Newer Spreader

I'm very excited about a "present" the hubby got us.  A Newer Spreader.  It's a little manure spreader and we love it!  We do think it's overpriced but haven't found a better alternative or a DIY.  We bit the bullet and are actually quite pleased.  Composted manure can't go through most spreaders like that hefty seed spreader I was hoping would work; you need a manure spreader.  This is perfect, I can fill it up with my composted manure or fresh if I want and then spread it over the fields.

We no longer use a wheel barrow to pick the fields instead we use a harrow (here's an example) that breaks up the poop and lets it decompose into the soil.  This is just an added tool for that spreading of nutrients into the field concept.  In the winter the horses seen to mainly poop in the wormhole and thus we can't use the harrow so we have to pick that up and place it in piles

This will be great as we take several large piles of composted manure and spread it over the fields along with seed and lime.  We have a lot to do to rejuvenate the pastures and get them less weedy but that is another post.  The intent was to do that this fall but I just didn't have the time to do that spreading by hand.  It's so helpful having the tools we need finally!!  More tools means a faster job and thus more time with the ponies!!!

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!

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!

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......

Steve in the Lead

Steve and I gave both horses a good grooming on Saturday and then took them for a walk around the neighborhood.  I was riding Dani and he was leading Chance.  It was best for them to start on the ground and since it'd been another couple weeks since the fall and little work done with Chance we figured it was best to do some groundwork.  The weather has been colder and then there has been some rain and even some snow flurries.  It hasn't bode well for the riding area footing, the muddy Wormhole or for giving us a moment to work with either horse.

I rode behind Steve and Chance and sometimes in front of them.  Steve asked questions a couple times about what to do when Chance was pulling in front of him or circling around him.  I told him to snap the lead and make Chance back if he didn't listen and that seemed to work for them.  Chance was excited to walk out of the road and see some sights.  When we walked past a neighbors house things went awry rather quickly.  Chance decided to prance, toss his head and lift his tail.  Gorgeous as he was Steve looked like he was showing a silly yearling in a halter class and Chance wasn't listening very well.

Steve brought him back to the barn since he was afraid of getting out of control.  I didn't realize that and thought we were going to walk around the back of the property away from the horse Chance seemed to want to impress.  Dani started getting a little agitated now that Chance was gone but I wouldn't have that.  I made her circle and turn her hindquarters and then made her walk behind the house and by a plum tree to the easement on the north of our property.  She glanced at the large heating unit monster on the side of the house but I wasn't going to let her feign spookiness...nope.

We walked around the back of the house and then up the south western side by the wooded lot adjacent to our property.  A loud clicking sound got Dani very agitated and I noticed that a line of the fencing from Westeros was broken and laying inside the field.  There was nothing in our path to hurt her so we walked past the scary spot.  All this time that we were riding around the property Chance was having a fit and galloping around the paddocks and into Gallifrey the pasture we were using at this time.  He gets really upset and tears up the ground with his antics but I made sure Dani kept calm and didn't act up with her own shenanigans.  I don't know what to do about Chance but we'll figure out something.  We'll also have to see how he is if ridden off alone.

I eventually rode Dani around the front of the property and back to the barn where I dismounted to untack my mare.  We ended on a good note, not so sure about Steve though.  I think I need to work on him one on one with Chance, that way I can show him what to do when Chance acts a certain way.  We do plan on taking some lessons soon, possibly together since I'm not against going back to basics anyways.  Always good to work on your seat and the feel of riding since that is sooo much of what it is.  I think a weekly lesson on Chance could do wonders for Steve and I, it would be good for us both to ride Chance and Dani.  

I have noticed though that Chance is slowly getting more responsive to Steve and I at feeding time.  He's nickering more and not acting like we are the mean boss mare like Dani.  Sometimes Chance will move away fast from us as if he's afraid he'll get nipped.  The more we work with him he'll realize we are boss mares but a little more fair than Dani!  He and Dani are definitely different.  He's on the lower end of the pecking order and she's higher so there is a bit more of that "oh my god!" freak out reaction vs. Dani's "um...why should I?" reaction.  It will just take time and as the weather and El Nino cooperate we'll get more time in working with him.  It's a slow process when I have so much I need to do in order to make the substrate safer. 

Oh plus I need to find a job, there is that whole thing, I'm trying to find something biotech/lab related and since I haven't done that work in a while I'm taking some refresher courses at a local college.