Taking The Plunge

We have been working at the ranch to prepare it to have horses, but I was still not totally committed to moving Amiga and Zorro there before winter.  However, a decision was finally made and I am taking the plunge.  This is not a sudden or impulsive decision, but one that has been mulled over in my head, my nightly dreams, and during many waking moments.  It has been discussed with many equine friends and it is still with trepidation that I do this.  I just don't want to feel tied down to the ranch and the work it will involve to have horses out there.  Financially though, it makes much more sense.  I will really miss all the people and fun at Wildwood.

Saturday 8/ 21 - It was a pretty day that included a fairly early trip to the barn to take care of Amiga.  I also went with the purpose to tell John and Michelle about our decision to move Amiga and Zorro to the ranch.  I was so thankful that they were both very understanding and supportive and welcomed me to visit anytime after I'm gone. 

After caring for Amiga, who showed a little improvement with her two sore legs, she was quick to get over to her buddy Merlin when I put her back out in the dry lot.   

I hurried home to shower and finish cleaning house before our overnight guest arrive.


Dorene (one of Joe's former co-workers) arrived earlier than expected, so the floors didn't get mopped and not everything got dusted, but I was happy to call it quits on housework.  I had also not made it to the grocery store, so we would have to figure out meals later. 
 
Fairly quickly, Joe and I took Dorene for a tour of the Glade, and out to our ranch. 

We are so fortunate to live in Fairfield Glade and own a ranch, and love showing it and sharing it with others.

We went to Wildwood Stables to show Dorene Amiga and Zorro.  She was quite impressed by the Sycamore tree (second largest in TN).  And she also enjoyed seeing the horses. 

Me, just monkeying around.  LOL

Once the tour was over, we relaxed (I actually napped) at the house for a little while.  Then we cleaned up and headed into town for dinner at Vegas. 

 








Joe had made reservations at the restaurant, but they ended up seating us in the bar area so it was a bit loud for conversation, but a fun, party atmosphere.  The food and drink was enjoyed.   

From dinner, we then went on to the theater (Cumberland County Playhouse).  We thoroughly enjoyed the very well done production of Godspell.  I had the album growing up, so recognized all of the songs.  But I didn't know the story line, which is a retelling of the Gospel of Matthew set in modern-day New York City.  Using scripture reading (along with song and dance) Christ's message of love and tolerance is spread by Jesus and the apostles. 
I slept well, with a happy and peaceful heart.

Sunday 8/22 - Soon after we were all up, we hiked the Seven Bridges Trail.  It started to drizzle just as we were setting off, and soon became a downpour that lasted half the hike.  Other than there being a stream down the trail in some areas, and the rocks being slippery, we enjoyed ourselves (video).

We made it back from our wet hike without incident, and then Dorene hit the road for home to Bloomington/Normal.

I spent the next six hours out at the ranch getting a few big jobs done and doing several little things.







First, Joe and I worked at finishing up this little section of fencing.  I decided we needed another square post to go in at the corner by the other wood fence.  It was easy to dig a hole by hand. 



Joe had measured and cut the three boards while I was digging.  And then we started putting them up, starting at the corner with one screw and then measuring to get the correct distance between the boards. 

Once I was happy with how they looked, he finished screwing the boards in and I started digging around the three big, old, fence posts.

We used the tractor to push on the poles from two different directions, and once they were loose, we put chains around them and the tractor front bucket.  Lifting and driving backwards, we were able to pull them out of the ground.  They were too heavy for the two of us to lift and they didn't fit in the tractor front bucket loader, so Joe just drove them down to the burn pile while they were still chained to the tractor bucket.

Once we had the poles all out, Joe went off to do other work and I used the tractor to fill in the holes, getting dirt from mounds of soil that was around them and along the old fence line.  (First photo where the two poles were, second photo where the third pole was.)

I used the tractor bucket (and shovel and rake) to level and smooth out the ground. 

