Now that summer is here, the outdoor chores are stacked up like incoming jet aircraft approaching LAX International. These include mowing, and not just the little front lawn. I'm talking about riding trails, paths to and several meters clearance around the outdoor arena, and grass parking areas. From start to finish, a full mowing job takes 4 to 5 hours. In addition to that, brush hogging of the eight pastures, to keep weeds at bay and allow the grass to dominate, is another form of mowing which consumes many long hours.
Then there is the gardening work. A small part time job in itself. The veggies are growing well, the bittering hop vines are currently growing out of control, and the four year old Cabernet Franc wine grapes are thriving. I was not 100% convinced they would survive our cold climate, but they did. Thanks go to Vintage Nurseries in California for excellent quality vines!
And of course, as we do every year, summer is when we get our baby turkey poults and start raising them with an eye on Thanksgiving dinners for ourselves and several turkey sponsors.
And then there is building maintenance and paintwork that needs attention! While the old Colonial house and big attached barn were painted a few years ago, the huge indoor arena & stabling building was only painted on one side last fall. Three more sides to go. It looks totally overwhelming until remembering... How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
With the summer weather, more of the horses are being ridden, both indoors and out. And with that, more time is spent grooming the indoor and outdoor arenas. That's a fun little task that results in beautifully smooth surfaces.
While chores are being tended to, the horses are reaping the benefits, happily grazing on safe dry grass pastures. Their summer coats are in full bloom, some are nicely dappled, and without exception, all of the horses' hooves are hard and sound. It's great to see all of the horses healthy and happy.
With all the work involved in maintaining a working horse farm, it's hard to believe we, the owners, find time to fish or ride motorcycles or spent time with family or BBQ or..... Thanks to all of our great employees, we do.
Then there is the gardening work. A small part time job in itself. The veggies are growing well, the bittering hop vines are currently growing out of control, and the four year old Cabernet Franc wine grapes are thriving. I was not 100% convinced they would survive our cold climate, but they did. Thanks go to Vintage Nurseries in California for excellent quality vines!
And of course, as we do every year, summer is when we get our baby turkey poults and start raising them with an eye on Thanksgiving dinners for ourselves and several turkey sponsors.
And then there is building maintenance and paintwork that needs attention! While the old Colonial house and big attached barn were painted a few years ago, the huge indoor arena & stabling building was only painted on one side last fall. Three more sides to go. It looks totally overwhelming until remembering... How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
With the summer weather, more of the horses are being ridden, both indoors and out. And with that, more time is spent grooming the indoor and outdoor arenas. That's a fun little task that results in beautifully smooth surfaces.
While chores are being tended to, the horses are reaping the benefits, happily grazing on safe dry grass pastures. Their summer coats are in full bloom, some are nicely dappled, and without exception, all of the horses' hooves are hard and sound. It's great to see all of the horses healthy and happy.
With all the work involved in maintaining a working horse farm, it's hard to believe we, the owners, find time to fish or ride motorcycles or spent time with family or BBQ or..... Thanks to all of our great employees, we do.
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