Winter Break.
Winter came and due to frost and snow we are not able to work on our land at this time. The last time we tried to get in, the truck got stuck in the snow drifts on the driveway. We had a lot of digging to do before we could get out again. So....time for a winter break.
As soon the snow melts and we can get in again, we will update again and continue our adventure at L Pine Meadow. :-)
As soon the snow melts and we can get in again, we will update again and continue our adventure at L Pine Meadow. :-)
Young coyote enjoying the afternoon sun.
October 22
On our way to L Pine Meadow we saw a young coyote alongside the road. Ron had to slow down because in
the middle of the road the coyote stopped and looked at us very curious. We let him pass and he went into the other field. He walked a little, then stopped and looked at us. Then he sat down and just stayed there, looking at us and probably
enjoying the sun. He's so young that he isn't scared for people. In a way that isn't good. He should be scared as when
he's like this, there are people that will shoot him. We shot him too....on the photo!
Well, winter gets near now. We have night frost between 0c and minus 3c. During the day still not bad at all. Like today it was even 12c and sunny in the afternoon and not too much wind. Next week it will be around 7c every day with sunshine, so we're having a great fall. But...we have to prepare for winter and get some chores done before the snow comes and frost stays day and night.
Ron started to get things that we need to take home and cleaned up some stuff.
I finished the bottom wire at the last part of the arena, painted the cup holders white and put on the wires on the gates. Yep, I have cup holders all around the arena. Some of the boards were a little long and instead of making them short, I closed them with pieces of wood and created cup holders. So handy! It's nice to have a spot to put a water bottle in. When I want to have a drink while riding, I don't have to get off the horse.
Only three things left to do for the arena:
Underground wire at one gate
Extension chains for the gate lockers
Ground posts in.
After that is done, it's ready to be hooked up to the box and can be used.
It was a lot of work to do the arena, but it looks awesome! It's safe for use, no sharp ends as I taped
all wire ends where needed.
I can't wait to build the half arena and the small pasture behind that. It has to wait till next year.
We will do all the posts at once, also for the bigger pastures.
I've found the perfect spot for a second big arena. This one won't be fenced, for now, as it won't be
used as a pen. But I keep the option open as you never know.
It has trees on the north and west side, and it's getting sun from the south. A great spot for winter.
On our way to L Pine Meadow we saw a young coyote alongside the road. Ron had to slow down because in
the middle of the road the coyote stopped and looked at us very curious. We let him pass and he went into the other field. He walked a little, then stopped and looked at us. Then he sat down and just stayed there, looking at us and probably
enjoying the sun. He's so young that he isn't scared for people. In a way that isn't good. He should be scared as when
he's like this, there are people that will shoot him. We shot him too....on the photo!
Well, winter gets near now. We have night frost between 0c and minus 3c. During the day still not bad at all. Like today it was even 12c and sunny in the afternoon and not too much wind. Next week it will be around 7c every day with sunshine, so we're having a great fall. But...we have to prepare for winter and get some chores done before the snow comes and frost stays day and night.
Ron started to get things that we need to take home and cleaned up some stuff.
I finished the bottom wire at the last part of the arena, painted the cup holders white and put on the wires on the gates. Yep, I have cup holders all around the arena. Some of the boards were a little long and instead of making them short, I closed them with pieces of wood and created cup holders. So handy! It's nice to have a spot to put a water bottle in. When I want to have a drink while riding, I don't have to get off the horse.
Only three things left to do for the arena:
Underground wire at one gate
Extension chains for the gate lockers
Ground posts in.
After that is done, it's ready to be hooked up to the box and can be used.
It was a lot of work to do the arena, but it looks awesome! It's safe for use, no sharp ends as I taped
all wire ends where needed.
I can't wait to build the half arena and the small pasture behind that. It has to wait till next year.
We will do all the posts at once, also for the bigger pastures.
I've found the perfect spot for a second big arena. This one won't be fenced, for now, as it won't be
used as a pen. But I keep the option open as you never know.
It has trees on the north and west side, and it's getting sun from the south. A great spot for winter.
|
Scruffy loves to sit in the yard and looking for geese flying over to chase.
October 15
Well, we spend last
weekend on L Pine Meadow, but this weekend it didn't work out so well. Our
generator is ready for a good tune up. It's hard to start and last night we
couldn't get it going anymore after we shut it off for a while. Ron worked on it
for hours but no go. Aarrrgggghhh!
So we had to go home after midnight. So happy it's not a 3 hour drive going home. Hahaha! But staying
without the generator running to keep our furnace going, means a cold cold night
as it was just below 0c. Our battery that we normally use for the night (nice and quiet) was fully charched, seemed not fully charched at all. Bummer!!! So no backup for the night.
During the day it was very windy but we still got some chores done. Ron put foam in some spaces under
the 5th wheel, where mice keep coming in. Can't have that problem during winter when we're not using the trailer. So
better fix it before the snow falls. We will see soon if it worked. Normally we have at least 2 mice in our traps every other day.
The insulators are all in and I've put thin fence wire all around the arena. There is just one bottom wire to do on the tree side of the arena but it started to pour so that will come next time.
I've covered any sharp connections between wires with tape, so no one can get hurt by that. Also all sharp ends of screws that came through some boards on the outside of the arena, are covered.
Cup holders are also in place! So neat and very handy. Just have to touch it up with some white paint next time we're out there.
So only some little things to do to get the arena ready for use.
We have to put a piece of wire under one gate to connect one side with the other and put a chain gate locker on both gates.
I also would like to put white painted posts on the ground next to the inside fence line so horses won't walk too close to the sides. I've had it sometimes that a horse would squish my leg or knee against the board or a post. Ouch! No fun. So better be prepared.
We still didn't get to putting the insulators on the trees of the big pasture. Next time! There is always so much to do beside fence work, especially when a generator doesn't want to cooperate! Very time consuming!
