Easter !

And then, all of a sudden Easter has arrived and the last blog was almost 14 days ago.. time flies when you have lots to do on a farm indeed ! As said in my last blog I tried to save my favorite 'bankstel' from the mice in the 'garage' and put them into the lounge.. Here and there some damage was already  done and will be fixed somewhere in the future but I was very happy to have this furniture dry and safe, and  in place.. I've had this furniture since I had my shop in Laren, NH, Holland, almost 20 years ago, and still love it.. !!!  The lounge was all of a sudden transformed into this warm and homey area which made me feel even more at home "in the middle of nowhere"... 

Then we covered  the floor in the attic of the cottage with building plastic and put much more 'in the roof' where most of the stuff, beds, bedlinen, chairs, lamps and what have you, up the ladder and safely into it.. There is still quite some stuff standing in the 'garage' but it seems to be out of harms way now. Unpacked another 7 boxes with kitchen and other stuff.. 23 boxes to go ;-)

On Tuesday got the lovely news that the proceeds of my house in Sea Point, Cape Town, were on its way and that made my Tuesday of course.. and Wednesday came and indeed, what a wonderful event, it was there ! WHAT a lovely feeling.. the best deal is always a done deal..

Went to Caledon to fetch paint and stuff and my guys started painting the wood work, as in doors and window frames all around and in the house,, a lovely dove grey. Never mind that lots of the newly painted white walls were touched as well,  and will be touched up by the 'master' (me;-) at a later stage of course.. 

My attorneys, charged with the transfer of the farm, repeatedly tried to contact me, but used an email address not in use, so that was a bit of a hitch, but corrected when I started wondering why I did not hear from them.. long story but that is also sorted, and done.. The transfer of the farm will now happen after Easter, which will then make me into the proud owner of a lovely small holding in de Hemel en Aarde (Heaven and Earth) valley in the Western Cape !

The rest of that week proceeded pretty uneventful until I thought, 'time for the horses' and Skyped Michelle from Rheebokskloof, where I bought my first 2 horses from, and indicated that we would start with the fencing soon and I would be ready for my very first farm animals 'next week' ...  A date was set and now we had a deadline, so got some extra guys in who, until dark several days running, worked their *sses off to get it all done.. here's the team ! We started that Saturday, and continued on Monday, and after several days, the fencing was in place.. so far so good.

The first camp is now surrounded with the help of 55 tar poles and 2 x 875 mtrs of barbed wire, so its safe to say that we put over 1.6 kilometres of wire in place..  Irrigation all round and grass is shooting out of the soil !!! Droppers will be inserted at a later stage, but we were 'ready' for the first arrivals, and this happened last Thursday, waauuuw, I was very excited to say the least, and here they are driving up the farm path !! I just had to pinch and pinch myself to believe it..

To be unloaded by Michelle and me... Once in the camp, everything is of course new and interesting.. they come from a rather posh area (vineyards and hardly 'other' creatures in their surroundings), and here they see sheep, who knows for the very first time in their life, in the distance....

Standing in front of the 'old cow shed', ugly and  inherited from the previous owner, but hey, the structure is in place, clean and  dry but not aesthetically pleasing at all, which, of course, will be tackled in the near future..

Michelle stayed the night, and the next day, after a fabulous breakfast,  we took them for their first, if short, out ride just to test the waters, and the land of course.. and I was in 7th heaven, its happening !!

After lots of instructions ( I'm quite green when it comes to owning horses, because these are my first ) she left and here I was, with the huge responsibility that ownership brings.. I did work with horses in my youth, for many years, but after all these years , owning them is a different story all together of course.. but I'm sure I will learn as we go, and Michelle is always available for advice.... 

Good Friday, my dear friend Tony came for the Easter Weekend, and whaddayaknow, he is familiar with horses because he, unbeknown(st)  to me, grew up on a farm... So we groomed and groomed on Saturday

Tony and Vossie, after a good grooming and ready to saddle up !

