Things We Wish We'd Known...

OK, some of these are things we really DO know but sort of forgot.

Like the compost pile. We surely know that the best place for all those barn sweepings and pen cleanings is down wind and out of sight. So why didn't we do it that way? We have no good excuse...the pile just sort of started itself where it was most convenient and now, one year into the new ranch location, we are faced with renting big earth moving equipment and moving it to where it should have been all along.

Note to Self: don't forget what you already know or it will cost you in $$ and time!

Something we did not know, and did not factor into our ranch construction equation was how hard it is to get anything built in the rural parts of the world. With few contractors, just getting your project onto their schedule takes months. Then almost all building supplies end up needing to be ordered, and take weeks to arrive. And just about the time you get it all aligned, with the contractors scheduled and the supplies on hand, the bad weather sets in to delay everything. Which is why it has taken a year to build a simple two-car garage addition to our barn!

Something else we have learned the hard way is that while some things are cheaper when you get outside the more populated areas of the country, other things are not. Food, for example. Even though we live in farm country, the food prices at the one grocery store in town are astoundingly high. Construction materials are also not any cheaper, and, if they have to be ordered, likely higher in cost. Oh, yes...then there is the shipping you'll pay on all those Internet purchases! True, you can get almost everything off the Internet these days, but you'll pay a bunch for the opportunity, in shipping and delivery fees.

So what's the good news? We live in a fabulous area, with views that take your breath away any time of year. We have clean water and air, and enough land to grow our own hay and let the alpacas play in the pastures.

Our neighbors are The Best, always willing to help us out at the drop of a hat. And we are living the dream...even if parts of it are a little more complicated or expensive than we expected. Still, how do you put a price on freedom, peace and a country life-style? Priceless, even if we do have to give up a weekend to move the compost pile!

Zen and the Art of Snow Management

Those of you who live where it doesn't snow, or doesn't snow very much...skip to one of our other blogs, because this one is only for those who live where winter is truly winter!

2011 marks our 15th year raising alpacas, and every single one of those years has involved snow. One thing we have learned...it pays to have a snow management plan.

In fact, a snow management plan is just as important, perhaps more so, than a manure management plan. When it's below freezing outside and the white stuff is stacking up, how you move it and where you put it can be the difference between an easy winter and sheer hell (pardon our French!).

I like snow better than rain because I can move snow around and get it out of my way, and, with the proper equipment and clothing, I can even play in the snow, something I am rarely tempted to do with rain. But I have learned that snow has a way of making life ten times more difficult if you don't think ahead when you start to move it.

Here are some things I've learned about moving snow.

1) Figure out where to put snow. The first few storms are no big deal, but by February the snow piles are taller than we are. If we put the initial piles too close to the barn, house, garage, paths and roadways, we run out of stacking space. Better to have to move the snow farther at the beginning of winter so you'll still have somewhere to store more snow at the end of the season.

2) Snow becomes ice with no warning. Where you walk or where the animals walk can become lethal if you don't make sure to clear down to the ground whenever weather permits. If things warm up, it's important to remove as much slushy melting snow as you can. That way when things chill down again, your paddocks and walking paths won't be as dangerous to you and the animals.

3) Piles of snow melt. And then freeze, creating ice rinks where the melt water pools. A rule of thumb: stack snow downhill and down wind from any place you want to use during the winter.

4) Wind + snow = Ugh! Drifts! Piles of snow become drift points, so make sure you are not creating a monster. Stack snow so that the wind will not unstack it when your back is turned.

5) Shovel while you can. If the weather permits, get out and remove snow. The longer you wait, the heavier it gets. Moving wet or compacted snow is like moving shovels full of wet sand - extremely heavy and hard to throw very far. The best time to remove snow is right after it falls, when it is still light and fluffy.

6) Don't forget to stop and smell the roses, or, in this case, throw a snowball or two, make a snow angel or just admire the way snow sparkles in the sunlight. While snow adds to the work load, it also covers up a multitude of sins and makes the world look clean and bright. Plus, it is like time-release rain.

So enjoy the white stuff while you have it, for all too soon we'll be sweating in the heat of July and wishing for a sudden snowstorm to cool things off!