5 Things for this Monday

See... I told you I could eventually post on an actual Monday.

1) Yesterday I performed in one last showing of "A Piece of My Heart"... sort of.  Mother Nature interfered at the end of Act 1 and we couldn't finish.  Kind of a rough way to end the run, but I'm still glad we did it.  The show is and probably always will be a favorite of mine.  The subject matter simply is too close to home or my heart or something not to be.  If you ever get a chance to see a performance of it, don't pass it up.  I wouldn't. 

2) Building on point 1... I now get my evenings free again.  Time to get my butt in the saddle and ride as well as getting projects worked on at home.  I'm thinking lawn mowing tonight with a side of putting up poultry netting in the barn (too many hens ending up in the barn again).

3) Hopefully meeting with and/or talking to a few financial type folks this week to work further details on purchasing the land soon.  I have another "angle" on how I can work the deal (all on the up and up, it's just another way that I hadn't thought of to try to obtain financing).  Still have some hoops to jump through, most notably with the Township and dividing the one parcel, but I think it's going to all work out in the end.

4) Still have several turkeys up for sale for the holidays.  They're getting big too.  I also think I'm going to move their water jug outside the coop itself.  I think it may be tilted just enough that that part of the coop is staying really wet, making the entrance just icky to walk in, even 10 minutes after I clean it.

5) I'm starting to advertising the Cottage house for sale again.  The current tenants are in a lease through August 2012, but they pay on time and are good tenants.  And with the mortgage loan assumption, a buyer could save about $40,000 between loan interest and closing costs/fees!  Plus I'm willing to help with payments through the end of the current lease with the tenants -- they are good friends so I cut them a deal on their rent... what they pay doesn't QUITE cover the whole monthly payment when you include taxes and insurance.  A person could come in and have the house for $500 and not pay any monthly payment out of pocket for almost a full year!!  At which point they can move in themselves or rent it again.

Horse Show pics

The following pictures are courtesy of Jen Shimp at iTolt Training Center.  Her horse, her camera, her photography talent.

Last Saturday was the Dayton Local Show Circuit (DLSC) hunter show at Greenstone Stables.  Nicely run... but boy was it HOT!!  Forecasted for mid to upper 90s by afternoon.  In the morning it wasn't bad... IF you were in the shade doing nothing.  But riding in the sun in the afternoon was unreal.

Spot is relatively new to iTolt's lesson program.  Another friend, Anita Mays, has been working with him on his dressage and he's just FUN.  Our canter transitions (up) still need work, but that's not my strong suit either and I'm pretty out of shape as it is.

So we signed up to do the Warm-Up class and then the Baby Hunter division, where the jumps were 2'.  Our first run (should give you foreshadowing right there as to how it went) at the Warm Up class was... uh... interesting.  At Jen's, Spot had no trouble with the 2'+ fences I put up for him 2 days prior.  But boy did he object to the flowers and other decorations.  It's ok... typical greenie spookiness.  Got him around and decided to do another Warm Up round.  The second round went MUCH better.  But in the end, I dropped him to the Future Hunter division (18" fences).  We decided that 6" isn't going to make a hill of beans difference to this horse and what he needed was confidence to jump over the flowers!  Plus, the Future division was next and we could both be done for the day faster -- and in that heat, it was a good idea.  Spot had already done REALLY well with one of Jen's young students in the Ground Poles and Trot CrossRails divisions that morning.

There were only 4 or 5 horses in each of our 3 classes.  Spot did great for being as green as he is.  We ended up taking 3rd in each class.  We got better and better over the jumps themselves, although as we got more and more worn out, our transitions and smoothness suffered a bit.  I blame myself of course for ending up a sack of lump on his back.  We trotted several of the fences, but that's what we both needed at one time or another.

I'm REALLY proud of him.  He has such a good mind.  I really don't think it's going to take him long at all to figure it all out.

The plan is to take him to the next DLSC hunter show -- Stillwater Pony Club on the 17th.  I'm still contemplating taking him to the Backyard Horse Trials on the 25th as well.  Closing date is the 15th so no time to run him out at Twin Towers to see how he goes cross country.  But Jen just pulled in the hay from her back field and I know Anita is itching to get some fences set up back there.  So we just might have to play a bit before making a decision.  First decision -- is he ready to go to something like that?  Second decision -- Beginner Novice or Starter (I'm leaning starter, but really wanted to have a dressage test that includes canter for him since it's a hard spot).

5 Things - post holiday

Yes, I know... another Tuesday posting.  But yesterday was a holiday... so it doesn't count, right?

