My Little Red Barn, new stall & electric done

I got the wall for the second stall done, the barn now has 3 sections. The plan was to have the middle for feed, tack & supplies. One end stall for the geese & one end for the guinea hens. But the early addition of the horses has slightly changed things. As you can see I have put the hay in the new stall. The barn has a hayloft but until I build a pulley system I have no way to get it up there. I will get that done before winter. 


Doing the electric was way easier than I thought it would be! I still need to get some large U nails to attach the wire cables to the ceiling rafters. There is a light switch in the garage but I might put one in the barn too later on. 


The goslings will be here Wednesday, they will stay over night in a brooder set up in the house then they will go into this "Chick Corral" until the guinea arrive on the 30th. Then the goslings will go out in the stall and the guinea chicks will go in the "Chick Corral". 





Mark helped me with the chicken run frame and I was amazed at how quickly we got it done! This will be a temporary outside in closer to keep the babies safe until they are big enough that the crows & hawks wont bother them. Then it will be taken down. It is smaller than I had planed but it wont be needed for long. 


I am really loving working on/in the barn! As I sit in my spot reflecting, I still have many more projects to do. But I look forward to them as I am LIVING the dream! 

Lori's Hat Project & Mark's Wood Spirits

 The photo on the left was my favorite hat I got in Alaska that got left behind. I have been looking for a replacement but have not been successful. I did find a hat with a similar shape though but couldn't find the same stile hatband. As I was searching I stumbled on a bead craft website that just happened to have the same kind of bone beads as on the original hatband. So I decided to try & make one myself! 

I had to buy all the pieces separately, even the brass setting & stone was bought from different places. I was very pleased when the stone arrived & actually fit in the setting! To my amazement I actually did it! It isn't perfect or exactly like the original but nether is the hat. All in all I did a good job and it is close enough that I am very happy with the end result! I'm thinking about making some more to sell with Mark's carvings! =)

Mark's Wood Spirits 

 Mark has been carving like crazy! He has even sold a few already! The top right & the second from the top on the left he has carved as trophies for a fishing tournament coming up. He also has photos of the step by step making of the kayak. (above right) When he gets around to it he will post that later.


I can't tell you a lot about these, Mark will get on later to edit this post with descriptions. He is doing an incredible job bringing out the spirit with in the wood! And he is now trying out some larger chainsaw carvings for yard art! He has started on his first one and it is coming along great so far! 

We will be getting a both at the Tokeland Wood Fest July 28 & 29th. 

Hope to see you there!            

Unexpected Guests

A lot has happened since my last post and I have been very busy! It all started the weekend of April 21st. My son and I made a trade of his Canon CMOS Pro camcorder for my Native kayak. He came to visit and we went to Ocean Shores Duck Lake to try them out. It was a beautiful warm early spring day, we had a great time kayaking, taking pictures & video. We even had the opportunity to video & photo some new baby ducks! Of course we saw lots of deer too. As we were cruising through one of the canals we caught a couple of raccoon begging at someones sliding door! We had a lot of fun and decided that it was a good trade! We got home late but I down loaded a movie maker software to play with the video later.                                                                                              

We had planed to just hang out Sunday so we got up late and eased into the day. I wanted to show off the work I had done in the barn before Chris left and decided to fill up the bird feeder while waiting for him to come out. As Rowdy & I came around the back of the house my dog froze in a defensive stance looking at something just out of my site on the side of the house. 


I think everyone has some kind of childhood fantasy that stays with them, once we reach adulthood we realize how silly it is and store it away somewhere in our memory to be pondered on in some lazy daydream knowing that there is no way for it to come true. 


Well on that warm, sunny Sunday morning my childhood fantasy came true! As I slowly walked up to my dog, what he was looking at came into view. Standing there in my yard looking back at us were two horses!!! The little one even nickered a greeting! My first thought, of course this is the one time in my life that I don't have a halter!


I grabbed the dog & ran into the house in a total panic and shock. I don't even remember this part, I must have gotten something I could use as a lead, yelled something about keeping the dog in the house in between saying over & over "horses in the yard!" Truns out I didn't need the lead, by the time I got back out  to the yard the horses had walked right into the pasture and all I had to do was shut the gate! 


AND if this wasn't amazing enough, it took almost two weeks to finally get a hold of the owner, when I did he said that his situation had changed and he couldn't take care of them any more. He said that if I wanted them I could have them! Mark & I talked about it and even though it is much sooner than we planed we can make it work. So "My Little Red Barn" has new occupants and our little farm family has grown by 2 horses!!

We don't have any history on the horses, just the little bit that the old owner told me. The first one I want to tell you about is the pony, Snoopy. He is an Appy gelding about 13.2 hands high. The vet told me he is in his mid 20's and in good health. He also told me that like dogs the smaller horses live longer so his age shouldn't be a problem. He has exceptional ground manners & has had some good halter training in his past. He loves attention and nickers to me when I come out. He is just a little pushy at feeding time but that is getting better every day. I suspect he has had some good riding training as well but I wont know for sure until I ride and evaluate him which I will do in the next couple of days. I am pretty sure he will be perfect for the kids!


Mark has been calling the big bay thoroughbred mare Honeycome. She is almost 16 hands tall, just right for Mark & all the adult kids! However she is only 6 yrs old. She also has good ground manners, she loves attention & will come right up to you in the pasture. She is sweet & good natured but I get the impression she is use to getting her way. If you walk up to her with a halter or rope in your hands she will run away. We have already had a couple lessons on this & she is getting better. However once the halter is on she is real good! The old owner told me that she was not broke when he got her, said he had her for about two years & did all of her training & that he has even hunted with her. So basically she has had no formal training. I have not decided for sure how I will proceed with her yet. It will depend on how well she does with the lunge line, with & with out the saddle. 


In between taking care of the horses I did get the barn done. I just need to do some finishing odds & ends to get it just right. The new stall I built is now being used for hay so I have not put up a gate like I had planed. The small stall will still be used for the geese & guineas hens. I will have some photos in my next post. I still need to build the outdoor run for the birds, I need to get on that, the goslings will be here next week!  


So the moral of this post... 

Don't ever give up on your dreams! Sometimes they do come true!!