thank you kind driver....

It was an amazing fall afternoon, so after a morning of dog training, it was time to get Tonka back into harness and do some "driving" with him.... I can't believe it's Friday and this is the first time I have had him out all week. We "drove" around the field for a bit and since it was all looking so good, we headed out to the road. A few cars passed us... no big deal. Then I saw an oil truck pulling onto the road... Oh well, I thought, we got to learn to pass these things as well. The truck noticed us right away and slowed down, approaching us with respect and caution... Tonka plodded along... "this looks good", I thought... and then all of a sudden, he jumps into the center of the road (sort of in front of the truck) and begins to pitch a fit!!!! Surprisingly, I was not one bit nervous, and just kept talking to him calmly and asking him to get back to work. He began to settle down, when the truck (due to the way it works) let out a sharp "hiss" of air, and that was that. Tonka was no way... about to co-operate. So, I walked him into our neighbor's back yard, just to get him off the street, and give him a minute to pull his head together. The truck, seeing a good opportunity to get out of our way, passed quickly. It took me a few minutes to pull Tonka back together, and then we were back on the street, and working again. He was still a bit jumpy, but at least he was listening, and I was pretty happy to be on foot behind him and not in a cart!!!! We "played" along the road for a while and then headed back home. Guess I found out a weak spot in our training, and that means... more road work for sure. But I am very grateful to a smart and kind driver, and though I doubt I will ever know "who he was"... may I say thank you for helping me out with my horse!!!!

Welcome baby, Maya

This is little Maya, who arrived on the earth on Wednesday (22) at 3:10 pm. Her parents are Mandi and Patrick, they are dear friends of Kas and Nate. Patrick is in the Marine corps and heads for Iraq in January..... Mandi was Kassy's "rock" when she lived in NC and was going thru all the deployments with Nate, and the back and forth trips to Maine. I know that both Kas and Nate miss their friends and were certainly very sad not to have been in NC for the special event. Either way, Maya can count on us as "extended family" and it is in the plan that she and Mommy Mandi will come to Maine next summer for a visit while Daddy is away!!!! Blessings to you Maya, and welcome to the world. You have amazing parents!!!!!!

one of those kind...

Lucky me, Monday turned out to be "one of those days".. you know them, we all have them.. when everything you touch goes a muck, or requires "a million more steps" than normal. And try as I might, the more I did, the "worse" it got. I ran out of time on everything and it seemed at the end of the day... nothing was accomplished. Which really isn't true... I got the laundry done, did barn chores, met with a private student and taught two dog classes, but I was done by the end of the day.

THEN to top it all off... we have had a sadness to deal with... we have "lost" one of our little guinea hens.. one of the little white ones to be exact. And I feel pretty bad about this.. for someone "who really didn't care about birds".. I have grown pretty fond of these guys and loosing one makes me very sad. It was a beautiful day, so I let the birdies out early. At noontime I needed to travel to York to meet with my client and then to teach, I hated the idea of locking them in so "early" in the day, even though I knew we wouldn't be home until well after dark. But, they have been excellent about coming in on their own as the sun begins to set, so I was pretty sure they would head for the barn when it got dark. Well, when we went to button things up after we got home, there were the guinea hens in the barn... but only 6 of them... one was missing. I took a flash light out to the trees, just to see if "she" had roosted somewhere ..but no sign. The next morning, I looked around again... nothing. Yesterday afternoon, as Ed and I were increasing the size of the pasture (again) we found the tell tale signs.... a spot in the middle of the field covered in white feathers, and then another small spot with more white feathers.... "someone" got her for sure. My "gut" feeling is a hawk, we have some pretty big ones here and if it were big enough, it could have picked her up.... and the fact that the "crime" scenes were way out in the field, I wonder if he caught her and then had to land and re=group before taking off again. Either way, "she" is gone and I will be keeping a very careful eye on the rest of the group, and won't leave them out again if I have to be gone for a long time. I knew it was a "risk" allowing them to free range, but, I can't keep them locked up in the stall forever. it's not fair to them.

So,by the time Monday was over, I was pretty happy to say goodbye to that day...... and so far, the rest of the days this week have gone pretty well...

guess it was just "one of those days".....

behind the Belgians...

