Relative Something

This week, I have been getting a taste of what it is like to live in the deep freeze of winter out in the country. It seems to me that things slow down a lot more than in the big city. We haven’t had any action on the fence project, so it has been more quiet around here than any other time since we arrived. It seems hard to fathom, but during this below zero spell, the most action I have seen comes from tiny birds, and a few squirrels. You’d think that creatures with so little body mass would need to stay snuggled somewhere sheltered when it gets extremely cold, but there they are, right out in the open, picking away at the food, as if it was just like any other day.

There is another factor in the pause of our fencing work. We need to decide on a place to store hay. Before we commit to locating the paddock fence lines, we have to decide where the hay shed will be. Before we can determine the location of the hay shed, we need to decide how big it needs to be. To determine the proper size, we need to figure out what form of hay bales we will be be purchasing.

About here is where our friend Mike might point out that the old rectangle bales have been discontinued, because the animals weren’t getting a well-rounded diet. The big round bales are certainly becoming more common. If we go that route, we need to figure out the necessary attachment for the tractor to move the bales around.

One factor that will help us determine what form of bales we will buy, will come from the discovery of who we will be able to purchase the hay from. It’s not like we can just go to some pet store and pick up a grocery cart of hay for the winter. It is a little more specialized a process for the agricultural industry, and we are complete outsiders, needing to find our niche in the limited local market.

So, where do we put the fence?

Yesterday, we took another step toward that decision. We are relying significantly on the local knowledge and experience of our chosen fence contractor, and comparing his advice with the research Cyndie has done. They seem to agree on the size of hay shed that should support our plan of four horses. He seems a bit hesitant to assume we will be able to stop at owning just four, based on what he has witnessed with other clients over the years, so he continues to push us to consider ALL possibilities.

We have an estimate on materials for a shed, and a couple leads on potential carpenters with skill and knowledge to build it. We measured, again, to prove it can fit. Most significant, we came up with a way to locate the shed in the best orientation, and still allow front access to receive a delivery from a typical hay-wagon trailer. We are going to add to the driveway approaching the barn, converting it to a drive-through, to eliminate any need to back up a trailer.

With that decided, they can proceed with building us some fence …when the arctic high-pressure weather system finally releases its icy grip.