Meanwhile in Wyoming

Why don't cows, if they can help it, ever poop in the same place twice? This is the kind of inane question which springs to mind when one spends much of her spring either forking cow pies out of calving pens or harrowing pastures and hayfields. I use the term "spring" loosely; a couple of mornings ago, it was only 7° F, and snow is in the forecast. Again.

If you've always wanted to learn something about harrowing pastures, you're in luck. Here, I'm traversing a cowpie-packed field which we fed hay on last winter. Frozen manure, you'll notice when looking out the front window of the tractor, doesn't decompose. When the snow melts in almost-spring, our place is littered with the stuff.

I took this shot looking out the rear window. I'm dragging a 12' pasture harrow behind our 2640 John Deere. Not a clean window. Hopefully you can tell that the manure has been broken up and essentially smeared over the field, turning ugly brown mounds into environmentally-friendly fertilizer. Add some precipitation (hopefully rain, not snow) and voilá, we've got a happy hayfield which will green up fast if it ever gets warm. 

They say that the cherry blossoms are beautiful in Washington this week. At least it's spring somewhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You can't see Canada across Lake Erie, but you know it's there. It's the same with spring. You have to have faith, especially in Cleveland." ~Paul Fleischman 

(I've never been to Cleveland. It must be a lot like Wyoming.)