weeds be gone

We took advantage of the one beautiful day we had, for endless weeks. No storms, heat or thick air (aka humidity) zapping our energy. The labs & I went down to check out the weedy mess we are hoping to turn into a Butterfly Garden. My thought was to see what was growing, and try to pull a weed or two. I wanted to see how/if they came out easy. 

 

I just got down to the bottom of our property, when Brad came wheeling down in McBouncy. Before I knew it, we were in over our heads pulling tall weeds, after taller weeds, after the tallest of weeds. They had choked out anything worth saving. Who needs a gym when you've got weeds to wrangle with attempts of tossing heavy roots, and repeating until you can't anymore. 
 

We got about 1/3 of the way through the weedy 20' x 30' ish area by hand, before we took a break. The pile in the photo above was much higher, before Brad hauled bucket loads of pulled weeds away.

The further in we got, the more the soil changed. Weeds became increasingly harder to pull. McBouncy took over and removed the rest of the weeds, without too much of the soil.  

weeds be gone!!

A few hours of hot sweaty work and we accomplished step one, weed removal without chemicals. As you can see above, there is still a wood stump. As well as other debris left over from the massive wood scrap pile we inherited, added to and earlier this year burned down.

The pile appeared in many of my land pics over the years. The size of the pile/area doesn't come through in photos. It looks even smaller with just dirt. However, it is very visible even at a distance. Visitors inquire about the pile all the time. We considered making it into a wildlife pond, but decided against that spot. We might put some type of pond in someday, different location. I enjoy riding around the area, pile or not. The weeds were taller than me on Koda's back. For years it used to look like this:

April 10, 2021 burn

the fire burned for weeks

Next step is piling all the remaining debris and burning again. Our weather has been less than desirable, until this week.

I've been reading up from several good seed/plant and land management resources. They all say to wait another year, using various weed control methods...but I'm not sure I can wait that long. I bought some butterfly friendly seeds last Spring, intending to plant them somewhere this Fall. I test started a six pack of several types, before this garden idea ever came up. The plants are still growing in other areas, so I know they can thrive here. I would absolutely wait, if it was our prospective Prairie. That large of an area, has to be done right.

We have common milkweed (host plant) all over our property. I want to diversify and this is a great time of year for sales. If I could get to the garden centers. Although, we are not ready to plant a 600 square foot garden. Yet. So much for not gardening here. Fall is around the corner. My mind wanders with endless possibilities...a path to ride through? a place for my old horse bench, after refinishing? a solar water feature? a stone walking path? a butterfly house or three, made out of wood and/or my really really (really) dried gourds? rock features? or just a big beautiful patch of wild flowers, flutterby's and future foto fun?!!

here we grow again

We begin another construction project, tomorrow. Brad is bringing equipment home to strip our sandy dirt. Much to my surprise we are starting our 144' x 66' indoor arena. It will be up by early Spring!! For real. Our son will be digging out the site next weekend. I am still trying to get used to the idea that we are growing, once again.

  

It is common for scheduled work to ebb and flow in any type of construction, add a pandemic to the mix and projects shift and become more unpredictable. In this case, it worked in our favor. Who knew our indoor would be going up so soon. Not me. 

 

An indoor has been a far fetched dream of ours for many many years. We've talked about it off/on since we got Koda and Nemo in 2008. Since then we have ridden in and/or seen countless arenas, noting likes and dislikes and asking questions of those that own and maintain them (thanks Arline!). We squirreled away details of what we liked and was practical, to possibly implement on our very own. We do not need anything fancy, but want to avoid the common pitfalls. This build is happening late in our lives, but at least it is happening. Better late than never. Most people our age are scaling down, and turning into snowbirds. Not us. We plan to stay put and thoroughly enjoy our little slice of paradise as long as we can.

arena fans waiting to spin

We had hoped an indoor arena would be part of our original homestead build, but they are expensive and it got put on hold. We recently bumped it up on our endless wish list based on usage. We think we will use it a lot, especially in Winter. Obviously it will allow us to ride year-round, eliminating weather related stop-n-start riding. Koda (and I) will definitely benefit from it. It will also provide a place for our horses to stretch their legs on those dangerously bitter cold or ice covered treacherous days, where turn out is less than ideal. Cierra and her future foal will have a safe place to stretch their legs during earlier days. Ditto should one of our horses require separation or rehab due to injury. I am also holding onto hope that with an indoor arena, Brad will bring his show horse home at certain intervals and continue training/riding at home. He is perfectly capable of it. We've talked about potentially having a trainer come to us for lessons at some point, or even the occasional mini-clinic. 

