Spring Clean

It is time to spring clean at our house. Most times you make a list of items that must be done in your house. Our family makes that same list but for our barn too. Cleaning the barn is one of my favorite things to accomplish. There is nothing better (except maybe fresh mulch in a flower bed) than a clean barn for the animals. We bring in the best barn cleaning crew to help us with the job. Matt and I usually clean the corners and hard to get to spots with pitchforks. Dale (a family friend and the best skid steer operator ever) scoops out all that aromatic organic matter. My dad usually drives the tractor and manure spreader. The kids love barn cleaning day too because this means they can ride in the tractor more than usual.

I mentioned Dale being a great skid steer operator. He can move that machine with the most precision of anyone I know. I am a bit picky and he never disappoints!

Once the manure is scooped out the barn it is then dumped into the manure spreader. This is a great invention that, when activated, automatically spreads all that good stuff out on our pasture. You have to be careful not to apply too much in one area or it could kill the grass instead of fertilizing it.

I would be telling a lie if I said it did not smell. We live in the country and, to me, the smell reminds me of a few things 1.clean barn for animals 2. Cost savings. We do not need to buy fertilizer -- we can use what the animals have generated themselves to put back into our soils. What makes for a smelly couple of days will make our pastures grow for the spring and summer months.

Sometimes farmers get a bad rap when it comes to spreading fertilizers. Some people think the smell is horrible , but to me it just smells like life on the farm.