Harvest Moon

This weekend was the harvest moon.  I hope you all had a chance to spend some time after dark enjoying it's glory.   It was a beautiful sight just as the sun set and also in the morning before sunrise.

It was another enjoyable and productive weekend here on the farm.   First up, a special thanks to all the visitors that have stopped in to see the farm and visit with us.   We had Alan and Laura stop over to put up the trail camera and the tree stand ladder.   Great to see them both and now I am dying to see what his trail camera picks up at the woods.   Bill and Carol also stopped in for a short visit.   We are so thrilled with all the positive feedback we have been getting over the farm.   Thank you everyone for seeing the potential that we also seen and for supporting our dream.   It's a labour of love and this is a life long journey that we have embarked upon.   Sometimes being at the beginning seems so daunting but looking optimistically forward I see such a fabulous adventure...it's hard to sometimes wait for the next day to dawn.  :-)

Progress report for this weekend...
The new shelter in pasture #2 has been started.  DH and I man handled the 24 foot 6x6's into position after DH made all the lap joint cuts.   It's going to be a nice large run-in.  Both DH and my dad think I am requesting shelters bigger than necessary.   My thought process is that I want to have shelters in every pasture that would be suitable for at least 3 horses to fit under comfortably even if there is one boss hoss that wants the full shelter.   This is the first try at this...so if it ends up being too big, we can always make the other 5 smaller!

Here are the supplies before start...

Here is the progress so far...

We had the duct work cleaned on Saturday.  Again this poor contractor found lots of debris in the ducts.   Large chunks of wood, drywall and one thing that I dropped down when I was sanding the floors he was able to fish out...a half full water bottle.   We also went ahead and had him run the anti fungicide through the system.    We figure it can't hurt after all the gross-ness we have discovered so far.

Quotes are starting to come in for the new roof on the house and also the new roof on the bank barn.    It's been a struggle to get contractors to even call us back to set up a time to quote let alone even get quotes.   This has been a long drawn out process already and we haven't even got to the point were we have enough information to pick between steel and asphalt for the house.  

Pasture #3 has all the old fence removed and all the new insulators installed.   Just need to pull the new wire rope and hang the gate and we will have 3 pastures secure.

I can see that fall is starting to get its grip.   We have a lovely old maple tree out front that I believe is going to be beautiful for Thanksgiving.   Here it is at the start of its transformation...

Bring On The Weekend

Another fruitful week at HP Haven!
300 bales of hay in the barn and it's beautiful stuff!   About another 150-200 more to come and we will be set for all the critters this winter.

Got a special treat this week...I was invited to come and ride Grady, Sharon's new young 4 year old boy.   He's lovely and such a kind, easy going thoroughbred.   He's got the chrome too...big blaze and 4 white socks.   It was one of those, You got me at hello moments!   He can definitely come and be one of my herd if at any point Sharon thinks he's not a good fit for her!

The mouse update for this week...the rodents are becoming fewer...well at least visibly fewer, meaning I don't see them waiting under the feed tubs at chow time!   I have had 3 bait boxes completely cleaned out again this week.   Made a visit to the TSC tonight and decided that I needed one more bait box and 3 more bait sticks...what the heck, the stuff was on sale and I am rather enjoying this new mission as mouse terminator.   I just wish I knew how many mice I have "taken care of" with my $100 in bait, traps and hunting supplies.   Don't all good hunters want to have a trophy from the hunt?

We finally had a look up in the loft of the shop barn.   There is no ladder and the ceiling is about 9-10'...and lets face it people...we were just plain afraid to see what was up there after the state of the bank barn and the interior of the house.  (Not to mention the mouse infestation was the worst in there, so didn't want to poke my head up there at practically eye level with an entire city of rodents).  Well, since one of the lights in the run in was burnt out and DH hustled the big ladder in to change it, we braved it.   I don't think anyone has been up there since the early 1900's!   There's an old wooden wringer washer, a pot belly coal stove and the convertible top for an old buggy.   I didn't actually set foot up there but that was what we could see from the top rung of the ladder.   More discovery in that area another day when we have more time.   Hopefully we won't find out this is also the mouse graveyard.

Had the chimney cleaned this week...another amazing discovery.   When the cleaner was checking the cavity for the insert to help figure out if the blower fan was Ok for the unit he popped out the vents on the bottom side walls and stuck his hand it to feel around.   OK...I stood there watching thinking...seriously guy are you really going to get your face down there and see if you can see in there.   Then he proceeded to stick his hand into this cavity beside our fireplace.   No way in hell I would have had my face down by the hole or even worse stuck my hand into the abyss of the wall.    He looks up at me and crinkles his brow and pulls out a women's leather clog.  I burst out laughing in shock and disbelief.   Then he reaches in and pulls out clog number 2!   In my shock I ask him who puts shoes in the walls?   He said in all of his years cleaning fireplaces he has never pulled out shoes from a fireplace cavity!   I know I have said this before...nothing should shock me anymore about this house and how the previous owners did things...but once again I am shocked and disgusted all at the same time.   I could have understood if these were vintage shoes of the period the house was built but these are 21st century shoes stuffed in the wall!