It would be nice to get to know the new blonde girl that is about to be in his life, and see her more than a few times a year at shows. Speaking of the blonde girl, we got our vets blessing yesterday to go ahead with the purchase of Padame. For a while, it looked like it could turn out the other way. I will elaborate in a future post, once the purchase is a done deal. If you missed it, you can read earlier posts about the worlds longest horse purchase that started on December 1, 2020 here, here and the latest sale pending post is here.

Below are initial drafts of the outside of the arena building. Not too exciting, in WI most indoors are pretty much a shell. The north end is the side that will be attached to our existing barn. The placement/addition of a few things have since changed. We upsized the smaller service door, added a human door and some windows on the south end. Most things have been decided, but not all interior details are finalized. 

Hoping our three barn cats do okay while building onto their safe haven. One in particular dislikes any loud noises (Tinkerbell) and instantly high tails it. She eventually comes backs. If it is really cold, we may lock them up on the storage side. The two girls choose to stay inside on colder days. My hiking buddy Leo still hunts in the snow.

Leo
January 5, 2021

Leo
climbing his favorite tree on the trail yesterday

I will be documenting the build throughout, just like I did with Build-a-Barn. It will be fun to have something to photograph, and watch as the building goes up! I will however miss the serenity and wildlife viewing of the pasture behind the barn. There will still be some open pasture left, but it will no doubt look and feel different.

January 5, 2021

dreams are hard work

I dream of lush pastures, with a rolling hill, surrounded by tall stoic trees. Seeing our horses grazing in the not so far distance, with birds chirping, surround sound. 

We move our horses today. By the time you read this, they will be here.

Unlike dreams, reality isn’t perfect. Our pastures are not lush. Brad just replanted them, a third time.

weeds grow better then grass

We have no walk-in shelter for the horses, and Brad is working on the outdoor waterer as I type.

Dreams are made from hard work, and patience. Just a few weeks ago, Brad & our son pounded 72 fence posts into the ground. Thank goodness for the rented postmaster! The monotonous pounding was sooo loud, it echoed throughout our valley.  

Weeks prior, Brad built & put in sturdy corners to form our three pastures. Needless to say any additional progress to our new home has come to a screeching halt. We are living in it as is. People don't seem to understand why we aren't "all settled in"...I can't understand, why they don't understand, that starting from scratch is a HUGE undertaking!

In Spring of 2016, we purchased our land and our vision started to become a reality. I've spent a fair amount of time documenting & photographing the changes over the years. I never want to forget where we started, and because I will never ever, ever (ever, ever) do this again. Ever. Just like Mrs. Shoes, they will have to carry me away from our land.

We picked up our deep roots and moved them, for the love of our horses. This land, the endless move, it's all for them, to be able to live with us. I truly hope our horses will adjust, and love it here as much as we do. It is so quiet & peaceful.

view from our house deck

Life hasn’t been easy lately. Nothing worth doing is. The past few months or so have been more like hell. We moved exactly how I didn’t want to move, without things being completed. But I gave in, and don't regret it. Sometimes you have to leap, in order to be able to get to where you are going, and have patience. This challenging time, will someday be a memory.

I look forward to getting back to enjoying life, and living this thing we call "our dream". Maybe someday, even with lush pastures!?!!

build-a-barn ~ stalls are up

Earlier this month, I was busy cleaning the endless construction dust in the house and decided to walk over to the barn. I was surprised to find the remaining stalls up, complete with grain doors. Apparently Brad decided not to wait for our sons help, and set the rest of our stalls up himself. Except for the double stall divider, it is super heavy! 

The stalls really change the appearance of the barn!! Our barn is starting to look like a horse barn! 

