This message is from: "Foxfire Farm" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello to all! Just caught up with several weeks of Fjord Digest so this is a very belated Christmas wish from from Foxfire Farm! Happy Holidays to all and may everyone have a healthy New Year! This is how we spent Christmas...hope those of you who "have been there and done that" get a kick out of it.... we are still laughing at ourselves! Timing is everything... (There is more funny stuff to be told, like tracking the escaped Corgi by flashlight...but rhyming gets tough after awhile...LOL! There is also a slow loading collage that goes with it at: http://randomactsofthinking.bnjweb.org/barn/xmascollage100dpi800w.jpg )
'Twas the week before Christmas, and down on the Farm, The contractor came, finally, to work on the Barn. The mud was quite deep, The horses quite furry, Standing knee deep in clay... Turning to slurry. Access to stalls Was not a good option, The Fjords looked quite like They needed adoption! The french drains were first, To help with the mud, Then stone base for new stalls, Helps eliminate crud! When out on the road there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the Deere to see what was the matter! 50 tons of crushed stone in a truck trailer, double, In muddy wet soil, I knew it was trouble! He could not back in both, with a road just so narrow, Half the load got dumped, on the lawn, near the barrow. The next was dumped much closer to stall, But still quite a distance for loader to haul... The ruts in the yard, 'round the barn, next to drive, Will just have to wait for Spring to arrive! A drain in the run-in is now complete, We and our Fjordies will have happy feet! The posts of the barn are now very straight, And sit on deep bases of solid concrete. The line of the roof is again very true, The jacks are now gone and so is the crew. Compacting stone is not always fun, When compactor quits and refuses to run! Moving tons of crushed stone was a chore that we chose, 'Til late Sunday nite, when when we blew a hose! We were quite willing, but hydraulics were not, So Christmas Eve morning, up we both got, To return a compactor that had let us down and search for new hoses all over town. Hoses replaced, the bucket won't move, Couldn't get couplings to fit in the groove. Christmas Eve found us exhausted and spent, Presents not wrapped, the cards still unsent! So while Santa was travelling and shouting Ho Ho, We settled down with a fun video, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" Seemed quite appropo! A little live tree sat out on the deck, Tinkling wind chimes wrapped 'round it's neck. It never quite made it into the house, Where the creatures were pooped, even the mouse. Christmas morning arrived with a wee bit of snow, So off to feed Fjordies we joyously go! After their hay, they each got a treat, Christmas apples for each, which they love to eat. With tractor repaired, by noon, spirits lifted, So finally, each other, we laughingly gifted. Our gifts were not wrapped, were just little sundries... I now have new work gloves with matching new undies! The barn roof now straight, and with falling snow, It will no longer threaten our Fjordies below! We spoke to our families, who don't quite understand, That weather and farms just go hand in hand. The snow from last year left us adrift, The contractor's arrival was not very swift. The repairs almost done, mats to install, Next year should be better, for driving and all! The Fjordies are playing out in the snow, The depth in inches beginning to grow. The chill air is freezing the deep mud at last, And were are still laughing at this Christmas past! Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! Betsy & Jer Patryjak Foxfire Farm [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://foxfirefjords.homestead.com/
