It's the last day of August. How can that be? This weekend is Labor Day Weekend. It was just Memorial Weekend last weekend! How can summer have already gone by so quickly? The days seem to slip by even faster lately and I can't keep up. I'm tickled when I get a project done but there's always about 10 more on the list to get done.
We'll be scrambling this weekend to get a few projects at the very least started if not finished. I have no hope that the garage roof will be done. At this rate, we'll have to wait another year until the hay barn roof can get done unless I can call in some reinforcements. I had hoped to get the hay barn done this weekend. We have all the supplies but with the garage roof having a gapping hole, I guess we switch our gears and move to a different building. There's always something that needs to be maintained or repaired when you live on an acreage, especially as old as this acreage is. We haven't put much effort or time into our buildings and it's starting to show. We've been here almost 12 years and in that time, we've fixed a few things here and there but left the rest and that has bitten us in the butt. So now it's GO time. And there's a lot to get done.
I'm feeling a little stressed but I'm going to simply take it all in stride. And do my best to not come completely unglued. When I think of all those in Texas dealing with Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent flooding, it sort of makes my complaints and worries petty. I wish that we could do something, but every penny has to go back into the Sanctuary. I would LOVE to open our doors to a senior horse this year but I dont' see that happening. With the hay expense, roof repairs, and needing an automatic waterer, I don't see it possible to say Welcome Home to another senior horse. And now is the time people are getting rid of their horses as other activities take over, what with school starting.
So I sit and worry for those older horses being shipped off to auctions and subsequently to slaughter. What I would give to have an open door to let all the old horses come in and live out their lives with us. Wishful thinking or possibly a goal to strive towards.
The next few days will probably be quiet on the blog, twitter, and possibly Facebook as we tackle some of these bigger projects. So much to do in so little bit of time. If you're bored, I'd love the help! We'll even feed you. I think there's a pork loin and corn on the cob ready and waiting for all volunteers!
As always, we will continue to plug along. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy a bit of the fall. I need to focus on our upcoming playday! Lots to do before then!!
We will persevere.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Hearing Things
I hear geese. I hope they are local. I'm not ready for fall even though I sort of think September 1st is fall even though it's not "official". There's still so much that needs to be done. I'm considering taking a day off from the paying job to extend the three day weekend holiday into four days so I can bust my butt and get stuff done. Of course I'm not prepared and don't have enough supplies. That's usually par for the course.
I had to move the ponies the other night because their "pasture" was done. I put them in front of the barn so it's a pain to get into and out of the barn but at least I'm not throwing hay yet. I dread the thought of throwing that expensive hay.
I also started picking up the temporary electric fence that the horses have torn down. There's no sense in having it out in the pasture any more. All it's doing is getting tangled up and the horses are running through it. I dont' want them to get the idea they can just blow throw any electric fence they want. They are starting to push on the permanent fence too so I'm guessing hay will be in order soon.
We still need to pick up two loads in Harrisburg and two in Madison but I'm not sure when that will happen. Mike finally started in on the roof of the garage after a bit of "discussion" from me. There's no way we can expect people to show up on a long holiday weekend and work on a roof if we arent' prepared.
I still need to get blankets washed, repaired, and waterproofed. I may work on that this weekend as well. I also need to do some painting and scraping on either the barn or the tack room. At this point, I'll be happy to simply get one wall of the tack room done. I seem to only have enough time to get three of the four sides done. At this rate, I'm now down to just getting one wall done. But at least then, the place won't look as dumpy.
I don't know if I'll be back on tomorrow or if I'll resurface after Labor Day on Tuesday. If I get my way, I'll have a ton of projects done but I'm not going to hold my breath. Things seem to be going at a snail's pace these days.
Lets just hope that the only thing that picks up is the activity around the Sanctuary. Because pretty soon, there WILL be non-local geese flying by and I don't want to be in a panic when that happens.
I had to move the ponies the other night because their "pasture" was done. I put them in front of the barn so it's a pain to get into and out of the barn but at least I'm not throwing hay yet. I dread the thought of throwing that expensive hay.