Hay is Here

The first wagon load of hay has arrived at the farm.   It's beautiful hay and the horses will be glad to have this come February.  Next step is to unload the wagon into the barn.  
We had a delay receiving hay due to the depth of the sand in the arena.   But now that DH has worked hard at getting the sand scraped out they were able to get the wagon in without getting stuck!

Pasture #2 is fully enclosed now.  We hung the gate tonight, so I may have to test out the turnout in there tomorrow if the weather cooperates.  

DH made a purchase for the farm tonight...new forks for the tractor.   He was like a kid with a new toy when he got home and had them in the back of his pick up.  We have been borrowing my dad's set and once DH realized how handy they were; I knew it was just a matter of time before his own set made an appearance in the yard!

Mouse Update...
New 4th bait trap purchased and 2 more bricks of bait.   I seen a mouse in the run in shed and decided I better have a look to see what was left of the bait and it was completely empty!  Holy crap, that's a lot of bait gone.  That means either these little buggers were hungary or there was a small army of these rodents having a feast!   I checked the bait box in the feed room and when I opened the cover a mouse was inside chowing down!   I slammed that lid down and was out of there!  Holy, I can't believe how brave these pests are.  O well...he will be a goner before long after his meal.  
All I can think about is the fact that I am glad that winter is coming because I can only imagine how many dead mice are in the walls of the "shop".  I think we will be having a mass grave funeral when we start the reno in there!

Pay It Forward...
I got a pay it forward gift last night from my friend Karen.   I posted a pay it forward request on my Facebook page earlier this year and 4 people took my challenge.  Basically the idea was to give something hand made to the first 5 people that comment on your post.  In exchange they had to post the pay it forward request on their wall and make gifts for the first five people that posted on the their wall.
Karen made me hand made wool socks!   They are beautiful and I have a feeling this house is going to be be pretty cold this winter, so practical and beautiful!

Izzy Brings It...
I had an amazing ride tonight.  Izzy was working beautifully, so I decide to work on simple changes thru walk.  They were perfect, so I upped the anti a wee bit and asked for the simple change with only 1 walk step and they were perfect.  So I upped the anti one more time and asked for a flying change...AND we had success!   First try was a bit awkward and late behind but 2nd try both ways was clean and perfect.   I think the neighbours would have been blinded by my beaming smile if they lived closer!   I had to resist the temptation to try again to make sure it wasn't just a fluke.   I ended on that note and hacked out through the pastures.  I think my baby might actually be growing up!

Another Weekend Gone

Where does the time go?  I swear it's Friday and then I blink and it's Sunday night and back to work again tomorrow morning.

First off thanks to Katie and Ryan for dropping in and bringing a lovely bottle of wine.   It was so nice to see you both and Katie I am so proud of you.   T makes an amazing advanced level hack horse!    I think the advanced horses are absolutely the most fun on the trail.  What a feeling to do tempi changes at will along the forest path.   Enjoy...it's a long winter; get outside and enjoy the fall fields!  :-)

It rained on Saturday morning.  This is what the furry peeps in the HP Haven House were doing. 

Weeding continued this weekend.   I think it's going to continue right up until the snow flies!   I can't believe how many weeds and the size of these suckers.   Here is the front of the "shop" currently run in shed and storage but at some point going to be a lovely shop for DH.

Here it is after weeding.   Not a huge difference on this one but well worth the clean up.  All the remaining small weeds will have to meet their demise with my trusty friend Round up!

DH started working on scraping the sand out of the indoor.  The footing is way too deep.   Too deep to even ride in.  Iz was sinking up half way to her fetlocks!  

Here's DH at the start of the project.  

Here is the arena now after the sand has been piled in the corner.  We will re-level the footing again and I will give it another test ride.  Either way this is a day of scraping and we still have to haul it all out!

I weeded the back door to the barn and I started weeding the round pen area.   Only about half done the round pen but I have made a dent in it.

Back of Barn - BEFORE

Back of Barn - AFTER

Round Pen - BEFORE

Round Pen - AFTER

DH also cut the lawn.  That's a full afternoon using both the small riding mower and also the 60" on the tractor.   So glad that he likes to cut grass!!

I went to a very lovely celebration of life for a good friend who past away recently.   Judy Elliott will always hold a special place in my heart and be an important woman in my life.   Thanks to her I have Emma and all of you know what Emma means to me.   Her children hosted a lovely barn party in her memory.    It was bitter sweet seeing all the friends and horse people that Judy had touched over her years.  RIP Judy, you will always be my horse angel.

Christmas in September

What a surprise!    My parents showed up tonight with a huge surprise for Chris and I...new his and her's chain saws!!   Yep, Christmas came early here at HP Haven!  I sure hope it doesn't rain all weekend because I want to test out my new toy.

I think, my mom was most surprised by all this.   This was the first time in over 40 years of marriage that my dad has done any of the Christmas shopping!  

Thank you mom and dad, we love you.

I am not sure how I was tortured in a previous life to be granted so much happiness in this life but I will take it.  I feel so grateful for all the blessing I have been fortunate enough to have bestowed upon me.   The purchase of this farm has changed my life in so many ways.   I look forward to what the future has in store here.  

Fresh Water!

