arabian girl:

Maybe you weren't kidding about being a neighbor?  Lol! 

You never know! LOL  As you said abou CA, it's beautiful here, but the major hangups are making me think twice.  I love my place, but even that's starting to wear thin since I have to be nervous now about riding in my own woods and encountering the new neighbor's dogs and kids.  I actually came home one day a few years ago to find a group of teens IN my pasture WITH my horses having a snowball fight!    I'm too old for this sh*t!

Good grief!  Scary stuff about the snowball fight.  If anything had happened to one of those kids, on your property, it sounds as if you would have heard about it all right!  Also scary to think about your horses being there if the wrong people got in with them......yikes!  Do you have No Trespassing signs on your fences? Were they McMansion kids?  I used to the notice the McMansion people in Calif. seemed to have the attitude they could do/go where they wanted because they were somehow "entitled"!  We probably have some here but they would be on the other side of San Angelo someplace.  Out here, people are down to earth.  In fact, (and I found this enchanting when I first moved here) they teach their children manners!!!!  Well, maybe you can talk to your neighbors?  They may not realize that they are making your life unpleasant....

Yep, McMansion kids.  And yep, I'm posted six ways from Sundays.  I have permanent signs (hard plastic that mount with double-head nails AND the nice normal ones that my hunters put up as a courtesy to me every year. 

Manners?  Uh . . .

I talk to everyone all the time.  I got the kids out of the field, then had to get their mother to stop x-country skiing on my land!  *LOL*  Probably the funniest incident I've had was when I chased down the old guy who was mowing walking paths in my hayfield.  His house is on the corner, so I don't know where he thought he was going to go on that lawn tractor to get away from me, but he cranked it up to the max (like, 1 mph) and took off around the house.  I just stood in the driveway and waited.  I figured eventually he'd run out of gas.  That was the third time I'd asked him to quit.  At least with him, three was the charm.  The others seem to be hearing impaired.  "Oooohhh!  You were talking about the trees!  Now I get it."  Then off they go to cut down a few more. 

It got so bad for a while that I actually got a friend who's high in state government (she was a lawyer for the DEP at that point) to find me a tree lawyer.  They have those, you know.  They're really land use lawyers, but it's the same thing. 

New rule for OTD riders:  When you are seen screaming at children who are throwing things at your horse, or you are caught saluting adults who think honking and wavng as you and Fuzzbutt ride by is a fine way to say howdy on a nice summer day, your behavior will be ignored and loud conversation about manners will be launched immediately by your riding partners.

I am just stunned!  Who would cut walking paths thru anyone's hayfield?  And why?  Was he planning on hiking around your field?  Do people there not understand about private property?  Maybe there is good reason for NJ being a litigious state?  Lol!  My Word!  I am so glad to not have neighbors like that....don't know what I would do!  Being Texas, tho, those folks probably wouldn't last long in some places....lol!  We are an independent lot here.  I've never seen folks help one another like they do here, but folks are expected to respect each other, too. 

Your new rule reminds me of a story about a man who used to board at a barn I boarded at.  We were next to a State Park, where there were horses, bicycles, hikers, etc.  One day this man was riding in the park, and a smart alek bicyclist went by and I guess spooked his horse and kept right on going down the trail.  the man on the horse tore after him, stopped him by riding up beside him, grabbing his shirt and stopping him to give him what for!  I didn't see it, but wish I could have!  Maybe you need a Texas property sign:  This property protected by Smith & Wesson.....lol!  But anyone trying to escape on a riding mower may not get it anyhow!  Love the story, tho!

You think you were stunned  . . . !  LOL  People move here from urban areas and just seem to assume that any open area has to be public.  I could tell you far worse stories, but I'm trying to be less hostile these days.   

 LOVE the story about the rider and the cyclist!!   

I've seen that property sign.  Might be in my next cataog order. 

This afternoon I finally worked up to a quick ride around the property on my QH.  I've been avoiding it because of the aforementioned dogs/kids/insanity.  While it is distressing to see that more than a third of my woods is gone--dead trees lying on the ground since the developer clear-cut his side of the hill and the wind-tunnel he created finished the job on my side--at least the accumulated trash in my woods from the sole house up there isn't any worse than it was on my last tour.  Not any better--cleaning up after themselves just doesn't compute with some of the urban transplants--but not any worse.  It was beautiful up there the canopy of the old stand of hardwoods kept the undergrowth to a minimum so it was easy to cut a x-country trail and put up jumps.  That's all gone now.  Just weeds and dead trees.  *sigh*  Texas is sounding better by the day. 

