sparkles in the sky

Our next door neighbor called earlier this week to ask if our horses would be okay if they lit fireworks off for their special family reunion. They had family traveling from distant States to attend. Of course, I said yes. I really appreciated them asking and said our horses would be safely inside by 5pm. 

7.5.26

Our horses did fine. Even with open stall windows. I imagine the sound of overhead fireworks raised ears at first. They could not see them. This morning their stalls looked normal, like they do every other day. Stall condition is a tell tale sign. It reveals when something is bothering them. Especially Nemo's. 

darker skies would have enhanced the pretty colors

Our neighbors invited us to join them. It would have felt odd, so we stayed home. The colorful display was enjoyed from our place, with our son. We laughed and reminisced about our own families past Fourth of July celebrations. Let's just say, back in the day Brad was known for lighting fireworks. It was fun watching them again, without having to go anywhere.

4 secs

They just kept lighting them off, one after another. The entertainment went on for a while. I was glad we were not paying the outlandish cost for a change. Let me tell you, good fireworks are expensive. 

6 secs

I doubt our barn will have colorful sparkles in the sky overhead again. Sadly, I didn't even think about taking good photos with my camera. Whoops!! Perhaps it is a good thing. It has been a long time since I photographed fireworks.

3 secs

look up

Sunrise clouds

Full of hopes and dreams

They are there, or so it seems

Look up to see, what might be
 

south eastern (7:24am) sunrise

1/18/22

porch 'er barn pots

Have you ever noticed how bare entrances look when flowers fade, pots are emptied and stored away? Boring. I have always admired the rustic inspired evergreen winter arrangements that grace the entrances of some dwellings.

I learned they are called Porch Pots. In my case, they are more like Barn Pots. I've never gotten around to making my own. Until this year. 

I waffled between the idea of trying to decorate our barn pots, or not. I looked for natural things among our tree lines that could potentially be added to an arrangement. Red dogwood branch accents look so nice, but all we have are purple prickly branches. Not dealing with those!

We have plenty of pines to choose from and I spotted a few remaining milkweed pods. I knew those would make pretty accents. I had visions of red or wiggly, or some kind of cool stick natural thingee as an accent. Nothing caught my eye.

After looking at garish floral picks and really expensive natural decor meant for indoors, I found one last package of willow branches on sale. Hmmm? Those might work. While standing in the checkout line, I noticed a second package behind the counter and asked if I could buy it. I have two barn pots. I lucked out, someone had returned a package of sticks willow branches. I cannot believe I bought sticks at a store, even if they were cheap!!
 

I made the first pot with Cedar branches that still had blue berries on it, and cut some smaller white pine branches to mix in. I added the brown willows to the pot. Blah! That didn't work for me at all.

So I did this:

red willow branches

Cedar & Pine branches alone are kinda boring

my winter barn pot/s

I dressed both pots up the same with willow branches, milk pods & dried sedum heads from my garden. I also repurposed a couple larger pine cones on a stick. Not bad for a rookie. 

It was once again a creative learning process. Next year I plan to start gathering natural accents much earlier and keep my eyes open for any down birch branches. I would much rather use natural red accents, then spray paint them. Note to self: add Dogwood to my planting list!!

toad-ily safe

I continue to wonder, how do we have toads and frogs on our ranch? We live in sand country. I thought they needed water to survive and reproduce. I finally googled to learn that Wisconsin has twelve varieties of toads/frogs. Not all of them require bodies of water to survive. Our land continues to be very interesting, and different. It makes this nature girl happy to learn about variables!

If you wondering why these warmer weather critters are still on my mind, it is because we have toads living in our barn. 

Doesn't everyone have barn toads as pets??

The toads are fun to watch. They can be found seasonally in various sizes in our yard, on our driveway and many other places. The cats really love playing with them in the barn, especially Purr.

The cats don't seem to hurt the toads. I think they have an understanding. Not sure, I don't speak toad or cat for that matter. Their understanding is likely due to the fact that toads don't taste good. They are poisonous.

We keep a watchful eye on our dogs when they get interested. Dogs don't seem as selective with wild food. However, our cats have it figured out.

This is the first year we noticed toads taking residence in our aisle drain. We thought they were coming in/out of the long drain pipe, but they seem to be coming in from the arena doors. Maybe both.

We have at least two toads, one is greener than the other. Both are about the same size. Big. There was a smaller one, but I haven't seen that one for a while. I wonder if our toads will stay inside the barn all Winter?

