Archive for the ‘Wintervale Ranch’ Category
Frame’s Up
The holiday celebration last weekend put my wood shed project on hold, and I have been hoping to reclaim some momentum ever since. I was thinking I could get back to it, right after we got home from the lake, but other tasks won out. The cross-beams, with posts attached, were left lying on the ground for almost two weeks while I contemplated how we would stand them upright to get them assembled, with a limited number of helping hands.
The old treated fence posts we chose to use are very heavy, and tied together, I figured it might be a problem to lift and hold in position. One solution we were considering was to use the bucket on the diesel tractor. I imagined we could strap them up to be held in position with the bucket. However, with just the two of us, I would be up on the tractor, and that would leave Cyndie alone to guide the heavy posts. For that reason, I allowed some days to pass, while I thought the plan through some more.
Yesterday, when I got home from the day-job, Cyndie offered to help me figure out if we could get it done. I began gathering tools and things, in preparation for the attempt… Of course, I would eventually need the ladder out there. As I was carrying it toward the site, it struck me that we could just lean the first set of posts against the ladder when we got them upright, if we were able to lift them with just the two of us.
Sure enough, we lifted it. Cyndie and I proceeded to manage the whole process with just the two of us, a ladder, and no tractor.
Sometimes the solution is so easy, you overlook it, until it eventually become so obvious, you can’t miss. Maybe, as I do more and more projects like this, the obvious solutions will get easier to recognize, and appear to me sooner.
Next step: rafters…
Horse Power
Yesterday, I was sitting in our kitchen, with Delilah at my feet, sprawled out on the cool of the tile, when I heard a new sound coming up the driveway. It was our neighbor from the CSA farm, arriving with a team of horses to cut hay. What a wonderful sight to see. I grabbed my camera and followed them down to the pasture, calling Cyndie on my cell phone as I walked. I knew she would really love to see this, and how much she wanted to learn how to drive his team of horses. She was over an hour away, but I could hear in her voice how interested she was in getting home as quickly as possible.
Delilah and I wandered the hills around the field, watching the action. My favorite part was how quiet the process is. The cutter is a sickle bar, and is powered by the forward motion of the rig being pulled by the horses. It was a truly bucolic scene.
Cyndie made it home just in time to get out and learn some details of the process, and watch him make the last few passes. Then, he gave her chance to do the driving, luckily, without needing to navigate a row or position the cutting blade. She’s a pretty quick study, and soon was directing them to make a couple of turns and urging them up the hill. One more skill that she fearlessly adds to her already amazing repertoire.
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Growing Family
Yesterday, we added a new member to our family. Her name is Delilah. She is a 10-month-old Belgian Shepherd dog, also known as a Belgian Tervuren. Ultimately, we expect her to be a perfect fit for us here, but it will take a while to get the cats and her adjusted to fully accepting each other. I now have even more adventures to write about here, and we haven’t even added horses yet!
Home Again
photo by Elysa Hays
We made an early exit from the balloon toss competition this year. Elysa snapped this photo, in which I am holding up the remnants of our water balloon. Cyndie made a perfectly good throw, but I messed up the catch. Somebody immediately hollered that it was a classic example of farmer’s hands, since I didn’t execute the soft catch required.
We endured some long traffic backups on the drive home yesterday, due to the heavy volume of holiday traffic. I plan to do some exploring in the future, for the possibility of using back roads to avoid the areas where a turn causes a log jam of vehicles to accumulate.
Our cats didn’t seem to hold a grudge against us for having left them alone, and immediately sought as much hands-on attention as we were willing to give. It appears we won’t have to worry about leaving them alone for a weekend.
We decided to give our attention to the labyrinth for the rest of the day. I used our old reel mower to cut the turf at the lowest setting, while Cyndie did some weed pulling and trimmed the long grass around the perimeter. Then I measured and marked the last of the areas where Cyndie wants to do some planting, along the axis where the entrance is located.
The essential steps that remain after that are, laying markers to establish all the lanes, and putting down some gravel or wood chips on the path. Optionally, we are still considering planting a tree near the middle, and we are hoping to do a bit more work dressing up the grounds immediately surrounding the labyrinth. Cyndie would like to make a bench out of found natural materials, to be located near the entrance, allowing for a moment of pause before embarking on the journey.
Something tells me there will be a permanent urge to continue to refine and enhance the whole thing. It will likely always be a growing and changing space, which will be a reflection of our growth and change with the passing of time.
Banner Day
We had a banner day of progress at Wintervale yesterday. I got home from the day-job early and immediately changed into grubby clothes to go out and work. We have had enough days in a row without new rainfall that I felt emboldened to bring out the big tractor and try knocking down the overgrown grass in and around the paddocks. It went as well as I could expect, only getting into a bit of a muddy mess, two times.
I had enough success that I decided to try cutting a path around the back toward the location of our labyrinth. If that was dry enough, I could take a shot at moving the boulders that have resisted all previous attempts. Cyndie was quick to join me there. She has been wishing for these rocks to be moved everyday since we gave up the last time. Yesterday turned out to be our day.
It took a lot of tries, but we ultimately triumphed over the task. We got the keepers stood up and positioned, and the discards have been removed. This opens up the door for us to finish laying out the path from the entrance to the center.
Here’s hoping the progress of finally getting the boulders where we want them, will motivate us to get the rest of it done without allowing too many interruptions to interfere.
Experiential Learning
I admit it, I have never done anything like trying to build a shed on my own. I’ve wanted a wood shed since we arrived last October, but with no experience, it took me all this time to get over the hurdle of just deciding to try.
In a search for what I wanted for a wood shed, I quickly and easily came upon images of styles that appealed to me. One of the sites even had a rudimentary sketch of a plan to build a simple version for low-cost, if you scrounge materials from what is available to you.
