Archive for July 2013
Training Walk
It was just going to be a simple walk with our dog. I was barefoot, so I stepped into my clogs and off we went. Earlier in the day, Delilah had chewed two places on the web of her retractable leash, to within a few fibers of severing it entirely, so now we were using the straight leash that maintains constant contact. I think that inspired Cyndie to bring treats and a training clicker, to work on Delilah’s lessons for following commands.
Delilah is so strong, when she sets her sights on a goal, and is fixated on getting there, she can practically pull us off our feet. Most often, it is rabbits that command her strongest reaction, but she seems to also have a thing for flying creatures: moths, butterflies, and birds.
As soon as we got under way, I spotted a rabbit down the driveway, seated right on the edge of the pavement. I suggested to Cyndie that we choose the opposite direction. She reacted quickly to turn Delilah around and took the opportunity to engage her in some training exercises. When we got to the back yard, Lilah immediately spotted a bird hopping around on the ground, and Cyndie was put to work trying to hold on against the pull.
We picked a trail through the woods, and headed toward the paddocks, so I could show off the work I did earlier in the day, digging out the space where we will put one of our round pens for working with the horses. Cyndie had Lilah running some circles, as if she were a horse.
We made our way toward the end of the driveway, with Lilah chasing the occasional white moth, and decided to return on the freshly cut trail across from the hay-field. Delilah appeared to having a great time, maybe calming down a bit from all the exercise. After we turned the corner, I suggested we try getting her to respond to one of the commands. I got the clicker ready, and Cyndie was digging for a treat, when I glanced down the trail and spotted a skunk.
I hollered, “Skunk!”
Cyndie reported that Delilah was aware of it. I figured we’d have to fight her to get her to turn around with us. We turned to hustle back the way we had come. In the distance, I saw the white tail stand straight up.
All my momentum was headed south when Lilah, in her convenient effort to join us in retreat, stepped on the heel of my clog, giving me the equivalent of a “flat tire.” My body kept going, but my shoe stayed behind.
“Delilah stepped on my shoe!” I complained as I hopped around trying to reclaim it.
We burst into laughter over my predicament, Delilah’s hasty retreat, and the circus our simple walk had become.
I don’t know why, but for the remainder of the walk back to the house, Delilah wanted nothing to do with any command training.
New Passion
I have developed a new passion for black raspberry jam. Cyndie has been making the jam out of berries we are getting from all the plants on our property. We learned that the local term for these berries is “blackcaps.” I have always been a fan of raspberries, so liking the blackcaps is no stretch. The flavor of these is as deep as the color.
Cyndie cherishes the berries so much that when we were about to clear all the growth behind the barn, she stopped and went to get a baggie to save the ripe berries before we cut. Unfortunately, she then stowed the bag of berries in a bigger bag that was filled with our cutting tools, and by the time she got to the house, her baggie contained blackcap juice, not berries.
Lately, we have taken to applying her jam over the top of some regular cream cheese that we spread on bagels, toast, or any variety of crackers. It is a seriously delicious combination. It makes me hungry just writing about it.
The crop has been good this year, and we continue to find ripe berries, still. It seems like every day, more have ripened, so the harvest has been ongoing, daily. The plants have all grown up wild, along the edge of wooded areas. Cyndie has tied some of the bushes up in bunches, to make it easier to wander among them to pick the berries. But they are everywhere around the property, so wherever we go, there are berries to be picked.
I need to apologize, in advance, to those of you who would otherwise probably receive a jar of her blackcap jam as a gift in the coming days or months. I think I will have exhausted the supply before she ever gets the chance. It’s just that good!
Test Stack
I didn’t really have time to start this project, but I did, anyway, while I was lingering to help Delilah get settled in her kennel. If she sees us toiling about nearby, she seems satisfied to lay down and relax in there. After that, she seems good for a long duration.
I’ve placed some pallets on the ground and then started a stack of split firewood on the right side of the shed. Looks like I will actually be able to go 3 rows deep, so there will be plenty of room for our needs.
I discovered 3 leaks during yesterdays drizzly rain. I don’t know whether the screws in those spots aren’t tight enough to get the washer to seal, or there is some other cause. I plan to just glop on silicon caulk to cure the drips. Of course, one is smack dab in the middle, now pretty much 2-inches beyond my reach from every direction. That’s one problem with settling on a roof material that is not strong enough to walk on.
Situation Overload
We are now in the thick of things, in terms of change and land management here. The fence posts are going in for the fencing that we have selected around our front field, and that has driven an issue of committing to a decision on a gate. It is not a simple decision.
