There's nothing like a cold and rainy day to get caught up on all the those little projects. Today the blog will get the attention. I've decided that it may be easier to start posting smaller entries and much more frequently. I think a weekly blurb about the goings on at the farm will work better for everyone. A bit late but I'm considering this my New Year's resolution! 

Since the last time I posted we have been building and completing projects like crazy.  We've managed to reassemble the pole barn and tack room. This of course, was the easiest of the 3 buildings to put back together but you have to start somewhere, right?  I finally have a training arena that is working out beautifully. It measures 140' X 170' with an additional holding pen to work multiple horses. I love it! The arena area is in a natural sandy spot on the property. I still have to finish killing of the grass and a few other minor tidbits but overall it's finished. There is a picture of it coming together late last summer as the grass was going dormant for the year. I'll be sure and take new pictures in the spring to share with you. We've also been working on fences. That sure seems like a never-ending project. We are slowly but surely finishing the rest of the wood horse fence, this time across the front of the main pastures.

I am really excited to share this latest news. Hidden Water Farm will be welcoming our friend and fellow trainer, Julia Bryan to the farm later this spring. Julia will be assisting us with Arabian halter training as well as bringing her beautiful Arabian stallions and several of her broodmares. Select horses will be offered for sale so be sure and check out our sales page after her arrival. Julia has such an impressive resume as do her horses in the show ring. We feel that both her and her horses will complement our goals here at the farm. Many folks are surprised to find out that we not only offer full care monthly boarding and overnight horse motel accommodations but we also train and market national caliber Arabian horses. We accept a limited number of show prospects each year and work with the owners to accomplish their goals. Performance training is currently offered in western pleasure, hunter and various western disciplines. We also train and condition Arabian halter horses. With Julia's assistance we will be able to expand our services to include more English disciplines including Country English Pleasure. Both Julia and I will continue to offer riding and showmanship lessons for the Arabian enthusiast.

Now I need to get to work on some website changes and updates. I've added a couple of new pictures in the photo gallery for your enjoyment. See you all next week.

Finally getting around to my poor neglected blog so I’m just going to jump in and give everyone an update.

 

We ended up having to postpone the barn raising. The month of May proved to be completely uncooperative dumping heavy rains on us for 22 days in a row. Never mind the fact that I couldn’t buy a raindrop now and the pasture and gardens are as crispy as the colonels fried chicken. C'est la vie. I'm not sure when we'll have the barn raising at this point but hoping for sometime this fall.  In the meantime, Josh and I have started setting the uprights for the stable by ourselves. 4 are up with too many more to go. We managed to get the horse fencing installed too! It's the really nice white wooden fence that you see at all the fancy farms in KY. I'm pretty happy with that, not only because it looks nice but because I get to play in the paint. For those of you not familiar with my handyman skills let me tell you, handing me a paint brush and a gallon of paint is a recipe for disaster. I swear a 5 yr old could make less of a mess! I have so much fun with it that I tend to forget that it's a real pain to get it out of my hair, clothing and pretty much anything else within my path, dogs included. I tend to get bored after awhile so something always seems to distract me and I invariably lean against whatever it is that I'm "transforming" coating myself in the process.

 

The gardens aren’t doing too well this year which really bums me out. We had expanded one of the areas quite a bit and added an additional 100' of potatoes but with drought conditions we haven’t even begun to harvest hardly anything. Not a single potato either, they grew like gangbusters early on but didn’t form tubers before the extreme heat and lack of rain By this time last year I was already canning tomatoes and freezing various squash and zucchini like a maniac. The upside is there aren’t as many weeds to pull. The meager produce that we have enjoyed has been baby carrots, green tomatoes (gosh I love those fried!), onions and a few yellow squash. I haven't given up yet and dutifully drag the garden hose out every morning to water everything, it’s hanging on but just barely...

 

Last week a friend and I made 6 batches of strawberry jam and it turned out great. The one thing that did produce well this year was the strawberries and while we still had to use store bought berries for the bulk of the jam making it was nice to have mine added to the mix. The lavender is doing great too as is the basil. I made a big batch of pesto and froze it ice cube trays for a reminder of warmer days this winter. Maybe I'll make another batch today?