Boy, Howdy!  Yeah, Texas IS sounding better every day...even to me!  Lol!  Where do these people come from?  (Probably Calif.......)  I sympathize with your tree loss.  One of the last straws for me in Calif. was when I was driving to a friend's house one morning and noticed they had clear cut a whole line of evergreens from a hilltop so they could build a bunch of "McMansions".  I cried I was so angry!  The blatant disregard for the beauty of nature just makes me crazy! 

Glad you got to take a ride anyway; hope it was peaceful w/o any weird noises, etc.  Wanted to ride today but it has been windy all day, and we are trying to finish a yard project so hope maybe on Saturday it will work out.  We got some more of the most gorgeous alfalfa hay today, so the boys will be happy!  I especially like to get the fresh stuff for my old guy who has been battling ulcers for a couple of years.  Seems to be good for his tummy! Well, back to work again.  Cheers!

I feel your pain. 

Yep, it was a nice ride.  I didn't have much time between the coming rain and the two social events I had back-to-backed this afternoon, but Leo's always up for any kind of adventure, and I only have 30 acres.  That's a quick enough ride so I generally go on horseback to check the fences that I can't see from the house.  My new haircut is helmet-proof, so I just scraped off a layer of horse snot from my arms and I'm off to my next activity! 

That hay made ME hungry, it sounds so good!  LOL  My guys don't get alfalfa b/c my mare is a long-term chronic founder case, but my grass hay field is looking great for a good first cutting, and I just planted oats in the pastures for a treat and to extend the grazing season.  Yippee for good horse eats! 

Wow!  My guys would love your oats!  We have lots and lots of wild oats along the roadside this time of year and for a special treat we take the horses out for a walk and let them munch oats.  The older horse can't have too many because of his ulcers, but they sure love them.  My Arab (whose birthday is Sunday I just realized!) gets a mix of alfalfa and coastal bermuda hay, with his very small grain feedings, and the QH who is 22 gets the yummy alfalfa with his senior mix.  My neighbor grows oats every year and used to bring me big buckets of them for the horses, which they really enjoyed, but I had to stop getting them because my QH couldn't tolerate them anymore.  But a few soft green ones seem to be okay.

Yeah, I have a helmet proof haircut too; didn't really expect it, but here it is!  Lol!  Usually have my hair a bit longer but I have to admit it feels awfully good when the temps hit the 90's.  Am waiting for  new helmets for my and my husband.  The old ones are past due being replaced, and they have both had their share of "traumas" so I feel they need to be retired.  Got 4 more bales of the good greenies today, which was all we could stuff into the pickup after 4 bales of coastal, 28 stepping stones, 2 weeks worth of groceries, carrots for the horses, etc. etc.  Looked like a hillbilly moving day going down the highway!  Well, time to go feed the boys!

Jayne-Admin:

 

Unfortunately, around the Houston area they're doing a lot of clear cutting for subdivisions and shopping centers too.  Like you, it makes me cry to see a beautiful wooded lot turn into a dirt wasteland overnight.

 

 Congrats and good luck with the move, Jayne! 

It makes me sad, though, that we're not alone in the craziness.  Even sadder than the clear-cutting and McMansion boom is how many of those houses are now sitting vacant after foreclosure.  What a waste of beautiful land!  One can only hope that, in the end, some sanity will come of all this.

arabian girl:

Wow!  My guys would love your oats! 

Yeah, I have a helmet proof haircut too; didn't really expect it, but here it is!  

 Got 4 more bales of the good greenies today, which was all we could stuff into the pickup after 4 bales of coastal, 28 stepping stones, 2 weeks worth of groceries, carrots for the horses, etc. etc.  Looked like a hillbilly moving day going down the highway!  Well, time to go feed the boys!

*LOL*  Well, AG, bring 'em on over! 

We've always had some wild oats in the unused fields, and the horses love riding out to the back of the property and sneaking a bite along the way.  I read in one of the horse mags last year that planting oats in the pasture would extend the useful grazing time and cut down on hay use.  We grow our own hay, but I'm always open to an experiment.    Technically, my Paint mare shouldn't have oats.  She's got pasture heaves and tested positve to 22 plants!  But she also shouldn't have any other kind of grass or grain, and she's allergic to pretty much every kind of hardwood tree on my land.  A few more allergens probably won't make a big difference as long as they don't take Tri-Hist off the market . . . EVER! 

