what's in a name

For years we have wanted to have our own horse related brand name. You know, something like " _________ Appaloosas" or " _________ Quarter Horses". We got as far as deciding we did not want to designate one specific breed, so that left us with this for a name " _________ " !!!!

Without being in the horse business, and no relatable physical location of our own, naming ourselves didn't really make sense. The whole idea got put on hold. No fun logo designing for me, and no embroidered matchy-matchy apparel for us. Bummer!!

Now that we have land, the whole naming idea has since resurfaced. For some reason, coming up with our name is my job. Guess that's the price you pay for being dubbed "the creative one"!  I've been doing a lot of thinking, googling, observing - and I still can't figure a name out!!

We decided to wait, something will stand out with the land. Right??! If you've read earlier land posts, you know at least one unusual prickly thing. 

There is ton's of info on how to name, naming generators, tips on naming, and ways to come up with variations on the internet. 

I looked into how to create branding combinations (as in ranch brands), the history of the town, the native americans that were here before us and unusual features in the area. I even looked into words in spanish (my heritage). There are nearby roads with really cool names, and a nearby creek, that would have made great horse property names. We ended up with a boring plain road name, and no creek. Sigh.

This is what I learned about the name game:

Ideally you want a combination of two or three of these things: an adjective, an attribute, and type of place. A descriptor of sorts. Who you are, what you do or where you are. 

Some things we've discover about our land, mixed together with a few of our intentions:

Possible adjectives: Wild, Windy, Rolling, Sandy

Possible attributes: Pines, Cactus, Oaks, Horse related words

Possible type of place: Farm, Ranch, Homestead

The names we've liked so far, are all taken. Go figure. I won't bore you with my long "taken" list. I really liked "Wild Cactus Ranch" but it is a pretty prominent bucking bull breeding ranch in Texas. We are not really wild, nor into cactus. Guess it's just not for us. 

My hubby doesn't like warm & fuzzy names, doesn't want to use our last name, or my studio name, and isn't into cute or funny names. Who is the difficult one now?? Ha ha!!  

What's in a name?? A lot of indecision. So much that I wrote this post five months ago, and never published it. The name topic has resurfaced at home, and in blogger land. 

Farm names are very visible at Horse Fair, which is in two weeks. It will be a constant reminder of our lack of nameability. There are things we look at and leave saying "when we have our ranch name"...we do have a few contenders, none that we all like. Maybe something will come out eventually, that feels right, or maybe we shall remain nameless.

where I stand
76/365 ~ photo challenge

know your boundaries

Last weekend our daughter (Harmony's girl) helped us move panels out to our land, and had some fun trying to fly inside the barn. Just kidding!! She had some good ideas and was giving dad more things to consider, and more to say no to. Between me & the kids, poor guy has been explaining why a lot of ideas won't work. I think Brad will be glad when the inside of the barn is finished! 

what about from here, to there...

After the barn deliberations, we progressed to discussing pasture & shelter placement. We agreed the best solution for our horses on our land would be north/south pastures.

We all went on a walk-a-bout to check out newly placed property markers, including our grand-dog Jameson (a labrador) who absolutely loves being out at the land! 

We recently had the surveyors mark more then just the corners of the wooded areas. It was close to impossible to figure out who's land you were on. It doesn't matter so much if just walking, but we plan on connecting the existing north-south trails. We also want to relocate some young tree's to other parts of our property. In order to do either, we have to know our boundaries.

the dry creek bed area
will be good for trail riding

about routines

What is it about routines that make a person feel balanced? Whole. Complete. When I don't ride, or see my horse for a while, I feel something missing. When I do, all is well with the world. Even when it isn't. After that busy building week, that somehow turned into a two week horse absence, we are back to our horse routine.

endless rain keeps us inside

I always get a little more Appytude then normal after long breaks. On the ground and in the saddle. We typically work our rides back up in length & ask, depending on time off. I know some wouldn't agree with that approach, but it works for us.

we squeaked in one outdoor ride yesterday
before the rain started, again

This past weekend there was more "shifting of the tides". We moved our horse things out of storage from Brad's original family homestead (different farm, then the one that surrounds us). We moved the panels that made up our temporary riding arena, barrels, buckets, pans, heavy mats, and poles that I meticulously painted. We put that arena up in 2010. Hard to believe it was that long ago. All we have left to move from there is some old hay & our storage trailer, neither are going to our land.

driving around to the back side of our barn
getting ready to unload

SO many memories of days gone by. Keeping the good ones, and trying to let go of those that don't serve a purpose. Maybe that's why a familiar routine feels so good. They serve a purpose, keeping us grounded in a world of constant change. Just like horses.

build-a-barn ~ dig it

When I heard they were digging a huge trench from the house to the barn, I knew it was time to get clicking! They had just flattened the building site out after putting in the house foundation, and already it was time to dig. Again. 

The trench to connect services
from the house to the barn was long & deep

I had to crawl down there,
doesn't everybody do that?!

No mistake which side is sewer vs water

Brad got busy filling the house side of the trench back up, because the very next day this giant piece of equipment arrived...

getting ready to dig our well

well derricks are so tall!

The well guys were SO nice! I learned this was the smallest derrick they use. I got a lesson on different types of ground, related water depths and the basics function to get to a very important thing nobody can live without - water.

our water pipes
with big drill bits inside

thanks guys
now we will have water

Brad insulated & paneled just enough wall
the weekend prior for our electrician to install
the electric services in between the well digging

the way the barn looks now

Barn and house services are ready to be connected! The building site hasn't changed since. Electrical is scheduled to get put in from the road next week. Guess we are in the hurry up and wait stage...plenty to work on behind the scene, mainly for the house. 

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