Apple Picking Season!!

Yeah, not that kind of apple.....  :-(

The horses are now going to be kept in the Wormhole and The Shire for the winter while we work on the rejuvenating other two pastures (post to follow).  Since we cannot rotate pastures because of that nor let manure dry out for a couple weeks after being harrowed (dragged) we have to resort to picking the field again to prevent parasite issues in our ponies.

This means we get to pick the field every week!  We've gone a couple weeks without doing such and it took us a while to get The Shire cleaned up today.  It was a gorgeous breezy fall day so I can't complain.  We need to do a final mow too so it will be easier to rake the piles and spot treat any weeds until we can let this pasture rest and reseed next spring.  

Unfortunately our apple trees are still too little to get edible apples so we must be satisfied with pony apples. We are going in two weeks to get four more apple trees and a couple pear trees!  Can't wait to have our little orchard fully mature!!  I'm sure the ponies will benefit from it as well!

It's been a few nice weeks of fall-ish weather here in NC, some hotter than others and many trees are starting to change. We luckily avoided the flooding and other issues further south and east of us. The grass is becoming dormant despite the rains and I'm switching to hay...which means I am now able to get back into the feed room.  Two weeks ago the hay was right up to the door so the ponies had the task of eating our way back into the feed room.

It seems our house and property are unending with projects.  We have discovered mushrooms in our house windowsills so we need to replace our wooden windows, NOW.  The same company is going to put gutters on the barn so we will finally get working on our drainage project.  The shed still needs to be finished too.  We are in it for the long haul so it's good to get all this work done now and we can enjoy it sooner.  Being this is the second house we've owned with wooden and difficult windows to open I'm really excited about vinyl energy saving windows!!!  The ponies are happy and healthy and don't seem to care about any changes we make to our house or property. Fall is a busy time (like summer wasn't?)

I am happy with the weather being much more tolerable for outdoor work, fall has always been my favorite season.  Next summer I will have to just bite the bullet and arise early to avoid riding or working in the heat of midday. Even though I wish I had more time for the ponies I love having a property where they can be in my backyard and I can love on them whenever I desire.  Nickers in the morning is the best way to start my day!

Fencing Around the Shed

We decided to expand the fencing around the run-in shed.  Chance has been kicked in the chest in the past and I think this is one area where he can easily get cornered so I wanted to have a full circle of open space around the run-in shed available.  We will be eventually redoing all the fencing (except the wooden fences) to an electric rope.

It looks really nice I think and I may even paint the t posts white so we have a nicer, uniform look.  It was a several hour project so not too difficult.  We still need to build a section of wooden fence and then have a plan for expanding the wormhole.  I'll post on that soon.  We should get some of these little projects done by the end of summer but the next post.....that next one is a doozy though....

I'll leave you hanging with anticipation about that project!!

Dewormings

It has been a long while since I"ve posted!  Been a lot going on with work and working around Geek Acres.  The rains have come and we are fighting weeds plus having lots of good grass grow too.  The ponies are doing very well and living the life of luxury. I can't remember the last time I rode!

They had their spring shots and I just wormed them today.  Flies are a bit of an issue that we are working on.  We have a couple evil horse flies, didn't have that much in dry Colorado.  I'm trying various traps and a concentrated fly spray plus apple cider vinegar too.  Chance is really chill about everything.  I have to worm and he's just like....

Whereas Dani is like.....

So I used a worming bit for her and give her apples after.  It makes it so I don't have deworming juice all over me!

She's always happy afterwards and thinks it wasn't so bad but man....that mare sometimes!  LOL.

We have some unexpected projects coming up which I will post.  They were expected but have been moved to the forefront due to recent activities.  All is going well though, love my job, love my ponies and the little acreage we call home.  I will try to be better about posting now that I have my work schedule figured out.  Plus it's starting to get into the hot and humid season so I may not be out with the horses as often hence more time to blog....about what I'm not so sure...I'll be better though!

Happy 4th of July to my fellow United States friends!

Little changes around Geek Acres

The Wormhole is composed of three smaller areas separated by gates.  With how we manage the horses it only makes sense to open it up a little bit.  We plan to keep the fencing around the barnyard in tact so we can close it up if needed for riding one horse outside of that area.  You can refer to the diagrams here

We still have the drainage issue but it's something that will take some time and money to fix, gutters and a french drain will not be cheap or quick to accomplish.  For now at least the rains we've had haven't been too bad and standing water has receded quickly.  Steve and I removed the fencing between the riding area and the other part of the "Wormhole".  Where the temporary white wire fence is located will be where we put in more wooden fencing to complete that area.  In a way it will give me a little larger enclosed area to ride in and will make a less compartmentalized sacrifice area for the horses.

