For the past week it has felt like we are living in a dust bowl. If you walk outside you instantly feel like you are coated in dust. Carter, Jason and I all have slightly sniffly noses undoubtedly from all the dust. Thus I was rather surprised when Jason decided that yesterday was the day he needed to level and smooth out the entire driveway. Because, now that I think about it, it wasn't already dusty enough around here.
We all know Jason is obsessed with keeping our driveway neat. This isn't all that easy to do with a mile long gravel driveway that has a lot of heavy feed trucks, delivery trucks and trailers driven on it regularly. But once Jason gets determined about something he is like a dog with a bone. So the driveway obsession continues. He spent a couple of hours yesterday using the box blade on the entire driveway, filling in random spots on the driveway from his "spare" gravel pile that he always has, then using the box blade some more, and generally getting himself so coated in dust he looked like he was doing a cadaver impersonation by the time he was done. It was yet another day on the farm where Jason took his clothes off outside and went straight to the shower.
I don't think I've ever managed to appropriately admire Jason's driveway efforts enough. I do my best to talk about how nice it looks but I know he can tell it is forced. There are about 1,697 items on my list of important things to do that come ahead of driveway maintenance. Right now the two things I am concerned about are 1) our spare gravel pile is almost gone which means he will want to replace it and 2) he said we should have new gravel put down on the entire driveway this fall. Say what??? I've decided the dust is causing that crazy talk. So I'm hoping for more rain and less dust in my life, stat.
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Lucky and Bruno having playtime with Slinky watching
Moe and Homer
Wiz, Africva and Lighty waiting for breakfast
Rocky and Toledo
Flyer and Silver
Walon and Stormy; I like the dueling pinned ears. Maybe they were having a trot race?
Maisie grazing before breakfast
pretty morning sky over the farm
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3 comments:
I am going to hazard a guess that you are secretly very happy to have a well maintained driveway, maybe even more than you realize! Or at least you would be most unhappy with pot holes and washboard! I have to drive gravel roads a fair bit and there's nothing worse. Not even the dust layer that accumulates on my car! After every rain, I have a square of silt (turned to almost concrete) on my driveway at home from the car dust run-off.
What I don't understand is how quickly the holes/washboard come back after the grading crew has been out on my barn's road. I feel like they should be watering and rolling after to "set" the gravel and base. Make "concrete" like on my driveway ;) But I don't know anything about the process so maybe what they do is as good as it gets. Hmm, apparently I'm a bit OCD about gravel roads too...if I could maintain them one step ahead of getting bad rather than waiting until horrid, I'd totally be out there. Bet it would prevent a lot of issues from starting and perpetuating!
Have you considered paving the end part closest to the house? I remember when my Dad just had the last bit of our drive asphalted and my Mom was amazed at how this decreased the dust. I know it would be expensive to pave the entire thing. (And it is safer for horses to walk on gravel. IMO)
And Jason could add asphalt maintenance to his hobbies!
Melissa... I can TOTALLY relate.
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