More New Kids

Last week, two new kids hit the ground, for a total of four live kids, of far. Both have been doing find. Today, a fifth kid hit the ground. This kid is a little shaky, but nursing from the doe. We still have a number of pregnant does and are expecting more kids to hit the ground in the next few weeks.

Our children are doing only a reasonable job of making sure that the herd gets out into the East Pasture to feed. This pasture needs to have about a half mile of fence replaced. Thus, the herd must be supervised to insure that the remain in our pasture and not our neighbors' pasture or, worse, their gardens. The herd needs to browse in the East Pasture daily. The Main Pasture has been overgrazed and needs time to regenerate.

Bad news, the chainsaw died. It was ten years old and has seen lots of use for a multitude of purposes. It cut the firewood that keeps the ranch house warm in the winter, trims the trees that block the fence line, cuts new fence posts, and more. The most important use is to cut browse for the herd. I searched the web for recommendations on a replacement and came up with three names: Husqvarna (better known as Husky), Stihl and, suprisingly, John Deere. We will have to see what is available locally and who would service it.

More bad news - our Massey-Ferguson tractor will not crank. First, I drained the fuel tank and filled it with fresh Diesel oil. I pulled the starter and had AutoZone test it - it was good. I pulled all the non-essential wiring from the tractor and verified the starting circuits. It still will not crank. We had the local tractor repairer come out to look at it - he says the battery cable and the water pump need to be replaced, but he got it to start. Thank the Lord!! Now, we have to find and order a water pump for a 1964 Perkins diesel engine. While we are at it, we had better replace the water hoses, also. They are ten years old and, if replacing the water pump does not force us to replace them just to reassemble the cooling system, the increased pressure from the new water pump will quickly cause them to fail.

While I have the tractor apart, I might as well rebuild the entire wiring harness. The insulation is dried out and cracking. All of the gauges and the headlamp switch need to be replaced, too. First, I will have to see if I can get the voltage regulator tested. That may need to be raplaced, also

All nine puppies are still doing well. We have an advertisement in the local American Classifieds and have gotten a few nibbles. None have sold yet. The best part is that these puppies leave the new kids alone.