We attached the gate post to the barn for more support since we removed the fencing, plus before it was never attached and that just didn't make sense to me.  Hopefully you can see in the picture below that the boards just extend from the fence a little bit but don't meet up with the barn.  Darn, I really thought I took a good "before" picture.  Will have to be better about that!

Anyways it feels so open now and the horses are already making different paths as they walk to the other areas of the wormhole.  The next plan is to move the fence behind the run-in shed out a bit so that we don't have an area where a horse can get cornered...this is the area that most likely led to Chance getting kicked in the chest.

Also in Westeros we've begun working on the gravel pit that surrounded a rose bush.  We'll remove the gravel and larger rocks and then fill in holes and spread grass seed in this area.  The gravel was used to fill the holes from the wooden fence posts we removed so it served a good purpose....aka no injured ponies!  The rest of it we'll utilize for the perimeter of a small dog run we'll need to erect before I begin my job...10 hour days gone won't be good for my older boys.

Throughout all the fields there are some large rocks that jut out and interfere with the lawn mower.  We are slowly working on getting those removed and the holes filled.  It's gonna be a process.

Lastly with spring has come the blooming of plants and weeds.  I spent a good part of a day cleaning out the beds at the front of the house.  There were many weeds but also offshoots of whatever shrubs are planted there too.  It was a crazy mess.  It looks much better now.  Still have to pull out old mulch and rock and replace with fresh mulch.  Then I plan to use some pretty edge stones for the perimeter.  I may pull additional landscape plants out that seems a bit hap-hazardously planted and get some pretty border flowers going.  

All in time!  It feels good to get little things accomplished!

Bees and Other Stinging Things

A few weeks ago I noticed some little mounds all over on little sloping area of the property near our driveway and mailbox.  I remember the previous owners mentioning something about ground bees.  Well, these are it.  They are categorized under miner bees and can be the metallic bees in the family Haliticidae or what these guys seem to be from the family Andrenidae...yes I'm a entomology nerd.

They are generally peaceful unless you really disrupt them but even walking through the area doesn't seem to bother them much.  I've had some land on me and watched them gather nectar and return to their little homes which are cute little mounds in dry earth.  After a couple months they die off and the larvae over winter to start the cycle again next year.  I'm happy with these tenants since they are in a perfectly harmless location and well....they are good little pollinators.

These are some pictures of the little guys foraging.

I love taking pictures of insects and really need to get a good macro lens so I can get closer crisp pictures.  

The picture below I call "Super Bee".  You can't even see her wings so she looks like she just needs a cape to fly around!  LOL.  So cute.  I enjoy having them!

One bee I do not enjoy is the carpenter bee, they are drilling holes in our porch, barn and run-in shed.  They can cause damage and the males that protect the nests dive bomb you like little assholes.  Luckily the boys don't sting but if they happen to be chasing a wasp away towards me I don't like the idea I could get in the way and have a wasp sting me.  Killing them isn't a solution, fixing the bare wood that they are attracted to should help.  That will be a fall project in addition to screening in the bottom of the porch since they are boring into the support structure we can't really get to.

Sure the front porch is rickety and needs to be replaced but we need it to last until we can do that.  When we do replace it we'll use materials that are not carpenter bee friendly.  There are traps that are supposed to help but the one we've made hasn't caught a single bee.  I'm switching to a deterrent game plan.  All I've read about bees and wasps is that orange and citrus oils are nasty to them.  I picked up some orange oil and am soaking the steps and other areas in the product.  It smells great!!!  Hopefully it will make the area unappealing to the bees and they will go elsewhere.

The barn is gonna need a major overhaul with painting done etc..  The bees are less likely to bore into painted wood but I've read that it's not always the case.  We'll try paint and the orange oil as well.  The best way to control them is to exclude them.  Make raw wood unavailable, make it unappealing (jury's out on whether orange oil or other home remedies will work) and set traps where activity is highest (haven't seen one trapped yet...).  It will be an on going battle for some time until we get it under control I'm sure.

Wasps are another thing.  We've removed countless old nests and the beginnings of several others.  I also picked up a fake wasp nest that says it should deter them from building a nest.  I think the wasps building their homes around here haven't read that product description since several have hung out in my hay shed right near the decoy.  Since I don't want to use wasp spray around the hay I have a long range bottle with apple cider vinegar.  I think I can shoot the wasp and when it falls down stomp on it or kill it with a long pole the hubby got me for this purpose.

I love bees and my hubby and I plan on raising honey bees next year. Aggressive and destructive critters around the house on the other hand are not my thing.  I mean if I had little butterflies making nests all over the place I wouldn't have an issue with them since they don't sting or destroy my house structure!  It's the stinging and protecting of nests that I don't like when I'm trying to care for my ponies.  Here's hoping the orange oil, decoys, traps and eventual painting of the wood will reduce the nesting habits on my house and barn so I can live in a less fear of stings!!

