Major Projects Coming Our Way

There's all this information I've been waiting to blog about and yet I seem to not find the time. I'm not sure what's been going on lately but hopefully I'll be able to fix that soon. Of course kids, horses, work, and not feeling well sort of puts a damper on a lot of activities.


We had a winter storm roll through Monday into Tuesday and now the temps have dropped. We had single digits this morning. I wasn't prepared. I've been fairly spoiled in going out to do chores in just my winter boots and pjs, rather than donning my winter gear. But I know it won't last for long.


I need to start getting things lined up so that we can tackle our three to four big projects this summer. It needs to be the first half of the summer and not anything into the fall like we normally do. I want to be able to breath this fall and not feel like there's such constriction on my chest when I think of all that needs to be done before winter rolls around.


Our four big projects consists of:


1: Finishing up the roof on the hay barn. It's not really a big project but it still needs to be finished. It's such a relief to walk in to the barn and find that it's still dry and snug. But there's still areas that need to be repaired and the rest of the roof needs to be secured. We did what we could while the weather held but we were pushing our luck. So once the weather warms up into the 50s and 60s, we can tackle wrapping up that project. All we need is better temps and time.


2: "Waster Management" as Dad would call it. We need to get the manure out of the place and onto the farmer's field. The catch is...well actually there's multiple catches. We haven't hauled manure for awhile so there's lots of work to be done. First we need to contact the farmer to make sure we can still put manure on his field (that's not really a problem). The second is lining up a skid loader so that we can get into the leanto off the barn. The roof is too low for any tractor to get in and it's fairly deep these days. There's too much to scoop by hand so we NEED to find a skidloader. I expect we'll have to rent one but if we could find one to borrow, that would make life easier. We'd use it to not only scoop out the leanto but to fill the manure spreader. Otherwise, we have to hook and unhook the big tractor every time. The big tractor needs to be hooked to the manure spreader but it's also the only tractor that's running and has a bucket. So it will be used no matter what. The other issue, is that our manure spreader needs a bit of work before it can be used and currently it's tucked behind the Massey, which just so happens, isn't running. And it's not an easy fix because the loader part of the Massey is down on the ground so we can't just drag it out of the way. So there's lots to coordinate in a very small window of time. We have to make sure we get the manure out of our place and onto the field before the farmer starts planting so this is a very time sensitive project.


3. Finish reroofing the old garage. Its' not technically Sanctuary related but it is where most of the tools are located. Again, this is not an easy task as we have to build eaves for the remaining three sides, then strip off the old shingles, and then put new shingles on. I see this project taking multiple weekends but it'll look so nice when it's done. We've been dealing with a leaking garage roof for quite some time.


4. Fencing the main pasture (or really re-fencing). I'm not sure if this will happen but it DOES need to happen fairly soon. We need to come up with the funds to refence the entire pasture and then find the time to get it done. I'm struggling with finding the money as there's never enough and I am not sure where to even look to begin searching for grants. I know what I want for fencing and I'm not sure I'll get it. I'm not looking for anything fancy, but I know what we've done in the past won't hold them for the years that we need. But it HAS to get done soon. Last summer a corner post rotted off and a couple of the herd decided to go for a walk. We can't risk having the dependable big pasture not be dependable. So we either look at putting in new fence this year or next year. Either way, it HAS to get done. Even if it means taking out a personal loan to cover the cost. Good fencing make good neighbors and I certainly don't want to be a bad neighbor.


So that's the list of things we have to get done and the sooner the better. We can't wait until October to start these projects because these all take a considerable amount of time.


Anyone have any suggestions or know of ways to help?