I’m on day four of the worst case of the Flu I can remember. Each day, my temperature climbs to just over 100F by late morning. Not a very high temperature, but my normal temperature is about 97.9F so those 2.1 degrees are really throwing a monkeywrench in the waterworks, I can tell you. My body aches. I’m more than mildly disoriented. My throat is swollen and is so raw and pained that my eyes well up when I cough. My nasal passages are packed. I’m coughing up strange forms of life. Yesterday my right bicep twitched uncontrollably for the entire day. Ladies and gentleman, I DO NOT MAKE A VERY NOBLE SICK PERSON. I complain. Luckily, I’m not cranky. But, boy, do I complain about my malaise. Still, life on the farm must continue unabated. Horses need feeding and watering, blanketing and de-blanketing. These past few days, it’s been good to get outside and do chores, but it’s been thrice as good to get back inside, curl up next to a strong fire and enjoy some mild hallucinations.

I’m trying to finish up many of the smaller projects I’ve begun over the past two months. Before I blather on about those, I thought I’d share a photo taken from a dormer window of our noon-time visitors. You’ll need to enlarge the photo to get a better look at the grazing turkeys!

This our North pasture has been empty since Gabi Hooten of Solid Rock Farm brought her four training horses home. She boarded with us over late winter to take advantage of our indoor arena. We enjoyed her stay and hope to have room for her next year. As for the four empty stalls – we’re fortunate enough to have a waiting list – and on April 1st some folks who have been waiting patiently will be moving their horses to our farm.

I’m mending the old woven wire fence surrounding the open pasture of our newly purchased land, pictured below. During the Spring I’ll be dividing about 6 of these acres into four 1.50 acre pastures using the same fence layout we designed and I built last year. There are some older trees I’ll be encircling with barrier fence to keep horses from stripping the bark. 

Below is our original southern pastures, with the fencelines I built last year. I’m looking forward to mirroring this format in the new southeastern pasture, it’s worked out remarkably well.

Various projects I’m finishing up include the preparation for re-seeding of a 1 acre pasture. The repair of a substantial grounds irrigation system fed by a long-disabled spring pump. The installation of automatic horse waterers in all fields. Projects I plan to begin in April include a 10×12 addition to our stable barn, to function as convenient grain and sundry storage; and the repair of several indoor arena gates. More on those later.

The weather was so absolutely perfect for landscape work yesterday that I found myself tackling some major projects. Pictured below are the shrubs that for twenty odd years have adorned the backside of our dual semi-circle retaining walls on the east side of the house. I believe they’re Scarlet Firethorns. As with so many other shrubs and trees on our property, the previous owners let them run wild, and they were in something of a death grip with likewise overgrown vines on the other side of each rounded trellis. I removed the vines in the fall (it took several days) so that we could start from scratch with our own vines. Freeing each trellis allowed me to make repairs and renovate them while they were bare. But thanks to the Law of Unintended Consequences, without the deathgrip that last year’s vines held on them, these shrubs fell over when the weight of their newly grown Autumn berries became too much to bear. This delighted the deer in the area, because the shrubs were absolutely infested with red berries that were now within reach.

Re-tethering Scarlet Firethorn shrubs is an excercise in pain. The thorns are 1” long and sprout every few inches. If you’d like an effective way to test your willpower, try maintaining a scant foothold on a 12” ledge while you are 12’ in the air, carefully gripping the latticework for balance, when all of a sudden a stiff Firethorn branch breaks free and canes you in your naughty bits. For my part, I passed this test, and was able to regain my composure after forcing a few expletives through my clenched teeth  After I scaled off the retaining wall I traded in my Gator for my John Deere 3520. With my loader pointed downward I used the rounded top line of the bucket to gently push up the large branches. When the main branches were pressing against the latticework I tethered the branches from the other side of the trellis using recycled bailing twine.

Below is the result. Obviously this side suffered from several seasons of being smothered by overgrown vines. I’ll be pruning them today and I’m hopeful they’ll bounce back and beef up their leaf cover with proper care throughout the Spring and Summer.

Chloe and Moira got to pick rocks all afternoon with their mom and dad. The pasture section that once held four 0.10 acre paddocks is now ready for seed in preparation for a 24×36 pet barn, to be built – if all else goes well – during the summer.

It’s been Springtime in Franklin County for three weeks already despite what the calendar might say. We’re enjoying every minute of it.

My wife saw this today and asked me if I had enough power toys. I smiled the smile that says….. Yeah Right (TM).

It was a beautiful and sunny Thursday, and the strong winds of yesterday had subsided so after grading and raking up rocks in a large section of soon-to-be pasture I shifted over to some landscaping work. The twin to the evergreen visible in the photo was compromised by bagworms last summer. Today it took me 45 minutes to pluck the worm sacks off the evergreen – I filled a 5 gallon bucket with the little bastards. Luckily they didn’t do much harm and the tree is looking splendid. Last year I didn’t know what a bagworm was. After nearly a full year of landscaping under my belt, I now know what to look for and I will certainly be more watchful from now on. After that I moved over to the East side of the house, where massive stands of Daffodils and some stressed Periwinkle were being encroached by brambles and undesirables. The East side of our home’s landscaping is the last remaining section that I haven’t really freshened up so I’m pleased to have the time now to tackle it.

As of March 14th we’re now the owners of an additional +/– 35.5 acres that adjoins us on the southeast side. Approximately 11 acres is open and the remaining land is forested with a variety of mature hardwoods and a wee bit of evergreens. A fully developed jeep trail in great condition runs from the eastern edge all the way to the western boundary, so with a little work we’ll have a great trail system with great 360 degree views at the top of our very own Bunker Hill, as it’s called in the old topgraphic maps.

So, now added to my list of Spring and Summer projects is the repair of a partially washed out and exposed culvert, and the clearing of about a half mile of trails

The wee bit of rain overnight was a welcome event although we need much more of the same. On Sunday, March 12th it climbed to 83F – in the shade – in Boones Mill, VA. Out of the shade and under the pressing sun it felt more like 93F.  I’m thankful that the rains came overnight, giving the ground a chance to soak up nearly every drop of water that fell from the sky. By 9am the high winds and sun dried up all surface moisture but you could almost hear the flora growing under sunny skies and an air temperature that climbed to 60F and no doubt warmed the ground to nearly ideal Spring temperatures. This photo, taken at the height of the pressing Sunday heat showed grass only recently out of dormancy, parched and desperate for rain. Today, just 48 hours later, the grass looks to have grown an inch and is a rich, vibrant green.

My UPS delivery man delivered a must treasured item to me yesterday. A Kennedy cantilevered supersized toolbox. Gone are the days of transient Turets Syndrome caused when the tool you need is three thousand feet away in the basement, or the storage barn, or the garage. If it’s not in the Kennedy toolbox, brother, it doesn’t exist. Of course, the toolbox weighs about 85 pounds so I’m not sure if I’m trading one transient syndrome for another