Finally, We Got a New Horse For Lily

Happy gigantic day! Lily's getting a horse pending passing the vet checks. I'm wrangling the boys to turn this pile. Hopefully let's figure out where this chicken's getting out. And we're attempting to get out hundreds of our summer grocery garden crops. These ones are starting to yellow. They're getting too big for their britches. La la la la la, let me be free. It's spring though. First we got to do chores no matter what. There's too many chores to just jump into the project. Turkey's jamming, they're happy. They have a lot more room. I don't know when they're about 6 weeks old. Sea monsters crushing it. We had another— had to add another feeder yesterday. Have 3 little feeders. Uh, 1 or 2 have died, not many. What we're trying to do— Annie's coming in early at 8:30. Rebecca, she wished Henry would wake up so that she could come out. Hopefully that'll happen. By 8:30. Let's get this chicken in, mend any areas we think she might be getting out. You found it! We need a steak. Okay, come herd this chicken in. Since these guys are going to be here a little while, let's do some semi-permanent measures to secure this fence. First corners. We got our 4 corners secured. Where did you think it was getting out? You think? Now there's a stake there. Do it right there. Okay, do one there. Save one for the entrance. Yeah, that's, that's, that's good. Right here maybe. See that? You see that? We don't need evil chickapoo on our concrete. There's some there, there's some there. We've stepped in it. Keep those chickens in there. That becomes holy chicken squat when it's on the compost. Okay, time will tell if we've blocked you guys from getting out, namely you. Well, I'm excited to see that coming. We're about to see some steam. This big, you gotta have a machine to turn it. Oh wow, it's still dry. I cannot believe how dry it is even after all that that rain. We are not getting a good pressure. There's not a lot of water coming out of that. Let's figure it out. Everything looks good. Maybe the valve here at the end has gotten weird. No, it's still— it's not that. There's something in this other hose. Do the whole thing? Yeah. All right, good deal. Well, it didn't steam like I was hoping, but there you go. Is that working better now? Okay, there's something in the extension hose or in the, the T-valve. We had our concrete saw the other day where the hurricane washed underneath the concrete in this pole barn. I guess he's just crumbling it. That water was something else. This is super exciting. This is like the last of the big Hurricane Helene recovery.

Then we gotta pour concrete.

Well, yeah, but that's not too hard.

We can do it ourselves.

Oh, it went! All right, that was a happy distraction. It's planting time. Annie's here, uh, the beautiful one's out. Yet to feed the pigs though. Let's get that over with. All right guys, sorry I'm a little late. Came as fast as I could. Bless her heart. Okay, do you know if this horse has been trained to an electric fence?

I don't know, but she's a very like— she likes Blaze has, and she'll probably be next to Blaze the whole time.

Okay, I think they need to go into your pen, your physical pen first, get used to each other, and then this for what, a day? And then the horses are going to the 2 acres. There's so many tricky moves in the 2 acres, and we're having a hard time keeping the heifer over there. I think we'll just run the horses over there. Well, how are we gonna keep heifers separated from the bull? We're not going to run the fence right next to the bull. We're going to run it behind the heifer or the bull, whoever is getting out. They'd have to get out of one fence and into another. Let's see where the ladies are on planting. Starting to get hot already.

I got distracted emailing senators.

What is it? They're going after your raw milk?

Oh, it's not my raw milk. They're going after other people's raw milk, and they're trying to give immunity to Monsanto Bayer.

Butt heads.

It's so annoying. They're trying to take away people's livelihood over here, and then over here they're like, oh, and let's give a multi-billion dollar industry immunity. So if the pesticide harms you, you can't, you can't go after the company. But we shouldn't be using these pesticides anyways. And if the pesticide is so safe, then why don't they just say like, this is a safe product? I don't need immunity, but whatever. I've called, I've emailed.

I'm just gonna keep doing it.

Now it's just until someone listens to me.

Okay, you're slinging around that. What is that, corn?

Carrots.

Oh boy. All right, let's do it. Hey, are we gonna need the boys?

Yes, we need all hands on deck.

Okay, all hands on deck. All right, all hands on deck. Maybe we can do this in an hour. I'd hate to leave them in the hot sun. Not really. Yes, really. I don't know. All right, come on, come on.

Corn can all get put out there. It's going. So the potato— so the arch arch. 1, 2, 3 are potatoes.

Okay, rows.

And then corn.

Can we just plant these real quick? They so badly need it. Here, Henry, all hands on deck, horse girl. Girl, you got peas.

I know, but those— these— we don't have many peas. You got to get them, let them get plump.

Oh, okay.

Let's see, let's taste it.

So what is that? Are they not delicious?

Yeah, they're pretty good.

