Progress!!

One of these days I'll have a "real" weekend, right?  At the moment, weekends are a flurry of activity as the only real amounts of time to get work done at the farm.  So here's an update of where we stand as of this morning on the various projects:

• Fencing:  The big house-side pasture is almost ready to have the electro-braid strung!  I think there are 3 or 4 posts that need to go in the ground that didn't go earlier as we didn't really realize they were in quite as bad shape as they were.  2 of those are the corner and brace posts for the corner next to the yard so that will have to be braced as well.

• Barn: we finished cleaning out 2/3rds of the barn on Saturday!  WOW it looks so much better all cleaned out.  The concrete side is done and will eventually house 2 stalls.  The middle portion is done and nicely swept.  We even did the loft over the concrete... cleaned out all the junk, and organized what is left up there.  In the process, everyone had some fun finding the "buried treasures" -- a new in box frost proof water faucet was probably the best find, but there were others: 9' shade canopy in the box, a foosball table (in several boxes), 50 mile electric fence charger, various tools, couple foal/mini halters, some Army gear including a package of beef stew MRE!  Made the dust and cleaning fun.

Before - looking down from the loft

After!

•  Electric:  Attic and 2nd floor are DONE!!  It looks SO much better!  Attic is now ready for insulation, though it was funny -- due to the status of the furnace, we ran kerosene heaters this weekend and once the attic access was closed, the 2nd floor REALLY stayed warm even after the heater on that floor was off for over 30 minutes.  A couple items left on the first floor and the basement.  Then it will be out to the barn.

• Furnace: No real smoking issues anymore but still some odor.  Had a repairman out and after removing the exhaust, turns out the chimney needs cleaned out and probably inspected before he can service the furnace.  So we're currently heating with kerosene heaters until the furnace gets fixed.
  
  
• Flooring:  Purchased 4" unfinished utility grade red oak for the living room and den and I think it's going to look FANTASTIC when finished.  Should be installed this week (after the phone call I just had) but to finish it, I need heat.  So the rest will be on hold.  Thinking I might just put regular carpet down in the bedrooms afterall, after looking at the flooring once I finished scraping and sweeping in the master bedroom.  Need to price it out and see.
  
  
• Walls: Have the first floor scraped and some of the spackling done.  The stairwell is done to the point that I need a ladder to finish.  The Master bedroom is also ready for spackle.  Still need to do some scraping in the 2nd bedroom and landing, mostly up high.

• Paint:  Need to finish picking out colors.  I know what I want the kitchen to look like but not sure what colors that will entail using.  Have colors picked out for the den, living room, bathroom and stairs/landing.  I *think* I know what I want in the master, but not 100% sure.  No idea what to do in the 2nd bedroom.

In other news, I bought my first "toy" for the farm!  A 4x2 gas gator with hydrolic dump bed, extra chain tires, wench and plow blade!  I LOVE it and it's already really come in handy.

So much to do

Had a wonderful weekend.  I haven't moved in yet but we used the farm for a 16th b-day bonfire and it was a success (minus the clogged toilet... good thing there are 2 in the house!).  Made use of the still extremely hot ashes yesterday to cook a foil-wrapped dinner too.  YUMMY!!  I think more dinners like that need to be made.


Someone recently asked me if I'd made a complete list of things that need to be done for the farm.  I told them a resounding no because I'm afraid that looking at such a long (and in many cases expensive) list would make me simply go catatonic and not be able to know where to start.  Someone else suggested that I actually do start the list because then when the lovely wonderful people in my life show up unscheduled at the farm and want to help, I'll have a few choices of things to do that need to be done.  Ok, that's a good reason to have a list.  So... as long as I don't look TOO closely, here's the START of that list (in absolutely no order except how it pops into my head):

• Get the furnace looked at
• Get the stove/oven looked at
• Pull up the carpet staples in the den before the flooring guys come
• Get the wood floors redone (living room, den and landing... possibly the stairs)
• Do something with the bedroom floors involving some amount of carpet probably
• Scrape paint upstairs and at the tippy top of the stairwell
• Have ceiling fans in living room and den mounted, eventually buying and installing the fans upstairs
• Move fridge
• Redo kitchen floor
• Add cabinets (eventually adding a dishwasher which will entail more new cabinets and a change of countertop and backsplash)
• Spackle EVERYWHERE
• Gutter grout in the tub, followed by regular bath silicone
• Prime all walls and ceilings
• Paint all walls and ceilings (which also involved deciding on paint colors for everything)
• Move book shelves upstairs
• Replace shower head upstairs
• Take shower head from upstairs and put on shower in basement
• Put in insulation in the attic
• Clear out Springhouse for outdoor storage
• Have siding and trim replaced
• Pull down almost dead tree
• Put in t-posts
• Put in new corner and front posts in barn paddock
• Replace posts as needed
• Run fence wire (buy more?)
• Clean out barn
• Build stalls
• Figure out lights (with John's help) and water options
• Get new barn area set for excavating
• Figure out window treatments
• CLEAN, including window sills
• ETC!!!