I saw the brown American Toad hopping around the barn aisle a couple days ago. I saved him from being batted around, not that he needed it. They take cover under the stall doors, until the cats get tired of waiting. After watching him get batted once and drop his head to the floor as if to play dead, I scooped my toad friend up and placed him near the drain. Wondering how on earth he was going to fit. He did. Head first, back feet in the air. Wiggle, wiggle, PLOP!! He was toadily safe!

green toad

brown toad

A few different kinds of toads/frogs have found me to date on our property, mostly during warmer months. One overly friendly water lovin' guy thought we set my cowgirl pool up just for him. I wasn't sharing and he had to be removed more than once.

I can't help but wonder, how do they know/find water??

At first I thought my pool friend was a young Bullfrog that ventured away from the creek down the road. We used to have them in our pond. I do remember thinking he was smoother, like a frog. Hard to tell from the photos I took. I don't see the classic bullfrog ridge, and therefore think the pool lover was a green younger American Toad.  

This frog was spotted in July:

These little green guys are sooo cute!

They are small and can be found hanging out literally anywhere. I have found them on plants, doorknobs and as seen above on siding. I am pretty sure this frog is a Copes Gray Tree frog although, he is um very vibrant green! I learned their color can change to adapt to surroundings. This siding is behind my barn garden, with a lot of green.  

I was sitting in front of the barn chatting with Brad early October, when a very loud sound came from over by my shade planter. I believe it was followed by a "what the h-e-double-toothpick was THAT"??!!

I found this white-ish tiny guy looking at me as if to say "whaaaat". He didn't move and I don't like to disturb nature. I left him alone and went back to my conversation. 

Spring Peeper

Look at those cute little webbed toes! 

This post has been swirling around in my head. I can cross it off my list, now I toad you so 😂

double digit dance

We are all SO very tired of being cooped up from the cold for sooo long, and yet I feel fortunate to live in WI. We are prepared to handle whatever Mother Nature throws at us. Unlike our southern friends. The infrastructure down south is simply not built to handle Winter. 

I worry about those less prepared/fortunate, in particular the abundance of poorly secured animals that can't get help. Their only option is to suffer a living hell.

Most of our small animal rescues transport all their adoptable dogs & puppies up from the south.

Just a few days after our horse transportation delivered Padame, they have postponed all scheduled routes this entire week. For safety reasons. Horses are stuck wherever they may be, including horse hotels etc while extended storms hit the South (and East). It sounds like they have horses "stuck" at their overnight facility in WI.

It is a huge relief to have Padame safely here!! We have not seen her since our second visit. She had her feet trimmed yesterday. We heard she was "sweet and kept her head low" for our farrier. Just for the record, Padame's feet looked great upon arrival. She came to us with a light trim due to snow etc Both our girls got their feet done a little early in order to get in on the barns trim rotation. Feet are better done early than late.

Brad speed grooming Padame
(at our second visit)

I briefly snuck out without the dogs for some fresh morning sunrise air when I saw this:

I couldn't stand it, I had to take it all in closer. There is something about cast light and untouched snow...it sparkles my imagination...

Our barn is the one place the dogs can go with me in this frigid weather. Although sometimes they still get leg cramps on the short walk in-between the barn & house :(

The dark brown garage door seal Brad added to the big front door made a big difference!! He didn't bother adding any to barn door in the back, because next Winter it will open to an arena.

frosty service door stays shut in Winter

our unheated barn stays above freezing

All three barn cats run out, and run back inside even faster. They are stir crazy, especially Leo. He has been getting in trouble for picking on his sisters. We have been playing "chase the whip" up and down the aisle and hay bales to help with boredom, and they have fun too *^*

Leo

Our horses have stayed inside the past two days when the wind chill was negative 20 something with no sun. They stretched their legs outside while we cleaned stalls, and were more than ready to come back inside when we were done. It was still chilly this morning, but they are back to regular turn-out basking in the sun.

After close to two weeks, we are finally getting back into the (positive!) double digits during the day!! Hopefully I can head out to the woods for a refreshing walk with the dogs, soon. Winter isn't done with us. We have more coming our way, but double digits is a good reason to dance and stay warm! No doubt some crazy Wisconsinites will break out the shorts this weekend when we get into the balmy low 30's. My son used to wear them year round. Drove me nuts. Speaking of nuts, hang on tight folks the weather can only get better!!

