Skunking, Round Pen and Pasture Fencing

I had the shear pleasure of a skunked Molly on Friday morning at 5:30 AM!!
As you know it's still dark out at that time of day and I no longer use the leash on Molly during chores. She has free run of the farm and she takes full advantage of that liberty.   I was out collecting the horses from the pasture and all I could see was the white pants of Molly take off past me int he pasture.   It wasn't that leisurely lope of a dog that's just happy to be outside...it was the dedicated focus of a dog on a mission.   As soon as I seen her dash past me I started calling her name.  As most of you know here recall when her nose is turned on is virtually zero...this day was no exception!  (I have hopelessly tried to explain to her that she was created with 2 ears and 1 nose for a reason!)   You can imagine the scene...Pitch black, still, crisp morning air, frantic woman hollering at the top of her lungs for a dog that might just as well be deaf.   At this point, I have no idea what she is after.   BUT then the smell hits me and the frantic yelling turns into "I am going to kill you dog" threats!   Of course the happy go lucky blond circles past me and assaults my nostrils with most vial smell ever.    Then in the beam of my flashlight, I witness her rolling and slithering through the tall grass...she might just as well been smiling she was so happy that she showed that kitty with the white stripe who's property it was on!

Well here she is with the de-skunking potion on her head that got hit the worst.   I pretty much died of hysteria putting the stuff on her.   It was the consistency of icing and I just found it overly hysterical that I was icing the dog.  DH was not finding any humour in this at all.   Dear Lord, I am laughing now just thinking about it.   I guess when you get lemons, you have to make lemonade!

The new round pen's first layer of base footing is in and so are all the fence posts.   We will now put the screenings in and re-compact before we add the sand.   It's looking really good and I recommend Jim Nagel for any local blog readers that need some fence posts pounded in.   The job was done within the week that I called and not only are the lines straight on the paddocks the round pen turned out perfectly.

I spent my Saturday finishing up the fencing in pastures #4 and #5.  There are still a few gates to be installed however they are on back order so I have installed a few temporary wire gates in the mean time.   We recycled a few boards of white oak fencing that was moved from the old house to here.   It's a good reminder of where this journey truly began and also it feels good to repurpose lumber whenever possible.   These boards were put up at least 8 years ago at the old house and were removed when we built the little barn at the old house.   They sat in our scrap wood pile for a few years and in the move they got transferred to the scrap wood pile here.   (Reta and Bill...I know you know how much Shit valuable scrap lumber was moved).   When we cut them to length for the new fencing location at HP Haven these oak boards were rock solid.   It's a true testament, that if you just buy good quality up front the first time, you save money in the long run.    Not only will I not have to worry about these boards rotting, I won't have to worry about them being chewed either!   Doubly happy me!

Here is DH finishing the last screws.

Here's the "herd" enjoying the new grass.

Today we had the pleasure of a BBQ and horse back ride with a co-worker and friend Matt with his wife Selena and two daughters Lauren and Kylie.
The girls were naturals up on Emma and I can see some horseback riding lessons in the families further!  :-)

The garden may have had a pretty sad yield on pretty much everything that was planted; then not cared for.  However, I did get about half a dozen beautiful sunflowers from the seeds that came from my garden last year.

Poor Mans Mirrors

Over the last several months I have been fortunate enough to not have to ride inside.   I have been fortunate enough to have an outdoor ring that can take 2" of overnight rain and be perfect for riding in at 8 am the next morning.   I have also been fortunate enough to plan my riding at the time in the morning when the sun is coming up or in the evening when the sun is at the perfect spot setting...to produce the most tell tale shadows that I have been able to use as a training tool.   Ah...the poor man's mirrors!   I noticed the missing training tool tonight as I rode in overcast skies.   I hadn't realized how much I had been checking on things until my beautiful sunshine mirror wasn't there!

I have been using my shadow for years to check position and posture.   I have even went so far as to set up a working line so that it falls in the perfect direction of the sun to monitor the changes in neck position and shoulder elevation to validate a feel.   Outdoor mirrors are a thing we see at all the big barns in the south and most of the indoor dressage barns here in the north.    But being resourceful we can still see a lot in a shadow.   I can validate what I feel as I train.   I can see if the hind foot initiates the flying change.   I can see if the half steps are even back and front.   I can see if my posture generates a lift in the shoulders.   In general, I can validate what I feel with my eyes.

The mind works in a funny way sometimes; how thoughts connect to other thoughts.   As I rode out today wishing for my shadow to return, I thought of a photos that I took of Emma and I on the Tequanyah damn.   The hill is very high and very steep so it gave a crazy shadow.

Here's the picture.

This thought connected to the movie Avatar where the Na'vi people rode a creature that was very horse like called a Direhorse.

This thought connected me to the profound memory I have of Avatar...the moment of Tsaheylu that Jake has with Pale as he connected his queue (neural antenna or neural whip) with the Pale's.   This is a bonding ritual that the creatures in Pandora use to send information between creatures.   Once the connection is made the Na'vi rider can communicate motor commands instantly through the neural interface.   It makes it appear that the rider and Direhorse are moving effortlessly and are extensions of each other.

