The Bovine Bugle

New beds in the stalls and a drain pipe gets unstuck

It was time to bed the freestalls again. But my usual helpers were all laid up today. Noah and Justin were nursing colds and sore throats, and Ben was dealing with an infected blister from running indoor track. What a way to spend the last days of vacation! Karen and I were left to tackle the job.

The 40 bags of shavings were still in the back of the truck, so I backed it right into the barn and tossed the bags from the truck right into the stalls. Karen started opening and dumping the bags while I unloaded, and by the time the back of the truck was unloaded she had almost half of the bags emptied into the stalls. We had the stalls done in no time, and I drove the truck back out of the barn as Karen cleared the cows away from the front of the truck.

Just as we finished that job, Dad arrived back at the farm with a plumbing snake he had gone to rent to unplug the drain from the barn milkhouse. So, Karen and I dug out the end of the pipe that had been covered in snow by the town snowplow. When we had made a big enough area for me to work in, Dad unrolled the snake and I started feeding it into the end of the pipe. After 10 to 15 minutes of working the snake up into the pipe, and ramming it through the clump of material plugging the pipe, the drainwater came gurgling and rushing out of the end of the pipe. I jumped out of the way just in time to avoid getting showered with the lovely mess.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

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Posted by Blogger Chris at March 3, 2005 07:54 PM