We still had lots of fun and wonderful meals that Ron prepared with so much care. He's the best cook!
We enjoyed the beautiful fall sunsets and the clear nights with lots of stars and a bright moon that would lit up the whole yard.
Well, we spend last
weekend on L Pine Meadow, but this weekend it didn't work out so well. Our
generator is ready for a good tune up. It's hard to start and last night we
couldn't get it going anymore after we shut it off for a while. Ron worked on it
for hours but no go. Aarrrgggghhh!
So we had to go home after midnight. So happy it's not a 3 hour drive going home. Hahaha! But staying
without the generator running to keep our furnace going, means a cold cold night
as it was just below 0c. Our battery that we normally use for the night (nice and quiet) was fully charched, seemed not fully charched at all. Bummer!!! So no backup for the night.
During the day it was very windy but we still got some chores done. Ron put foam in some spaces under
the 5th wheel, where mice keep coming in. Can't have that problem during winter when we're not using the trailer. So
better fix it before the snow falls. We will see soon if it worked. Normally we have at least 2 mice in our traps every other day.
The insulators are all in and I've put thin fence wire all around the arena. There is just one bottom wire to do on the tree side of the arena but it started to pour so that will come next time.
I've covered any sharp connections between wires with tape, so no one can get hurt by that. Also all sharp ends of screws that came through some boards on the outside of the arena, are covered.
Cup holders are also in place! So neat and very handy. Just have to touch it up with some white paint next time we're out there.
So only some little things to do to get the arena ready for use.
We have to put a piece of wire under one gate to connect one side with the other and put a chain gate locker on both gates.
I also would like to put white painted posts on the ground next to the inside fence line so horses won't walk too close to the sides. I've had it sometimes that a horse would squish my leg or knee against the board or a post. Ouch! No fun. So better be prepared.
We still didn't get to putting the insulators on the trees of the big pasture. Next time! There is always so much to do beside fence work, especially when a generator doesn't want to cooperate! Very time consuming!
We still had lots of fun and wonderful meals that Ron prepared with so much care. He's the best cook!
We enjoyed the beautiful fall sunsets and the clear nights with lots of stars and a bright moon that would lit up the whole yard.
October 3
2011
We spend the last 5 days
at L Pine Meadow.
It was wonderful! We came back on Friday so we could watch the football game of Paul. It was a great
game. They won! It was lots of fun to watch but oh boy, was it ever chilly! Even
though the sun was shining, and it was around 17c, the wind was blowing very
hard and made it feel more like 7c. Hahaha!~
But we had fun.
Last week we bought a little utility tent from a yard sale. It was very cheap so we could not let this
pass. We need a sort of shed at the acreage for this winter and this will help
us out perfectly. It's not big. It's a shower-toilet space for camping. You can put in a solar shower and a Porto
potty.
But we use it as a shed.
All the tool boxes, fencing material and other stuff that was laying under the
5th wheel, are now in this shed. We put it
behind the 5th wheel so it is out of the wind
from all sides. Good enough for the coming winter. Next year we will build a
good shed.
It's nice it's cleared up under the 5th wheel. It was getting messy
there. We have lots of mice in the trailer and the traps are full all the time.
And we have put out lots of traps! Had to buy a couple more to keep up.
Next weekend Ron is
going to fill up the little holes where they come in. We had the foam with us,
but the spout broke off so we have to get another one.
The arena is almost finished!
All the boards are up and the outside is painted and one part at the west side is also painted on the
inside. The gates are ready for use too. The only thing we have to do now is
finish the painting, screw back in the insulators and put the wire through. Oh,
we also have to change the hinches of one gate, as the ones that are on are way
too big.
And we're going to make cup holders too. Hahaha. Nice for when it's warm to have a cold drink there. Or
in winter to put a hot cup of coffee in there. Nice to have a sip so now and
then during clicker training!
We had some rain on Sunday and that slowed down the work a little. It's hard to paint in the rain.
It wasn't much and soon it stopped and I could paint until dark. Now I wish the
days were still long.
In the evening we would watch a movie or work on the computer but most of the time we were sooo tired
that soon we would go to bed for a nice long sleep.
Scruffy really enjoys being in the 5th wheel at night. She loves that
couch! During the day she had lots of exercise. Running up and down next to the
truck, when Ron would drive to the 5h wheel to get something or to make lunch or
supper. She also ran after the geese that flew over a lot of times, heading
south. Scruffy gets very exited when she sees geese or crows or other bigger
birds in the sky. Must be the part Labrador in her. But she runs as fast as the
wind. I dont' know why, because those geese are flying over the trees out of
sight in no time, while Scruffy is still running in the totally wrong direction.
Hahaha. But it's good for her and at night she sleeps very good.
The fall colors are still beautiful. Some trees, the smaller ones it seems, have lost their leaves
already. Other trees are golden yellow at the moment. When the sun rises or
sets, this color changes all the time from gold to orange and pink.
The coming week we will have beautiful weather with temperatures around 22c. A beautiful
fall!
Next weekend is a little cooler, but with sunshine that doesn't matter.
It's always a joy to spend time at L Pine Meadow.
2011
We spend the last 5 days
at L Pine Meadow.
It was wonderful! We came back on Friday so we could watch the football game of Paul. It was a great
game. They won! It was lots of fun to watch but oh boy, was it ever chilly! Even
though the sun was shining, and it was around 17c, the wind was blowing very
hard and made it feel more like 7c. Hahaha!~
But we had fun.
Last week we bought a little utility tent from a yard sale. It was very cheap so we could not let this
pass. We need a sort of shed at the acreage for this winter and this will help
us out perfectly. It's not big. It's a shower-toilet space for camping. You can put in a solar shower and a Porto
potty.
But we use it as a shed.
