Yesterday and this morning, I painted seventy 7’ t-posts in under 30 minutes. That is, if you don’t count the 60 minutes it took me to figure out how to unplug my paint gun. By next week I’ll be finished the creek-side perimeter fence for a 6 acre pasture. On the home-front, I’m sanding and painting a set of four hinged sliding closet doors for Chloe’s room, and doing the same to a door for Moira’s room. I’m also in the middle of remodeling a half bathroom with a wrought iron and horse theme. I find I’m at my best when I have a bunch of projects upon which to circulate my full attention. Painting seems to go nicely with A.D.D. because while I’m waiting for one project to dry I can shuffle over to another and get started on that.

Autumn keeps rolling on in Franklin County, Virginia. Today marks our home’s peak season. Even though our two north facing Maples have lost nearly all of their leaves, our south facing trees are nearly all wearing full autumn foliage and since today seems like the last sunny day until Friday, I thought I’d take some pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

This window shot was tricky, I had to squish my shoulders together so as to remain invisible in the photo. That’s me hiding behind the center window divider. This variety of ivy I’ve yet to identify. It sports beautiful red foliage.

Yes, another shot of Cahas Mountain. In Cahas news, that 110 acre pasture visible to the right has been on the market for about six months or so. Last week, the land was posted Contract Pending. A few days ago, a massive track backhoe was dropped on the land and four hours later, about twelve 400 sq ft sections of dirt were turned over in evenly spaced out sections. My guess is that the backhoe was turning over dirt for perc testing proposed drainfield sites. So it looks like I might have another twelve neighboring families come Autumn 2008. My idealistic dream is that someone visited my blog several months ago, and read my entry which recommended that someone buy the land to develop an equestrian community. Okay, idealistic pipe dream.

Japanese and Black Maples galore.

These little frickin’ Lady Bugs got in all my nooks and crannies while I was painting outside yesterday. Now they’re eating my rose buds. I’ll admit, they were cute for about a day, but now I’m ready for them to move on.

I’ve upgraded to Internet Explorer v7 and there are a number of improvements that make web browsing more enjoyable. It’s not necessarily on par with Firefox, but there are enough inconsistencies between the Windows interface and Firefox to trip me up all too often, so I’m staying with IE for the time being.

Problem is, since I’ve upgraded to IE7, my installed Microsoft Office 2000 version of Outlook is now being very flaky and I have to restart it several times a day. So I suppose I’m now forced to upgrade to the latest version of Office. Reverting to IE6 isn’t an option. I’ve planned to upgrade all four Windows XP workstations in our home and home office but I had hoped to wait until next year to do so. So in exchange for a free upgrade to IE7 I now have to drop over $1,000 on four Office Pro upgrades. Gee, thanks Microsoft.

If you live near northwestern Franklin County, Virginia and you’re reading this roundabout November 1st, then you owe it to yourself to take a drive over Wades Gap Road. This road connects Naff Road and Dillons Mill Road by way of the gap between the double peaks of Cahas Mountain. Begin in Roanoke on Merriman Road and drive south out of town. After a short while, Merriman turns into Naff Road. Look for a right turn onto Wades Gap Road. Wades Gap is fully paved although it is extremely twisty in parts. These two photos capture one of the many cattle farms on and just below the mountain. Here you’re looking South by Southwest, towards (I believe) Ferrum and Callaway. Continue up and down Wades Gap Road. Continue until Wades Gap ends at Dillons Mill Road then take a left. Continue on Dillons Mill until it ends at Bethlehem Road and take a left. Continue about five miles until Bethlehem Road ends at Route 220 and take your left turn at the light. You’re now heading out of paradise and back into Roanoke

Another oddity you’re sure to miss if you don’t know where to look is the “castle” tower hiding in the trees. To see it, turn up the named dirt road at Wades Gap Road’s highest point. I won’t name the road out of respect for it’s residents. Drive up the dirt road about 25’ and park. Turn around and look up. You should see the tower. If all went well you should see the mysterious tower

The hardwoods on Cahas Mountain are now approaching their peak colors, as can be seen from this photo taken close to sunset. So far, we’ve had a full month of Autumn foliage in Franklin County and it’s been a delight. I suspect the heavy rain this evening and the 40mph gusts tomorrow evening will signal the end of peak season, but we’ll still have plenty of foliage left for next week, when the skies will clear and the temperature is predicted to reach towards seventy degrees during the day. Until then, it’s time to continue catching up on office work. Fun fun!

So, three months after I hit my left middle finger with a post driver…… it still looks like I hit my middle finger with a post driver. I suppose my career as a hand model are behind me, har har! On the plus side, something that resembles a fingernail is growing and nearly covers the finger tip. The nail is bumpy and not at all regular in appearance due to (I’m guessing) the nail root being scarred. Who knows, maybe given enough time it will grow a normal looking nail. But still, it’s better than nothing. At least I have a fingernail and I can grip things without discomfort. Like post drivers  Only now, I stick to driving the post!