March 31

Our son came up in the morning to help his dad install the heavy divider. It swings against the back wall, and will be secured. I think it will come in handy, and be put to good use. Harmony & Koda seem to be prone to injuries/bouts of lameness. It could be a roomier daytime option for Nemo, when affected with allergies. Brad also wants to eventually breed Cierra. It could even be used for temporary storage. Lot's of options.

Double stall on the left, with divider.
Looks the same as the other stalls.

The very next day, Brad cut & installed Douglas Fir tongue & grove wooden side panels on the six single stalls. I got to help with the very last top pieces. Now I can say I helped build the stalls :)

April 1

view from the back end of the barn

If you are sick of barn updates, feel free to scroll on by. I want our dream documented. To relive, and better remember what got us to where we are. 

Two weeks later, our barn still looks like the above. It's a long long process when you do the building yourself. Last weekend Brad rode in a Ranch Clinic, and I photographed it (post to come) we had zero time for anything else. I wish we could progress faster, but good things come to those that wait.

Build-a-Barn

We started building our 60'x80' barn December 2016. Building a barn from scratch is a very long process. I've documented and photographed our barn build step-by-step. For memories that last forever. This page contains all the related build-a-barn posts, and will continue to evolve until our barn is completed.
 
 

April 2017

2016 Build-a-barn links: 

let the building begin ~ the barn (excavating, footings, support walls)

2017 Build-a-barn links: 

build-a-barn ~ phase two (poles, stick puzzle, winter building)

build-a-barn ~ raising the roof (setting trusses, crane, sky views)

build-a-barn ~ the fun continues (structure, trusses, dividing wall)

build-a-barn ~ making progress (interior, roof, cupolas)

build-a-barn ~ rapid change (walls, trusses, barn & land video)

build-a-barn ~ taking it all in (stall walls, ice, reflection)

build-a-barn ~ now what (horse side, builders last day, dreams)

build-a-barn ~ dig it (trenches, well, services)

build-a-barn ~ productive weekend (layout, wall support, multi tasking)

build-a-barn ~ months progress (services, storage walls, digging & filling)

build-a-barn ~ one section at a time (room flooring, heat tubes, drains)

build-a-barn ~ summer update (center aisle, saloon floor, interior framing)

build-a-barn ~ getting more done (porch ceiling, interior framing, storage entry)

build-a-barn ~ around the corner (porch floor, water lines, shelter placement)

build-a-barn ~ Fall update (driveway approach, moving dirt, electrical)

2018 Build-a-barn links:

build-a-barn ~ fresh air (stall bar distances, bathroom)

build-a-barn ~ excitement is growing (stall delivery)

build-a-barn ~ stall parts (stall parts, saloon update)

build-a-barn ~ two months later (stall snaffu & barn to date)

build-a-barn ~ stalls are up (stalls, wooden panels)

build-a-barn ~ a few changes (horseshoes, feeders, barn to date)

build-a-barn ~ doors (tack room door, winterizing doors)

2019 Build-a-barn links:

build-a-barn ~ inside shift (tack room, wash stall, saloon, bathroom)

2022 Build-a-barn links:

build-a-barn ~ door upgrade (garage door)

build-a-barn ~ updates (ventilation system, manure pit pad)

we have a driveway

A few days ago I got a phone call from my hubby, he mentioned our soon to be neighbor told him "oh, by the way, they put your driveway in yesterday" Say whaaat?? We are at the land multiple times a week, but this caught us by surprise. My phone conversation with Brad had at least three "we have a driveway" and one "Aurora, we HAVE a driveway"...who would have thought a driveway would be that special!!! 

The neighbors who sold us the land have been so nice. We've been using their driveway since April. The part closest to the road runs parallel to ours. Earlier this Fall, Brad and I cleared an opening between the trees. He used his alignment equipment from work at a distance. I lined up and set the driveway stakes. I wonder what files are being replaced in my head as I learn how to do all this new stuff?? Ha ha! 

Most of the driveway stakes have bright orange painted tops. We answered many times over "those are the stakes for our driveway". We have friends, relatives and co-workers randomly driving out to look for our land. We hear about it when they can't find it, or want to know what the long row of orange stakes are for. Who knew we were so interesting?! Funny how curious people are. 

