Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Slow Progress is Better than No Progress

Okay, I'll admit. I've been really grudgy and angry lately with regard to barn progress. Things stalled out for a solid week+ due to various things, and when I thought about putting together any kind of progress post I immediately had a bunch of negative thoughts because it felt like nothing was changing.

But then when I went back to check the date of my last progress post paired with the photos, I realized, Oh shit, we actually HAVE made progress. 

And this is precisely why this blog is invaluable. From horse training to barn building, when progress seems stagnated, I have but to review past entries to find that my mind is playing tricks on me and things are actually far better than they seem.

And so, despite thinking I had nothing to update on and would have nothing to update on for another forever, let me fill you in on what has happened since August 9! Cue: photo montage.

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August 11
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Barn door progress
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Finally got my slow feed net for the basket which slowed the horses from finishing their daily ration in 3-4 hours to taking ~20 hours. WIN.
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Such pretty stall walls!
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Butttttt it's a total construction zone of chaos in the aisle
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Cherry and maple
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Inside the first stall
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Closer detail
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Inside the second stall
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Makeshift feed area in second stall
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Framed out third stall
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Door progress
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Still no siding in the horse area
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Framing detail of back window
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They took to the net surprisingly well! 
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August 12
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Sigh to the perpetual construction zone
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All of my barn doors will look like this! Dave opted to even do them in the front, too.
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Can't wait to see what it looks like with both doors
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Gutter for the dry lot extending down the aisle
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Framing for another barn door
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A long, fragile gutter
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Learning to manage these three during meals has been interesting. Stan is an ASSHOLE about food. I learned quickly that the hay basket alone wouldn't work.
For a short period, I would put hay in an additional net (not slow feed) to keep him away from the basket for a bit so the
others could eat for a time without being harrassed/beat up. That's what is happening in this shot.
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Creeping one morning to see if they could all eat from the basket at once.
They're used to sharing a round bale feeder with their former herd mates,
so I had faith maybe the could share this and maybe just when I wasn't around?
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Griffin, my low man on the totem pole had to be ready to run at a moment's notice, but he was getting some food this AM.
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Front door framed out and up.
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Um. Lady, this barn is supposed to be for me, yes? Not all this shit? - Griffin, probably
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But I mean.... 
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A peaceful summer evening. View to the west.
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View to the east.
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Dramatic clouds and lighting...and pony. He reared right after this photo because being asked to stand still was Too Much.
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The first of what will be many foggy mornings.
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Installing fence posts. Getting the fence installed has been A Thing. Spoiler alert, it still isn't done. 
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Itsy bitsy baby ring-necked snake!
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Prep for electrical work.
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A door on the tack/feed room!
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Still getting there with framing out the stalls...
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All the stall doors framed out. The interior wood is 100 year old red spruce.
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Framing of one door.
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Yep. This doesn't suck.
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Exterior siding going up under the overhang.
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Oh look, the tack/feed room is really taking shape!
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Pretty sweet!
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Still a mess of an aisle way though...
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So much chaos.
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Shingles going up on the back under the eave
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Odd panorama, but you get the idea.
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August 22...this view really hasn't changed much in awhile. Except for the mulching progress!
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More shingles on the back. Really starting to get an idea of what the finished picture will be like!
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Electrical work 
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My LED aisle lights are BRIGHT, y'all.
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Completed siding under the overhang and a wealth of temporary hot tape lol
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This asshole will forever live in his own 1/3 section of the dry lot. I'll have a slow feeder for him in short order.
Everyone is so much happier with this arrangement. Stan gets his food all to himself and the other two horses don't have new bite marks.
After Griffin turned up with a 6 inch long gash on his rump, I gave up on any hopes of finding a way to keep them all in the same area.
I could feed them in stalls only, but don't want them cooped up in there when they have a dry lot they can move about in.
I could put out multiple feeders (and still may try this one day in the future), but there isn't that much space and I'd like to minimize the
number of things I clutter it with.
And so for now, this is the solution that is working and keeping everyone happy and fed. YAY.
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One partially complete stall door! Dave made them sliding doors to maximize the utilization of the space.
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Just a beautiful evening ride with my neighbor
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Got all three horses out!
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I cannot even. I will never, ever, ever cease to be grateful that I live in this place and get to enjoy views like this.
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Especially that I get to enjoy them on horseback.
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Pretty damn amazing.
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I had a weekend home alone for the first time in AGES. So what did I do? Mulched and seeded the shit out of all the disturbed areas finally!
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IT LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER.
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My anxiety lessened with every square inch that became seeded and mulched.
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Even took care of the patchy areas.
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And packed it on thick where the slopes were steepest.
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SO MUCH WORK. But so worth it. So, so worth it.
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Happy horses eating away (Stan under the overhang)
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Another beautiful evening ride
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The first time all three horses have been out together with their own riders since coming home!
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Another beautiful sunset (the mowed grass is one of my gallop hills)
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Lots of stops to let the horses graze 
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Gotta get the behind the ears sunset shot! Even if Grif just wanted to eat.
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Kate LOVED Q. She usually rides Grif and this was her first night on Q.
She squealed with delight more times than I could count.
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And Miss Emma had a blast on Stanimal. I think these two will become a regular pair.
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Wandering home.