The shin I also struck with the 20lb driver is now fully healed. A specialist examined the leg with an ultrasound two months after the injury and determined that a hematoma lingered, as big as my hand, in the muscle that provides upward lift to the foot (especially the big toe). It seems as though it’s cleared up now and walking stairs isn’t building up a strange sort of pressure in my leg anymore.

Eef competed at the VADA Fall Dressage and CBLM Championship in Lexington, VA last weekend. For us, it turned out to be the most dramatic weekend of the entire season!

In preparation for the 2006 season, and during the entire year of competition, Nancy had been riding and training Eef with a regulation sized whip. So, while she we would make good use of her leg aids, the 42” whip was the real enforcer. And in the CBLM Championship, the use of a whip during your ride is not allowed. Knowing this, Nancy ordered slightly more aggressive spurs and received them just two days before the Championship. She gave them a go at our farm without a whip in hand and the results were, shall we say, less than impressive. So, since her official championship ride wasn’t until Sunday afternoon, she decided to use her first non-championship Training Level Test 2 ride on Saturday morning to give Eef another crash course in whip-free riding. Now, keep in mind that up until this point, Nancy and Eef had already rode Training Level Test 2 in two other recognized competitions during 2006. The first time, on his very first competition weekend of the season in May, he scored 64.231%. His second was in Pinehurst earlier this month and he scored a 71.154%. During that same Pinehurst show Eef rode Training Level Test 3 and scored a 72.083% to win the blue ribbon against very talented competition. For those not familiar with Training Level dressage scores, a 71.154% is a great score. In fact the highest Training Level score by any rider I’ve seen this year was +/– 75%. So, fast forward to Saturday morning, where Nancy and Eef are riding without a whip in competition for the very first time. And they butcher the test. Their score was a 56.923% way back in 11th place. Suffice it to say, we were both filled with a sense of forboding about the next day’s championship ride! After getting back to the show barn, we talk about how to approach the rest of the competition. There was another non-championship ride on Saturday afternoon, a more challenging First Level test, followed by the championship ride on Sunday afternoon. Would she use a whip during the more challenging First Level test that afternoon? Would she scratch the competitive ride? I offered the opinion that, because Eef is a sales horse, I’d rather not see more bad scores on Eef’s 2006 record, and since he was clearly not ready for prime time without a whip, I thought the First Level test should certainly be ridden with a whip and the championship ride should be scratched. But, I also suggested, because I’m not a professional rider, that she should ask for and defer to the opinion of one of her good friends, Gabi, a fellow professional Dressage rider from the Roanoke area. Gabi suggested she warm up and ride without a whip for the First Level test and also for the competition the following day. Gabi also asked another rider and friend in our group, Gayle, if Nancy could borrow her more aggressive spurs. Gayle said she’d be glad to. So, with a pair of more aggressive – but perfectly legal – spurs, Nancy began her warm up for the Saturday afternoon ride of First Level Test 1 without a whip. I supported her in her decision. However, during the warm up she decided to adapt her strategy to include the whip during the ride. She felt he was progressing well and he was listening to the leg aids much more, but going into the ring without a whip – at that moment – would impede more than improve his training. So, with the worst case of horse husband jitters I’ve ever had, I watched and photographer her Saturday afternoon ride of First Level Test 1. It turned out beautifully. The Eef I knew and loved was back. Nancy and Eef scored a 74.444% for the blue ribbon against some of the best competition in the region. In fact, her score was the 2nd highest First Level score out of 142 different rides on both Friday and Saturday combined. It was by far Eef’s highest First Level Test 1 score; previously he scored (in chronological order) 64.444%, 64.815%, and 66.667%. So, even though Eef was just dabbling in First Level tests this year, he’s proven that he and Nancy will be making big waves next year in First Level while dabbling in Second Level! 

On Sunday afternoon, Nancy and Eef rode without a whip during her entry into the CBLM Championship. And while he wasn’t at his best, he did listen to leg aids rather than fully resist them as he did the day before. He’s a smart horse, and Nancy is an exceptional rider, and it was actually pretty amazing to watch his training progress so noticeably in only two days. Nancy has decided – moving forward – to cease use of the whip as a primary riding aid during training and competition. So it will be fun to watch them next season, when I’m certain Eef will be returning to the CBLM championship. Next time, I suspect, the results will be much different.

