Sunday, August 30, 2015

The fair weekend....

well.. what can I say about "the rock".... here it is..in all it's finest and I am beginning to think it enjoys giving us all the trouble that it has. We needed it moved so that the new retaining wall could go in, but despite heavy equipment and many other attempts... it's just not budging...

we have just decided that it's going to stay... we'll dig a hole behind it, and see if we can roll it back a bit and get the room we need to work around it...


Abi said she wanted a picture of her with the rock, which is really sweet.. but it also shows the size of this thing and when it's buried and no one knows it there...

we'll know...
It's hard to believe that the fair is back in town... another season.. fall is just around the corner... I got a few entries put in... one being Ed's quilt that I have been working on for years. I actually thought this quilt was kind of ugly and had thought a few times of throwing it out. But the "yankee side of me" would never allow that... so, I push threw and got it quilted...

Now that I see it hanging here with the other quilts and with a pretty red (second place) ribbon to boot... I am happy with it, and after this I will use it on our bed...
Abi spends the weekends with her Dad.. so we had to snag her for an evening at the fair... we haven't been on opening night before, so it was great fun to see everything just opened....
and it's fun to spoil her with all the rides that she wants to take.....
We walked threw the barns... saw all the babies... ate all the bad foods that we could hold and just had a night of fun....


We went back to the fair the next day as well with the other grand.... I love watching the horse pulls.. I know not everyone is a fan and they don't understand it.. but i think they're great...

Reagan and Nate check out a team...
These beautiful animals are built for power, and overall, I feel they are handled well.... there's a lot of work, training and pride that goes into the team of pulling horses....
Bruce, Catie and Craig joined us as well... Reagan was all too happy to share his views of the fair.....
The display barns always have great things to show off... nice frame of bees here....
And the stocking that I made for Reagan also pulled a red ribbon... (really thought this would do better than that... but that's the "risk" you take with a fair entry)....
Course we did the barns with Reagan as we had done with Abi... I'm so happy that our grands are not afraid of animals.... 

well, they can't be can they???
This little calf was quite smitten with Reagan... but I think the feeling is mutual...
Catie and Bruce check out the alpaca......
but, there's no denying "what" is Reagan's favorite.. he couldn't wait to see the tractors... even though he sees them all the time. He climbed right up on this one... the only trouble was..

getting him down.....
the promise of a toy was just what we needed.... but giving him "whatever you like" might not have been the best idea....
cause he picked the biggest one he could find (or carry)... but isn't that what the fair is all about.  Too much of everything that is good......



After two fun nights at the fair, it was back to business.... we are determined to get this deck done before the summer is gone. Working on it these hot days has not been the most fun, but we just don't have a choice some days.... at least now with the decking done.. the railings should be a bit easier... and I will feel much better when they are up...

Looking good and just the first section makes me feel more secure.....

I really can't wait for this to be all done!!!!
Monday morning the guys were back to begin the work under the deck... the new paved area and retaining wall will be so nice to work with .... the doggies feet will be cleaner coming in and it will give them a shady spot to enjoy being outside...

We got the rock moved enough that they can get the wall in... and as I "feared" when it's all done,... the rock will be completely hidden from view..... it's sad.. but it has to be.. and I know that it's there...




So, the deck, the new walkway out front.. the area in the back are just great project that we have wanted done... but there is just one more.. which is a bonus, but no less appreciated....

I'm going to have an official round pen area to work the horses in ..... complete with proper footing... so out comes the grass to make room for some nice sand like footing...


this is going to be a great place to have....


looking this blog over I called it "fair weekend".. maybe it should have been "projects getting done"..

either way.. it's really happening here at the farm!!!!

Saturday, August 29, 2015

busy on the farm.....

It's great fun, and the work is going well.. but I have to say, it's been very busy around here these past few days/weeks.... the guys are going great on the walkway and by the evening this will be finished up...
They are so picky about which brick goes where. But where ever it lands, that is where it will live "forever".. so it is important to make those changes now...

There's lots of "fussing" with the spacing and making sure that it all lines up. I can appreciate that... when we were tiling the floor in the house... if one line begins to go off... you have big troubles in the end. So, keeping it all in order at the start means a lot. 




and truly.. it took just the day to lay it all out. We will have to wait a bit to use it... it needs to settle down and then be packed with some "sand" that keeps everything in place. But what a huge difference it makes and I'm so glad we opted to go ahead and do this. 
Since they are here already... Ed and I decided that we could/should have the lower side done. With the new deck on, it makes a nice place underneath where the doggies run in and out... however, there is trouble and we need some big equipment to help out...
And this is "trouble".. this big rock that was moved when the foundation of the house was put in. We had been using it as a retaining wall... but, it really isn't "retraining". So, a brick wall is going in...
But.... the rock needs to come out!!!! and thus the big machine that goes in here next... just hope this doesn't turn out to be "interesting" 
It's the fair weekend too.. so we have "stolen" Abi for a few nights to come and play on the farm and go to the fair with us.... Joey seems happy to have her company...
And she loves "working" with him...... 
She's been saying that she wants to ride Tonka and learn how to ride horses. So after supper, I asked if she were really up for it and she was excited. We pulled him out, and Abi gave him a good grooming...
Got the saddle on and she hopped right up. It took her a few minutes to get used to his height and movement, but she really wanted to try. After going around a few times, she began to relax and really enjoyed being on him...
I was pleased at how gentle he is with her... I would love for her to really get into horses.... 
After her riding lesson, she tore up and down the driveway on her bike... so nice that she can come and be with us, and we have the change to spoil her.  Tomorrow we'll head out to the fair....
and I got the cutest note in the mail from the little gals who came to visit... they really enjoyed being with the horses and Abi...


memories!!!!