Leonardo

Just wanted to share my favorite picture of my baby horse Leo!

Wooden Wagon Model (In Progress)

Quite a few months ago I started work on a wooden wagon model so that I could see what my living quarters might actually look like. I decided to use a 1" to 1' ratio so that the model would be big enough to add some details if I was so inclined, but not so big as to be cumbersome.
Going to the craft store to stock up on supplies was quite fun; almost like I was preparing for the trip itself!

I purchased popsicle sticks, balsa wood, a hot glue gun and extra hot glue sticks, metal wire, and, on a later craft store expedition, wooden wheels, dowels, tiny hinges and other small hardware, as well as a mat for use as a cutting surface. In addition to my purchased items, I have used scrap cloth, sewing needles, and thread to make the mattress and cushions for my wagon. (The cushions are still in progress.)

The project has been ongoing, with large breaks for school work, but progress continues to be made! I have also learned a fair amount about modeling during this project. For one thing, using a hand-saw is hard work! Also, not having the proper tools causes one to become very creative; or at times, very annoyed.

As I was building I tried to imagine living in a real wagon, and therefore what would be a most useful set-up. Where could I put in storage, how might a small pull-out table fit in, what should be seating and what should be counter space?

Alright, enough with the explanation, let's get to the pictures!

Unfortunately, I do not have any images from the very beginning process, but that part is not nearly as interesting anyway. In the second image above, I added popsicle sticks as a support for the mattress.

These two pictures show the unfinished mattress sitting in its frame. I will add more photos of the finished mattress when I have the seat cushions done as well. 

In this last image the wire frame for the wagon cover is not yet secured, but I wanted to show how it looks with the framing because I thought it was pretty cool.

Getting the Word Out!

I am constantly trying to find ways to let more people - hopefully interested people - know about my trip and this blog. A few weeks ago I saw an ad for Vistaprint (you all have probably seen Vistaprint's ad for 250 free business cards a dozen times if you spend any time browsing the web) and I thought I'd try it out for advertising my blog.

But of course, I had a terrible time resisting all of their offers for other items I could buy with the same image as the business cards. There was so much cool stuff! In fact, I had so much trouble resisting that I ended up with a car magnet also. So much for being a completely free purchase...

However, I was excited for my things to arrive in the mail, and when they did a week or two later, I was thrilled with how they looked! There is certainly something satisfying about seeing your name and the name of your precious piece of work on a card (and a magnet) for all to see!

Here is how the business cards turned out:

And here is the car magnet:

So now if you see a little blue VW Golf with a harvest brown decal on the driver side ( I only got one as I was really trying not to go overboard!) cruising around town, it is probably me!

Broken Back?

It was my intention to write two more posts in the last week. However, last Friday, September 7th, I had my first jumping lesson in at least seven years after only riding dressage all that time. To my great dismay, halfway through the lesson as I directed Donnie, the horse I was riding, over the jump, we got terribly out of sync! I was already slightly behind where I should have been to go with him; then he added an extra stride and leaped over the jump... I was bounced right out of the saddle!

Perhaps if I had hung on a little longer the fall would have been different. But I can ask myself "ifs" all day long. The fact is, I fell hard on my lower back, knocking the air from my lungs and sending shooting, spasming pain throughout my back. I laid on the ground for several minutes, struggling to get my breath back, then moving my toes and fingers to make sure nothing was broken, nothing paralyzed.

After struggling to my feet and stretching my back out, I decided to get back on and jump a few more times despite the intense pain I was feeling. This was probably a bad idea on my part... I thought my back was just bruised, just in shock from the fall and the movement of the horse would help.

Well, this was Friday. I went to see my chiropractor on Monday. In a very short amount of time she concluded that it was very possible that one of the vertebrae in my back had suffered a fracture. That was shocking, to say the least. Here I was, having maneuvered myself around the house all weekend - in pain, yes, but moving - and there was a possibility that I had a bone fracture!

I went yesterday, Tuesday, to get an x-ray. And sure enough, my L1 vertebrae in my lower back has a compression fracture from the fall. It is considered mild and stable, so there is no worry of it shifting into my spinal cord and causing paralysis, thank goodness. However, it will continue to be painful for the next 6 to 8 weeks as the bone heals. Also, I will not be able to ride for that time either, which is a total bummer.

I just keep telling myself that this is what my body needs. Chiropractic appointments every week, and riding lessons will come later. In the meantime, I will try some herbal pain relievers and spend time with my baby horse, Leo. And maybe now that the trauma is over I will actually write the new posts I have been planning!

Draft Power

This last monday I had the wonderful opportunity of going to a draft-powered farm. This means that large, heavy-set draft horses are used to plow, plant, weed, and harvest the crops that are grown by the farmer. Just like the old days! 

As may be remembered from one of my earlier posts, I will be working with Stuart Schroeder in Sebastopol to learn how to drive a horse carriage. And I finally got to meet him and the horses earlier this week. If you would like to know more about Stuart and his farm and Percheron horses, here is the link to his website: http://stonehorse.biz/index.html

It was wonderful to have a chance to talk with him on Monday, as he has a lot of knowledge, experience, and connections. During the tour of his farm we walked through a large barn full of planting and harvesting equipment, wagons, harrows, and a tower of grass hay he harvested this year. He also showed me all of the harness equipment for the horses - there are so many pieces!