Happy New Year ~ getting creative

I just couldn't decide which photo to use for my annual handmade holiday card this season. Most of the cards I make are equine related. I had prospective photos options, but none of them inspired me enough to move forward with such a labor intensive project. I obsessed about it...

Cierra's calendar photos are good prospects? The concept I had was too similar to last years. I have several pics of Koda I could use? I feel like he gets more visible love than the others. It is Tanks first Christmas with us, I should really feature him! I made a composite using one of my favorite puppy photos of him, but it turned out too fake for me. Brad & I have talked about taking a photo of us for years in our woods, and we could include Tank! Never going to happen, at least not in time for this years card. I all but gave up. What difference does it make anyways. I spend days running errands and working on cards, for people to promptly throw away. 

After battling several long upper respiratory viruses the past couple months, I was beyond being able to catch up on my holiday to do list. SO what did I do? I let go, of my self imposed holiday expectations and focused on what was important to me. Creating my annual card. 

The process takes days of thought, then searching through digital files. I need to edit my mail list, get enough photos printed, find coordinate paper, make sure I have enough card stock/envelopes and sticky stuff. I always run out of sticky tape runner! I try to add a tasteful embellishment and sentiment. Someday my rubber stamps will be organized and easier to find. The cards need to be addressed, oops forgot I ran out of labels last year. I also never reordered my return labels that have a typo, so hand writing both on around 40 cards it is. Oh yea, I can't forget to buy postage stamps! 

I decided on sending a New Years card vs pulling all nighters for cards to prospectively make it by Christmas. If you don't leave enough time, it takes all the fun out of creating. Who cares what people think, and that some have already seen the chosen photo. Right? Right!!

card cover
"Milky Way over our barn"

inside greeting
"Wishing you a peaceful New Year, full of wonder!!"

My decisions, and the end card result were fulfilling. To me. I received heartfelt reactions from some of the recipients. So sweet! Once again, Brad reminded me that certain people actually look forward receiving my photography cards. My cards are different. They are a reflection of me. It renewed my commitment in the power of letting go, and being true to oneself. 

Thanks for being a treasured part of my journey, may our paths continue to cross. Happy New Year!!  

outside shift

Our land work has shifted from the inside to the outside, weather permitting. We are seeing dryer days, or at least occasional dryer days. Consequently our barn remains a work in progress. I am not much help with bendy, building or heavy duty type stuff but offer anyways. I think I just slow down the process :/ Most of what you'll see shared is all Brad's hard work, and work hard he does.

manure pit (politely labeled) 

freshly poured containing walls

Yard work is not a priority, but lessening constant sandy dirt tracked inside by multiple large dogs (& people) is. Over a span of several days Brad graded and graded, and graded some more, before spending our first hot weekend seeding and covering the sizable area between our house and barn. We went from an extended wet cool Spring to **bam** hot Summer! 

view from house deck of work in progress

view from driveway

view mid-way 

Ticks, coyotes and mosquitoes have taken the fun out of hiking with the dogs on our property this Spring. Sadly, our daily walks abruptly stopped. From what I can see our paths have become lush and overgrown. 

We ordered mosquito eradicators for around the house & barn, with hopes that after 15 days we should see improvement. 

mosquito eradicator

We planted three Autumn Blaze Red Maples along our driveway, where the Maples won't be an issue for our horses (they are toxic). Looking forward to seeing their Fall color! Happy Mother's Day to me!!

three new little trees, mid-left

Hay will be a challenge to put up this season in WI, due to wet weather. Our hot dry summer like weather lasted briefly. We are back to cooler days, which I like. Not ideal for growing things tho. 

Brad reseeded another field to grass hay. Two fields should provide us a healthy supply, and then some to sell. IF we ever get a good stretch of dry sunny weather. He also did most of the field work to replant two of our other fields back to alfalfa to sell. 

Autumn Maples with teeny tiny alfalfa in foreground.
The neighbors lawn is mid-strip, our new hay field behind.

A few weeks later we put in four apple trees at the bottom of our property. Cortland, McIntosh, Gala and Jonathan. Not sure how much we will spray etc, might just let them grow natural. I know I know apples get wormy, so we will be looking into a happy medium.

Brad up-cycled materials to build four protective cages.
Hopefully it gives the apple trees a fighting chance from destructive deer.

We are starting to designate a couple small garden beds. Repeat after me, ONLY A COUPLE garden beds!! We have waaay too many gardens at our old house. We put them in when we were younger and stupid ambitiously passionate about gardening. As you likely know, gardens are ever changing and never ending back breaking work. I learned the hard lesson many moons ago that planting Perennials doesn't mean forever, silly me. 

