[Mark Cowdrey]

I have a PC
Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Donn,

It’s more work but I have found that my Suffolks get what they need on 2 hrs grazing AM & PM. I needed to try that because of my limited acreage/forage & found it worked well. Got the idea from the Baileys.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Thanks all. Now I just have to get at it.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Carl,
Thanks. I wondered about the width. The one I had a while back (and quit on) was 2 pieces about 3-4 ‘ long, joined at the front (of course) and spread about 30″ wide at the back. How do those dimensions compare to what anyone has used?
Thanks,
Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Had one of our best runs of the year this afternoon. Still running when we collected between 6-8PM. Decent looking clear sap, too. You just never know in the maple business…
Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Erik,

When my older gelding was young he didnt like water at all. Now he strolls through it, though I haven’t tried over his hocks.

My favorite way to get them over something like that is to let them do it them selves. E.g. in a turnout area create a division of water with no way around, gate on one side, hay on the other. They may dance & prance for awhile & jump around going through it, but after awhile (weekish, probably) it won’t phase them.
I learned this with window panes. I wanted to teach my young horse about the reflective nature of glass so i put an old sash next to his turn out & led him in one morning as usual. He didn’t like it at all & since I was leading him and making him go where he didn’t want to, he resisted me. The next time I waited until the horse was turned out, walked up to the side of the turnout w the sash, set it down & got some other work done. Let him figure it out on his own.
I’m not saying this is the best way & obviously one ideally gets to the point of being able to introduce horses to a new situation that they are not comfortable with while actually in a working situation.
I’ll be interested to hear how you make out.

Mark

Rice??!!

[Mark Cowdrey]

When using “ramps”/skids and a peavey to deck 3-4 logs high, does a smooth skid work OK or does any one use one W/ “teeth”? What little I’ve done, “slide back” has been an issue. Are my skid poles just too short? Any other tips on hand decking, esp. solo, appreciated. Thanks.
Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Carl,
Is that peavey holder on the INSIDE of the runner?
Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Whoa, Ed, nice rig! Is that a 3×10? Airtight doors I notice.

Boiled about 6 hours each the last 3 days. Caught up now. Made 16-18 gallons of medium. Sap is light, we are showing just under 2%. The NOAA forecast is showing some good looking weather Fri-Tues. We’ll see.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Mike,
Congrats on getting a good machine. Check out Lynn Miller’s Haying with Horses for story & photos of how one fellow converted a team mower to a single. There is lots of other good info in the book as well. It is available through SFJ.
Good Luck,
Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

George,

My Dad was a great one for expressing his experience & outlook in aphorisms and pithy sayings. The two I heard most often directed at me were: “You’re like a damn bull in a china shop!” and “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”
Regarding this thread it would be: “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” I guess I know where I’m headed.

In other words, not yet but it’s still on the list.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Mike,
I borrowed a scoot from TIm Huppe recently that was made by Les. May even be the one you saw.
I have attached some photos I took. Hope they help. I have others if some detail is missing.

The pin is 1″ diam., the angles are 3x3x3/8 6″ long. The runners (not the shoes) are 2-1/2″ thick and are 45-1/2″ outside to outside.
The cordwood rack bolts through the bunks. I don’t have measurements for that but you may be able to extrapolate.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Tapped most of my 100 this afternoon & it was running well. We’ve got probably 3/4 of our 1000 done. Fired up Saturday night. We’re off…

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Joshua

Well the machine came to me like this so I don’t have the broken ears. Interesting to hear about the technique though. I had a machinist fix a broken mower gear for me once. I don’t know what kind of stick he used but he would weld a little then peen on the weld w an air hammer. If I remember right the theory was that the peening made the weld material expand as the cast cooled & the crack/break tended to open back up. At any rate, it worked.

Mitch, yes, you are right about the piece I need. I’ll PM you.

Mark

[Mark Cowdrey]

Thanks Mitch & congratulations! With that last post, your 100th, you became a Senior Member😮

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