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which_chickToday the compacting roller (a thing that in Ye Olden Tymes was called a "steamroller" but at this point does not USE steam and now has the new stupid name) was working on the entryway to the new sewage sludge storage area in the field across the road, so I did road work with da Bird instead.
Sewage sludge storage area? OMG, which_chick, wth are you talking about?
The horse people are poor. In this area of Greater Rednecklandia, you can totally own 120 acres (give or take) of reasonably level ground with hard road access and still not have any freaking money because (and this is the important thing) you inherited it from your grandmother who inherited it from her great uncle and it's been paid off since like the 1930's or something.
Anyway, the horse people's hayfields are acidic and not very productive because the acid locks up the nutrients in the soil so that the hay can't get to them. The hayfields need lime, badly. Lime costs money that the horse people don't have. Getting lime spread on the fields ALSO costs money that the horse people don't have. And all of that sucks because honestly there are horses and the horses need hay and it would be great to NOT HAVE TO BUY SO MUCH FREAKING HAY. If they didn't have to buy so much hay, they would have money to get lime spread on the fields.
However, while all of this sounds circularly depressing, all is not lost. Turns out that the East Providence Township Sewage Authority* will, for free, spread their (human) sewage sludge on your fields. They mix it with lime FOR FREE and then they spread it on the fields FOR FREE and they test your soil several times a year and stop applicating the lime-added sludge when the fields have got enough nutrients and lime on them. They do all of this for free. Did I mention it's free? Gross, but free.
There is a lengthy permitting process with the DEP and such that Trys has been working on for the last five years. You can't use the fields for human-edible crops for some time period after the sewage application, which, ok. The horse people grow hay and alfalfa, which are FOR HORSES and not for people, so no problem there.
At this point, the horse people have completed the permitting process, done the walkthrough of the fields, set the boundaries for application, and arrived at the "Build The Sewage Sludge Storage Area" part of the process. Presumably when the Sewage Sludge Storage Area (which they build FOR FREE) is finished, the EPTSA (possibly not their real name, but it's whoever handles the sewage for East Providence Township) will start storing (and spreading) sludge on the aforementioned acidic fields so that field productivity can be improved and also so that the toilets in Breezewood continue to flush instead of backing up with the undisposed-of filth from a gazillion travelers.
We are all very happy and excited about this, largely because we hope to (next year) be buying literally THOUSANDS of dollars less of hay. But, this project will cause some interim inconveniences like Compacting Roller Operating Adjacent To Riding Area and also Entire Farm Smells Like Poo For About Thirty Days After Applications and Not Being Able To Practice Riding Dressage Patterns On Shit-Scented Fields Because Ick. Even with the interim inconveniences we are all very happy and excited about the sewage sludge project.
I plan to do roadwork with Da Bird during Sewage Sludge Disruptions of our usual riding routine. He's traffic safe and it'll be just fine. We've actually done roadwork before and it's no problem. Good for fitness. Nice change of pace for the horse.
Anyway, so today we went down to the covered bridge and up to the stop sign and then home again, with an emphasis on Go Forward In A Bright Ground-Covering Walk (for him) and Not Nagging With Rider Heel (for me). It went surprisingly well. He is doing better at maintaining his pace and I am doing better at Not Nagging With My Heel. Still doing the "one calf squeeze" followed by "squeeze+tap" if there is no response, with emphasis on me being consistent and fair. It's... taking a fair amount of my attention, but it does really work.
*If you happen to be passing through Breezewood PA in your travels, please stop and use the restrooms as they feed into the East Providence Township Sewage Authority. (The ones in Sheetz are nice.) Our fields need the poop. Our horses will thank you.
Sewage sludge storage area? OMG, which_chick, wth are you talking about?
The horse people are poor. In this area of Greater Rednecklandia, you can totally own 120 acres (give or take) of reasonably level ground with hard road access and still not have any freaking money because (and this is the important thing) you inherited it from your grandmother who inherited it from her great uncle and it's been paid off since like the 1930's or something.
Anyway, the horse people's hayfields are acidic and not very productive because the acid locks up the nutrients in the soil so that the hay can't get to them. The hayfields need lime, badly. Lime costs money that the horse people don't have. Getting lime spread on the fields ALSO costs money that the horse people don't have. And all of that sucks because honestly there are horses and the horses need hay and it would be great to NOT HAVE TO BUY SO MUCH FREAKING HAY. If they didn't have to buy so much hay, they would have money to get lime spread on the fields.
However, while all of this sounds circularly depressing, all is not lost. Turns out that the East Providence Township Sewage Authority* will, for free, spread their (human) sewage sludge on your fields. They mix it with lime FOR FREE and then they spread it on the fields FOR FREE and they test your soil several times a year and stop applicating the lime-added sludge when the fields have got enough nutrients and lime on them. They do all of this for free. Did I mention it's free? Gross, but free.
There is a lengthy permitting process with the DEP and such that Trys has been working on for the last five years. You can't use the fields for human-edible crops for some time period after the sewage application, which, ok. The horse people grow hay and alfalfa, which are FOR HORSES and not for people, so no problem there.
At this point, the horse people have completed the permitting process, done the walkthrough of the fields, set the boundaries for application, and arrived at the "Build The Sewage Sludge Storage Area" part of the process. Presumably when the Sewage Sludge Storage Area (which they build FOR FREE) is finished, the EPTSA (possibly not their real name, but it's whoever handles the sewage for East Providence Township) will start storing (and spreading) sludge on the aforementioned acidic fields so that field productivity can be improved and also so that the toilets in Breezewood continue to flush instead of backing up with the undisposed-of filth from a gazillion travelers.
We are all very happy and excited about this, largely because we hope to (next year) be buying literally THOUSANDS of dollars less of hay. But, this project will cause some interim inconveniences like Compacting Roller Operating Adjacent To Riding Area and also Entire Farm Smells Like Poo For About Thirty Days After Applications and Not Being Able To Practice Riding Dressage Patterns On Shit-Scented Fields Because Ick. Even with the interim inconveniences we are all very happy and excited about the sewage sludge project.
I plan to do roadwork with Da Bird during Sewage Sludge Disruptions of our usual riding routine. He's traffic safe and it'll be just fine. We've actually done roadwork before and it's no problem. Good for fitness. Nice change of pace for the horse.
Anyway, so today we went down to the covered bridge and up to the stop sign and then home again, with an emphasis on Go Forward In A Bright Ground-Covering Walk (for him) and Not Nagging With Rider Heel (for me). It went surprisingly well. He is doing better at maintaining his pace and I am doing better at Not Nagging With My Heel. Still doing the "one calf squeeze" followed by "squeeze+tap" if there is no response, with emphasis on me being consistent and fair. It's... taking a fair amount of my attention, but it does really work.
*If you happen to be passing through Breezewood PA in your travels, please stop and use the restrooms as they feed into the East Providence Township Sewage Authority. (The ones in Sheetz are nice.) Our fields need the poop. Our horses will thank you.
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Date: 2019-09-12 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-20 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-20 11:40 pm (UTC)