Posts Tagged ‘Wintervale’
Let’s Summarize
I have no idea how far back into the archive folks explore when they discover Relative Something for the first time, but for me, as much as anyone, something has inspired me to do a little summarization. If you are new, let it be an aide to fill you in on the background that has led to the latest saga appearing in current posts.
Back in the fall of 2008, I began planning for a trek in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. My son encouraged me to create a blog to write about the trip, and share pictures with all my friends and family. That is the origin of Relative Something.
I was happy to suddenly have this vehicle to also publish some of my poetry and creative non-fiction, as well as some of my photography. My wife suggested I put some of my poetry on my photographs, and the series, “Words on Images” was born.
I wanted to add content on a daily basis, and that commitment has proved valuable to me in more ways than I imagined. I have chosen to manage depression without medications, and thus, have developed a variety of healthy habits that I must practice daily. Writing to the world is a good exercise for me. Being able to write and share my experience with depression is healthy for me, and hopefully of value to others. It’s a win/win!
In the fall of 2010, Cyndie and I traveled to Portugal for, what turned out to be, an experience of a lifetime. A life-changing experience for the both of us. We went to meet Ian Rowcliffe and his family, whom we only knew online. He and I had met in the online discussion community, “Brainstorms.” The story and pictures of that amazing adventure became easy content for me to post to the blog.
There is also (usually) my annual week of biking and camping that happens in June with a large gathering of wonderful and amazing people, many of whom have become precious friends. I love describing those adventures for the blog.
Finally, with our kids grown, and the seeds of possibility planted by our experience with Ian and family in Portugal, we decided to put our suburban home of 25-years up for sale and hunt for rural property where we could have horses. Cyndie had always been fond of horses, but they were not really her primary focus. After reading Linda Kohanov’s book, “The Tao of Equus,” which explores the mystical nature of horses and the magical connection between them and humans, and after spending 2-weeks with Ian’s horses, Cyndie enrolled in an apprenticeship program with Linda’s Eponaquest Worldwide.
For the last year I have be posting chronicles of our adventure to sell our home, to discover the property beyond our dreams, then move in and make the transition from the suburbs to the country, and now achieving upgrades and modifications in preparation for the addition of horses.
We have dreams of creating a space where we can host workshops to share the things Cyndie and I have learned. The horses will be integral to the whole operation, but we envision the future addition of a dog, or dogs, and probably chickens.
If I had no other new adventures in my future to write about, the simple story of our daily experiences with this place we have named, Wintervale Ranch, will provide content that easily fills my goal of posting something daily.
Yesterday, we did chores around the house. Cyndie hung laundry out to dry on the line. I cleaned off the covered gutters.
I’m honored to have you all reading and following along.
Weather Drama
The dramatic weather events seem to be never-ending here. Yes, it has been the wettest spring that anyone can remember, and this pattern is following the dry fall season that had us suffering under drought conditions. Now, we have entered a pattern of severe thunderstorms that keep rolling through, one after another.
We got rocked out of bed early on Friday morning, by a particularly thunderous storm. I headed to work in the darkness of driving rain, and came upon a very large tree limb, lying in a farm field. It was a big surprise to me, because there were no trees around from which the limb could have come. I turned onto a county road and a short distance further, I came to corner where a few houses are located, and every tree around appeared to be severely broken off, or completely uprooted. The debris completely covered the road.
I stopped my car, put on my raincoat, and stepped out to check if it would be possible to drive around the broken limbs. I discovered that just beyond the first few branches, a giant tree completely blocked the road. Then I noticed, that tree had also brought down a power line that was in the tangled mess of branches, just a step in front of me. I quickly returned to my car and turned around to backtrack to an alternate route.
One thing about that morning storm, as the intensity waned, the lightning flashed non-stop, yet there was only a rare rumble of thunder. It was strange to see so much flashing, without receiving the follow-up thunder booms. Last night, it was just the opposite. There was a storm in the distance that was giving off a constant rumble, even though we couldn’t see the corresponding lightning flashes.
