Friday, November 7, 2008

brown is the new green











Most of the leaves are down now. Everything seems brown, but it's still pretty. I've decided to write more about the animals. But not yet. This is still about brown leaves. These photos are from my walk with Mackie this morning out back.

3 comments:

ChicagoGrrrl said...

how did you decide what kind of barn to build? did you use one of those plans you can buy or just a builder that knew what was needed for horses? i am thinking about buying a property for my 2 horses but ive never kept them with me before and i would have to build a barn. so just curious how you knew to get all the details right. thanks. i dont comment all the time but i always look at your blog.

Java's Mom said...

Honestly, I obsessed and persisted. I got an immense number of quotes. I went with the builder I chose (Sigfridson) because he knows horses, the price was right, and his buildings have the look and feel that I wanted. My barn is pretty basic for him, some of his barns are incredibly fancy and trimmed out with lots of fancy things that humans like, but horses don't really care about. I almost went with a builder who does not do barns, and I would highly advise against using someone who does not do barns. There are so many little things that regular builders don't understand, like stall wall material (oak, not pine), grills, door height, etc. I drove around taking photos of barns I liked, then went online and looked at other barn sites and noted what I liked and didn't like. Then I would stand on the barn site of our property and see the way the wind blew, sun came in, and water drained. I would have ended up with a totally different barn if I had not done that and it would have been dark cold and too big. I had to remind myself over and over what the goal was: a sensible barn that would be safe and pleasant with lots of natural light and headroom for princess Java. People ask: are you getting those fancy stalls, or, are you getting automatic waterers, or, are you blah blah blah. NO. And, Java is always hitting her head on something, and she has not - yet. So far, so good. And, it's warm, cozy and safe.

The Southport Globe said...

Sweet analysis regarding your persistence to keeping to the goal. Incredible focus. May Java enjoy a good headroom lifestyle for the rest of her life. You didn't by chance perhaps install a trough or urinal, did you? and a hand wash sink? Is that considered a bell, or a whistle?