Thanksgiving...and a whole lot more

For some reason my Thanksgiving post never published??   Not sure what happened but I will never be able to recreate it so I will provide the edited version now...a week late!

HP Haven was blessed with guests for Thanksgiving dinner.   My folks, family friends Wendy and Mark and their daughter Cathy and her husband, Derok and daughter Emily.   Emily was a delight to have on the farm for a ride on Emma.   It turned out to be a family affair and Emma took almost everyone for a ride that afternoon!

Here is Emily...

I tad blurry but here is the Thanksgiving Buffet!

DH spent some time on Thanksgiving fixing one of the low spots in the base of the arena footing.   After removing the sand last fall we levelled the base but we think there has been some underground settling and this corner sunk.   One other spot is a bit "mushy" that we will test ride and then decide about a fix.

You can see from this picture that this corner dropped several inches. 

(note the shadow under the board)

Thanksgiving was also a weekend with some rain so the "boys" spent some time inside the lower bank barn starting to fill in the old manure trench.   At this side of the barn it's about 2 feet deep...at the opposite corner it's about 3 feet deep for the flow.   This barn was previously used as a hog barn.

Moving on to the current weekend...We had a day of cold rain on Saturday.   I got half of a 12K run in but got totally soaked on the 6K return home.   Oh well...it was worth it!   :-)

This was also the first weekend for a fire...nothing like a wood fireplace.   (Nothing like the dust they create either!!)  :-)

This weekend also marks the arrival of a little surprise from my folks!

A second tractor and a manure spreader.   Both in excellent condition.

Thanks Dad and Mom...it's going to be very handy having 2 tractors...cuz I find I never get any time anymore on the Kubota!!!

Since a lot of my life revolves around food and when I get to eat next...I made cabbage rolls for the first time.  Thank you Kim for sharing your recipe.   They are delicious.

My second load of hay arrived this weekend.    It's beautiful grass hay.   The horses will love this in the dead of winter.   DH and I put the full load in the barn and moved the first cut that will get fed first to the lower barn for easier access and to make room for the final load that will arrive in the next week or so.  That will be enough hay to get us to spring grass in 2014.

And as I was up on the top of the wagon to through down the load, I couldn't help but be intrigued by how the change in elevation changes the perspective of the arena.   I was high enough to stand between the roof trusses.

DH spent the afternoon organizing the upper bank barn and cleaning the elevated loft area so that we can start using it for storage.   Looks good.   Slowly but surely we are getting all the buildings cleaned out and filled back up with our own junk!

Mulching, Rainy Weekend and Beach Day

I have learned that digging sod and mulching around trees is high effort, low impact job around the farm.   I mulched the trees on the driveway...about 15 trees and still have about another 15 to go in the back yard.  Laying down the mulch is actually the easy part...digging up clay sod with tree roots is certainly one of the jobs that I need to look hard and dig deep from within to find joy in it!   However...once finished it makes life easier in the long run.   Grass cutting is simplified, weed whacking is simplified and to be honest, having the trees tidied up along the drive gives me a little internal joy everyday as I come and go from the farm.   It's about finding joy in the simple things...even if the task itself is not really all that simple.  :-)

We had a rainy weekend on the farm last weekend.   We needed the rain for the pastures and in general for the pond and river.   I took the rainy weekend as an opportunity to clean up the closets that got packed full of random items just to get things "out of sight" when we first moved in.   All the closets are now cleaned up and somewhat organized.   The studio closet was switched with the guest room and I lightened the load from my half of the walk-in closet by 2 garbage bags!   Funny how cleaning out areas that no one ever sees can help bring peace and organization to your well being in general.  

The Junk Room 4th bedroom actually has a floor in it again!   Still far too much stuff in there yet but I did hang up and put out some personal items around the house that have been packed for the last year.   It actually looks like we live here now and might actually be staying.   NOw I need to figure out what art pieces I will hang since a big load of the items in the Junk Room 4th bedroom are pictures and artwork...hmmm...decisions, decisions.   What will stay and what will go?

My rainy weekend also included some painting.   The railing on the basement stairwell is now white and the old farm door that separates the mudroom from the living room has been freshened up with a new coat of paint too.   Now all the dents and dings that door accumulates from this day forward will be ones that have our story included.

DH spent his rainy weekend putting up the new lights in the gym.  Big improvement from the old made in Italy candle stick lights!

He also got the new second fridge in the basement hooked up and loaded up...ready for Thanksgiving guests and turkey!   