All the tool boxes, fencing material and other stuff that was laying under the
5th wheel, are now in this shed. We put it
behind the 5th wheel so it is out of the wind
from all sides. Good enough for the coming winter. Next year we will build a
good shed.
It's nice it's cleared up under the 5th wheel. It was getting messy
there. We have lots of mice in the trailer and the traps are full all the time.
And we have put out lots of traps! Had to buy a couple more to keep up.
Next weekend Ron is
going to fill up the little holes where they come in. We had the foam with us,
but the spout broke off so we have to get another one.
The arena is almost finished!
All the boards are up and the outside is painted and one part at the west side is also painted on the
inside. The gates are ready for use too. The only thing we have to do now is
finish the painting, screw back in the insulators and put the wire through. Oh,
we also have to change the hinches of one gate, as the ones that are on are way
too big.
And we're going to make cup holders too. Hahaha. Nice for when it's warm to have a cold drink there. Or
in winter to put a hot cup of coffee in there. Nice to have a sip so now and
then during clicker training!
We had some rain on Sunday and that slowed down the work a little. It's hard to paint in the rain.
It wasn't much and soon it stopped and I could paint until dark. Now I wish the
days were still long.
In the evening we would watch a movie or work on the computer but most of the time we were sooo tired
that soon we would go to bed for a nice long sleep.
Scruffy really enjoys being in the 5th wheel at night. She loves that
couch! During the day she had lots of exercise. Running up and down next to the
truck, when Ron would drive to the 5h wheel to get something or to make lunch or
supper. She also ran after the geese that flew over a lot of times, heading
south. Scruffy gets very exited when she sees geese or crows or other bigger
birds in the sky. Must be the part Labrador in her. But she runs as fast as the
wind. I dont' know why, because those geese are flying over the trees out of
sight in no time, while Scruffy is still running in the totally wrong direction.
Hahaha. But it's good for her and at night she sleeps very good.
The fall colors are still beautiful. Some trees, the smaller ones it seems, have lost their leaves
already. Other trees are golden yellow at the moment. When the sun rises or
sets, this color changes all the time from gold to orange and pink.
The coming week we will have beautiful weather with temperatures around 22c. A beautiful
fall!
Next weekend is a little cooler, but with sunshine that doesn't matter.
It's always a joy to spend time at L Pine Meadow.
We've got a driveway entrance!
September 27
2011
We have spend another 2
weekends at L Pine Meadow. What a joy!
Oh...we got a driveway
entrance! Jippiee!
The RM made it and they
also flattened out the road up to our yard. Now it's not so bumpy anymore. It's
a long driveway, around 900 meters to our yardsite. It will go all alongside the pastures.
We're very happy with the entrance.
In the Spring we're going to plant some nice
flowers and plants there. On one side there is a big pile of dirt, where the RM
pushed it all up. It will make a beautiful flower hill.
We are so lucky with the
fall weather. We have lots of work done.
Ron painted the dog
house! It looks so great! Not that Scruffy likes to use the dog house. She
rather crawls under the trailer when it starts to rain. LOL
All the posts of the
arena are in too and the two gates are in place. For the gates we used extra
tall and thick corner posts and the gates are light to avoid sagging of the
posts. The gates are just a square of 2 by 4's right now. We want to put lattice
on the square. It will look great.
We also fixed the awning
of the 5th wheel. One part got loose so we put in new screws and it's working great now. Lucky, because last weekend it got
very hot with 26c and no wind. The awning helped to keep the sun out the 5th wheel. At night the temperature would drop
fast so it didn't stay hot. We slept wonderful!
We had some wood left that we used to build a little deck in front of the 5thwheel. It looks rather cute! In time we will put some
outdoor carpet on it, but for now we have a few pieces of carpet that work just fine.
With the beautiful weather we ate outside every time. Ron cooked some lovely meals again and in the
morning we would have brunch on our little deck. (pancakes!
Mmmm!)
The sunrises and sunsets were amazing. We only had one cloudy evening with a little bit of rain, but we
were inside our cozy home on wheels and watching a movie with a warm cappuccino.
Because we are all day outside working in the fresh air, we go to bed not too late. We do sit by the
fireplace to enjoy the sunsets and the bright stars above. Sitting right under the Milky Way watching falling stars.......wow.
Once in bed we still can see the stars from our window.
What a way to fall asleep huh?
This week we will go on Thursday afternoon and stay over night. Friday we go home to see the Football
game of Paul's team. Saturday morning we leave again and stay for the weekend to
work more on the arena. We have to put boards up and paint everything. And then
it's all done.
We start to see more and more birds in our yard now. I think they get to used to us and less scared.
We've seen crows, Red Robins, a Blue Jay, a falcon and also an owl. There are lots of little birds in the woods. Oh, and lots of butterflies too! Big and
little ones in the most various colors and sizes. Beautiful!
When it gets too hot to do anything, we just sit and relax. I do some work on the computer and Ron
watches a movie or reads a paper. I even had a nap on the swing in the shade!
It's a beautiful place here to unwind and relax and with all the fresh air we get and the exercise with
working on things, it's the most healthy place to be too!
2011
We have spend another 2
weekends at L Pine Meadow. What a joy!
Oh...we got a driveway
entrance! Jippiee!
The RM made it and they
also flattened out the road up to our yard. Now it's not so bumpy anymore. It's
a long driveway, around 900 meters to our yardsite. It will go all alongside the pastures.
We're very happy with the entrance.
In the Spring we're going to plant some nice
flowers and plants there. On one side there is a big pile of dirt, where the RM
pushed it all up. It will make a beautiful flower hill.
We are so lucky with the
fall weather. We have lots of work done.
Ron painted the dog
house! It looks so great! Not that Scruffy likes to use the dog house. She
rather crawls under the trailer when it starts to rain. LOL
All the posts of the
arena are in too and the two gates are in place. For the gates we used extra
tall and thick corner posts and the gates are light to avoid sagging of the
posts. The gates are just a square of 2 by 4's right now. We want to put lattice
on the square. It will look great.