We have drinking water from the tap now!!!
Thank heavens as I was starting to really have concerns about the carbon footprint that we were leaving on this beautiful piece of the earth.   I have never drank bottled water other than the odd one here and there when out and about.   We have always had good drinking water from the tap and I drink almost exclusively water.  Ok, lets not get carried away, I have really developed a hankering for Lime Vodka, BUT the majority of the time I drink water straight up.   We have had a mountain of recycling since we moved in...mostly all plastic water bottles.

Today the plumber was out and installed an all new water system.   New pump, pressure tank, double sediment filtration and UV light.  We just need to have the water heater replaced with a propane one and we will be fully set up for the long haul here on the farm.

It was such a lovely "fall" evening that I couldn't pass up this opportunity to ride Izzy.   It was only a high of about 17ºC today; actually a perfect temperature in my mind, so I rode when I got home and had THE best ride on Iz since we moved here.   Decided after 30 minutes of dedicated schooling that she had done enough, as everything I asked her she gave an excellent effort.   We walked back to the bush to end our ride and that was the best part.   For the first time since the move she walked back on the buckle and returned home on the buckle!   That's the Izzy I remember from the old house hacking through Taquanyah.   My day couldn't be better!  :-)
Emmy is also getting back to her old self as well.   The calling and running like a fool has nearly stopped.   She makes a few whinnies now at the start and the odd one during the ride but overall she is back being her civilized, wise, senior self when I take the kid out for a ride.   I really love that old horse.

We had a really nice visit tonight from my cousin Alan and his wife Laura...O and their dog child Georgia.   Alan is an avid hunter so his interest was the bush line.   We made a drive back to the bush with the truck and sited at least 6 deer on the route back and Laura even seen a flock of about a dozen turkey's.   I think Alan will be making the trek during hunting season to try his luck at the bush.  

DH made a funny the other day.   As I was walking the fencing and busying myself fixing up fences, I turn and see DH cresting one of the hills as I am at the far end of the pasture.  He's slightly out of breath when he arrives within earshot.   He says, "I know how Emmy feels."  I give him the look that states, "Huh?".   He says, "I know what it's like chasing the kid up and down the hills around the pasture!"   What a guy...gotta love him!

Because I know that inquiring minds just have to know...the mouse death toll is still 6.  However, I have seen only one small mouse in the run in shed in 2 days.   I think the bait is working it's magic.   (Insert toothy grin here!)

Pest Update

Another thank you to all my friends who provided rodent control advice.
I think I might be winning...maybe just winning a little bit but on the cusp of really pulling ahead!
I bought the suggested bait and set all the bait feeders out last night.   This morning no mice in the Victor traps.   That however is not something news worthy!   BUT I only seen one little mouse  this morning at feed time and tonight NO mice at feed time.   Normally at feed time I see at least 6-8 mice.   Curiosity was really getting the better of me so I had to pull the bait feeder out and have a look inside to see if the yummy bait sticks had any evidence of rodents.   Yep!!  The run in barn had loads of evidence and the farm supply salesman made a point of telling me this was one feed kill bait.
I know I should not be celebrating the death of vermin...but mice really make me sick.   All that poo and mess everywhere.   Ick!
Now I have to get to the TSC and find this product called Cab Fresh that Jeanne recommends to keep the little buggers out of my blankets that are stored in the barn.
Thanks again friends for all the advice and suggestions...it was a big help!

Last night DH cut the front pasture on the hill in front of the house.   We are still not sure what we will do with that field.  I hate the thought of having to cut it as lawn but it's really not a convenient place to turn out the horses.   The old owners used to have sheep and a llama in there.   I think I might have to try and convince hubby that I need a small donkey!  I don't know what for but my friend Pat got me hooked on this blog that gives the day to day antics of 3 donkeys, a horse, a pot belly pig and a dog...o ya and their owner!   Check it out here, 7MSN Ranch.

Last night I busied myself with a very enjoyable ride on Miss Izzy.   I think Iz and Em are finally starting to get a grip on their anxiety of being separated.   Iz worked very well both on the ground and under saddle.   I have been trying to get myself back into a regular 5 days a week riding again.   It's been about a month since that has happened, and I have missed it as well as the routine it offers.   This is the first time Izzy has had a significant break in her training since she was started 2 years ago.   I see now that she really is better with the regular training.   The extended break has set us back somewhat from where we were.    Mostly a mental state of readiness to work not physical.  I am not surprised by this tho as she has been a bit of a late bloomer in the mental readiness department.   Em on the other hand could be off for months and I could get on her and she would be right were we left off; just not physically able to do what her mind believes she is still capable of.

A special thanks to my mom for the lovely plants that she brought over on the weekend for the roadside planters.   I put them together in my pots from the front porch at the old house.   Chris drove them to the front gate with the front end loader and I propped them up against the posts.   The ground is a bit uneven there but I wanted to set them out anyway.   I believe that when things in your life that you see everyday make you smile, it brings overall happiness to your life.    I also believe that happy people are more productive.  I need to be productive (at least for the next long while :-), so creating those planters will bring me joy everyday as I pull in the driveway.  I think that's time well spent even tho these were not highest on the priority list!