A general design using a router to make a mason bee house.  It can be taken apart and
cleaned to reduce the parasitic wasp and mite issues that are found in other designs

Oh another bee I've discovered is the Mason bee.  They go into preexisting holes to lay their eggs and then patch up the hole with mud.  They are not destructive and are very peaceful like the miners.  I've discovered that some are making a home in my lawn mower bagger.  Not the best place for them but I don't use it so I guess I'll just leave it alone until the new bees come out next year.  We also plan on making some Mason bee hotels so we can encourage these little pollinators.  I think I feel better helping out the less destructive pollinators while I try to deter the bullies and destroyers.  

I don't want to harm anything but I can't have my house getting bored into nor getting stung every time I try to feed my ponies!  Enjoy this cute video of the mason bees!  I was so close to them and they were very chill.

Spring has Sprung in North Carolina

Beautiful spring is here!  The grass is starting to green up, flowers are starting to bloom and pollen is EVERYWHERE!  I have lots to post but been so busy working on some stuff that I haven't had the chance to write.

I've also had an interview and attended a job fair with Labcorp where there were quick 10 minute interviews that 30 something of us were run through...kinda crazy.  Hoping I hear something soon.

Geek Acres planning seems to have a new life this spring with the hubby and I getting excited about planting things.   I'll post more as I get organized.

Our Farmlett Name?

I was recently asked in the comments what I've named my little farmlett.  I had Blue Crescent Stables for my Breyer barn when I was a kid.  What a grand name filled with show horses.

Now I have a small 4 acre plot with two horses, a hopeful orchard and future bees....plus we plan to start a garden.  We've named our pastures The Shire, Gallifrey and Westeros after some sci-fi and fantasy loves.  We have the "Wormhole" that is the sacrifice paddock that goes between them.  

It just makes sense to name it....Geek Acres.  Yes.  I'm sure I'm not the first, nor will I be the last but it's my little piece of this world and that name just works for us.  LOL.

And with that said, I'll leave you with this......

Tack Room

Spring organization at it's best.  Now if only I could get the motivation to organize parts of the house I've been neglecting....

I readjusted one of the blanket holders (every screw was stripped so that made the job extra fun!).  Then I added a shelf to better organize large bottles of horse supplies like fly spray, hoof oil and Excaliber boy cleaner!  I'm sure I'll be adding more organization later on but this is where we are right now.  Happy spring!

Five, Six....Pick up Sticks

Our property has a little easement around it that makes for a nice little riding path in addition to riding down the neighborhood.  One section of the property had many low branches that I couldn't ride through without getting smacked.  The other area had some branches that were a bit too low but it was wide enough I could avoid them by steering Dani away from them.  I decided to cut all low lying branches to make it horseback friendly.

I cut down quite a few branches!  Then the hubby joined me with a ladder to get some of the taller branches off towards the woods. I haven't had a chance to ride through the newly cleared area yet but I will report!

Then in Westeros we decided to finally get rid of the thorny bush mess in the middle of the pasture.  There are also tons of gravel rocks there....not sure why.  We'll rake that area up and spread some grass seed there to fill it in, perhaps next weekend.  While we were cutting the thorn bush Chance decided to come over and see if it was edible.  Ugh, silly pony!

We later took the truck back into the easement to load up the branches for hauling off to the dump which mulches yard waste.  It was just damp enough near the end of the easement where it reaches a little dip before our neighbors driveway.  We got stuck.  Luckily our neighbor was out there and volunteered her tractor which made quick work of getting our truck onto solid ground.

Yeah, the ground here is soft even when it's been dry for a while!  We won't be trying that again.  We still have another section that needs a lot of work to allow horses to move through it plus there are some piles of dead wood and brush along the edges of the woods and in some treed areas.  I want to get those cleaned up and then see about planting some native bee and butterfly happy plants!  Slowly but surely we'll get our little to do list checked off.

Been Cooped Up

One thing on the property we'd contemplated was keeping the chicken coop area as is.  Well, upon closer inspection it wasn't quite the condition we expected.  A lot of the wood was rotten and the security of the roof and doors was lacking.  The enclosure also wasn't too our liking since we want the whole thing wrapped with sturdy wire (chicken wire does nothing for predators) and we want it all at least 6 foot tall.

One warmer day between New Years and when we would leave for a friends wedding Steve and I took on the task of removing all the parts and pieces.  We had to dissemble the wood and take the metal off (for the Durham recycling center).  It was a task since it was all nailed rather than screwed so we had to pry apart the various supports.