Altho I still love gardening, my body doesn't. Plans are to relocate some favorites perennials to our new home, return some beds at our old home to grass and redo the remaining. They need to be more manageable. Hopefully I can hand the care over...someday. This is one hefty goal, that I know won't get completely done. I'll be happy with whatever does get done.

For now, I am enjoying annuals and potted summer camp plants at our new home.

Brads old boots are made for planting

Barn post got finished & forged iron hanger mounted
I promptly refilled and hung repurposed baskets

New barn planters I "won" (the right to buy) at a fundraiser.
Table geranium is several years old, one of the plants I still overwinter *^*

Brad finished off westside of barn

He also built one raised veggie garden bed
to try, before possibly adding a couple more

Hope everything is going & growing well for all of you! Looking forward to catching up soon!!

soaking it up and kicking it out

Yesterday was windy. Reeeally windy. High wind advisory windy. While doing chores I noticed the sun peeking through the cracks of the south barn door. I thought I would check to see if by chance it was a warming sun, or if the howling winds would blast me. Temps were in the 30's F, plus wind factor. I didn't get my hope up. Much to my delight, it was a warming sun - with no wind!! 

january 8

I took my sweet time doing chores, and found extra things I could do so I could bask in the sun. I took my old saddle out to take a closer look at what I thought was mold regrowing. It wasn't, it was excess product. I let the saddle warm up in the sun. First one side and then the other, and worked it in/off. I've never been that happy to clean tack before! Wow that sun felt super good!! It all but made me sweat. The barn door stayed open the whole time I was picking stalls & wiping my saddle!

It started to cloud over, just as I finished everything up. I closed the south door and checked our barn thermometer. Temp had only dropped 1-2 degrees. It was a pleasant 48F. Not bad for an unheated barn!

Whodathunk I could leave barn doors wide open in January in Wisconsin?!

I bundled up and headed outside. The horses were crazy! Not that I blame them. The shed would make the most unusual loud whistling sound, every time the wind picked up. They would start spinning and running, and stop, at will. I caught a tiny bit of the horse action from the house. Mostly Nemo's shenanigans, but they were all busting moves with one gust or another.

nemo's reaction to koda's previous antics

harmony is a power house,
but wisely reserves it for key times

nemo kickin' it up

nemo powering up

It's so fun to watch our horses interact to the environment, as well as each other. Koda always runs. He is typically first. Nemo likes to "stir the pot" and is typically last, but not always. Harmony's response frequently looks similar to "why are you silly boys running"?? 

I absolutely love watching our little herd!!

barn mystery

We are trying to solve a barn mystery. Why are Nemo's shavings getting so damp & heavy? It's the weirdest thing!! Koda & Harmony's shavings stay dry, except of course where they pee. 

We thought perhaps it's because Nemo circles and circles in his stall, spreading everything everywhere. Into a million little pieces. Or maybe it's because he has a urinary condition. When his calcium builds up, he drips. A lot. But we haven't observed any dripping, only steady streams. Music to our ears. We may be the only horse owners that smile every time their horse pees :) Now that we don't feed hay on the floor, he prefers to do so outside. I don't find much in his shavings.

Nemo absolutely loves his window, and checks it constantly. He has to keep those in his world safe you know. It's who he is. He is a horse that could happily live outside all year, except his coat, feet and allergies say differently. In part, why he willingly comes inside. He does love hanging out in outdoor shelters, so that may change once we have one. Although I am sure he will want to come in for his grain supplements.

Maybe the dampness is from Nemo's stall/window placement? Rain could be coming at an angle in his window, and not the others. Nope. Our stall windows are closed now that it's cooler, and his shavings are still getting heavy and damp. We thought about switching Koda & Nemo's stalls for a few days as a test, but I don't think it's the horse.

The waterer could be leaking? We have checked and rechecked the mechanics. The surrounding shavings reveal no leak. For a while, we resorted to just accepting that Nemo has damp shavings for whatever reason. But emptying and re-liming his stall weekly is getting old. This week, I did it twice! There is the added expense, and then I have to make a second (or third) wheel barrel trip. The biggest reason we want to solve this mystery, is our big soulful guy deserves dry shavings. 