This past weekend was Harvestfest in our old home town... so, nothing doing, we had to go and spend some time there. We went down yesterday for a few hours to enjoy some of the food and see the crafts. So many beautiful items and workmanship, but a bit on the pricey side. We got to see many of our friends, and chat with them, all curious about the progress of the new house and if we are happy "up on the farm".. (which of course we are!!!).

Then after we did that, we went with Kas and Nate to see the puppies (yesterday's blog)

And today, I just had to go back down again, because our good friends, Becky and Butch were there giving rides with their team of Belgians... Bill and Ben. So, the day was spent visiting with them and enjoying the "backside of the Belgians. The world looks so different from the height of a wagon and the sound of those feet on the pavement... just an amazing time!!!!

These are gentle giants and at roughly 1600 lbs apiece... it's a good thing that they are. Butch is a true horseman and his team trusts him. It is such fun to watch the relationship that they have, which is why they can be so calm in the midst of the crowds, cars and who knows what else comes down the road. But what amazes me is how people are around horses, they really don't have a clue sometimes, and will run out in front of them, or stand and watch them walk up to them, or just not even think before they do something, I guess people aren't used to being around horses and maybe think of them as a dog!!!

One really neat thing about knowing Becky and Butch, is we get "front seat rides"... (and as many as we want)... we can also get rides for friends... (right Betty???) and if "they" are very good, there can even be a ride for a dog... (hey Kato)... Sadie and Matt enjoyed their ride thru the town....

Here Becky gives the "boys" some hugs and pats, just letting them know they are doing a good job!!!!

The day was cold and quite windy... but the sun was bright, and it was a grand time...

now, I need to get Tonka back to work!!!!!

puppy visits....

Amoung a few things today (more in another blog) was a visit to see "my grand-dog"... aka: Kas and Nate's new baby, Banjo. He is four weeks old now, and in just another four weeks, they will be able to bring him home.

Mary, Ed and Rosie are doing the most wonderful job raising this litter... all the puppies are thriving and it really would be hard to pick just one as a favorite. Mary told us today, that almost the whole litter has been spoken for and she is very excited about the homes that they will all be heading off to.

We arrived for our visit at nap time, so poor little Banjo (and his sister and brothers) weren't too excited about having company. He is a real little cuddle bug!!!

"Can I please go back to bed???"

And speaking of visits... we have a few guests staying with us. Two Labradoodle puppies (and yes, they have been with us before)... they love walking with the cockers, and it's quite a "crew" that I take out each day. Here we have... (left to right) Tazzy, Camille, Hunter and Trevor (there are two black dogs there) and Rosie's Boy and Cherry Pie. Moxie and Cole didn't do the walk, their slower pace makes it hard to walk the "younger" dogs with them... so they get their own special time....I think the neighborhood is getting used to me walking by... instead of staring they now just wave and smile......

pictures of the day...

A new use for pumpkins..... paper weights......
A joint ready to be put together......

Eric touches up.....

Buzz getting all the pieces in place

Ken and Buzz making certain everything is perfect.....
And the progress that was made this week.... it's really looking like "something"

And a little cocker spaniel who has had a very busy day....... Miss Moxie!!!!!!

a week of trucks...

It's been a "week of trucks" around here again. I like "trucks" as they mean "progress" in a strange sort of way... though, I am very glad NOT to see dump trucks anymore!!! I truly understand "dirt poor" as each dump truck that brought us "fill" arrived. It got so, any time I would see one pull up the drive I would say "not another one".. and Ed would make that "cha-ching" sound!!!

But, the dump trucks are done (and paid for) so that part is behind us. This truck that arrived brought the panels for the house. I think I know how this all works, but, instead of explaining all of that in the blog, I will just keep you up to date in the days ahead. The only "sad" thing about panels, is from the outside they will cover up all those beautiful beams... too bad you can build a timber frame in plexi glass!!! (course you would have to be careful getting out of the shower in a house built from plexi glass!!! :-p ). These panels are super warm and give us some amazing "R" factor (another thing I am not schooled in except that I know "it's a good thing"...) and it will still be a little while before they are in place.

The next truck that showed up this week was our friend Rick... and yes, it's a dump truck... but it brings "better things" than dirt...

It brings WOOD.... our winter heat...

Rick wasn't kidding when he called and said, "I have a nice load of wood for you"... it is grand!!! and yes, I do see beauty in woodpiles!!!

