Yard remodel - phase three

Need power!

The whole barn move project hinged on power.  Without wiring electricity out there we would choose not to move the barn.  Keeping water from freezing has been the hardest part of housing the horse out back during the winter.  That and nor'easter storms.  For some reason those would fill the run in shelter with snow.  The tiny barn can be closed up tight on a nor'easter so that wouldn't pose a problem but keeping water from freezing was an issue worth fixing.  The answer was power.  We had to run just over 450' of line from the house to the barn.  That meant a bigger service for the distance than what we already had in the ground to the chicken coop and the tiny barn in it's current location.  We had to go right from the house with a new wire and run that separately to the panel.  Trench.  Conduit.  Pull wire and install.  The first tool we rented for the job didn't work.  It was under-powered for what we were doing.  It was frustrating too.  First we brought it back to the rental place and they fixed it so we thought that was the only issue.  Then we learned better.  It would stop working after less than a minute of trenching.  So the next weekend we tried again only with this piece of equipment.  This was the right stuff!

So much fun to dig with!

Millie "supervising"

mini bobcat with trenching tool

Millie filling it in.

This tool got the trench dug in short order.  Next we had to lay conduit.  Once that was all installed and glued we could pull the wire and hook it up!  Nice to have a brother in law electrician to help us with supplies, advice and stuff!
Millie loved this project as digging is her favorite.  Except chasing rocks.  That is really her favorite.  But digging is a close second.  She was filling the trench in when we wanted it open and then digging the conduit up once we buried it.  She tries to help.  She really does.

Yard Remodel - phase two

Lining the trailer up

Barn Moving Day!

We bought the barn from Hill View Mini Barns.  When we discussed moving the barn one option was to roll it on large logs by ourselves.  We had to move it 400 feet or so and across that stone bridge we have.  Somehow that seemed daunting.  Another idea was to hire a tow truck.  They could drag it up on a ramp truck and move it.  $300 bucks or so.  I was soooo nervous about that--it would be so high we'd have to cut limbs on the trees at the bridge.  They were not insured for damages...etc.  So we called Hill View to see what it would cost to move it.  $450.  AND WORTH EVERY PENNY.  This truck and trailer is so specialized to the job.  We were floored.  The single man who arrived moved the barn in under an hour and without a hitch at all.  The barn moved easily and we were all impressed with how it has been aging.  The sill was in excellent condition.  

And up we go!

Crossing the bridge

The trailer on that truck could move side to side (as seen in the video) with this extra axle that dropped down and faced the opposite direction.  The driver didn't have to actually drive the truck to line up where he wanted it...he could move the barn side to side with his remote control until it was in the perfect spot.  Amazing.  The barn settled into it's new spot nicely.  I dare say the horse was thrilled.  He preferred to hang out in the barn when he had the choice of the 2 buildings for the next couple of weeks.  I think he missed his barn when he lived out back.

Here comes the barn, King!

My first morning feeding with all the horse "things" in one location!  Life is good.  

With the barn in it's new spot we decided to park the horse trailer back there too.  How nice it was for me to think, "I need a brush today to get that mud off him" and voila! there was a brush nearby to use.  In the last 2 years that usually meant a 400 foot trek back to the barn or to the trailer and then back again to the shelter...that is if the horse was still hanging out at the shelter, instead of running off into the next couple of acres...
I feel so grateful for the closeness of the buildings.

Leveling the floor

New counter and shelves.

One of our friends has hired 2 of our older sons in the past as farm sitters.  They both came home talking about the "apothecary" that she had.  I have one now too!  Another friend of mine wrote an article for Horse Illustrated and it had some barn ideas.  Well, we used several of them in the barn now.  I have a counter to do things at.  I have a magnetic strip on the wall for my tools to stick to.  I have a cabinet for dust free storage of some items.  It's all so awesome.  :)  And of course the actual tack is right there in the trailer nearby.  I love it.  I love it so much that I even spent one whole thunderstorm out there with the horse.  I sat in a chair in the barn and watched the rain and light show while I was knitting and listening to King munch on his hay.  Soooo relaxing.  I love this space.  Thank you John!

Yard Remodel - phase one

Where the barn has been for 10 years.

We moved here in 2006 and set up our out buildings in a way that was appropriate for our family and pets and interests at the time.  Well.  Times have changed a bit since then.  The barn has been an excellent investment.  We spent minimal money for a very well built structure.  It was delivered on a truck and just dropped off on the site.  So easy!  But for 2 years now it's been sitting vacant most of the time.  We built a shelter in the back field some years ago and the horse really preferred to live out there.  So for 2 winters now we have attempted to keep him out there as much as possible.  Turns out it is possible.  But it's a real pain.  The shelter had no storage with it so the hay was kept in the tent structure as we had kept hay for the last 10 years.  The tiny barn still had the feed room and blanket storage.  And we were storing shavings in the old chicken coop.  It made for very challenging feed routines.  We've struggled with the decision to build a "real barn" the whole 10 years.  Our long term plan had been to construct a 20'X30' bank barn in that hill near where the tiny barn has been.  But after many, many pro and con lists we just can't seem to justify building that structure now.  However, a yard remodel was desperately needed.  

