Bale Day Success

The air was brisk and the sun was shining when we woke just after 7. Today was small bale moving day, so S made the coffees and settled in with X for a few minutes before heading out to open the gate for the crew. He was halfway through a bowl of cereal when the first two fellows arrived before 8:00, with the other two not far behind. Meanwhile, I was busy working on Friday's blog post.

The truck and trailer headed out at 8:08 and, to my surprise, were back with a load by 8:20! I had a feeling this was going to go quickly, much like when the Aussie boys helped us stack bales years ago. The cool 18°C morning certainly helped.

Heading out for the last of the bales

A call to the bank got the loan information B needed sorted out, and I also made sure the cash was ready for the workers. It seems my role as administrative assistant remains secure.

I finished the mountain trail ride blog at almost the exact same time the bale crew wrapped up just after 10:00. Shaina's videos all needed converting before I could add them, and there were quite a few to work through.

With the bales stacked and the blog published, S settled onto the couch to catch up on emails and internet browsing while I wandered right back down the pony rabbit hole. This time I added a pregnant mare and a weanling to the list. The weanling especially caught Shaina's interest, and there is a very real possibility we may be heading out for a meet-and-greet on Thursday.

Next up, S loaded Stout's ten bales and made two trips down the road to deliver them. On his last run he stopped in town for me because I needed carrots and celery for a stew I was making. We still have a 20-pound bag of potatoes to use before the fresh garden potatoes are ready, so stew seemed like a good idea. He also picked up bacon because potato soup may be appearing on the menu in the next few days. While gathering a few fresh onions from the garden, I naturally found myself pulling more weeds. They truly never end.

I was also assigned another administrative task—writing up the bill of sale for the swather.

Once the deliveries were done, S enjoyed a cold beer and some more internet surfing while waiting for the swather buyers to arrive. I got the stew prepped and into the Instant Pot.

The family arrived around 4:00 and spent time looking everything over, asking questions, and giving the machine a thorough walk-through. Papers were signed, hands were shaken, and they were on their way before 5:00.

To celebrate, I blended up frozen margaritas. After all, it had turned into a beautiful 27°C afternoon.

After a little rehydration break, it was back to work. S headed down the lane with the truck to load another five bales. Harley and I walked down to the gate—well, I walked to the gate. Harley stopped at her usual safe point by the winter pasture and waited there while I went the rest of the way. With all the traffic through the yard today done, I switched the gate back on.

When I got back, S was busy ratchet-strapping the load. I hopped into the skid steer and drove it back to the shop before parking it away.

Inside, I finished the stew for supper. It was hearty and delicious, although between the Instant Pot and the warm weather, the house had climbed to over 26°C and the air conditioner was working overtime.

After supper I published Saturday's blog post, another small step toward getting caught up. S delivered the load of bales while B came out for some stew and to feed the horses. I helped her catch Biebs so she could trim his feet while I pruned peonies and tackled more weeds in the gravel and flower beds. By then it was a gorgeous 25°C evening.

S loaded and delivered one final load of bales, completing the order. He arrived home shortly after B headed out. After a shower, we finished the episode of The Dutton Ranch we'd started the night before and then sampled a new series called Sugar.

The jury is still out on that one.