Posts Tagged ‘Wintervale’
We’re Off!
We are off to a walloping start for the new year at our place. We took care of some details that have been lingering unaddressed during the time we were overly focused on our open house/party, and the Christmas and New Year holidays. Cyndie now has Wisconsin license plates for her car, and I learned that our energy company does the billing for electric and propane, independently. I applied for auto-pay, but it only went into effect for the electric bill. I was past due on the propane, because I needed to apply for that separately. Who knew? It’s all taken care of now.
We made some great progress in designing the layout of our future horse spaces, and the fencing that will define it. Our special friends, Barb and Mike, were here to ring in the new year, and helped us identify a miscalculation (confusing ‘feet’ for ‘yards’ in our numbers), which allowed us to move past a stumbling block that was truly foiling our attempts to plan. Then they graciously accompanied us in trudging through the snow to ‘test’ our layout in real scale.
I remain pleasantly encouraged that we have plenty of space to accommodate what we currently have in mind. It’s not a perfect science, since we don’t know which of our potential plans will actually be achieved, in the long run, but the possibilities appear to allow room for us to fit any of the variety of visions that are floating in and out of our dreams.
The owners of the fencing company came to our house on the afternoon of the New Year holiday, to consult on the current status and future planning. We came a couple of steps closer to choosing the type of fence, and are now leaning toward a vinyl-coated high tensile wire strung between wood posts. It will help keep the total cost of this phase of our project down in a range that almost fits our budget.
They will be pounding some stakes and stringing temporary lines to help us visualize how the fences for two paddocks around the barn will look.
These are significant steps for us. In the month-plus since we started talking with this company about our wishes, the progress has felt rather hobbled. There is a very good aspect to the delay of progress, in that, we have had time to adjust our perceptions and work on our imaginings of what we wish to create.
I take it as a good sign, that none of the changes that have evolved are very significant. Overall, it is pretty much on plan with our combined visions.
On top of the energy we felt from working on that project, our inspirations were led to spend some time together exploring the possibilities for a dog, or dogs, that will be good companions for horses, and visitors, and our cats, and us! We share a feeling of attraction to certain, but not all, herders, for our situation. We like the Belgian Shepherd, Australian Shepherd, Sheltie, and Great Pyrenees. All tend to have similar benefits/challenges. It will be a tough choice.
There is plenty ahead for us in 2013. It feels like we have picked up right where we left off in 2012, and we got a pretty good start on day one. Hang on for another wild ride!
Great Present
Yesterday I got a chance to play with the new ‘toy’ I got for Christmas from Cyndie’s parents, …after I successfully accomplished assembling it without any instructions. I am a manual-reading kind of guy, and I must have looked in and around that box, 4 different times, in search of a piece of paper that would define which screws are supposed to go into which holes. Left to my own designs, I came up with a plan that seemed logical to me and didn’t leave any unused parts, and now I have a shovel/plow, with wheels, that I can use when there isn’t enough snowfall to warrant using the tractor.
Therein lies the big challenge: determining how much snow it takes to justify using the tractor. We have been enjoying the beautiful views of light snowfall for a couple days now, but the accumulation has been very slow. After I got started playing with the new hand-plow, it became apparent that there was enough to make it worth getting on the tractor and doing a cleanup, but I was having so much fun with the new shovel that I just kept going with that. Plus, the snow kept sprinkling down throughout, and I’d rather not plow until this snow squall ends and moves out of the area.
Today, I hope to use the tractor to clean the 2/3rds distance of driveway toward the road, which remained to be cleared after I called it quits with the hand-plow yesterday. I made it all the way to the shop/garage, but that was it. I probably would have kept going, because I was having so much fun, but I was running out of daylight. That, and I’m growing self-conscious about the neighbors who seem to be enjoying a bit too much entertainment from observing my every move here. They have admitted to a fascination with my prolonged efforts in our driveway.
I don’t blame them, I expect my trial and error style of learning must look a bit funny. I can’t wait for them to ask about this latest device I am employing to remove snow. It works slick enough that I can brag it up until they want to have one for themselves. It provides great exercise! It is pollution free! There is no expense for fuel! It’s win/win all the way.
Isn’t that a GREAT present?
Visible Difference
Good progress was accomplished yesterday, which begins to reveal the opening of space around the barn.
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I took a picture of a couple of our working diagrams, and then I tried to doctor the one on the right to indicate some of the old fence we are removing.
Moving Boundaries
We have finally taken the next step toward new fencing, which, ironically, involves the removal of the fences that were here when we bought the place. It is kind of an exciting undoing. Immediately, the previous boundaries are softened, which allows us to get a new sense for the lay of the land. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make the design decisions we next need to make, entirely obvious. There is still a burden of imagining all possible weather events, and all the potential usage situations and scenarios, in order to make the best possible choices for location and arrangement of facilities.
We are perched on the edge of next.
