I arrived at the field to find the cutter motor wouldn't start again. It only does this on Sundays and Saturdays so naturally we assume it just needs a rest. Cutter or no cutter the cows have to eat so we decide to pick up a load of grass and take it to a friends farm to be cut there.
I pick up a bag of sprouted coconuts to plant while I wait for the grass to be loaded. I usually try to work along with the guys but hauling grass is nasty work and you have to be dressed for it. The grass leaves are sharp and leave itching scratches if not handled carefully. Boots, gloves, long sleeve shirts, long pants and a hat are a must. I used to provide gloves to the workers but they are too expensive and they ruin them in a day or two. Instead they wrap the bundles in an old sack which works just as well.
Not all the fields we use have good access. This field doesn't even have a gate to let the truck in so all the grass has to be lifted over the fence by hand. Usually I will have a gate built but this field only holds 6 days of grass and it isn't worth it. The truck takes 800 lbs of grass which is about 18 to 25 man loads depending on who is doing the work. By the time we are loaded up, from behind you cant even see what color the truck is. The three of us drive over to my friends place to use his cutter.
He has the same cutter as mine but a nice big 14 HP motor on it instead of a little worn out 5 HP like mine. The other nice thing about his cutter is that it actually starts. With all that power we soon have the grass chopped up nicely and packed into bags, and loaded on the truck.
We get back to the field to see Felicita has managed to find the mechanic and he has the machine running again. Usually the problem is air in the fuel line. We are all anxiously waiting for the rebuilt 10 HP electric motor to get back here. Enough of these antique hand-cranked desiel motors with spilled oil, water and fuel lines and tanks everywhere.
We get all of Sunday's grass chopped and loaded into the feeders by one o'clock so we can all take the afternoon nice and easy and head home for lunch. Felicita took the mechanic back home in the truck and stopped at yet another funeral on the way home. When you know as many people as Felicita and live in a small town there is always somebody dying, giving birth or getting married. In the meantime I had a tastey chilli-con-carne sandwich, took a nap, and watched some TV.
I had set out only two chores for myself today. Both nice and easy. With trucking the grass out of the way, I head back to the field to take Mr Ed for a ride.
We keep the two equines back in one of our unimproved fields and it is something of a jungle back there. Mr Ed is a good horse, but Bonehead is a bad influnce on him. She doesnt like to be caught and Mr Ed doesnt like to be alone. Tiny isnt helping either chasing after the horses. After the three of us chasing the two beasts around in this rocky jungle for about 15 minutes I finally get smart. We open up a gate and I wait off to the side for that darn mule to come charging through, and quickly step in and turn the horse back. Mr Ed now behaves like the perfect gentleman and waits patiently for me to put the lead around his neck and bring him back to be saddled.
It is a beautiful day for a ride. The sun is shining in vivid blue sky with beautiful white clouds off in the distance. The ocean is a deep dark blue today and the grass is all very green from all the rain. Mr Ed takes me up the hill to the very top of my property where I stop for a while and try to enjoy all this. Instead I end up thinking about all the new projects we have coming up and try to get them all planned out.
We head further up the dirt road. While a man on a horse is not rare here, a gringo on a horse is always someone to smile and wave at. I get to know a lot more of my neighbors that way. Studying all these tropical plants that are so new to me is so much easier on horseback because I dont have to pay attention to where I am going. I only know some of the plant names and I looked up some of the latin names in my handbook but there is so much to learn.
I stop a country colmado to get a icey cold pepsi. Mr Ed waits patiently while I try to drink my icy drink without getting brain freeze. Lorenzo, the man who buys my milk production passes by on his motorcyle and stops to chat. As he picks up a bottle of rum for him and his passenger (opened on the spot) he chatters on to me about something or other. I understand very little of what he says but he is such a nice helpful guy I dont bother to tell him. I just smile, nod and agree.
I mount back up and head up a rarely used road. I traveled the whole road once on the motorcycle so I know the road eventually turns into a motorcycle and donkey trail and then connects back to a larger road but didn't have 3 hours to do it on horseback today.
I turn Mr Ed around and head back to the farm. Mr Ed always goes home faster then he leaves it. I guess I am a lot like him that way. I love my home. When we first get in site of the farm I hear bonehead calling Mr Ed. She has been watching and waiting for him to return and Mr Ed whinnies back and quickens the pace. Soon they are off together again and I am taking a nice nap on my work bench in the shop.
I really should ride more often.