Well… more like my day as a farm hand…
Febrary 8, 2020
Alan put out a call for help earlier in the week. He was putting new fences in at his ranchette and will soon be re-seeding his pasture. I gladly accepted the invitation.
We needed to introduce Ash to Alan’s boys, Hanz and Duke, before we start taking our camping trips this spring. It also gave us an opportunity to see how Ash would do around horses. I showed up at around 1:00 with him in tow. He and the boys began playing and it was clear from the get go that they’d be fine together.
Alan was already on his knees in the middle of the pasture. I joined him and helped him pull a series of T posts from the middle of the field. Chris and Matt showed up shortly after, and between the four of us, we ran a new fence line on the other end of the property, sank a new post for a gate, cleared some deadfall, and I helped clear some of the doors on stable stalls.
Ash did fantastic while we worked. he was very well occupied by Hanz and Duke, and nearly got in trouble with the horses. Thankfully he escaped the day unhurt.
We finished up shortly before 5:00. Just in time too, my back was starting to hurt right around then. We sat and smoked cigars and had some beers before Alan fired up the grill and made burgers and dogs for the lot of us.
After we ate, we finished the night with another cigar and a scotch before I headed home and promptly fell asleep.
Having no experience with farm work, this was an exciting experience for me. I got plenty of exercise, worked up a hell of an appetite, and felt plenty of camaraderie with Alan, Chris and Matt.
I woke up this morning in a significant amount of pain, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Next week, I’ll be starting the Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail as found on the New Mexico True website. I’ll be visiting Circle T in Belen. I know about the only other thing to do in Belen is the Harvey House museum. I’m going to have to do some research and see if there’s a doggy day care I can tuck Ash into for a couple of hours while I see what there is to see down there.
I have a new setup here that allows me to blog from a tablet, rather than from my desktop in my art studio, or, worse yet, my phone. I have a small Bluetooth keyboard that makes typing a much more pleasant experience so my hope is that I can develop some content and post a little more frequently.
But, for now, I bid you a fond adieu, and until we meet again…
-Phil