Almost Spring 3/4/2013

     It is 6:43, and I have just come in from feeding the horses.  It's light out.  The air is fairly mild, and smells of Spring, even though there are light fluffy snow flakes drifting down.
     Bright red Cardinals are staking their claims.  Their bright, clear songs fill the morning, as they flit from, bush to bush, and tree to tree.
     The snow is melting, and the driveway, walkways and aisles have turned to a mud, as have the trails.  It's at this time of year that I think we should have named the place Boggy Bottoms instead of hideaway meadows.  This is also the time of year that my thoughts turn to gardening.  The days are lengthening, and the ground is thawing. I am planning on putting in a lot of heirloom varieties this Spring;  Brandywine tomatoes, Amish Paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, (can you tell I love tomatoes) assorted lettuces, herbs, radishes, green beans, zucchini squash, summer squash, pickling cucumbers, sweet peas, egg plant, swiss chard, spinach, as well as establishing beds of asparagus, and rhubarb.  I'd also like to put in a strawberry pyramid, and begin a dwarf orchard.
     Once the frost is all the way out of the ground, we're planning on building a hen house, and fenced in yard for somewhere around 16 chickens.  The goat house, fenced yard and the goats will come probably next year.  Little by little we are becoming a homestead.  In time we'll plant low bush blueberries, raspberries, and some assorted grape vines.   Mmmmmmm homemade raspberry jam...the essence of a summer day.
     We are still going strong with the fire wood.  We have had to cut as we needed it all Winter long and we have learned two things;  Number one, that we CAN do it, even in the worst of weather, and number two...we never want to do it this way again...EVER.  We can cut, split and haul all Winter to replace the supply as we use it, but we will have a backlog (no pun intended) to use if we get sick, or injured and can't harvest...or there's six feet of snow in the woods. 
     Well, that's about it for today.  Have a great day everyone.

Sunday Brunch

I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.  Today is Little Christmas, and this is how I spent my Sunday morning, making Sunday brunch on the wood stove.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Hideaway Meadows to all our friends!

All is quiet

     It is a much quieter morning this morning.  The air is still and cool under an overcast sky.  The tree was removed yesterday afternoon, and we are moving on to the next phase of rebuilding.  We've been planning on re roofing the barns and the indoor arena.  This is the perfect excuse to start.  If we look upon it as an opportunity rather than a trial, then it's better.
     We have found an amazing Arborist, who is a fair, decent, and honest man.  He also does roofing.  He'll come tomorrow and measure for an estimate.
     The horses have been fed and are quietly browsing through their hay.  I'm enjoying my first steaming cup of tea as I write.  Chimney cleaning is the next task on the docket...then filling the wood racks...how I miss my wood stove in the light months.  I will soon have a place to keep my tea kettle warm.  A crackling wood fire is like a familiar entity, a comforting presence in the house.
     We move forward.  I am loosely planning a large pot of homemade chili, sweet cornbread, and an old fashioned barn raising.  We'll see.
     All is quiet on the western front.

Big Tree Fell on our Barn! Chapter 2

The Arborist made short work of removing the tree from the barn :)

The damage is even more impressive now that it's uncovered!

Big Tree Fell on our Barn!

Big oak tree fell on the barn last night and destroyed one of the stalls. Horses are OK. Building sustained pretty serious damage :(

We Heard a big crash just before midnight last night that shook the whole house. We went out to investigate, and found one of the horses loose in the yard. When we further investigated to see how she got loose, we discovered that a big red oak had fallen on her stall. She had a runout, and we don't know whether she was in the stall at the time, but, wherever she was, in her fright, she charged through the fence. Neither she, nor any of the other horses were hurt, but the building did sustain some pretty serious damage:

Good evening from the Hideaway 8/10/2012

     The horses, hounds and husband have been fed and watered.  All are safe inside.  We got a little rain this evening, no thunder storms though.  I'm just as happy.  I really wouldn't want anything that would put the power out...too warm and muggy.  The birds love this weather.  They are singing happily in the trees around the house.  The fire flies will come out after the rain ends.
     The air may feel like wet laundry right now, but all  is quiet on the western front...at the moment.