Spring Cleaning Starts

It's has been a cold yet productive week here on the farm.
DH and I have got our working mojo back on so we are getting back into the never ending "To Do" list for the farm.

DH put up a new eaves trough and downspout on the corner of the barn that attaches to the old bank barn.   Unfortunately the grading is all wrong in this area and with no downspout we have found that all the water falling off the roof not only pools in the low spot at the foundation corner but works it's way right on inside!   DH put a new eves trough and a down spout with an extension so that in the mean time before we get to the landscaping issue we are at least trying to direct the water away from the buildings!   He also spent a good deal of time cleaning and repairing the eaves troughs on the house as we have water and landscaping issues there as well.   It's still too early for the landscaping but the ground here is drying up wonderfully.

We spent Sunday last weekend getting wind whipped while grading the driveway and picking up all the fallen tree limbs and sticks from the lawn.   We also cut out a big stump that is in front of the house.   It still needs to be lower but it was getting on into the late afternoon so we called it a night.

Here is DH and Molly on the job site!

Here is the stump before 

And After...

There were some VERY interesting bugs inside this stump.   I have no idea what these bugs are.   If anyone knows please fill me in.    This bug is about 2 inches long.   They were not moving all that fast because I think we interrupted their hibernation sleep.

Molly has had a very adventurous week this week too!

Sunday was the first day the ice had cleared from the pond...guess who went for a polar dip!

Last night Terrie and I went for a short hack on Elvis and Izzy to the back 40.  We made an attempt to enter the bush but the bog near the entrance was not passable so we rode the fence line instead.   Molly and Tinker tailed us the entire way!   That was Molly's first hack while I was mounted!   She was super and I think Tink was a wonderful babysitter.   Big Thanks to Terrie and Tinker for giving Molly her first scouting lesson.  :-)

My Dad showed up today with another load of mulch for our trail through the woods.    He had Mark and Wendy with him today for a ride and tour to the country.   It's nice to see them and hear their comments on the farm.   According to them, things are changing around the place!  

This is amazing mulch and I am sooooo eager to get the trail started and rideable.  Look at the pile I have calling me.   This is the kinda "fun work" I enjoy around the farm.   Hacking is my horseback joy.   If I ever had to choose between showing and hacking...I could live without showing but having a horse without being able to hack would be an unhappy torture.

We have had the return of the robin!   I know spring can't be long now...if only the warm weather would show up.   We have also had the return of some other little guests at the bird feeders.    Hopefully these little guys know Missy Kitty lives here and is a much more stealth hunter than the bubbling blond!

I have spent some time dreaming about how the perfect pasture layout would look if I didn't have existing fencing already in place.    For me perfect is when the pastures all have gates that are accessible close to the barn and close to the water source.    Our old place I was fortunate to be able to design from scratch exactly how I wanted everything laid out.   Here I have not had that luxury.   I am trying to work within the existing fence lines but I think there may be some modification on the horizon for this  summer.   I still have 3 more pastures to remove the old fencing and install new fencing, so still time to change things before I get too far along.   

We have made the purchase of fencing supplies, so I am ready to go.   (My pink tool belt has had a lonely winter!)  We have also bought a new post hole auger...so it's just time now and we will have a new layout with convenience being a key motivating factor in the design.

DH has flattened out all the sequestered small lots the horses are living on at the moment.   They are basically dirt now; I don't expect any grass to actually grow in these areas this spring.   The horses have dug up these small lots quite a bit over the rainy fall and freeze and thaw winter we had.  They are all smooth again now, until we get rain of course!   But here's to hoping that the rain will at least run down the hills rather than collect on all the deep hoof holes.   

On a final sad note, I want to send my deepest condolences to my friend Greta who lost her lovely old boy Inschallah this week.   You might remember Insch from this blog post.   He was a special horse who I hope is now running fast and free in greener pastures.

A few years ago Greta and I boarded together at a facility near here.   Greta was out hacking and I was getting ready to ride.   Greta came back white as a ghost and Insch was sporting a sliced artery in his pastern from a mishap at a culvert.    We got him into the wash stall and called the vet ASAP.   I washed his leg and was applying pressure to his wound.   I stood bent over with my thumb in his artery for what seemed like hours before the vet arrived.   The minute I took my thumb out he would spirt blood over the white walls of the wash stall.   I ended up with blood all over my breeches and all I could see when I looked up from his leg was poor Greta sitting on a bucket in despair...we all were wondering if this was the end.  It turned out old Insch was just too tough to die that day and went on for many happy years after that!    Thank you Greta for being such an example of what horse ownership means...Inschallah had one of the best lives of any horse I know.   Big Hug Greta!