Normally when I post about fencing, I am talking about the kind where a sword is involved, but today I will write about the other kind of fencing. Marieke is putting in 2 new stallion paddocks. Stallion paddocks have much sturdier fences than regular paddocks. In this case it means setting 4x6 fence posts 2 1/2 feet into the ground and then back filling and adding 40 lbs (1/2 a bag) of Sakcrete to the hole  The fence will then get wire mesh installed and a board across the top as well as hotwire.

Last week, maybe it was 2 weeks ago, Ryan used an auger to dig all the holes (there are 102 fence posts for the 2 paddocks (we are using the current paddock as a long side to the one of the new paddocks). Last week when the forecast said rain Marieke and I hauled out all the posts and dropped them into the holes so they wouldn't collapse in on themselves.

Over the weekend, Ryan and Marieke started to set the posts. The forecast again called for rain, and the bags f sakcrete were all out by the posts, so Marieke and I put in 4 1/2 hours of work yesterday. Using the backhoe:
We chained the post to the bucket
Marieke drove the back hoe and yanked up the post.
I backfilled and measured
We dropped the post back into the hole
Unchained the post
Marieke droved the back hoe to the next post
Repeat... 50 times.
When Ryan came home, he back filled around the posts, trued the post and then dumped in the Sakcrete

We still have 30 more posts to do but the forecast changed and there is no rain until Friday.... a reprieve and a little more time to finish the project.

But I will do the other kind of fencing tonight at our new practice site, the Tonawanda castle.
Have a great day

Yes, I am still alive, just really, really busy. I know when I start getting phone calls and emails that I really need to post something.
Coronation went off fairly well, dispite the lack of horses. I got some nice compliments on how the day went, and some of the innovative things we tried.

My weight was down to 124.5, so I am getting closer to my goal. I have been to the gym slightly more often recently and will try to keep it up.  Dave has me do some wicked workouts. I love it, even if I am sore the next couple of days.

My Sensorial album was turned in and approved and I took my Sensorial practical exam and passed. I had to demontrate the presentation for the Constructive Triangle Box and the Trinomial Cube.  Now I am worknig hard on my Practical Life Album. The exam will be the first weekend in June.

Last week I went to Rochester for their fencing practice. It was a fun practice and we had a bearpit at the end. I stayed in the middle the longest of anyone, defeating everyone else for a full round and then gettting back to the middle the next time I fought and staying there through another round when everyone else was too tired to continue. On Wednesday there was a tourney at the local practice. It was round robin format with 5 fencers.  Each fencer faced each of the other fencers 3 times. I had 8 wins out of 12 bouts and was the winner.

On Thursday I attended the Knitters Guild auction, and while there was not as much as interested me in the past I did make a few purchases. I will get some pictures taken and up in the next few days. I am making slow progress on my March knee socks, yes, I am that far behind. The heel did not work as written, so in addition to being short on time, I had to stop and think about how I wanted to do the heel. Then rip out and reknit. I am half way through the foot on the 2nd sock, but have to rip back the first one and redo the heel and foot.

Pansy has had some knee issues, so I was hand walking her for a couple of weeks. I rode her yesterday and she seems better. She is in season right now which makes life in a barn with 2 stallions interesting.  I have started riding Utah, one of the horses Marieke is training for sale. I will be riding him this weekend in a clinic with Loess Corsel.

I will try to be better about posting. I do have thoughts to share, just no time to sit  and write them down. 

I have been working hard since January to become more fit and to lose the weight I had accumulated over the last few years. I still have pants that I wore before I put on some weight but haven't been able to wear them. I had found such a pair of Lands End pants in my closet recently and it was still hanging around my bedroom. Yesterday, on a whim I decided to try on this pair of size 6 pants. Last time I tried them on, I couldn't even get them all the way pulled up. This time, not only did they go on relatively easily, they also zipped. They are still a little too snug to wear to work, but they are close. What a good feeling.  My top weight earlier this year was 135lbs. For the last couple of days, the scale has read 127. I am getting there.