Pasture #2 Almost Ready

DH and I got the fourth strand on the bottom of the big front pasture today.   Duke made another appearance this morning as I was working away stringing the line.   He wasn't so easy to catch this time so DH and I spent about 30 minutes trying to round him up as my 2 cavorted about trying to kill the little bugger!   I told the neighbours they need to re-name him Houdini since this is the 3rd time in 2 weeks that he's been over.   The first time I can see that as an accident...sometimes these things happen...I get it.  BUT this is the second time now in 3 days!!

DH got the dead hay and poo pile from the 2nd and 3rd pastures cleared up and removed.   The smell is better already!

I worked away on stringing the fencing on pasture #2.   It's up!   DH finished up with the poo and was my line tensioner as we pulled the strands tight.  We got all the strands up and tightened.   All we need is to hang the gate and we will have 2 fields ready to go!  

The "To Do" list is getting shorter but it's still very long.  I thought I would have got a lot more done this weekend than what we did.   I am coming to realize that everything on this farm takes longer than I expect!  Either I am a terrible estimator or I am mentally more ambitious than I am physically!

No new additions to the death toll tonight.   I had clean traps...so I fed the rodents rather than killing them.   I will make a stop at the farm store tomorrow on the way home from work to buy "hunting" supplies!

Wendy dropped in to say hi and congratulate Chris and I on the new farm.   Wendy is familiar with the farm already so the tour was more a re-aquaintence than I first time tour.   It was nice to have Mia visit as well and go after the mice!!   Maybe I need to rent a Jack Russell for a few weeks!

Working for the Weekend

It's been a busy few days at HP Haven!
Thursday night was our first official BBQ at the pond pergola.   Lovely evening with Sharon, Rob and Greta.   What a nice night it was...couldn't have asked for a nicer evening weather wise.   Thank you both for the wine and your enthusiasm for our new project.   We seen the potential too!  :-)   It's a work in progress and 5 years from now you hopefully won't recognize the place.

DH and our guests before dinner.

Thursday night was also exciting for the girls…Duke was again on the loose and made another appearance after dark in the pasture.   At dusk, the neighbours had dropped over asking if we had seen him as he had got loose again.   By night check I couldn't see my horses and knew that something must be up as I could hear them moving around.   Chris and I armed ourselves with flash lights and set out to search for the girls in the dark.   As soon as we reached them it was obvious Duke had been around as they both were hot and the evenings are cool enough that grazing horses should not be sweating!   Within a minute from reaching the girls we heard the rustle of quick little trot steps in the next pasture.   With a sweep of the flash lights there appeared Duke.   Straight under the 3rd wire making a bee line to Izzy, who quickly turned on him and chased him off.   

Duke was returned home by 10 pm…He can thank his lucky stars that he's cute!

Today was a busy day outside.

I was fortunate to start my day schooling Izzy before breakfast!   :-)  Yeah Me!

Soon afterwards my folks rolled in and we were busy taking down fencing and removing fence posts.  Still a ways to go but we have a great start on the 2 back pastures being removed.   We do not need an additional 25 acres of pasture for 2 horses, so the land will be returned to working acreage.

Here is my Dad starting out with post removal of the cattle stock area.

I spent my afternoon weeding.   We had rain on Friday, so it was prime time to pull weeds again today.   Once again I will say how rewarding weed pulling can be.   My back is not really feeling the reward, however I am pleased with how several hours labour can really change things.

Here is the West side of the pond.

BEFORE

AFTER

Here is the barn entrance.

BEFORE

AFTER

I also want to thank all my friends who have been in touch regarding mouse extermination.  I am planning some bait and have started my search for tip traps.   So far I keep reloading my Victor traps.  I am feeling somewhat vindicated tonight as the graphic image below was what I found at night check tonight!     After all the peanut butter that has been "stolen" off my traps, I couldn't help but say "sweet" out loud when I found this trap!

Mouse Death Toll = 6

Mice...They are Everywhere!

OK Friends that are reading along here...I need your help!
I am getting over run by mice in the barns.    These little buggers aren't even afraid of me!

I am going to give the disclaimer now to my friends who are animal rights activists.   Start the law suits now because I am going to kill as many of these pests that I possibly can.   I figure there is no possible way I will be able to obliterate the species.   So sorry...they have to go by way of death or pack their little hammy hamster hobo sandwich in a kerchief and go to the neighbours because they are NOT welcome here!

This is the part where I need your help...What can I use to get rid of these rodents?  I have a cat...and I am not planning on another one.   They just don't end up staying in the barn!  :-)   Miss Kitty can't even keep on top of the numbers I am talking about here.  
I have avoided poison because I would hate to have Miss Kitty eat one that has been poisoned.  Last thing I want to do is kill my cat in the process of getting rid of the rodents!   Yes, I know she is loud and obnoxious at 2am but she has such a personality!    She may have started her life in this family as a drop off at the old house but she's is family now and we don't intentionally try and harm our family members in this house.

So what can I do to help control, at the very least, the population?   I have an arsenal of the wonderful Victor spring traps.    I know these things are brutal mouse killing machines...maybe that's why I like them so much!   I figure if I want them dead I at least don't want them to suffer, like the glue tape does to them.  Trouble is tho I have had issues with the mice not actually getting their little knoggens  squished in these traps but they eat all my bait!   I have used peanut butter on the trigger, I have wedged a Q-tip covered in PB into the trigger and still they eat all my bait with no dead vermin to show for it AND the trap still set!   I don't want to feed these suckers!   They get enough oats and good stuff stolen off my horses...the last thing I want to do is waste my precious PB on them!
Help if you have any suggestions!