In addition to the tour we talked about this very trip I am planning; the real reason behind my motivation to learn carriage driving. He gave me some good resources of other people who have gone on similar trips as well as tips as to where to find a running gear for my wagon (that's the base part with the wheels - kind of important!).

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to take any photos while I was there, but I will make sure to take some the next time I go! 

Overall it was a very inspiring event and I can't wait to learn more! 

My Baby Horse

Quite a lot and quite little has been going on for me this summer. Honestly, I can hardly wait for school to start again. Anyhow, I thought I should provide a brief update.

After being in some state of sickness - either better or worse, depending on the day - for more than a week, I found myself browsing craigslist, looking at horses. (I swear I was only looking!) One post had caught my eye when I had been "just looking" on previous days, and I found myself looking at the post again on this occasion. The pictures of a little paint horse stared at me through the screen and my heart nudged my brain, and my brain nudged my body, and before I knew I was calling the number in the ad to set up a time to see the horse.

The same day I went out to where he was located in Petaluma; and I fell in love! I made arrangements with the trainer of the barn I have been working at - also in Petaluma - and had him trailered there the next day. It quickly dawned on me, even in my tired, under-the-weather brain, that I might have been just a little impulsive and crazy for buying a horse in a matter of two days. But when you get a strong feeling about something, as I did about this horse, it almost seems wrong to me not to check it out.

I have now had him for about a month, and I love him to pieces! He is only 16 months old, so no riding for quite a while, but he is sweet as can be, so intelligent, and easy going.

Sometimes one feels an immediate connection with an animal or another person. This is what I feel with my new baby horse, Leonardo. (Leo for short) I hope to have him around for as long as he lives and will be taking him with me on my caravan adventure across the U.S. He may not be able to pull the wagon, but he's my friend, so I want him right beside me. Not to mention doing a little riding while the carriage horses pull the wagon. :)

Now that I have a rabbit (Little Miss Ellie Snowpea) and a horse, I have been told that I must not buy any more animals until my trip. I must say, I did not intend to have pets while in college, but they found their way to me anyway. And I am so happy that they did!

Life Continues

I have been wanting to post for some time now, but have lacked anything new and interesting to write about. Summer has proved to be slow, boring, and uneventful. However, I do have some progress on my project to share.

Last week I attended the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation Grand Opening celebration in Santa Rosa; the foundation is located on the corner of Occidental and Sanford Road. At this celebration there was a local man and his wife providing carriage rides with their huge percheron horses. Their business is called Stonehorse, if you want to look them up. They use draft horse power to plow and harvest on their farm.

I was kindly directed to this event by Shepherd Bliss, who owns Kokopelli Farm in Sebastopol, where he grows delicious Boysenberries! Yum! Anyhow, I talked with the couple of the Stonehorse business, Stuart and Denise, and have been invited to volunteer for them in exchange for learning how to drive horses! This will probably be starting in July or August, so I will keep you updated on that as the summer goes along.

I have been so excited by the prospect of learning to drive horses this summer that I have been watching Youtube videos on the subject to gain a preliminary understanding. This has been very interesting, as I have found that driving is both very different from and yet very similar to riding.

In addition to the horse driving, I have contacted a sonoma county horse rescue, SAFER, in the hopes of doing some volunteer work for them. This has less to do with my trip, but it feels good to help animals in need and it has the added bonus of getting me more in touch with the local horse community. I should be meeting with the volunteer coordinator tomorrow, so we will see how that goes.

This summer has brought me back to the horses, and I am so grateful!

Life. It's Falling Into Place.

Hello, my good readers!
I apologize profusely for neglecting to write for so long! It has been an incredibly busy and fantastic week for me; and due to the busyness I have been feeling too tired to write. But alas, I will get used to this new routine and be back in writing action!

My busy schedule has pertained entirely to horses!!! For this reason, I have been smiling for joy ALL WEEK. : )  It all seems to be one amazing coincidence, but I suppose it depends on what you believe. My dear Mom happened to run into an old riding instructor of mine while she was grocery shopping. I worked with him from when I was 8 until I was 11 years old, then life happened and we went our separate ways. He invited us to the barn, I mentioned I still needed a job and how much I missed the horses, and everything fell into place from there! I now work at the barn exercising horses four days a week.

So for the first time in more than two years, I am back in saddle! This is a wonderful step back into life with horses for me; and great preparation for owning two horses for my wagon trip. However, I can't say the first week back riding horses hasn't been without difficulty. Going from no riding to two to three horses a day really gets those muscles working...ALL of them. For days it felt like every muscle in my legs, back, and shoulders were sore and knotted. Thank goodness we have a hot tub at our house!

But it is amazing how quickly my knowledge and skill in horse care and riding has come back! Yes, rather like riding a bicycle; you never forget! Having more than ten years of training previously hasn't hurt either, though, he he.

