Here Is The Scoop...

...on our Changes (and my absence)

Twenty years of sh** can take a toll!

I'm pretty darned sure this is a portrait of Us,
if we had the time to look in the mirror!

~

We have been hopscotching back and forth,

east & west, and back again!

Working here, working there, going after this, going after that.

~

Doing what?

Cleaning up what twenty years ago, used to be a fancy Registered Hereford facility.
No occupant since it's closure has maintained a thing.
It appears to have been used more as a dumping ground for anything and everything.

Sure, there has been herds of cattle in there and horses too, but no one took pride in what they were doing.

Nothing was fixed or maintained properly.

~

In walks US...the workaholics!

Known for taking on the most rundown places
and turning them into something worth having.

This time though, our pocketbook is tucked away!

The man who owns it is footing the bill.

And he'd "foot" more by providing a labor force if we could be there the whole time to make sure things were done properly and to our specifications, but we can't be there 100% of the time.

So we are using our energy, our muscle power to make things as they should be,
the way we want them...

...as much as we can until we are there everyday.

~

What will we have?

...When the tons of garbage have gone to the landfill (so far 3.5 tons!),

the 20 years of manure accumulation has been spread on the fields,

the paddocks are repaired and gates rehung,

old feed trucks, tractors and other equipment are disposed of,

fences repaired, weeds removed, old dead trees burned,

and a good old fashioned power washing....

(if we survive...)

~
We will have this...

• An insulated indoor riding area (sand has already been placed) for Cowboy to work his colts
• A outdoor riding arena 130' x 200'. (materials for construction arrived last Friday!)
• An indoor wash area for the horses complete with hot water, floor drain and safe 'footing'.
• An office space 14 x 20 (NO more invasion of my house by clients and their dogs!)
• A tack room 14 x 20
• A His and Hers restroom
• Enough large paddocks, some under cover, to house 20+ horses if one was so inclined
• 35 irrigated acres which are cross fenced
• Paddocks and pastures have automatic waterers with electricity for no freeze ups in the winter!
• And then there is a brick home..2400 sq ft...which we haven't got to see the inside of yet and what it's going to require...the renters are to be gone by the end of the month.

What is this costing us?
Not a dime!
We don't have to sell or rent out our home here.
We are giving this a try until the first of the year to see where it takes us.
Maybe we will hate the location,
maybe the owner will re-neg on his promises.
..maybe anything...
we then can pack up and come home...here!
It won't be a lot of packing either, as we have no intentions of moving all of our belongings. We will take some basics...like my coffee pot for sure!
We will come home on the weekends to mow my lawn
and water my flowers and gardens.
~
But maybe...just maybe, we will like everything!
The owner has the feedyard and the hay fields contracted out for 5 years, maybe we can get the same time contract for little or nothing.
~
That's too far off to worry about.
~
How did this come to be?
A friend I worked with years ago (22 to be exact!)
..came back into my life in January!
She and her husband are an hour away where they operate a 6-8,000 head feedyard
(Cowboy can daywork all he wants...if he wants!)
They run a separate business with their own cow/calf herd on 10,000 acres
(more land for Cowboy to ride colts on!)
They raise Quarter Horses too.
(more colts for Cowboy to start!)
She's been wanting me to come to work for them.
We couldn't justify it until this other opportunity arose.
This gentleman contacted her looking for a "caretaker" of sorts!
...and she thought of us!
After meeting with the gentleman, seeing the place and discussing his wants and our requirements and reaching an agreement...
...I accepted the job...
So, June 1, this ol' night owl, aka Cowboy's Wife...
must relearn getting up each morning and going to a job!!!
Yikes!! It's been a long time!
I am looking forward to it though.
I miss having interactions with humans ~face to face.
I miss using my tongue and jaws to actually speak words instead of typing them!
My drive to work will be 3.5 miles!
I can still wear my Wranglers!
I can go home at lunch to make sure Cowboy hasn't eaten too much dirt
and that he is still in one piece!
It will even provide us with much needed medical insurance.
I don't have the schooling for it, but accounting has always come easy to me.
(I would MUCH rather work in a horticulture nursery but one of those didn't land in my lap!)
But...it is what it is!
And I am excited to get back into the world of 'living'!
~
Better than all of the above...
We are going from a dying town of approx. 300 people to another agricultural town of approx. 6,000 people.
Which means...
I will have access to a grocery store!
~
More importantly...
~
I can order PIZZA!
I can even have a WHOPPER anytime I want!!!
~
Ahhhh.....I can smell and taste them already!

(Do you see now why I chose W.O.W. as my name??
Today, I am W.O.W. more than ever! )