In an interesting turn of events from the “it’s a small world” files, I think we made progress on the plan to get someone to cut our hay. Cyndie and I were hoping our neighbor who runs the CSA farm might be interested. Cyndie initiated contact by email, and received a phone message in response. He didn’t say, ‘no,’ but he hedged it a bit by saying that they are pretty busy trying to get their own hay cut and baled, in between rain storms. We figured we better keep looking for other options.
Yesterday afternoon, our fence guy called to check in, and expressed his vested interest in our getting the growth cut from the areas they will be trying to work. He hadn’t yet found anyone to take on our task, and was talking over ideas with me, when he suddenly had an inspiration. It occurred to him to call the “co-op.” He hung up to do so, right away.
It was hardly a minute later that my phone rang again, this time with a call from that very neighbor we were hoping could help us. He tells me the co-op just called him to see if he could cut my hay field!
It didn’t seem like enough time had passed for my fence guy to have made the first call, let alone the co-op person then reaching our neighbor, before he then made the call to me. He said they described my place and gave my name, and he was able to say that he knew me already.
I think he will be able to help us, but we are still subject to needing to wait for the right weather. He needs a batch of four consecutive dry days.
At the rate we are going, if that ever happens, it will be a dramatic weather event, in its own right. Four consecutive dry days?!
La Vida Laundry
Today, I am happy to present another “guest post” from Cyndie Hays. Knowing I was going to be pressed for time, she surprised me with this precious gem that she created for today’s Relative Something post:
Prominent Perch
I just love looking at this guy. This is the eagle statue that used to be down by the barn. When we first got here, it was buried out of sight beneath a tangle of bramble that had been allowed to grow, uncontrolled. It took a visiting contractor to notice him there and point it out to me.
I uncovered it, and then we left him there for a while. When we later made the decision to dig out the hill he was on, to make a route behind the barn to drive vehicles, we needed to find another spot for him to perch. Nothing really jumped out to me, so we parked him in this new spot, almost out of default for having no place else that seemed ideal.
Now that he’s been there for a while, I think it’s the perfect placement. He certainly commands greater attention here. It is at the top of the driveway, 90° to the garage doors on the house, and on top of the hill above the back yard.
When the wonderful folks who sold us this place stopped by for a visit a few weeks ago, we were informed that the eagle used to belong to her father. She noticed him there right away. I was pleased that she was able to find him now commanding a spot of such prominence.
I feel as though his expression changes from time to time, when I look at him. Sometimes, I see a sly smile. Other times, he appears very stern.
I’d be more than happy if it turns out that his glare is something that will ward off snakes.
New Life
Since this is our first spring and summer on this property, we are discovering more about the wildlife here, with each passing day. Last fall, we were quickly introduced to the reality of the carnivorous coyotes, and we saw a lot of deer. We’ve had an amazing collection of colorful birds all winter, and of course, the squirrels were particularly pesky that whole time, too.
Now, the raccoons seem to have taken over for the squirrels, and have caused Cyndie to pull in a couple of her feeders that got tipped over and dismantled in the dark of night.
One of the first things we noticed, after snow finally stopped falling, has been something we hear, but have yet to see. The sound of frogs has been prevalent. I wonder if we’ll have a lot of tree frogs.
I figured the incredible wetness we are experiencing this spring would lead to a frightful number of mosquitoes, but that hasn’t happened, yet. I don’t know why. Now that it is no longer freezing at night, however, there are a number of other flying things that have showed up. Wasps have been making regular appearances around the house, and I keep finding spots where there are little mini nests, but so far, I think they have all been old ones. I expect we will need to be vigilant in policing our eaves to avoid having a large active nest become established.
The flies have been bothering me a bit, and have me sympathizing with horses, who so often suffer the constant harassment of the pests. I expect that once the mosquitoes show up in force, I will hardly even notice the flies anymore.
I fully expected to witness a lot of ticks. So far, between the two of us, Cyndie and me, only one woodtick, and it wasn’t on me. We haven’t shied away from walking in the long grass, so I have no explanation for not finding more. All I know is, I constantly feel like something is crawling on me now, because I keep expecting something probably is.