Our weather lately has been beautiful. Warm and mostly sunny. Warm, like in the 60s. As I said earlier, spring has sprung.  I have been excited to have the warm weather for coronation this weekend, so what happened? We are in a small blip of cooler weather this weekend, and rainy too. Blech. Not what I needed for an event that is being held at a camp on the shore of Lake Ontario.

We were suppose to have equestrian games at the event tomorrow, since we were going to put up a snow fence arena on a grassy field the agreement we had was that the camp could revoke the use of the field if they felt the ground was too wet. Guess what happened? Yep, the ground is too wet.  We will still have horses in the procession, but no games. Sigh. And with the barn collapse in March, the back up plan for an indoor arena collapsed.

I do like to organize SCA events, but yesterday it kept running through my head, What was I thinking, to autocrat a high profile event for my first event after moving to AEthelmearc and having not autocrated in 12 years, while trying to get my Montessori albums completed?  It is OK, I think i have put together a reasonably good event. The crisis have all been things I really have no control over, and the show will go on. Then on Sunday we will pack it up and I will get on with my albums.

Yesterday was a wild day at school. the children were all on the edge of being out of control. Today will be easy, we will have 4 children, everyone else is leaving early for spring break vacations.

Have a great day.

It occurred to me that my readers might not be familiar with Wall Ball. It is one of the exercises that Crossfit puts into its workouts. Crossfit posts workouts daily on their website www.crossfit.com.

To do Wall ball you need a medicine ball and medium size balance ball and a tall wall that won't be damaged when you bounce the medicine ball against it. You start holding the medicine ball with both hands against your chest. Squat so your butt touches, but don't sit on the balance ball. Come out of the squat and throw the medicine ball so it hits the wall at least 8-9 feet up on the wall.

Somethings I learned about wall ball yesterday, it works best when you get into a rhythm, lose that and you get "stuck". I also discovered that I have to rise out of the squat through my heels but at the top, when I release the ball, I have to bring my heels off the ground to be forward enough for the ball to bounce on the wall, if I don't the ball goes up in the air and doesn't count.

Spring is definitely here, along with pollen. It happens so fast here that you can see differences in the trees from morning to evening.  My sinuses are telling me that the pollen is high as well but not nearly as high as it was in Atlanta. Yea for Western NY.

OK, I didn't get my album done when it was suppose to be turned in, but I am still working on it and it is getting there.  Work on it proceeds a little more slowly this week since I am the autocrat for Coronation this weekend.

Since yesterday morning, I have been to work twice, made (with a little help) 120 felt balls to be used as feast tokens for coronation, went to the barn, went to Kinko's and enlarged the equestrian warning signs and laminated them with clear contact paper, put the sleeves on my del, created a new pattern and muslin for the Del for James. I wrote most of the site booklet this afternoon. I went to the gym for a great workout with Dave, I did 150 wall ball throws with a 6 lb medicine ball, in 12 minutes 30 seconds. I also but together the illustrations for the Binomial cube leasson. and edited the pictures for the trinomial cube.

While I was at the barn, Merieke asked if I was interested in riding her horses as she needs help keeping them exercised, We are going to teach them some of the SCA equestrian games. It will be fun. I am looking forward to it.

I bought a small aquarium today that I am going to set up here at home, it will start out being the hospital tank for the Black Molly we have at school. Last week we treated the whole tank and I think it killed off some of our babies. The Molly still isn't looking healthy so I am going to try another medication but I want to isolate him first.

Tomorrow, I have to go to Tractor Supply after work and if it isnt raining I will ride Pansy, then I have to go to the storage unit to get the bumper buddy for my car, and then drive the other set of directions to the site so I can figure out where to put up direction signs for the event. When I get home I need to cut out and sew James Del.  I hope to swing by the Dr off, as I need to pick up my prescriptions.

Thursday we get the Baronial stuff that is in the shed, that we might need for the event. And I finish off anything that comes up for the event. Friday afterwork I will swing by the house to get Gayle and then go put up signs on the way to the site.