The myriad activities of the rest of the world swirl around, regardless where we are in the process. We are alone with our petty concern, which is of utmost importance for our days to come. It is a thrilling responsibility.
Our unknown horses, somehow present in our minds, will be helping us to create their new home.
Forest Garden
My friend and mentor, Ian Rowcliffe, uses the moniker, “Forest Garden Estate” to identify their property in Portugal, a place that has served as one of our primary inspirations for the land we have acquired and are developing in Wisconsin. Yesterday, I received a visit from an arborist who I have known for many years, and who managed care of the trees on our Eden Prairie property. At my request, he made a special trip out here to survey the growing things, and provide advice on issues of stewardship. The impression I am left with is that we, too, have a forest garden here!
I was aware of some evergreens, and obvious oak, maple, and poplar trees. Oh, and two willow trees.
Now I know that a lot of the evergreens are Australian pine, and may not be the heartiest tree for our region. We discovered some fungus on the needles of one, and analyzed the status of another that looks to have succumbed the drought of last summer and fall. We do also have some white pine, and the one we looked closely at appears to be doing very well, with thick, full growth throughout. He suggested I add more of those, and possibly some eastern red cedar, which I would be very happy to have.
He identified a butternut hickory behind the barn. I want to watch it for nut production. Sounds like they will be worth collecting, if any show up.
I learned there are plum trees and nannyberry viburnum (which produced an edible fruit) on the old fence line of our north border. It sounds like they are worth keeping, and will present a challenge for our goal of getting the rusty barbed wire removed. The guys pulling fence prefer to clear trees to make room for installation and maintenance of the new fence.
In several areas of the woods we have wild raspberry or blackberry, gooseberry, and elderberry bushes growing. No wonder there are so many birds!
Other trees noted were ash (which are likely doomed to the emerald ash borer that is making its way across our country), elm (which he was surprised hadn’t been taken by dutch elm disease yet), hawthorn, apple, red maple, sugar maple, choke cherry, blue beech, ironwood (hophornbeam), and both red and white oaks.
I hadn’t considered what spring will look like around here, but plenty of those trees will flower before they produce fruit, so it will be interesting to see how they behave. Some of them are growing in the partial shade under the canopy of larger trees and may not be readily apparent unless walking the trails through our woods.
I am not going to worry about the trees that are broken from past storms, and will let nature take its course. As he pointed out, I will have plenty of other things demanding attention around here, and the danger in dealing with them isn’t worth the risk.
If it didn’t get so darn cold here, I could add some camellia trees from Ian’s collection and we could call this place Forest Garden West. For now, we’ll stick with Wintervale, but I’m expecting the name we have chosen won’t do justice to the growing garden of trees and bushes that will be blooming here in the spring.
Lesson Learned
Round 2 goes to John, and if I felt more bold than I do, I would declare myself the victor. However, I am calling it a draw.
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The tractor put up a good fight, repeatedly clinging to the snow that would hit the bucket or blade. As my confidence increased, and I became more aggressive, the tractor sensed the opportunity to up the intensity a bit and left me stuck, teetering on the edge of the driveway, with the front wheels down in the soft snow. I had gotten away with the maneuver several times before. You just never know when the big rear wheels will suddenly lose their grip.
I found myself on the edge of giving in, and shut the engine down to prevent making a bad situation worse. I walked back up the driveway, considering my options. Who would I call for assistance, neighbor to the north, or neighbor to the south? Then I decided to try one last trick before seeking outside help. I remembered an old ice cream bucket that Cyndie had found when we were packing for our move.
The contents of that bucket have been with me since 1980, when I worked as a security guard at a shingle manufacturer in Minneapolis, while I was attending tech school. The manufacturer gave away the ceramic granules that go on top of the shingles, which can be used to provide great traction. It is amazing that I kept that bucket around all this time.
Between those granules and my years of winter driving experience, I was able to ever-so-slowly rock the tractor up out of that predicament. As I looked behind me when I finally got it moving on solid pavement, I noticed the neighbor to the north starting down the road toward me with a bucket of his own in his hand. I was able to wave him off and get back to putting the finishing touches on my work.
Next time down to the road, I took a moment to rotate the back blade 18o° and then backed up to push the snow into the ditch. Lesson learned.
New Surprise
We’ve been on the new property for over a month now, and are continuing to discover surprises. When one of the contractors was surveying our place to quote some work, I heard him say, “Oh, you have an eagle.”
An eagle? What did he mean by that?
He pointed to it.
For the entire time I have been walking this property, starting with the visits before making an offer, through the many visits after our offer was accepted, then for weeks, (WEEKS!) after we have been living here, I failed to discover a statue of a perched eagle located near the entrance to the barn. Granted, it had been swallowed by growing things, which created a canopy that completely hid the eagle’s profile…
But, it only took this guy a few seconds to spot it as he walked by to view the space behind the barn.
I’m wondering about the origin of the piece, and also the decision for its placement. I’ll be checking with the folks who sold us the property, but wouldn’t be surprised if it was here when they bought the place.
