Rain, Rain, Go (the heck) Away...

It's been a month since my last update, so time for another word vomit of stuff that happened this month... whee!

Farm Updates: 

- It's still raining way too much. We get one clear day for every handful of rainy ones, and just when things were drying up, it decided to pour again. UGH. My whole property is puddles, and my hay field has at least one small lake. 

- We've put down some plans for the summer, including re-fencing the last pasture (P1). I did get to re-doing the back paddock fence, which is between the paddock and P3, which looks so nice (and I don't have to listen to my fence grounding whenever it rains) and picked up a gate off Craigslist for cheap so I can finally have a gate for P1 when we redo it.

- My awesome neighbor came and took away two years of manure, along with the sizeable mound that was left from the previous owners. I still have some majorly boggy areas, but I am hoping we can get some sort of material down to stabilize a few areas to be high and dry, along with gravel or similar for the gate area. 

Horse Updates:

- Arya has struggled off and on since my last update post with soundness due to her foot being quicked. I've been off and on treating and wrapping it, and she's been off and on sound (or sound until she runs on the lunge for 15 minutes and then she sore, some days she's hopping my-foot-is-falling-off lame...). I think I've finally got myself in to a good routine that involves getting a lot of blue kote on my hands, but it seems to really be helping. I'm hoping that I can move from diapers and foot boots that aren't lasting the day and let the cut get dirty to stuffing the cut with iodine or medication coated cotton and sealing with the wax. As an aside, that shit is so much easier to use when it's warm out, let me tell you.

- Bailey has gone back into work really well now that I changed her  back to her usual bit, and I've been pushing her to be more even in her body. My dressage saddle is back from being stretched and is almost a bit too wide (what I anticipated) so between that, and her being a bit back sore, I used an amazon gift card I had laying around to invest in a new half pad for her. I'm super excited about it and will have a review once I've used it more. She's been jumping well and went XC schooling over the memorial day weekend. I was shocked that she grabbed the bit and charged down the fences after two years away from jumping XC solid fences - but also totally pleased. I didn't have my stick, and she never even thought about stopping, which was amazing. I'm utterly pleased with her willingness and she even handled the deep wet footing with good grace. 

Goals update and next steps:

- Arya hasn't done any consistent work. She's been good when she has worked, and has been a very willing patient, which is a blessing. I'm hoping she will come sound and I can get back to work and get back on her. 

- Bailey has been quieter jumping at home in the ring, but was very strong on the XC course. I'm considering more bit for future outings, as she really exhausted me pulling my arms out. She has good days and bad days going into the bridle and being quiet in my hand; I'm tempted to play with her bits and also need to punch some holes in the micklem as she is gaping her mouth and there is nothing to stop her from doing so. 

- Barn is dry, but I haven't done a ton of work on the aisle yet. I have moved my cross tie area to where the mats are, and I am happy with that. No gravel has been placed or purchased yet. Some areas are still wet and I need to really clean up and get things organized, already. I've made some progress with my med kit, but I have a lot of stuff not in storage that could be, and I can't find things that I need easily, so I have some to-do's there. 

- Farm in general - baby trees have been taken down, soil test has been done and pastures have been fertilized. I really like the fertilizer I used last (15-15-15 which is a broadcast solid that looks a lot like banana split dip-n-dots) and will probably move to using that almost exclusively vs the spray. I want to stabilize the broadcaster a bit better, though, as the areas where it tipped not only wasted fertilizer but also burned the grass because you can't exactly get it up easily. I still need to killzall (need a stretch where it's not raining so it won't run and damage my pasture or lawn) and weedwhack. Fence redo is destined for later in the summer, but I have money budgeted away for it already. I do need to start budgeting for hay, and maybe watching for some nice stuff for my inside hay, since I have a feeling that cutting may be a problem at my house again.

Two Years on the Farm

Two years ago today, I had just moved to a farm, the mares were still boarded and I had been whisked off to a conference at work, feeling totally uprooted.

Two years on the farm has taught me a lot of lessons. I get up at 5:20 now, and mostly, I get up without snoozing my alarm. I love my routine, and I hate it. There are days when I don't want to go do chores, but I never come back inside that way, at least this year - it really helps if you don't worry about losing toes or fingers to weather because you finally have good clothes. So I guess the farm has taught me to dress for the weather, and to improvise when you can't do something the way you normally would.

I'm a lot more disciplined. I am a lot harder working. I wish I had a better way to prepare for hay season, but maybe I can do some weight work before the hay starts coming in to save my arms. I've learned a lot of grit, and a determination I didn't have before. I would throw my hands up a lot, and would defer the problem I couldn't solve confidently to someone else, just to escape the pressure of having to figure something out.

Now I'm determined to not ask for help if I don't have to; I rehung a 10' barn door in the pouring rain, by myself, using leverage and probably some really dangerous schenanigans on a ladder. I get in trouble for hoarding my husband's power tools and not returning them. Instead of waiting for someone else to do it for me, I do it myself. No one is obligated to do it for me. And that makes me mighty, in my own small way.

The farm is heavily emotional; I've sobbed trying to put stall doors back together so I can keep horses inside of said door. I've felt an overpowering zen peace smelling cut grass, taking in the beauty of our property from the back of the tractor. I've laughed with joy sitting on Arya's perfect canter. I've boiled with rage while a horse does something naughty (like Arya bolting across the newly planted hay field after noping the F out of the arena). Despite being hugely emotional, the farm has taught me a lot of emotional resilience. 

The farm has taught me to be accountable and to not forget shit, for the most part. I have to keep track of my kimchee, and while no one will yell at me, no one has my back. No one feeds my horses when I'm not there for a few days, and my feed doesn't magically arrive; I have to remember to get it, and I have to plan ahead if it's going to blizzard, or if I have plans. I can enjoy being in control, in a way that I've never been able to be at a boarding farm, but I also am accountable for the mountain of poop that needs to be scraped out of the shelter after winter, or keeping the waterer happy and working when it's negative a-bajillion.

We've made a lot of changes in two years, I'd like to think:

- We placed and have now covered (save about 6 feet, but let's not split hairs) 1200+ feet of drain tile to help the riding arena and paddock drain. 

- We redid the barn, adding 5 stalls and a grain/storage area

- We doubled the hay storage on the side of the barn, and have mostly leveled the ground inside to prevent flooding. We can now easily store 1,000 - 1200 small bales.

- We've removed fencing (t posts, polyrope fence, gates) from the front pasture, the "link" fencing between what is now my P1 and the front pasture, the back pond pasture, and the back hill pasture. We have tamed the areas of pre-existing grass, and are now able to keep them mowed and semi-civilized looking (though the frost has really fucked the ground this year). 

- We plowed, planted and fenced two new pastures (about 1.75 acres)

- We plowed, planted and harvested off of 12 acres of hay field

We have some plans for this summer, too:

- Gutters for the barn and house

- Level the barn aisle and re-work mats for wear spots developed this year

- Gravel problem mud areas or other mud solution

- Redo the remaining polyrope fencing in P1 and the paddock and add a real gate to P1 vs the rope stretch gate that currently doesn't really hold the horses out

- Hopefully get two cuttings off the hay field

- Fertilize and better maintain the pasture this year

- Redo the falling down riding arena fencing (unfortunately while it's wood, but badly maintained so I'll likely have to scrap it for cheaper replacement materials)

- Build some new jumps or a coop

It's a lot of work, but boy has it been an adventure!