• About

The Gentleman Farmer

~ Found somewhere in a part of the country known as north Florida and south Georgia…

The Gentleman Farmer

Tag Archives: farm chores

The Years Go By…

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Family, Gentleman Farming, Living, Passages, Relationships, time, Totem Hall

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bees, chickens, eggs, farm chores, farm life, father, fence line, fence repair, kubota, love, parents, study, tractor

I have a large backlog of drafted posts never posted, so, in the interest of cleaning up my life, here goes the first of many…

And so it goes…
Was it really five years ago?
How our life moves by.
I once read how life is like a river, the same, but ever moving, ever changing
Dreaming
Who was I then?

And

Sure

Where am I now?

Tractor bound I think

IMG_1810

That

Or

Collecting eggs

IMG_0957

Repairing fence line

IMG_1534

Studying up on my bees

IMG_0487

&

Best of all

Spending time with my father

IMG_1486

Yep…

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Lately…

19 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Living, Seasons, time, Totem Hall

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

chores, farm boss, farm chores, field mow, fieldwork, hay, kubota, taylor pittsburgh mower deck

I’ve been spending time on the back of a tractor, contemplating all the mysteries…

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Firewood…

12 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Family, Gentleman Farming, Seasons, Totem Hall

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

27-ton, chainsaw, chopping wood, family, farm boss, farm chores, farm equipment, farm tools, fireplace, firewood, front-end loader, hydraulic, kubota, laurel oak, log-splitter, nephew, Quercus hemisphaerica, Quercus virginiana, southern live oak, splitting wood, stihl, troy-bilt, winter fire

So, besides the feeling of power and glory, compensation issues really, the main reason that I chainsaw is for firewood.

laurel oak...

laurel oak…

On the ground is a Laurel Oak (Quercus hemisphaerica) that we took down because it was growing too close to a Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana).  Don’t you just love the Quercus rolls off the tongue?  Go ahead say it really fast three times over.

rounds...

rounds…

After the initial felling, the main trunk is broken down into smaller sections known as rounds, using the Stihl Farm Boss, which I referenced in an earlier post.

loaded...

loaded…

I tractor up and use my front end loader to move the rounds from the tree site to the well house shed where I can split the wood.

setting up shop...

setting up shop with my nephew…

Now, I used to split wood using wedges, hatchets, axes, and mallets, but that was before my enlightenment.  At the shed, out comes one of my favorite boy toys, the Troy-Bilt 27-ton hydraulic log splitter, and a complete exercise in brute power,strength, and dominance.

my nephew experiencing the joy of pure hydraulic power...

my nephew experiencing the joy of pure hydraulic power…

From there it is just what you would expect.  Stack the wood.

stacked and ready to go...

stacked and ready to go…

Burn the wood. Enjoy the life…

the end result...

the end result…

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Totem This & Totem That…

29 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Seasons, Totem Hall, Totems

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

art, chainsaw, farm boss, farm chores, firewood, local critters, nature, stihl, totem poles

farm boss...

farm boss…

I like my chainsaws.

I like the power.

I like the danger.

I like the dirt.

I like the sawdust.

I use them.

I use them a lot.

I chop trees down.

chop down...

chop down…

I chop trees up.

chop up...

chop up…

But

I cannot make art.

white-tailed deer totem helping to support totem hall...

white-tailed deer totem helping to support totem hall…

gopher tortoise totem helping to support totem hall...

gopher tortoise totem helping to support totem hall…

florida panther totem helping to support totem hall...

florida panther totem helping to support totem hall…

eastern diamondback rattlesnake helping to support totem hall...

eastern diamondback rattlesnake totem helping to support totem hall…

At least not with my chainsaw…

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Stalled…

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Horses

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

best laid plans, collateral damage, damn flies, embarrassment, farm chores, farrier, front-end loader, heat wave, horse stalls, kubota, quarter horses, taylor pittsburgh mower deck

blissfully unaware...

blissfully unaware…

I had big plans for the day, which really were no plans, perhaps do some fishing, get my sailboat out, chase a golf ball, float in the pool. Instead, as the heat index reached 100 (that’s about 38 degrees for my Celsius friends), I found myself shoveling dirt in a horse stall.

the problem...

the problem…

With our farrier making his monthly, bimonthly, six-weekly, visit tomorrow, I found myself under the gun to get the main run-in stall back in decent enough repair that I could hold reins and not be terribly embarrassed by the condition of the barn.

