Traveling the road to work

That’s great Brad! We hay my sister’s field just under a mile up the road – paved, with upper end houses along much of it and used as a connector to several other roads.
We have no back way to get to my sisters, so we go down the road. Several neighbors have said they watch for us to start haying so they can watch us go by. We will sometimes have 2 or even 3 teams out working at a time- and that is fun. It seems to be a very good thing for all. So far the traffic hasn’t been too bad and is fairly courteous. Jay

With a new Amish community rising around me I see these things in their work and lives. One of Maryrose’s favorite stories is the young Amish boy galloping up the driveway like an emergency. Small welding job in hand! after I fixed it he hopped on the horse and took off as fast as it would go.

Unfortunately the roads immediately left and right of my house have steep hills with no shoulders and deep ditches. I have traversed these roads a few times with teams, but honestly I am too cautious most days. There are also a string of heavy trucks that supply one local business, and I loath meeting one of these on the steepest part of the narrow road.

One day a couple years ago I had a team of three going down the road to help with a little plowing; a milk truck going about 70 mph almost put all of us in the ditch. The horses handled it pretty well, but I just didn’t like it. (a ditch about 15′ deep with out enough shoulder for one horse, let alone three)

Over time I can make a bigger effort to train my animals to it. That is the hold up, if you avoid it then you are not preparing your animals for it. I can start by picking the best times and animals and watching where I go. Like Brad said, It is fun to go to the neighbors a mile a way; stop in their drive way for a few minutes of talking and then come home.

Ha exactly the same here. Our gardens are half a mile from the farm. All is transported the same way, because the car can only get there in midst of summer.

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We spend a lot of time commuting. All of the market garden is at our house and hay fields are all over the neighborhood, the animals are at Sam’s parents place. Every time we want to harness up to work in the garden or most hay fields, we have to travel the road. By pavement we are a mile away, by dirt road and farm lanes it is a little over a 1/2 mile. We don’t have many neighbors on this route. Traveling by or through 5 corn fields is good for scouting purposes and we can keep a close eye on the grain corn that we cultivate. It can be enjoyable when we have the time and time consuming when you just want to cultivate a few garden rows. We let the horses trot the road and a couple of straight a ways. It is nice to have this distance to work a little attitude out of the younger mares. When we set out taps, we have a 2.5 mile collection route around the neighborhood that includes the state road. Generally it is just car traffic and an occasional logging truck. The neighbors enjoy watching anytime we are on the road with the horses or steers. Traveling by or through 5 corn fields is good for scouting purposes and we can keep a close eye on the grain corn that we cultivate. It would be nice to someday have the work animals closer to home, but for now we make the best of our frequent commute. Great to read others experiences.

I think most of us know exactly what you mean, I certainly do. In fact you are right and wrong. Yes we have a job to do, we are tired and do not own all the time in the world, and yes people think you do. They think that if you were in a hurry you would take a car or a tractor.

But since there are few of us you, me and evereybody who works with horses has to stop and take the time to explain what we do, and why. If I am out on the road I stop the neighbours, make a quick conversation and go on. That way I stay in control, if not the french, they are specialists in long conversations…

Carl, as always, I love your comments. I have to laugh. I have had many similar experiences, often on my own property though. I do much less time intensive ‘stuff’ with draft power than most of the people on this site, but I still get to do a little bit of everything, and am working towards being self-employed and becoming more self-sufficient and less dependent on ‘the grid.’ All this being the case, normally when I am working – spreading manure, light logging, working the ground, etc – I have very limited hours of daylight remaining, and a long list to accomplish. I have had people walk to the edge of my property and start asking questions, asking if they can pet the animals, and then have to endure countless “Have you ever heard of a tractor?!” ‘jokes’. I really enjoy community, spreading knowledge of draft power, and responding to questions and curiosity about why I do things the way I do, but it’s always amusing to me that while they are making comments such as “Well this way is more time consuming, but it’s definitely worth it” they are also consuming many of my counted minutes in the process. Ironic.

Anyway, I very much enjoy the conversation on here and have been quietly learning from all of you on this site. For those of you whom I have met (Carl, Brad, Erika, to name a few) it was when I was just getting my feet wet and was relatively clueless and full of ‘dumb questions.’ It’s been an intense three years of learning, and a journey that I plan on remaining on for the remainder of my life, while bringing as many others along with me as possible. Thank you all for devoting your lives to the sharing of the knowledge, stories, wisdom, and experience that you have amassed by your own sweat and sacrifice.

You are all among the best people I know.