Brad was out of town the day we got the driveway news. He drove to our land early that evening on his way home to check it out. Almost every conversation for the rest of the night ended with "I can't believe we have a driveway". It is so cute how excited he is, like a kid in a candy store. Of course we knew the driveway was going in, but it wasn't suppose to happen for another week-ish. 

Somehow it makes the dream more real.

little dents

The decision was made to outsource our first crop of alfalfa. Yes, we actually have crops...I think that makes us farmers :)) okay, okay so I am just a wanna-be, but thankfully my hubby isn't! I just nod, smile and say "yes dear, that sounds great"!!

The guys relocated some big wooden support posts randomly left in the middle of a field, that was no easy task! The posts now connect to some nice fencing that we plan to keep. The wire had been cut where the land was divided & left blowing in the wind, not anymore! We will eventually have to add a lot more fencing, but it's a good place to start.

I got my first quick riding lawn mower lesson and was sent to figure the rest out while mowing "the loop". The loop is a pre-existing path that borders one of the fields, pictured above. It's pretty and I can't wait to ride it with Koda, instead of John Deere. When all we owned was a push mower, I was the lawn mower of the household. I used to love the outdoor exercise! As soon as we got a riding mower, I lost my job. Looks like I have it back, minus the exercise. However, there is plenty of other exercise to be done on the land!

We all worked together on clearing an overgrown island that jutted out into the field, this time I wasn't the one working on foot. The riding lawn mower & I are going to get along just fine :) I should have taken before & after photos, what a difference a group effort and an hour makes!! 

We left our son piling more endless logging debris among the strips, while Brad & I headed to the pines. We are going to have one helluva bonfire (s) someday, or better said some weeks. It's all still hard to believe...we are starting alllll over, from scratch!! I try not to dwell on the enormous projects we are and will be undertaking, it's too overwhelming! I know things will eventually fall into place little by little, in good time. 

On the way to the pines, I got absorbed just looking at all the trees. Some are magnificent...

...others are odd...

We hauled a ladder into the woods and a really tall yellow pole, in hopes of seeing each other better. It helped most of the time. We climbed up the ladder, down the ladder, moved the ladder, back up the ladder, held the pole, waved the pole, moved the pole, chain saw on, chain saw off...and barely made a dent. It was exhausting.

Brad taking a break
with a birds eye ladder view

We are trying to make some trail paths in the pines, around the big trees and within our property markers. There are a couple nice wide paths that do exist, but they don't connect. Yet.
Guess what time it is? It's the weekend again, time to head back to the woods...where every little dent gets us a little closer to the dream.

the reveal

I owe you all some answers to the wordless clues from this past week, that led to suspense and really good guesses!!!

mystery monday

is a beautiful trail
we drive 3.5 hours north to ride among similar pines
and find respite in their majestic swaying height,
fresh piney smell, soft footing and surreal views

tuesdays tip

is a nice grassy varied trail area,
a perfect place to ride and explore

wednesdays wonder

a view of the woods pictured above,
 across the fields, from the furthest corner
 (archive photo)

thursdays thought

looking out of the woods
opposite side of same fields above,
topped with sunny blue skies
(archive photo)


fridays feeling

sitting in my truck with our daughter on a rainy day
grassy varied trail area to the right
woods straight ahead & fields towards the left

You all guessed right, we bought land!!!! 

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while know our horses used to live across the field from us on the family farm my husband grew up on. Our big hopes and dreams were squashed, when our "family" unknowingly made some really rotten decisions. It's okay, what goes around comes around. It already has.

We changed our plan, but not our dreams. When life hands you lemons, you find a way to make lemonade. Several years ago we moved our horses to our trainers farm, and after years of searching for land, we finally found the right place that fits us!! Our plans eventually include to move, build a house and a barn, and live with our beloved horses on our very own 50+ acre farm!!! 

We are fortunate that we don't have to rush, and can take our time to plan. We won't start building for at least a year, and our horses will move to the land when we do. In the meantime there is a lot of work to be done, decisions to be made, and fun to be had!! 

You have no idea how thrilled we are to move on, and look forward to living our dream.