Monday, November 27, 2017

‘Tis the Season on November Hill

Last week we got new screenings on one end of the arena, with another load coming in this week to finish the job. On Thanksgiving day I let the herd in with me while I got up leaves and all but one went off searching for acorns. Cody was my best helper!


We had a wonderful dinner out with my brother and my mom, and enjoyed the long weekend here at home. 

I’m so excited to reveal the finished gate complete with holiday decor. Two coats of dark Tung Oil cut with citrus solvent have been applied now and I think we reached the color saturation I want. I can give it one more coat with regular Tung Oil after Christmas if we have a good day for applying it temperature wise but I’m very happy with the results thus far. 

If you look closely you can see the pony inserted himself into the photo. And if you look to the right you’ll see a sample of the new fencing (though it will all have boards on the inside and outside once it’s done) and to the left the old fencing. I think the new fencing will look very spiffy with the gate!


We went a little overboard and got two trees. Last year I found a skinny tree for inside and we had our old big one on the front porch. A month ago I went on a cleaning spree in the garage and decided the two artificial trees were old, dusty, and just not in good enough shape to keep using, so we let them go and opted to get live trees again. We actually stuck with the rule that we couldn’t get a huge tree for the living room but then went overboard on the tree for the front porch. They are set up and ready for lights and maybe a few ornaments. Since it’s Baloo’s first Christmas I am thinking we’ll keep things easy and not put on anything to tempt him. He’s been good - tore a few branches off the bottom but quickly picked up that we didn’t want him doing that.

Pixie, our Christmas tree queen, checked out the porch tree. This is her first live tree experience.


I’m a little sad that she is not climbing the trees the way she has done every year since she’s been with us. I’m not sure if she’s just older nad wiser or if the live tree branches feel too scratchy. Maybe I should have cleaned the old trees and kept them. But in the end it’s probably best she is not going to the top of the trees and hanging out there! Though it was cute and I’ll post some of those old photos later. 

I got a call from the contractor last week saying he may start earlier than expected on the fencing. I’d love it if it were in place before daughter and I head to California but I suspect that isn’t even possible at this point. It may be I leave with fencing in process and come home to a finished product, which will be the best Christmas present ever! Can’t wait to see it and can’t wait to start integrating Corgis with horses so all can be happily out together. 

One big question: look at the gate photo again and help me come up with a way to dog proof the gate without taking away the overall look of the wood and design! We have to figure it out while contractor is here to do the work. 

4 comments:

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

If the dogs getting under the gate isn't an issue, I'd suggest 1/2 inch square hardware cloth tacked to the backside. The material is inexpensive, super sturdy, and long lasting. I think it will melt into the background and hardly be noticeable.

billie said...

Thanks - I had considered something like that as I have found our chicken wire cat proofing to be similarly “invisible” and totally effective. But unfortunately the going under the gate is an issue for the Corgis - in that they can fit under in one spot, and I want to also make sure no dogs can get IN under the gate.

When we put the gate in we were thinking we would leave the driveway/garage area/up to barnyard gate off limits to dogs but then I realized for protective purposes this would defeat the purpose in some ways. It would be easy enough to secure the interior fencing along the front field, grass paddock, and barnyard gate so dogs wouldn’t have access to the main gate area all the time but I still want it dog proofed if we can do it and keep the basic look of the gate. In hindsight we could have had the gate build with more panels across and I wish now I’d thought of that!!

Grey Horse Matters said...

The gate looks great! I can’t think of a solution to the dog problem. We have invisible digital fencing to keep the dogs from leaving the property. It’s a short training period before they know where they can and can’t go. Even when I put them out without their collars on they don’t stray. They know where the wire is and keep their distance.

billie said...

A, I am thinking that is an option for the Corgis - we won’t leave them out on the farm when we’re not home so if they did breach the invisible line by the gate, I’d be here to get them back in. In general it’s a good idea to have them learn to steer clear of the gate for a lot of reasons so I’m thinking this is one way to do that. Thanks!