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 left over crap that we will eventually have to deal with. A peek around the derelict horse barn last night revealed these gems: old bathtubs and a lot of random lumber plus this chipper.
I have some possible plans for the tubs, as there are quite a few others scattered about the property, and Agent Smith may eventually try to get the chipper to function again, as we have a giant section of land that the 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 then 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 lawn mower, we went for a walk down the hill to the fence line. It’s a fairly steep descent and 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 a shot from about the level of the old the rodeo ring:
I did have the distinct displeasure yesterday have having to shovel horse shit. It seems that arrangement that allowed for the neighbor’s horses to pasture on our land means he pays no attention to them at all. While this is nice from a grass/weed abatement perspective, the horses have eaten much of what was available and are now venturing into the house yard. We are going to need to address this issue soon and have the practice stopped–at least until we are more settled in 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. Plus some of the horses.