Next I worked at drainage around the loafing shed in the upper pasture.

I had put the galvanized water tank here to catch some of the rain water.  Then I attached the hose and ran it to the downhill side of the shed.  I also dug up and removed dirt from up against the shed boards so they won't rot as fast.

I dropped by Wildwood on the way home to check on and care for Amiga.  As I was finishing up, Patty, Karen, and Sharon came to care for theirs and some of the livery horses. 

It was dinner time when I got home and the evening was ended with two episodes of Virgin River.

Monday 8/23 - The full moon was setting behind our house when Maggie and I set off for our morning walk.











It was a bit foggy and you can see 'smoke' on the mountains from the 16th green of Druid.

We were meeting the electrician (Simon and his wife assistant) at the ranch so both of us arrived at about 8:00.  Since Terry and Billy had moved their horses (the day before) to a barn near Knoxville where they are building a house and they had all the big items moved out of the machine shed, garage, and even house, they sold us their dad's trailer and UTV.  I like this smaller UTV much better than our other larger one, which is still in the shop waiting for a part.  Joe will sell it once we have it working again.

Joe took the tractor to dig a trench between the barn and large loafing shed.  The electrician said to 'pass inspection' it needed to be buried 18" deep.

 

Using big equipment to get the job done faster is helpful, but I was a little nervous about it. 



 





I worked at cleaning up more things in the machine shed, taking cardboard and other burnables to the burn pile.  Notice the huge fence posts in the burn pile.

There was a little miss-hap down at the barn...
Joe hit a water line with the tractor blade, scraping a hole in the top of it.  Once they got the water shut of, by turning off the power to the water pump, electrician Simon took a closer look.  He and Joe both had to be careful not to take an unwanted plunge into the trench which had several inches of water in it. 


Simon told Joe what pieces he needed to repair the pipe.  Then Joe used the 'new' trailer to haul old barbwire, other recyclables, and trash to the recycle center on his way in to town to get plumbing parts.  They took everything except the paint.

I had picked up sticks and pulled tall weeds in various spots and then started with the weed whacker, 'mowing' lots of weeds around the edge of the pond. 

Needing lunch and to cool off I headed home, stopping in at the barn to care for Amiga on my way.

After a shower, I had a late lunch and then rested (napped) on the floor with my fur babies.  I noticed the stray napping out under the bench on the deck. 

The cat flopped over and you can see how white she is on her belly.

The day ended with lots of dancing to Soul Soup at Mirror Lake Blast, even though I was so tired. 
 

Tuesday 8/24 - The electricians, Joe, and I, all converged on the ranch at about the same time.  Joe and I started our day of work using the chain saw to cut the tall gate post (at the upper pasture) shorter and then to clear three small trees from the tree line in the lower pasture where Yvonne's horse will be going the 1st of October.  I was trying to get wood for the burn pile to help the large fence posts burn.  We also removed barbwire and nails from this fence post which was a potential hazard.

While Joe mowed the upper pasture with the bush hog I mowed the fence line with the riding mower.  I got stuck in the very damp area where the gray water from the house drains into the pasture.  I noticed this little (6" long) snapping turtle when I got behind the mower to try to push it out. 

I ended up flagging Joe down to come help me. 

Then I got busy planting a pasture mix of hay seed in this huge bare spot and along the old fence line where Joe had sprayed earlier this summer and there was a line of dead grass. 

The little utility wagon was most helpful for transporting the bag of seed and bale of straw. 



In the background of this photo, you can see Terry and Billy's second house, that they are now temporarily moved into while their new one is being built. 

I was overheating again, like I had the previous day, so took a lunch break (sitting in the machine shed) because the electrician was busy down at the barn.  Well, sitting there, I got inspired to do more cleaning.

I pulled this big nest of straw down from the corner, that had been up about 12 to 15 feet high.  It smelled of urine, but I was pretty sure it had been built by birds.  I moved some things around for better storage and cleaned up (mostly swept up) straw, dust, and animal feces) as I went.

