No photos

Bill had a productive 3 days at the farm but we left my camera cord in Wisc so I can't post pictures.

First, all of the tractor implements are up and off of the ground and on pallets in their permanent location behind the soon-to-be-built shop.

Second, he attended the township meeting for information regarding building permits and was told to go to the county office, which he did the next day. Nothing too out of the ordinary. The soon-to-be-built shop is exempt because it is ag related. The house is an addition so we just need to get a permit when it's time to build.

Back at the farm, he inserted a log into the rafter of the tractor shed that sticks out the back and acts as a lever. Using cables and a turnbuckle, he is now able to remove both the bucket and the arms of the bucket from the tractor. Easy on/off.

Farming-wise, we measured, marked off and flagged Field 1, Field 2, and Field 3. In addition, we marked off the shop footprint.

On the erosion control front, Bill planted native sumac on the large bluffside at the back of the house site. I then overseeded with the slope stabilization mix. I also raked and seeded in rye all along the current house to control erosion and to try to smother out some of the burdock.

Lastly, we hooked up the plow and gave it a try on Field 1. It worked wonderfully. We couldn't help but feel guilty about our soil microbial foodweb and we will use the plow sparingly. After about 3 passes, we deteremined that the soil was still too wet so we stopped. At least we know it works and will wait for the soil to dry out. We are going to stale seed bed Field 1 and Field 3 and green manure Field 2. We predict a summer of fighting quack in the Fields until they are established.

The cats caught a mouse at our church-house. Although we have occasionally seen evidence of mice (although usually in the fall), we had never seen one. The ladies were quite proud of their accomplishment.