2020: Oh - the places you'll go...

2019 saw the realization of a ten year plan come to fruition: buying my property, living on site in a travel trailer fondly known as the Shimmy Shack, creating the farmette and planning  + building a house. That was the biggest, most complex goal I had ever set for myself. Sometimes it's still surprising when I look around. And then I take a glance at the to-do list lol.

The word "goal" comes with baggage. When goals aren't met within time frames, or life gets in the way, the disappointment/guilt/shame can be very counter-productive. Probably even worse for us type-A horsewomen. I'm going to follow the lead of several other bloggers and re-frame my "goals." How about intentions, objectives and targets? In the context of my profession (landscaping) I often aim higher than what may be achievable, in the belief that I'll end up further along than if I hadn't been ambitious. That's usually how it works out.

So - as far as 2020 goes, the plan is to piggyback on the momentum of the house project.

Finances:

As of Jan 1, I took over the family business, which amounts to assuming the billing and accounting responsibilities, as I've been running the day-to-day work for a while. Theoretically this means an increase in income - fingers crossed. I've set up a budget that should address 2/3 of my non-mortgage related debt this year, and wipe out the rest next year. If all goes well with that plan, the next step is making two extra mortgage payments (applied to principle) yearly to reduce the mortgage from 30 years to +/- 17. Financing an actual tractor for the farmette I mean the business would be my reward.

Health:

I'd like to continue to prioritize my health this year. I've lost twenty pounds since May 2019, with the idea of losing thirteen more by this coming May. To be able to continue to do my job well into the future I will have to remain fit. There has also been a lot of walking and a bit of running in the mix. Basically I've adopted healthier habits, and they seem to be sticking. For 2020 I'd like to use my health insurance to get up to date on screenings, and incorporate regular yoga + meditation components.

 
Farmette:

After recovering from two disastrous hurricanes in the last three years, a few things became clear. Mental health-wise if nothing else, everything on the farmette that is on ground level will have to be raised. Buildings, sheds and the garden. The garden component is already in process. The buildings + sheds are more complicated and will have to happen in phases.

For Val this means a long shallow ramp up to a raised run-in on pilings. I can't tell you how stressful it was to look out at Val's paddock during hurricane Dorian and watch 3 feet of surging flood water surround him while 100 mph+ winds were shredding everything. There was literally nothing I could do.

Because my hay barns have repeatedly been inundated, I now have half the storage I started with. Consequently there are (at least) twice as many trips off island to restock, which adds $3-$4 per bale to the price (a roughly 30% increase). If I can't address hay storage - having a horse will not be sustainable. This project will involve lots of money, materials and time, but as they say - hope is not a plan.

Val:

Last year Val experienced several (additional new) health concerns.

In the spring he developed "heaves/asthma/copd" which was most likely due to allergies; environmental and hay-dust related. Despite the grim prognosis the vet gave me, I have been able to control his symptoms well with daily allergy meds and Ester-C, so far. I'd like to build a hay steamer this spring with plans found online. Next, an extremely hot six-week spell last summer had all the horses in the area becoming anhidrotic. One A/C got us through that crisis. And then there were the never-ending abscesses resulting from an extremely wet winter...

Val turns 18 in a few weeks. Health issues are to be expected. Health issues that stem directly from circumstances beyond my control stress me out. I've just about got his feet back in order from the spate of abscesses, with judicious trimming and using Durasole. As of today, it's been almost nine weeks since the farrier's last visit - no word when he'll make it down next. I went ahead and did a full trim myself over the weekend, because Val can't wait that long - so I'm preparing to take over the trimming full time.

Hopefully in 2020 some (all) of the complications of horse-keeping here on the island will be resolved. Never fear though - Val is happy, relaxed and sassy as ever.