They told us that’s why they left the bear. It was from the previous owner, and our sellers felt it should stay with the property. We are discovering there are multiple things left from previous owners. The old barbed wire fence was here long before the log home was built, which happened in 1990.
It’s been fun discovering little surprises like this one. They continue to make this place seem more and more special every day!
Expecting Disarray
If you have been following the discussions that Ian and I have been having in the comments sections, you may have a sense of the decisions Cyndie and I are needing to make soon, regarding fences on our new property. Once we remove something, it’s gone. That’s really tough for me to do, when it comes to trees. I also don’t want to make hasty decisions about moving fences that have been here for generations of ownership.
We just got here!
At the same time, we are receiving the counsel of some very experienced service providers who understand just what we are envisioning, and they are helping to make us aware of things that we will need to address to fulfill the vision we have for this place.
Pile of rubble in the overgrowth
I have often said, before you put things in order, you need to create some disarray. It might look like we are making things worse, but it is a necessary step in the process of making things ultimately better.
To be honest, a part of me wants to leave everything just the way it is. It is so quaint. Part of me feels concern about the impact our changes will have on the neighbor to our south who used to own all this property.
Those are issues I will manage.
Yesterday, I again walked our property –a couple different times, actually– and gained additional insight to what we have here. This is really an amazing place. Cyndie and I are feeling comfortable enough with the plans we are now hatching, that I’m confident my feelings of hesitation won’t last.
Rusty fence post & barbed wire in the bramble
The way the fencing is currently set up, doesn’t really align so well with the natural flow of drainage. By removing the internal fencing, we will be able to improve the layout and maximize the accommodations for drainage. In addition to the small areas of reusable fence that is here, there are greater lengths of old degraded, rusty fence posts and barbed wire hiding throughout, which we really want removed. Once that gets pulled out, some heavy equipment will be used to push dirt around, improving and defining slopes as necessary, and also to begin preparations for an arena.
We are going to take advantage of the opportunity of moved earth to also add some buried water lines, to supply an all-season automatic watering system out in the paddocks.
We are getting excited about the changes, and at the same time, are wary of the shock we anticipate feeling when we actually see what it looks like when the disarray begins.
Fence post and barbed wire on the edge of our woods
New Inspirations
What an enlightening visit we had with the folks from the fence company yesterday. I definitely find myself falling into a trap of treading too lightly when it comes to undoing what is already in place. I tend to focus on what I can add, and shy away from tearing down what currently exists, especially when it comes to trees.
We were given great encouragement to consider removing some of the scrubby trees that have grown in areas set aside for natural drainage. The growth of underbrush in these areas progressively slowed the drainage enough that it has widened out, ultimately taking more area than is needed. If we remove all the growth and put in a narrow array of stone to direct the drainage, we can end up with more useable space and a cleaner look.
What is even more inspiring is, the idea of pulling out the old internal fencing that remains from previous use, which completely opens up possibilities for ways we can redesign a layout that better serves our purposes.
We are pleased with the variety of options for fencing from which we get to choose. We should be able to design something that will be within our budget, serve our needs for containment and safety, and also enhance the appearance of our property. It may not all happen as quickly as we wish it could, but doing it slowly will grant us time to evolve the design in our minds as each stage of progress unfolds. We fully expect to envision more possibilities, once the existing brush and old fence are removed.
It feels a bit unnatural for me to get excited about cutting down natural growth or tearing out a fence that is still in okay condition. It is a great exercise in enabling new creativity. I am inspired! After the visit from the fencing company, I got out in the overgrown pasture land on the diesel tractor and did some mowing with the brush hog.
Logging some time in the tractor seat was a nice way to feel immediate progress from the new inspirations.
Getting Readier
It’s December again! We all know what that means. Winter is coming!
Winter will be the reward for all the folks who fear the world will come to some spectacular end on December 21 this year. They will wake up on December 22 and the world will still be on, and it will be winter. Well, at least for those in the northern hemisphere. For those on the southern half of the planet, happy coming of summer to you.
I always find it difficult to reconcile the thought that people are experiencing the season of summer when we are in the depths of cold and dark.
We are going to celebrate the new month today by getting our very first quote on the job of installing new fencing and creating an arena. I don’t know if it is too late in the season to actually get fence installed, but this is one of the things we really would like to have in place before we bring horses to the property.
Cyndie contacted a local company and a representative is supposed to come out some time this morning. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to afford fencing that is robust, low maintenance, good looking, and has a long life expectancy. We want to have enough money left over to install an all season, on-demand watering system for the horses. Add to that, a hay shed, and we will be getting dang close to horse-ready.
You might have thought the cats were going to be a source of tales to be told here, but they’ll have nothing on the horses. Unless they finally catch a mouse. If they turn out to be good hunters, I’ll make sure to get them a fair share of “air-time.” When horses arrive, it will be hard for me not to post and write about the most essential of reasons we are here.
Relative Something 