studebaker
Posted : 10/30/2017 6:46:42 AM
Took Socks out in the Phaeton today. Went down the little road I built to the back paddock. He took the change of venue quite well. I have been told to be careful when taking a horse out into their playground whilst in harness and put-to. Since he is so out of shape, all we did was take a v-e-r-y long walk. There is still a lot of work that needs doing in the way of smoothing out the driving path out there. Coming back was an issue with the hill the way it is and the rather large, sharp rocks hidden all over the place in the grass and weeds. I believe that till I get the new road sorted out in that area, I will go out the utility gate on the west part of the property and back in via the main driveway (or Old Stage Rd). The pavement is a bit slippery and I have to be very cautious of traffic on that hill, but it is better than dealing with the terrain on that hill, for now. In the meantime, I have another two gates to open before getting Socks out.
Hmmm... well sentence structure and grammar never were my speciallity... that last bit will have to stay as-is I suppose.
Anyway, Socks was a perfect gentleman in spite of the loud cracking and popping from he burnt shrubbery we ran over, the bouncing around of the carriage, and the hill really pushing on his britching. We did a bit of trotting afterwards around the front of the house and on the driveway. His power steering was out and I had to remind him forcibly several times to listen. But when you consider he hasn't been worked regularly for over two years, I'm not complaining. He's a superstar to me!
There is so much work to do on this property, not only from the fire, but just things that have needed doing for years. If there were three more of me and five times the equipment it would still be quite the job. looking around the back part of the property was a bit overwhelming today. One good thing was that there are several sections of fence that look to be largely intact. I have a few wooden posts to replace (that no longer exist), but the fence in that area is still there and repairable. That's about three hundred feet of fence I don't have to rebuild. At least, not right away as it's barbed-wire and I don't like that around horses. Neither does Jmebear. At least our little bonfire wasn't the disaster that my friends and family in the Santa Rosa area had to deal with. So sad to hear of the loss of the round barn and Jack London's house. Not to mention so very many people killed.
So we count our blessings and do our best with what we have. Can't wait to get the tractor back. I really need to do some work in the back paddock. It's at the dealer's being repaired... again. They thought just the seals were leaking. With the extreme shortage of water around here and the fact it went from cold, sloppy, and muddy to hot, dry, and no water in the well, the mud from last winter was dried onto the frame and running gear. Since I didn't have the water to wash it off, it was still there last month. Chipping at that kind of thing is hard on boots and bushings, so I don't. Hence when the mechanic cleaned the tractor (and did a bang-up job) the cracked housing was exposed and the leak increased exponentially. He said the dried-on mud was a pretty good band-aid. Unfortunately, the housing had to come from Japan. So we have waited a few more weeks. Should be ready by Tuesday. Can't wait to go get it! Well, I hope everyone has a great Monday and week coming up!