a redneck-deck

We don't have a deck at our house. Well, there are a lot of things we don't have. But without a real porch, or deck, it seems a crime to be living in the country. We do have, however, an old hay wagon that was parked on the hill in the barn pasture-not far from the barn. And so, this became our deck.

And what a great view we had from our redneck deck. We've watched the trees leaf out, pasture grass grow up around it, and the soybeans pop up in the field. I've watched the sun rise and set on our deck, had picnics and good 'ol family time perched there on the hill.

It hadn't looked like the deck, I mean hay wagon, had been moved in years and considerable decay from lack of care was setting in. My father-in-law, looking for things to do on the farm, insisted that he make repairs to the wagon and we complied with the instruction it had to be put right back where he found it. So, he came out last week and hooked it up to the tractor (with help from our cash-rent farmer) and hauled it down the hill to powerwash in prep for sealing, painting and repair. We wanted it to dry so he backed it into the barn with guidance from me.

The next day I thanked the cash-rent farmer for helping him hook up the wagon. He wanted it out of the way to bail the hay anyway. I said, that wagon isn't your's is it? in a joking manner. Well, it's my boys, he said. What? We had big plans for our wagon/redneck deck and I want it right back where we had it. So, now I've got to figure out what this thing is worth to the farmer's son. I'm guessing use of the property for virtually free should go a long way, but I don't know. I do know that we're not making any more repairs on it until we get this sorted out!