I decided to use the old fence posts that we have from the original fencing that we had removed last fall. Other pieces slowly seemed to appear and fill out my list of needs. The key piece I wanted to have was roof material that would be translucent, like corrugated panels I have seen on other roofs of this type of structure. I was finding that to be a difficult thing to scrounge. I didn’t do a lot of aggressive searching, which left me hoping something would just magically appear out of nowhere.
When that didn’t happen, I started to research what was available for purchase from building supply retailers. The first large entity I shopped at didn’t stock anything of the type, but one friendly customer service person spent time searching their records for something that would work. He came up with an option that wasn’t quite right, and would cost 10-times what I was interested in spending.
I find it funny how quickly after that, I fell into a mode of thinking this wouldn’t be the way to go. Then I got around to visiting the next building supply retailer in the region, just in case I was giving up too soon, and to my surprise, there in front of my eyes was the exact product I envisioned, stocked on the sales floor, and at an acceptable price. My hope was restored!
That left one last crucial step. I needed to commit to the location. It was a tough decision, but in the short time since clearing the ground at that spot, I have grown very happy with that choice.
There was nothing left to stop me from getting on with the cutting and hammering. I spent the weekend toiling away, trying to figure out what the essential steps were that need consideration, and then in what order it all needed to take place. I had a dream of being able to start and finish it all in a short span of days. By Sunday night, my accomplishments were: the ground was leveled, footings were located and leveled, and the vertical posts were attached to the horizontal beams, ready to be erected.
It’s not bad progress, for a first-ever attempt, but I had higher hopes. Things take the time they take, and I want to remember to be present and appreciate the variety of interruptions that inevitably pop up, even when they delay the project.
The delays actually provide a chance for earlier lessons to sink in, and time to consult with advisers on how I might choose to proceed with the next learning opportunity.
Creative Design
I was working on constructing my wood shed and looked down to discover this creative art project on the wings of a moth. Doesn’t make good camouflage when he’s walking in the grass, but it sure looks cool. I wonder what that pattern is supposed to match, in terms of providing camouflage.
He didn’t scare me away, he drew me in closer, to get a better look.
Maybe the camouflage is to be so outrageous that no one would think a moth would be that color and pattern, so it must not be a moth. If I was a creature that ate moths, I think I’d pass over this one as looking too cool to eat.
More Same
The end of June has arrived, and halfway through the year, we are getting blossoms on a tree here that smells like lilacs and reminds me a lot more of May than July. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record (it’s probably too late for that) but it is still too wet here to do much of anything we have in mind to do.
Yesterday, the work crew that is going to build our hay shed, tried a second time to get the corner posts installed. They are as anxious to get it done as we are to have it done, but I was surprised to see them here, since it did rain enough in the pre-dawn hours to give us a pretty good soaking.
Things have improved a little bit, and that is probably why they tried, because you don’t know unless you test it. The driveway loop firmed up enough to support the skid loader, so that work we did on it, by hand, appears to have paid off nicely.
When they started drilling a post hole, the first 20-plus inches down was dry and they were encouraged. That’s a lot better than it was the last time they tried. Unfortunately, that’s only about half the depth they are trying to reach. Beyond that, it turned to a thick pea soup consistency. Or maybe, cake batter. When they put a measuring tape down the hole, to check the depth, it just kept going, past the depth the hole had been drilled!
That’s not a very good foundation for the corner posts…
We’ll be waiting a while longer before proceeding with this project.
Berries Appearing
Looks like the raspberries are happy with the weather we’ve been having. The bushes are everywhere here.
Hey, Mary, we can have a contest to see who gets the most berries! Our problem will be that the raspberry bushes are spread across much of our acreage, not contained all in one location. I fear the birds will have had their way with them long before we get a chance to hunt them down and harvest.
We also noticed quite a sizable patch of wild strawberries growing in our pasture. I’m told they don’t bear large fruit, and won’t be as sweet as the cultivated ones that are sold in stores. We’d love to add them to our bounty, but I suspect it will be hard to beat the wild critters roaming the grounds, to getting them.
Last night, the frogs – or a frog – were/was so loud that it got almost obnoxious, so Cyndie stepped out the door to the deck and hollered at them/it and clapped her hands. Silence erupted, for a few minutes, anyway.
We have high hopes to get a lot done today, but rain may once again spoil our plans.
I expect the berries will all be just fine with that.
Managing Growth
We are in the last week of June now, and the growing things around here are finally at their fullest. If we are to maintain control of this property, we need to manage growth. Any areas that have not been mowed yet this year are now looking a lot like the pasture. It’s a shame we weren’t able to bring horses here soon enough for them to dine on our luscious grass. I can’t wait to see how different things will be once we get grazing horses to help keep the growing grass under control.
There are new trees growing everywhere. Unfortunately, many of them sprout in our walkway or in the landscape gardens around the house, where they don’t belong, or wouldn’t ultimately fit. Cyndie wanted to transplant the new babies. I guess she is still thinking in the mindset we had at our old home in the suburbs. Back there, we did everything we could to encourage new tree growth on our little corner lot.
Now we have so many new trees, it is mind-boggling.
I cleared out a space where I would like a new wood shed to be located. After cutting some grass and berry bushes at the edge, the area further in was almost all first or second year maple seedlings that were easier to pull out than cut down.
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It saddens me to take out any trees, but I am feeling encouraged by the incredible number of new trees sprouting without any assistance from us. It appears that it will be very easy to nurture expansion of the woods into any areas that we don’t end up assigning to other purposes.
We’re gonna want all the trees we can possibly add, if we keep experiencing losses like this year’s weather has been dishing out.
Relative Something 