Living on a farm is a 24/7 job. Full of challenges, work, and fun. Animals always need to be fed, watered, taken care of, and cleaned up after. Stuff is always breaking and needs to be fixed or replaced. It is either too hot, too cold, too much rain, not enough rain.
Why do we do it? Because it's fun, it's hard work, no day is the same, and the challenge and beauty of it, makes it all worthwhile. Check out the photos and info below to see what we've been up to lately.
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April 2010
It's Spring here finally! The rain has stopped. It is warm. Everything is growing. Thank you God. We still have a lot of work to do, but at least it is sunny now, the mud is drying up, and the grass is growing. I had to take Stormy, Zoe, and the Goats back to Florida because of the conditions here, so they are still there, but the others and me, are enjoying the warmer weather and beautiful green grass and flowering trees.
Check out the pics below.
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Let It Snow! February 2010
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The Horsey Hotel
January 2010
It has flooded here (or close to it) almost twice a month since the big flood in September. Mostly, it is because the storm drainage creek that runs behind my property is full of debris, trees, and sand that when it rains over two inches, the water from that creek backs up onto my property and it eventually overwhelms my already full ditches...plus the soil is so saturated from the crazy amount of rain here that every rainfall brings the chance of minor flooding.
Each time my barn is threatened by flooding (at least twice a month these days), I have to evacuate all the animals to safe places. The goats have been living in my back yard since September... and just recently moved to the back paddock area, thanks to Mike Lyons and his family. The horses, however, have been going to my next door neighbors, the Coopers, who have saved me numerous times now. The trek over however, is treacherous. I usually bring two at a time in the rain, wind, and storm and lead them through the next door woods and through their 10 acres to an open pasture or paddock. It is scary because the weather is stormy and with the wind in the trees, rushing creeks, etc, they are pretty riled up. The last time I took them up there, Stormy and Thunder were being freaks, rearing up, snorting, and bucking, and I realized something bad could happen to them or me and I needed to work on an alternative solution.
That is when the Horsey Hotel was born. We have a massive garage by the main house and I called MIke Wilson (to the rescue again) and asked him if he'd semi-finish it so I could put my horses in there in case of flooding. He cleared a couple days and we began working. On the third day, I brought my horses up as it was torrential rain, storming, and flood warnings were announced. At first the horses were blowing and snorting, Thunder especially, but once they discovered the hay, they settled down and seemed to enjoy the respite from the weather. They were safe and sound for the most part... Zoe hurt her back leg somehow (she probably got cast in her stall area and banged on the panels)...and I did not have to trek through the woods and worry about them all night in stormy weather and a strange pasture.
See Pics Below
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THE SOCCER COMMUNITY TO THE RESCUE
Not long after the flood in Sept, I decided to put my soccer memorabilia up for auction to raise money to fix my property. My new found agent, Rob Raju with Axiom Sports, was horrified and asked me to hold off until he could work on a way to raise the funds through the media and public. I agreed. We put out a story though the AP wire and soon donations were coming in! I also was contacted by my old coach, Tony DiCicco, who wanted to help as well. Soon, the word was out through the soccer community as well and I began hearing from my old teammates and a couple of the teams in the new women's soccer professional league, the WPS. One team, the Atlanta Beat, rallied and part of the staff came to my farm to help clean up! They carried debris, shoveled rocks, and worked for over 4 hours. The Boston Breakers also came up big and raised over two thousand dollars for my farm!! I was overwhelmed with the generosity of everyone and so thankful for the help getting back on my feet.
Thank You everyone!!!!!!
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A NEW STALL FOR CANDY CANE
Jan 2010
During the September flooding, portions of the barn were ruined when the water rose over 4 foot through out the barn. One of the "rooms" was my tack room and the plywood walls and flooring soon became full of mold, so I ripped it out, cleaned it out, and sprayed it with mold killer spray. After I got word we were getting a miniature horse to be a companion for Zoe, I decided to rebuild it as a stall for her. Mike Lyons, from New Jersey (see below for pics of him and his family working at the farm) supervised a cement pour for a new floor...and later Mike Wilson and his son Chad from Mike Wilson Renovations in Powder Springs, donated his time and tools to finish the stall. Behold a brand new stall for Candy Cane!
Thank you all.
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| Chad and Mike Wilson with Candy in her newly rebuilt stall Jan 2010 |
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Cold, Cold, Go Away.