So far the mouse death count is 1.  Very insignificant...but we all start counting at 1!

Pink Power

I got to try out my new tool belt tonight as I continued to work on the fencing for the pastures.
Special thanks to my MIL Marlene for the handy house warming gift!

DH worked some more on the arena sand and then started to move yet another dead hay and poo pile from one of the pastures.  

I certainly have learned a lot from this purchase and will stipulate all the nitty gritty details in my next real estate contract.   God forbid that I ever do this a second time!    Maybe it will be like child birth...the joy of the baby makes you forget the pain and then you have another one a few years later.   Not like I can talk from experience on that front either tho!  :-)   Seriously, maybe I will never get another chance to use this new wisdom but maybe sharing it here will help one person from getting left holding the literal garbage bag when they buy their next home.   You heard it from me people...spell out EVERY little detail in your real estate contract.  Be picky and don't be ashamed for doing it.   You are just making sure your expectations are clear!

I guess I am naive about some things and maybe a bit too trusting that people will do the right thing or at least try.   This won't change the fact that I will still try and look for the good in people and believe that the world really is made up of mostly honest, hardworking citizens.   It just helps me know that I have to be more clear with my expectations and not make assumptions that everyone operates in the way I may think they should.

Busy September Weekend

HP Haven has been a bustle of activity this past weekend.
We had rain on Saturday morning so I set out to try and get the house in order.   Please take note that I did say that I set out to TRY.  As the story always goes, one thing lead to another and then I found myself ripping up the small bits of carpet that are in the bedroom wardrobes and washing and painting the floors.  I had cleaned the first cupboard and thought the carpet looked reasonably clean.   The second however was just like the rest of the carpeting that was ripped up...It had pee stains in the closet!   Yuck!   So it had to go and since I was doing one I figured I might just as well get rid of it all.    They are all now complete but setting out to get the house in order was long gone by the wayside!   I will again try and another day!  :-)

My Dad came by on Saturday morning and spent until early afternoon cleaning up the lower section of the bank barn.  He had a full load of scrap on his trailer.   He's getting rid of the many appliances that the sellers left us with.   One giant freezer, a dish washer, a washer and a stove and the old aviary.    Countless bundles of fencing wire and lots of just plain metal junk.   He's going to recycle it for us...we are fine with that...it's gone!

Saturday afternoon turned out to be beautiful sunny afternoon.  Since it had rained most of the morning I thought this was the opportunity to start to tackle some of those 4 foot weeds that are basically taking over everywhere.   I thought I would start in the area that I see the most; the back door and the pergola/pond area.   

We had a special visit from friends Reta and Bill.   They like to live spur of the moment and were in the area so stopped over in hopes that we were free to go for supper with them at the Twisted Lemon.   Well who can say no to that!    It was still a couple hours until dinner so Reta asked for a pair of gloves to help with the weed pulling!    Bill helped Chris get the lawn mower going.   What a wonderful couple of friends, they work and then treat us to dinner at the best restaurant in town.   We are so lucky!

Here's Reta and Bill...my oldest and most amazing friends.

This is us at Twisted Lemon...delicious meal, great company.   Made for a fabulous evening after a full day.
Here are some before and after pics of Reta and my's handiwork pulling weeds.   Such satisfying work weed pulling...because you can really see results from all your effort.

BEFORE

AFTER

This is the wreckage for weed composting.   I still have the other half of the pond to do and all the areas up near the barns.  It will have to wait now until after it rains again.   Good old Cayuga clay has harden up like the kiln fired pots this stuff has got to be good for.

Saturday also led me into the neglected garden that the sellers left behind.   They had about 6 Roma tomato plants and 2 small cherry tomato plants.    I never planted a garden this year and really was missing it earlier in the season.   I had let go of the fact that I was not having fresh lettuce and would not be making my own spaghetti sauce this year.   It turns out that my sauce is still a reality...I could not bare to see those beautiful tomatoes go to waste.   So I picked Sat and made sauce on Sunday...and I am finishing the reducing process tonight.   This sauce will not get canned like I normally do but will freeze this sauce in bags for the cold days of winter when I really need something fresh.

Here are the pickin's.

This is the first stock pot of sauce simmering on the stove.

 Sunday I played hookie from farm work nearly all day.  (Bad me...but I had so much fun)  I rode Izzy in the morning.  She was fabulous.  Considering how little she has been ridden in the past 3 weeks she worked wonderfully in the outdoor.  Which was the best it has been since we moved in due to the rain on Saturday.   Then I went to the London Dressage Assoc. show to watch my friend Heather compete on her horse.   They must have got ALOT more rain in London because the rings were complete muck!   Heather did a good job.  Here they are looking great despite the mud!