1) The horse show on Saturday went wonderfully... despite the fact that it was in the upper 90s!  Holy moly it was hot!!  Spot did fantastic!!  We ended up doing a second warm up round and then dropped down to the Future Hunter division instead of the Baby Hunters.  6" isn't much and he was spooking more at the flower boxes and such and not the fences.  Besides.. it meant being done faster and in the case of that heat, faster was better.  Was wiggly and had issues with our canter leads, but I couldn't be happier with his performance.  Hopefully I can get some pictures to post soon.  He took 3rd in the flat class, and 3rd in both the jumping classes... and was division Reserve Champion!  I'm definitely planning on showing him at the Stillwater Pony Club Hunter show in a couple weeks.  Need to make a decision about the Backyard Horse Trials though.

2) The Labor Day Shindig went well.  Smallish crowd but it was fun to hang out and talk to folks.  Halloween is the next big shindig... and then hopefully one to celebrate buying more land.  At least that's the plan.

3) The turkeys are being really good about staying in their run so they have been let out all day the last several days, including when I was not home on Saturday.  They have figured out where the shady spots were to try and stay cool on Saturday... and I suppose stayed out of the rain on Sunday (more or less).  Still not the brightest animals on the planet, but they're doing really well.

4) Egg production from the hens is still down.  Now that it's cooled down, I'm going to try an experiment where I keep them in their room all day.  Trying to determine if production is down overall... or if several of them are sneeking off somewhere and laying eggs in secret.  I'm hoping for the latter so I can get back to offering more eggs for sale than a dozen here and there.

5) What an amazing difference in temperature!!  I daresay it was a tad chilly yesterday.  But I guess a 30 degree difference in 48 hours is a lot to adjust too.  Didn't get a whole lot accomplished as it was a recovery day from the Shindig the night before, but puttered a little.  Hoping to get a few projects underway shortly and have decided that I do want to enclose the backside of the workbench area for a new tack room.  Fed the horse tack addiction on Saturday and purchased a few things that would look lovely in a nice, finished tack room.  Not a major priority, but one that wouldn't take much time or money to complete since the area is already lit and has studs to attach plywood walls to.  Hopefully the lovely fall temps stick around for a while as it's much nicer to work in.

End of Summer?

Not with the heat that just came back!  Thankfully it's only supposed to last a few days.  Of course Saturday is supposed to be a bit on the warm side.  We'll be at Greenstone Stables for the DLSC Hunter Show.  I'm showing a 6yo appaloosa gelding named Spot.  Spot is owned by Jennifer Shimp of iTolt Training Center and has been in training with Jen and Anita Mays.  He's a LOT of fun.  With any luck, we'll have a good outting (the Baby Hunter Division) this time... then we'll think about the Stillwater Pony Club DLSC Hunter show on the 17th and possibly the Backyard Horse Trials at Rocky Point Farm in Springfield on the 25th.  Will post pictures when I get them.

Amongst all the horse shows, we'll be at the Great Miami River Days festival in Hamilton, Ohio on Sunday, September 11th.  This spring I was in a play called "A Piece of My Heart".  The show is about 6 women in Vietnam.  This special performance reunites 6 of the 7 original cast members from this spring.  We're performing at approximately 4pm and our backdrop is the Travelling Wall (talk about intense!!).  Just a side-note brag -- the show won 14 DayTony awards this year.  It's a great show, if I do say so myself.  Did I mention it's free? :)  Hope you can make it if you haven't seen the show.  It's intense but amazing.

One last note... This morning was a bit rough... an almost escapee cow and 4 escapee turkeys after waking up late!  At least the turkey escapees were fairly easy to catch.  Catching them though made me realize how big they're getting!  And makes me wonder how big they're going to end up.  Don't forget to reserve your own farm raised holiday turkey ASAP before they're all spoken for!

5 Things

Yep... late again.  I do promise one day I'll have the 5 Things for the week published when I should have it done (aka Monday).  In the meantime... nothing I can do but keep going forward, right?

1) The cooler temps have been FANTASTIC!!  I actually needed to put a jacket on this morning when I went to feed and the last 2 mornings driving in to work on the scooter have been downright nippy ("so say my nips").  Of course, we're supposed to be back to hot/humid for this weekend's horse show.  But the glimpse of fall was nice, especially for the end of August.

2) Yes, I'm showing again!  Had a wonderful ride last week (and hopefully again tonight) on Jen Shimp's Spot and I'm going to be showing him this weekend at the DLSC hunter show at Greenstone Stables.  If you're in the neigh-borhood (pun intended) stop by.  No guaranteed ride time as it's a hunter show but probably afternoon.