Then there's the whole actually moving in thing and on top of that an open house at the Cottage place on the 23rd to get ready for (cleaning to do which includes the carpets HAVE to be done).  Some of the items are obviously wants or "laters" that I can definitely get away with not having done right away.  But when creating a list based on what is and what my vision of the place is... it gets to be quite a LONG list. Even straightforward stuff like "clean out the spring house or barn" gets into making several piles of stuff -- trash, sell/donate/recycle, save for future use.


But it's STILL a labor of love.  We cleared a bunch of brush from the fenceline around the house this weekend and it's looking much better already.  And the electric work continues which is amazing and I'm SO grateful for!  Just keep swimming, right?

Welcome Shirley and Spider!

Today did not go as planned.  AT least not in terms of time.  It's 9:10 and I have at least another 40 minutes before my dinner will be ready.  Other than that, today was a decent if busy day.  Most of it was spent picking up and then trying to settle in the new project horses - Shirley and Spider.

A week ago I was offered the opportunity to take these fabulous off-the-track thoroughbred mares and work with them to get them to sale.  I went today and picked them up and am so excited for them to settle in enough to start playing with them.

I'm still a little in awe of the opportunity.  The breeder of both of these mares is a fantastic person and race trainer. She sees the wonderful in both of them, but between her own horses and her family, she simply didn't have time to work with them.  I won't be alone in working with them.  Anita has been working with Noble as well and we make a good team, so we'll be working with these girls together.

Welcome to Shirley (Sure She Can) and Spi (Spider Can), full sisters out of Can Cun Beach (by Majesty's Prince) by Canvas.  Spi is 9 and Shirley is 8.

They weren't really happy when I limited their turnout to near the barn.  I don't think they like the cows.  So for tonight the cows are in the west paddock (making them less than happy).  I don't think the girls are still all that certain of the barn, but they seemed to be relaxing a bit more once the cows were gone.

So look for more stories as they get settled and into work, plus of course I'm still working with Noble and having fun with him.  Can one have too many horses to play with?

Greenstone Show Results

Went to the Greenstone Hunter show (DLSC) yesterday.  Had a BLAST!!  Everyone from iTolt did great and I even thoroughly enjoyed helping the show (jump crew, running sheets, calculating points).  Just plain fun.

I took Raz (aka Chiraz) and we did the Baby Hunter division.  This is the 5th show on the DLSC circuit that we've gone to so we're qualified for their year end awards program.  Not sure how well we'll do in the final standings, but I've had a lot of fun with Raz.  Every show has been more and more fun.  For a 19 year old, she's got plenty of spunk.

Our flat class went ok, but I blew it.  We missed the right canter lead, not once but twice.  The second time was definitely my fault as I tried to rush getting the lead and she picked up the wrong one again.  Oops.  Live and learn.  We finished 5th.

Our jumping classes were MUCH better.  The first class was so smooth.  We had to drop to get the lead only once in the round.  I guess the judge agreed as we won the class!  The second class wasn't quite as smooth.  I think it was a combination of the heat/humidity and the EXTREMELY hard ground.  We were both pretty done after that round.  It wasn't a hateful round, just not quite as smooth.  Finished 2nd.

So 5th, 1st and 2nd was good enough for Reserve Champion!  Can't wait to see some of the pictures.

I was also offered an opportunity.  Not saying much at the moment til it gets more solidified, if that's what happens.  But it could be a great opportunity and even if it doesn't go through, it's an amazing compliment.  Stay tuned!

New Fencing - in pictures

The finishing touch (removing a couple old posts) was being done when I left the farm this morning.  The new fence -- including the main pasture, new front field paddock and new west paddock is all installed.  I still want/need to go back and cap all the t-posts and run electric at the top and about 2' from the ground (to help keep critters from leaning/rubbing on the fence), but it's DONE!  And it looks fantastic.


West paddock.

Before:

Taken prior to moving in, but after having plenty of rain (note the strange green color of the grass).  Anyway, this was the west paddock.  I mowed it.  And that's pretty much all we did with it given how the house/doors are laid out.  Just seemed like putting in a paddock would be a MUCH better use of the space.

Almost the same angle as the photo above (but taken yesterday - note the brown color of the grass).  Fence is 6' from the garage and angles in to be 6' from the bushes next to the house.  Combination of wood and t-posts with 4' field mesh fencing.  The front posts are faced so I can eventually put in pretty looking 4-board along the road.

West paddock from the road.  There is an "aisle" between this and the main field running along the barn with gates in between.  This paddock measures approximately 32' x 150' (ish)

West Paddock gates near the barn.  Double gate facing barn/drive way to allow for pulling things through.  6' walk through gate on the far side.  12' gates at each end of the "aisle" to the main field.