We also fixed the awning
of the 5th wheel. One part got loose so we put in new screws and it's working great now. Lucky, because last weekend it got
very hot with 26c and no wind. The awning helped to keep the sun out the 5th wheel. At night the temperature would drop
fast so it didn't stay hot. We slept wonderful!
We had some wood left that we used to build a little deck in front of the 5thwheel. It looks rather cute! In time we will put some
outdoor carpet on it, but for now we have a few pieces of carpet that work just fine.
With the beautiful weather we ate outside every time. Ron cooked some lovely meals again and in the
morning we would have brunch on our little deck. (pancakes!
Mmmm!)
The sunrises and sunsets were amazing. We only had one cloudy evening with a little bit of rain, but we
were inside our cozy home on wheels and watching a movie with a warm cappuccino.
Because we are all day outside working in the fresh air, we go to bed not too late. We do sit by the
fireplace to enjoy the sunsets and the bright stars above. Sitting right under the Milky Way watching falling stars.......wow.
Once in bed we still can see the stars from our window.
What a way to fall asleep huh?
This week we will go on Thursday afternoon and stay over night. Friday we go home to see the Football
game of Paul's team. Saturday morning we leave again and stay for the weekend to
work more on the arena. We have to put boards up and paint everything. And then
it's all done.
We start to see more and more birds in our yard now. I think they get to used to us and less scared.
We've seen crows, Red Robins, a Blue Jay, a falcon and also an owl. There are lots of little birds in the woods. Oh, and lots of butterflies too! Big and
little ones in the most various colors and sizes. Beautiful!
When it gets too hot to do anything, we just sit and relax. I do some work on the computer and Ron
watches a movie or reads a paper. I even had a nap on the swing in the shade!
It's a beautiful place here to unwind and relax and with all the fresh air we get and the exercise with
working on things, it's the most healthy place to be too!
September 12 2011
Whew! We had some busy weeks lately so not much time for writing.
We spend the last two weekends at L Pine Meadow. It was amazing!
We have lots of work done on the arena and lots of stuff moved from the old farm yard to our acreage. We're almost done with moving things so the end is near for that task. Very time and space consuming! Hahaha.
During the day we work and spend most of our time outside. We have beautiful weather, even a little too hot sometimes. Working on the arena was not too bad as it is in the shade of the high trees on the south side. What a perfect spot it is for the arena! A little sloping so never too wet to ride in, even after heavy rain fall. The shade is so nice on hot summer days. It's also protected for the wind. Only the west wind can come in, but on a hot day, that is a nice bonus.
On one side the posts are in and the top boards are on. It is hard to level the boards, as the ground is not level. But it looks wonderful. Once all posts are in and boards are done, it will be painted and it will look great.
Ron and I are a great working team together and we have lots of fun. If we are tired, we will take a break. We put some chairs out by the arena, have a cold drink and just enjoy the breeze to cool off a little.
Before it gets dark, Ron cooks us a nice meal. We have steak and patatoes with mushroom, pepper and onions. Mmmm....that tasts wonderful after a hard days work! The glass of wine goes well with it.
After I will make a fire and the evening we spend outside, sitting around the fire place. I love it that our yard has a view towards the west. We've seen some beautiful sunsets!
In the early mornings we had dew. I need my rubber boots when I go for a walk with the dog. She's free to run everywhere on our land, but she just loves it when I come with her. The dew dries up fast though, as soon the sun comes out. One morning there was no dew when I got up. It started later but only for maybe 15 minutes. It all depends on the temperature.
One morning it was very foggy. So beautiful though! When the sun came through it, it gave a very mystic view all around, as you could see the fog moving in the yard.
We've seen beautiful Northern Lights last weekend too. Wow....that was sooo amazing! The moon was almost ful, so it did dull the lights a little, but it was still breath taking.
We had bright clear nights so always thousands of stars to look at. We hear the coyotes howling as soon the sun sets and it gets darker. Also we hear geese flying over more and more. Heading for south already!
A few times we got surprised by a strange swooshing sound. Ron compared it with the sound of a jet passing by. But it is a sort of a bird. An owl maybe? Very typical sound is it for sure.
Squirels getting very curious. I still didn't see any, but I hear them in the trees, calling out sharp as soon I get near.
Sleeping at L Pine Meadow is lovely. It's so quiet and peaceful and after a whole day outside, we sleep like logs! Even our dog Scurffy sleeps very well at night. At home she has night terrors. She will growl viscious in her sleep. Her head will go up and she will stare for a little, then starts to growl very mean and deep from her throat. When you don't know her, it will scare the heck out of you. She sounds like she's going to attack something and it is really very very viscious.
But she can't help it. She dreams. Bad bad dreams. We asked the vet about it, but there is not much we can do. So at home, when we pass her, like when we have to go to the kitchen or bathroom and she lays there sleeping, we will wake her up first before we go by. Just in case she is in the middle of a night terror. Don't want to be in front of her when she is in that state. Nothing ever happened, and we like to keep it that way. She is 8 years old now and the sweetest dog you can find. She won't harm a fly.
Being the whole day outside, running around and play, makes her so tired though, that her sleep seems deeper. It's nice to see that this helps her with the night terrors.
I also like it that I can go early in the morning to my horses and work with them for a few hours before it gets too hot. It's only 2 minutes away from our acreage. Scruffy will stay in the 5th wheel. She doesn't mind it at all. Something she never does at home she does here. She sleeps on the couch while we're gone! Hahaha.
Staying in the 5th wheel is fun. We have our generator and our battery for heat at night and for the lights and the fridge. The last night, we even didn't need the heater. It was very comfortable with around 14c at night.
We will stay overnight next weekend again. It's so relaxing! The weather forecast is great so we have to take advantage of it!
