Hill Photos from October 3

Well, the new retaining walls are complete. They look great and I believe they will help reduce our erosion problem. There is still a slight slope which will help water drain away from the barn, but since it is more gradual, the water won't rush over it like before. Plus, the horses will have two almost level spots to walk around on....

The bottom part of the hill, below the retaining walls:

This area is getting more dirt and we are talking about removing a few more trees.

Just a bunch of photos to show different views:

I wish we could have made the lower wall area larger - it would have made a nice arena...

One of the drains in the wall:

Grate over drain in the lower wall. This was already in the hill when we purchased the house - the original home owner's attempt to control the erosion. We just extended the pipe up and added this nice grate.

That piece of metal sitting on the wall goes over the grate. The pointy things sticking up from the metal go into the ground so no hooves get poked.

Another view of the upper wall (and the top of Sam's tail...):

These photos really don't do the new areas justice. The slope looks pretty bad here, but I think it is the angle of the camera. This area is quite flat.

A couple of views from the pole barn looking out from where the stalls will be:

Sides of the walls:

More photos:

Before we bring the horses over, we'll string the electric fence tape along the tops of the walls.

Progress!

Hill Work Continues - October 2

By October 2nd, the lower wall was complete. My daughter, A, had to test it out:

Yep, it looks pretty straight (and high!) It is just over 3 feet high.

Work on the upper wall begins:

(Sam and Daisy are checking it out:)

First row of cross ties for the upper wall:

Looking down the hill from the pole barn:

Placing the "deadmen" for the upper wall:

A is loving all of the fresh dirt...

Upper wall is coming along nicely:

Notice the french drain (white pipe) along the wall. The black pipe is covered with a silt sleeve, hence the white. Gravel is poured over the top of the pipe to help with drainage:

Too bad I don't jump any more. These walls would make awesome cross country jumps!

The upper wall finished out at 3 feet high. We will string the highly visible white electric fence tape along the top of the walls to keep the horses from going off of them.

The Hill - September 28

Work begins on the lower wall:

Our landscaper bought the forks specifically for this job, since he knew he would be dealing with a lot of cross ties.

Row one:

The wall supervisor:

By the afternoon they had progressed pretty far along:

The "deadmen" used to secure the wall:

French drains and river rock will be placed along the inside of the wall:

Lots of hammering rebar and huge nails:

Looking at the wall from the bottom of the hill:

(It's looking a bit like a cross country course...)

Swamp Sunflowers:

I love these flowers this time of year.

And the Hill Rennovation Begins - September 27...

September 27, 2009: The work on our monster hill begins.

The idea is to create two large retaining walls to slow the runoff, thus reducing the erosion damage to the hill.

Cross ties are delivered:

LOTS of cross ties:

"HE did it!"
"Nuh-uh, the CAT did it!"

Discussing exactly where the upper wall will go:

Lots of discussion on where the upper wall will go:

The placement of the walls was imperative, so the guys arranged and re-arranged the marker stakes until they found the right place.

Busy with Soccer

This year, all three of our kids are playing soccer. We are at the fields 5 days a week, excluding Wednesdays and Sundays. On Saturday, we are normally there from 7:30 a.m. until at least noon. As tiring as it is, the kids love it and are really good!

Here are some photos of our oldest son. He's 13 and plays on the U13 team.

Here is D and his team-mate doing the funky dance:

These action shots always make me laugh - their facial expressions and body movements are so crazy as they work to score.



This is our middle child, B. He's the biggest kid on his U7 team as he missed the cut-off to move up to the U9 team by 5 days. It works to his advantage though, since he has one more year of experience than the other kids. :) He's been scoring goals this year - the first time ever.

I love how some of the players sit back and watch the action:

B snuck his foot in and kicked the ball as the goalie was trying to pick it up...

Score!

This is the most serious player of the three. A has been waiting to play since she could run and kick the ball at age 2. She was finally old enough this year at 4.

The first time in her life wearing pig-tails:

(they don't last long before she pulls them out....)

Corner Kick!

Stealing the ball from her team-mates and laughing the whole time:

And off she goes to the goal!

The grin after scoring:

As you can see, we've been wrapped up in soccer since the season began early September. Their last game is October 24.

I have tons of photos of our new and improved hill - coming soon!

Stayed Tuned!!

I have some updating to do! Our hill work is being done...they hope to have it complete by tomorrow or Saturday. I have lots of photos to share.

AND - my husband's friend is heading out this week to look at the barn - he is a good framer and is going to help frame up the barn so we can get to work completing it! Things are coming along, so stay tuned for a better update and photos soon.

Thanks for stopping by.