2019 Changing and rearranging at Thistle's

[thistlebloom]

I thought we did a lot of rearranging outside last year, but this year we are at it again.

After "downsizing" to fewer animals to take care of spring of 2018, I added another horse in the summer.
Math was never my strong point.

So in order to make things a little more convenient for the inconvenience of winter and to consolidate the animal area we have been shuffling again.

We couldn't do much without some bigger equipment, so our good neighbor is happy to help with his tractor. We pay him what he charges, plus a little extra, but really his price to us is unreasonably cheap. We sure appreciate him.

Before pic 4 years ago. (There also happens to be a Pygmy owl in the bird bath. )

Making room for the round pen last week. This is the area in the photo above.

That implement is like giant pliers, it grabs the trunk of a tree and pulls it out of the ground. After clearing the trees Vic used his rippers to pull most of the brush and tree roots out and smooth the ground. It had been a tangle of trees and brush and holes and humpy mounds. If my husband and I had tried to do this with a chainsaw and other manual tools we would be looking at hundreds of hours of hard labor. Vic and his tractor got it done in less than four.

There are also other rearrangements that I want to keep track of in this thread.
More pictures to come.

 

[so lucky]

Thistle, what is the white/blueish area behind the trees? Pond? Lake? I know it's not the ocean.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thistle, what is the white/blueish area behind the trees? Pond? Lake? I know it's not the ocean.

Road?

 

[thistlebloom]

Thistle, what is the white/blueish area behind the trees? Pond? Lake? I know it's not the ocean.

The stripe is the gravel road we live on, the higher blue is the sky.

 

[thistlebloom]

That area Vic is clearing was a great privacy screen from the road.
Since this was going to be the round pen area ( a schooling/training area for Syringa mostly) I needed about a 60' diameter. Vic told me to mark the trees around the perimeter I wanted to save. We had to leave before he finished, and when we came home my heart sank into my shoes. Our house was so exposed! There was a huge pile of trees that he had removed and stacked by the road. My husband said, well do you want him to put them all back? I just nodded mutely.

But it's done and it will be better in the long run. I do have several small white pines I planted some years ago that will fill in and screen (by the time I'm in my dotage ).
I'm good with it now that the plan is taking shape.
I'm going out now to fertilize the remaining trees and give them a pep talk.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Reminds me of Mom. She'd complain she could not see out because of the trees. I'd say if you cut them then people can see in. She did not want them cut after all.

Or my wife's nephew, an architect but a city boy. When he was talking window treatment he said, you live in the country, why do you need blinds or curtains on the windows. There's no one to see in.

 

[thistlebloom]

Happily we live one house away from the end of the road.
It's not that I am concerned about what the neighbors will see, except on WNGD of course, but having those trees between the house and the road gave a feeling of seclusion and quiet.

 

[so lucky]

Dang, I thought you had lake front property.
Cause I was gonna visit and bring my canoe.

 

[ninnymary]

I thought it was the ocean and said "Hey it looks bigger than ours".

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Dang, I thought you had lake front property.
Cause I was gonna visit and bring my canoe.

Well come visit and bring your canoe anyway! There are lots of lakes and rivers close by.