'A Break In The Action'

 A Break In The Action

It’s seems that it’s that time of year again when there is just so much to do and not enough daylight hours to get it done.  So I’ll be taking some time off from blogging, although I will try to keep up with all my blogging friends and see what’s going on with you when I get the chance.  In the meantime, I’ve got lots of weeding and landscaping to keep me busy.  We’ve also got to have all the barns and sheds painted along with the jumps and some lawn chairs.  Fences need to be repaired where trees or limbs crashed into them this past winter and they need power washing too.  Some fencing needs to be rerouted around the indoor and some paddocks need reconfiguring etc.  Lots of gardens need flowers or ground covers. My goal this year is to plant lots of perennials so I don’t have to do much extra planting in the future.

Have a great Spring and enjoy your horses. I’m hoping to get in more riding in between cleaning up this place if my back isn’t broken by the end of the day.

Here are a sampling pictures to show what my future-fun-fantasyland holds for me:

 ' The Path of Weeds'

' Fencing '

 ' Cleaning Out and Washing Trailer '

(more weeding)

' Painting and setting up jumps'

' Future site of dressage arena '

(to be assembled and set up)

' The trails need to be cleared and groomed'

' A tree got this fence'

' The perfect resting spot'

After I paint the Adirondack chairs!

' And don't forget to leave some time for me'

Until next time

Quote for Today

You never get the pleasure of owning a horse, you only have the pleasure of being its slave

Almost There

Almost There

' My (underfoot) Helpers'

I've been working on cleaning the tack room.  It's taken me longer than I expected, but I finally see the light at the end of a very messy tunnel. This weekend I am planning on cleaning tack which is the only thing I haven't gotten to yet. Here are some Before and After pictures which are documented proof that I actually do more at the farm than hang over the fence watching horse soap operas all day. 

' BEFORE '

' AFTER '

 

The door's always open, stop by some time for a visit!

Until next time

Quote for Today

Horse people are stable people

 

Spring Cleaning

' Not expecting any help from me, are you'!

Spring Cleaning

It’s that time of year again when I begin to get restless and start looking around the barn for what needs to be done to get it organized for the coming warmer weather.  Spring-cleaning the barn after a winter of, shall we say, less-than-perfect weather takes a toll on everything, the tack room especially.  So that’s where I usually put my organizational skills to work. Sounds impressive doesn’t it?  Don’t get too excited about it; I’m certainly not.

 First, I usually start by cleaning out the refrigerator.  I don’t know how we wind up with teeny little pieces of carrots, mushy apples and half bottles of tea or water, but we manage quite nicely to make a mess of it.  Then it’s on to the cabinets where the medicines are stored, and the drawers that collect lots of junk. Basically, I throw out any thing that can’t be used. Do you know how many pieces of useless twine and bits of paper collect in a tack room?  Well I do, and it’s not a pretty picture.  Next, all the wraps and saddle pads get washed and properly stored (you know, instead of left hanging on any random hook or in a tangled pile on top of a tack trunk, where they spend most of the winter.)  All the tack gets cleaned: saddles, bridles, halters, lead ropes etc…The fronts of the stalls get a good washing with Murphy’s Oil Soap and the barn, including the loft, gets dusted and/or vacuumed and cobwebbed.  All the light fixtures get vacuumed and dusted too.  The wash stall, which seems to collect wheelbarrows and shavings bags, gets cleaned out and made ready for spring baths. The trash man loves me, I’m sure.

The hardest job is of course stripping the stalls and cleaning and disinfecting under the rubber mats. Then it’s on to the stall walls; they can be a real mess but Murphy’s Soap does the trick. I probably won’t be blogging for about a week during this messy job. But I’ll try to get before and after pictures, just because I’ll be so proud of myself I wont be able to resist sharing what a cleaning machine I can be when I put a little effort into it.  Or, as my mother used to say, “use a little elbow grease.”

If I’ve missed something let me know or tell me what your spring routine for cleaning and organizing is, I’d love to hear about it. See you next week. Or maybe not, I’m hoping the weather warms up enough for us to start painting some jump standards and rails before we set them up. I’m being optimistic and hoping that the jumps get their fresh coat of paint coinciding with a weather change for warmer riding.  Keep a good thought!

Until next time 

Quote for Today
Dog lovers hate to clean out kennels. Horse lovers like cleaning stables.
    - Monica Dickens