Day 3 started far too early, the morning after the night before.
5:19 am — Worried #hairybeast nose…”It’s Monday. You’re usually up by now. Nobody told me it was a sleeping in day.”
6:43 am — Different #hairybeast nose… “HEY!!! Get up. It’s a beautiful day outside…you waaaay overslept. Get up. Get up. GET UP!!! Take me to the creek!”
6:47 am — Tentative stretching. I feel like I’ve been mauled by a Mac truck. And my eyes won’t open.
6:50 am — To the pushy dog… “I’m up, already. Don’t be such a pushy dog.”
6:51 am — Walk the #hairybeasts. Take pushy dog schwimming. Oh, we love schwimming.
7:30 – 8:10 am — Eat breakfast, feed the birds, feed the dogs, normal morning stuff.
8:15 – 10:00 am — work stuff.
10:07 am — Put diesel in the tractor, grease.all.the.things., dust off the radiator screen, check radiator level, grease the other thing I missed …
10:26 am — Go. Mow stuff.
12: 35 pm — Sqwee! Done going around in circles to the right.
12:40 pm — Drop and disconnect mower. Remember to disconnect the hydraulics.
12: 42 – 2:30 pm — Wrestle with rake. Win. [For the record, this is a really big deal. Normally it’s a two-people job, just because it’s an odd offset. The fact I got it all hooked up, by myself, without an extra set of arms, yeah, well I’m feeling pretty badass at this point. Even got the PTO hooked up on the first try.]
2:32 pm — Take a second before actually starting to remember it’s all left now. Set out to rake the first section I mowed. And then the next section, etc. Advice from the Old Man: “Just listen to the tractor, get some speed, but don’t go too fast. Watch the rake. Figure it out.” Uh, OK.
3:30 pm — Starting the largest section of field. Reminder from the Old Man to make smooth corners. Uh, OK.
The Dead Critter Count has been outsourced to the Farm & Ranch Sanitation Department. They’ll report later on the identified metrics and outcomes. The #hairybeasts have been contracted to do some of the field work.
4:46 pm — I could sure go for a … oh, snap! Pro tip: any cookie’ll taste fresh from the oven homemade if ya leave it in the toolbox in 90 degree sun long enough. You’re welcome.
Left. Left. Left. Left. Left. Gimme one more day of this and I think I could run at NASCAR. Put me in the #bison car, sponsored by SPF 742, 83 gallons of water, hydraulic oil, WD40, Teva, and topped off with a Life is Good ™ baseball cap. If the fender falls off cuz someone gets a little squirrelly in turn 2, break out the duct tape & baling twine…
5:45 pm — Just finished raking, in 2 hrs 15 min, what it took 7 hours to mow yesterday. Uh, OK.
Go, go, Gadget Cloud. E.T. Phone home.
6:15 pm — All caught up to everything I mowed yesterday and the day before. No more raking till tomorrow. (Then I getta do it all.over.again.)
6:40 pm — Shower. Ah, the bliss of water I’m not drinking. Followed up by Goop. Love Goop!
Goop, for when St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt Exfoliating Body Wash and a scrubbie just won’t take the grease off.
8:26 pm — #babybeast is one tired dog. #letsleepingdogslie. She’s got the right idea.