Sunday was also a sad day in the history of barn boots.   I tossed out my old faithful Blundstone boots.  They were my absolute favourite boots.  I become very attached to my broken in shoes and boots.   I don't really like getting new shoes and new barn boots are such a big deal.  The old ones are like trusted friends.   They have miles and they have been trusted company through hot, cold, rain and shine.   Alas, I new that they were beyond salvaging as I made my way across the driveway with a hideous flip flopping sound echoing my foot falls as my right heel hung on by a literal thread.    I announced their passing to DH before making the deposit in the trash.   He gave me "that" look like I can't really be sad about this.   Then he punctuated the thought with, "They should have been thrown out 2 years ago!"   

Not really sure why I love my barn boots so much but of all the things that I am attached to they are one thing that I do treasure.   I have had a new pair of Blundstone's that have been getting the odd day out now and again over the last couple of years but they just don't feel the same.   I know it's nutty but I can't explain it.   They just aren't my old boots.   DH would be mortified that the thought has crossed my mind several times to pull them out of the trash.   I won't but I have thought about it!

Progress On Pasture #2

Slow but surely we are getting more organized everyday.
Today DH spent the afternoon bug hogging my fence line on the front pasture my girls are in right now.  He said they followed him around for the first 30 minutes or so then decided that watching from the hill was a better option.   Izzy has already left her mark on our tractor.   Being the curious type and always having to put her nose and feet on everything; she has left huge scratches on the hood from her teeth when the tractor was parked in the field in the spring when Chris took a bio break!   He was mortified that she would do such a thing.  I wasn't pleased but I guess I have got used to her destructive behaviour!  I am on water trough number 3 already this year because she finds it "fun" to put her front feet in the trough and tip it over even tho I have it latched to a post.   She does seem to have fun so can I really deny her that?!

DH got pasture #2 bush hogged and ready for fencing.   I was able to take down all the old rope fencing and get all new insulators installed at the proper heights.   Just need to string the new rope fence and we are on our way to having a second field ready for use.

Supposed to rain tomorrow all day...so DH was able to get half the piping from the bank barn roof fixed so that it will hopefully fill our pond back up.   The pond is very low right now because we have had a very dry summer.  The roof eaves from the bank barn however are supposed to drain underground into the pond.   But like EVERYTHING so far it was broken and not working.  
I am having serious mental anguish trying to understand how people could live the way that these people lived.   They must have really checked out from this property and not cared at all about anything anymore.   I say this because of the filth and the fact that everything and I am not exaggerating here when I say everything, is broken or has some component to it broken.

Even my first load of laundry ended up on the ground because the clothes line broke!   That's now been replaced too and I think I have to really get my head wrapped around the fact that the only thing we bought with this property was #1 - A beautiful piece of property with rolling hills and room to roam.  #2 - A house with good structural integrity...but not alot of details taken care of.  #3 - A current barn and arena that again is structurally sound but needs work to make it how I would expect a barn to function.

I know it will all come together over time and I am working through my own expectations of myself (and DH) around what is realistic to get done in an achievable time frame.  I know I am not a patient person; so this is going to be a good exercise for my learning.   :-)

Back to Work...Boo!

I had to head back to work this week after my nearly 2 weeks off for the move.   It was tough getting up early (read this as, before the sun even came up) to get into a new routine at the new house.   I guess it's not really a new routine; all the tasks are still the same but they all feel new since the environment is new.
DH, the lucky dog, gets over 8 weeks vacation so he is still off this week doing all the tasks with contractors.
Since Bell is basically our only provider for services here, we decided that we would go with them to save a bit of money bundling.   Well, Bell has seriously screwed up already and we haven't even got everything installed yet.  I don't understand how I can book stuff a month in advance and they can screw up our phone hook up not only once but 3 times!!!   I hate them already and we haven't even got the service working.   Nice that the only numbers I can dial out are 310 BELL and 911!
Enough of a rant on Bell!   :-)

Today DH fixed the back door so Doggie can't let herself in at will.  Not such a problem really except for the fact that she always leaves the door open and the house is FULL of flies!   Her command of "Open Says Me!" no longer works.   She's not pleased with this since she is DH's baby girl who gets whatever Princess wants.  All I can say is I am glad the flies irritate him too or I would have been walking around with a fly swatter as the dog has seniority over me!

Miss Kitty's alarm clock has been working again; same as in the old house.   She's settled in now and is back to her old routine in the new location.  She wants to be out all night and in all day sleeping on the couch!   She has a built in timer that starts going off at about 5:30 am.   She meows this blood curdling meow that she is absolutely starving and MUST get in for her morning tuna.   The issue is that she always knows where we sleep so she used to sit under our bedroom window at the old house since we had a side split.  Well now that we are on the second floor asleep she has taken to making a roof top visit, meowing at eye level in the window!!   Anybody who says animals are stupid hasn't met my pets!!

DH spent most of his afternoon cleaning up a dead hay pile in the area that I am making my holding pen for all the chutes for my pastures.   The smell from this old wet, mouldy hay is enough to knock you out!  Here he is almost finished.   This took several hours of loading with the tractor to remove all this mess...so you can imagine the years this has been left to build up.

I got home from work and went riding!!  Yeah Me!   I needed some time in the saddle.   I could feel myself getting out of sorts and rather "tired".   To avert a bad ride due to the leadership issues I am struggling with because I have had little time to spend with my girls I took them both together.  I saddled up Izzy and ponied Emma.  Made a big loop out to the back 40 and back to the outdoor ring.   Both horses were relaxed and perfect...that was what I was aiming for.  I know I have my work cut out for the next while helping them believe that my leadership is a trusting position and that separating from their buddy to be with me is a wise choice that will not result in anything unfavourable.   So mission accomplished for tonight...baby steps.