Camping on our own land! Jippieeeee!
Whew! We had some busy weeks lately so not much time for writing.
We spend the last two weekends at L Pine Meadow. It was amazing!
We have lots of work done on the arena and lots of stuff moved from the old farm yard to our acreage. We're almost done with moving things so the end is near for that task. Very time and space consuming! Hahaha.
During the day we work and spend most of our time outside. We have beautiful weather, even a little too hot sometimes. Working on the arena was not too bad as it is in the shade of the high trees on the south side. What a perfect spot it is for the arena! A little sloping so never too wet to ride in, even after heavy rain fall. The shade is so nice on hot summer days. It's also protected for the wind. Only the west wind can come in, but on a hot day, that is a nice bonus.
On one side the posts are in and the top boards are on. It is hard to level the boards, as the ground is not level. But it looks wonderful. Once all posts are in and boards are done, it will be painted and it will look great.
Ron and I are a great working team together and we have lots of fun. If we are tired, we will take a break. We put some chairs out by the arena, have a cold drink and just enjoy the breeze to cool off a little.
Before it gets dark, Ron cooks us a nice meal. We have steak and patatoes with mushroom, pepper and onions. Mmmm....that tasts wonderful after a hard days work! The glass of wine goes well with it.
After I will make a fire and the evening we spend outside, sitting around the fire place. I love it that our yard has a view towards the west. We've seen some beautiful sunsets!
In the early mornings we had dew. I need my rubber boots when I go for a walk with the dog. She's free to run everywhere on our land, but she just loves it when I come with her. The dew dries up fast though, as soon the sun comes out. One morning there was no dew when I got up. It started later but only for maybe 15 minutes. It all depends on the temperature.
One morning it was very foggy. So beautiful though! When the sun came through it, it gave a very mystic view all around, as you could see the fog moving in the yard.
We've seen beautiful Northern Lights last weekend too. Wow....that was sooo amazing! The moon was almost ful, so it did dull the lights a little, but it was still breath taking.
We had bright clear nights so always thousands of stars to look at. We hear the coyotes howling as soon the sun sets and it gets darker. Also we hear geese flying over more and more. Heading for south already!
A few times we got surprised by a strange swooshing sound. Ron compared it with the sound of a jet passing by. But it is a sort of a bird. An owl maybe? Very typical sound is it for sure.
Squirels getting very curious. I still didn't see any, but I hear them in the trees, calling out sharp as soon I get near.
Sleeping at L Pine Meadow is lovely. It's so quiet and peaceful and after a whole day outside, we sleep like logs! Even our dog Scurffy sleeps very well at night. At home she has night terrors. She will growl viscious in her sleep. Her head will go up and she will stare for a little, then starts to growl very mean and deep from her throat. When you don't know her, it will scare the heck out of you. She sounds like she's going to attack something and it is really very very viscious.
But she can't help it. She dreams. Bad bad dreams. We asked the vet about it, but there is not much we can do. So at home, when we pass her, like when we have to go to the kitchen or bathroom and she lays there sleeping, we will wake her up first before we go by. Just in case she is in the middle of a night terror. Don't want to be in front of her when she is in that state. Nothing ever happened, and we like to keep it that way. She is 8 years old now and the sweetest dog you can find. She won't harm a fly.
Being the whole day outside, running around and play, makes her so tired though, that her sleep seems deeper. It's nice to see that this helps her with the night terrors.
I also like it that I can go early in the morning to my horses and work with them for a few hours before it gets too hot. It's only 2 minutes away from our acreage. Scruffy will stay in the 5th wheel. She doesn't mind it at all. Something she never does at home she does here. She sleeps on the couch while we're gone! Hahaha.
Staying in the 5th wheel is fun. We have our generator and our battery for heat at night and for the lights and the fridge. The last night, we even didn't need the heater. It was very comfortable with around 14c at night.
We will stay overnight next weekend again. It's so relaxing! The weather forecast is great so we have to take advantage of it!
Camping on our own land! Jippieeeee!
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One of our 3 solar spot lights. Great for the yard!
September 1 2011
We have brought two other loads over with all kind of stuff. Today we took the outdoor fireplace and the generator out and some smaller things. It was nice weather with some sun and a little breeze.
The first thing I did when we arrived in the yard, was checking the outdoor arena. We had lots and lots of rain yesterday and I was very curious how the footing in the arena was.
It was perfect! It was damp, but I could ride in there without any problem, even though the last rain was there in the morning.
In fact....our whole yard was just damp.
We were a little worried about the spot where we want to build our solar cabin. The best spot for a solar powered cabin is where there is lots of sun. That would be on t he side of our yard, facing south.
A great spot.
But we are thinking of run off water as everything comes through that part.
Well, now we know we don't have to worry about water run off. The sand was damp but not soaked. That is the good thing of sandy ground. It drains water off in no time.
Now we've seen the ground drains perfectly off and what would be too much will run off towards the woods. So our little solar cabin will be build just on the side of our yard.
We will start next summer with building. Looking forward to it soooo much! FUN!
After we had a cold drink we unload the fireplace and the generator. It's nice to have when we need it.
Ron also put new batteries in our radio. Music! Yeeey! :-)
After a break we start with building the outdoor arena. I had the holes digged for the corner posts but thought we would need to dig deeper so I did one with the posthole digger.
Hm....we didnt' really need that. The post went rather deep. It's ok, it will work. But the rest of the corner posts we just pound in and they were fine. Sandy ground is easy to put posts in. What a difference with clay ground!
The arena will have a wooden fence so I measured how many 2 by 4's were needed and how many posts.
I came to 64 pieces of 2 by 4 's and 42 posts. I have half of the 2 by 4's , so only have to buy the other half. But we can start with the top row for now.
