keep pluggin

Yesterday was our first 7am start. Today our second. We will probably keep this schedule.
I thought 5:30am might be a hair early for me to wake, but I find I quite prefer the early morning. I love seeing all the different "gears" of the day slowly start to turn. By noon you've put in 5 hours, the day is rockin and the momentum carries you through the end.
Yes, I like experiencing the full "day."

Speaking of full days...


Another oatmeal/raisin breakfast. Really can't get enough... rather chronic.

Three "musts" today:
1) Further prepare soil in W2, Flower Bed, B and F.
2) Transplant flower seedlings.
3) Direct seed parsnips/carrots/etc. in W2

I volunteered to saddle up the New Holland (soil prep) for the day. E was in charge of transplanting to the flower bed and D oversaw the direct seeding.

My first task was to chisel plow 4 beds in W2 and most of the flower bed.
This is the chisel plow. I think you've met before. 4 long "tusks" below the frame dig roughly 1 foot deep through the soil of a bed. Problems arise quickly when one plows a particularly rocky bed/field. A fast clutch foot can be the only thing that stands in the way of the chisel plow losing a tusk to a small "boulder" or a piece of bedrock below the surface. Ouch.


Amazingly, this handmade (by D) piece of steel serves the same purpose... only you do it... BY HAND. Think I'll stick with the helping hand of diesel on this one.



My view for pretty much the whole day.



My outfit for pretty much the whole day. The pollen has been kickin my sinuses' butt since Monday. Figured I'd be proactive today. Worked very well... the breather that is.


After my W2 beds were finished, I cruised back to the flower bed and dug it up as well. Immediately afterward I dropped off the chisel plow and hooked up my old friend, the rototiller.
Easiest way to level a rototiller is on flat, paved ground. ..naturally.



The flower bed ...post-rototilling... AAAAND minus a handful of recently transplanted oregano plants. D'OH!!! D was very nice about my mistake. I'll be looking to buy a few seedlings to replace the ones I tilled under.


When this was done, E marked the beds and began transplanting.



I continued the day's rototilling adventures in field B which was freshly plowed by E yesterday. Usually one would wait until the cover crop (B was rye) that was plowed under had a chance to die/dry out before tilling, but we're a little pressed on time as the next few days look like rain, hence the task at hand.

Half way through the field I noticed a strange clicking coming from the rototiller's chain drive casing. Didn't want to take any chances so I waited until after lunch when I could discuss with D. Turned out to be nothing. Good to err on the side of caution though.

Finished up field B and headed down to W2 to re-rototill the 4 beds from the morning (a couple were too narrow for D to properly mark).
Soooo, attempt number two...
Too narrow again (If anyone's truly interested in what my mistake was, let me know and I'll explain in tomorrow's post).
Frustration!! I very nearly stopped so that D could do the ace job that I'm sure he could, but... I was really determined to get the beds right. Learn learn learn...
SOOO, attempt number three...
We've got a winner!!
No pics, but I was happy and so was D. Good news all around.

My workday ended in the nascent field F rototilling (and picking up large quantities of rocks from) what was plowed yesterday. The left side has been rototilled. The right side, not so much. Big difference.



More F work tomorrow.

Early evening saw a bit of grounds keeping as I tried my hand at weedwhacking for the first time in probably 13 years...
Yep! Quite fun...
I forgot how quickly (and thickly) one gets covered in flecks of grass/dirt.



What can I say? Another great day on the farm.
A little bit of frustration trumped by perseverance and encouragement.

More chances to learn tomorrow, I'm well sure.

Dig