Changes this year -- good and bad

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Well, my last horse passed away recently. He was my favorite of the three. But, even though I miss him and enjoyed the horses while they were here, I don't miss caring for them on a daily basis. Barn chores are good mindless labor after a long day at work and I enjoyed being out there with them, but cleaning stalls is a stinky mess, and it's not fun trudging out there to feed before the sun rises so I can get to work on time, especially in the rain and cold.

Anyway, now that I'm sans horse, I get the pole barn to myself! I'm in the process of cleaning and organizing, and we'll be moving contents from our shed into the barn, and I've already hired a company to demolish the shed. I don't know why the other owner put up a shed when he had a giant pole barn; the only thing I can think of is the shed was there before the barn. It's not in great shape, and cost to fix leaky roof is as much as demo cost, not including other repairs that are needed. But, DH didn't want to get rid of it because the birds get into the pole barn and sh*t all over everything (back doors always open so the horses could go in and out as they pleased). Birds are messy messy MESSY! Now that we can close up the doors we won't have that problem. Anyway, demo day can't come soon enough - I am really looking forward to having that eyesore gone! There's a ton of room in the barn, it will be nice to have everything in one place and easy access. It does need a good wash-down after all the horse supplies/hay are moved out -- a good power-washing should take care of all the bird sh*t on the walls :0( but not a difficult task with the power washer.

Also would like to have the pasture fencing removed, but that's not in the budget right now. It's older and not in great shape -- we keep up on repairs, but the old wooden style fencing eventually rots out. Well, at least I now have a demo company to call for that sort of job!

Now that the animals are gone, I can plant fruit trees along the south side of the barn, which is a much better location than out in the vegetable garden because the barn will block the harsh winter winds coming from the north, that should help with bud kill on peaches, apricots, etc. I'm also going to re-purpose the very large water trough as a raised bed for strawberries. I've wanted to grow strawberries for a while now but haven't because I don't want to have to crouch down to harvest, so this will solve the problem. Not sure if I'm going to leave it next to the barn or move it to the vegetable garden. The benefit of leaving it where it is is there's a water pump nearby, but the downside is I'll have to protect the plants from the animals (the vegetable plot is surrounded by chicken wire overlayed onto fencing). So looking forward to hopefully more fruit, if I can get the stuff to grow well.

So yea - these will be good changes. An adjustment to not having those magnificent creatures around anymore, but in the long run I'll have better use of my property, and it will be better for us.

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mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

The pole barn (shed is scheduled for demo next week):

Look at the damage the *!$#! birds did to the roof insulation -- this photo was from 5 years ago, it's woefully bad now:

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mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author
3 years ago
Thinking more about the strawberries -- the water trough is at least 100 gallons, but it might be even larger. Seeing as though is so large and deep, I'm going to have to leave it outside over winter. Will I have to cover the strawberries with anything over the winter or can I just leave them with a light layer of mulch?
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
i wonder if you will get more native wildlife trying to make a home in the barn.. now that the horses are gone ...

woodchucks.... raccoons ... skunk .. etc ...

secure all avenues of ingress ... and insure the doors are always closed ...

ken
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deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
3 years ago
mxk3, those are BIG changes! I know it's hard to lose the animals that were a big part of your life, but am glad you are able to welcome a future of change. My relatives were/are dairy farmers. I don't know if you worked the same schedule, but I must admit I struggle to imagine a life of rising with the sun EVERY SINGLE DAY to tend to the stock. Don't be surprised if some of us show up with things to stack in the barn. I think we're all reading about your barn with great fires of jealousy lighting up! I don't even have a mudroom. Imagine living in New England without a mudroom, and it ain't for lack of space in the house. Previous owners enlarged the tiny kitchen by expanding into the mudroom. I don't have a barn or shed for my garden/yard supplies, no mudroom (but I do have teenagers who could use a mudroom), life is a mess. Just the thought of your nice power-washed barn makes me happy...and jealous, of course.

Looking forward to updates with photos.
User
3 years ago
What's a pole barn? Do you store spin or magnetic poles, north or south? How do you keep them from repelling each other?

:-)
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
3 years ago
You're cleaner than me. Given the most recent exercise craze, I was wondering what in the world mxk3 was doing with a pole in her barn, besides staying young and keeping her core fit. ;-)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
omg.. its got a cement floor.. im so jealous ...
diggerdee zone 6 CT
3 years ago
Yeah me too! What a great space!

Maybe the birds were trying to tell you something.... like, a few skylights might be nice lol!

:)
Dee
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
3 years ago
The horse is beautiful!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
of course.. no groundhog issues with the cement floor ...

birds are the worse.. in spring.. when looking for nesting sites ... if you can dissuade them in spring .. and they nest somewhere else ... then you wont have them around the rest of the year ...

ken
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
3 years ago
Wow, mxk3 - very interesting to hear about your property and your horses. Always loved horses, but never had any. I did have the experience of caring for a horse, daily, for one summer. Loved it. Horses are really special and I thought it was surprising how much of a connection they make with people. But easy to see how much care they are. I wonder do you ever watch the show Heartland on Hallmark? It's a Canadian series about a family who owns a ranch and lots of horses.

For a gardener, to have such a great building for storage and garden projects sounds very exciting. Happy for you to have such exciting changes to look forward to this season.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
3 years ago
The pole barn looks like it will be a great mega shed! Sorry you no longer have the companionship of the horses, however.

Just a thought to consider in siting your fruit trees . . . In my area planting on the south side of a building means the area warms above ambient temperatures during the day in late winter and early spring, but then temperatures drop when the sun goes down, giving the area a greater swing in temperatures. It can make the fruit trees swell buds before night time temperatures are warm enough, so the recommendation here is to plant borderline plants on the north side of a building to delay ground thawing and the trees waking up, and hopefully avoid blooming before the night time temperatures are warm enough. It may be different in your area, however.
mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author
3 years ago
Yes, that is a concern, but of greater concern is the harsh winter winds blowing down from the north = bud kill, so the barn will block much of this. I could also think about planting on the eastern side of the barn, but they would have to be in a straight line so they don't block the vehicle access to the pasture, and not sure they'd get all-day sun because of the size of the barn blocking the western sun -- would have to check by watching the sun pattern.
djacob Z6a SE WI
3 years ago
Sorry to hear you hear you lost your favorite horse.......it’s tough to loss an animal, of any kind. I have always loved horses, but I am a city gal. The photos of them are beautiful! Their coats are absolutely radiant! Good luck with the new plans for the barn and trees.

Now, you must consider an easier animal to care for, or maybe you already some of those?

debra
mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author
3 years ago
^^ Dog.

Changes this year -- good and bad

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