transit forge journal: long-forgotten hay

long-forgotten hay

on the advice of one of my attorneys, here’s my midsummer update:

projects completed since july 4th:
-reshingled milk shed
-mowed grass twice
-started john deere model 70
-aided friend in cleaning his garage and rebuilding his dixie chopper
-fixed two hose spigots
-snaked kitchen drain
-adjusted antennae in attic
-replaced light bulbs in barn
-restacked straw bales in hayloft
-removed pallets, et cetera from hayloft
-brought steel-wheeled wagon out from soggy machine shed
-chopped weeds in west grape arbor (avoided poison ivy)
-ate majority of left-overs from family reunion
-installed coaxial extention cable
-soldered ring onto hummingbird wind chime
-repaired pto clutch cable on honda riding mower
-front brake job BMW r65

jobs in progress july 24,2003:
-removal of old hay from hayloft
-hay barn siding repairs and cleanout (year 4)
-honda 125XL dirt bike restoration
-scrap metal hauling
-lawn care maintanence
-evisceration of poison ivy
-tracking of grounghog activity

the dusts, musts, and stenches of removing 10(+?)year-old hay from the loft of our big barn leaves a thick itch in the eyes and throat. today’s exploratory work warrants a trip to buy some dust masks to make the job more tolerable.
so far three mostly decomposed animals, perhaps 2 opposum and 1 raccoon have surfaced in addition to copious amounts of raccoon feces. they seem to like to mark their territory with huge piles of excrement. maybe the removal of hay will discourage their demarcation techniques.
barq’s rootbeer seems to coat the throat nicely when battling the effects of the barn must hacking cough.

2003-07-24 20:16

* * *

Be careful, Greg! Haven't you ever heard of Hantavirus? "A person may be exposed to hantavirus by inhaling dust after disturbing nests or breathing in closed spaces inhabited by infected mice." There's also such a thing as raccoon roundworm, but I think as long as you change clothes and shoes and wash your hands good before eating you're okay with that one. Do I sound like my mother's daughter, worrying about things like this?! Don't answer that, just wear a mask and be careful. And come see us when you run out of work at home. We should be baling next week!
— Phil and Cheryl Jul 26, 01:56 PM #
Man.. you make it sound so enchanting, farm work. Seriously. Really, beats standing for 12 hours talking about dead pixels and permissions errors. Word.
— alogic Aug 3, 12:59 AM #
As Og toils happily in clouds of virus-laden chaff, and yea though he laugh unafeared that a man's fate be determined by the bowel movements of mere field mice, be he appraised that the lives of legends often find terminus in the disregard of small details. Go forth, face filter thyself, and hack no more, Og, snot, weepery, and parched throat cast off.
— Tor Mesacaline Aug 6, 12:07 PM #