This thought connected to the thought...James Cameron must have known a very talented classical horseman to have come up with such a profound statement of how riders think about the connection with their partners.   I have never forgot Tsaheylu from that 2009 movie and it serves as a good goal for me as I continue to develop deeper connections with my horses and in general in my life.  
....Connecting with both humans and creatures on the deepest level I am capable of at this time in my life...

Farm Updates - It's Been Awhile

It's seems like yonks since I last gave a really decent update on the progress around the farm.
There has been a lot going on here!

Not in chronological order...here are some of the happenings.

Arena Windows are Clean
Prior to the open house I finally got around to washing the light panel windows in the arena.   I had wanted to do this last fall and got 2 windows done by hand but then the weather turned cold and I gave up till spring.   Well spring came and went because riding outside started and who thinks of the arena when you have an outdoor twice the size with beautiful breezes!

Here is the BEFORE

Here are my tools for the job I will be thankful I spent the 4 hours on in the dead of winter.

Here is the AFTER

Progress on the Trail Through the Bush 
My Dad has been several days now working away on the trail through our bush.   Unfortunately, within the first 100m there was a bog that was virtually unpassable most of the time even in the drought of summer.   He has spent days digging it out and back filling it with rock and old concrete to allow the water to filter through and then he's been using the fill from his new septic system and his neighbours porch to raise the trail.   So far it's looking fantastic.  In my Dad's normal fashion of, go big or go home, he has made the trail wide enough for a team with a wagon to get through!

Here is the entrance. 

 

These are the lovely yellow daisies along the side of the trail.

This is the start of the dig and back fill.

This is progress.

And now it's even temporarily passable by horse and tractor.   I see some fun bush hogging in my future!

This is the site...(I know blurry and far off) that Molly and I spotted as we walked back to the bush one evening.   A doe and her fawn.

Vintage Car Visitors
We have been fortunate with the fabulous Aug weather to have visitor stop in with their old cars.
Here is my friend Ron and his '57 Thunderbird.   Fully restored by him over several years.   It's a lovely car...AND a beautiful colour!

Bill also came by in his '69 Swinger.   Nice sound to this one and boy the thing runs pretty rich when it's idling...almost took me back to the race shop at the old house!  (Someday Honey...someday there will be a race shop again!!)

Pergola has Lights
With the summer season comes dining outside in the Dunbar home.    Now that the days are starting to get shorter, DH added some lights...so we can continue to enjoy the al fresco dining I love.

Fencing Update
We have the 5 gates for the shoots from the barn to Pastures 1 thru 5 hung.   DH was not a happy man the day we spent our day of hanging these gates.   I believe his comment was something along the lines of a day listening to you complain about not hanging the gates is worse than actually doing the job you don't want to do!   Somehow, I think he still loves me through it all!   I am happy tho that the gates are up.   I am quite self sufficient but gate hanging is a 2 person job.
Now that the gates are hung I have been working away installing the wire rope insulators.   Just a few more corner posts to complete and some more hardware to buy and I will have 6 pastures fully fenced!   Hurray!   The shoots, fencing and gates for 1-3 are done; just 4, 5 and 6 remain.   There is an end in site now tho!
Here are the 5 new gates from the quality time DH and I spent together on our days vacation!

Round Pen Construction

The site prep for the new round pen has started.   

My Dad scraped back the top soil and sod.  

The new site will be to the north of the outdoor ring directly behind the indoor.   This will allow a larger parking area beside the arena for trailers and visitors.

DH has started to lay the gravel base.

Neighbours Night Out
Had a wonderful dinner at the local restaurant Twisted Lemon with our former neighbours from Decewsville Rd.   We had a really fun night...and we got the best table in the house!   We got to see all the food being prepared at the Chef's Window table.  There will be no other table when I make reservations there now!!   Thank you Rob and Tracy for all you have done for us over the years and for staying in touch now that we aren't literally a stones throw away anymore.

Beautiful Sunrise
The sunrises have started to change from the wonderful full blazing sun that I used to see earlier in the year.   But this Aug Sunrise is still fantastic...this is the best part of the day.   I am so happy I am a morning person and get to enjoy this more often than not.

Vermin Count 
The vermin count has taken a large increase the past month.   During the wood splitting and stacking process Molly and Dora were helping keep the population in check by adding 9 to the count!

Unexpected Beauty
Lastly, I have to share this picture of what I call unexpected beauty.   I always find the way that nature sneaks something beautiful and unexpected into a place that we really don't expect to be a delightful small pleasure.  DH and I went around to the peer in Port Maitland for my future beach riding date.   Just thought it would be good to double check the parking and beach since it's been about a year since I was last there.   We made our way out onto the unrestricted pier, where some teenagers were jumping into the water off the pier.   If you have never been to the pier at Port Maitland it's a terrific (romantic) spot that has an open pier with no barriers or guard rails.   I love the freedom is possesses.   As we made our way back from the very end of the rocks on the pier this was the site...aren't they just lovely.   How could something so delicate and beautiful find a place to flourish in all that rock?