Before and After

     I once was lost but now am found.  Proclaiming Jesus as my savior has assured   me of eternal life while challenging me to live    as He did.  As hard as I may try, I fall so short.  Thankfully He forgives me of my sins.  

     With lameness issues this summer, and Amiga and Zorro totally out of commission (unrideable + can't run free in the pasture) it is easy to feel that we aren't getting anywhere.  But this farm endeavor of ours was not just about riding horses (although that was probably the greatest catalyst).  Our whole small farm operation needs to be my focus.  We would really like it to be a blessing to others... (free eggs, roosters to roast, healthier beef cattle to eat, lower priced hay, a place to come visit and get away from the city, etc.)  So, I have decided to observe how far we have come, the positive aspects, improvements and changes.  You will see throughout this post,  some before and after photos showing our progress.











     Some of these changes occurred this week, but many of the before photos are from our home pre-purchase inspection over two years ago.  Above ... the picnic shelter.  Below... many Day Lilies moved from a pasture to around the foundations... pond and planters added as well.

     Last Wednesday I hit the weeding early before it got too stinkin' hot.

     The vet told Courtney that the Shock Wave Therapy helps the leg feel better (in addition to helping it heal quicker), but after several days, the horse may feel sore again... thus Zorro's apparent regression a week ago. 
     Below, the painted barn is such an improvement... added gates with the doors and threw in some horses.  Fixed the wall of the log shed and replaced brush piles with a manure pile.

     I did the routine noon feeding of Bambi a bit late and then Marj and I looked at Roni who still appears lame.  He was probably lame before the chiropractic adjustment, but once his neck, back and hips were "unlocked" the lameness became apparent.  I decided to bring him home since Marj is going to be on vacation for a week.  I will restrict him to stall rest along with Amiga and Zorro and do some ground work with him to work on back muscles and flexibility in his neck.
     The corn crib is now painted and has a visiting horse (Roni).  The broken doors were taken apart and the lumbar used in the barn for renovations.

     Mark came to pick up the remaining round bales.  He parked his tandem wagon in the side pasture, and then used the tractor to go around  the different fields and load the bales.  There were 22 total.  We were glad to sell them to him.  Now hopefully the fields will re-grow and we will get a decent second cutting because the hay loft is just about empty.

 

   Joe and I re-did the grazing pens, making three of them all together, so...
                                                     the horses get that feeling of being

in a herd.  They enjoyed grazing time together Thursday morning.  While I weeded... they "mowed".








    I have jokingly been calling this the Villhauer Rehab Ranch. It is good that I have had to take time off from riding because it has given my sore knee a chance to get better...or at least feel better.

     I went to town Thursday to get water at school, hair cut at Wal-Mart, and shop for some needed clothing at Sears.   Hitting the grocery store on the way home, it ended up being almost a four hour trip. 
     Here is our third cow (Norman) seen with a painted barn, finished fencing and a gate.  The broken barn doors were put to use else where.  The large dead poplar in the middle was cut down and the white poplar by the barn has gotten much larger.











                                            Here you can see the weedy hill side before

the big poplar was cut down.... and now a well manicured rock garden, stairs, three loads of dirt added, and the drive widened at the curve.

     Friday it was in the upper 90s, with a 105 degree heat index.  I worked outside in the morning and then came in to work on a July 4th Blog Post. Courtney came over and we went to Jan and Dave's barn to look at different stall ideas.  Then we went to Farm and Fleet and Tractor Supply.  Once home Courtney and I messed with the horses.  Roni is improving....but still slightly lame.  Courtney cleaned up Zorro's foot where the rope burn occurred.  It was scabby, dirty, and nasty looking.  He did not like her messing with it, but once done, it was a great improvement.  He acted lame again... but he is such a drama king.

     The corn crib above has been improved by a coat of paint, a gate was added along with 3 hay feeders inside to accommodate cows and horses.

     Saturday and Sunday were as hot as Friday.  Joe and I worked around the yard and barn together.  We are putting in a third stall out in the barn.  I
                                                                                   moved the duck

pool to where the pond had been last summer.  The girls were quick to get in and enjoy the clean water.  I gave each horse a good cleaning and treated Zorro's foot again.  Sat. afternoon we went to Bob & Marge's Slip and Slide Party.  Sunday morning I worked in the nursery at Church.  Cathy and Ralph stayed here Sunday night on their way to Missouri.  We had a nice meal at Jack's in LeRoy.

     July 4th Monday it was much cooler.  We hit the outside work first thing in the morning after Cathy and Ralph hit the road.  We took a break at noon to watch the Down's July 4th parade, eat lunch at the park and listen to the Biscuits and Gravy Band. 

     A few hours later we were hard at it back at work.  We are doing several wall renovations in the barn and preparing to put in a 3rd horse stall and a calf pen.  Even though it was still fairly warm out,  we sat by a fire in the evening. (burning pieces of split, broken and sawed off ends of old barn boards)  Joe couldn't stay up for the fireworks.  I watched the Downs show.... which was quite awesome.  There were also three other little small town shows visible from where I sat.

     Tuesday I continued barn cleaning.  Our load of lime arrived early, so I stripped Zorro's stall, put down new lime, and added new bedding.

 Then our load of dirt came.  I started filling in low spots to help with drainage around the barn.

     I made corned beef and cabbage for our anniversary dinner.  It kind of stunk up the house but tasted pretty good.  After dinner I worked with all three horses... brushing, picking hooves, doing some neck massage and back muscle exercises and fly spraying each of them.  I also walked Amiga for 10 minutes and treated Zorro's foot.  I bath it with an Epson salt water solution, cleaned it with betadine, and then put on wound cream.

 








     The chicken coop has also gotten a face lift with a coat of paint, some bushes added to the south side, and two pop doors installed.  Inside it has made several transitions as the flock dynamics have changed with the addition of new chicks three different times, adoption of mature chickens and a turkey, and also baby ducks which have grown up.

     Today I worked harder than usual.  I completely cleaned out Amiga's stall and actually dug down and removed 4 wheel barrow loads of urine soaked dirt, putting it out front to fill in a large depression in the pasture.  Hauled two tractor loads of lime to fill in the deep hole in the stall.  Packed it down and added a ton of new bedding.  I got to take a break to do the routine trip to Marj's to feed Bambi.  Ate lunch when home and worked on this blog for a bit while cooling off.  Then back out to clean the west end of the barn where we are putting in the calf stall.  I mowed the other half of the back pasture for weed control and to encourage growth of new grass.  The cows and horses really prefer the tender stuff. 

     This view of the back of the farm does not look all that different, however, many dead trees along the west property line have been cut down and a fence along the whole west side was installed.

     Today it is a bit weedy out by the tracks.  The prairie willow at the SW corner has grown a lot and been trimmed back away from the fence.  The fresh white paint on the corn crib is also remarkable.




     I came in at 9 pm completely exhausted.  Treated myself to my favorite dinner (pop corn and a beer) and started back in on this blog.  But fatigue won out and I went to bed at 10 pm.  As I was falling asleep, I tried to over look the disappointments of today and this summer, and reflect on all that we have accomplished and the many blessing we have to be thankful for.
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