fritz, we had four days of rain, and as soon as the sun came out we went right back to work.

One of the remaining items on the sheep "to do" list is to spread top soil in and around the barn. The three little girls are arriving this Friday, the 31st. The plan was to have the 20 yards of soil delivered close to the barn and we would use the tractor to bring it closer and then just smooth it out. Oh the glory of plans. Remember the rain I referenced? Well that became an issue for the driver delivering the dirt. He started up the logging road and got himself completely stuck about 20 feet in. Seriously? I looked at his tires. Not only did he not have off-road tires, but the street version he had were as bald as Yul Brenner. Here is a pic of the rescue tractor he brought in.

Thankfully he was able to free himself. But, and it is a really big but, he could not dump the soil anywhere near where we wanted it. SO we had him dump it roughly where he is in the picture. Lynn and I spent many hours yesterday loading dirt into the amazing Ranger using the marvelous Kubota. Scoop, dump, drive, dump. Over and over again. When we had enough we stopped to cover the pen floor. The process was: Move dirt into run-in using tractor bucket. Shovel dirt into wheelbarrow and wheel into pen. Dump and spread using a rake. Repeat. Once we had the pen floor covered we decided to take a break from the dirt and spread the straw. Lynn's idea so we could see the finished pen in order to keep motivated. It worked.

After that we went back to the dirt relocation process until we were able to line the entire run-in and other pen.

Time was of the essence so it had to be done. There is more rain in the forecast this week, so it was key to get that part finished. After a full day of dirt, we moved into the garden to plant some beans and potatoes. No rest for the wicked. There is more to do with the dirt. Today, Jim and I will be spreading the remaining dirt around the new barn. Scoop,dump,drive,dump,spread. The fun never ends. :)