The horses and the new shelter

It has been months since I posted on this blog. Shame on me indeed. It has been a very busy period for us. We have been trying to build the horse shelter before winter sets in. Not easy to build a good horse shelter whne you are trying to do it on a shoe string budget like ours. We, of course, did not realize that Adams County Colorado requires a building permit for a horse shelter - we did not realize until a building inspector showed up one day to inform us of that wonderful news.

So we had to submit plans, pay for a permit (and the fee was doubled because we had already started work...) and allow our friends in the county to tell us what we would be allowed to do and what we would not be allowed to do. Fortunately it was not radically different from what we planned. But inconvenient of course..

So Nancy and I have been out there - we have been using material Nancy got from auctions and cast off lumber from a local lumber yard (I did mention shoestring budget did I not?) the one thing we are short on right now is the tin for the roof but we are hopeful...

There is a lot of hammering involved and I am finding that the strength I used to put such pride in during my youth has much diminished. My arms feel like Jello on occasion after driving some nails in - a couple of hours of work and ... phew...

But, bit by bit, we are getting it done. Nancy will post some pictures later today I hope.

IN the meantime - Hi-ho, Hi-ho its off to work I go..

Home Sweet Home

Well we have finally moved into our new home on the range. The acreage is marvelous for the horses, dogs, cats and us. We will be able to build the "Sean Path" that we have dreamed about for years.

Despite the arrival of several very hot days, our first 3 days in the new house were actually quite chilly! We opted to use the fireplace and Sean loved it. He threw his comforter on the floor and proceeded to stretch out in front of the fire. What a pleasure to hear the crackling logs and smell the heavenly aroma of burning logs!

The horses were brought over once we had completed the fencing of their first pasture. Now we are building the fence for the main pasture. It will be great to have more than one space for them. They have already gotten fat munching on the weeds in just a couple of weeks.

Mick took Sean out with him one day while working on the fence. Sean was not too taken with the adventure, but just being with his dad meant a lot to him. Sean has become very "dad-oriented". Sean pays attention to where Mick is almost all the time now.

As for the countryside, it's a joy to be out here. The sky is unending, the wildlife surrounds us and Sean has settled right in. He makes his way around the house pretty well and knows where the kitchen is: he pushes me into the kitchen when I have been too slow in providing his dinner!

Nancy