first things first

Saturday morning found us eager to keep working on our first priority, the fields. We have four with alfalfa, and one that had corn on it last season. First things first, re-discing the unplanted field and getting it ready for pasture seed. We talked with some folks at Midwest Horse Fair about what type of seed was best for this soil. It's light and sandy. Where we live now we have the exact opposite, heavy clay soil. We picked the recommended pasture seed up from a local vendor earlier in the week. Keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed it grows well!! 

While the guys were working on that, our daughter and I picked up junk on the adjoining grassy wooded area. We found chunks of broken glass, rusty metal parts, and plastic pieces of discarded trash. I was so surprised when she dug this little unbroken treasure out of the ground:

 Two of us think it's a pot belly pig

Two of us think it's a turtle

 What do you think it is?

We removed an old useless fence, then our daughter had the fun job of pulling the posts out. 

kids have all the fun

One post was left standing. The attached house is occupied by a beautiful nesting blue bird! It's amazing what a difference a little clean up can make. 

Neighbors stopped by, one after the other. Some on foot, others on four wheelers and some while driving by. Guess we are the new kids on the block! Friendly folks, everyone is very welcoming. 

The previous owner harvested wood from the strips in between the long rectangle alfalfa fields. Whatever the machine is called they use, left behind an ugly wake of destruction. What a mess!! We started the daunting task of getting tree branches out of the alfalfa fields, and making huge piles of left over scrap wood. I cleared the fields on foot & Brad made wood piles along the strips. 

At one point I spotted a turkey, who never took his eyes off me. It kept pacing back and forth between the same area, circling towards me and then retreating. No doubt roosting. I kept my distance, there were no other human in sight. Turkeys can be mean. The only other wildlife I saw besides birds, was a couple rabbits. I have seen pictures of white deer that cross the property, hopefully I'll get to see them in person some day!

In another area of the field, Brad accidentally came across some eggs. It was too late to save one. With my gloves on, I scooped up the remaining intact egg and a cushion of dirt and moved it nearby to safety. It probably won't be found and survive, but we tried.

I assume this is a turkey egg,
it was big and heavy, about 4" long

We originally thought we would build on the edge of the pasture we seeded, by the grassy area that adjoins the pine forest. It has a pretty overlooking view, but is very visible. After spending some time on the land, we think the opposite end of the property might be a better spot for us.

Below is a short video of me standing in the field in the middle of the property, on an incline to the left of the bobcat pictured above. The structures are a small hunting shack roof on our land, and a metal barn that belongs to neighbors.

Decisions, decisions...we have many options on where to locate what. They all come with pro's and con's, and are contingent on each other. Our barn plans were drawn up long before we closed on the property, the house plans are not even remotely close. I am so glad we have time to figure things out, we need it.