Moving the Leaves December 8, 2018 @goldenoakfarm

With it raining at least every 3 days for months on end, we had been unable to keep the leaves cleaned up. Usually we get them up and into the layers’ outside pen for bedding, to neutralize the manure and smells.

We also collect at least 100 bags of bone dry leaves from area yards that aren’t sprayed to store for use during the year. All we got this year was 15 bags of damp leaves, which we had to spread in the pen.

Between the giant white oak, the maple, and the catalpa on this side of the yard, the leaves get pretty deep. Due to chronic illness, we use the mower to get them up before they get deep. Not this year.

These are what we had to use, totes and rakes. The rain had packed them down, they were too deep for the mower, and they had started to freeze.

My helper friend and my son and my husband and I all went out on Thursday and started raking and loading the truck.

Truck ¾ full

We took 4 packed truckloads up to the layers.

We got enough of them up so the mower could get the rest.

But the flowerbeds will remain like this until either we get a January thaw or spring comes.

East garden

Bulkhead garden and back steps

East Shed garden

My son was out on the mower on Friday and got the other side of the yard done. That was another truckload full. He’s to finish the rest of the yard, probably another truck load, today.

Happy hens! They’ve been hunting wisps of grass and worms to their hearts content.

This will probably get them through the winter, but I don’t know what I will do next year….

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