Front field:

Before:

Basically it was an empty field. Last year with the turkeys I ran some temp fencing in part of it closest to the detached garage and brooder house for the turkeys to run in, but really it was an empty field. Picture taken from the far end (obviously) looking back towards the house. 

After:

Opposite angle. The road is to the left of this pic (taken from the driveway, house is behind). The area is a stand alone paddock as there's an access drive on the far side so there's room between this new paddock and the main field/fruit trees to drive through ... like a turn around. In addition there's a "high spot" along the road so I installed a double gate (far left in the photo) so I could use it for parking or whatnot if needed.

Looking back behind the buildings. Since the back of the buildings are offset, the paddock fencing runs to the garage, and I added an extra fence & gate to finish a smaller area that I can use for the turkeys to be penned up in as needed. Should work pretty well if it goes according to how I see it working. This will be the primary turkey area when I have them. Going to fence off with temp fencing into 3rds so I can rotate the field. May not raise as many next year so I may not have to do that, but it should work pretty well int he meantime. I can also lead animals to this paddock or rig up something to keep them from getting out of the "drive turnaround" in betwen this and the main field (about 20') to let them come and go.

Front Field paddock is approximately 1/3 acre total.

I dont' have any specific pics of the main field. Nothing much to see there, but it's just as pretty.  Reused the main field gate and installed a new 6' walk through gate in the front.  In addition, there's a 12' gate to the aisle leading to the west paddock and a new 16' gate in the west fence line - in the hopes of still being able to pick up that 1.68 acre parcel from the neighbors.

To finish the pics....

Starting to look yummy (even more tasty every night when they look like little vultures when they manage to climb on the roof of the brooder house to roost).  Can't wait to let them out and have more space!

MOO COWS!! Last night in bovine alcatraz before they get out on the grass.  They better not get out of this fence or I'm going to be extremely angry.  The big one will come to me (he LOVES apples, I think he'll like the pears but right now they're still a bit unripe and hard), but the little one is still pretty skittish.

A (VERY) late Summer update

I can't believe how quickly the summer has gone.  I also can't believe how long it's been since I updated.  I'll post pictures soon, but I am going to post a basic overview of updates now... and go into detail in the coming days. 

So... what's going on?  A LOT....

• The turkeys are getting HUGE!  I also think the Bourbon Reds taught the BBWhites how to fly as I didn't have this problem last year.  I have turkeys posing at gargoyles on the roof nightly, despite clipping their wings a couple weeks ago.
• Will be having my first home grown chicken dinner tonight as I finished butchering the last of the meat chicks last night.  Not sure I'll do this chicken experiment again, but it was worth doing once.  And I'm sure dinner will be tastey.
• Fencing project will be complete TODAY!  Can't wait to take pictures.  It's VERY nicely done.  Thanks to Eagle Fence & Construction in Lewisburg.  Will be running the electric around the main field so I can turn the cows out ASAP.  They're going to LOVE it!
• No horses at the farm currently.  Teddy and Map both went out for training.  Map came back and is at home (iTolt) and Teddy is in the process of being sold.  My own personal horse search is on hold til spring.
• I do, however, have a new horse I'm riding.  6yo TB/Appendix gelding named Noble Rain.  I've watched him grow up as Jen bred him.  He's out of a mare that was Char's BFF in the pasture.  We did our first XC school on him this past weekend and I'm SO pleased.  There will definitely be more updates on Noble's progress in the coming weeks. 
• New Roommate.  New roommate, Ryan, moved in last week.  Thankfully he'll be taking on some of the feeding chores, along with just plain being at the farm, when I'm out of town so less to worry about.
• Rental house has new tenants and they're in a lease to purchase arrangement (which includes them doing repairs and whatnot as if it were their own) while they improve their credit.  I'm excited about it.  I'm also in the middle of getting the place refinanced -- a process that is NOT going smoothly at all, but will be worth it in the end.
• In the middle of reading "How Good Riders Get Good" by Denny Emerson.  Loving it!
• and last, LOVED the coverage I was able to see (mostly online streaming) of the 3-day Event from London.  Sorry to see the US performance not quite up to our usual standards but happy for those that did medal.

Coming soon....

Finally ordered the turkeys yesterday afternoon from Cackle Hatchery.  I purchased from them last year and they were great to work with.  Ordered 9 Broad Breasted Whites and 15 Bourbon Reds.  In addition, thought I'd try the short commitment timeframe and raise 10 cornish chickens for meat.  Part of the order process is to let them know when you would like the birds sent.  Due to the current date, upcoming holiday, and impending announcing job, I selected June 6 or 8 on their shipping calendar, but noted if that's not possible "earlier is better than later."

Not 30 minutes after I got home, I received a phone call.  It was Cackle asking if I wanted them NOW!  As in they hatched today and can go in the mail this evening.  Chicks should be at the farm as early as tomorrow morning.  Guess I have some prep to do quickly!!

Also, coming soon?  FENCING!!  Received the final estimate from the companies I talked to about doing some fencing projects.  Specifically up to 3 different projects -- redoing the main pasture, adding a "front field" paddock and adding a new "west" paddock.  Nothing left but making the decision.  Well, not really... I have emailed the last company a couple questions.  Of 5 estimates, I'm down to possibly 3 I think would do the best job for the money.  Hoping to make a decision by the end of the weekend and get started ASAP.

So keep an eye out for updates including pictures coming soon!

Spring Update

It's definitely springtime.  VERY busy lately as is probably fairly typical for anyone on a farm.  Here's some details on what's been going on.

Fencing:  After the fiasco that was the cows coming home... them promptly running off, I'm looking into getting some significant fence work done.  Hopefully I'll have all the estimates in this week and whomever gets chosen to do the work (whatever amount of work that may be when all is said and done) can get started asap.

Horse Shows:  Had a lot of fun at the Stillwater Pony Club Hunter Show (DLSC) a couple weeks ago.  Exhausting day as they had a lot of participation which as anyone knows with hunter shows means the day goes on forever.  Raz was good, although we had some hinkey moments here and there.  My ankle was not 100% from twisting it following the cow escapade the weekend before, but we managed 1 warmup round and the 3 classes in the Baby Hunter (2') division.  6th (of 6) in the Under Saddle class where I thought we did a decent job overall.  6th (of 16) in the first Over Fences class which frankly surprised me that we placed.  And 7th of 7 in the 2nd after a major boggle at the 2nd fence caused me to lose my stirrup on the side with the bad ankle so I pulled her down to a walk to readjust.  It's ok. We had some REALLY nice fences and I was ok with our performance.

Unfortunately that will be our last show for a while.  Not only do I have a couple announcing jobs coming up that interfere with the DLSC schedule (Greater Dayton Horse Trials and IEA Horse Trials) as well as relatives visiting for the Memorial Day weekend, but there has been a medical issue pop up.  If you haven't heard about it, I'm surprised as the word is spreading pretty rapidly.  One of the horses at iTolt Training Center came up with a positive Coggins - the test for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA).  Unfortunately, he also tested positive on a second blood draw and was humanely euthanized this past weekend.  EIA is very contagious and even though Sam was only a carrier and never sick, the policy of the state is very clear and Jen did what a responsible owner has to do in this situation.  This is the first positive in the state in 4 years, so it's not very common in this area.  Unfortunately it does result in the barn being quarantined for 60 days.  Thankfully, the blood draw on Monday for all the horses at the barn came back with all negatives.  They will all be retested at 30 and 60 days before the quarantine is lifted.  You can read the whole story, including timeline, valuable information about EIA, and the lovely story of who Sam was at iTolt's blog -- The Facts of our Positive Coggins Test  Jen and everyone at iTolt are extremely good friends and I'm thankful for each of them and wish them nothing but peace in such a heartbreaking situation.

So the pressure is off for a while, which will be nice.  The plan is to catch up on things at the farm, NOT go completely crazy the next few busy weekends, and then work on some equitation issues with my riding while enjoying the ponies at the farm (under quarantine obviously no one is allowed to leave the farm)... and then find some fun shows to go to later in the summer.

Speaking of horses... time to support my former pony and her fantastic owner!!  Suzie and Frankie are doing such remarkable things.  In an effort to help fund a trip to work with a great trainer this summer (Jan Bynny) prior to the Richland Park Horse Trials in August (and hopefully Fair Hill Horse Trials CCI*** in October), Suzie has created "Team Frankie" t-shirts.  They're available in Blue or White and have a list of 10 things Frankie thinks on the back.  I'm hoping to have one soon and will take pictures and post more about them.  They're $20 each available in Adult and Youth sizes.  Please contact me if you're interested.

Cows and other tidbits

The cows have arrived!!  On Saturday, April 28th, I borrowed a truck/trailer from Jen at iTolt Training Center and drove to Innisfree Farm and picked up 2 black angus calves.  One is roughly 6 months and the other slightly younger (and smaller).  They loaded beautifully into the trailer and I had no problems hauling them back to the farm.

That, unfortunately, is where the fun stopped.

Instead of fanagling them into the barn (they will be sharing the chicken room til the horses get used to them), I opted instead to put them in the front part of the pasture that I had taped off for them.  However, they had other ideas and within 2 minutes of them hitting the ground, they had run through 3 lines of my electric tape fencing and wiggled their way out of the 7 strand wire perimeter fence (that was not turned on as it had been grounding out). 

For the next 3.5 hours, and with the help of many friends, neighbors and strangers, we chased the 2 calves all around the property (and beyond).  I've now seen more of the fields and woods near the farm that I even though possible (even found a creek bed when the big guy was running through it).  In the end, the little guy was lassoed after 75 minutes loose by a good samaritan that happened to stop.  The big guy was tackled by my neighbor after 3.5 hours on the loose.  And while at the same time there were police and ambulance on my road, none of it had anything to do with the loose calves. 

They are now on a "barn time-out" until I can fix the fencing so it contains them.  I'm also using this time to get them used to me.

I'll post a better picture when I can, but this is the best one so far (the other had the flash on the eyes and made the little buggers look evil).

So meet Q (aka BBQ) and Mig (aka Filet Mignon)... latest residents of Serenity Valley Farm.  And with any luck, hopefully very content, quiet and cooperative (from here on out) residents.

All beef shares for this year are currently spoken for, but if you're interested, let me know and I'll put you on the wait list in case anyone backs out.

Along those same lines, I am still accepting deposits for turkeys.  I will be ordering the chicks this month and currently have 15 orders.  Remember I'm ordering both the Broad Breasted Whites that I did last year as well as the heritage breed Bourbon Reds.  A deposit guarantees* you a turkey although I will be ordering a few extra.

I still have an ABUNDANCE of eggs this spring!  $2 per dozen.  Willing to deliver or meet you somewhere if it's not too far away.

The garden is coming along.  Plenty of blossoms on the strawberries, the broccoli and cabbage look good and the gutter garden (seen below prior to planting) is seeing plenty of spinach and lettuce starting to pop up.  More will be planted on Sunday and I'll post more pictures later.

In other news, the first horse show of the season is upon us!  Catch me competing with iTolt's Chiraz at several DLSC Hunter Shows this summer... beginning tomorrow.  I am excited to not only show and hopefully qualify for year end awards, but to be able to help Jen school her many wonderful students as well.

5 Things... Update

So I missed a day.  Life's been "weird" lately.  Please don't hold it against me. :)

1) Looks like the first horses will set foot at the farm sometime in the next week.  Still up in the air as to who exactly it will be (depends a little on who gets along with whom in turnout since they'll be out together).  So more updates as it happens.

2) As a result of #1, there will obviously need to be more work done in the barn.  More rock put down, possibly another stall built, and then there's the running of water to the barn.  The latter will need to be looked into asap, especially now that we're coming out of winter.  I may start by installing a hand pump on the outdoor well.

3) Looking at the garden possibilities for this year.  Going to downsize and kind of refocus (a running theme in life right now I think).  Found some wonderful ideas on Pinterest -- like growing greens in extra rain gutters that are just attached to a wall/fence.  Also a fun idea about growing plants from a pallet or using old tires that are painted BRIGHT colors as pots.  Too many fun ideas!

4)  Speaking of ideas, I've been putzing with a couple.  The first is to pour concrete in the "shed" off the attached garage, run electric so I can have lights, etc., have a couple windows installed and possibly the exterior door changed... and basically turn it into a nice room.  The idea is to make it into an exercise room.  I don't have enough $$ at the moment to refurbish the entire garage, but that one small room might be doable to start.

5) The other putzing idea is to pull out the hot tub and instead of putting it in the barn, put it on the back patio -- the idea of which also entails a patio makeover.  I guess the idea is more about the patio makeover and the hot tub is an extension of that.  Ideas abound on this one!  But a nice patio with plants, maybe a fountain, different flooring (I have never liked the brick that's there) to make it a lovely extension of the mudroom, which when clean is a really nice space, would be fun.  Plus I think I'm moving the garden closer to teh house so that could be incorporated a little.

So... I think this post is probably less "update" and more "hey ya'll... I have tons of projects in the queue.  If you're ever bored, come on out... even if it's just to keep me company while I work. "  :)

5 Things - 2 weeks

1) Nothing major has happened really (although one may argue based on Thing #2), but life at the farm has been fun lately.  A lot has to do with the people that have been around as much as what's been happening.  There have been a few adventures, some reconnecting, long talks, fun games, laughter and hugs... sounds good to me!

2) Update on the land deal.  Long story short, it's not happening this year.  Opted to put it on hold to see where we all land next year as the proposed purchase wasn't quite right for everyone.  So there's a lot to think about between now and then.  Decisions to be made.  Many things were put on hold in order to try to make this happen and the question now is whether they need to continue on hold or if some of them can be done/created/purchased/etc sooner rather than later (and of course what affect that will have on future land purchases).  It's a LOT to consider, but winter is just starting, so there's time to think and reflect and plan before the busy of spring hits.  I'm sure I'll do some "out loud" thinking here as considerations are made.

3) It doesn't seem a lot like the holidays at the moment.  Temps are in the 40s, no snow on the ground (which fyi is fine by me), gray and dreary skies with plenty of mud.  I can't say that I'd rather have snow than mud because that leads to a whole host of other issues - frozen water buckets, iced in doors, higher heating costs -- but the dreary, gray and muddy isn't ideal either.  Guess we'll see what's in store as the winter progresses.

4) Have several indoor projects that need to be worked on.  In addition to the every needed general cleaning, I want to take the several pint jars of pear butter I put up and split them into these adorable cup jars I found at the store.  This way, I can give more away as gifts!  I also need to sit down and go through my clothing and make a (huge I'm sure) pile for Goodwill or Amvets.

5) Sushi & Movie Day is coming up soon.  This will be the 3rd year of the tradition (going for Sushi on or near Christmas and then hitting a matinee movie).  As of last night, we've picked out the movie (the new Sherlock Holmes) and the sushi place (Thai 9) so plans are a go for Saturday.  Really looking forward to it.  In the meantime, getting started on projects from #4 as well as going to the barn to ride.

Have a wonderul holiday week/weekend!

The Other 4 Things

To continue 5 Things for this week...

#2 - The work on the new tack room continues.  As of last night, the only parts left to "complete" are the door and window.  Of course there is more to do -- move the light switch, put down floor mats, insulate -- but those things come in time.  I've actually started moving some of my large collection of "stuff" into the room and I'm really excited to see it all come together.

Reilly checking out my unpacking.  Window and door will be on the right of this shot.
Notice the new cabinets -- I LOVE the ReStore!

Obviously more work to do here, but you can see the system of holders for blankets and saddle pads.
The plan is to have saddle racks on the far wall (as it's the most sturdy wall in the room).  That's next.

#3 - Chickens really are dumb.  Caught this bird-brain finding a new nesting spot -- in the cabinets above the workbench.  Also found she's been going there for a while as she left behind 6 eggs.

Dumb chicken

#4 - Reilly got groomed!!  He was starting to look (and smell) like a good ole farm dog so off to the groomers he went.  Took him to Kela's here in New Lebanon and they loved him, of course.  He looks adorable.  A little funny perhaps with his feet trimmed all up for a wet fall (had them take the excess fur around his feet off so he wouldn't track quite as much mud into the house), but he looks... and even more SMELLS... so much better!  They even gave him a blue bow.

In the car on the ride home.  Ain't he so cute!!

#5 - Finally put a For Sale sign up in front of the Cottage house.  I've gotten quite a few phone calls from it.  A lot of people I think are hampered by wanting to buy now but can't move in due to the renters being in place.  Oh well.  Gives me hope for the future though.  Just wish to have it "moved on" sooner rather than later.  If anyone reads this and knows someone who's looking to buy a house, please pass this on.  Renters are in place til August 1st, but I'm offering to pay the sellers the difference between rent and monthly payment through then so no mortgage payment til you actually get in the house... and you still get the deduction on your taxes!

The small print in the middle says "No Closing Costs. No Down Payment. Save over $40,000"

5 Things on a Tuesday

I took a vacation day yesterday from work.  Didn't accomplish quite as much as I would have liked, but after the busy weekend, the day was enjoyable.  So that's why "5 Things" is late this week.

1) The horse show on Saturday was a lot of fun.  It was an incredibly LONG day -- left the farm at 7:30am... returned at 8:30pm.  Spent the morning watching, reading on my new Kindle (I won a raffle at work on Friday), and catching up with friends.  I love the Stillwater Pony Club show.  It's always fun.  It was a decent sized show and with the larger arena, the classes took a while to finish.  Spot and I finally got to show about 4:30.  He was SO much more confident than at the Greenstone show a couple weeks ago.  The fences didn't phase him.  We had our issues with the canter transitions, but that's a work in progress for Spot.  Even between the first and second class, his confidence grew.  He's such a neat horse.  We didn't place in any of our classes, but I'm so proud of him!  I'm hoping Jen got a couple good pictures of us.  I also really appreciated the comments and compliments I got from friends. 

2) Very proud of myself for all the work that was accomplished on Sunday.  Trimmed bushes, weeded flower beds (and cleaned up the mess from both), finished painting the turkey coop, painted the support posts for the farm sign, cleaned the chicken nest boxes and refilled with bedding, cleaned the turkey coop and replaced the fly strip, picked up the trash that Stewie kept scattering in the pasture, and dismantled the old burn pile.  Oye!  Didn't do diddly Saturday evening that's for sure!

3) Had a meeting with Farm Credit on Thursday and things are looking very good for the land purchase.  Need to get all my financial documentation in order and turn in the paperwork.  Of course the hoops don't stop there -- after I get my approval back, we have to go to the Township to get the big parcel officially split.  THEN I can go back to the bank and finish the loan.

4) Attended the Nourishing Connections meeting last night.  It's a chapter of the Weston A Price Foundation.  The speaker was from the Farm To Consumer Legal Defense Fund (and Foundation).  This is a wonderful organization that helps farmers, even or especially in fights with the government.  The Foundation is an educational charitable branch of the organization and it turns out they have some experienced folks willing to help with the education of new farmers when they have questions.  I WILL have questions with the new land.  Having been conventionally farmed for many years (who knows how many), I'm worried about the soil quality.  As was quoted last night (and paraphrased here), the quality of the ground leads to the quality (and quantity) of the nutrient dense vegetation -- whether that's in the form of vegetables or forage crops for feed animals.

5) Along the same lines as #4, I think I'm going to see a showing of the movie "Farmaggedon" this Sunday.  4pm at the Little Art Theater in Yellow Springs.  $4 of every $10 ticket goes to support the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.  This is not fringe, hippy, radical stuff.  It's incredible, disturbing and true and I would urge anyone interested in good, nutritious food... AND the right to CHOOSE what food you are able to buy... to go see the movie!

Turkey Coop Details

I’ve tried to take pictures to show how the turkey coop was built. My design was loosely based on an Internet friend’s coop that she’s using on her farm in Virginia. The size is similar (8x12), but the roof… well… I went easy and put in the tarp over PVC roof where her’s has a traditional wood roof. Here is the process… pretty much from start to finish.  Also, where I can remember I've noted materials and costs.

The floor:

The coop is “moveable”. I built it on 4x4 skids. If needed, I could attached a couple heavy duty eyebolts to them and pull them with a tractor or truck to a new location. It’s the same principle used for “portable” cross country fences that I’ve built. Don’t forget to shave the ends off so when you drag you’re not dragging the blunt 90 degree end of a 4x4 through the rough terrain… but rather the sloped end thus doing less damage to the ground (although you’ll still have skid marks through the grass).

The parts of the 4x4s that I used a chainsaw to cut off to "slope" the ends should I need to move the coop after it's built.

Next I added three ½ inch treated sheets of plywood to the skids for the actual floor.

The treated plywood floor laying out across the 4x4 skids.  I HIGHLY recommend to build it from the ground up in the spot where you want the coop to be located.  You CAN move it, but why when you can start from there.

Even though they’re treated, I painted them with exterior latex paint.  Being the floor of a coop for 13 turkeys, they’re going to have to withstand quite a bit of icky use.  Adding the paint was just an added bit of insurance.  Hopefully they’ll last a few years before needing to be replaced.

The plywood floor, now painted with exterior latex to help preserve it even more (and thus need replacing less often) ready to be screwed down into the 4x4 skids.

The Walls:

I constructed the walls in the barn out of 2x4 studs and then screwed them into place on the put together floor. 4 – 2x4x12s for the top and bottom rails on the sides. 2 – 2x4x8s for the top and bottom on the back. I made the walls 4’ tall on the sides so it was easy to use wall studs – just cut a 2x4x8 in half. It would also be useful as I would be able to buy a 4x8 sheet of plywood for the walls and not have to do any cutting. I also used several 2x4x8s to construct the frame around the door (a $17 screen door from Lowe’s) and a matching support on the back of the coop. Three 2x4x12s were then used as roof supports, with the middle one being put on an additional 2x4 so it was higher (thus rain wouldn’t collect between the 3 boards on the roof). The original plan was to only use one roof board, but the only PVC length I could get was 10’ and unless I wanted to cut a single 6’ length out of the 10’ pipes vs being able to have two 5’ lengths additional boards were needed and it was slightly less expensive.

The coop with walls and door attached.

I don’t remember the exact number of 2x4x8s that were used... about 10 I think. You can get those for less than $2 if you’re willing to dig through ones that aren’t quite straight.

The actual walls are cheap 4x8 OSB. They aren’t taking as much use as the floor and painted, they should withstand the weather just fine. The project needed 5 and I think they ran about $8 each.

The curved ¾” PVC was added and tacked down to the walls and the roof supports.  I used 4 of them but they’re less than $2 each.  In addition they are initially supported with brackets.  They’re inexpensive, but I can’t remember if they were even $1 each.  After being put into place with the brackets, they were then screwed in place.

One of the PVC roof pieces in its brace.  PVC pieces would also be screwed down into the wall for added support.  Additional roof beams would also be added -- another one on the far side for the PVC pieces to attach to and a center beam elevated slightly on another section of 2x4 so the overall roof sloped instead of having a flat top (which would inevidibly gather rain).

The whole thing… inside and out… was then painted with exterior latex paint.  Lesson – cheap OSB drinks paint like a drunk at an open bar!  All total, I have 3 gallons of paint in this project.  I ended up using cheap exterior paint from Tractor Supply at $13 per gallon towards the end (after using up the good paint that I had on hand for the floor).

The coop painted, with wire ends, ready for the roof to be attached.  Yes I know the door frame isn't entirely painted.  I ran out of paint and would get to this later.

Before putting the roof on, I finished the ends by attaching chicken wire. I used a 3’ wide roll purchased at Lowe’s. I think it was about $15. On the front, the wire was stacked horizontally. Across the back, since it’s an 8’ wide uninterrupted section, it’s stacked vertically. I used a staple gun to attach the wire to the wood – along the bottom to the wall as well as up the sides of the door and to the back matching support. To attach the wire to the curved roof PVC pieces, I simply wrapped the wire around the PVC and secured with Zip Ties. I also used the zip ties to attach the wire to itself where the pieces overlapped one another.

The Roof:
The roof is simple – a 12x16 medium duty tarp I purchased at TSC for $35. After pulling it into place, it is secured with nylon cord strung through the eyelets in the tarp and small eyebolts (fairly tiny ones) that I screwed into the bottom of the walls. Pull tight and the tarp has stayed in place already through a couple nasty storms.

The "finished" coop (sans additional paint).  Ready for turkeys!

Inside:

I added shavings to the floor (although in the future I may try the horse stall pine pellets).

The coop interior after adding shavings to the floor.  I painted the inside too... again for the purpose of extending the life of the materials used.  You can see the black dots in the wire on the far wall -- those are the zip ties holding the 2 overlapping pieces of chicken wire that cover the ends to each other.

I also added their feed container (hung by cords from the roof), their water container (bungie tied to an upside down wire freezer rack to keep it up off the floor) and a small roost that I constructed of a leftover 2x4 and a couple scrap landscape timber pieces.

The interior with all the accoutrements added!

Next step was adding the birds!!

8 week old turkeys enjoying their first meal in the new coop.

They seemed to like it!

Turkeys in the coop with the door shut.

I did have to end up putting a piece of plywood over the bottom of the screen door as they pushed their way out and broke the screen. I also use just a bungie cord and a piece of string to latch the door open most days now.

I kept them in there for a few days before letting them out in the yard.  Not only did that allow them to get accustomed to being out (the sun can get in the E/W facing ends of the coop), but it gave me a few days to actually finish their yard!

The Yard:

Last step was to construct their yard so they could get out on the grass. I used five 5’6” T-posts (one at each corner and an additional one for the “door”). I also originally used a few leftover 4’ step in posts as the sides were roughly 36’-39’ in length. In hindsight, these posts just weren’t tall enough and the 4’ chicken wire (a roll of 150’ was used in one continuous piece) drooped.

Turkeys in their yard.  They're actually investigating the lawn mower that I'm running just outside their fenceline.  They've been in this space for about a month at the time of this picture.

Eventually I used 2x2x4 lumber tied to 4’ U-posts that I had leftover.  Notice the far fenceline in the above picture – the 4’ lumber is in place here, but not the u-post to hold it up.  The fence is tied to each of the posts 2 to 3 times with zip ties.  The door was created using the end of the chicken wire roll stapled to a 4’ leftover piece of plywood… and then latched shut with bungie cords!

Close up of my fancy door.  The end of the 150' roll of chicken wire, stapled to a scrap 4' piece of plywood and bungied together.

 
In the End:

It wasn’t an extremely cheap venture… I figure any “profit” I make off of this year’s turkeys is tied up in this coop and yard for them to live in.  But it’s worth it.  Just this morning on my way to the car, I saw them running around flapping their wings.  For them to be able to do that vs being in a crowded coop never eating grass or bugs or feeling the sunshine is more than worth it to me.  They don’t have very long lives since they’re being raised for food, but they should be able to be turkeys for what they do have, right?

11 week old turkeys inside their yard with Reilly the newf looking in at them.  Reilly has visited inside the yard a couple times and the turkeys really dont' care much about him.

I wiggled the yard dimensions so i could enclose the small pine tree inside their yard.  This is the turkey's enjyoing what shade they can get under the pine tree on a hot afternoon.

The turkeys mostly wander in and out now at their leisure.  I've secured the door open with a piece of rope and a bungie.  I've also moved their water container outside the coop.  The floor slanted JUST enough that it was dripping and making the since water-logged.  If I lock them in the coop for some reason, I just move the water back inside on a temporary basis, but they seem to enjoy being able to come and go as they please.  I've only had 2 turkeys fly over the fence.  The first time I came home to find 'Lefty' (my resident pirate turkey -- see pic below) outside the fence.  One call to him/her and the silly bird came running right to me.  The other time was yesterday... the lawn mower startled the birds and as they ran across the yard, several flapped their wings and one actually flew/jumped the fence.  Not quite the easy catch as Lefty but certainly not difficult and the escapee was back inside the yard in a matter of a minute.

Lefty, the pirate turkey (because he's always squiting and looks like he's saying "ARGH!") seems to enjoy his new coop and yard.

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.

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.