You see, the flies this time of year bother my boys terribly. Hell, wouldn’t you be? The damn flies bother me terribly too, but I least I can scoot into blessed air conditioning when the going gets too tough. No such luck for the horses, so what they do is paw up dust to keep the bugs away. Paw enough when you’re big enough and soon enough there’s a mighty fine hole in the ground and a mighty fine weekend of plans of doing nothing much goes bye-bye.

on the mower...

on the mower…

through the woods...

through the woods…

barn dirt...

future barn dirt…

loaded up...

loaded up…

dropped off...

dropped off…

shoveled out...

shoveled out…

the end result, one stall, one side...

the end result, one stall, one side…

collateral damage...

collateral damage…

Bear with me, just a few more comments.  The whole job would have been easier with a backhoe, instead of the front-end loader, but I am too cheap to buy one, and have no place to store it if I did own one. It is amazing how tight a barn stall can get, especially when you’re on top of a tractor. Things might have been easier if I had taken off the mower deck, too lazy, too hot, too bothered…

 

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Picky, Picky

24 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gardening, Gentleman Farming, Living, Seasons, Totem Hall

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bountiful bush bean, dark star zucchini, farm chores, heirloom vegetables, kitchen garden, lioness f1 squash, organic gardening, plants, procrastination, solstice, sumter cucumber, tequila sunrise pepper, vegetable garden, vegetables, victory garden

Most folks call it a vegetable garden.

most say this is a vegetable garden…

Others prefer to use kitchen garden.

some say this is a kitchen garden…

Me, well, for me I go old school; it’s a victory garden.

i love the smell of veggies in the morning…

Here at Totem Hall we let our freak flag fly and do our best to live the whole granola crunching organic lifestyle. Let’s see, for this year’s edition of my victory garden, I planted corn, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, basil, eggplant, tomatoes, watermelon, and, for the sheer heck of it all, potatoes. All are organic, with a big percentage of my garden being heirloom varieties. In case you’re curious, I do talk to my plants. Why not, it works for Zonker.

zonker’s down with it…

On solstice day, I had the first picks of the season. Yeah, yeah, I know the harvest should be earlier, but what can I say, I planted way too late, a victim of well, my tendency to do this or that before doing this or that.

in search of zucchini...

in search of zucchini…

our first squash...

our first squash…

picking bush beans...

picking bush beans…

and the end result...

and the end result…

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Spring Sprung

15 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Passages, Relationships

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

adjustment bar, alternator, broken heart, farm chores, field mow, john deere, kubota, repair work, stump jumper, warranty, woods mow, zero-turn mower

Well, there is an explanation, broken heart, and broken tractor, and, so, I have been running late, and running behind.

not good...

not good…

The broken tractor is easier to explain than the broken heart. Underneath my rotary mower, manufactured by Taylor Pittsburgh, in the center part, is a contraption known as a stump jumper. The stump jumper is dish shaped so the mower will slide up and over large stumps and rocks. Bisecting the stump jumper is a brace, bolted to which are two blades that do the cutting. It is that brace which failed and put a damper on my spring fieldwork.

really not good...

really not good…

Of course, that is not the only equipment failure. There is an adjustment bar for the mower wheel simply vanished somewhere in my back forty, a victim of my negligence in checking for fastness. At least that job did not require a trip to the welder, just a wait on the UPS man.

under warranty...

under warranty…

Both zero-turn finish mowers, a Kubota, and a John Deere, required more than one trip to the shop. The John Deere had an alternator issue, thankfully covered by warranty. The Kubota suffers from a faulty starter, unfortunately not under warranty.

woods and water await...

woods and water await…

right, off we go then...

right, off we go then…

Tomorrow I make a run to pick up the now repaired Kubota. The John Deere I used today around the barn and pool area. The tractor went into the woods for a hard mow to maintain our hiking and horse trails. The new adjustment bar will need some adjusting; the back part of the deck keeps dragging, cutting down on my efficiency, and not helping the aesthetics of my mow.

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Rhododendron Pop

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gardening, Gentleman Farming, Seasons

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

farm chores, fieldwork, flowers, hay, kubota, mowing, plants, rhododendron, taylor pittsburgh mower deck, tractors

go girl...

go girl…

that's right...

that’s right…

you go, girl...

you go, girl…

Spring has sprung.

&

So, fieldwork calls…

boy toy...

boy toy…

saddle up...

saddle up…

front field, in part...

front field, in part…

right, off we go then...

right, off we go then…

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Farm Fashionable

17 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Passages, Style, Totem Hall

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

arrow, brooks brothers, business chores, clothing, cov-ver, farm chores, filson, fishing, hay, hens, home chores, hunting, jc penny, koi fish, long leaf pine, polo ralph lauren, quarter horses, russell moccasin, sears, st. john's bay, wigwam

clothes of the trade...

clothes of the trade…

Back in the day, before the deluge of the modern mail order catalog, I eagerly used to await the latest Sears or JC Penny wish book. Once I had the catalog in my hands, I would carefully go through the pages, picking this and that for some vaguely defined executive future. Happily ensconced in the world of Sears and JC Penny, I put together many an outfit to wear to the office, on the golf course, at supper, in the garden.