We do not depend entirely on wood to heat the camp... we do have an oil furnace here, but, even though the prices are dropping alittle, we hope to use a good portion of wood and besides... it's a "better heat" if you want my opinion....

Ed's comment to me.........................."Look honey..... now you have something to do!!!!"

Sweetgrass Farm and Kennel

My friend, Dale, is learning how to fly... she went over the farm yesterday afternoon and got this photo for us... it looks amazing from the air!!!! the red roof is the barn and the spot to the right is where the house is going in..... thank you for the great photo, Dale!!!!!

blessed........

When I look back on it now, I can see (sort of) the path that things have taken. I was raised knowing the Good Lord, so when things seem to be going "a muck"... I am happy to have the faith that says... "it will be alright and everything happens with a purpose". So, as we were looking at timber frame company after company, and builder after builder, and it was getting discouraging, I would say.. well.. guess this isn't the right one, and we would move onto another. And, because of all of that, we found Ken and Eric and Buzz.... who are now in the process of building our new home, and suddenly it doesn't seem like it took very long to get to this point.



(this is Ken at the top.. Ed on the side and Buzz on the ground)

We liked Ken the moment we met him, and when we looked at the paperwork of the company... (Timberpeg).. that he represented, we liked that right away as well. And then, all the pieces, time frames, and everything "fell" into place, and we knew that we were on the right track. Ken is just a great guy and his son Eric and co-worker Buzz are just as great. They enjoy their work, and we enjoy having them on the farm.

A couple of weeks ago, I thought it might be fun to have an open house and show off the timbers of the house before they were all closed in. When I said this to Ken, he was a bit unsure that any of the timbers would be in place in time for the party... but he would do what he could to have some up. It didn't really matter to me... the idea of having a party was to give all our friends and family an "excuse" to come to the farm and check it out. So, I decided to go ahead with it anyways.

Then along came some rainy days.. this put the guys behind in their game plan. Aside from assembling the house, Ken and crew also sand all the timbers, put a lite coat of stain on them, and then a protective oil. So.. before any timber can go into place, all that work must be done. On Thursday, they were still sanding and staining... it didn't look like any timbers would be in place.. but again, that was OK with me. On Friday, Ken said... "we will be back tomorrow" (Saturday on a three day weekend no less)... "we should be able to get some beam up for your party." I told him this was not necessary.. but nothing doing.. the three of them had planned that they would work and get a few in place. I hardly knew how to say thank you, but their minds were made up and that's the way it was going to be.

(Buzz double checking the fit of the joints)

I should have been busy doing "get ready for party things" yesterday, but I found myself just sitting and watching the men work. Ed was thrilled to be able to help out... the three of them obviously work well together (they have done it for years) but having that one extra set of hands can make a difference.

The original game plan was to work just a half day, but they ended up putting in a full day's work, and got a quarter of the first floor beams in place. Certainly enough of them that you could easily see where rooms would be, and a good look at the beautiful beams in place. Ken kept saying that they were happy to do the work, the weather was just perfect and he felt like "it caught them back up".. but I know he had done this for me because he wanted me to have "something to show" at the party.

How do you say thank you for such a kind gesture.....

and so .. it was a party.

The "open house" was today (Sunday) of Columbus Day weekend. I wasn't sure how many folks would be able to come, as this is typically a good weekend to "get away".. but, I invited everyone I could think of and knew that some folks would have the time to pop in.

I was so very pleased to see how many of my dear friends and family were able to come!!!! I wish now that I had thought to have a guest book for folks to sign in, because even though I made sure to see and talk with everyone, it will be hard to keep in my mind the number of friends that were there. I didn't even really get any good pictures, because I was too busy (HAPPY) talking with everyone!!!!!

We even had a number of "four footed guests" as well (which are ALWAYS welcomed on the farm!!!!)

Not wanting to miss out on anything either... the horses "demanded" a certain amount of attention from our guests as well......

And my friend Kim brought along a special little fall treat.... a pumpkin with our names engraved on it.....

The day flew by in a flash... and all too soon, folks were needing to head for home... but, I am thinking that we will make this an "annual event"... and next year... we will have a "real house" to show them. But I saw one thing for certain today, I am so very blessed with such wonderful people in my life, and this farm needs to come up with a special purpose in life... it's too big a gift to be "wasted".....

birdies on the loose!!!