After the electrician and his wife left for the day, I went down to the barn area to look at their progress.  The lower three photos show, from left to right, what the trench involved.


Joe arrived back to finish mowing, after taking a break at home, and I had him start the burn pile.  I watered flowers in the two tubs by the barn and checked out the new light in the barn.  I was keeping an eye on the fire and did roll the fence posts beside each other to burn better.

Cats choose the oddest places to sleep.

I didn't get to Wildwood until 5:20.  This is one of the barn cats sleeping in a pile of tools.  Silly girl.

Amiga was still lame on her front left leg while circling to the left.  When walking her in a circle to the right it was not noticeable.  I gave her a Prevocox and her daily supplement and put utter balm on her back right foot with the scratches. 

Once home at 6:30 I was ready to collapse, put had to feed cats, dog, and myself, and shower.  It was early to bed with a pain relief sleep aid.

Wednesday 8/25 - The pain relief did the trick, but the sleep aid part of the pill backfired I guess.  I woke (wide awake) at 1am and could not even get close to falling back to sleep.  Maybe the bright moon light was part of the problem.  So I was up working on this blog (since the last three early mornings with company and the ranch prevented me from doing so) till 4:30. 

We were at the ranch by 8:30 and the electrician was already there, struggling to get an eight foot grounding rod the rest of the way into the ground.  We tried helping, but without much success.

Then we got another load of manure to put in the low spot in the upper pasture.  I had driven the wagon of straw and seed up there and Joe left with the little mower to cut grass.  I took the tractor and got another scoop of nice black dirt (from the pile on the concrete pad).  I raked, seeded, and applied straw over the whole bare area.

About the time I finished, Joe came back with the mower to pick up the wagon.  We then 'raced' back to the barn (video). 

The electrician had finally gotten the grounding wire in and was putting a light up in the loafing shed, along with an outlet. 

I headed home for lunch and to rest and cool off before going to work at the pool. 



This is the very shy, skittish, young, feral cat at the pool that we have been feeding.  It was a little kitten at the start of the summer. 

It was 90° out, so of course we were busy at the pool, but not packed because summer is winding down.  I had to get in the pool a few times to cool off. 

I was a little later than usual getting off work because of the number of people who stayed till 6pm closing time.  Carol (at the barn) took care of Amiga for me because I was exhausted and needed to get home to feed my fur babies.  I went to bed at 8:30.

Thursday 8/26 - I was at the pool at 8:15 to open for the water aerobics class.  I finished scrubbing pool tile shortly after the class started.  After washing down all the tables and sweeping the deck, I then set up three banquet tables for the party that would be starting around noon. 

    


The day heated up to nearly 90° and we had a crowd of folks coming to cool off, in addition to those that came to party.


People started bringing food around 11am.  I couldn't believe the amount of dishes set out on the tables.  Look at all the deserts, and this photo was taken before they all got there. 

Consumption started at noon and lasted beyond the time I stayed.  We have such an awesome, people loving, group of pool members, that they invited Wyndham Resort guest to partake because there was so much food.

Once I got off work at 1:15, I joined the party.  I had already had a bunch of the food for lunch, but now I could also enjoy the pudding shots and a beer I had brought. 

I took the plunge and got in the water.  I floated around while talking with my customer (friends).  Somebody else took this photo.  If you look closely you can see me in the pool.  

 

To dry off, I lounged around poolside and rested.  I love listening to the friendly chatter, laughter, and all the joking around that occurs among groups of people.

Exchanging boots for sandals, I left the pool at 3:30 and headed in the direction of the barn.  

The horses had already been brought in when I arrived at Wildwood.  I was glad to see continual progress in the healing process of both Amiga's legs.  I applied the Epsom salt poultice to her sore elbow muscles in front and to the scratches on her back foot.  I also gave her the supplement for bones and joints she has been getting for three years now, but stopped eating last week when it was dumped in her feed.

