Do not be impatient with your seemingly slow progress. Do not try to run faster than you presently can. If you are studying, reflecting and trying, you are making progress whether you are aware of it or not. A traveler walking the road in the darkness of night is still going forward. Someday, some way, everything will break open, like the natural unfolding of a rosebud.
Vernon Howard
I haven’t really made a lot of progress on our homestead. This year’s winter has been proving to be quite a difficult one. We recently had our third Nor’Easter in two weeks, and our local school district had to close school yesterday because of an isolated snow squall that made roads difficult to clear. When I came home from work and barn chores the roads were clear (it was 11AM by then) but I was shocked by how much more snow we had received than the surrounding areas.
Just this weekend we (more like Zac) got on the roof to remove the heavy, condensed foot of snow that we had just received. Today it looks like nothing was ever done to it. The piles around our walkways are three feet high.
With winters like this it’s difficult to get anything done outside. Preparation for horses being on the property has been making very slow progress. Zac is designing the shed and I’m still going over ideas on how to afford it, where to put everything, and how exactly I want to do it. The constant conceptualizations, the thinking the planning, and the REconsiderations…it gets frustrating that I can’t take much action. If I could take action I wouldn’t be constantly second guessing myself. To put everything in perspective, my plan is to have Blade home in May. We have one more farrier visit. One more board payment. One more vet appointment. To date we have no shelter, no fencing, no hay guy. The plans are there but for now we wait for snow to clear…
To remedy this I took a couple of actions this past weekend while Zac was giving me ulcers by traversing the numerous high peaks of our home. Over the past few years I’ve accumulated a few pallets from our old apartment’s wood pellet orders. I took a few out and laid them under our carport to visualize where the hay is going and how much I can fit. It looks like 4-6 pallets will fit comfortably and still allow us to park the tractor under cover. This is great news because with one horse this should allow me at least 6-8 weeks.
In addition to laying down pallets I ordered myself a corral shelter. The corral shelter, made by ShelterLogic is a topper that fits on three 12ft corral panels (purchased separately). I ordered the rig Monday morning and received it Tuesday afternoon. I was impressed how fast it came! I’m really excited to see how it looks put together.
Admittedly I’m a little concerned about its durability in bad weather, but the reviews so far have seemed mostly positive about the Corral Shelter. The basic model costs about $250 which is comparatively cheap based on other options available. This is going to be Blade’s shade access while we put together the run-in shed. This way he gets a non-enclosed shade area so he can enjoy a nice breeze during the summer. He will have his enclosed shelter by fall at the very latest.
Although our progress is slow we are STILL making progress. It’s an excellent patience training opportunity for me.
By April I will be purchasing the roundpen, and we are taking the rest of the fencing/run-in plans in stride with the weather (and availability of help). It’s coming along!
I want to hear about a time where you were making slow progress!
Did you build a barn or start your horse-farm from scratch?
Tell me your stories!
The Green Horseman 