Fun:

Right before Christmas I went off island overnight for the first time in over five years to see Hamilton (!!!). This was possible because I finally found a reliable farmsitter. My employee took a trip to the Keys over the holidays as well. We decided to close up shop from Christmas through New Year's, which turned out to be a great idea. No time pressure made holiday activities much more relaxing and enjoyable.  From this year forward, there will be mandatory vacation time. The boss said so. ;D


Pie in the sky:

I'd like to find a groovy little vintage travel trailer (Shimmy Shack II?!), and fix it up to rent as an airbnb for people who want to bring their horses to ride on the beach. Still running the numbers - this will likely be a 2021 project.

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 A few readers have reminded me that I never completed the house building series. Indeed. It has actually taken this whole year to furnish and arrange everything. Most of my possessions came out of storage infested with water bugs, their eggs and excrement. (a disgusting surprise - I agree... possibly tmi, but there we are) Everything I wanted to keep and bring into the house has had to be thoroughly and individually disinfected and cleaned - a time-consuming process. I'm almost there, and ready to document. Soon...

Location Location Location: ASSFS Blog Hop

Well - we've been out of commission so long, most of our readers have probably forgotten all about us. I've been struggling for a while with how to make the transition back to posting. A Soft Spot for Stars blog hop seems like a handy way to "get back on the horse" so to speak. Thanks so much to those of you who checked in.

Always hogs the frame

Equestrian life is challenging here on the Outer Banks. Land is hard to come by, we're very remote, and the climate can be harsh, so overall even basic horse-keeping is an expensive endeavor.

• Hay / Feed

The nearest decent hay source is a 7 hour round trip to SE VA. Nice square bales of second cutting orchard grass are $10 - $12 each, usually weighing around 50 lbs. Val consumes 150 bales a year. I can store 100 bales if I cram the two hay barns to the rafters. Best to do this by December to have all the same crop. (to do otherwise invariably leads to frustrating hay strikes when switching to the new flavor) That will usually last until hay is harvested again in the summer.

To find the true cost, I have to figure in fuel and travel time. This adds another $200 to the truckload - usually fifty bales, making the per bale cost more like $16. (multiplied by three or four trips a year)

Luckily, the local Ace Hardware carries Southern States, so feed is just a twenty mile drive. They are great about special ordering, and give rewards on all purchases. TC senior is $25 a bag, beet pulp $20, and my ration balancer $35.

[A slight digression: This fall I had stocked all the winter hay by October and was super psyched about my stockpile. Then there were two hurricanes in one month. The second storm (Matthew) brought the worst flooding in at least a hundred years. My property has never flooded before, and I had three feet of salt water covering the entire farmette. Both of the hay barns and the tack room flooded.

Less than 24 hours after the flood waters receded, the wet hay was almost too hot to touch, and had to be un-stacked to avoid the barns spontaneously combusting, sorted to salvage what I could, and disposed of - about half of the hay. I didn't even document this part because I was in shock and then utterly demoralized. I lost all the animal feed, many tools and machines, the entire garden, and my tack room was an utter disaster area.

Biggest bummer: the bottle of hoof dressing tipped over in the tack room. While floating around it covered everything touched by the water in sticky black oil. (which was everything)

SO very lucky: I had taken all my tack out to clean and it was stored in the one building that didn't get water.

Still unclear on the state of the Brenderup... haven't been able to face that situation yet, beyond obsessively rinsing and spraying anti-corrosive on all parts that got under salt water. *heavy sigh*]

:(

Starting to recede finally. Val was unimpressed...

• Boarding

There is only one barn that boards, and they advertise full board at $450, "scheduled feedings twice daily along with free range of hay and turnout, stall cleaning twice daily, bedding, parking for your trailer on the premises." Turnout is in the riding ring, which doesn't meet my safety standards due to fencing issues and debris. There is no pasture or grazing here.

• Property

Real estate here is expensive. My nearly three acres was initially $250k, which I eventually got for $110k. This was basically raw land. Still saving towards house building...

Last week. It took months of work to get back to this.

• Lessons / Equestrian Scene

The nearest quality dressage instruction is 3.5 hours away in SE VA. When my trainer was still teaching, lessons were $50 for an hour. She generously let me come up for a weekend to get two or three lessons at a time, and I traded barn work occasionally. It was an ideal situation for me. I was lessoning regularly, progressing as a rider. I miss her terribly. Sadly, I haven't had a lesson in years, with none on the horizon unless something can be worked out with remote technology.