 

saddled them up and went on a very nice outride in the area.. Up at the protea's it appeared to be too rocky, so down the property we went and took it easy along the dirtroad into a veld nearby, where we scouted some more.. Have to make a path through my trees, leading through my stream onto the property of my neigbhour, from where we can ride into the mountains that will provide us the 'fine bos' experience and views of Gansbaai and Hermanus in the distance.. where the soil is better and softer on the hooves of these horses, since I would want to try and keep them 'unshod' and in a natural state, which they are used to.. 

That evening my friend Ashraf joined us with Kim, some 6 weeks after their first visit, and they were impressed with the progress.. They stayed for braai and drinks and a very lovely evening was had with the four of us.. my first Easter on my farm, and we 'wetted' the roof yet again, with fine wines, champagne and home cooked food !

Tony left Sunday afternoon for Cape Town again, after a sumptuous breakfast, with the promise that he may very well be back here again soon.. we had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend indeed ! THANKS Toan.. ;-))))

So.. Sunday night, here I was.. a contented man looking back on a fabulous week and weekend, sitting at home, and, more important, feeling @ home.. !. Dogs in my lap ? Check.. Horses outside ? Check.. Stove on ? ... Check.. TV works ?? .. Check.. Wineglass full ?? .. Check.. Roof waterproof ?.. Check.. Happy.. ?? As never before !!! How can one not be ??? when this is how privileged one is ??

Received news from my friend Theresa that she and the family are in the Wilderness area for the long weekend (Wednesday is yet another public holiday in SA.. we have many many of 'these things' over here ;-) and on the drive back to Cape Town they  may  pop in for a visit and a tea, if time allows.. very much hope she will make it ! Visitors always welcome..

And so its Monday.. yesterday rains started and about 6 mil fell.. good for the land, and happy with it of course,.. but not nearly enough for the area.. we had the driest summer according to the locals (and my well is still going, good sign!) and the land is gagging for water.. Usually Easter, or after Easter, brings a weather change, and lets hope the rains will continue ! As I'm writing this, its partly cloudy, and who knows, according to the weather forecast we'll have more rain later in the day.. Its cold out there and the stove is roaring !

Have a fab rest of the Easter dear readers !!

P.S. Max and 'WhyNot'.. becoming great friends, and both loving Lucerne !!!!

xx and greetingszzz.. 

Rick/Teslaarsdal

Sunday 10 april ....

Morning All.. Last week was a week of 'rest', at least, no work on the cottage or the land was planned.. but.. the digger loader was here so every morning up early discussing what needed to be done that day and on with it.. Monday  I looked op some clothes in the boxes that are stored in the 'garage' (without the doors) and noted that some boxes were opened by field mice and even found a nest of mice in one of them.. sorted that out a bit and coming week, all will be repacked and moved into the attic of the cottage where there are no mice.. better too because the rainy season is on its way, and have to make a plan for all the stuff that is still stored there, dust and  humidity are doing my furniture and everything else stored there no  good !

Halfway up the property with friends !

But.. first last sunday.. when it was Glenn's birthday, who came to visit with his bf  Mark and two girlfriends.. They drove along the coast route to Hermanus and from there took the r320 dustroad to the farm.. Arrived at 2 and we took  a nice hike up into the fynbos area of the farm.. but only after we had a nice white wine of course ;-))  After coming down the day proceeded with a lot of laughter,  bbq and white wine.. 

Their deadline of driving back before nightfall was NOT met ;-))))) thanks guys and girls, we really had a great Sunday, one to remember.. 

Then skipping on to Tuesday last week when I drove out to Stanford, a village only about 10 km from here 'as the crow flies in a straight line' but some 45 minutes away as the car drives around many bends.. Visited my friend Michael who is a real estate agent there and has a wonderful spot he calls home in the village.. another wonderful day and a lovely brunch, lotsa laughs and a great time..Thanks Michel for your hospitality ! From there on to Hermanus where my accountant was enjoying some days off work, but he was so kind  to make some time for me and  answer my many questions about things that were not very clear to me.. but now are.. Thanks Hylton !