...And don't these 2 look like 2 happy horses!  :-)

 Back to reality tomorrow with more unpacking and getting organized after work.

Unexpected Visitor

We had a very unexpected little visitor this afternoon.   The neighbour's (whom we had not met yet) little mini stallion was in our pasture this afternoon.  He created quite the ruckus with my 2 mares.   I heard a strange high pitched whinny when I was in the kitchen putting things away, so I looked out the window from the side of the house and low and behold I could see my 2 strutting around, circling the wagons, so to speak.  This little guy would take off and Izzy and Emma would charge in pursuit quickly over taking him and being very threatening.   I was worried the little guy was going to get hurt or kick one of the girls in a joint.    I totally understand mother's that swoop out onto the playground when they see their children doing something dangerous.   I took off out of the kitchen at a full run...screaming up the stairs to Chris that there was a strange horse in the pasture!
After much persuasion I was able to catch my 2 and haul them off to the barn as they continued to prance and wheel around trying to keep the little devil in view.   We caught the escapee and swapped him in and my 2 back out.   The poor little guy had a full mat of burrs for a mane and tail.   He had severely overgrown feet; he was walking on the bulbs of his heels.  I felt so sorry for this little beggar, even tho he had my 2 in a full sweat and wound tighter than a coiled spring.

I ended up meeting our neighbours.  Friendly elderly man and his Grandchildren.   Ruth apologized profusely for her escapee, whom we found out is named Duke.

Here is DH with Duke having a drink after the shenanigans show.   

That fourth strand of fencing that was being delayed because of the bush hogging just got bumped up the priority list!    Duke walked right under our 3rd strand without even thinking he was in or out of anywhere!!

We also had visitors again today!   Gerry and Betty from Leamington stopped over to see the new farm.   What a treat to have them stop in and see where we are starting.   They have known Chris since he was a baby and are wonderful Dunbar family friends.   Betty, Marlene and I lamented on moving, unpacking and trying to downsize.   We have way too much furniture now for this house...or maybe not too much but not the stuff that works with this house.   We will be editing and replacing over time and Betty gave me some good advice to live with what you have for at least 6 months because by that time you will be settled enough into a routine to know if you can live with how things are or if it just drives you crazy and you HAVE to change it.   Yep...that's advice I will take.

We had a lovely visit from Terri and Walker.   Terri came with fresh eggs from her chickens!!   Walker has grown sooo much since I last seen him.   He's tall now, where does the time go?   I had wished we had more time to visit but we were heading out for dinner with my folks.   We still got to show her around so she could see the starting point.
I keep telling everyone to give us 5 years and you will not recognize the place.   :-)

Between visits I was able to get the majority of the burrs cut out of the pasture.   They are now waiting their turn for incineration in our highly used fire barrel.  
DH and I also got the stalls unloaded from our last trailer of items from the move.   The stalls have already been re-homed to a nice local couple that are building a new barn.

Thanks again to everyone who has sent me messages and congrats on the new home.   Your love, best wishes and words of encouragement have really meant alot to me.  Love you all!  xo

I know this new journey looks like alot of work...I am not foolish enough to think it won't be.  But like the old saying goes, when you do something that you love it really doesn't feel like work.

Finding Beauty

Today I conclude that the previous owners where either very lazy or just didn't know any different.
I spent 3 hours scrubbing the second floor bathroom...the tiles are actually white not ivory which I had previously thought!  For me the basics of soap and water is not all that expensive and the filth this family lived in on a daily basis continually amazes me.   I think it will until I actually make my way through all the rooms in the house.   You don't have to have the best of things to keep them clean.  

We pulled the stall mats from the run in shelter and power washed them.   This was a full morning job because the manure was caked on.  I scrubbed with the garden edger while DH hit them with the high pressure water.   These suckers hadn't seen the light of day in years by the amount of grime and petrified poo.
Decided to set up feeders in the run in shelter so that the horses can be fed in there rather than back to the barn.   They had their first meal tonight with the new system and it worked great.   Will make life easier for me on weekday mornings before work.
I had my first hack out on Izzy tonight.   Beautiful evening and I had to find beauty in this weather because my little baby horse was having a serious meltdown leaving her calling buddy at the barn!   Izzy previously had not shown separation anxiety when she was the one going out but tonight she was quite upset.   On the route home we seen a big buck at the edge of the woods.   Lovely site to see, again found the beauty in a less than perfect ride.   It will be back to ground school for Izzy and Emmy to help them with their anxiety.   Maybe they need a buddy??  :-)   Three is the ideal number when you have one rider in the house.   No horse is ever left home alone in that case!!   You know what they say...the more room you have the more stuff you accumulate.

Lastly, I was greeted with an unexpected pleasure first thing this morning.   Amongst all the weeds that the previous owners had basically let go since they knew the farm was sold, I found a string of precious Morning Glories.  

 Here they are...little purple beauties peeking through the weeds.

And a little closer up if you missed then in the picture above.

