There are so many things that need moving from place to place on a smallholding. Horse poo is transfered from paddocks to gardens, firewood is schlepped from the Seven Acre Wood up to the wood-sheds, old hay from the chicken house is spread under the trees in the orange grove… and so on.
Up until now we’ve been making do with a wheelbarrow and muscle power. This has provided excellent exercise for our glutei maximi, but after two years of moving large and heavy loads by hand the shine was beginning to wear off goods locomotion as a form of exercise. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a quad bike?’ farmlet residents muttered with increasing frequency .
So, look at what just arrived.
Introducing Little Red,
our new farmlet helper.
A chance conversation at Farmlands a few weeks ago put us in touch with a sheep farmer selling up to move into town. After a phone call and a road trip to Wellsford we lucked into a sweet deal. The low-use quad he was selling came complete with a trailer and a set of spray equipment for fertilizer or weed-killer. For an extra couple of hundy we picked up this spreader too.
The spreader. Fill it with lime or seed and tow it behind the quad to disperse the contents across your land
Having Little Red around makes me feel just a little bit like a Real Farmer — even though we are living on just a snippet of land. Actual farmers regard an acreage of this size with the sort of contempt the Forbearing Husband affords a ‘fun size’ Snickers bar.
Small it may be, but getting lime onto seven acres-ish of paddocks (to help counter those acid loving dock and buttercup plants) was still going to be a mission. Putting a full size lime truck across the land seemed like overkill, and besides the top paddock is only now recovering from the soil compression left by Phil the Fencer’s tractor. Deborah and I had been considering using a hand rolled lime broadcasting system, but owning that spreader will make things a whole lot faster.
Because I know you want more, here are a couple of gratuitous photos of Stephen playing at being a farmer and standing in for a bikini model (yup, thought that would get your attention).
Farmer Steve
And then, since the local bikini model was unavailable
Welcome Little Red. We hope you’ll have a long and happy life running us around.
** Many thanks UnklEd and Omokoroa Joe for asking all the right questions to help us make the decision on buying this particular quad. These two lovely men know so much more about engines, farming, and quad bikes than we do. Big hugs to you both. x **
what’s wrong with the ponies? are they still there? have they been RETIRED? why have you replaced your ponies with a fossil-fuel vehicle?
They are still here and looking forward to riding shotgun.
Wow, what a hotty! And I like the quad too. I may even have a go at riding it before we get the roll bar. That last comment relates to the quad by the way.
haha
Do please be very careful!!
Those things are dangerous…
We got rid of ours,full on farm family have done the same.
Keep on the flat ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Yes, there are so many awful accidents. We are going to get a roll bar and one of us will go off to the Quad Safety course at Northtech and then train everyone else up. I’ve also said I want everyone wearing helmets when they ride (Stephen was just posing in that photo). Our place is fairly flat, but we’re proceeding with caution.
Great Little Red so handy. Does it spread food? You cd have a competitor for affection from 4 legged and possibly 2legged friends😗 Will pass on nice msg to UnklEd and Omok Joe:) xx
I think it could make the horses happy by bringing hay to them. Yes please hug the men from me. I told Joe you’d pass on the blog link so he can read about it. So great to see you over the weekend. xx
Well Chissy B. It was great to see our talented niece at Omokoroa and to look forward to our forth coming stay to say hi.
No doubt the the hounds will give me a good licking, the cat will ignore me as usual, and little red will leave me with dry feet when visiting the 7 acre wood.
Joe says hi and don’t forget the blue stone. Unkled.
It was lovely to see you UnklEd. I’m looking forward to your visit and your rides through Seven Acre Wood on Little Red. Hi to Joe, and I’ve found I already have some bluestone here (Copper Sulphate) so will put some in the troughs. Great tip. How much did Joe use per trough?
I felt very privileged to have a wee sit on Little Red 😁. Thank you for a most relaxing visit.
It was lovely to see you. Thank you for the foxgloves, sunflowers, pizza thyme, and mystery cottage garden plant. X