More barn work

Yesterday Jim did more work while I "supervised" Not much I can do except keep him in food and drink and supply moral support. LOL. We set up a chair and a table in the barn for me to occupy. Today he put the side walls up in both stalls. The backs will hold a fence rail..till more $$ comes in and a gate will be put in the aisle for them to enter their stalls. It was funny as while he worked they each would amble over to check on his progress. They are completely sensitized to the nail gun and saw and it doesn't bother them at all even when the air is released from the tank..they just lift their heads to see what's going on and go back to munching hay.

For the present the back is still open but like I said when the $ comes and we can get more wood it will be closed up 1/2 way just like the sides of the stall in wait for the mirrored portion of the barn.  We marked off part of the aisle and put a rail up so that it allows me to enter the barn and feed plus keeps them form getting into that spot and giving us a seating area. It is sooooo cool.

Last night Jim and I sat out in the barn..in the dark....with country music playing on the barn radio...lol ,Christmas lights giving a soft light and enjoyed the night sounds.  Our neighbors rode their horses over in the dark and we hung out for a few hours. It was so "ranchy" and cool.   Soon we will have a fire pit with tree stumps to sit on and we can really have a cool time.  We are so loving this life.

Jim is now retired from active RR work so he can do a lot more and enjoy the horses now too.

March 24th we went to Oklahoma to see another Clinton Anderson Tour and met some wonderful new friends and had a great time. We learn something new each time. We even won about $350 worth of merchandise including a bonus gift of halter and 14 ft lead and a book written by Clinton which we had sign. The other gift was a choice of one of his DVD sets  we picked Starting Under Saddle.  Made the trip well worth while.  From there we went to Blackwell..since we were in the area. Met up with Scott and had supper at Brahms. We were supposed to stay Monday and go to dinner with Terry and her husband but they had to move a train so we couldn't so we set out for home. Tracy and T were babysitting the ranch for us. Makes it cool we do this for each other allowing us to each have time away. LOL we just can't both be away together.  Times like this is when I wish my son and family lived closer so I could steal my grandson (that is still home) and put him to work. I would love to have him train and learn some of this since he has shown an interest in the horses.
Photos to follow when I get them off my phone.

more on the ranch

It's been forever but it seems the rain has been forever keeping us from being out with our babies. Nothing but mud everywhere and we are so sick of it.  I have gotten a few training days when I can find dry spots but fee and far between,
Jim has gotten a lot done on Phase one of the barn, The first section has been closed in giving us two stalls and an aisle way. The next stage will be to put in the second story and close the back of the barn till we get to  mirror the completed section that stands.

this is what we are aiming for.....a close example of it at least.

I had the idea in my head and plans drawn when I found this. Great if I could have the exact oned as it even has an apartment upstairs.

Now ours will have the room up stairs (for now) porch will be similar..bottom a bit different as our roof doesn't extend with that overhang, we have windows in the front and will have the door but it will be solid, windows on the side too.

here is some of Jim's progress...he has done this by himself step by step. By summer we hope to have this part closed up including the top...in the future we will mirror it giving us 4 stalls and a nice like aisle way. For now it will be the two stalls and Molly will occupy the aisle since she has to be free to protect.

Side one is done

middle started

The MAN with the front side closed in...one more side in this phase to go

TADA  last part of phase one

this is how it looks in the back right now. You have to picture the second story and the two stalls closed int. the stalls will have a half wall with sliding doors on the aisle way. This way when the barn is mirrored the stalls will be open next to each other half way up. Our kids all get along and love to be near each other so we won't make a solid wall or bar them. Right now each goes to their own to eat with no problem at all.

"Hey where's my food" Impatient Sir Eats A Lot  AKA Cody in his stall waiting to eat. LMAO

miserable winter

Thought the temps have been mild it has been a terrible Winter here on the ranch. Rain ,rain and more rain leaving it a muddy mess in the pasture. I do not see how we are ever going to get grass to grow again. We ran out of $ so the barn didn't get finished. Seems to be the thing we have the $ and not the time or the other way around. Income tax funds should help this year as we do not (I hope) have a big purchase this year...oh shoot yes we do we need a farm truck.  Jim is retiring so we won't have the rental truck any more. It would come in handy as before he left and when he returned before taking the truck back we did all the chores that needed a truck.