I also started picking up the temporary electric fence that the horses have torn down. There's no sense in having it out in the pasture any more. All it's doing is getting tangled up and the horses are running through it. I dont' want them to get the idea they can just blow throw any electric fence they want. They are starting to push on the permanent fence too so I'm guessing hay will be in order soon.
We still need to pick up two loads in Harrisburg and two in Madison but I'm not sure when that will happen. Mike finally started in on the roof of the garage after a bit of "discussion" from me. There's no way we can expect people to show up on a long holiday weekend and work on a roof if we arent' prepared.
I still need to get blankets washed, repaired, and waterproofed. I may work on that this weekend as well. I also need to do some painting and scraping on either the barn or the tack room. At this point, I'll be happy to simply get one wall of the tack room done. I seem to only have enough time to get three of the four sides done. At this rate, I'm now down to just getting one wall done. But at least then, the place won't look as dumpy.
I don't know if I'll be back on tomorrow or if I'll resurface after Labor Day on Tuesday. If I get my way, I'll have a ton of projects done but I'm not going to hold my breath. Things seem to be going at a snail's pace these days.
Lets just hope that the only thing that picks up is the activity around the Sanctuary. Because pretty soon, there WILL be non-local geese flying by and I don't want to be in a panic when that happens.
Monday, August 28, 2017
Out of the Loop
So I've been out of the loop for about a week now. Actually, I had a bit of a panic attack and couldn't figure out how to get everything done that needs to be done. Truth is, I'm not anywhere different today than I was a few days ago but I've come to terms with some of it.
Lets recap so you can feel my pain. ... you're welcome.
The Saturday before last we had to run into town. No biggie but then we needed to get home, do chores, and then haul the camper up to Prairie Village. We had some how managed to score a camping spot during the Jamboree. It's fairly unheard of and we weren't planning on it. There's 500 camp spots and ALL of them are taken. But we were on a waiting list. Our thinking was that going to the Jamboree would be easier with the kids of we could camp. The answer was yes and no to the easy part. So I got home Saturday and while doing chores, discovered that SOMEONE (Maverick) popped the lid off the automatic waterer and water was spilling over again. In the process, they cut the heater wire and it's to the point of no repair. So we have NO heat to the waterer this winter. THAT WON'T CUT IT. So now I'm going to have to buy a new waterer. Totally NOT in the budget and Totally NOT ready. And now it's another project that HAS to get done before the first freeze.
Fast forward to Monday night. We had camped at Prairie Village Sat and Sunday and didn't get home until late. Everything was dark so I couldn't see anything. Monday after work, I went to let the dogs out, only to discover that the chimney in the garage had crashed down. Inside the garage the chimney apparently had been leaking and the 2x4 that had been holding it up since the 40s finally rotted away. So we are now left with a gapping hole in the garage, cinder blocks smashed to pieces in the garage, and even more work. The garage roof was supposed to be reroofed after the hay barn but it appears that the garage will take priority. Not happy but with a hole in the roof, what do you do? Although we are getting close to having a hole in the hay barn if we aren't careful.
Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon, and I get a phone call from Mike saying he doesn't feel good and off to the ER we go. He's been dealing with some health issues for over a week now and he'd finally had enough. Unfortunately the ER doctors (nor his primary doctor) could find what's wrong. So, 3.5 hours in the ER with no results and now a huge hospital bill and we are left even more strapped for cash. (For those that dont' know, I almost lost Mike back in 2013 to WPW.)
So by Thursday when I did our weekly Thursday Sanctuary talks, I was a bit frazzled because in the evening, we were headed BACK to Prairie Village to camp until Sunday. So that's 3 days and 3 nights of camping and Jamboree stuff. Top that off with trying to get everything lined up for food so we don't starve AND get stuff ready so that we can have my daughter's 2nd birthday (and not have her get screwed over because everyone is focused on everything else and NOT her). So I was stressed.
