Winter into Spring - soundtrack

We try to be fairly narrow in our scope here when jotting down notes about the progress at No Name Farm/Ranch. I mean, aside from all the random talk about house stuff and house parts and other obsessions -- we do try to keep it relevant to the general topic. But MAN there's been a lot of stuff making narrow focus, on any topic, almost impossible. Between jobs, and state budget crises, and house builds, and housing markets, and hay prices, and animal welfare, and..well...you get it. Life has been chaotic the past month or so with lots to consider. It struck me today, when listening to this, how very much it sounds like the inside of my head lately. Most of the obstacles during this overwhelming winter may ultimately affect when we move on, out to the property - which is, as you know, all I care about. So I guess my brain as a song, right now, is a little loud, a lot frustrated, but still sounds pretty damn good:

The Thaw.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something has changed around this place. And I'm not just talking about the briefly warmer weather. A whole group of tiny little events have converged: a chicken finally laid an egg after a three month hiatus, one teeny bluebonnet stem is sprouting at the property, and there is, what appears to be, some progress with the house. Oh yes, it's true. I know this for sure, not only because of a million little details that are too early to share, but because Jer agreed to look at wood stoves today for "the new house." If tides do turn, then they're surely turning here. The last two days were spent outside either pulling trees into piles, or sitting by a fire, or feeding donkeys sunflower seeds, or staring at the blue, blue sky. Weekends. Are. Amazing - don't you think? But no one in this family appreciates weekends more than the pups who take full advantage of their country digs when given the chance. Unfortunately for us, LuLu and Winston discovered the "fresh" water in the pond from last week's rains before we could stop them. The aftermath of this situation was horrifying, as illustrated below:


And in his usual fashion, Romeo managed to epitomize exactly our own feelings towards the balmy weekend, without saying a word:


These dogs, god love 'em, always take their cues from me. And since this winter's been gloomy for me, it's been gloomy for them. The season hasn't ended, but it's ending, so here's to the coming thaw.

Buster!

We bought us a farm truck in nearly the same lightning speed, impetuous manner that Land was acquired. He ain't much to look at but purrs like a kitten, came with a mean toolbox, and, in his former life, worked for a plumbing company. So, without further ado, may I introduce.......
Buster the Busted Farm Truck. Ta. Da:


As you can see, he's already made nice with Bambi and Marta. Also, yes, I get that it's rather odd we've named all of our farm "equipment" without actually naming the farm. (Or maybe it's just odd that we named the farm equipment in the first place.)

Making room.

This is less post and more statement. The land shall heretoforth be referred to as "Land." Just Land. When Jer left the house tonight to wrap the faucets at the property, 2 nights after another trip out there to put out hay, and approximately 7 days after patching holes in the driveway with piles of rock - I threw up my hands and announced that CLEARLY, there are officially three of us here in the relationship. You've got the original family (Jer. Myself.) but now -- there is Land. Not sure why it took so long for us to realize this thing was as living and breathing a creature as any other. Except bigger. And super high maintenance. That fickle b*%$h. But a happy Land is a happy couple (triple?), so it's definitely worth all the back and forth.

Family picture: The donkeys pose with Land.

About luck.....

Took a jog yesterday through the park, down the road from the land. That park was the cherry on top of what we thought was an already pretty sweet cake. Not only was the land close to town, nicely wooded, and affordable - it was walking distance to a 200 acre municipal park. And it's not like this is your run-of-the-mill-patch-of-grass-chipping-swing-set-overflowing-trashcans sort of park. It comes with stocked fishing ponds, gazebos, covered tennis courts, wooded running trails, a swimming pool, baseball fields, SOCCER fields: the whole deal. Lucky, lucky, lucky - kept thinking to self while I was jog/walking along the trails. Luck brought us here. And that luck's caused a lot of frustration and second-guessing. But luck makes us hopeful things will work out. And hope makes us give it another shot when it goes wrong the first time(sss). And giving it another shot has something to do with persistence. And persistence means you want something bad. Badly enough. And wanting something makes you try.

So. Hmm. In the end, it's not actually all about luck, is it? Just a thought I was thinking while I jog/walked (ok. walked) and considered the new appraisal we'll be requesting, with the new builder, new lender, during a year with some new worries and considerations. I'm glad we haven't relied entirely on luck to achieve some good fortune, but yesterday on my walk in the "neighborhood" park, I felt pretty darn lucky.

Hay in the Moonlight

Today was: rushed coffee and cereal in the darkness, early morning traffic and fog, packed parking garage at downtown office, work presentation, meetings, presentation, meetings, work, phone calls, email, work, parking garage, traffic.

Another coffee.

Then: home, feed dogs, pat cat's head, trade heels for boots, slacks for jeans, load the car with donkey treats, back into traffic, head east, empty country roads, a pock-marked gravel drive, and...land.

Despite the busy schedules today, the animals needed hay. We take hungry cows pretty seriously around here. If we don't, then they'll bust through fences for greener pastures. Literally. It's kinda funny how quickly one can go from standing in the office to standing next to the hay ring. I thought about how "funny" this is as I lifted the thing up on it's side to make way for the new bale. Well, specifically, I thought about these funny contrasts when a small pile of manure landed on my head, whilst lifting the ring. I suppose the minor chaos of days like today sound stressful. But you can't knock a day that ends with the last few minutes of daylight on a tractor, manure on the head, donkeys within petting distance. Well you can knock it, but if you do, then I invite you to end a hectic day with moonlight and happy farm animals, instead of cocktails at happy hour. It's a better tonic, every time.

I'm Up to Something

At all times my brain is equally divided between thinking about architectural salvage items/the house build AND the farm/ranch. It's a confusing situation. In order to maintain some level of sanity, I've gone ahead and created a new spot for ramblings devoted entirely to salvage stuff - with the possibility of some build-related outbursts here and there. In time, I'll sell some pieces on the new site and talk about the refurbishment and renewal of old things to make them useful again. If design, recycling, and build-related rage interests you at all - then by all means - stop by the new place! Hope to see you there (but still here, too).

Introducing (a very early version of) Anatomy Home Salvage. The link's also over there to the right -----> under "Design Links."

Sometimes a girl gets a little tired of dirt and donkeys and wants to make a pretty house. Or, is that just me?