Retired...yup he is retiring from active RR service but staying on the board of directors. Now I say this tongue in cheek as just after he announced it they asked him to go to Oklahoma.  He wouldn't have retired at all IF he had been getting a salary and been out there regularly but he wasn't and had been home for over three months and we needed the money. At least retiring he will get a guaranteed amount  which is more than what he can count on for the company. Plus I do need him here on the ranch. it seems every time he leaves something goes wrong...either I get sick, fall or something breaks.  All the time he was he was  home everything was fine he left and last night we had no water. Something is wrong with the pump....at least it seems so and hoping it's not the well. I had to use the "ole" hit the switch with a hammer to get it to run.  Sigh~!  We are back to the ole prime the pump of the early times on a ranch thing. next I'll be carrying water from the well or the stream.(pool)

I am thinking on going back to the New England way with horses..keeping them barned.....when we get the barn done. This way we can maintain the pasture by putting them out in different areas during the day for a few hours. We are going to have T till the other pasture and then fence that one giving us three areas to play..plus also fence the front of the house so they can mow the lawn LOL.
Up North we kept our hoses in stall all the time unless they were being ridden. The ones who boarded and didn't ride were put out for a few hours a day. They only had little areas there too for pasture and I bet I have more here.
The end of Jan. Jim and I went to Georgia to see another Clinton Anderson Tour and had a great time. T and Colten took  care of our "kids" while we were gone.

Mud, Mud everywhere. T came over with his tractor to help with the clean out of muck. you can see Cody is mortified. LOL..."You want a piece of me? Bring it on!"
They are so uses to him doing this now they watch the job being done to supervise.

Pedicure day at the ranch

Today Ricky Nance our farrier came to call. We took the shoes off till March. He checked Cody's feet as we noticed left front and right rear hoof seemed closer to the ground. He fussed and measured with his feet and found them OK. After taking each shoe off Tracy used some hoof shiner on the hoofs of both babies.. So now we have French manicured and shinny hoofed horses. Lady had her two front hooves slightly rolled in the hopes she will not stumble any more.

While waiting for Ricky to finish Tracy and T's horses and come to our place, Jim & I groomed the kids. I did Lady while Jim brushed Cody then while telling  her to whoa I went about working on Molly and did Cody's mane and tail after Jim finished brushing him. She stood there and waited over 20 minutes and while she kept watching Molly eating hay, then  broke down and went to see.  I went and brought her back to stand.

Tracy and the farrier arrived and while Cody was tied started working on him then moved on to Lady who while he worked just stood patiently with her rope just thrown casually over the rail. She was a perfect Angel . What a "precious" girl.

Not to minimize Cody he also was a good boy while Ricky worked and Tracy polished. We told him rich men had manicures too so he wouldn't feel sissified. LOL

After we finished Tracy, Jim & I went to MiMi's cafe for lunch. Tracy having hamburger and fries while Jim and I enjoyed a great Taco Salad.

After Tracy dropped us off we drove to town and met another friend who owns the best Pizza Shop Bella Blak.  Kansas sold me a beautiful oak round table for my kitchen at an unbelievable price, When I say steal I am not kidding. The price was right so home it came and it looks awesome..photos later. .  Jim and I were sitting in the restaurant eating and joking about the tables which are no way like a restaurant table..solid oak round pedestal tables just like what we wanted, we wanted to carry one out the door LOL. We told Kansas we just loved the tables and wished we had one, He said 'You want one? I have a few extra in storage..make me an offer'' Jokingly I said $100 and he said,"No I'll sell it to you for $75" I just about died as these tables sell for anywhere from $400-$600 dollars. So by a fluke of me wanting Pizza for supper we got a deal we couldn't refuse. We love it..Thanks Kansas.

On the way home table in the bed of the truck another neighbor flagged us down and invited us into his home made log cabin...I mean home made he and his wife built the whole cabin, doors, cabinets everything themselves Instead of logs it's made from Railroad ties..just an awesome place.