I didn't expect the haircut either!  It's what grew back after chemo, and I LOVE it!  My hair was always long, ash brown, and very curly.  Now it's white, trendy-short, and almost straight.  I take off the helmet, and all I have to do is run my hand through my hair.  Yee-HAH!  I can finally retire my vast collecton of slime-crusted baseball caps.   

You must be talking about those huge rectangular bales, right?  I do the little 30 lb. bales and some 4 x 4 round bales.  My 8-acre hay field has been producing as much as 1400 bales a year (and as few as 600 during the drought a few years ago), so I am able to feed my 6 guys and even have some left to sell if I'm into risky behavior.  It never fails that the minute I sell a couple of hundred bales, we have some sort of weather anomaly and I wind up buying hay to replace it . . . at twice what I got for mine! 

No my greenies are small bales; we don't get a lot at a time, so we can get fresh hay.  With just 2 horses, I don't like to buy up too much at a time.  We used to get like 50 small bales of oat hay, when I could feed it, because you can't buy oat hay here except in the Spring when they cut it.  But my barn got so full of mice from the oats that it was awful!  That's one good thing about not having oat hay anymore; mice don't seem to be nearly as fond of other types of hay...  The small alfalfa bales, good ones, will run around 60 to 70 lbs tho.  Not light at all!  Sounds like your field really can give you greata yields!  But you probably have a lot more rain there than we do here.  It's mostly dry land farming in this area, and some years do well and drought years...well....not so good.  We have a lot of the big round bales here, but I haven't used them; the smaller ones are more convenient for us.

Sorry to hear how you got your cute short haircut, but glad you are happy with it.  Mine needs to grow out a tad bit more before I am real pleased with it.  It must be nice to look good in baseball caps, tho; I look really stupid in them.  One of my best friends, who died of cancer last year, always looked great in them and I used to wish I could just throw one on and go.  Glad I was not planning a ride this morning; we've had a crop duster in back of our place.  My QH always gets wound up when they fly around.  My new Arab could care less; I hope his attitude will rub off on Mr. Uptight!

Gosh I am sorry to hear Houston is getting caught up in this insanity.  My big nightmare is that Texas will fall prey to the same fate as Calif. has done.....mindless building, no natural areas, no place for our horses, etc.  I love West Texas because it is probably about 20 yrs. behind where I came from and wish it would stay this way! 

That is exciting about your new house, move, etc. It will be a big change from Calif., let me tell you!  But I hope you find it is a good change, as I did.  People here are just so wonderful and kind and caring.  Where we came from in Calif. it was getting to be so irritating; people were just too "busy" to care about anything but themselves, and the whole attitude there was just about money, and status and drinking the right stupid wine!  I hate Calif. wine, but boy Texas wine is nice!  Lol!  We are in a very rural area, too, which I am sure makes a difference.  Neighbors here actually want to help you if they can.  In our little grocery store, the checker actually carries your groceries out to the car without asking if he thinks they are too heavy for you!   Well, I could go on, but you get the picture!  Lol!

arabian girl:

  Sounds like your field really can give you greata yields!  But you probably have a lot more rain there than we do here.  It's mostly dry land farming in this area, and some years do well and drought years...well....not so good.  We have a lot of the big round bales here, but I haven't used them; the smaller ones are more convenient for us.

Yeah, I'd imagine we get lots more rain!  LOL  That's not always good.  Sometimes first cutting gets put off so long by the wet spring weather that the hay gets tall and stalky and falls over in the field.  Pain in the butt to cut.  I LOFF the round bales for winter.  One lasts a week, so I don't have to haul hay to the pasture every day. 

arabian girl:

  It must be nice to look good in baseball caps, tho; I look really stupid in them.  One of my best friends, who died of cancer last year, always looked great in them and I used to wish I could just throw one on and go. 

I never said I looked good!  LOLOL  It was just my only hope for a public appearance that didn't frighten small children.  Under damp conditions, my terribly curly hair just frizzed into a lop-sided afro, and a helmet didn't help matters.  So I'd throw on a cap and just pretend I looked presentable.  I NEVER wore one when I was bald.  That made me look like an elderly man with eye makeup.  When I was doing chemo, I bought wigs--dozens of them!  Every color, every cut, every style you can imagine.  I had a ball!  I had play dates with friends who were dying to try on all my wigs.  I bought a couple that were perfect under my  helmet in the winter.  I had my hair cut to match those when it finally grew in enough to even BE cut. 

I still use the wigs, btw.  Once you get used to wearing one, it is sooooo nice never to have a bad hair day.