 

On the business front, things really picked up this year; which was suprising (to me anyways) with the state of the economy. I've added a few students to my riding lesson program and sold "Dozer", the Amish Draft horse to a wonderful family in Broken Arrow. We also had 5 horses check in to board at the end of March. They arrived late one night and were welcomed to Oklahoma with a freak blizzard the next morning that dumped 10" of snow on us. It is no fun to trudge through snow to take care of 13 horses and muck stalls! I was under the impression that I was in pretty good physical shape until that day. We were all pretty happy to see it melt away within 24 hours. Two of the horses that came to stay here had foals at their sides and wow were they cute. I had forgotten just how much fun it is to watch frolicking babies in a pasture with my morning coffee. Today the horses will be leaving for another boarding facility closer to the owner's home leaving me with only 7 horses to care for.

 

We added a training arena to the property this spring and while I haven’t had the chance to use it as much as I'd like it is so convenient. The dimensions aren’t huge, only 100' X 120' but it works perfectly for keeping everyone tuned up. It's a perfect training arena. Thank you Josh Oh and I cant forget to mention that we now have the riding trails expanded enough to go around the entire perimeter of the property. Woo-hoo! Reclaiming the east side of the woods was no easy task. The briars put up a heroic fight.  Between them, the poison ivy and seed tick infantry it was hand to hand combat in some of those areas. Armed with shears, loppers, brush hog, chainsaw and bug spray we won. Ah the sweet smell of victory…and Deep Woods OFF.  Now it's just a matter of keeping it all maintained, so far so good.

 

We've decided to take a little break to go camping in a couple of weeks. Our very first since we bought this place 2 1/2 years ago. One of my friends has generously offered to feed the horses while we escape for a weekend. I'm not sure where we'll end up just yet but we will be taking 2 of the horses with us then meeting up with some of Josh's buddies from work. We are so excited to get a little break. I'll be sure and post about our adventure. Happy 4^th of July everyone!

 

 

 

 

I've decided that I'm ready for spring now. The occasional 70 degree days have been taunting me for weeks and I have succumbed to their prodding. Clearing brush, grooming shedding horses, sneaking in riding time, adding compost to the gardens and putting the finishing touches on the new chicken coop with Josh. Yep, its in the air.

We're not the only ones either. Yesterday I went to pick up a load of feed for the horses and found the bins of seed potatoes, onions and garlic greeting me at the door of the feed store. Once inside, the buzz of friendly conversation among the locals was naturally about the arrival of their new spring calves, gardening season and the sharing of family lore regarding the two. I love going to the feed store. We are "regulars" now and wear that title proudly.  We are fortunate to live amongst these people. They are really the salt of the earth type. Hard working, practical, honest and not overly clannish. Family is important but so are friends and neighbors.

People were willing to reserve judgement about us when we bought this place and I think it's because our actions spoke louder than words. I think the same holds true two years later. Our first day on the farm, a cold December day afforded us no time to settle in. We hit the door running so to speak. With horses boarded at a horse motel 2 hours away, a winter storm barreling towards us and this place in a state of disrepair, the only option was to dive in and tackle the tasks at hand. I think that sent a message loud and clear. We worked literally day and night to make a safe place to keep the horses. Seeing and hearing the buzz of activity going on folks were curious. Many stopped in to introduce themselves and before they left were offering tools, equipment and advice. It was very welcoming to say the least.

Which brings me to our current project. The barn. We've decided that a barn raising on May 16th and 17th would be a great way to bring everybody together. My best friend and her husband had a barn raising party several years ago. Friends and family arrived from all over ready to take on the challenge. Bribed heavily with farm raised food, refreshing drinks, great music and lots of laughs. That was all it took to entice them. Even those who werent handy with power tools and tape measure (my category) were highly valued and appreciated for keeping up with the behind the scenes duties. It was awesome and most importantly fun! Good times indeed. We want to share that same experience with our friends and family too.

It's worth mentioning that this wont be your standard Amish style barn raising. In fact, the closest we can get to Amish is "Dozer" our Amish Draft/Quarter Horse cross gelding and he's not religious. Our barn raising will consist of lots of food, laughter, loud music, a keg of beer, huge bonfire and possibly drunken mayhem after a long day. A sense of humor will be the only required item for this shin dig. Maybe a box of bandages too. This is a chance to not only smash your thumb and have someone capture the painfully embarrasing moment with a camera but to allow you the chance to return the favor when they (and they will) suffer an equally unfortunate mishap. Lucky for us we'll have a couple of RN's on the scene. They dont have to be good with a hammer! And then, after a hard day's work we will all gather around the fire with our aching muscles to toast a job well done or at least that's the plan...

