I was able to put the finishing touches on v1.0 of the Oak Hill Stables web site! Of course, numerous wrinkles need ironing but it’s solid enough to begin marketing the web site and fairly soon it will be generating some exposure for our burgeoning farm

I’m excavating our 12’ x 86’ stable alley in preparation for a beautiful new concrete paver floor. I’ve removed 6” of old clay base and set down 1” of limestone. I’m in the middle of digging out from underneath each stall wall and setting down 6×6x8 treated posts flush with the exterior of each wall. They will serve to keep stall footing in the stall, and at the same time will act as edging for the pavers, keeping those in place also. When this edging is fully installed I’ll be switching gears to deal with some early Autumn pasture and grounds chores. I hope to complete the aisle by the middle of October. Pictures soon!

After hauling out +/– 200 tons of useless red clay and sand footing from our indoor arena I ordered 90 tons of classified screenings from Rockydale Quarries. My new tractor – a 37HP John Deere 3520 – made quick work of distributing the truckloads as they arrived. After grading and leveling the new footing, I spent several hours cleaning the kick walls and interior siding. Several riders have already given it the thumbs up so I’m pleased at the result.

Only 1 1/2 inches of classified screenings were put down. Once it begins to pack nicely I’ll add another inch of screenings. Once that second layer packs we’ll decide, based on it’s performance to date, whether we should add some additional material (sand, manufactured sand, etc). Like many other farm projects to date, I’d never installed and prepared new footing before. However, as always I obsess somewhat during the planning stage and make sure I do my homework. I learned that a pure limestone screenings arena can perform to a very high level if it is properly maintained with regular watering and dragging. It was a really fun project and a nice way to break in my brand new tractor.

My new tractor, a John Deere 37HP 3520 is a welcome new toy! According to my daughter Moira, it’s still not a “big” tractor  But it is perfect for our uses and sped up the arena footing project considerably. Our little 23HP 2210 will now no longer have to be beaten to death doing the more heavy duty projects. So, now I have a 2000 Series and a 3000 Series tractor. Mike, my sales guy at Anderson in Rocky Mount brought me a 4000 Series brochure when he delivered the 3520. I think he wants me to collect them all