Well, today was a big day for the guineas... I let them out this afternoon into the big world. The keets are fully feathered now and nearly the size of their Mom... they have been flying for weeks (well flying as best they can in the stall) and with the weather so perfect, I just couldn't bear to have them miss out on it.

Naturally, they were a bit cautious, especially Mama bird, but with a bit of coxing they headed out the back doors of the barn. They were pretty excited when they felt the sun and found they could roll around in the dirt and look for buggies and such.

Mama bird was pretty watchful over her babies, and kept them close to her. They are so good, and when she calls, they do exactly what she asks them to do. I kept a close eye myself, after letting the barn kitties out and not ever seeing the big gray boy, Sammy, again... I am a bit gun shy about letting these guys loose. But, it would be hard for them to do "bug duty" cooped up in the barn forever, I got them to patrol the barnyard.. and that means, being loose.

They didn't travel too far from the barn, they went into the woods a bit, but didn't stay long. They made their way out to the manure pile, and into the pasture (Tonka had fun chasing them out of the paddock) looking for bugs and scratching around. They loved eating the "greens" and just seemed so happy to be out in the world.

Before I left I did herd them back into their "house" which was all nice and clean and had a big bowl of food waiting for them. They had a nice meal and then began to bed down for a rest after a day of exploring. So, the guinea hens are on the loose..... look out bugs, they're coming after you!!!!!

the neighbor's view

One on my big hopes with moving into a "new" neighborhood... is that we would be very good neighbors to have. We have told Mike (who is our closest neighbor) that if any of our animals, or whatever is bothersome to his family, he needs to tell us about it. I popped over to visit with him a minute the other day, and his sister is visiting from Florida... she told me she got a nice picture of Tonka thru the trees... and sent me this copy of it.... it pleases me to know that the neighbors are enjoying their new "view".....

docks and beams

Living in the heart of apple country (we have several large orchards in the neighborhood) the signs of fall are very easy to see. I think I have eaten more apples this fall than I have in my entire life, but they are so good, and being able to run down the road and get them fresh off the tree.... amazing!!!

I haven't picked out my fall pumpkins yet, but will do that within a day or two. I need a few for the party on Sunday, and what is the fall without a nice batch of roasted pumpkin seeds. Course, this year with "no kids" around, I will have to clean the pumpkins myself, but the seeds will be worth the work.... googy as it is!!!

And all too soon, it's time for the docks to be taken out of the lake. Two summers ago, Ed decided to go with the "light weight aluminium docks"... well, they are better than water heavy wooden docks, but there isn't much that is light about even these. Fortunately, ever faithful Dave and Nate came to brave the waters and help Ed get the docks up on dry land. I always tell Ed that he should pull the docks on Labor Day weekend, when the water is still warm.. but he can never bring himself to do it "that early"... so, here it is October and the water certainly isn't warm!!! I suppose it's better than the year they were pulled in November!!! And Ed seems to think that the wet suits do help a little, but I am not so sure that Nate would agree with that idea. Charlie of course, had the last doggie swim.. he couldn't help but get one more jump in the lake before the season comes to the end.

Bundle by bundle the beams are being unwrapped. Ken sands them all by hand, and will then apply a light stain and oil before they go into place. He says its easier to do them on the ground, and it will protect them as they go into place, but what a job this is. Every beam is handled with care, and the sanders have been running for the past two days. Fortunately, with the "walk out cellar", the beams that have been done are tucked away out of the weather. The cellar looks like a workshop!!!

I can't decide if there are enough to make a house or not. There seems to be a lot of them, but when I think.. "that's my whole house" it doesn't look like there are enough. I am sure, after sanding them all... Ken and Eric know that there are more than enough!!!!

In some ways it's sad to think that all this beautiful work is just going to be covered over when the beams go together. I noticed, too, that they are all numbered, so this certainly will go together like a big kit.

can't wait to see it...................

ok rain.....

Ok rain.. you can go "home now".... another day of off and on showers. Ken and Eric are in the process of opening up the bundles of timbers and trying to get them ready so they can stain them and prepare them for assembly. They would get a group opened up, laid out and here comes another shower!!!! Ugh!!!

But, it seemed like the cellar was staying pretty dry, so, they decided to move the timbers "in" and work where they had a better chance of staying out of the rain.