I didn't need dinner since I had been eating all day.
Joe and I finished watching the last two episodes of season three of Virgin River.  There were six different cliff hangers.  Now I can't wait for season four. 

Friday 8/27 - I woke a few times during the night but at 3:00 was unable to get back to sleep after 30 minutes of trying, so got up and computerized for two hours.  Later, I was woken from a 70 minute nap on the couch by friendly dog kisses.  How can one wake up grumpy with this kind of morning greeting? 

Joe and I were a little slower getting out to the ranch, and the electrician was already out there working.  In this photo, you can see what was left of the three fence posts we have been burning.
 
 

The day before, Joe and the electrician had filled in the ditch.  It still needs some cosmetic work. 


Joe had picked up some milk crates from the Custard Cabin, so I swept off the top shelf of this storage unit and then he threw them up to me, and I stacked them up there.

I bumped my head, getting a knot on it, and probably should have stopped to ice it.  My back was also really hurting me, so I wore my back brace, even though I wasn't doing any heavy lifting.  

I continued work in the machine shed cleaning and sorting and Joe worked at removing the former (not to code) wires from the barn and loafing shed.

As Joe was finishing up, we got word from Terry that she and Billy were ready to turn over keys to the house.  So we ran up there to do a walk through.  The house looked great (other than a few repairs we knew we would need to do) but there were some areas outside I was wanting to tackle.  And guess what, there was a garden rake in the potting shed (which will replace the one Joe broke, running over it with the tractor). 

Patty joined us, to get her first look at the house.  Joe left but Patty and I continued to talk through ideas  for the house.    

I got stung by a wasp out at the loafing shed that is up by the house, while discussing with Patty plans for Amiga and Zorro.  After she left, I returned to the machine shed to close up, and got stung again.  The electrician stopped in from the barn, on his way out, and we looked over the machine shed electrical.  It is worse than the barn.  This panel has no cover, exposed and rusted wires, and the grounding rod outside is not attached to the meter.  We will hire him to do another electrical job in the machine shed. 

I was feeling exhausted by the time I got home.  I hadn't eaten lunch or drank much water.  Once I took care of myself, I then feed the cats and dog.  I caught Babe peeing, right in the middle of our bed.  What the heck?  She got reprimanded and the bed got stripped and I started a load of laundry.  Now I am extremely worried about her not always using the litter box.

Maggie and I went out to the ranch at 6:30.  Sun going down behind unattached garage with pool also visible.

I wanted to see the sunset and what things looked like out there after dark.  Maggie inspected the house and I could tell she could smell Terry's dogs.  She settled on this little throw rug Patty had donated. 

We were left with some furniture including this pretty table and chairs.  So come on out to dine with us.

And this is the sectional and recliners left in the front sun room.

I went outside to sit and read my daily devotional at the fire pit and watch the sky as the sun set. 

Maggie had explored the fenced in yard some, but rather than wander off, she preferred to be near me. 

She is a silly girl. 

Other than some neighborhood dogs barking, it was quite peaceful.  Some of the neighbors let their dogs run loose.  I do not like them coming onto our property because I want to be able to let Maggie run loose, so we will be discouraging them from visiting.

The sky and distant mountains were beautiful.

I walked with Maggie down to the barn to check out the new light in the barn and in the loafing shed down there.  The sky continued to impress me. 

This one light sure does illuminate the space, and it’s up to code and very safe.

 

Maggie is such a good girl.  I think she is really going to enjoy visiting the ranch. 

We soon headed home.  I was feeling weird.  I had chills and wondered if it was the wasp stings that would do that.  I was also a mess because my head hurt, my back hurt, my butt (sciatica) was bugging me, and my two fingers that had been stung were itching and throbbing.

I took ibuprofen and slept in a guest bed upstairs because ours was not made and the sheets had just been moved to the dryer.