After consulting with an asphalt maintenance and repair company, about the damage that has occurred to our driveway, we see the value of having a second access road for heavy equipment. There is a spot where we saw potential for that second access, on the southeast corner of our property. It is an interesting situation there. Because of a drainage lane, the previous fence line jogs in, well inside our actual property line. The other side of that lane takes on the appearance of being the neighbor’s property. That is where a gravel access off the township road already exists, currently providing our neighbor access to that end of his property.
For it to serve us (since it is on our land), we need to get across the drainage lane. We had the backhoe clear a channel and dropped a culvert into it. That got the attention of our neighbor, whom Cyndie and I had previously visited, informing him we were looking into making changes along our shared border. Now he wanted to report that, years ago, there used to be a crossing that was further in from the road, and we might want to consider moving that culvert to that spot. Oh, and he asked that we be sure to create a berm on his side of the drainage lane to keep water from wandering out of the lane, into his field.
Meanwhile, Cyndie had a great conversation with someone from a local extension office who came out upon request, and they directed us to contact the office of land conservation to discuss drainage. I did that, and now have a conservation technician coming on Monday to advise us on the drainage situation of our property. I also have a call into our township chairman, to consult on any concerns they might have about changes we want to make. Monday, our fence contractor and the excavator will be here to find out what our plan is.
Cyndie also learned from the extension office visit, that it is highly recommended we apply a weed control very soon, like next week, to get rid of weeds that are toxic for horses.
For some reason, I chose yesterday to finally get around to talking with someone about what is required in terms of maintenance of our log home. Now we are considering finding a home inspector to give us a thorough review of the pertinent issues with this house, so we can prioritize them, and establish a plan for keeping it properly cared for.
Last week, I received a quote for maintenance on the upper portion of our driveway, but it completely neglected the damaged areas down below. I’ve have been so distracted that I haven’t gotten back to him to see what’s up with that.
We learned our new puppy has Lyme disease, and need to have her on antibiotics for 30 days.
Delilah is getting over her surgery and pulling harder on her leash than we are able to hold, behaving like a puppy when it comes to minding our commands.
I need to fill my wood shed.
Still haven’t cleared our trails through the woods.
Feel like I’m living on a farm, but have a day-job somewhere else.
Yikes! Our dream, and reality, are crashing into one another.
More Fence
Yesterday, our fence crew pounded the last posts for the paddocks, and put up a lot of boards. After boards, they will mount one line of wire along the top, which will be able to be electrified. This will discourage horses from chewing on the wood of the fence. Next, they will attach gates, and then complete the installation of the automatic waterer, and we will be out of excuses for not having horses here.
I guess it is time to take care of all the little details we have neglected to worry about until after the fact.
This afternoon, Cyndie is expecting a visit from a person with the local extension service who will review our situation and offer advice on best practices and available resources to support our efforts here. It’s another step in our effort to learn more about what we have gotten ourselves into, even as we forge ahead with plans to establish the infrastructure from which we will operate.
We have stumbled here and there, seeming to get ahead of ourselves sometimes, while allowing a few important details to fade into the background, but the progress we make is part of the way Cyndie works. It gets us moving toward our goal, and forces us to learn on the fly. It creates a bit of mental stress for me, but I can accept it, because if it were up to me, I think we’d be stuck before we even started.
I’d be hung up trying to answer the practically unanswerable questions, trying so hard to avoid a misstep that I’d end up not taking any at all.
Here’s to Cyndie’s brilliant capacity to bring our dreams to life, and our amazing progress thus far!
Big Day
Lately, every day seems to be a big day around here, but yesterday was bigger than most. We had excavators and fence installers working at the same time at two different locations on the property.
A ditch was dug to lay in a water line and an electrical wire to supply an on-demand water station between the two paddocks, which will be heated to keep from freezing. They need to move a lot of dirt, to get below the frost line, and to make a ditch wide enough to be safe for a person down in it. It was a fascinating process to watch.
The backhoe is like a toy. I can see why there are “big machine” camps where adults can go to “play” with them.
The man running this one was a real artist. After they finished with the water installation, he drove around behind the barn and shaped the ridge beside our new driving lane. Then he moved out to the fields where he buried what remained of our two brush piles.
They worked non-stop till after 6 p.m., pausing only briefly for lunch.
Now that the work requiring the backhoe is complete, they can finish the fence around the paddock.
If we don’t pay attention, these paddocks will be ready for horses, and we won’t have yet prepared to bring some on. We’ve been waiting so long – since we moved in last October, really – it would be a shame to have not prepared in advance for the moment we’ve dreamed of for a long time.
After all that waiting, it suddenly feels like things are moving real fast.
That’s good, but also, a little scary.