January 6, 2010
My buddy Hades, tells me it is all my fault. The weather in Atlanta is awesome she says, "It's not too hot in the summer, the fall is gorgeous, mild winters with a few 20's or teens here and there." Liar, liar. Pants on fire is what I say... all I've seen is a Florida-like summer, flooding, torrential rain and now bitter, arctic cold that won't stop. She steadfastly claims I brought all the craziness with me. Now, my foot deep, mud-slop around the barn and the saturated pastures has all turned to frozen jagged ice. I admit it is nice to be dry and clean, but now I am starting to want my mud back. The cold is ridiculous. The water in the barn freezes every day and I had to a blow torch to thaw it. I've bought stock at Tractor Supply in de-icers and bucket warmers. The circuit breaker trips multiple times a day when I forget and turn on one too many lights or plug in one too many de-thawing devices. My poor son needs to put ear muffs on to keep from hearing my muttering (yelling) as I walk back up the hill to the house to hit the breaker switch. I wear my Carrhart insluated overalls and arctic chore boots 24/7. Good thing my son is only four as he doesn't yet seem to notice I am the only mom picking him up from school in my dirty Carrharts, boots, and hay in my hair. Anyway, aside from the laughing, I am also crying as my Zoe girl got injured on the ice the other day and is crippled and confined to her stall. Her feet hurt her so bad, she lays down most of the day and when she is up (looking for a treat from me), she stumbles to turn a 360. The vet has visited and we found she had foundered at some point before I got her. She has mild rotation in both front feet which explains why she is so ouchy on hard ground, but until now it has only showed itself as thin soles, poor hoof walls, and tender feet. Apparently, the rotation coupled with the frozen landscape has hurt her bad. She is on pain meds and eating fine, so I have some hope. After two days of trying, I finally got one foot padded. The other I am hoping to get done tomorrow if she can stand long enough on one foot to let me do it. I am not sure what will happen with her yet... she is one tough girl, so I am not with out hope, but my heart gets close to breaking when I think this one might be too much for her. Please keep her (and all of us) in your prayers. I am keenly aware there is a lot to be thankful for and I am thankful for a lot, but I also have those moments where I think if only I could have 5 minutes back on the soccer field to take out my frustration on some viking norweigan, that would surely make me feel a whole lot better. Wine also helps. So does a good game of Star Wars on the Wii and a roaring fire in our beautiful brick fire place. Thank you also to everyone who has been so kind to send a note of encouragement and/or a donation to help us out. You also I am thankful for and appreciate your encouragement. It is supposed to snow here tomorrow. I will take some pics and post them here for you. The white will give us a whole new perspective and me and my Carrharts are looking forward to it.
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Dirt Work and Regrading Begins
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The Best Christmas Present
Tony DiCicco, my old coach from National Team, called me to say there was a guy interested in helping me... he is a good guy, give him a call back, he said. I called him and the guy on the other end of the line told me he could come down for 4-5 days and fix whatever I needed fixing. My initial thought was oh, please God, let this guy be for real... and then, I started talking to him about the flood damage, my property, the barn, etc. Over the course of a few weeks, we decided he'd work on several things in the barn and he'd drive down from Jersey the day after Christmas. My husband thought I was nuts letting this guy come here with out knowing him... he could be an ax murderer after all, but I wasn't worried. I had a good feeling about him.
Mike Lyons and his wife Gina and three (out of their six) kids showed up on the 27th and with out even unpacking their car, they began cleaning up my garage which had stuff thrown all over, piles everywhere, and full of chaos from the floods and then started moving the goat shed out of the back yard and swept all the goat poop around the pool area off the deck (thank you God). I was in awe and completely stunned at the whirlwind of activity... and Cody, my 4 year old, was in heaven with their kids for the next 5 days, playing star wars on the Wii, jumping on the trampoline, driving my Gator up and down the road countless times, and slumber partying in his room. Thankfully, they weren't ax murderers at all... and I wound up making some new friends and getting a lot of stuff in the barn and in my home fixed.
Specifically, Mike had concrete poured in one of the stalls that got flooded really bad and had been completely gutted... and reframed two stall doors, one into the aisle and the other out to the sacrifice area/pasture. He also built me a loft in the hay room to raise my hay storage out of future floodings way and his wife, Gina, and kids helped wheelbarrow and shovel 57 rock on the floor in there as it was mostly mud covered by wood pallets. He also fixed the furnace in my attic, rebuilt my desk drawer so it could close, leveled my armoire, cut new slats for under the queen guest bed (which collapsed like a taco and trapped him, Gina, and my dog Lola in the middle of it)... and tons of other stuff that took only minutes for him, but added up huge for me.
Anyway, these folks spent their Christmas vacation at our home working their buns off and that was the best Christmas present ever! Thanks Mike Lyons and Your Family. You guys are the Greatest.
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Mike Lyons and Family Christmas Vacation
December 2009
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A Day On The Farm
December 2009
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Rain, Rain, Go Away.