It's easy to find beauty in unexpected places if you are open to seeing possibility.

We Are Here!

It's been a very long and tiring week at HP Haven!   BUT we are moved and finally have internet again.   No posts due to the two excuses already mentioned.

What's new?   Well the horses are here and have settled into their new field and run in shelter perfectly.   On the first morning, they both just sniffed about in their new run in shelter and then proceeded to trot off down the field.   Izzy took the lead and cantered down the hill and crested the top of the hill at a leisurely pace with Emma trailing behind her stiff legged and looking as if she was saying, "Hey kid, What's your hurry?".   It was a beautiful picture of the 2 of them loping along the top of the ridge in the morning sun.   Within 10 minutes they had both settled into finding some grass.   Pastures are pretty sparse with alot of weeds but will keep them busy until the fall since it's a big space.

The picture below shows the 2 of them on the first morning.  I called to them and they both turned to look in my direction.

Wednesday was moving day.   It was a long day and the movers were short one guy so it took even longer than I had expected.   However, they moved all the furniture and the many, many boxes of sorted things that were packed and ready to go.   Chris and my Dad busied themselves moving the garage and shed.  
The moving continued into Thursday to get the garage moved and then more moving again on Friday to get the barn moved.  It was I think the longest 3 days of my life so far!   I know in 6 months we will look back on this time and not recall it to be as painful as it was.   To be honest tho, we had so much going for us we are so thankful for the nonstop help that both my Mom and Dad supplied for the last 2 full weeks.  My parents spent such long days working and helping us that they stayed over night.   We even got the childhood wake up call from my Dad at 6:30 am of him crowing like a rooster.   Used to be his favourite thing to do when I was a teenager and had stayed out far later than I should have when I knew I had to get up the next day.  
We were also blessed with fantastic weather.   Who couldn't have asked for better.   It was a bit hot but we had no rain, so really we can deal with the heat!

It was such a pleasure to share the afternoon on Thursday with Reta and Bill.   They came for a visit and ended up staying the afternoon and helped load trailers and make trips back and forth to the new house.   I seriously aspire to be half of what Reta is when I am her age.  Thanks to you both for giving us your love and sharing in our dream of a farm of our own.   Your enthusiasm and positive energy was the exactly what I needed that afternoon.   AND the cherries were delicious!

Friday was the longest and busiest day of them all.   By the end of the day I had had my fill of moving and was...well irritable!   I was hot, tired and dirty.   Not to mention I had no internet and was feeling disconnected and still need some grounding that only a ride on a horse can provide.
My Dad however, was in his workaholic mode and never stopped.   He even moved the load of top soil we had delivered last year for pasture repairs making several trips back and forth with his dump trailer to bring the soil to the new farm to fix a low washout area long the drive to the back 40.  DH and I cut out at 9 pm on Friday after all the fence posts had been pulled and and moved to the new farm.   I have no idea what time he dumped off the last load of soil but I am sure I was sound asleep!!   Thank God he's from the generation that a little hard work never killed anyone...because we couldn't have done it without him!
My mom is the same...she cleaned tirelessly while I packed, moved items and spun myself into disorganized circles!   This move was hard for both Chris and I; I can't even imagine how hard it would have been if we had to do it without them.  

We have had a number of visitors stop in and wish us well on our new adventure.   It was so nice to see the familiar face today of a previous co-worker that himself will soon be making his own move in less than a month.   Don, we wish you well in your move as I know it's a very tough life decision to uproot ones self and make new roots in another town.   It will be so worth it in the end...you just wait and see and keep the great attitude!
Lynda stopped in today to have a peek too.   Nice to see local faces that we have met since we became horse people in Haldimand county.   The horse community is very small and to know that there are so many supporting people within a few minutes drive confirms that my decision to stay in the area was the right one.  I know over the years I have been homesick for the Woodstock area.  I have missed my horse friends there very much and being in a place that you know the people and their history as well as they know you and yours provides a connection without having to work real hard at it.   It's a good feeling but I know one that not everyone likes.   Can't wait to get over to Lynda's sugar bush later this fall for a hack with her and her horse Navarre once we are settled in a bit more and time commitments for must get done projects here has eased a bit.   Nice new ride Lynda...Pearl is beautiful!  :-)

DH and I had "a moment" when our closest neighbour dropped off a lovely house warming gift to us.  Thank you Tracy (and Rob too) for the lovely gift and the very heart felt card.   It was a teary moment for all 3 of us.   We've had some really great neighbour times together for the last 8+ years.   You and Rob mean alot to us both and I hope that you won't be strangers now that we are 10 minutes away!   Knowing that there was always someone that had your back in the neighbourhood was something city neighbours only dream of.  I sure hope the impromptu dinner invites don't stop...good times, good food and good friends around your kitchen table!  :-)   Leaving Decewsville was not an easy decision for us and you guys were certainly one of the pros on our list of reasons to stay!

Finally, I thought I should share a slight glimpse into the life I will lead over the next several weeks until I get to the pasture clean up that is required.
Princess Izzy has been up to her normal devious deeds.   This morning this is how I found her and the following picture of the ammo I had to use to detangle her from her mischief.  Seriously, she has 20 acres does she 'need' the blade of grass near the burrs??