Yesterday was a long day in San Jose. As we waited for a contractor, Agent Smith and I explored and documented new territory. Keep in mind that the house itself is 50 years old and the property was used as a working horse farm for many years; as such we have a lot of leftover crap that we will have to deal with eventually. A peek around the derelict horse barn last night revealed these gems below: old bathtubs, a lot of random lumber, and this chipper.
I have some possible plans for the tubs, as there are quite a few scattered about the property. Agent Smith may eventually try to get the chipper to function again, as we have a giant section of land that past owners used as a dumping ground for random yard/tree debris, including Christmas trees like this one.
Once the incredibly important projects are done, we plan to establish a new house yard fence and do away with a lot of the existing pasture fences that cordon off sections of the property. We will also repair or replace the existing perimeter fences, and life will then be better.
Last night, after Agent Smith was done trying out the now patched-up little lawnmower, we went for a walk down the steep descent to the fenceline. The previous owners made a deal with a neighbor to have his horses eat the grass, and they’re still here. We’re becoming less keen on this way to manage grass after seeing what a mess they’ve made of the hillside.
Here’s shots from about the level of the old the rodeo ring:
While the arrangement allowing the neighbor’s horses to pasture on our land is nice from a grass/weed abatement perspective, the horses have eaten much of what was available and now venture into the house yard. It also means the neighbor pays no attention to them at all; I had the distinct displeasure yesterday of having to shovel horse shit. We need to address and stop this practice soon, when we are more settled and living here full-time.
As we started to walk back up the hill towards the house, we met some new friends–namely Maggie, a dog belonging to our downslope neighbor, and some of the horses.