After I was done measuring, I got very hungry and went back to the trailer. Ron made a nice meal of bacon and eggs and we enjoyed a nice glass of red wine with it. Mmmm....it was a wonderful meal. So nice Ron likes to cook, and does it so well too!
This was our first warm supper at L Pine Meadow! A very special moment.
After supper we covered up some things outside and while Ron packed our things back in the truck, I marked the spots with some twigs, where the smaller posts will be put in. Scruffy was keeping me company all the time. She just love is so much to be out and run free.
Suddenly I heard coyotes howling in the distance. Then some answered and their sound came from our woods. Then another pack answered from the north.
Whew. Lots of them around here!
The sounds gave me the real country farmy feeling, eventhough they can be a real pest at times.
Ron came over with the truck. I walked ahead, so Scruffy could have a last walk with me. Scruffy was very happy about that. She loves it when I go with her.
The sun was setting and the light dew left this beautiful sweet smell all around. Wow....that was sooooo nice! The smell of grass, flowers, leaves and needles. Nature's perfume is the best! :-)
We have brought two other loads over with all kind of stuff. Today we took the outdoor fireplace and the generator out and some smaller things. It was nice weather with some sun and a little breeze.
The first thing I did when we arrived in the yard, was checking the outdoor arena. We had lots and lots of rain yesterday and I was very curious how the footing in the arena was.
It was perfect! It was damp, but I could ride in there without any problem, even though the last rain was there in the morning.
In fact....our whole yard was just damp.
We were a little worried about the spot where we want to build our solar cabin. The best spot for a solar powered cabin is where there is lots of sun. That would be on t he side of our yard, facing south.
A great spot.
But we are thinking of run off water as everything comes through that part.
Well, now we know we don't have to worry about water run off. The sand was damp but not soaked. That is the good thing of sandy ground. It drains water off in no time.
Now we've seen the ground drains perfectly off and what would be too much will run off towards the woods. So our little solar cabin will be build just on the side of our yard.
We will start next summer with building. Looking forward to it soooo much! FUN!
After we had a cold drink we unload the fireplace and the generator. It's nice to have when we need it.
Ron also put new batteries in our radio. Music! Yeeey! :-)
After a break we start with building the outdoor arena. I had the holes digged for the corner posts but thought we would need to dig deeper so I did one with the posthole digger.
Hm....we didnt' really need that. The post went rather deep. It's ok, it will work. But the rest of the corner posts we just pound in and they were fine. Sandy ground is easy to put posts in. What a difference with clay ground!
The arena will have a wooden fence so I measured how many 2 by 4's were needed and how many posts.
I came to 64 pieces of 2 by 4 's and 42 posts. I have half of the 2 by 4's , so only have to buy the other half. But we can start with the top row for now.
After I was done measuring, I got very hungry and went back to the trailer. Ron made a nice meal of bacon and eggs and we enjoyed a nice glass of red wine with it. Mmmm....it was a wonderful meal. So nice Ron likes to cook, and does it so well too!
This was our first warm supper at L Pine Meadow! A very special moment.
After supper we covered up some things outside and while Ron packed our things back in the truck, I marked the spots with some twigs, where the smaller posts will be put in. Scruffy was keeping me company all the time. She just love is so much to be out and run free.
Suddenly I heard coyotes howling in the distance. Then some answered and their sound came from our woods. Then another pack answered from the north.
Whew. Lots of them around here!
The sounds gave me the real country farmy feeling, eventhough they can be a real pest at times.
Ron came over with the truck. I walked ahead, so Scruffy could have a last walk with me. Scruffy was very happy about that. She loves it when I go with her.
The sun was setting and the light dew left this beautiful sweet smell all around. Wow....that was sooooo nice! The smell of grass, flowers, leaves and needles. Nature's perfume is the best! :-)
View to yard from the arena.
August 27 2011
We had our first visitor this week. Our friend David came over to see L Pine Meadow. He loved it. We sat in front of the 5th wheel in the sun. It was warm but lucky there was a good breeze. We had a great visit and David loved the place.
After he left Ron and I unload the truck and I improvised a shed of the 2 water containers with a tarp and a few gates on top. It will do for now to put some smaller stuff away.
The next day we brought another load and today another one. Slowly we're getting there. I also cut some bush away from the driveway, yard and arena. Still a lot to remove but it starts to look better already. It got too hot to do anything else so we went home. Coming week we will go in the morning one time and start to put the corner posts of the arena. We had a nice lunch and beside bird sounds it was so quiet. What a beautiful place to be. :-)
We had our first visitor this week. Our friend David came over to see L Pine Meadow. He loved it. We sat in front of the 5th wheel in the sun. It was warm but lucky there was a good breeze. We had a great visit and David loved the place.
After he left Ron and I unload the truck and I improvised a shed of the 2 water containers with a tarp and a few gates on top. It will do for now to put some smaller stuff away.
The next day we brought another load and today another one. Slowly we're getting there. I also cut some bush away from the driveway, yard and arena. Still a lot to remove but it starts to look better already. It got too hot to do anything else so we went home. Coming week we will go in the morning one time and start to put the corner posts of the arena. We had a nice lunch and beside bird sounds it was so quiet. What a beautiful place to be. :-)
Lots of gates, all ready for use!
August 21 2011
This afternoon we brought over another load. This time we had 8 gates, the stand for the water container and some more garden ties. After loading the things up on the truck, we pulled out a lot of big fence posts with help of the truck. That was so easy! Put the chain around the top part of the post, and the other end on the hook of the truck, and just start driving slowly until the posts is out of the ground. We will need those big posts as they are thick, long and strong for the sandy ground they will be put in again.
So those are for our next load.
When we arrived at L Pine Meadow, we had a quick lunch with a cold drink. Then we unloaded all the gates.
