10/18/2026
Following up on the continuing saga of keeping a farm running when your truck is out of commission- I really needed to get roundbales, as the squarebales were doing a number on my back and adding a good amount of time to each feeding. People are always amazed that I run the whole farm by myself, and the reason I can is because I streamline processes as much as possible to keep them manageable, without compromising the level of care the animals receive.
I was chatting with my amazing friend, Jarrah, and she was telling me how she had picked up an elderly dog from the middle of the road, and was having no luck finding the owner since the dog was not microchipped. (Spoiler alert- later in the day the dog was reunited with her owner, when the owner saw Jarrah’s posts on the county lost and found page for pets!! What an amazing relief for everyone involved!! And what an amazing deed Jarrah did, scooping the sweet sugarfaced pupper from the road, just a block or so from certain tragedy on 290!)
I mentioned the challenges I was having with lugging squarebales and how I couldn’t wait to get my truck back so I could put roundbales out again, and without hesitation she offered to drive out from Giddings to help me pick up hay. The plan was to use my flatbed car hauler to pick up a couple of roundbales from my usual source, but her truck had a 2” trailer hitch ball on it, and my trailer needs a 2 5/16” setup 🤦🏻♀️ so I reach out to Sheri, another wonderful neighbor/horse friend/rescuer, who said I could borrow one to switch out. So we pick it up (grabbed a good dinner in town also) and when I went to change it out, whoever assembled the one on Jarrah’s hitch wasn’t messing around, as it must have locktite on it in addition to the cotterpin holding it secure, and even with a big pipe wrench and a cheater pipe on it, no progress was made. I think the truck was going to slide over before the nut would break loose. As I was saying that it’s always a series of thankfully not too serious inconveniences that keep things interesting, I hear a big tractor coming closer, and see that the hay field across the street is getting baled. I’ve asked before about buying hay from the guy who leases the pasture for hay production, but he has always said it was all spoken for. I’m glad I reached out again when I saw him working, because he said he had 4 extra this time! I could only afford 2, but it worked out perfectly, since I could drive my tractor over to get them and carry them home. I was also treated to the most spectacular sunset and cloud cover as I was going back and forth 🤩 truly a reminder of what an amazing world we have been blessed with. I’ll post a video later of it- it was absolutely breathtaking.
O…. and again, don’t tell my surgeon, physical therapist, or mom that I was out driving the tractor 🤣💃🚜🫣 as it’s literally the last thing on the list for reintroducing activities… at one year from surgery😳- how can it be that tractors and riding lawn mowers come months after getting back into horseback riding or even contact sports??? 🤔 I will say that since tractors have no suspension, if you’re driving at a decent speed and hit bumps, it’s like a jackhammer for your spine, but I made sure to go reeeeally slow yesterday, and it wasn’t bad at all.
So, all in all, the pasture hippos were happy to have freshie hay day, and I’m happy that they have the hay buffet back and I don’t have to lug squarebales!
Good quality hay/forage is the foundation of all the animals’ diets. Typically squarebales cost $10-15, and roundbales run $100-150, depending on the size and the suppliers.
As always, if you want to help support the farm, the animals, and the work that is done to keep them happy and healthy, any and all contributions are greatly needed and appreciated!!
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