So, here's to a perfect summer of being paid to ride horses, make new friends, and learn new skills!

The Trail

Today I have been looking up possible trails, routes, and national parks to use. After looking up Amish buggies and how many accidents happen between them and cars every year, frankly, it's scary! From that I have come to the conclusion that I will not be traveling once the sun goes down - that's just asking for trouble.
I know that I will have to take roads from time to time, so I looked up safety equipment and road rules. Apparently, a horse-drawn vehicle is treated the same as any slow-moving motorized vehicle in most states. But you don't need a license plate. However, you do need an orange slow-moving vehicle triangle on the back, lots of reflectors, and proper hand signals while maneuvering. And of course, lights if you're traveling at night; but as I said, Not doing that!
As for finding trails, it's been tough going. Yes, there are lots of trails and parks across the country, but they don't all have routes passable with an 8' long, 6' wide wagon and two horses. So, my wonderful readers, if you have any suggestions or knowledge in this area, please let me know in the comments! You will have my deepest gratitude!

A Jumble of Thoughts

I have spent most of today mulling over more details of the trip and searching far and wide across the net for resources. There are so many aspects yet to be decided! It is so exciting, and yet almost overwhelming at times. So I thought it was time to post some of these thoughts to get them out of my head!

I had previously been looking for solely Gyspy (aka Vardo) wagon designs and possible places to buy a finished wagon. It quickly became apparent that the Vardo is European to the point that it is almost impossible to find them in the U.S., and even those are imported. Until recently - recently being two days ago - I had no idea how I was going to solve this issue besides building a Vardo entirely from scratch! I'm no woodworker, though I am willing to learn what I can, so this realization was quite upsetting.

However, the EUREKA! moment came yesterday when I realized that there is a Western equivalent of the Gypsy Vardo: the Sheepherder's Wagon! YAY! Can't say I wasn't a little more than over-the-top thrilled with this discovery... because this was a game changer for me! (Okay, I think that paragraph used up my allotment of exclamation points for this post, ha ha).

Now down to business. During my process of searching for places that build and sell sheep wagons, I discovered my other dilemma: Price. Some people might be able to drop $30,000 on a wagon, but I don't have that kind of budget. Well, I don't have a budget at all at the moment, but that will be something I get to in later posts several months from now. However, I also discovered a company in Oregon that sells wagon running gears. This is a great start if I do indeed need to build a wagon from the ground up.

I guess this is all in the design process category... so in addition to wagons and running gears, I have been contemplating what newer technology I would like to include. Solar panels, as might be guessed from my blog title, are at the top of my list. I am also considering a composting toilet, a modern camping stove, and a small outlet for charging the device I will be writing and posting to this blog with.

My other thoughts are to the animals that will be joining me on this journey. Two horses, yes, of a breed that is yet to be decided, though I am leaning towards the traditional Gypsy Vanner horses or Haflingers: http://gypsyvannerhorsemagazine.com/2010/05/gypsy-vanner-horses/ and http://www.haflingerhorses.com/
I also plan on having a working guard dog, but I have a lot of research to do in that area still. There is also the possibility of having milking goats or miniature cows along as well. Maybe even chickens? We'll see I guess.

These beginning processes are so difficult because it feels like maybe nothing will come of my dream for this adventure. Perhaps I need to ease off a little and let the project grow on its own while I take care of school and work during this semester and the ones to follow... But there's so much to be done!

I suppose it is especially hard because I would like to see something concrete, some aspect being turned real so that I know it is going to happen; but right now is not the time for that.

I wish I knew how all of the pieces were going to come together, but that is the beautiful mystery of the future, I suppose.

The Planning

A few months ago I had the most amazing idea come to me, with some inspiration from my dear Mom, over breakfast. It is a life adventure that combines exploration, learning, and writing. At the end of my undergraduate schooling, when I have earned my B.A., I plan to take a horse-drawn Gypsy caravan across the U.S. A portion of this journey will take place on the American Discovery trail, which begins in Point Reyes in California and ends on the coast of Delaware (or starts in Delaware and ends in California, depending on your perspective). It is also my intention to journal and blog through the entire journey, beginning with this - the planning! Ultimately, I would like to write and publish a novel of my experiences. 


I would like to begin with a list of (1) things that I already know and (2) things I need to learn:


Already Known

1. How to handle a horse
2. General care for a horse
3. How to ride a horse (this may not be completely necessary, but     hey, the more in my favor from the start, the better)
4. How to read a map
5. How to write :p
6. Simple wood-working skills
7. How to cook

Need to Learn

1. How to drive a horse-drawn wagon
2. How to care for self and horses in extreme weather
3. How to shoe horses
4. More advanced wood-working skills
5. How to cook with limited space and cooking ware
6. How to chop wood...(I think I can figure this out pretty easily)
7. Alternate trail routes passable with wagon and where horses are allowed
8. Places to stop to resupply
9. How often will I need to resupply
10. How far can the horses and I reasonably travel in a day
11. How much food and water will the horses need each day
12. How much food and water will I need each day
13. How to milk a goat or miniature cow, and prepare the milk (if I choose to bring one)
14. Places to stay at night or in bad weather