Rainy weekends also allow for more time in the kitchen cooking fun foods like these bacon pancakes smothered in locally made maple syrup.   Thanks Dan for the syrup...delicious!   Sweet and Savoury...how can these not taste good!

Then the rain cleared and the sun shown for a week straight!

Here is the bush trail...still more work to be done but it was a lovely evening to enjoy the sunshine and beauty of the fall colours.

Oct 9th was DH and I's 8th Anniversary.   You can read about year 7 here.   We have endured the first year together on the farm.   I won't sugar coat the obvious on this...we have had our share of misery with each other the last year as we have adjusted to new roles and responsibilities, we have also shared a great deal of joy creating a new life.   Where this road will lead us in the next year is not fully known but one thing is for certain...their will be change...because it's been the only constant so far!

Dh and I spent most of the day together...he offered to take me to the beach with Izzy at Port Maitland as an adventure for the day!   He knew I had wanted to take her but was not really wanting to go alone, since I wasn't too sure how she would be with open water.   It turns she was a superstar in her own Rockstar way!   Thanks Honey...we had a lovely fall day at the beach and thank you for catching it on film for us.

Running, Riding, Gardening and a Wedding

It's hard to believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted.   Seriously, where did September go??

To start, many of you know I have been running again this year after a long hiatus.   The spell is broken now after the broken leg and crushed ankle which was...hmm...in 2007!   Really it's been 6 years since that sunny March day hacking along the roadside.   For those that may have forgotten, the gruesomeness...here is the result of a 1200 lb+ horse slipping and falling on your leg and sliding down a 15' embankment in the seated rider position on your side.  I suggest if you have bit of a weak stomach you just scroll right on past this one!  :-)

On Sept 23rd, I finished my first Half Marathon (Run for the Grapes) with my friend Theresa.   It was a great day for running and I look forward to the next run in November, the Santa Claus 5K.  A short one but a fun one!  Here is the post from last year when I did that run with my friend Lynn.

From a riding perspective, Baby Izzy has really started to grow up and be a brave, confident and strong partner.   We have been hacking through the woods on a regular basis now that the cooler weather has eliminated the nuisance of the bugs.   My dad has been working away on the trail.   The water logged first two mud sections are nearly filled in and lovely to ride over.   He has also started to lay the mulch along the trail.    Thanks Dad...we wouldn't even be started this without your help!

Here is the big water hole...nearly filled in.   As you can see Molly is a trusty bush whacking companion on these hacks.   Izzy is totally fine now with a dog bursting out through the underbrush under her nose or right at her tail!

Here is the trail that is yet to be bush hogged and improved.

Here is the mulch in the first area of the trail.

Molly has also been working as ground crew and my ground person.   Her latest thing has been to sleep at the gate of the outdoor while I school.   I like this far better than her antics as of late; running on the road!!!!   Can you see her?...she's the little blond speck at the left side of the entrance!  :-)

Wanda has also enjoyed a bit of time under saddle.   Here is Mandy taking her for a test ride.   Mandy is a new mom that hasn't had much time for a horse since school and married life.  Here's to hoping that she will come back to shed some more love on Wanda in the coming months.

I spent an evening with a friend from work, Richard, working at the Anglican Church Pie Booth at the Caledonia Fair.   It was a fun night and boy do they ever sell a lot of slices of pie in a night!!

My garden had a decent enough yield considering the sorry condition I let it get in.   Yield I am sure would have been higher if I would have weeded it and maybe watered it at least once or twice all summer.    Proof that the stuff I grow is hardy stock!!   If not, it gets choked out and dies.
Here are the butternut squash.  

8 seeds yielded 20 large squash!

The ornamental gourds had a terrific yield considering they basically were choked out from the sun with the 5' weeds.   I had left them for dead when I uncovered them back in Aug.  Here is the post.

On Sep 28th, we were blessed to witness the wedding of my cousin Ned to his beautiful new wife, Lisa.   The weather was absolutely perfect for their day and the energy of love that they share was obvious in the air.  

Congratulations Ned and Lisa!

Pasture fencing is now closed in on all 6 pastures.   The horses enjoyed new fall grass in pastures that have not yet been grazed this year.   It was funny to see them exploring the hills and new views from the top of the hill in #5 and also the interesting round pen footing in #6.
During those hours of completing the fencing runs I had an interesting thought...
There is quite a lot of clover in the one section of #6...As I walked over the area several times to pull the new lines of rope fencing...my mind wandered to a question.
I wonder how many 4 leaf clovers my horses have eaten?