I am a little surprised by the wide variety of spiders we are seeing. The other day, one little wispy thing had built a web in the bathroom sink overnight. Unfortunately, most of the others we have seen have been far from what could be described as wispy. Just this morning, this guy in the picture appeared outside our bedroom door. He looks pretty full. Maybe the spiders are eating all the mosquitoes? I’m hoping it wasn’t a she, and those weren’t eggs.
Last fall, the grounds were covered with mounds and tunnels from moles or gophers. We figure that problem won’t just disappear, but their return hasn’t been obvious, yet. There were a couple spots where we questioned whether we were seeing new activity, or if it was a left over soft spot. We’ll see what develops there.
I did come across a hole in the yard, but instead of thinking gopher, since there wasn’t any dirt piled up, my fear is it could be the slithering creature I am least comfortable with: a snake.
I am with Harrison Ford’s character, Indiana Jones, when it comes to snakes.
New Insight
I awoke with a song in my head. It was a Roches song, but I didn’t know which one. I let the short snippet play round and round, over and over, enjoying it thoroughly, but that still left me wanting.
It took only a few tries to locate the right song, “The Scorpion Lament,” from their album, Keep On Doing. Ahhh. It’s like scratching an itch.
While processing all that, something else was revealed to me this morning. It is probably obvious that we would have a list of things demanding attention here on our new property. – I wonder how long I get to refer to this place as ‘new’ to us. I will probably use that term through the first year, since every day is still new to us, because we have not experienced spring or summer here before.
Anyway, regarding that list, …there are a couple of things that seem to me as though Cyndie should take the lead. When I don’t hear of any results on those, I toss out a few hints, occasional reminders and eventually realize I’m simply nagging.
“Yeah, I could do that.” she accommodates me.
With regard to one particular issue, last night I finally asked her if she needed something else to happen first, as if there was some step in a sequence that hadn’t yet occurred. That is a loaded question, in a way, because she is so classically random, …like the way she mows the lawn.
I was becoming confused with her choosing not to act in cases where it seemed to me it would be something that could be quickly knocked off our to-do list, or at least trigger action that can bring subsequent progress. What was holding her up from taking this step? If she was truly random, things should be able to happen at any time.
That’s it! This morning I realized that her not doing things isn’t the result of waiting on a sequence, it is the very manifestation of her randomness. That is why it doesn’t appear to bother her that a particular step gets done by a certain time. Meanwhile, I grow uncomfortable. I want it to happen in sequence, meaning, do this now, and then other things can follow.
It is why I am bugged by the fact that we suddenly find ourselves working on one thing, when I feel like we haven’t yet finished another. I also realized that after we accomplish some of the random tasks, I don’t get the same sense of satisfaction from having done so, as Cyndie does, because I’m still framing it as having been out of sequence.
Eventually, things work out for both of us, one way or another. We are invested in learning from our styles, and in achieving more together than would be possible, each on our own. I know that I have benefited greatly, over and over, as a result of her randomness through the years.
Our success is the reward that comes from the attraction of opposites, which is accomplished by overcoming the difficulties inherent in being so different from one another!
Got Power?
We’ve got auxiliary power. Wintervale Ranch now has an automatic backup generator that will provide power to our essential appliances/services during occasions when there is a loss of electricity from our energy co-op. That is one more piece of the puzzle now in place.
It is not easy to convince me to buy something that we don’t ever want to use, but the snowstorm we suffered early in the month of May this year, which left us without power for over 28-hours, helped me to feel this would be a smart purchase. At that time, we lost the ability to pump water from our well, and keep our furnace and refrigerator running. That will no longer be a concern.
I stayed home from the day-job yesterday to supervise the installation of a unit that will kick in automatically, and run off our propane. They had to work in the rain. (What a surprise that it rained here again!) Regardless, the job went relatively easy and by mid-afternoon, we had it running and successfully tested. I was a little leery about how noisy it would be, but it wasn’t too bad. It isn’t a desirable sound, but considering the service it will be providing in a time of need, I think we can tolerate the disturbance.