All in all a wonderful day on the ranch

beautiful day on the farm

Well it turned from freezing to cold to unseasonably mild today. They delivered the mattress early this AM which was nice we didn't have to sit and wait all day. Quick job and they took the old box spring and mattress with them.I started laughing  as I looked..it is slightly taller than our queen which we set on the platform and used till the king got here. OMG nosebleed heaven. It's a Serta Beautirest with dual settings...one side firm the other softer. The store told them just how we wanted it so they brought it in the correct way and positioned it just right ...Jim gets the soft side and I get the firm side. As soon as they left we put the new cover on and the sheets and quilt. Then the two of us jumped up and lay down and called the cats in to see it. Now if I can convince them where they are supposed to sleep I'll be in heaven. There is supper room in the center for all the 5 bed hogs..Puddy sleeps under the bed  not on it.

the Ranch carpenter at work on the platform.....all looks pretty harmless.....
till the king mattress arrives and adds mucho height to what we have.. No surprise as it was thought out.  We need storage and have gained more by making it this height and Puddy now has a super bed room. she spends most of her time under the bed.. I looked under it yesterday and she has found that she can now sit up in her cat bed and no longer has to slink to get uner the bed anymore either. In one of the photos below you can see the b/w bed one of the two cat beds we put there for her and Tom. you can also see how high the mattress makes it. The poor kink quilt hardly covers it

 Chessie (tiger ) and Shadow (black) cats make their mark already.

 Chessie and Shadow supervise while lounging on top of the mattress while it sits on its side

The handy ranch foreman is a jack of all trades.

New Years Eve and New Years Day at the ranch was very quiet. We both managed to stay up till midnight..made a few snacks and had a few drinks. Sunday Jim started work on our King platform for the new mattress to be delivered this Thursday. I cooked a roast pork...bone in..loved them better than rolled roasts. I found an old recipe out of a 40 yr old New England Cookbook with recipes from Early New England..Geo Washington  era and earlier which have been converted. It called for scoring the fat and rubbing in flour and salt and pepper then basting it while it cooks with Apple Cider that had been cooked down to a syrup.  I fudged since I didn't have any cider and used Alpine Cider powdered drink, sugar brown and white and finishing it with cider vinegar. Worked great and gave it a nice crisp crust.  I think I enjoyed the crust more than the roast. LOL. Threw some potatoes quartered in for pan roasted potatoes and served with peas and apple sauce. The meal was great. After eating Jim went out to work on the bed again and I finished up taking the decorations down. When he was done he came in for a nap and I watched the Hell on Wheels marathon till about 4 PM. I then went out and fed the babies and while Lady ate I used some Cowboy Magic and untangled her mane...brushing and combing it with the new brush and comb her Aunt Tracy gave her. They were fantastic. I can see why she swore by them. Lady stalled threw her eating,,enjoying every minute. When done she followed me over to Cody and Molly and she watched me comb their manes too.

A wonderful quiet day on the Ranch.

Monday we went back to Lowes for more parts for the bed, stopped for lunch at the cafe then Jim and I took our queen bed down and cleaned all the kitty hair out from under the bed. Found at least 20 cat toys while doing it.  We ditched the box spring and set the mattress on it's side in front of my dresser while Jim put the bed together.  Chessie and Shadow fought for place on the top of the leaning mattress and watched the show.  After done we put the mattress on the platform till Thursday. I thought yesterday it didn't look to high ooops........23 inches but then add another 10-12" for the matress and you have fun trying to get up on the bed. I have to settle on a footstool to boost myself up LOL

The mud is slowly drying up in the field  LOL mud bog. I still feel so sorry for them. Lady keeps looking at me as if she is waiting for me to halter her to play, Once we get caught up around the house I'll do just that. This week is another hodge podge of chores..tomorrow being the dump and maybe a start on cleaning out my spare bed room. We are saving the bed frame which can be shrunk to a twin so I think we will put it up when we get stuff cleared out and buy a cheaper mattress or air mattress and set it up as a day bed  for company. We hope by summer we have the second floor of the barn done and figure Jim's grand kids will want to sleep up there or at least his grandson, Briggs will and Mom and Lauryen can sleep in the spare room.  If  Dave, Dawn or Dale or even Derek come they have their Fifth Wheel to use. Derek being in the Navy you never know he just might drive down and if he does he can use the spare room.

All takes time and $ which we do as we can. An on going project here on the ranch.

Ah farrier comes this Saturday AM. we are thinking of taking the shoes off for the winter and re shoeing in March or April. At least we will not have to worry about the mud pulling off a shoe.