Here we are now; flashed forward forty plus years, and those early dreams of an outfit here and an outfit there did not quite turn out as planned. Dress at Totem Hall is nothing but practical. Horses, chickens, pine trees, hay fields, vegetable crops, fruit trees, and koi fish demand nothing less, and those are just the living entities that want attention. I have not mentioned the pool, barn, home, fencing, drive, studio, well house, all of which have their particular care and needs.

Above, spread out over the bed, is my day. Below is my day, in detail.

the basics...

the basics…

• Underwear
Brooks Brothers and Polo Ralph Lauren
(age and, well, age means boxers instead of briefs)
(southern boys always wear crew neck tee shirts, always)

the arrow collar man...

the arrow collar man…

• Shirt
Brooks Brothers
(the ubiquitous button down, worn out, frayed, usually Brooks Brothers)

might as well have the best...

might as well have the best…

• Pants
Filson
(if there is a better pair to hunt, fish, farm, garden, chore, or spreadsheet in, show me)

these boots are made for...

these boots are made for…

• Socks & Boots
Wigwam and Russell Moccasin
(heavy-duty, warm, need to fill the boots)
(ma’am, just bury me in my boots, please)

warmth...

warmth…

• Jacket
St. John’s Bay
(goodwill find, wish it had pockets, absolutely love it and I like browns)

the finishing touch...

the finishing touch…

• Hat
Cov-Ver
(my best buddy, very floppy, much worn in, much loved)

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

I’ll Work for Play

06 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Horses

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

farm chores, riding, south georgia room, tools

The problem...

The problem…

Even in our little bit of paradise, things break down, and chores must be done. Here, at Totem Hall, we do those chores; we have quite consciously made it a point not to hire staff. When, for instance, boards on our board fence break down, off I go.

Supervisor...

Supervisor…

I must admit to not being the brightest of light bulbs and I am okay with that. Consequently, it took me several years to come up with a way to handle broken down fencing on my own.

Tools of the trade...

Tools of the trade…

The first insight was using the C-clamp, rather than trying to wrestle with the board and hammer into place a new nail. Free hands are a good thing, especially when trying to leverage a 16-foot board.

1st insight...

1st insight…

My next discovery came from the contractor who built an additional paddock area for us. He used a drill and screws as opposed to a hammer and nails. In observing that method, honestly, I felt as if I had discovered fire, electricity, and the wheel. all rolled into one. I could say goodbye to the bear claw and broken off nails buried somewhere deep inside the post. I could say goodbye to smashed thumbs and bent nails.

2nd insight...

2nd insight…

I could earn extra time, which leads me to my just reward for all this work…

Pull...

Pull…

Right, off we go then...

Right, off we go then…

And trot...

And trot…

Memories...

Memories…

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Recent Background Noise

Perhaps my ennui stems from David Bowie's death. I read somewhere that we should consider ourselves lucky to have lived at the same time he did. I do. Many years ago, there was a girl in my secondary school, Debbie P., who was very hip, very groovy, and very pretty. Now I attended Catholic schools and so, as you might imagine, we had to wear uniforms, except, of course, for after-school activity, and that's where I get to the point of the story. Our school was putting on its big play of the year, I had a small part, Debbie was working backstage. One evening during rehearsal she showed up wearing a Ziggy Stardust tee-shirt. I was young, naive, not hip, not groovy, and not knowing who the ambiguous Ziggy might be. During the weekend that followed that rehearsal, I went to a record store and discovered just what David Bowie was all about. It was a transforming experience. Now some forty years later, I farm, David is dead, and Debbie is into Christian rock bands. Did I say ennui...

Recent Bedside Read

Granny's Wonderful Chair is still my bedside read for reasons discussed nearby...

Blogroll

  • 2Me4Art
  • The Art of Manliness
  • A Cocktail in Her Hand and Confetti in Her Hair
  • Fotographia Najwidoczniej Realna
  • Maison Bentley Style
  • DaniBP Mop Philosopher
  • O at the Edges
  • The Lion's Den
  • The Average Guy's Guide to Style
  • In Jim's Garden

So many blogs
So little space
So 10 blogs at a time
Randomly...

Follow The Gentleman Farmer on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • The Gentleman Farmer
    • Join 60 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Gentleman Farmer
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: