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. " :)
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
5 Things... or more
So the original intent of 5 Things was to keep me blogging every week about the farm and updates. Obviously the holidays and first of the year had some kind of wrench to throw into those plans. All is good though, as I thoroughly plan to keep up again. So... in light of that... here are some current and semi-current 5 Things:
1) I've been enjoying the mild winter. A little muddy here and there, but its nice to WANT to go outside occasionally. It's also nice on the wallet when it comes to heating the house. I'm a little concerned about the bug population this coming spring/summer. That may be the trade-off for this week's temps being in the 50s and having rain instead of snow. Still not sure I'd choose any differently however.
2) Stewie is gone. He left last month. In return I have a freezer full of 196 pounds of edible beef (including soup bones, but not including miscellaneous "other" organs and such). My record keeping was only ok but by my calculations, I from fairly well with the price of the ground beef to amazing with the price of some of the steaks. Am currently investigating picking up 2 or maybe even 3 calves this spring. Would need buyers (hint hint).
3) Projects: The project list is yet again rather large. Some keep changing, some change their priority, some stay the same. Still sorting out the list at the moment to see what to do next, but a couple weeks ago I painted the living room/dining room. Instead of a yellow-ish tan color throughout, it is now Covered Wagon and Amaretto (a tan and a brick-ish color). Actually ties in really well with the window treatments that were already there and I really like it overall a LOT better.
4) Back in November I enrolled in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University being presented by Wright-Patt Credit Union. Tomorrow is my last class (it's actually only a 12 week course, but due to holidays and what I assume are room scheduling conflicts, ours was really extended). I've thoroughly enjoyed the class and while it means that many projects at the farm won't be done in the timeframe I'd like, they'll get done on the timeframe they need to be done and without throwing me into a financial tailspin... so that's even better. If you come across a class in your area, I would recommend it.
I purchased Frankie at the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Mixed Fall Sale in October 2004 for $500. Due to life happening over that next year, I sold her... to Suzie, who's been the best thing for Frankie and taken her so far. This coming weekend they're running their first Advanced level horse trail at the same farm in Georgia. I'm so proud of them.
1) I've been enjoying the mild winter. A little muddy here and there, but its nice to WANT to go outside occasionally. It's also nice on the wallet when it comes to heating the house. I'm a little concerned about the bug population this coming spring/summer. That may be the trade-off for this week's temps being in the 50s and having rain instead of snow. Still not sure I'd choose any differently however.
2) Stewie is gone. He left last month. In return I have a freezer full of 196 pounds of edible beef (including soup bones, but not including miscellaneous "other" organs and such). My record keeping was only ok but by my calculations, I from fairly well with the price of the ground beef to amazing with the price of some of the steaks. Am currently investigating picking up 2 or maybe even 3 calves this spring. Would need buyers (hint hint).
3) Projects: The project list is yet again rather large. Some keep changing, some change their priority, some stay the same. Still sorting out the list at the moment to see what to do next, but a couple weeks ago I painted the living room/dining room. Instead of a yellow-ish tan color throughout, it is now Covered Wagon and Amaretto (a tan and a brick-ish color). Actually ties in really well with the window treatments that were already there and I really like it overall a LOT better.
4) Back in November I enrolled in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University being presented by Wright-Patt Credit Union. Tomorrow is my last class (it's actually only a 12 week course, but due to holidays and what I assume are room scheduling conflicts, ours was really extended). I've thoroughly enjoyed the class and while it means that many projects at the farm won't be done in the timeframe I'd like, they'll get done on the timeframe they need to be done and without throwing me into a financial tailspin... so that's even better. If you come across a class in your area, I would recommend it.
5) There are no boarders at the farm (yet), but I wanted to share a couple horse pictures. First is Suzie Harrison and Frankie. The picture was taken on cross country during their recent competition at Intermediate level at an event in Georgia.
The next pic is me... at this past weekend's Game Day at iTolt Training Center in Miamisburg. I used to board there (both Char and Frankie) and still go and ride. The pony in the picture is Copper. Such a good boy to just stand there and let me be the fool.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
5 Things Post Christmas
1) Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. Mine was good. A little quiet at times, which was nice. NOT white, which was also nice. Spent a good portion of it not doing a whole lot of anything.... again, nice. Now there's a to do list a mile long and I'm sure it will get longer as winter trudges on and spring gets closer.
2) Movies: I love movies. I'm the type of person who can watch some movies repeatedly and not get tired of them. Needless to say, this was a weekend full of movies. Along with "The Black Stallion" and "Secretariat" which I'd seen before, I also saw several that were new (or new to me)... including:
4) Finally took down the turkey fencing. The t-posts are still up but moved the fence itself over to the pasture to help try to keep the chickens in the pasture. Did this on Sunday afternoon and the sun was out (a little weird feeling given that it's rained so much lately). Need to get more temp posts (not going to drive in regular t-posts for that) but part of it is up and I think it might be starting to help.
5) a picture to share. They came out to help "supervise" the fencing mentioned above.
2) Movies: I love movies. I'm the type of person who can watch some movies repeatedly and not get tired of them. Needless to say, this was a weekend full of movies. Along with "The Black Stallion" and "Secretariat" which I'd seen before, I also saw several that were new (or new to me)... including:
- War Horse -- B rating from me at best. It's a combination of Steven Speilberg's epicness.... Disney... war... and a PG-13 rating. Somewhere in trying to combine all of that, something gets lost. It's essentially Black Beauty at war, but I think the editing is a little choppy. Just when I started to get REALLY engrossed in what the horse was going through, BAM... editing takes me away from that. And the war part was boiled down (a little to a LOT depending on the scene) so you didn't even get the "war is hell" aspect like what I got from a movie like "Saving Private Ryan". I'd have to say one of the best scenes in the movie was the no-man's land rescue. I won't say more than that about specifics, but I can completely see that happening (other than the outcome for the horse which was very Disney'd). Oh, and the ending, while nice and sappy, was over the top -- got the feeling I was transported into a viewing of Gone with the Wind. Glad I saw it, but also glad it was at matinee prices
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows -- A- from me. Very entertaining. Almost as good as the original. The plot was a LITTLE thin in places, but still... quality entertainment. I'm a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan and now that he's clean there simply is almost no one better in Hollywood in my opinion. The man is amazing to watch. I'm not big on Jude Law, but he does make a good sidekick to Holmes' outrageousness. Definitely worth seeing.
- The Hangover -- B++ from me. I hesitate to give it an A- rating only because I guess I'm stingy. Yes, I know this came out a while ago, so I'll spare you the amateur analysis of the movie. It was very funny and I enjoyed it a lot. Probably one of the best fratboy humor movies I've seen and definitely one of the few that I would see again. I'm looking forward to seeing The Hangover II as I've been told it's just as, if not more funny.
4) Finally took down the turkey fencing. The t-posts are still up but moved the fence itself over to the pasture to help try to keep the chickens in the pasture. Did this on Sunday afternoon and the sun was out (a little weird feeling given that it's rained so much lately). Need to get more temp posts (not going to drive in regular t-posts for that) but part of it is up and I think it might be starting to help.
5) a picture to share. They came out to help "supervise" the fencing mentioned above.
The picture that was missed was before this when Reilly & I went for a walk around the outside of the pasture. Buff Puff followed us and Stewie came out to the middle of the pasture to watch us. About 3/4 the way around, Buff Puff decided to cut through the pasture to catch up to us. Boy did she ever!! Stewie decided to chase her and you've never seen a cat move as fast as Buff Puff did when she was being chased by a 15 month old steer! Girl has some speed!!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Skipping 5 Things
Since I'm already half a week late, this is the official notice that 5 Things isn't happening this week. There isn't a whole lot going on around the farm anyway. The weather has been both good and bad (50s to 20s, sun to rain). Critters are doing well though the chickens still aren't laying very well. I'm hoping to improve that this week. And things are things. So... until Monday when hopefully I'll have 5 Things to write about from BOTH weeks... have a wonderful weekend!
Monday, December 5, 2011
5 Things... is it December already?
1) Are you sure? I know what the calendar says, but really? Has anyone told Mother Nature yet because I think she may think it's April. Saturday was GORGEOUS - 50 degrees and sunny. Since then we've had nothing but rain. Enough to put us under a flood watch til later today. Rain, rain and more rain. And did I mention the ground was already saturated from last week's couple days of rain? Anyone want to buy me an ark for Yule?
2) The only project this weekend at the farm was enjoying the weather and unpacking the new tv. Yes, folks, the Shindig now has a tv as the "monster" will be moved (at some point) out to the bar. The new tv is lighter (although bigger) and fits better in the house.
3) The weather on Saturday was enjoyed by doing some light clean up but mostly by shooting at targets in the Back 10. ALWAYS a good time!
4) While not hooked up, the farm also officially has a hot tub! It's currently residing in the attached garage to keep it cat and chicken free until such time as it gets hooked up and put in it's proper place, but at least it's there and one can stand and look at it, and dream of being in warm bubbles on cold days.
5) Made some random "let's throw this in" chili this past week and it was fabulous (for experimental chili and my lack of understanding spicing). Made it from ground venison that's been in the freezer. I'm SO looking forward to a winter of more yummy chili!
2) The only project this weekend at the farm was enjoying the weather and unpacking the new tv. Yes, folks, the Shindig now has a tv as the "monster" will be moved (at some point) out to the bar. The new tv is lighter (although bigger) and fits better in the house.
3) The weather on Saturday was enjoyed by doing some light clean up but mostly by shooting at targets in the Back 10. ALWAYS a good time!
4) While not hooked up, the farm also officially has a hot tub! It's currently residing in the attached garage to keep it cat and chicken free until such time as it gets hooked up and put in it's proper place, but at least it's there and one can stand and look at it, and dream of being in warm bubbles on cold days.
5) Made some random "let's throw this in" chili this past week and it was fabulous (for experimental chili and my lack of understanding spicing). Made it from ground venison that's been in the freezer. I'm SO looking forward to a winter of more yummy chili!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
5 Things post-Thanksgiving
1) Thanks to a friend, I was able to actually eat one of my own turkeys on Thanksgiving. According to 2 different people who cooked/ate 2 different turkeys, they were a big hit and were both described as "the breast meat just fell off the bone!" That people thoroughly enjoyed the birds makes me happy! Plans are to have turkeys next year. I already have a couple orders.
2) Had a wonderful holiday weekend overall. Before chowing down on turkey on Thursday, a friend and I participated in the Miamisburg Turkey Trot 5 mile run/walk. We did it last year and I'm happy to say improved our time in the race this year by over 5 minutes! I definitely think this is going to become a tradition for us.
3) Although the weather was gorgeous until Sunday, not much got accomplished around the farm. Cleaned out the garage to make room for storing the hot tub until I can get everything in place to put it in its new home. Cleaned out part of the chicken room as well, but really that was about it. Went riding on Spot, walked around downtown for a bit... took it easy and loved it.
4) Of course the weather has been less than stellar since the weekend and is expected to get worse as we're forecasted for our first snow of the season tonight. Blech! So not ready for snow!!
5) And last but not least, an update on the land acquisition. Refinanced the farm last week and am extremely happy with that process. Still waiting to hear from the seller as to whether or not he's ok with still splitting off some land for me (up to 7 acres) or if he just wants to nix the whole thing. Didnt' expect to hear anything last week due to the holiday and all, so I'm just in wait mode at this point. The appraisal on the farm is good for a year... so I can add land up to that point without having to get another appraisal on the farm itself, just the land. However, I'd really rather we get things finished well before then... perhaps in time to plant pasture/hay on the new acreage in the spring.
Well... that's it for this week. Things are definitely slowing down and soon I expect to be talking more and more about plans for next year. Right now they definitely include more turkeys (hopefully Bourbon Reds as well as some Broad Breasted Whites). Next year may also see a couple new beef steers on the property along with (at long last) horses!!
2) Had a wonderful holiday weekend overall. Before chowing down on turkey on Thursday, a friend and I participated in the Miamisburg Turkey Trot 5 mile run/walk. We did it last year and I'm happy to say improved our time in the race this year by over 5 minutes! I definitely think this is going to become a tradition for us.
3) Although the weather was gorgeous until Sunday, not much got accomplished around the farm. Cleaned out the garage to make room for storing the hot tub until I can get everything in place to put it in its new home. Cleaned out part of the chicken room as well, but really that was about it. Went riding on Spot, walked around downtown for a bit... took it easy and loved it.
4) Of course the weather has been less than stellar since the weekend and is expected to get worse as we're forecasted for our first snow of the season tonight. Blech! So not ready for snow!!
5) And last but not least, an update on the land acquisition. Refinanced the farm last week and am extremely happy with that process. Still waiting to hear from the seller as to whether or not he's ok with still splitting off some land for me (up to 7 acres) or if he just wants to nix the whole thing. Didnt' expect to hear anything last week due to the holiday and all, so I'm just in wait mode at this point. The appraisal on the farm is good for a year... so I can add land up to that point without having to get another appraisal on the farm itself, just the land. However, I'd really rather we get things finished well before then... perhaps in time to plant pasture/hay on the new acreage in the spring.
Well... that's it for this week. Things are definitely slowing down and soon I expect to be talking more and more about plans for next year. Right now they definitely include more turkeys (hopefully Bourbon Reds as well as some Broad Breasted Whites). Next year may also see a couple new beef steers on the property along with (at long last) horses!!
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