3) Managed to get some work done on the patio this weekend.  Finished the 2nd raised bed, cleaned up the grass (aka weeds) around it, put down the paving stones, and cleaned up the flower pots and planted a couple new plants.  Now if the grass (weeds) coming up between the patio stones would go away it would look nice.

4) Went to the Little Art Theater in Yellow Springs on Friday and saw the movie "Buck".  VERY well done and I recommend it to anyone.  Really doesn't matter if you're really into horses and horse training.  Buck Brannaman has some quality life nuggets he shares.  Interesting guy and a great outlook on life.  It's running at Little Art through Thursday, September 1st.

5) Still have half the turkeys not spoken for.  If you want a farm-raised turkey for the holidays (will be butchered for you), speak up!

Turkeys lounging in the afternoon under the shade of the pine tree inside their run.

5 Things

I’m stealing this idea from a friend of mine. He’s been writing “5 Things I think” on Mondays in his blog, http://dangerousleanings.blogspot.com/ , for a while now. I like the idea, although I think a generic “5 Things” is enough. No sense in putting pressure on anyone to actually think on a Monday. Plus it will help me remember to post at least weekly, even when things are busy on the farm. Thank you Dangerboy for the great idea. Hope you don’t mind me stealing it.

And yes, I know this first installment is a day late.

5 Things for Monday, August 22, 2011

1. Untreated, cheapo plywood drinks paint like it was an alcoholic at an open bar. Trying to finish painting all the wood surfaces on the new Turkey tractor has been a chore and taken over 2 gallons of paint! The exterior of the door and half of the back panel still need painted.
2. The turkey tractor, like most “home improvement” projects, is costing more in terms of time and money than originally predicted. It seems projects have a way of doing that. I hope it’s not just me – that wouldn’t help specifically, but certainly make me feel better.
3. One more thought about the turkeys – half of them are spoken for! I’m thrilled with this development. I have 6 definite email yes’s and one deposit paid (as well as one or 2 “I think so”s). It’s been an interesting year with them and I’m looking forward to how they finish out as they’ll soon be out on grass during the day (still need to get the fencing installed for their run). I definitely think I’ll be doing turkeys again next year, hopefully at least some heritage breeds like Bourbon Reds or Royal Palms. It will be interesting to see the differences.
4. On days like today I could definitely picture myself doing farming full time, in one capacity or another. It’s downright gorgeous outside and I’ve been way too busy inside (at work)!
5. And finally… something I do think: I think this really is going to be a good and fun way to update the farm blog.

Talkin' Turkey!

The new coop is almost ready for its first residents - 13 almost 8-week old turkeys!  I can't believe how much they're growing.  I was in Michigan announcing at Hunter's Run Horse Trials this past weekend and came home and I swear they grew!  Hopefully by the weekend they'll be in the new coop and the run will be up so they can get their first taste of grass... and bugs... and scratching in the dirt... and sunlight... and all the good things that turkeys should get to experience.

I've started sending out notices to those who have mentioned it in the past... but it's time to start solidifying buyers for the turkeys.  I'm asking for a $20 deposit per turkey.  The deposit will be applied towards the final cost of your bird.  Yes, unless otherwise arranged individually, all turkeys will be prepared for pick up (butchered, defeathered, cleaned, etc.).  Final cost will depend on weight at $3 per pound.

Keep in mind these are the commercial Broad Breasted White variety turkeys (next year I hope to have at least some heritage breed turkeys like the Bourbon Reds or Royal Palms).  It's also my first year raising them.  This variety of turkey has been specifically bred to thrive on being in cages with large quantities of commercial feed to grow to a large size.  I'm a firm believer that any animal raised for food should be raised so that they get to BE whatever they are.  For the turkeys that means allowing them to BE turkeys -- eating grass and bugs out in the sunshine!  That said, they will be given commercial feeds as well.  As much as I believe they need to be natural, this variety in particular has been bred to have the higher proteins in the commercial feeds and I find it just as irresponsible to NOT allow them that as well as the grass and bugs.  With all that in mind, the probability exists that these turkeys will not reach their "full potential size" simply because I'm raising them differently.

If you are interested in buying a turkey for the holidays, please let me know as soon as possible.  We can arrange the receipt of the deposit at that time.  Your name will go on the buyers list for a turkey.  If something should happen to "your" turkey, where no substitute is available, you will receive a full refund of your deposit.  Any cancellation by you of your turkey order, prior to November 10th, you will receive 50% of the deposit in refund.  Cancellation after November 10th, results in forfeiting the entire deposit.

If you have any questions, please ask.