Most of the local riders are trail riders - a pretty spectacular proposition with 70 miles of beach to explore. There are thriving dressage and eventing scenes mid-state - a round trip of 10+ hours. The nearest showing (I've flat out given up on this possibility) is also either SE VA or mid state. I'm contemplating Working Equitation at the moment, and with a more well suited horse in the future I'd like to try endurance.

Nearest tack stores are also SE VA, and are expensive. With all the online options this isn't an issue.

I pay $40 for a trim. Not sure what shoes cost as we've been barefoot for about six years. For the last several cycles my farrier has just done a few corrections. I am taking over the trimming responsibilities. I've done this out of necessity because our farrier situation is always tenuous. He travels over 3 hours to get here and generally has to stay overnight to get all the horses without rushing. I don't think he makes much on his trips here.  I arrange the schedule for him and make sure all the horse owners "show up".

I'm searching for a natural balance dentist at the moment. My former dentist doesn't want to come this far out of her way - she was traveling from MD. With her, Val had his teeth done standing in his run in, un-sedated and at liberty. The nearest dental practices in Va are vet connected, and will probably insist on sedation. I'm leery of trailering that far and having to withhold hay on the return ride because of sedation. If anyone in SE VA or eastern NC reading this has a dentist recommendation please share. :D

The nearest equine vet is also 3.5 hours away in VA. They do not come to the island. I give all the vaccinations (excepting rabies) myself, and the small animal vet kindly pulls a coggins and gives Val a once over at the same time. He actually removed a melanoma from Val's anus (tmi) over the summer, saving me time and money. I assisted for the surgery - it was pretty cool actually. Val is a super cheap drunk - he had half-rations of anesthesia and proceeded to cut major zzzzs while the cross ties barely held his big 'ol head off the ground.  

• Climate

Summers are hot and humid - generally in the mid 80's with 80% - 90% humidity being the norm. This is hard on Val and me. (landscaper) Thank goodness a jump in the ocean is never far away.

Fall and winter can often be very mild and comfortable, with less humidity and mosquitoes. This is the best time for riding, with average temps of 40's to 50's and the occasional nighttime dip into the 30's. A hard winter here would be several weeks of sub-freezing temps. It rarely snows, but is almost always windy, so big wind chills are common. Spring can be beautiful, but it is often stormy and unsettled.

Basically - life on this island swings between insanely beautiful and ruggedly inconvenient. It's not for the faint of heart, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Calm after the storm

This is usually land

Where's the road

Happy to say that we survived the treacherous weather... I'm so thankful. Just prior to dawn this morning we were inches away from salt water pouring into the house, but miraculously conditions began to improve just in the nick of time.

Some highlights:

I met Jim Cantore on the steps of the local grocery midday yesterday. I said "Jim - what in the world - are you actually staying for the storm?!" He gave a sheepish reply - probably a combination of everyone knows that Jim Can'ttellya never stays where it's actually going to be dangerous, and the fact that there were some less than welcoming messages referencing him painted on local businesses. When you live somewhere that gets really intense weather regularly, the hype and drama that happen on the weather channel and other media are at best tedious and at worst dangerously irresponsible. Our disaster shouldn't be fodder for television ratings and entertainment.

We actually had power for the entire event. It never even blinked once. Kudos to our electric coop. That made for a much more pleasant experience.

The powers that be are not going to let the last holiday weekend be ruined - our road on and off the island will be open tomorrow.

And not so much...

Several roof leaks, water coming in around the windows, blowing under the front door. This was particularly upsetting to Lucky Barnett (the cat)... she stationed herself as door monitor for most of the night.

Between 2 and 6 am winds steady at 75 - 80 mph, gusting to near 100 mph and 5-6 feet of sea tide. There was no land in sight anywhere around. We experienced weak side of the storm - I fear what would have happened if it had passed inside of us.

Looking forward to sleeping soundly tonight and cleanup begins tomorrow...