It feels a lot like buying insurance. We now have a backup generator, and we hope that we never need to use it.
Creative Solution
When I got home from work yesterday, I immediately changed into grubby clothes and headed toward the barn. It hadn’t rained at all since we started packing the new loop of driveway –by hand– on Sunday, and we got a peek at the sun toward the end of the day yesterday. I wanted to complete this phase of the project while conditions were good, and hopefully take advantage of a chance for more sunny days to come this week.
It was grueling work, but very rewarding. About the time I was running out of energy, Cyndie arrived home, with pizza! I invited her to park her car and join me for a picnic. We ate right there, seated on the lumber stacked up for the hay shed.
The part of the loop that remained to be raked was the wettest yet, and was going to be very difficult to pack. I seriously thought about getting a big piece of plywood to kneel on, and then finishing it like it was wet concrete. Before it came to that, Cyndie returned, now in her grubby clothes, carrying one of her heavy kitchen anti-fatigue mats. She intended to use it to spread her weight enough to pack it with her feet, without making deep foot prints in the wet mud. A wonderfully creative solution that turned out to be quite effective.
It allowed us to reach our goal of having the full length of the loop smoothed out in time for the promised sun and warm weather for the rest of the week. Hopefully, that will give me a chance to take it to the next level: driving across the loop with the garden tractor in a few days time. To be safe, I just might get out that big piece of plywood anyway, taking Cyndie’s example, and put it down where I will drive, to spread the weight of the 4 wheels.
Mud Management
Through the thick and thin of challenges we have faced since we moved to this beautiful place in the country, the one thing that remains solid for us is our foundation of friends and family, near and far. Yesterday was a priceless coincidence of hearing from many of them, all in a very short span of time –primarily because Cyndie happened to check her email, and found messages from both Portugal and Guatemala. We also enjoyed phone calls from family in Boston and on the road home from Hayward, from my friends on the bike trip, and we were blessed by a weekend visit of our son, Julian, and his girlfriend, Allison.
The folks on the bike trip did indeed get wet yesterday. That is one part of the trip that I don’t mind missing at all. I was able to enjoy the rain that fell at our place, in perfect amounts to water our freshly planted grass. Unfortunately, the rain also contributed to keeping the wet spots by the barn, extremely wet.
On Friday, when Cyndie was doing some mowing along the driveway, she got herself stuck, and called me to help get her out. When I arrived, she said the front wheel dropped into a hole. Sure enough, it did. To my surprise, when we backed the tractor out of the hole, I discovered the hole was full of water! It might be hard to discern from the picture on the right, but the spot where this hole full of water is located, is uphill from the barn.
It seems really strange to me how the ground at high spots around here, holds water which logic tells me should be draining downhill to the lowest areas. How can we expect the ground around the barn to dry out, if the areas uphill from there are still saturated?
Out of frustration for waiting to be able to make progress down by the barn, I decided to see if I could advance the project, working by hand. There is just no way they can bring any heavy equipment in to work on this new drive, that doesn’t end up just making it worse. While Julian mowed some of the extremely tall grass by the new driveway loop we are trying to create, I began to fill in the ruts left by the skid loader the last time the crew was here.
We figure that when this area finally begins to dry out, we’d rather have it drying in the condition we want to see, not the rutted mess it has been thus far. After I got about a third of it smoothed out with a rake, Julian and I tapped it down with our shoes. It was so spongy, we couldn’t use anything else. We tested running the garden tractor over it, but that was too much.
The best way to describe the condition of the dirt in the wettest spots is that it is like freshly poured concrete. I was basically troweling it with the rake. I could support my weight with one foot on a spot that was a bit firmer, and then just tap the surface with my other foot, to erase the rake marks.
When it gets dry enough, I’ll go to the next level by driving the garden tractor over it. With any luck, by the time the water is completely gone, we’ll have a foundation of driveway that is as hard as concrete.
Relative Something 