Ron cleaned up the 5th wheel some more and I started digging the first holes for the corner posts of the full arena. When it got too hot we were just done and could sit and relax for a while before going home. The only thing we heard was a flock of birds that just landed somewhere in the woods near us. For the rest......quietness. Whew! It sure is a better place to be! :-)
This afternoon we brought over another load. This time we had 8 gates, the stand for the water container and some more garden ties. After loading the things up on the truck, we pulled out a lot of big fence posts with help of the truck. That was so easy! Put the chain around the top part of the post, and the other end on the hook of the truck, and just start driving slowly until the posts is out of the ground. We will need those big posts as they are thick, long and strong for the sandy ground they will be put in again.
So those are for our next load.
When we arrived at L Pine Meadow, we had a quick lunch with a cold drink. Then we unloaded all the gates.
Ron cleaned up the 5th wheel some more and I started digging the first holes for the corner posts of the full arena. When it got too hot we were just done and could sit and relax for a while before going home. The only thing we heard was a flock of birds that just landed somewhere in the woods near us. For the rest......quietness. Whew! It sure is a better place to be! :-)
I like wind chimes. Love the soft jingle sound.
August 18 2011
Today we brought another load of things out, like our wheel barrels, shovels and hay forks, and a couple of big bottles of water and cleaning stuf. We also took the lawn mower.
While Ron cleaned the 5th wheel on the inside, I started to mow the grass in the yard.
Our ride on lawn mower has to go in for repair, so I used the little mower. It's a strong mower and it did the job well.
We were working the whole afternoon but once we were done, it looked wonderful. The inside of the trailer looks great. Ron did a wonderful job. Everything was cleaned up, shiny and smelled fresh again. What a difference!
The yard looked very different too after I was done. I mowed a little path to the part where we have the view on the hills and mowed the driveway part along side the arena's and pasture.
I measured the little pasture too. It's 110 meters long and at one end it is 15 meters wide, where it borders the half arena, but then it gets wider and at the other end it's 30 meters wide.
Lots of space for a little pasture!
So, today no time for anything else. Next time we will do some fence work again. But at least now we can enjoy our yard with less mosquito's.
Today we brought another load of things out, like our wheel barrels, shovels and hay forks, and a couple of big bottles of water and cleaning stuf. We also took the lawn mower.
While Ron cleaned the 5th wheel on the inside, I started to mow the grass in the yard.
Our ride on lawn mower has to go in for repair, so I used the little mower. It's a strong mower and it did the job well.
We were working the whole afternoon but once we were done, it looked wonderful. The inside of the trailer looks great. Ron did a wonderful job. Everything was cleaned up, shiny and smelled fresh again. What a difference!
The yard looked very different too after I was done. I mowed a little path to the part where we have the view on the hills and mowed the driveway part along side the arena's and pasture.
I measured the little pasture too. It's 110 meters long and at one end it is 15 meters wide, where it borders the half arena, but then it gets wider and at the other end it's 30 meters wide.
Lots of space for a little pasture!
So, today no time for anything else. Next time we will do some fence work again. But at least now we can enjoy our yard with less mosquito's.
Today we moved the 5th wheel to L Pine Meadow.
August 17 2011
Whew! We had a busy day today. But it was a great day.
This morning we were having our coffee when the phone rang. We had put up adds, asking for someone to help us with hauling the 5th wheel to L Pine Meadow. And now we got a call from someone that wanted to help us out. Great! But it had to be done right now. Hm. Ok. No problem. It was a little rush to get ready but we made it! Within 10 minutes we were on our way to the old farm yard to get the 5th wheel.
In no time it was hitched up behind the truck of Len, the man that helped us. A half hour later we arrived at L Pine Meadow and Len drove it to the spot just perfect.
After he left, Ron and I leveled the 5th wheel and after that we enjoyed our lunch: a sandwich with egg salate. Mmmmmm! We really enjoyed our break, sitting in the shade with a cool breeze from the west. Scruffy was with us too and she just loved to run around and when she got tired, she had a drink and after she found herself a cool place to lay down. A few times she would growl towards the woods. Hm....a bear? Coyote? Deer? Ron thought he smelled a skunk so that could have been too.
Lots of wild life here that probably is a little confused of all those strange smells and noises. It could have made them moved and the wind carries the smell so easy.
After our lunch, we got our twine and went to the woods next to the big pasture. I found a good strong tree that would be the corner post. I had the end of the twine and Ron rolled it out while I was walking into the woods, from tree to tree, looking for the most straight way. The twine would tell me if it was going straight, and later I would put the insulators on the trees and then we could put the wire through. Twine is very handy for this kind of job. It wasn't too bad to walk through the woods. It looks thicker then it is and I only had to remove smaller branches that were in my way.
We went half way of the big pasture and found a good place with a big tree that could function as another corner post. Putting the fence through the woods on one side saves us a lot of posts and a lot of work.
Once we had the twine done, I put some temporary posts in the ground where the other 2 corner posts has to be put in. It will be an awesome pasture! There are many trees and bushes and ma ny good shelter spots. The horses will love it!
After a break with a cool lemonade, I started to mark the arena and the half arena. Again I used temporary posts and marked the corner posts and the place where I want the gates.
The size of the full arena is 36 meters by 22 meters, so it's close to the standard size of a dressage arena.
Then I want to make a half arena. This one is 22 meters by 15 meters.
The full arena has a gate in the middle of the width, facing the yard. The half arena is connected to the full arena with also a gate in the middle of the width.
There will be a small pasture that borders the half arena, also with a gate. So if I want to, I can open up all gates and the horses can walk from the little pasture into the half and full arena.
The first big summer pasture will border the small pasture. Everything will be connected. This will make it easier to move horses from one pen into another. The second big summer pasture will border the first one. Also this pasture will have lots of trees and bush for shelter.
