Coming down, on a sunny day.

The hedges have been tamed by my John Deere hedge trimmer. The ivy is running wild and that’s just fine with me! This form of ivy is not an evergreen. Instead, it turns a beautiful deep red in Autumn. I’ve got english ivy growing on another side of the house, and will begin training it up the house next week.

The front courtyard hedges have really shaped up this year. Last year I sheared them down about 4” and this year sheared them down another 2” and I was able to shear the sides 4” before hitting bare wood. Next year they’ll be ship shape. I’m happy to have rescued these hedges from oblivion! Now the challenge is to fill in the empty spaces left over after several hedges bit the dust under the care of the original owner. I was told they were killed by painting contractors cleaning out their brushes when the home was being prepared for auction in 2000. Ugh.

Garrick, my 12 year old son, flew down from Vermont and is visiting with us for two weeks. It’s good to have him as part of the family again, if only for a short time. For most of his young life I was the primary parent but since we’ve been living in Virginia he’s been living primarily with his mom. He’s been having alot of fun on the farm and the girls love having their big brother back, as you can see!

Well, that’s what the microbes are thinking. Since Spring I’ve been composting horse manure, which so far has been a resounding success. The pile pictured is one of four piles. Each week I rotate the contents of each pile, taking scoops from the bottom of the pile and dropping it on top until I’ve got a top layer that looks like this pile. Every few weeks I’ve found that piles of the same age have shrunk enough to be combined. Three of the piles are bound for a small pasture that is scheduled to be tilled tomorrow. A late Fall / Winter project will be building a line of small 8×8x4 compost bunkers sitting on a concrete pad so I can keep the compost contained.

Last year we were faced with the task of deciding what sort of truck to purchase that could be used to haul farm supplies, tow trailers, and serve as a secondary commuting vehicle. We could have bought a heavy duty truck, a Dodge 2500 or 3500 for example, with a diesel engine, because that’s the route so often taken in America. Coupled with that truck might be a very large 2 horse gooseneck trailer with living quarters where folks could hang out in between rides. But while we were in Holland horse shopping in 2005 I noticed that many people owned a Brenderup trailer. A Brenderup is a cutting-edge trailer designed with a very low center of gravity and durable lightweight materials. Unlike in America where most trailers are pulled by heavy duty trucks, most Brenderup trailers in Holland were pulled by sedans! It turns out that a Brenderup has a very low tongue weight (less than 200 pounds) and it’s design allows it to be safely towed by a small vehicle. With that in mind last year we bought the Dodge 1500 LT Hemi. Early this Spring we ordered our Brenderup from Brenderup at Horrell Hill in South Carolina. Charles and Claudia Garner, proprietors, were extremely patient and helpful, answering all of my questions prior to the sale. They also graciously delivered the trailer directly to our farm, a service that was included in the purchase price. I couldn’t be happier with the product or the service offered by Charles and Claudia. If you’re in the market for a new one or two horse trailer then take a good look at the Brenderup.

Pictured above is the horse trailer attached to our 1500. You’ll also notice our Palamino Bronco camper. This is a fantastic combination and safely within the towing and hauling limits of the lighter duty 1500. The roof of the camper rises 18” and sports a queen size bed, a kitchenette w/ range and sink, a very nice refrigerator, plenty of cabinet storage space and a diner table. The dining and seating area converts to a small bed suitable for one adult or two young children. We’ve been to a few horse shows already this summer and have really, really, enjoyed this combination. The camper is great for our two young girls; it gives them shelter from the rain and sun with space to play and work on projects in between mom’s rides. If we purchased a horse trailer w/ living quarters, we would have lost the versatility of this combination and we would have spent thousands more on a heavier duty truck that would have been more difficult to drive when running farm errands. A heavier duty truck would have been less fuel efficient and louder. We would also have spent about $15,000 more on the horse trailer, a figure that is over $8,000 more than we spent on the Palamino Bronco camper. If you’re in the market for a truck or trailer camper and can drive to Bassett, Virginia then take a look at Econo RV & Camper in Bassett. They are a great group of guys to work with!

After close to one hundred hours I’m pleased to report that my garden fence is finished! The gate turned out well. The grade required me to build an in-swing gate so the forged iron colonial straps aren’t visible from the outside. The forged iron handle and thumb latch is attractive and convenient.

I’m also happy to report that one of the corner post birdhouses has already been claimed by a pair of blue feathered birds.

The next project will be a 48×24 small animal barn. Stay tuned!