The sun was orange and the sky gray through the smoke from the fires in Canada.
A family of ducks swam in the shallow water that has overflowed the culvert and flooded Lulu’s Crossing. They hurried away as I got closer to them. Then, one by one hopped onto land under the cover of marsh grasses.
Sometime this week our neighbor Vince will dump a load of gravel in the barnyard. I’ll use it to fill in the holes in the pole barn and put down some to cover the hard-packed earth. I’ll also spread some around the outside of the barn which hasn’t been able to dry out with all the rain.
In the past, we’ve had Vince and his son do the work. A couple of years ago our neighbors Sarah and Barbara helped. But this year I’ll do it a little at a time, instead of using up all the gravel at once.
I feel like it’s always good to have some gravel around the farm, to fill in holes and mud puddles.
The pole barn will be more comfortable and cleaner with the gravel, which is really just a gritty rocky soil. When it’s very wet, as it has been, the sheep have a greater chance of getting foot rot which affects their hooves and is contagious.
The gravel will help their hoves to dry out. It’s also good for naturally wearing down the donkey’s hooves.