The timbers are so pretty.... I can't wait to see a few done, and even more excited to see some up and in place. IF the weather will co-operate, they hope to have some ready next week. I hope so, because I have had this "brilliant" idea of having an "open house" next Sunday, and have invited a huge number of friends and family to come and see the "farm" and (hopefully) some timbers standing!!!!

I also had it in my mind, that rain or shine, Tonka was going into harness today!!! We have skipped out on too many days, and I don't want to "get behind" with him. So, I harnessed him up and out we went. As you can see, we got a peek of sun, which made the afternoon very pleasant.... and even though Tonka and I were walking in a very sloppy field... it was great fun. He's doing well... now, I just need to get my confidence up and pull that cart out!!!! I am comfortable ground driving, but the cart adds another element in my mind... and I "just got to do it!!!"

sneak preview....

Off and on all week, it has been rainy. This is a bit discouraging because the builders can't work as fast as they would like, and it seems like whenever I want to get Tonka into harness... the sky opens and the rain pours down. Yesterday afternoon, just when it looked like we might have a little break, a big black cloud appeared and I didn't even bother to take out the harness. However, look at the treasure we got instead.... a beautiful full rainbow over the field. Sadly, this picture really doesn't do justice for it's beauty... but I tried just the same.

Ken and Eric worked thru the rain showers as best they could, and by the end of the day... they had the foundation decked over. Ed couldn't resist taking a little stroll around the "house".. and here he stands in our new entry way!!!

And this is the view of the field that we will have from our front door!!!

Earlier this week, Mary had asked if I would like to come and see the puppies, and if I would be able to help her trim their nails. (they are very strong and wiggly, so it takes more than one set of hands to do nail trimming!!!!) I said I would love to come, and could Kas and Nate come and see their new baby. Mary was happy to have them come, so we snuck over last night!!!!

Even though I know puppies grow at an amazing rate, I can't believe how much these guys have changed in the two weeks since they were born. They are very strong, and they might be little, but, when you hold them, you really have to hang on!!! They have their eyes open now, and are beginning to walk.... and Rosie has been the most wonderful Mom!!! She was very patient with us standing around her box... she accepted the fact that Mary would pick the puppies up and hand them to us. She accepted the pats and compliments we gave to her... so, when it was time to trim nails, I thought I would just step into the box with Mary and the puppies and do them there. Well, that was the point where Rosie put her foot down... with a very gentle... but SERIOUS growl and direct eye contact, she told me in no uncertain terms, that I had crossed the line. I quickly respected her wishes, and backed off, and she calmly laid down with her babies, happy that I had gotten her message. So, we trimmed nails in the kitchen, Mary brought out one baby at a time, we did the nails and returned them to Mom.... who was happy with this arrangement. She is really such a wonderful girl, and if Kas and Nate's baby takes on after his Mama... they have got themselves a real prize for sure!!!!!

house progress

The builders have been quite busy this week... putting in the supports for the floor and getting the "deck" on.. I now have a clear picture of the house floor plan, and even though I continually hold my breath as they easily walk across the open floor supports..... I can "see" my kitchen, living room, dining room and craft room.

I have been known to make such comments as "you did wipe your feet before walking into the kitchen?"

This has been a long process, Ken is very particular of getting everything just so. It makes good sense though, if everything is lined up, level and "perfect".. the rest of the house will go together just in the same way. He is extremely pleased with Scott's foundation and has remarked several times that it is about as perfect as a foundation could be. I guess in the 30 plus years he has been building houses, some of the foundations that he has worked with has been... well, let's just say... anything less than perfect.. couple even make the"nightmare" comment!!!! We knew we could count on Scott and his crew for a good solid base for our new home!!

The time for decisions has also come. Ed and I need to pick out a stain for the beams. Ken brought us a few choices and I think we have narrowed it down. There could be several "hundred" different choices, but I asked him to give me just a few.... sometimes having too much to choose from, isn't helpful. We know pretty much what we like and don't like... so, when we see something that isn't "right".. we know it. Unlike paint or wallpaper though, whatever we "go" with will be "it".. and in some ways, that is a scary thought!!!

This is the last time that I should see the sky from the cellar!!!!

The next big stage will be raising up some beams... there is still a lot of detail work to be done before that actually happens, but, as far as "big" work goes... that is what will happen next.