Man Work Monday

We had an unexpected Man Work Monday this week. We had to take Mr. Seppi to the doctor on Monday (he put a rock in his ear on Sunday, and neither Daddy at home nor the doctor at the ER could get it out), but the truck was in the shop, and Mommy could not get the day off work, so we took the girls up to Deedee and Papa’s house on Sunday night.

As soon as Mommy left for work on Monday, the “mans” made a delicious and nutritious breakfast of homemade bread with butter (the bread was made from our wheat) and bacon (from our pigs). Basically all the necessary nutrition.

Then we called the doctor’s office as soon as they were open, but they didn’t have any appointments available, so they told us they would try to squeeze him in and would call back when they had something.

So we did our school and headed to the farm.

Our brussels sprout is as big as Seppi, and absolutely loaded! We should harvest a bunch and pickle them. Nothing better than a zesty pickled brussels sprout.

They still hadn’t called so we hitched up the “olde fencing waggonne” and got to work on the fence, running electricity to the back of the pasture.

About this time the doctor’s office called and told us that they could not see us until 4 PM.

So we ran another fence.

And made a “wire bridge” to get the electricity over the gate to the east fence.

Seppi is getting stronger. He can lift the post pounder all by himself, and put it in the wheelbarrow!

Not bad for a morning’s work. If I were a cow, I would be proud to be contained by so picturesque a fence.

We also set up the long electric netting. In a few days we are going to put the cows and sheep back in here, and we need to have it ready to go.

That’s the “Step-in Fence Post” dance. Works great except when the post hits a rock.

That little red dot at the end of the electric netting. That’s a little man doing big work.

Then we hooked the gate end to the hot wire and charged the whole length that we just built.

Next, lunch. Bread and butter, with landjager and vegetables.

I think we are really hammering home the idea that putting rocks in our ears is bad and we shouldn’t do it.

After lunch we harvested buckwheat. We cut the stalks off at the base, and beat them against the inside of the trash can (cleverly labeled “Food Only” to prevent it accidentally being used for actual trash) to break the seeds loose. Then we tossed the stalks back on the row.

Deep inside the buckwheat we found our missing squash, some pumpkins and some very overgrown cucumbers. The cucurbits took so long to get going this year we kind of forgot about them until last month when we turned around and found that they had taken over.

Accidentally broke a not-quite-ripe Georgia candy roaster off the vine.

Oh well, we’ll take that home and make something out of it.

Last job, feeding willow branches to the cows and sheep and doing the rest of the chores. Then off to the doctor’s office.

Do you think he’s learned his lesson?