The chicken wire was stapled and folded over itself many times in areas so it was a pain to get apart but we eventually found a routine that worked quickly.

We created our large piles of wood and metal and then arranged it in order for the Durham dump station.  We would have to toss the wood first then the metal so we made sure the metal was at the bottom of the truck bed.  

 The area is so much more open now and allows a nicer view from the window.  We still want chickens but have a particular coop and location in mind but that won't be for a bit.

Apple Trees and Washing Machines...

Steve and I planted a fig bush and four apple trees one weekend ago.  We look forward to growing the apples and making cider in a few years.  It will be at least 2-3 years until the baby trees start producing apples.  Until then we have some cute sticks to view in our yard.

We plan on planting other fruit trees too like pear and cherry.  Feeling like little farmers on our farmlett!  In the spring we'll also begin our vegetable and herb garden.  We'll have great compost by then too!  

Loki guarded us while we planted...even though I took pictures I was a hard worker and dug holes too!   LOL

Then we took a walk in the woods next to the property and saw an old washing machine.  ?????  So random.  Even though it's not our piece of land we'll get around to cleaning out this and some of the other trash we've found in the woods.  Yuck.

There are many things on our to do list to improve the property.  We have a drainage/substrate issue in the stable yard...it becomes a mud pit and nearby we have standing water with even just a minor rain fall.  We have plans to work on a french drain, then to build up the yard with some road base and then comfy pea gravel.

If only we had all the time and money we needed to get this done yesterday!!

Curly Dock is the Bane of My Pastures!

The pastures need some love.  One in particular needs some weed control big time.  Curly dock is a broad leaf plant that is hard to control by simply pulling.  It has a large tap root.  I did some research and came across several recommended herbicides that are intended for use in grazing pastures, plus Chances mom gave me some recommendations since she's dealt with that weed many times.  The herbicides state that you can even let a horse graze right after you spray!  I've decided to give it at least a week or two just in case but the two pastures with the most curly dock are out of the grazing rotation at this time so it's really not been an issue.

Our property is laid out really nicely with a sacrifice area, named the Wormhole since it goes between the three main pastures.  This encompasses the paddock near the run-in,  the stable yard and an part of one pasture I enclosed with temporary fencing to make a "riding area" about the size of a large round pen.  The three areas interconnect with gates to make a larger sacrifice area when it's too wet to be on the pastures.  Below is our diagram, not quite to scale of course, of the property.  Steve and I named the 3 pastures: Westeros, Galafray and The Shire.  The stable yard and a pathway through the riding area is the muddy muck area we'll be working on soon.  The riding area I envision, far down the road mind you, grading it and getting proper substrate brought in to make a relatively flat riding area.

Anyhow, the Shire had the largest concentration of Curly Dock followed by Galafray.  The weed spreads by dropped seed hence the clustering of plants observed.  I spot sprayed both Galafray and the Shire (on Thanksgiving day actually!) with PasturePro using a 4 gallon backpack sprayer.  It just made sense to spot spray this weed for now.  

In the future to control onion or other more spread out weeds I may need to get a sprayer I can use with my mower. Onion seems like a problem in Galafray but there are also bald spots that need over seeding.  I've also read that sometimes balancing the soil pH and nutrients can fix an pasture onion problem.

You can see how the Curly dock grows in clumps and followed a small berm in The Shire.  There was basically a path of Curly dock leading from one end of the pasture the the other in dense patches.  Of course there were some micro-patches in other areas of the pasture too.

Westeros has a few bits of Curly dock here so I'll spray in the spring since the horses are grazing that pasture right now.  The forage is dense and Westeros has fewer weeds than the others so I'm going to focus my efforts on the Shire and Galafray.

Within a couple of days the weeds were starting to melt away.  Many more days later most of the weeds are brown and dead looking.  I'm sure I'll have to spray again in the spring since  I know missed areas or didn't fully saturate certain plants but I feel that at least we are doing something to get this under control.

We'll need to over seed with warm and cool grass species (so the pastures have more year round grazing availability), test the soil and apply lime as needed, aerate, and of course spread some compost when the growing season is back in full swing.  I want to get the pastures nice and lush with few if any bare spots.  Some areas look like they have been over grazed or perhaps had too much pony traffic during wet periods.  It will be a management task for sure to keep the horses off the pastures when they are grazed down to about 3 inches or when it's wet. If there are spots I need to have intensive restoration done I can always utilize temporary fencing to protect baby grasses for a season.  

It will take a few years to get the pastures less weedy and more forage-y.  Pasture maintenance is an ongoing task and on a smaller acreage even more necessary!  I will certainly document as spring comes and I can really assess what is going on with the pastures.  I'll also post information about pasture management as I learn more!