Blackberry Attack!

"I have a backhoe," said the voice on the other end.  I picked up the phone without looking to see who called.  I thought this was a dream.  Someone's providing me a backhoe? 

It was Mark.  He called to follow up on an offer he made last week to help me clear blackberry bushes from the field with a backhoe and to say he and another person were heading to the field.

"Sweet!  I'll be right there!" I replied as I jumped out of bed.  As I got dressed, I received a call from Sarah, a woman who regularly volunteers at CTTB and called me a few weeks ago expressing interest in helping on the farm.  Great timing!  Of all days, I was going to do something that multiple people could help with!

Sarah tossing uprooted plant

Within minutes, I had three people helping me take out blackberries.  Mark dug out the large blackberry patches while Sarah, Eli, and me followed the trail of destruction by doing the detail work.  The CTTB made aluminium handle shovels to deal with blackberries because the roots are so tough that they often crack wooden handles.  We made a great deal of progress before a hydraulic pump gave out. By the time we got out the last root, it was time to put away the sheep. 

I felt sheepish about not having anything to give as thanks for this unexpected and highly effective help, but I'm glad I facilitated Mark's first-ever encounter with sheep!

Thanks for all your work, Sarah, Mark, and Eli!