adventures in farm life

Last year, my husband and I moved out onto about 120 acres so that we could keep Dancer at our place. I know, you’re probably thinking we are crazy. Ryan is allergic to just about everything (no joke) and it’s a 40 minute commute from my work. But, having my horse at home with me will make it all worth it…right? That is what we keep telling ourselves.

Our latest adventure has been preparing our 5-acre pasture for Dancer. It’s the shape of a rectangle and had barbed wire on 3 sides. So we tackled the short sides first of course! We invited our friends out for a work day, thinking we’d get it all done in a single 12 hour time frame and were very quickly taught a lesson in country life – everything takes way longer than you’d think when it involves working on the land! Over the course of about 3 weeks, we have cleared brush on one short side, cleared brush on the other short side, took down barbed wire fencing and tightened existing wire!

Clearing brush was not as easy as taking a weed-eater and chopping them down. Oh no! These weeds were super gigantic evil tree weeds! We had to take tree clippers, an axe, and a chainsaw to get this job done. And then I sprayed the wooded area behind the fence lines with Round Up. Lots and lots of Round Up. I don’t want any more weed/tree/creatures growing anywhere near the fence line! I was careful not to let the Round Up get inside the pasture though.

Ryan has been a real trooper throughout this whole experience. He chops, cuts and rolls barbed wire like a real cowboy! I know that this is not what he had in mind when we moved out to the country. I think he envisioned himself quietly sitting on the porch with Koda (our husky puppy), playing his guitar, and taking walks in the woods. But I appreciate his willingness to help me do whatever it takes to get my “other man” out here as soon as we can!  He is awesome!!

We’ve had to make some significant changes in order to maintain this lifestyle. With one car, our morning has to start really early at 5:30am! Way earlier than I’m used to! We have had to coordinate our plans a lot more and have my parents pick one of us up or take us places if we can’t work it out. Our social life has undertaken significant changes. Most of our friends live in the city, so we’re not always able to just meet for a quick dinner or coffee like we used to. It takes planning and a lot of extra driving…and gas.

But all of this to say, there are a lot of “positives” to living out in the country. There are stars! They do actually exist and it is amazing to see so many of them on a clear evening. We’ve also had a lot of furry visitors welcome us to the area: deer, coyotes, and various rodents have all made appearances. We like not having neighbors so close that we can reach out our window and almost touch the side of their house! Our neighbors are acres away and they all greet you as you pass with a slight wave or a nod of the head. The nearest “town” is about 15 minutes away, but it’s nice not to have stores, gas stations and parking lots so close to your home. And it’s quiet…you can hear the birds chirping and the frogs croaking in the evening. I definitely prefer the sounds of nature to the sounds of cars passing by on city streets!

It has been a big adjustment, but I think it’s starting to grow on us!