Farm Life

 5-22-23 Marking our territory. With all of the work we have put in clearing the area on the property, Trask had asked us to create a sign. We took some time to brainstorm but quickly remembered that Proctor has a laser cutter. We made our way to campus and went to the wood shop. We found some beautiful wood. We then discussed what we would put on the sign. We created a few ideas to present to James and Spencer. Unfortunately they were not in their office but we hope to get the sign completed tomorrow. Today looked different for us work wise but it was enjoyable.  Today Hours: 1.5 hour Total Hours: 57.5

Farm Life Week 2: Granite Rooster Ranch has been an amazing place to work these past two weeks. We have completed many tasks in our time here. This past week has mostly consisted of the same task. The task was clearing out a path up to the edge of the property. We wanted to make it accessible by mule and tractor. This meant we needed to clear out the trail up to the stone wall. The stone wall marked the property line. We used chain saws, clippers and our hands to make a trail. However the work did not stop once the trail was made. We came across an area that was full of baby trees, brush and large pines, oaks and maples. Our goal was to completely clear the area. We planned ideas for the area. Some of those ideas were, a space for large hammocks, a small grill, tents for camping and a possible outhouse. This area would be a great space away from the chaos on the farm. Over the week, we completed many of our goals. We cleared the space, created a brush pile at the stone wall and made th

 5-20-23 Today I chopped down my first tree with an axe. It is quite impressive to see the amount of improvement we have made on the area. The space looked completely different when we first arrived compared to now. The new axe has made a big difference. The boys have been so excited to use the axe that I have mainly focused on clearing the area of small brush and the trees that they cut down. However the calluses on their hands got the best of them and the axe ended up in my hands. It was a workout but I got a significant sized tree down and yelled "timber" as it fell down the hill. It feels very good day after day to go back into the area and see the amount of space that has been cleared. It would not be a day at Granite Rooster Ranch if we didn't spend some time with puppies. There have been a few new litters and the yellow labs are very adorable. We were tasked with feeding the baby chicks today. It was not a super challenging task but one we had never done before. Th

 5-19-23 Today we picked up right where we left off in the woods. We cleared more brush and then were greeted by trash in the tractor. He used an attachment on his tractor to help us pick up the brush to put in the big pile. The attachment was very helpful and he could pick up the large trees we chopped down with the axe. Augie was very excited to have a new axe and cut down many large trees. We made significant progress on the property. We headed down to go pick up a puppy. Her name is Ziggy and we are giving her social experience on campus. It is necessary for the dogs to have that experience while they are being trained by Mel. We spent some time planning and working on the sign we are creating. We want to mark the trail we created and hope to use the laser engraver to do so. Today was a great day and tired us all out.  Today Hours: 8hours Total Hours: 53hours

 5-18-23      Mmmmm waffles and fresh strawberries for breakfast. We woke up and had a yummy breakfast before getting to work. We made our way out onto the trails. When we walked up to the Kawasaki, we discovered a flat tire. We had to unload the mule and brainstorm another way to get into the woods. We decided to go on another path and use the Jeep. We had to get creative but we found another path on the other side of the property that the Jeep would fit through. We arrived at the trail and had to hike our way in. We walked up to the plateau and began working. We were able to clear all the way to the stone wall which marks the property line. We moved our previous brush piles into one big one pile by the wall. We made significant progress on the area. I then left for school to get back for a tennis team dinner.  Today hours: 3 hours Total Hours: 45 hours

 5-17-23 Today we continued our work in the woods. We cleared more of the plateau. We have made significant progress on this area. Trask was able to fill in the beginning of the trail with sand. This helped the mud to settle to so we could get up to the top easier in the mule. We used the chainsaws to clear more brush and smaller trees. We hope to clear the area so the view over the cliff is available. We then made our way to school for sports. The boys went to KUA for their last lacrosse game and I went to Exeter for my final tennis match. Today was another great day working on the farm. Today Hours: 3 hours Total Hours: 42 hours