And suddenly this week it is cold! We are getting to burn some of the finely seasoned firewood provided by the dead trees retrieved from nearby fences over the summer. I still do not have my shredder back, nor have I finished my hot wire replacement project. Now I need to be winterizing the outdoor piping - a job I hate and normally not planned until January. You might think that once insulated, the pipes would stay that way but, no, the animals won't leave them alone. If a horse, cow, pig, or dog can reach it, the wrapping will be mutilated. (So far the cats and chickens have not been found guilty.) While I'm on the subject of critters: the gopher activity here has been at an all-time high this year. The pastures look like a mine field and the front "lawn" is worse because the dogs think they can dig out the gophers and turn tiny holes into giant pits. Riding around on the tractor is a bone-jarring experience and the gopher mounds probably dull the shredder blades at double the normal rate of wear. The huge brush pile in the south paddock - the result of clearing the fence line before installing the new feral hog resistant fencing - was scheduled to be burned on Guy Fawkes' Day, but rain postponed it. However I finally got it all burned; it took 36 hours for the last big trunk to finally burn completely. I hope this winter isn't so bad that I find myself wishing that I had some of that wood back to heat the house!