There are just 3 of us living full time at the house now.  And our youngest son has different interests than his brothers.  Naturally.

A boy in his element...in the summer.

The same boy in his element...in the winter.

So not only did we need to consolidate the horse hobby but we needed to house the motor hobby as it has been growing for some time now. 

Project overview...Move barn to back field, run electrical power to the barn, re-purpose the run in shed to a hay storage building, relocate a portable garage tent and repurpose it to a, well.  A garage.  Remove old chicken coop and clean up yard (remove old horse fence, re-configure new fence, etc.)  

Gravel arriving.

We rented a nice backhoe for a day to remove the soil and install gravel in it's place.  We moved the gravel with this equipment too.  Turns out the 15 year old could run this thing as if he'd had one his whole life.  The word "element" really does come to the lips when we see him spending time with machinery.

Rented backhoe to prepare the site for the barn.

While we're at it maybe we could pop out a few of those pesky rocks...

Construction Trades Day

So much so that he hopes to go to college for heavy equipment.  The high school had a construction trades day and he got to go.  This photo is of him on a slightly larger backhoe.  He also got to work with an excavator.  

After finishing the work they had set out to do (by just after lunchtime) the green light was given to the boy to go and dig out some rocks that he really wanted to get at.  They are in the way when he mows the yard.  They are also in the way when he snowplows the yard.  He was just itching to get them dug up and moved.  He was successful with a good handful of them and then he discovered that some rocks were just way too big to move.  We did finally find the bottom (or at least one bit of the bottom) of this rock and it was a full 4 feet from top to bottom.  We attempted to undermine the rock and shove it over a little to reduce it's poking out of the ground but that wasn't very successful.  It proved to be of an odd shape too.  I think this boy dreams of getting at that rock again someday--with a full size excavator!!

Some rocks are just too big for this equipment.

John's Selfies

Mom and son

John likes selfies.  Okay, to be clear on this...he's been taking selfies long before I ever knew there was a word for this.  He's been taking them since before we knew each other (going back over 25 years now...)

We have 35 mm camera photos he took of himself from trips to DC and maybe even one up on the silo back at the farm.  I know I've seen a few selfies from his way back past before.   Now that the technology has made it easier we have LOTS of selfies.  I will be at work and get a text message from him and it's often a selfie.  I, myself, don't have the skill or the interest to master the "selfie".  I've tried a few.  They didn't please me.  'Nough said.  

But John.  Yes he loves them.  Here are a few I found while looking through the photos from this year.

The first group is during a trip back home.  If you were "lucky" enough to get close to him--you got photographed.  I think Judy was clever enough to avoid him....

Gotcha Raymond

Sister Annie

Sis-in-law Rosie

Brother Chris

Sister Mary

On our anniversary

On the ropes course with us---c'mon John!  What's taking you so long?

Out golfing with friends

babysitting

Grandson!

Out fishing.

In california (okay this one was with a timer)

At Arethusa Falls

Good looking Son

Happy Father's Day

Me too

Me Three!

Me four!  Happy Father's Day John.

Hiking

Father's Day 

Beautiful View from here

One of the new old favorite past times is to go walking, geocaching and hiking now that we have a dog in our lives again.  For the different special occasions where we actually all gathered together this year and asked what people wanted to do--the answer came back the same a few times.  Go for a hike.  We do live in a beautiful place for this activity.  So here are some photos from hikes in the spring and fall this year.  

"But I don't want to hike anymore.  C'mon in--the water is nice."

We're hoping that with a little more training this pup can become a real good citizen for hikes.  Right now, squirrels are too interesting and we're quite certain we'd lose her if she was off the leash.  Someday maybe she will get the hang of it.  She is a fairly "low energy" dog and gets tired.  The kids took her up Mt. Major one day when John and I were both at work.  I warned them that they might have to carry her.  I think they did for a little bit!  (up the steep rocks) She gets tired and hot and thirsty easily.  If we come across water she will lay down in it and not want to leave.  We think her mixed breeds are German Shepherd, Pyranese and Labrador Retriever.  It's a weird mix of personality for sure!  So the water loving long haired beast does this lie down in the water thing as often as she can.

The view of Luck Now Castle "Castle in the Clouds" while taking a break 

Father and son on the Birthday hike

Right near the geocache

New trails to explore in our town this year.  

Loving the foliage

Welcome New Grand Baby!!

Congratulations!

Happy Grand dad with the new one

Welcome to the newest member of the family!  This year has been memorable in many ways, especially in the addition of our second grand son.  The new parents, J & C, did great in getting him to the world and ready for grandparents to enjoy him.

 He is such a sweet child with very little fuss (but he may be tired from the ordeal).  His brother was quite excited to have an addition to the family.

This time-elapse photo allows us all to see how everyone did this summer, as we enjoyed a day at the beach & playground area of Odiorne State Park.