Barn Cleaning Wrap-up

I had to follow-up on Saturday's barn cleaning. It was a looooooonnng day. We started around 10am and got back in the house at 7:30pm. Part of what took so long was putting sawdust into the freshly cleaned stalls.

We get our sawdust a gravity wagon load at a time. For anyone not familiar with a gravity wagon, here is a description. They are used by farmers to haul grain. It is a wagon with sides, and a floor that slants to one side and a door on the side of the wagon. That allows the grain to slide down the slant and out the door. We have adapted that principle and use one to get sawdust in. There is a sawmill not too far from our place and they will fill it up for $20, which beats buying bagged shavings!

So we got a fresh load of shavings about a month ago, but had only gotten a little of the stuff out of it since then. Despite the fact that we keep it covered, the water still gets into it. Add that to the fact that it isn't kiln dried, and you have damp stuff that when it is below freezing day after day after day, it will freeze in. As the kids began to attempt unloading the sawdust, it was obvious the stuff was frozen, and a pitchfork wasn't gonna do the job. Dad handed Suzanna a pick axe and Thomas an axe. That made me nervous, but it didn't matter much, since the kids were only loosening about a tablespoon of sawdust at a time. Dad disappeared, and I was sure he decided to take a break while his kids were working hard and accomplishing nothing. Never fear......he soon returned......with the chainsaw. The kids eyes got huge, and mine did too I am sure. But it was logical, sawdust is wood, so why not use the chainsaw to get the stuff out.

We sent the kids to their favorite ice spot for a break and daddy started cutting. The sawdust was flying everywhere, and he began to push blocks of sawdust out of the wagon. Once he got through the first layer of frozen stuff, the stuff underneath was loose and pushed out easily. The kids came back out to the barn and ended up building "walls" with the frozen blocks, which dad then mushed with the lawn tractor.

Once all that was done, it was time to put the barn back together. What a nice feeling it was to be in that nice clean place when it was all done. We were all tired out by the end of the night, but it was worth it.

PS: Obviously I didn't make it to the Stallion Service Auction. Never fear, trainer Mike took care of it and we ended up with just what we wanted and even got some bargains in the deal.