Awareness of the outside world. The Guardian: US firms that kept DEI policies despite ‘go woke, go broke’ threats thrived, Gupta, 14 Aug 2026.
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Barn lime for the win!
We’ve been having trouble with footing in the run-in area of the barn.
Raining a lot. Mud everywhere. No surprise.
Less rain. Pasture drying out. Inside footing still muddy. Surprise.
Deep & muddy everywhere. Need boots to do barnwork. Slick & squishy under the mats.
Enter 600 pounds of barn lime & a several bags of pellets.
First batch went onto walking areas as proof of concept. Mud began drying up immediately. I swear the barn felt drier.
Second batch under mats and more around the entrance.
Such improvement.
Easier to walk on. Horses not leaving post holes when they walk. I can do barn chores in sneakers. No longer sink up to my ankles. I swear the mats are leveling out. At least they are not buckling up and down where the horses stand. The mats are definitely moving around less.
It has been raining a little less lately. I have to keep reminding self that the improvement is not a matter of timing. Something was wrong. Barn stayed muddy even when the ground outside dried up.
I thought it was a matter of drainage. The stall is downslope of the run-in. Over time, the stall floor has been stomped into a less permeable form. Water had nowhere to go. Other Barn Minion mentioned that the chemistry of the dirt might be off. Makes sense. Soil has chemistry, right? Or both.
Either way, limestone soaks up the water, or balances out the dirt. Or both.
No photos. Not a visual event. Brown dirt, piles of white powder, topped by little tan niblets of compressed sawdust.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
On our NJ farm when I was growing up, we used to spread lime every so often when we cleaned stalls, sheep pens, etc. It helped keep everything dry. Occasionally spread lime in outdoor places that were seriously muddy, and wouldn’t dry out, it seemed. Glad to know that lime still works. MM
Yeah. I remember using lime back in the day. Haven’t heard much about it recently.