I was just done with marking the arena's, when our neighbor came by. He told us the RM will make a driveway entrance for us, but not where we thought it would be. It will be in the back of the big pasture. We will have a huge driveway, that will run all alongside the big pasture. It will be wide enough for the snow plow of the RM, so in winter they can still come in to remove the snow for us.
The winter pasture will be great! I can run the fence line all around the woods on the north side. The horses will be close to the yard, which makes it easier with feeding hay and for water. The woods are thick enough for shelter for any wind direction. But of course we will still make a little shelter for them too, so we can give them a bedding of straw.
Now our driveway won't be where we thought it would be, I will have a huge piece of land for the agility course. It will be so much fun to set up the obstacles! There are also trees and bushes, plus the ground is sloping at some places.
It was great to spend a whole day here.
The weather was great and we have lots of work done.
Whew! We had a busy day today. But it was a great day.
This morning we were having our coffee when the phone rang. We had put up adds, asking for someone to help us with hauling the 5th wheel to L Pine Meadow. And now we got a call from someone that wanted to help us out. Great! But it had to be done right now. Hm. Ok. No problem. It was a little rush to get ready but we made it! Within 10 minutes we were on our way to the old farm yard to get the 5th wheel.
In no time it was hitched up behind the truck of Len, the man that helped us. A half hour later we arrived at L Pine Meadow and Len drove it to the spot just perfect.
After he left, Ron and I leveled the 5th wheel and after that we enjoyed our lunch: a sandwich with egg salate. Mmmmmm! We really enjoyed our break, sitting in the shade with a cool breeze from the west. Scruffy was with us too and she just loved to run around and when she got tired, she had a drink and after she found herself a cool place to lay down. A few times she would growl towards the woods. Hm....a bear? Coyote? Deer? Ron thought he smelled a skunk so that could have been too.
Lots of wild life here that probably is a little confused of all those strange smells and noises. It could have made them moved and the wind carries the smell so easy.
After our lunch, we got our twine and went to the woods next to the big pasture. I found a good strong tree that would be the corner post. I had the end of the twine and Ron rolled it out while I was walking into the woods, from tree to tree, looking for the most straight way. The twine would tell me if it was going straight, and later I would put the insulators on the trees and then we could put the wire through. Twine is very handy for this kind of job. It wasn't too bad to walk through the woods. It looks thicker then it is and I only had to remove smaller branches that were in my way.
We went half way of the big pasture and found a good place with a big tree that could function as another corner post. Putting the fence through the woods on one side saves us a lot of posts and a lot of work.
Once we had the twine done, I put some temporary posts in the ground where the other 2 corner posts has to be put in. It will be an awesome pasture! There are many trees and bushes and ma ny good shelter spots. The horses will love it!
After a break with a cool lemonade, I started to mark the arena and the half arena. Again I used temporary posts and marked the corner posts and the place where I want the gates.
The size of the full arena is 36 meters by 22 meters, so it's close to the standard size of a dressage arena.
Then I want to make a half arena. This one is 22 meters by 15 meters.
The full arena has a gate in the middle of the width, facing the yard. The half arena is connected to the full arena with also a gate in the middle of the width.
There will be a small pasture that borders the half arena, also with a gate. So if I want to, I can open up all gates and the horses can walk from the little pasture into the half and full arena.
The first big summer pasture will border the small pasture. Everything will be connected. This will make it easier to move horses from one pen into another. The second big summer pasture will border the first one. Also this pasture will have lots of trees and bush for shelter.
I was just done with marking the arena's, when our neighbor came by. He told us the RM will make a driveway entrance for us, but not where we thought it would be. It will be in the back of the big pasture. We will have a huge driveway, that will run all alongside the big pasture. It will be wide enough for the snow plow of the RM, so in winter they can still come in to remove the snow for us.
The winter pasture will be great! I can run the fence line all around the woods on the north side. The horses will be close to the yard, which makes it easier with feeding hay and for water. The woods are thick enough for shelter for any wind direction. But of course we will still make a little shelter for them too, so we can give them a bedding of straw.
Now our driveway won't be where we thought it would be, I will have a huge piece of land for the agility course. It will be so much fun to set up the obstacles! There are also trees and bushes, plus the ground is sloping at some places.
It was great to spend a whole day here.
The weather was great and we have lots of work done.
The roles of wire are organized by size.
August 13 2011
Another load of stuff done!
Today we brought most of the high tensil wire over. It was not easy to untangle it from the truck but we managed it and even could organize it in the longer pieces and shorter pieces.
We also took our little welcome sign and for now it's hanging on the water container. Later we will find the right place for this beautiful sign, a present from our dear friend Wijnanda.
When we left after we were done, we drove over a small dirt road on the other side of the quarter, and hoped it would go straight to the river. The road split up. One part was a closed road, so we could only go to the south. We passed a beautiful old grave yard, where once there was a Ukranion Catholic Church. We walked around and I took some photo's. The graves are from the early 20's. We also found wild cranberries, growing all over the place. Very beautiful spot!
The road is also nice for a trail ride as there is hardly any traffic coming through. Once Flicka is more comfortable with narrow spots with trees, we certainly will go this way one time!
Another load of stuff done!
Today we brought most of the high tensil wire over. It was not easy to untangle it from the truck but we managed it and even could organize it in the longer pieces and shorter pieces.
We also took our little welcome sign and for now it's hanging on the water container. Later we will find the right place for this beautiful sign, a present from our dear friend Wijnanda.
When we left after we were done, we drove over a small dirt road on the other side of the quarter, and hoped it would go straight to the river. The road split up. One part was a closed road, so we could only go to the south. We passed a beautiful old grave yard, where once there was a Ukranion Catholic Church. We walked around and I took some photo's. The graves are from the early 20's. We also found wild cranberries, growing all over the place. Very beautiful spot!
The road is also nice for a trail ride as there is hardly any traffic coming through. Once Flicka is more comfortable with narrow spots with trees, we certainly will go this way one time!