And so, progress may be slow, but at least things are moving forward. I'll do my best to provide another update in a shorter time period than it's taken me to get this one out. I don't have last night's photos uploaded, so you'll have to wait for those. In the mean time, I will share that the exterior doors are completely framed out and ready to be hung and the shingles under the eave in the back have been completed. I also plugged my lights into a cool device that lets me turn them on and off with a remote from my house! This is amazing and will persist even after we aren't living on extension cords down there.

Everything gets a little easier every day as I get my routine dialed in. I'm slowly moving my things into the barn in a manner that works with the interim state of things. It's a bit chaotic having to shuffle around tools and dance under the temp fence, but I'm making it work. Having the horses home and in my care is worth all the dancing I have to do right now. Being able to see them daily and love on them is the greatest thing ever.

18 comments:

  1. Bah Stan, why must you make things difficult during mealtime! So glad to see all your ponies out all together though and the barn taking shape. I'm so glad (and jealous haha) that you are pretty much living the horse girl's dream (:

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  2. Absolutely gorgeous, all of it! <3

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  3. Those stalled out periods where it feels like nothing is really happening are legit the worst (in one myself at the moment 😬) but it's cool to be able to look back at the blog and see otherwise! And God those sunset through the ears photos 😍😍😍

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  4. I saw a ringneck snake the other day just like yours. I didn't pick it up (Shudders) but I shooed him away so I wouldnt (NOR REMUS WOULDNT) squish him. Lol LOVE ALL THE PHOTOS! Lovely lovely place. I would have the same issues if I had another horse right now (Stan = Remus and vice versa) HA.

    I cant wait for it all to be done!!

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    1. I love how much wildlife you have!! If yours was a small ickle snakeykins he probably couldn't bite you if he tried - that's a big component in me deciding to pick them up! ;-) I've also been finding a TON of red bellied snakes - they're so pretty.

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  5. The barn is looking amazing!

    What lights are you using for the aisle?

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    1. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JVXLQ8R?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

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  6. It's all so beautiful. So inspiring!

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  7. Gorgeous views. It’s so frustrating when things move slowly and you can’t do anything to speed it up. The barn is coming along nicely though! Damn Stan and his food issues. We bring ours in to eat and then immediately put them back out. Sometimes Gem refuses to go back out and I have to remind her she is an outside animal. Princess that she is. But it keeps the peace between them all. I hope your current situation works out and they all remain happy and healthy!

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  8. Things are coming right along. I love that baby snake- so very cute. Once the get used to the digs and each other you may be able to have the three of them out together.

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  9. stan's kindy report says doesn't share well with others. he looks so innocent in that photo too :P

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    1. Ugh. He is NOT innocent! Cute, yes. lol He has been aggressive about "meal times" for his whole life. While I don't condone it, his original owners did put a shock collar on him for a time because he was SO VICIOUS to the other geldings at meal time. He wore a cribbing collar back then so he didn't realize something had changed other than getting a shock every time he tried to tear chunks out of the other horses. He hasn't been as vicious ever since. 🤷

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  10. I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again: your barn is magazine-spread-worthy-nicer-than-my-house STUN-NING.

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    1. Aw, shucks! But srsly, Dave has made it much fancier than I could have ever dreamed!

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  11. The progress sneaks up on you because you look at it everyday but for us readers it's so rapid!

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  12. aw i love this <3 <3 also yea... just like with horses, the first few steps are so big and momentous -- the each new accomplishment is like a giant new milestone. but then in comparison, the farther along we get, the more subtle the changes become, the harder they are to see. it's why it's so easy to feel stalled out or stuck, which is so frustrating. things really are coming together tho, it's so so so exciting!!

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  13. Blogs are so great for progress! Your barn looks amazing, as do those views 😍

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