But that's not all. Friday night rolled around and we had a severe storm roll through WHILE the kids and I were in the camper ALONE. I haven't been that scared in a while. We were left stranded with no vehicle and no cell phone service to view the radar (yet I could get on FB or make phone calls). So by Sunday I was a bit frazzled but luckily my daughter didn't notice and she had a grand time on her second birthday. It didn't seem as big of a deal as when my son turned 5 three weeks earlier so I'm not sure if I'm just wore out or what. But I feel bad for her because her birthday seemed to be overshadowed by a lot of other stuff going on.
But now that all that is over, I have to focus on getting the roof redone. Mike still doesn't feel good but we have friends lined up to help with the roof. Except the garage has no eaves. Part of the reason why we've had water problems with the garage. But no eaves means Mike needs to build them and he thinks we should focus on that but if we have people WILLING to reroof the garage, we better make sure the eaves are attached. But that gives us FIVE days. FIVE. I don't think that'll happen because the days are getting shorter (and Mike doesn't feel good).
I may have to take time off the paying job just to get stuff done. The weather is supposed to be beautiful the rest of this week so maybe Friday I'll take the day off from the paying job and get things ready. We still need to go buy more lumber to makes the eaves but the horse trailer is full of Ondura and lumber for the hay barn because that's the project *I* was focused on. And the flat bed still has hay (but we STILL need to pick up hay from Harrisburg and now another two loads from Madison). I paniced. I had friends selling hay so I bought what they had left over. I wish I would have waited and bought from a different friend who is much closer but I guess I should just be happy that we have hay (and the funds to buy those few bales). I now need to focus on the funds for the semi load that we had to pay for already.
So I have big news I want to share or maybe not big news but good news but I need a day to recover from all that's been going on. I also had some stress at the paying job where I had/have three high priorities that are all due at the same time and I'm trying to figure out how to swing it all. I can't work extra because I need to be working at home and with the stress of everything I tend to sleep when I'm stressed. And that puts me even more behind. Oh if only I could have insomnia instead of stress sleep. I need the days to be longer not shorter. I need about five extra hours in the day to feel like I can get anything done.
So if anyone is free this weekend (or the following weekend for that matter), we could really use the help in getting things ready for winter. Because it's right around the corner!
Lets recap so you can feel my pain. ... you're welcome.
The Saturday before last we had to run into town. No biggie but then we needed to get home, do chores, and then haul the camper up to Prairie Village. We had some how managed to score a camping spot during the Jamboree. It's fairly unheard of and we weren't planning on it. There's 500 camp spots and ALL of them are taken. But we were on a waiting list. Our thinking was that going to the Jamboree would be easier with the kids of we could camp. The answer was yes and no to the easy part. So I got home Saturday and while doing chores, discovered that SOMEONE (Maverick) popped the lid off the automatic waterer and water was spilling over again. In the process, they cut the heater wire and it's to the point of no repair. So we have NO heat to the waterer this winter. THAT WON'T CUT IT. So now I'm going to have to buy a new waterer. Totally NOT in the budget and Totally NOT ready. And now it's another project that HAS to get done before the first freeze.
Fast forward to Monday night. We had camped at Prairie Village Sat and Sunday and didn't get home until late. Everything was dark so I couldn't see anything. Monday after work, I went to let the dogs out, only to discover that the chimney in the garage had crashed down. Inside the garage the chimney apparently had been leaking and the 2x4 that had been holding it up since the 40s finally rotted away. So we are now left with a gapping hole in the garage, cinder blocks smashed to pieces in the garage, and even more work. The garage roof was supposed to be reroofed after the hay barn but it appears that the garage will take priority. Not happy but with a hole in the roof, what do you do? Although we are getting close to having a hole in the hay barn if we aren't careful.
Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon, and I get a phone call from Mike saying he doesn't feel good and off to the ER we go. He's been dealing with some health issues for over a week now and he'd finally had enough. Unfortunately the ER doctors (nor his primary doctor) could find what's wrong. So, 3.5 hours in the ER with no results and now a huge hospital bill and we are left even more strapped for cash.