December 2009
In September, three months after moving to Cobb county, Georgia, the Atlanta area received unprecedented amounts of rain and our farm experienced major flooding and water damage. After 2 weeks of steady rain, one night we got over 20 inches and our saturated pastures began to flood and fill with water. I kept watch all night and with each lightening strike I could see the water getting higher and higher. I had put the horses out in the pasture thinking they would be safer there, but as the rain poured down, the pasture soon became a lake, so I decided to get them all in the barn. I waded out to where the horses were with a flashlight in water up to my belly button hoping I wouldn't step in a hole and see a water mocassin. Finally, I reached the horses and put my hand around Handsome's cheek and asked him to come in. The water was swift in places and I had to hold on to him as we made our way back in. I was praying the other horses would follow and no one would lose their minds and start running like wild banchees. God forbid I got hurt in the process. Who would rescue me? When we made it to the barn, my heart was pounding and I hugged Handsome grateful for his cooperation.
At 3am I called a reliable friend in Florida and asked him to drive up to help me. Finally, the sun came up and I called my buddy Hades and asked her to come quick and get the horses out... and when she finally got there, I was barely able to open the stall doors because of the water height inside! The horses were waiting for me calm, but ready to get out of there. I was waiting for her with two in a trailer ready to go and the other two on lead ready to go in my other trailer. The water was still rising fast and by the time we left it was over 4 feet into the barn and we barely made it off the property with water over our bumpers as we drove out. Our pygmy goats, nicknamed The Babies, almost drowned as we were loading the horses. Thankfully, we got everyone loaded just in time and ran down to their pen and grabbed them off the bench just as the water reached their little feet. We threw them in the garage with prayers and food and ran to our trucks to make our way out of there.
Thankfully, we were able to find a way (many roads were flooded) to a local boarding facility who loaned me 2 pastures for my horses (THANK YOU) and after settling them in, I drove back home to see how much higher the water had risen. I had to park at the top of my driveway and wade through the water to my house... which thankfully sits up on a hill. The dogs were in a frenzy inside the house and the goats were ba-haaing up a storm in the garage, but everyone was safe. The view from the house of the pasture and barn now was total water, lakefront. All the stuff in the barn was floating down stream/lake and soon, I expected the Ark to float by as well. Thankfully, most of what was damaged wasn't that valuable, but 80 bales of hay was lost, as well as, all my power tools, feed, and medicine. Our John Deere lawn mower was completely submerged and I thought for sure it was a goner, but once it dried out, it cranked up and ran fine. Mostly, it was all just a big mess and would ultimately take months to clean up.
Everyone except the goats are back in the barn and I have only the essentials in the feed room i.e., a few bales of hay, feed, meds, grooming stuff, blankets, etc. The goats now live in the back yard by the pool in a vacant shed made into their cozy house. They have eaten all the plants back there and leave pellets all over and in the pool, but they are so cute (and safe) I forgive them instantly.
The property is one big mud hole and now the horses spend most of the 24 hours standing in a foot of slop. I have made some improvements... minimal grading, added rock/gravel and drains around the immediate barn area, gutters, and my Dad and I built a wall to keep the water at bay at least during the normal rainy days. Over all, it will take around 50,000 dollars to make repairs and grade the property to drain properly and prevent future flooding. The only way this can possibly happen is for me to do it slowly over the years or figure out another way... which led me to the decision to auction off some of my soccer memorbilia from past World Cups, Olympics, and awards over the years. Steiners Sports will be handling a few selected items and we will make an announcement in the next days regarding a date, etc. After that, we will see how it goes. If you would like to donate, our organization is anon-profit and your donation is tax-deductibl. Anything you can contribute is much appreciated.
To view pictures of the flood, click on the photo below or click below to go to our
Photo Album Page
To Donate, Click on one of our Donate Buttons or Visit our
How You Can Help Page
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THE WALL
October 2009
The big flood in September was one of the scariest things that has happened to me. I was firmly reminded that weather and mother nature cannot be stopped and I am at its mercy when it comes to extremes. With continued flooding after September due to saturated ground and a backed up storm drain creek bordering my property, I was unraveling. My dad came for a couple day rescue mission from Seattle and helped me shore up my basement (which flooded too) and a bunch of other things, including installing a new sump pump in the barn. Once he got home, we talked many times and discussed possibly building a wall near the barn. I jumped on it and bought 1900. dollars worth of pavers and began my mission. It was super sloppy muddy and wet, but somehow I got the first two layers done and then had to recover from the one million bruises and exhaustion. Wow. What a tough job that was. My Dad later flew in and helped me finish it. Thank God. The Wall has saved my barn from flooding multiple times over the months...I still had to evacuate my horses each time the water came up as I wasn't ever sure if the water would overcome my wall, but so far, so good. I keep my fingers crossed and say my prayers.
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Thank You for Your Support
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