26 posts tagged “farm”
Jack likes the fence...
So do the horses...
And just 'cause he's cute, Ianto:
But first, a peevish barn cat:
Myf & me by the girls' old paddock fence:
And in their own, newly fenced in paddock:
The paddocks aren't quite finished yet. The gates need to be installed (I'm using my Preifert panels as gates right now, as you can kind of see in one shot above), and there are a couple short sections of the central paddock that need to be finished. When Annie gets closer to foaling, Myf will be moved to the middle paddock. Annie will still be able to see her there, but she won't be underfoot.
Just had a fence guy (from near-by Madison Lake) out to look at my place, talk material options, and pick up a drawing of the new fence I want put up so he can give me a quote. He had a good suggestion that we could do the woven-wire (like the stallion paddock) with metal posts with caps and top-rail, a-la chain link fence, which would be neat, visually unobtrusive, and nearly maintenance-free. He can also build gates using the woven wire so that the paddocks are totally enclosed in it -- no little spaces for a baby to get wedged -- which I really like the sound of. He's going to write up the quote both with traditional wood posts and with the steel so we can see if one is significantly cheaper than the other. He'll also be quoting the gates as both a solid eight footer and as a "snow gate", which has a smaller walk-through portion so that I can duck in and out without having to swing the big one open.
Sounds like he can start pretty much as soon as I decide what I want & if I want him to do it, which would be really excellent. He figures it'd take about three days to put up the three paddocks. I'll probably take them off work so I can be there to move the girls around and consult, if necessary.
The electric has really taken a beating this winter with the ice & wind, and I cannot wait to have something more solid for the girls, as well as to have some options for turning the horses out in different spaces.
Yesterday I bought the two ponies I'd been looking at. Annie is in foal, so in the end I'll have three Welsh ponies. (I'm going to have more ponies at Crickhollow than Arabs!)
Since the filly wasn't registered yet, the gal I'm buying them from let me choose her name (or the bit that goes behind her prefix, anyway), so she's going to be Trevethan Myfanwy (pronounced: mih VAN wee).
I'll be picking them up October 11, which should give enough time for their coggins and Myfanwy's papers to get back. I have a few things to pick up & do to get ready for them, but I fear it will be a long few weeks until then. I'm taking off work so I'll have time to hang out with them at home for a couple days after & get to know them. And take pictures. I'm sure I'll be taking lots of pictures.
In the meantime... I shall be shifting lots of hay this weekend. I want to get a pile of the stuff from the first couple cuttings up to the barn so the third cutting (or most of it at least) can go in the hay shed. It's cut and waiting to get baled, so I need to get a move on. It's questionable whether or not I'll have time to ride this weekend.
With help from my friends Becky & Trevor, I got quite a bit of the tackroom wall panelling done during my long weekend. I have pictures which I will post once I get them off the camera. It's looking really nice, if I may say so, and I'm quite proud of it.
The pony purchase project is progressing. I'm seriously considering getting two - the older mare I was originally looking at and an '07 filly as well. The owner needs to move some ponies out, so she's offering me a deal if I take two. I'm waiting for confirmation that the mare is in foal before I make any decisions. While I wait, I'm trying to decide if I should just accept the price she's asking if I end up wanting both or if I should make a counter-offer. Given the length of the drive and the probable weather conditions, I don't really want to wait for my benefits-deduction free pay cheque at the end of October to buy them, though that would be the best for the finances and make it easier to pay her asking price. We'll see how things pan out.
The electric fence on the "mare paddock" was completed yesterday. Checked the current with my little fence current gadget & it was working. Yeah! I put Gimli out for a test graze for a couple of minutes. There's a lot of alfalfa out there, so I didn't want him in it very long. Good for broodmares, not so good for prone-to-a-round-shape little pony. I may take the big boys out there today for some hand grazing. The fence may work, but it's pretty low, so I don't really feel comfortable letting them out there loose.
I took advantage of the softening of the ground by the rain (1 inch according to the gauge) we got this morning and pounded in metal posts around the perimeter of what will be the mare paddock, should I ever get a mare. I need to buy some new insulators, but I've got everything else to set up an electric fence. I can always back it with the deer fence I have in rolls in the barn if it needs to be made more foal safe at some point. Meanwhile, I can let Gimli out there to graze.
So, yes, as promised quite a while ago, I have tackroom and kitten pictures.
First, though, we have my hay field...
Some of the bales ended up in a standing-stones-esque upright position, which was a little odd looking. Splitting 50-50 with the sheep rancher who cut & baled it for us, we ended up with about 160-some square bales. They're pretty good sized, too, and packed tight. My resolve to stick to the "no new animals for the rest of the year" rule wavers every time I look in the very full hay shed and think about the batch from the next (hopefully next two) cutting.
The panelling is partially done in the tackroom now, which has enabled me to put up my two wall saddle racks and three of my bridle hooks.
Also my fancy halter hooks. Rose & Tyler are admiring them here. There's another, higher up with Merry & Zahr's halters & leads.
My tool belt not only worked good for keeping my hammer and nails to hand whilst working on the walls, it also made a great kitten pouch. Owen is modeling here.
Finally got the farm sign up this week & have a few pictures of it.
Gimil (and I) posing in front of the sign. Please try to ignore me - I wasn't exactly prepared to have my picture taken. As much as I love my Birks, they aren't exactly classy. Focus instead on how cute Gimli looks in his wee saddle. He's practicing for giving little kids rides.
See...