So by Thursday when I did our weekly Thursday Sanctuary talks, I was a bit frazzled because in the evening, we were headed BACK to Prairie Village to camp until Sunday. So that's 3 days and 3 nights of camping and Jamboree stuff. Top that off with trying to get everything lined up for food so we don't starve AND get stuff ready so that we can have my daughter's 2nd birthday (and not have her get screwed over because everyone is focused on everything else and NOT her). So I was stressed.
But that's not all. Friday night rolled around and we had a severe storm roll through WHILE the kids and I were in the camper ALONE. I haven't been that scared in a while. We were left stranded with no vehicle and no cell phone service to view the radar (yet I could get on FB or make phone calls). So by Sunday I was a bit frazzled but luckily my daughter didn't notice and she had a grand time on her second birthday. It didn't seem as big of a deal as when my son turned 5 three weeks earlier so I'm not sure if I'm just wore out or what. But I feel bad for her because her birthday seemed to be overshadowed by a lot of other stuff going on.
But now that all that is over, I have to focus on getting the roof redone. Mike still doesn't feel good but we have friends lined up to help with the roof. Except the garage has no eaves. Part of the reason why we've had water problems with the garage. But no eaves means Mike needs to build them and he thinks we should focus on that but if we have people WILLING to reroof the garage, we better make sure the eaves are attached. But that gives us FIVE days. FIVE. I don't think that'll happen because the days are getting shorter (and Mike doesn't feel good).
I may have to take time off the paying job just to get stuff done. The weather is supposed to be beautiful the rest of this week so maybe Friday I'll take the day off from the paying job and get things ready. We still need to go buy more lumber to makes the eaves but the horse trailer is full of Ondura and lumber for the hay barn because that's the project *I* was focused on. And the flat bed still has hay (but we STILL need to pick up hay from Harrisburg and now another two loads from Madison). I paniced. I had friends selling hay so I bought what they had left over. I wish I would have waited and bought from a different friend who is much closer but I guess I should just be happy that we have hay (and the funds to buy those few bales). I now need to focus on the funds for the semi load that we had to pay for already.
So I have big news I want to share or maybe not big news but good news but I need a day to recover from all that's been going on. I also had some stress at the paying job where I had/have three high priorities that are all due at the same time and I'm trying to figure out how to swing it all. I can't work extra because I need to be working at home and with the stress of everything I tend to sleep when I'm stressed. And that puts me even more behind. Oh if only I could have insomnia instead of stress sleep. I need the days to be longer not shorter. I need about five extra hours in the day to feel like I can get anything done.
So if anyone is free this weekend (or the following weekend for that matter), we could really use the help in getting things ready for winter. Because it's right around the corner!
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
What Happened
We are still around, but I'm in the middle of a bit of a panic. I will probably not resurface again until next week (or Thursday depending on how stressed I feel). We have lots of exciting news to share but I want to spend more than 30 seconds to write something that doesn't sound like I'm totally scatter brained.
We've had two mishaps in the last three days. Our automatic waterer will not survive winter. When SOMEONE (cough, cough Maverick cough) ripped the top off, the wires for the heater were destroyed). And last night I discovered that the chimney on the old garage (put in place by the previous, previous owner) fell off into the dog pen and the remainder of the chimney inside the garage crashed down into a bunch off stuff. The dogs are ok. But the roof is not. We have a gapping hole in the garage roof.
So over the Labor Day Weekend I guess we'll be working on the garage roof instead of the hay barn roof. Anyone want ot help?
And don't forget...today is Be An Angel Day!!! If you want to sponsor a horse or donate even a $1, let me know and you can be a ANGEL for one of the Sanctuary horses!
If I don't resurface until next week...I'm trying to swing planning my daughter's birthday party during the Prairie Village Threshing Jamboree, camp, figure out supplies for reroofing two buildings, and getting all the other odd jobs scheduled and supplies bought. I need summer back to get all this done.
Anyone want to help? If you come Labor Day weekend I'll feed you!