Then WeDnesDay when I drove out to Cape Town, it was the meeting of the Brunch Club with the Girlzz from our old horse riding group, Theresa, Teresa, Lisa and Jana.. what a great time we had again and 3 hours were not nearly enough to catch up again on the past month ! We'll do that again next month of course.. something to look forward to again.. Tess.. hope your finger is improving.. Jana don't run too much (marathons), Lisa.. don't jump too high with your new horse and Teresa, great news you're managing to stay on the horses as always ;-))))) After brunch went to visit Annemarie and had some coffee and did some shopping, and back to Teselaarsdal again.. 

Thursday... Drove out to Rheebokskloof (2 hrs out, 2 hrs back) and visited  my friend Michelle who does horse trails (among many other things) in the area, as well as in Franschoek, has many horses and is scaling down a bit from the 120 horses she has.. She has lots of experience in that field and very good ideas so I  picked her brain on many things..  What one does not know, one can learn !!! We also rode two horses and I decided to buy them both, they only just came 'off the farm' where the grazing was not too rich, but their gaits were very nice and they are  both very well suited for my purpose later on.. herewith pic of one of them : 

"VOSSIE" my very first horse !

The other horse is black (pictures to follow when he has put on some more weight)  and they will both most likely come in 10 days from now, on condition that they are allowed to travel because African Horse Sickness and Rift valley Fever are doing the rounds and there is a restriction on the transport of horses in the area.. Michelle will then stay for a day or 2, and am very much looking forward to that indeed..

On the way back home I was given to understand that the stables in Constantia, where I used to have my riding lessons, were looking for a good semi retirement home for one of their ponies (which I have ridden on several occasions) and he may come to my farm.. How fab is that ! So went from zero to (almost) three horses in one day.. very excited indeed !!!!!

And Friday ?.. well.. that floor of mine in the cottage really started bothering me so googled 'earth coat hermanus' and found there was a branch of them there.. Drove out and with the very friendly help of one of the staff there picked the product best suited to my needs.. and prepared the floor in part of the cottage, and later that day the first layer of the coating went on ! So  I did work on the cottage after all, and the black ugly floor went from this 

 

to this sand color

which is a great natural color.. especially with the dogs running in and out and some of it blowing into the house by the wind from time to time. much easier and definitely a LOT nicer !

The digger loader in the meantime has been working like never before and most of the ground works I want to have done at this stage has been done.. 'Stompies' of trees that were felled years ago have been dug out and thrown on a huge heap, and we'll 'hide' them somewhere at the back of the property, out of sight, coming monday.. 

Stompies no longer.. more like a heap of wood !

Saturday afternoon/evening visited my friend Ashraf and his husband Kim near Hawston/Hermanus for a great supper with friends of theirs, professor Willem Hanekom and his friend Tupke.. again such a nice evening was had and thanks guys for putting up with me, the company, the wine and the food were excellent, again !.. Next week a braai with us all on my farm when Jan Hylke will be visiting,  all the way from Holland !!

Oh and last but not least.. Transfer of the house in Sea Point went through on Friday, so that is sorted.. most likely the farm will be transferred into my name during the coming week, so only then can I really proudly call the farm my own ;-)

So that was my 'week off'.. rather hectic but different.. ! Next week on with the renovations again, finalizing some stuff in this cottage. who knows tackling the bathroom and making a beginning with the renovations of the little guestcottage just 20 mtrs from the 'main' cottage.. I'll keep you all posted.. thanks for reading and enjoy the Sunday,,.. and the coming week!!!

hugs and greets.. 

Rick 

xx

PS... this morning the Nguni Bulls of my neighbor decided that the grass must be greener on my side.. and they are now here for a visit.. Max was very excited initially but now got used to them.. a good sign  ! Here he is sussing them out from the lounge, you gotta love this view ;-)))))

April has started.... with noise !

Morning All.. ! From the Farm in Teslaarsdal here we are again with a 'progress report'.

Work work work and finally the coming week I'll not have my workers at the farm, time for some rest and just pottering around a bit on my own.. last week the retaining wall around the front terrace was finished, and we found that we had to move quite a bit of soil to fill it up ! Waited with that, cause it would have meant driving up the property, to the 'sand pit' filling up the bakkie, driving to the cottage, and unloading it, time and again, lots of work. Heard that the digger loader was in the area so smssed William, the owner of the earth moving company and he popped round for a quote.. The second quote I might add, and to my delight he was 3 times cheaper than the first quote, so he got the job of course.. Prices do vary when you shop around!

