TheFarmOfDreams- a long awaited adventure

[Thefarmofdreams]

Thanks for the feedback Bruce! I think both wells are supplying both buildings... One is back up, I believe? And now that you mention the apartment septic... I'll have to double check. They gave us so much info I don't remember where theirs is!

No problems with the roof reported... It may be the general decline in snow in NY? I know in buffalo area, we get less every year.

A lot of the weeds near the dry lot are milkweed, they aren't safe to leave near the horses. So definitely some weed eating even there before they move in. And we aren't going to be running them around the yard. Dh is a city boy... I think he'd be.. mildly disturbed.

Mortgage people called back. They're waiting on more paperwork from the other bank. So. More waiting. Sigh.

 

[Baymule]

No horses in the yard?

 

[Alaskan]

No horses in the yard?

Yeah... how else do you keep the grass short?

 

[Baymule]

Yeah... how else do you keep the grass short?

SHEEP!!!

 

[Alaskan]

SHEEP!!!

 

[Thefarmofdreams]

Its been a busy few weeks with school and halloween... but wanted to check in!

We still don't have a close date, but the (second) appraisal has been done and we're just waiting for it to come back, I guess. (heard that before...)

We got an estimate on barn repairs yesterday. 8hrs in the car... and 3 hrs with the guy.... Barn is in excellent shape for an old barn, but needs 3 fairly major repairs- cabling, post replacement w/ concrete footers on the back wall, and eventually, jacking the mow and replacing posts. Looking at $45k all together... and the first 2 are fairly timely. Sooooooo that'll be some fun financial gymnastics to figure out. Plus other things it needs that we can do- extending some drain tile, replacing the front trim, etc. Plus some kind of special lime product to coat the inside of the stone wall on the bank side of the barn?? I knew it was going to be a project, all old barns are... but I was hoping for a bit longer timeline or lower price point. That's not even counting building stalls, and never mind electricity, water, lighting. He does think I could put the horses upstairs, but with all the other costs going on, I don't see it being feasible $$ and project wise.

ETA oh also, it was snowing when we got there. It wasn't sticking, but there was definitely white stuff. . We need in there ASAP before fencing becomes even more of a headache!!!!

 

[Bruce]

Plus some kind of special lime product to coat the inside of the stone wall on the bank side of the barn??

If it is old the stuff holding the stones together is lime based, not the modern Portland cement based. They expand and contract at different rates so you should not mix them. I gather doing so in a stone foundation can actually do more damage than doing nothing.

We need in there ASAP before fencing becomes even more of a headache!!!!

That's for sure, don't want to be out there fencing in frozen ground AND with frozen fingers. I hope you hit ZERO rocks putting in the posts!

 

[Alaskan]

That's not even counting building stalls

Ah, stalls.... what are those for?

I know fancy places have stalls.... we just used the barn as a run-in shelter for horses.

With the goats it was a run in too... but we did have one large section that we fenced off with pallets to lock up goats at night.

 

[Thefarmofdreams]

Ah, stalls.... what are those for?

I know fancy places have stalls.... we just used the barn as a run-in shelter for horses.

With the goats it was a run in too... but we did have one large section that we fenced off with pallets to lock up goats at night.

My old man definitely needs his own space... he won't use it much, but he gets stressed out. He's a fussy old thing. lol. And the goats/donkeys need spaces separate from each other when its nasty enough to need shelter. So it'll have to be divided up one way or another, eventually.

 

[Thefarmofdreams]

We FINALLY have a close date. This upcoming Tuesday. I then have the rest of that week to get everything ready for horses, so I can pick up Luke and his posse that weekend. And THEN we gotta dig post holes for the dog fence before it freezes. (i'm debating between being frugal and doing it by hand, vs saving time and getting an auger... the auger would likely have to be buying a cheap one, because they're so expensive to rent it isn't worth it.) And then finally I can think about taking the time to move. I might be too stressed to be excited at this point.