We've had two mishaps in the last three days. Our automatic waterer will not survive winter. When SOMEONE (cough, cough Maverick cough) ripped the top off, the wires for the heater were destroyed). And last night I discovered that the chimney on the old garage (put in place by the previous, previous owner) fell off into the dog pen and the remainder of the chimney inside the garage crashed down into a bunch off stuff. The dogs are ok. But the roof is not. We have a gapping hole in the garage roof.
So over the Labor Day Weekend I guess we'll be working on the garage roof instead of the hay barn roof. Anyone want ot help?
And don't forget...today is Be An Angel Day!!! If you want to sponsor a horse or donate even a $1, let me know and you can be a ANGEL for one of the Sanctuary horses!
If I don't resurface until next week...I'm trying to swing planning my daughter's birthday party during the Prairie Village Threshing Jamboree, camp, figure out supplies for reroofing two buildings, and getting all the other odd jobs scheduled and supplies bought. I need summer back to get all this done.
Anyone want to help? If you come Labor Day weekend I'll feed you!
Friday, August 18, 2017
Be An Angel Day
Next Tuesday, August 22, is Be An Angel Day.
Would you like to be an angel to one of our Sanctuary residents?
Donate to www.paypal.me/Borderlands or send funds to
Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 35
Humboldt, SD 57035
Any dollar amount helps. Just let us know who you wan to be an angel to and what you want the money to be used for (unless you want it directly into the Winter Hay Fund) and we'll post all the Sanctuary residents who have Angels!
$5 Friday
Last Friday we had our winter hay supply delivered. I would really like to have more hay onsite before the snow flies. I don't know if we'll have a bad winter but if we need to, I want to be able to open our doors to a deserving senior horse but without extra hay, I can't do that. So for now, I'm looking to get our current hay supply paid for and then go in search of a bit more for that emergency horse intake that I'd like to bring in.
We are building up our winter hay supply and need your help! Our small Sanctuary is supported by many donors who cannot share a lot but what they share is huge.
Every donation matters, and we are grateful you have chosen to help us with our mission, "Giving each horse a dignified retirement".
Did you know, $5 buys one bale of hay and feeds a horse for a day? We have 15 horses in our Sanctuary enjoying retirement. We start feeding hay mid to late October and continue through May. Would you like to feed one of our Sanctuary horses for a day?
You can donate to www.paypal.me/Borderlands or send checks to:
Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 35
Humboldt, SD 57035
Out of the Loop
This head/chest cold has knocked me off my feet. So much I wanted to do and needs to get done and I'm too petered out by the end of the day.
Last night as I was wrapping up chores around 9:30pm, I noticed the clouds rolling in and lightening off in the distance. I never heard a thing. But we did get rain. I went out this morning at 6am (I was late) to do chores. The clouds were off in the eastern horizon. I thought it was a bit neat I guess. But maybe that's in my haze of sickness that things seem different and somewhat amusing
I did put Junior in the spring/winter pasture to see if he can gain any weight. I left him out all day yesterday to wander around. He looks so thin. And it's all my fault. But hopefully I can get the weight back on him.
I have a bunch of things I want to do but the next couple of weeks are going to be packed with family stuff. So I'm not sure exactly what all is going to get done these next few days. I guess I'll just play it by ear. Hopefully after a good nap and some helpful drugs I'll be back to my old self and rearing to go!
Last night as I was wrapping up chores around 9:30pm, I noticed the clouds rolling in and lightening off in the distance. I never heard a thing. But we did get rain. I went out this morning at 6am (I was late) to do chores. The clouds were off in the eastern horizon. I thought it was a bit neat I guess. But maybe that's in my haze of sickness that things seem different and somewhat amusing
I did put Junior in the spring/winter pasture to see if he can gain any weight. I left him out all day yesterday to wander around. He looks so thin. And it's all my fault. But hopefully I can get the weight back on him.
I have a bunch of things I want to do but the next couple of weeks are going to be packed with family stuff. So I'm not sure exactly what all is going to get done these next few days. I guess I'll just play it by ear. Hopefully after a good nap and some helpful drugs I'll be back to my old self and rearing to go!
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