Autumn on a farm is like having children...you forget from one to the other, the amount of work necessary. The problem is snow, we get it every other year and equipment or supplies left near access points can become circulation hazards. So this week I spent two days scoping the yards to ensure that all equipment and supplies are inventoried and stored properly.
We had a bit of a scare on Monday night when the alarm for one of our two freezers went off in the middle of the night. I arrived at our packing shed, where the freezers are located about five minutes after the alarm went off, and within 25 minutes there were four of us. Each having been contacted by text (yes our freezer talks to us...). It took an hour, and we were about to start shifting frozen meats to the other freezer when David (yes our lead mechanic) found the problem --- a blown fuse. Once that was replaced everything started up again. The maintenance company was contacted and they came Tuesday afternoon. It took a while but it seems that a compressor overheated because a mouse had made a nest near the compressor's air inflow.
David our lead mechanic has been working flat out for the past month, finally undertaking permanent repairs; cracked windows, defective grease fitting, leaking tires, and full service. The list is long and as we get close to full winter he will shift to major repairs. All electronic components are removed so that they can be stored in our heated shed.
Part of the week has been a lot of fun, it was sunny and warm so working on fencing and boundaries was pleasant. At this time of the year, we prefer that our cattle remain in the sheds (reduce root damage). We maintain about a kilometre of walking trails that cross our farm, to reduce damage and erosion. We built a 500-meter fence near one of our creeks to avoid rambler accidents, but also to ensure that our cattle don't try to access the creak (it's too steep).
It's a strange part of the year because aside from the fencing work I did with the team, I could not say what exactly I did today without referring to my checklist. That kind of day.
The farm manager's cottage was renovated at the same time as the great house, but over the past two years, it has remained vacant. Over the past few years, our contractor has continued to work on the cottage whenever he has a spare crew. Now there is some urgency as finishing work and cleaning is required. Thankfully, our contractor is our new farm manager's second cousin. I suspect she was able to apply some family pressure.
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