I've whined said from day one, the cause has to be something underneath his stall. Condensation? I don't know. Our water drain from the wash stall runs under Koda's stall, in PVC. Every stall has a water line housed in PVC.  Maybe his water line didn't seal completely? Brad is convinced the damp shavings are caused by Nemo's churning, but that doesn't make sense to me. It is literally the whole stall. I am sure you are thinking, what's the big deal? The consistency isn't too far off from heavily peed on shaving, minus the stench. I doubled the lime I used this last time, and the shavings seem to be holding up better. 

Brad is considering pulling Nemo's mats, and looking around. No doubt just to shut me up lol! Last thing Brad needs is more things to do. It will be worth it IF we can solve the mystery!?!!

it's here, it's here!!

For months I looked and searched, and finally found what I had envisioned at a fair price. Until I read reviews, and searched deeper. I found a photo of a similar model, proudly shared on Facebook. Gasp! There is rustic, and then there is falling apart. I am SO glad I didn't order. I would have been sooo disappointed. Sometimes it pays not to jump into things.

Just like everything else with this move, patience came into play, I started looking for a barn vanity last Fall, maybe even sooner. Yes, it is Summer. Damn I am picky! I can't help it, I was born this way.  I was looking for something rustic & sturdy. I don't want to have to replace it. How hard can it be? 

I am not materialistic, I do however want to value what we do have. Given, bought, or otherwise. I had all but given up. Finding a reasonably priced sturdy rustic vanity turned out to be (almost) impossible!! If I was a woodworker, I would start making them now. 

Brad tried giving me a deadline (after a career in Marketing, he knows I am deadline driven) he even found a local vanity he thought would work. It would, but it too was cheaply made and wasn't anything special, or even close to what I hoped for. I was in disbelief. I am fairly savvy on the internet, and yet I honestly couldn't find anything locally or online without overpaying. 

Like everything else about this land, it became a waiting game. All the rewards are worth the wait, and this little gem didn't disappoint. Look at the workmanship on our rustic reclaimed wood vanity:

bottom of vanity

top/inside of vanity

Some silly so not important video's of us unpackaging. Best to turn up the volume to hear Brad's funnies:

Our vanity was made in MN, from reclaimed wood that came from a granary in Superior, WI that was built in the 1800's. I am not big into reclaimed wood, but this vanity is *exactly* what I was looking for. The whole experience surpassed my expectations. It cost about the same as the cheaply made one, and quality is incomparable. We still need to add hardware, a top, and fixtures (just like the other one). Oh, did I mention they are making us a mirror *squeal* I love old, 'er new mirrors!! 

barn vanity base reveal

a barn toilet AND a vanity
(wood is not as dark as it looks)

Yes, I am working on finding the rest of the things for the barn bathroom. Will share, when all the stars align again. Don't hold your breath ;)

how much wood can a woodchuck chuck

None, at least not in our barn. 

We need everything to dry out, so the barn doors have been staying wide open for now. Of course that is an invitation for curious visitors. We have found many tracks inside the barn, across house flooring, and over the mounded peaks of remaining dirt piles. Our wild critters aren't shy!

Basically, we've created a play land for all the animals that have lived on our land long before we started building. That's all good & fine, until you come face to face with one...

Me: Um, there is something black & furry in our barn. Everyone stops what they are doing and comes to look.

Brad: What did it look like? 

Me: I don't know, black & furry. Low to the ground

Brad: It's probably a woodchuck, let me go get something

Daughter: Plops on the ground. I think I see it!!

Me: Be careful!! They can be nasty & bite! Especially when cornered.

Jameson (daughters dog): Ma!! Ma!! I think it's over here!! No wait, maybe it's over here?? I dunno. Wag, wag, wag. I love this place, it's so exciting!!

Look at the brave guy with the super long piece of rebar trying to rattle everything so black & fuzzy will run out, lol! Yes, I know - I am allll the way across the barn by the opposite exit. Yep, I am the braver one ;)

Brad: Well, that didn't work.

Daughter: Plops on the ground. I think I see it!!

Mom & Dad: Be careful!! They can be nasty & bite! Especially when cornered.

Daughter moves the styrofoam. Risking life and limb getting bit, while her faithful companion stands by wagging up a storm.

Daughter leaps on the styrofoam, because she doesn't really want to get bit. Meanwhile brave guy rattles the pallet until black & fuzzy makes a break for it. He scurries out leaving the barn unharmed, in search of some wood to chuck.

Brad: Aww, it was just a little guy

Daughter: What are you talking about?? It was HUGE!!!

Me: Will you guys stop playing with the animals and get to work!