The past week

Finished making hay and took on a number of ‘projects’.

With other activity I had let the horse trails around the farm grow and they were now too tall for the ‘finishing’ mower so it was necessary to mount the ‘bush hog’ type mower and give them a rough cut.  I was glad to see that there were no major issues (trees down, wash outs) and the mowing was simply a matter of traveling about 14 miles (7 miles each way) since it takes two passes to yield a 10 to 12 foot wide trail.

As I mow I am wondering if Scooter can handle the hills with the weight of the new cart.  I’ll have to give it a try after I’ve gotten him in better condition.

I then decided it was time to resolve the walk way between the new entrance ramp to the house and the old sidewalk.  This is a distance of about 24 feet and I had placed patio blocks and wood planks down to provide temporary access.  This was quite satisfactory for most purposes, but Marguerite found it unsteady and scary in her wheel chair.  It needed to be more solid and stable.

My first attempt was the ’stabilized soil’ idea.  I got out the rototiller and tilled the proposed path, then mixed in some portland cement.  Once thoroughly mixed I attached the roller to the lawn mower and proceeded to roll the path numerous times.  This created a nice path with a good feel, but it was too low and not as level as I felt we really needed.  (My conclusion:  Stabilized soil is probably OK for a garden path that is used very lightly but it will require bringing in soil to build up the level and provide a little ‘crown’.  It was not appropriate for my sidewalk.)

Sidewalk, phase II.  I decided to test ’stabalized’ soil as a concrete substitute, but I would mix and pour just like concrete.  I found a source of very sandy soil that was relatively clean and put this into action.  I poured 8 foot sections so that I could cover with a sheet of plywood to keep the pets and pests off while it dried.  This forced me to wait a couple of days between sections and it took all week to pour the 24 feet.

Preliminary conclusion:  Without aggregate (stones) the finished product tends to be fragile.  It is also slow to cure (harden) but does seem to get harder by the day.  The surface can be scuffed for several days after it is poured, but it does support weight without fracturing.  Only time will tell if it is truly a satisfactory substitute for ‘real’ concrete.

While waiting on the cement to set up, I worked on starting a couple of gasoline powered trimmers that hadn’t been used for a couple of years.  I expected a lot of trouble, but much to my surprise they both started easily.  One is a two cycle motor which requires mixed gasoline, the other is a four cycle.  The four cycle is the heavier duty unit and I used it to trim the heavy growth around some trees and an abandoned flower bed.  I was really only able to get a start on this project.  It is very difficult!

Finally, I started cleaning up and organizing my tack room and barn.  Another slow job, with a lot of mental effort.  The tack room is taking shape, but the barn has a long way to go.  I obviously have plenty of ‘tasks’ to keep me busy … and tired!