House Work and Games

Matthew and I are still plugging away with house projects, both inside and outside, but we still make time for a little fun!

 

 

We finally got around to hanging the fireplace tools from the brick wall.  Here Matthew is installing the hooks.

 

 

The fireplace is all neat and tidy now!

 

 

Matthew used his birthday amazon gift cards to purchase the parts he needed to fix up the foosball table.  Now we have another game for game nights!

 

 

Last weekend we went in to Savannah for the annual Sidewalk Art Festival put on by the local art college.  This drawing was one of my favorites.

 

On Sunday we hosted another game night with our friends.  I brought back a movie-theater style popcorn popper that was my grandfather's from Tennessee and we used it to make popcorn for everyone.

 

 

Playing Mystery Mansion.

 

This week I have been trying to work outside before it gets too hot.  Even though we had the stumps removed in the pasture and garden, there are still roots everywhere.  I am slowly removing them by hand and it's amazing how many roots are in such a small area!  Here is one of the many wheelbarrow loads and you can (barely) see all of the roots still in the ground.

 

 

The cats like to keep me company while I'm working by snoozing under a nearby tree or attacking the roots as I pull them up.

 

 

A small section of root-free horse pasture!

 

 

And finally, an updated photo of the garden with all of the plants just starting to come up.

Another TN Trip

Here are a few photos from the last week and a half that I spent in Tennessee with my parents and their friends.  I took both of the horses and had an uneventful trip both to and from (a very nice change from my last trip!).  We rode about 70 miles and did some work on their retirement house.

 

Mow and I with Mom and Bonner in one of the creeks.

 

 

Mow and Rabi during a lunch break on a long ride.

 

 

Mom and I eating lunch on the trail.

 

 

Mom on her 30 year old horse, Doni, who is still going strong!

 

 

Mow and I in another creek.

 

Driving the minies.

 

 

After one of the rides we played with the horses on an obstacle course.  Mow did surprisingly well - I think the lessons are really paying off!

 

 

 

 

Here's a video of Mom and Doni doing the teeter-totter.

 

 

 

Mom and I also had some time to make Christmas ornaments (a little late, but better late than never!)

 

 

The trip wasn't all fun and games, we also put in the garden fence at my parents' new house.

 

Mom with the finished fence.

 

 

And finally, a video of the minies playing in their pen.

TV!!

After almost a year of living in our new house, we finally bought a new television to replace the gigantic one we did not move with us!  It's a 60 inch flat screen and Matthew mounted it on the wall.  Now we will have to get a new entertainment center that doesn't take up so much room!

 

 

NATRC Competitive Trail Ride

After 150 training miles over the last six weeks, Rabi and I competed in our first competitive trail ride last Saturday.  Despite his old age, Rabi was feisty and seemed to be in excellent condition.  We did not win our division but we had a lot of fun and met so many wonderful people!  I'm hoping to do another ride with Rabi in June at the Biltmore and then maybe try one with Mow in the fall.

 

 

We stayed the night Friday and my campsite neighbors even backed my rig in for me!

 

 

Rabi on Friday night all cleaned up and ready for check in and inspection.

 

 

During the ride at a P&R stop (where they check the horses' pulse and respiration to determine fitness).  It was quite chilly (37F) when we started riding at 7am but soon warmed up.  The yellow string on my bib number was to let everyone know this was my first ride so be nice to me!

 

 

Rabi and I after completing our 20 miles.  I was tired and sore the next day! (I'm sure Rabi was too).  The colorful socks are to go with the theme of "That 70's ride" for the weekend.  

 

Slow Feeders

Ever since we brought the horses home we have been trying to devise a way to stop them from  wasting hay.  Horses like to eat the best stuff first and will throw out the rest in their search for the perfect piece, which leaves lots of hay on the ground for them to stomp on and pee in.  Since hay is so expensive and I hate wasting it, we have tried several ways to slow them down and keep the hay contained.  In the last few weeks we have finally perfected the design thanks to some other blog posts by fellow horse people.

Here Matthew is building our first "slow feeder".  It is basically a box with a lid and a grate inside that slides up and down on the hay.




















We tried plastic lattice as the grate at first, but the horses learned how to bend it around and eventually broke it.  Plus, the width of the plastic bars made it hard for them to grab the hay.





















The horses can sometimes share but usually have to have separate hay bins.

















So, we built another slow feeder.

















This time we used metal grating from tractor supply.  It seems to work perfectly and the horses have no trouble eating through it.  They have barely wasted any hay since we built both feeders!

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Stumps & Garden

At the end of March we finally found someone who could come out to pull stumps for us and didn't cost a fortune (and actually showed up!).  We decided just to worry about the garden area, the horse's pen, and the fence line around the horse's pen for now.  The back two acres will have to wait until next year.

 

 

They started by using a small excavator around the barn and in the garden.

 

But, some of the stumps were quite large and that small machine could not pull them out:

 

 

So, they brought in the big guns!

 

 

And then leveled it out with a box on a tractor.  There are still some uneven spots and a lot of roots, but we should be able to finish it off ourselves.  Here is the garden area now.

 

 

And the horse's pen.  Now they won't be tripping all over the stumps!

 

 

This is where we will running our first permanent fence line.  Another big project!

 

 

While they were finishing the stumps in the horse's pen, I was able to put in a haphazard garden.  I planted cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes, eggplant, broccoli ,carrots, cantaloupe, watermelon, green beans, snap peas, and green peppers.  I also plan on adding corn, yellow squash, zucchini, and strawberries.  It's all a bit of an experiment this year until I can put in raised beds.

 

 

My peach tree is really enjoying the warm weather and is just covered in dozens of blooms!  Sadly, I am supposed to not let it fruit the first year so I will be pulling all of the buds off.  At least I know it will be a good producer! 

Kitchen Renovations, Part Two

It took a little longer than we planned, but part of the kitchen is now finished!  I have been waiting to post about this as well as a few other things until the projects were complete.  Yesterday I moved my fish tank, which involved moving everything out of the old tank and into a brand new, scratch-less one.  The pictures don't quite do the room justice, it really looks polished now!

Matthew had to move a light switch and outlet when we removed the wall.




















I spent many days covered in drywall dust trying to get all of the walls smooth and corners sharp.  I even used a headlamp to help me see because that corner of the room is very dark!

 


















The finished product!  We decided to paint the little piece of wall that is still there white so that it blends with the ceiling.  I will also be adding a rug to cover up the missing floor until we redo the floors.




















The fish tank in its new home on its beautiful stand.  It looks like it belongs in an aquarium!  (notice that half of the far wall still has wallpaper on it, as soon as I move the old fish tank I will be starting on the rest of that wall and the wall by the living room).