This past week, much like most every week, brought the fine examples of Oklahoma's unpredictable weather front and center. While it's not unusual to have extremes throughout the year, this year has been exceptionally odd. First, its been very dry since October.  We've only had about 1/2" of rain since then. The temperatures have been fluctuating wildly, breaking records for both highs and lows. I admit to enjoying the days we had in December that reached 75. Got in lots of riding time and that always makes me happy. Of course, the next days high would only reach 30...but hey.  Today is supposed to be another one of those rarities of 70 degree weather. The horses are hiding from me!
Last week brought us yet another ice storm and a couple of inches of snow. This one wasn't anything compared to what hit us last year thankfully. The power, phones and internet stayed up this time and we had no new damage to the woods. Yay! Josh and I made the most of it by burning brush piles while drinking homemade cocoa and watching the horses bucking and playing. Good times indeed.

Enough of the Oklahoma weather report.

As some of you may know, we purchased a very large 13 stall,  L-shaped stable in late August. The price was more than reasonable however, the entire thing had to be torn down and relocated from a town about 45 minutes away. No small feat. It took us 4 1/2 months with only Josh and I doing the work to move this thing piece by piece. Well, I am happy to report that it is here! In all of it's monstrous glory, it's here. We brought in the last load 2 weeks ago.  Our back yard looks like a Home Depot warehouse, boards of every size imaginable, electrical conduit, gates, doors,  metal sheeting, etc. That list could get endless!  Now that it's here we've acknowledged that this project has become pretty intimidating. We plan to start leveling the ground and setting the 6X6 posts soon; all 20 of them. I imagine we'll be donning hard hats and perhaps getting a tetanus booster just to add to the fun.

WIth the days that are miserable outside, I find myself planning the vegetable and herb gardens. I've jumped on the heirloom seed bandwagon and am anxious to give them a try this spring. This year, we'll be replacing our fruit trees. The horses thought they were delicious and have encouraged us to please plant some more. We will. Little do they know that it will all be out of their reach. We've decided to add some more blueberry bushes, a couple different varieties of grapes, and of course some more berry bushes. Yummy!

To me, following the flow of seasons seems normal and natural. That is one reason we chose to move to a location that  has actual changing seasons, all four of them.  Winter (70 degree days aside), is when I enjoy the peaceful dormancy that surrounds the farm. Of course, there are still a ton of chores that must be done daily but the stillness in the air around me cannot be ignored. This is the time of hibernation for the trees and plants. Fuzzy horses, an icy pond, the beige and tan hues of the landscape. All a reminder to revel in the stillness of the winter months. Cooking hearty comfort food is a favorite past time that I indulge in. There's nothing like the fragrance of bread baking on a blustery day. Its also pretty gratifying to open a jar of home-canned tomatoes, tossing in some frozen zucchini and squash along with whatever else strikes my fancy at the time,  to make to a simmering pot of vegetable soup. I love how it steams up the windows of the house. My mind drifts back to the hurried days of the summer foods ripening, with me desperately trying to keep pace to preserve them while at their peak of freshness. Day after day, week after week. Yes, this is the time for the land and I to enjoy a well earned rest. Now off to feed the horses....

 

If we don't write our lives down we can only rely on our memory and the memory of those that we have shared with to recall the things that have shaped our world. Unfortunately memories fade but it's this information from our past that becomes the most important key to our future. Written words not only provide us with a map from yesterday to today, but they also create a form of eternal life. A way to live forever. I realized this when I read Thoreau's "Walden Pond" years ago. I brought this wonderful man back to life as I read his words. Just as if he was speaking to me I listened and changed my life. Written words are even more everlasting than spoken.

With that, I've decided to blog some of our experiences since we made this wonderful place our home. Josh and I invite you to join us in the journey of discovering and living our dream to the fullest. This journal will be a potpourri of some of these moments, some of our good days, some bad days, with a dash of humor and topped with an occasional random reflecting thought and insight. The inspiration for this page was delivered by the musings of a close friend to whom I both admire and respect greatly. It was her clever words that replanted the seed of creativity that had lied dormant within me for far too long. To her and Thoreau, I give my heartfelt thanks.

So pull up a comfy chair, a cup of herbal tea, and join us at the farm to share our experiences.