He was going to start on Friday morning, which he did, and the results are starting to look very good.. want to level out the area between cottage one and two, and possibly build a pool cum entertaining area between the two. But first we got a tree out that was in the way, and it miraculously turned into fire wood drying out behind the cottage for the cold winter days, lovely.. It was a big Port Jackson, another alien that should not be here, and now, isn't ;-) Gives quite some space behind the cottage which made me think maybe to add a bedroom to the cottage instead of going into the roof, but that is for later..so this was the terrace before we started the work

 

Then the noise started and the diggerloader came rumbling up the narrow path, which was too close to the house, so we also moved the road out a bit.. and started digging in between the cottages, like this : 

Starting the work ;-)

In the meantime we also started with the roof painting, which I personally think came out a bit too light grey, needs another coat, and think I may go for the darker variety ?

During the work

And the way it's now.. quite a more spacious impression and can't wait to see what it all will look like when this is finished ....

Light grey roof (must I go darker?) and impression of the results.

And on the other side it now looks like this., on the 3rd of April. You can see the bakkie parked, which is still pointing quite a bit upwards.. that should be level, after we're finished... pushing out the soil towards the grazing area, which is also very slanted in front of the house, and will be levelled out while we're at it.. 

Happy with the progress so far.. Time to reflect on how to finalize the fencing of the grazing area, and soon can concentrate on ... providing a home for some horses. (and later some Alpaca's too)... which for me is the ultimate goal of moving into the country.. Animals !!! Meeting with Michelle from Rheebokskloof in the coming week, who has horses for sale and for lease, and lets see if we can make a plan and help each other out during the coming winter.. I can learn an awful lot from her, and I will !

I'll keep you posted on the outcome of our meeting of course.. and am very excited to slowly reach that point !

Found out by now that there is water in abundance on the farm, the top part is bordered by a small stream, originating from a well  higher up the property, and even after one of the driest summers, its still running ! Its being piped down the property through the fynbos and provides the cottage, a little dam and some of the land with water.. Will have to make a plan for irrigation of the meadow, up from the cottage, but will make a plan ! After Easter the rains usually start, so ample water indeed !

In the meantime had 2 open job applications, and am considering them both, one from a friend from London who has  no horse experience but with a fabulous hospitality background,  and one from a facebook friend  from Prince Albert, who has lots of experience with horses, and could give horse riding lessons, and teach me a thing or two about keeping horses so all those options are open and lets see where that leads to.

And today ?... cleaning up the 'mess' a bit, and preparing a warm welcome for Mark, Glenn (its his birthday), Judith and a friend of theirs, who will be visiting from Hout Baai, for a Brunch and Braai and a hike up into the fynbos, enjoying the land and the views.. . Great ! Very much looking forward to yet again a day with visitors.. Tuesday off to STanford, a little village in the area to look at an antique dresser for the cottage and lunch with Micael who lives there, Wednesday off to Cape Town to have brunch with the girls from the Monhtly Brunch Club,  a coffee with Annemarie if she's at home, maybe meet Gerald if he's not working, and later that day, or week, a meeting with Michelle ! Never a dull moment, which is exactly why I started this project.. 

The dogs by the way are doing extremely well.. It was Zarah's 16th birthday last week, and she is getting used to the farm life, Max has recuperated very well from his stretched tendon, so all very much o.k. on the animal front !

Oh... and am I happy with my solar geyser ?.. Absolutely, provides me with more than enough hot water and up till now I've never been without.. Moreover, we had another price hike for electricity of 25%  (!!!) last week so the next step is investigating and possibly obtaining solar panels to generate my own electricity, so I will be completely off the grid ! Tips more than welcome from those who have experience in this field, do mail me !!

Have a lovely Sunday, I know I will, and we'll all keep in touch.. 

xxxx

Rick