I’d like to take this time out to brag about my wife as a professional Dressage rider and trainer. You’re going to have to forgive my, er, vernacular, because this is the raw and ranty Sean talking. Nancy, not unlike many Dressage trainers, is quick to point out her failings and loathe to promote her ability. But back in 2001 in Vermont, when we were just a tax bracket above dirt poor, Nancy began training a $3,000 Connemara cross pony that her parents had to buy for us. By the end of their first season, there were alot of very expensive warmbloods having their asses handed to them by a backyard pony named Gandalf. At the end of that season in Saratoga, NY, Gandalf was the training level reserve champion. At this point, I thought, hey, Gandalf must have been a pretty great horse after all. What a find! Then, the following year, Nancy trains a Morgan/Arabian (Morab) owned by a friend with zero Dressage experience and starts winning with him too. Fast forward to early 2005, after our move to Blacksburg, VA. Nancy begins training an Appaloosa stallion owned by her employer. The stallion has zero english riding experience but Nancy begins his Dressage training. She competes on the stallion at the Morven Park Spring Dressage Classic in May 2005, scoring 73.846% and placing 2nd in Training Level Test 2. Next she rides First Level Test 2 during that weekend and earns a blue ribbon. This on an Appy Cross Stallion built and bred for western riding! None of these horses had what one would consider a snowball’s chance in hell at winning dressage competitions. Yet Nancy brought out the best in each of these unlikely performers. It had become clear that these accomplishments were in large part thanks to Nancy’s ability as a trainer and competitor. I began to wonder: what could she do with a Real Dressage Horse (TM)? So let’s jump to the summer of 2005. Thanks to my thriving internet businesses, we take the keys to our very own horse farm. We travel to Holland to buy a horse. However, having just bought our very own horse farm, our very own farm checking account was pretty well drained. Knowing we wouldn’t be buying a Real Dressage Horse (TM) quite yet, we instead try to find some prospects that we can afford. We find two. One of them – a four year old Friesian gelding – was owned by the Holland farm but as luck would have it, he was already in the states. His name was Eef and he was currently languishing in Florida. They brought him there for an auction but the auction had fallen through. It was implied that his breeding suggested he wasn’t Grand Prix material (the highest level of Dressage). But he had three good gaits and the price was right. The farm transported Eef to our farm and during the Winter of 2005 and 2006, we agreed to buy him as a sales horse. This year his training has progressed wonderfully and once again I’m surprised and I am very much in awe of my wife’s ability to develop and ride a Dressage horse so that both horse and rider can reach their full potential. This isn’t the first competition season for Nancy – she’s in her early forties; however, this was the first season where Nancy entered the ring on a horse that is truly capable of honest Dressage movements. Her performance was exceptional. Eef’s performance this season was exceptional. Is Eef still for sale? Sure. But his price just doubled. Sorry! If this prevents his sale in 2007, too bad, so sad. I don’t need the money anyway.

Moving forward, we have Belle, a dutch warmblood mare that is looking like a very promising and dominant Training Level horse for the 2007 season. But we’re not going to stop there. Soon, we’ll be going shopping for a Real Dressage Horse (TM). One that can match Nancy’s ability as a rider. Stay tuned!

It’s Friday October 20th and I think there is a good chance our fall colors are as good as they’re going to get. I say that because we’re supposed to get some strong gusty winds today, and that might do away with the warmer season tree leaves that are 50% fallen. Maples and hardwoods are in various stages of color, some at full fall colors but many not close to their peak. However, if all the warmer season leaves are gone by Monday, the Maples and hardwoods in full fall foliage next week won’t have as much company.

Still, this year’s fall foliage in Franklin County, Virginia has been stupendously ginormously gorgeous.

Each year these two large Black Maple drop about five schmazillion seed pods. About a hundred or so actually sprout in the Springtime in and around the boxwoods. Usually I kill the seedlings with the first power trimming of the new year but I think next Spring I’ll save a bunch of them and get them started in other places on our farm. Being from Vermont, you can never have too many Maple trees around you, By-Jeezum!

It’s October 18th along the mountains of Virginia, and today the temperature dial hit 74F under calm and clear blue skies. This morning, I finished cutting, assembling and gluing the last of my indoor arena irrigation system. Tomorrow morning I have a few loose ends to tie up (valve housing needs to be buried with fill), and then it’s back to fence construction. There are a bunch of barn improvements I’d rather be making but the fence is the top priority. By my calculations I have approximately 2,000’ of my signature (haha) t-post fence to build. I’ll be stopgap repairing 2,000’ of existing woven wire and four rail fence to tide us over the winter. Then a run-in shed will be ordered and we’ll have enough pasture for the extra performance horses that over-winter at our place. I’m itching to replace all of that ancient fenceline but I’m holding off on that job until mid-Winter or early Spring. I desperately want to remodel a couple of rooms in the house I want to make some additional barn improvements. All fencing and no fun makes Sean a dull boy

There are plenty of reasons to love the Osage Orange tree. Yet another is the actual Osage Orange, a grapefruit sized seed pod containing hundreds of seeds. Apparently the seeds are so tasty that squirrels spend hours taking apart the pod by hand to get at each seed, which is itself wrapped in tough fiber. The aroma of an Osage Orange is very close to the sweet aroma of a Citronella candle and some folks claim the “fruits” will repel insects if left on common entry points such as on a window sill. Even if that claim is just hogwash (I suspect it is), the fruits do smell very nice and apparently they stay green and aromatic for several months. We have four in our kitchen right now and you’re greeted by the scent each time you enter the room. Good stuff.