Boys, take Bring all your corn to the garden, please. Y'all start getting the corn over there and then the gritter. You can plant 4 in a bed, the 6 inches or 9 inches apart, whatever it is. Yeah, I'm gonna go get the full barn and then I'll help. Can you maybe do that after? Because it'll— it's better to do that while it's hot. Okay, I barely see it, all this tall grass. Hey, when y'all gonna mow this? Okay, so it's actually these, these beds right here, so the ones over from the garlic. Yeah, but look at those. Is he marked, Jonah? It's kind of not marking the end, but you can see where the end is easy enough. Rebecca has planned this whole garden over the winter. She just referred to— hey, it tells you that it then gives you a game plan of when to plant, where to plant it, and that's a software called SeedTime. We're giving it away too, a lifetime membership. All you got to do is sign up for the giveaway, give your email, get in there and get it. These boys are not into it. You weren't ever into it. Why aren't you into it? It's your corn. We wanted to plant it with our John Deere, with a seeder. Yeah, but you know how hard that is? We did it one year because then this— the, the weeds are right there level with it. This is 4 weeks ahead of the weeds. 50 more feet in one bed, I think we have another bed. Whoa! 100 feet of corn. So nice planting these raised beds. Henry, you're helping.

Cucumbers.

Thank you. Are these cucumbers? No, that's squash. They are squash. You're paying attention. You want me to dig it and you plant it?

Can we— can I dig it and you put the plant in?

Okay, put the plant in. Good. Come on now, Lily, you gonna help us or what?

So these ones and this one are called quirk cucumbers, and they're like this big. They're like little.

What do you do with them?

Just pop them in.

Gideon, can you pull up all those weeds and throw them into the chickens? More for the raised beds. Got tomatoes, we got— is this dill, oregano, basil? Let's put the squash out.

I have another hole for you to dig.

Yeah, set out the plants where you want him to put them.

Not the rabbit!

Yeah, there's no flowers. Oh yeah, he can get the flowers, they're just weeds. Thank you for looking out for us though. He's, he's got zeal back. You got to keep on him. I like how he's defending the homestead, not letting him get these flowers.

I don't know if we need water.

We don't need water. It's been watering like crazy.

So with tomatoes, they grow roots.

See, won't it hurt to be on the stem?

See this? Okay, see all those little hairs? Sure, those are all— will all become roots.

Okay, can't do that with a tree. No, this is different. All right, tomatoes have vastly overgrown that little pot, so they're gonna have a sigh of relief, aren't they? Yeah.

Okay, put it in.

Good job, Henry, you helping getting the weeds. Save them for the chickens. Everybody got a little bit of that action. Billy, you ready to go? Yeah. Got this garden bed planted. It's gonna be— we'll tarp it and then transplant flowers into it and they'll have a head start of the weeds. This umbrella is a good idea, but it doesn't work unless you put it over you.

Yeah, I know.

We just planted beets and it's so easy to work with grass mulch.

It is.

Just raked it to the side. Chicken's got a ton of weeds. They're already under their coop. They know it's hot. Look at this butter. We are back in yellow butter. Today's the last day we're putting the calf in the physical barrier. Okay, it's a pain to catch it. Um, separate it with nets? Yeah, not really, but okay. When are we getting everybody out of the woods? The, the sheep and them? Tomorrow. Did you know tomorrow's bike riding? Yeah. So you're gonna set it all up today? And we're off! Yay! I don't think she could be more excited. I'm more excited because Blaze gets a buddy. It's just, it's just not right he's alone.

Oh, so you like Blaze now?

Well, I like— I want animals to be animals, and if you're gonna have horses, you really gotta have a buddy.

I know, two horses.

Yep, not three. We don't do horse, man.

When I take my horse on a ride, I need to have a buddy for the horse that's home. And then what happens? I have two friends over.

I know, and then you're gonna have to have four. No, we're not doing that. Hurricane pickup still going on 7 months later. What's she doing, Mom? She's nervous. You took her away from her friends. Lily's getting a ride in with her horse before we take it home. Just one more training and with the trainer. First time coming out into the holler. Go see how she does with Blaze. We got them in the horseshrink to get used to each other, and then we're going to put them out in the paddock together. The name of the game is get this horse oriented, comfortable, bonded to Blaze so that if they get out, they don't run off. Pretty good. Brand new place, walked right through the creek. Came right out of the trailer. Grass is coming up over here. Oh, look, did she rear for him? I don't know if you should go in there. You don't do that when a cow gets introduced, does he? All right, was that it? Blaze, you're looking so tiny. Billy had grown outgrown Blaze. Oh, sure didn't want to have a gate here. Well, they go right into munching. This, this horse is going to plump right up, isn't it? It's never been such goodness. How did you get Blaze looking so good? Because he was poorly when he came.

It was grass and, um, our organic feed. Here, horsey, horsey.

Don't worry about it, they'll get it. They must want all this grass, honey. This is like primo grass. This has like been rotationally grazed for 15 years. It's the second growth too. We already grazed it once this year.