A Catch Up and a Birthday Party

January 13, 2020

A Catch Up and a Birthday Party

We are all moved in to our new place and slowly clearing and building as the weather allows.

Considering that my weather app is calling for 14 days of rain... I think we are at a bit of a pause. Moving in winter is sure different than moving in summer.

A recap of how things currently stand:

The house is beautiful and wonderful and needs more bookshelves.

The Dog yard and fence is working wonderfully and the dogs are loving having a more open place to play. I think we are going to be looking at our landscaping as we approach March - it is a little sparse.

The current horse pasture is the lowest part of the property (of course it is) and with our epic rain fall there are parts that are positively bog like.

mud caked horses are my favorite : P

That said, the horses have had daily turn out on grass since we moved in. We also spread a bunch of the chipped cedar and pine into a temp sacrifice. The current plan is to scrape this pen down and add 30 - 50 tons of stone dust, there was just no way to get that to happen this month due to the weather.

This gives us a free temporary fix that keeps the horses from standing in mud, and gives them a place to be out while the weather is really aweful. The pastures and horse pens are where we are focusing most of our efforts and our list of projects for the next 2 weeks are:

path from back gate to barn - I am tired of slopping through the mud 3xs a day
check and make sure all the electric is mule proof before Cecil comes home
manage turn out as much as possible to keep a riding and grazing space until the rest of the land is finished next month.

I will do a bigger write up on the 'barn' but right now we have 2 stalls, temp hay storage, and a run in/ aisle. The horses can get out the weather, they are comfortable in their stalls, and I have a solar light for night checks and evening feedings.

Loving the flat grassy land.

Loving his across the fence 'play' time with the dogs and chickens.

Since we moved in 3 weeks ago, we have seen family at least 3 times a week, I have gotten to ride 3 times a week (even though my arena is not done), we found a local hay supply, we hosted 2 family meals, and a table top game and D and D night. All in all, this property is turning out to be the best mix of our lifestyles. We get all the benefits of country living but are SO much closer to our families. We love it.