Horseback Riding and Field Planting...

We were fortunate to have some beautiful weather over the Easter weekend and the first few days of April, so we decided to take advantage of the warm, sunny days and go horseback riding!
















Amazingly, Lilly STILL has not had her baby yet...she's clinging on to her foal stubbornly!?!

So, with no new little baby foal to watch jump and play in the corral, and a thunderstorm system approaching later today, we decided it was a good time to fire up the JohnDeere50 tractor, hook up the seeder and get the pasture planted! 






Using certified pasture seed and cracked corn, we mix these two together (ratio of 2:1 pasture vs. corn) by hand with a flat shovel then re-bag our mix that is then seeder-ready!







With our seed mixed now to proper proportions and our equipment ready, we head over to Mayfield to plant the pasture, which will help feed the horses during riding days this summer.



We'll start with filling the seeder bins with  a few bags at first to make sure everything goes well...







...And we're off!  :)  I'll stay back here to make sure the seeder chutes are dropping the seed mix at a good rate and evenly...not too fast, not too slow... but, definitely dusty!







Dana finishing up a section of the field..storm clouds above promising a good drink of rain for the seed (hopefully AFTER we're done!).




Logan is a great supervisor and loves to keep us company!  He will follow this tractor for EVERY pass!  Silly pup!  :)


Above is a picture of the "chutes" below the seeder that spit the seeds out into the soil.  This apparatus is ran by a chain, like a bicycle wheel would spin when you pedal.  The discs move when the tractor pulls the seeder and then moves a chain that moves cogs in the seeder that drop the seed mix at a dialed rate (adjusters are above, not shown in this pic).  So, the seed drops from the container bins above, then past the cogs as they turn, then down the accordian-looking pipes then out the end of the metal fingers that dig a little path for the seeds to help establish the planting.


Here is another view, where you can see the seeds dropping out below into the ground...a chain is hooked to the back in a "u" that helps bury the seeds with dirt as we travel. The wooden platform is where someone can stand so they can monitor this process and keep on eye on when more seed bags are needed to fill the bins above.  (Of course, how much seed one needs is determined on how much acreage one has, etc)




Finishing up the seeding...



Here the cogs are visible at the bottom of the bins, so no more seed left to fall down the chutes into the ground...and we're all done before it rained!  :)



A good day to get dirty and get some projects completed!