Relative Something

We are approaching the first anniversary of our time on this property that we have named Wintervale Ranch, and many milestones have been achieved since last year, most significantly, the arrival of the four horses. With the completion of one phase comes the opening of another, and so now we set our sights on the next areas of immediate need.

Cyndie wants to put some sand or gravel over the topsoil in our paddocks, to keep them from becoming a dangerous muddy mess. I am wary of the scope such a goal would entail. That would take a lot of truckloads of fill. I would like to try redirecting runoff, first, to see how much difference we can make, and hopefully minimize the areas that would still require cover. In addition to the creation of drainage ditches to reduce water entering the paddocks, we are looking into gutters for the barn.

On the subject of fill, another load was just delivered on Monday, to finish the driveway loop when the culvert was replaced. That accomplishment came with a cost. Our poor asphalt driveway suffered another blow, because the ground was still soft from the rain we had recently received.

Right now, the driveway is our weak point. We don’t have a plan on how to deal with it, so we have just let it go, and of course, it just gets worse. Trying to plow it in the winter is going to be a real hassle. The expense of repairing it is daunting, and is the real reason we have done nothing. Our limited funds are being consumed by other commitments.

It was a very tough decision to make, when we chose not to accept any of the bids we received for asphalt maintenance. The long paved driveway was one of the special features of this place. I’m not sure we’ll have the patience to live through the process of letting it just disintegrate and become a (much more common around here) gravel driveway, which is the most affordable option.

I’d love to have a humble two-tire-track path with grass in the middle, but I think we are well past that, at this point.

For the time being, we are putting our focus toward other areas, and will try to make it through the winter without having paid for repairs. We’ll probably get it re-quoted in the spring, and replace just the sections experiencing the worst damage.

The destruction of the driveway that has been caused by our other projects is one of the more frustrating things we have faced in the last year. Luckily, the improvements have turned out so well, they make up for the angst caused by the compromised pavement.