It’s Infected
Why did I disregard the training I received long ago, and not take serious action to treat the puncture wound I received on Monday evening? I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I had stepped into a wooden thorn protruding from the bark of a downed tree. It bothered me at work yesterday, and I complained to a coworker about it. She asked if I had done anything about it. I washed it when I took a shower. Other than that, no. I received the “typical man” reply.
After work yesterday, Cyndie and I dove into the chore of clearing the trees off the rise behind the barn where we will be creating a new driving lane. As I was stumbling through the tangle of downed limbs (again, wearing shorts instead of long pants) my legs were suffering new abuses. I, again, complained about the pain from Monday’s thorn. Cyndie asked if I had done anything to treat it.
“No, I didn’t probe the wound, rooting around in search of any leftover thorn fragment.” She offered to disinfect it for me.
As I stepped into the shower, I spotted the inflamed area around the tiny puncture hole.
I guess I should have given this more attention at the time of the incident, like I was trained to do.
If there is any leftover thorn in there, it’s turned to mush now. I did my wimpy, timid best to see if I could get a hold of anything with a tweezers, but to no avail. I resorted to pressing and squeezing around the wound to drain pus. We tried some Hydrogen peroxide, a little rubbing alcohol, and then, an antibiotic ointment.
Luckily, we are not so remote that I can’t just hop in the car and quickly arrive at an urgent care facility. But, that is not an excuse for being nonchalant about caring for wounds that are often considered insignificant. I know better. I intend to use this as a lesson to renew my diligence about giving every assault on my protective shell, proper attention, regardless the perceived seriousness.
Day Off
Recently, I was able to return to a schedule that provides me an extra day off from the day-job, and Monday is the day I choose. However, even though it was a day off from going into the Cities to work, it isn’t quite a day off from actually working on things. We started the day slowly, by current Wintervale standards, and did some indoor chores. My first priority was contacting Canon to get authorization to return my PowerShot camera for repair. They informed me I needed to write a letter describing the issue and then box it up for shipment.
I made a quick trip to Ellsworth to deposit my package at the UPS drop box in town. It didn’t fit in the drop box, so I stepped into the insurance office at that location and asked if there was a way to get it picked up. The young man working the reception desk said to just leave the box on a chair in their office, then he gave me a pen and note pad to write a note to the UPS driver indicating there was something to pick up in the office. I walked out to this drop box, with my little post-it note, and then tried to imagine how I could attach it so that it wouldn’t blow away, or get melted by a rain shower. It’s a cute little system they have here. I hope it works.
Afternoon view, taken with my old camera
Cyndie and I combined our efforts to finish off the final details for the wood shed I built. She drove the tractor down to one of our brush piles to dig out some dirt for me to finish filling around the foundation stones. I caulked the seams of the roof panels with silicon sealant. We cut down a branch that was growing over the roof line of the shed, by way of me climbing a ladder to reach with a pole saw, and her pulling on the branch with a rope we had thrown over it. It was pretty large, and way up there. A nice feat of accomplishment.
I got out the chain saw, to cut up the branch, and since we were in that mode, we decided to head down the trail in our woods to finally begin clearing the debris left from the damaging snow storm last May. Instead of heading straight to the biggest timber, and using the chain saw, we chose to start with the first obstructions we arrived at, and use other tools we had brought along. Cyndie cut down the tall growth with her battery operated trimmer, and I cut back the smaller branches that drooped in the way, using our ratcheted pruner.
Eventually, I found opportunity to cut larger branches with the chainsaw, but I had gotten way out ahead of Cyndie, and left to my own devices, I started to get careless and impatient. I stepped right into the needle-sharp point of a wood thorn on one tree branch. It punctured the side of my knee and left me in a lot of pain. I checked more than once to make sure the tip hadn’t broken off in there. It didn’t look like it, but it sure hurt like something was still in there.
Then I got the saw pinched. Time for me to call it a day. I walked back to find Cyndie, needing her help to lift the limb so I could get my saw out, and then headed back to wind up our work day, while she finished off cutting away the small stuff with the pruner.
Today, I am back at the day-job, which is great, because now I could sure use some days off from the work we do at home.
Voices
.
.
sometimes I hear voices
when I’m falling asleep
but not through my ears
they’re inside my head
and they startle me awake
back to being alert
where I realize there wasn’t any sound
leaving me wondering
why I heard what I did
trying to determine
if it was someone I know
or a voice I have heard
somewhere in my life
maybe a stupid tv show
or possibly the radio
probably not from a checkout line
where some stranger spoke loudly
while I pretended not to listen
even though it’s impossible to not
and I shouldn’t focus on who it was
when it distracts me from what they said
in classic dream mode
as you transition to awake
I can still make out some voice
but not the words that they said
.
.
Relative Something 