PLAYING VIVALDI STYLE
“Now THIS is how to play, Desmond.”
Vivaldi, instructing his big brother on the finer art of playing in the Round Yard. These two boys are absolutely delightful!
Tag: Wilderwood
The Piloteers
The Piloteers
We have just finished an amazing Pilot program with wonderful participants! Lots of useful and practical input and the incredibly valuable opportunity to “test run” many of the curriculum’s activities by and for the people who will be completing the program.
For three hours each week over six weeks, our participants attended every session and gave the curriculum a rigorous going-through with enthusiasm, grace, and commitment.
The horses also enjoyed meeting their new friends!
We are now starting the task of textbook and program revisions based on this input and then moving into the next exciting stage: recruiting participants and volunteers for 2021 and starting the program!
Watch this space! — and a HUGE thank you to our Piloteers 2020. We love you all and are very thankful to you!
Raised Gardens Volunteer Day!
Raised Gardens Volunteer Day!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! — to our WONDERFUL volunteers at Wilderwood’s recent Volunteer Day to Build the Raised Gardens! By name, we’d especially like to thank Jayme, Joe, and Lee Anne.
Thank you also to RockIt Stonescapes in Peralta for much appreciated discount and help with the gravel and your expert delivery! Thanks for your continued support of Wilderwood and belief in our mission.
Thank you, too, for those who signed up as interested, but were unable to come on the day. We didn’t quite get finished what we’d planned, so may be having another day soon to finish off. We’re getting so close now to opening for the pilot it’s very exciting! … but there are still some things to be done.
The Raised Gardens are an important part of Wilderwood’s curriculum, particularly the Preceptorship. We’re so excited to see another vision and dream become a reality!
For now, here’s to another successful Volunteer Day and our heartfelt thanks to our amazing volunteers. Here are some pictures to show the “Before” and “After” of the Raised Gardens.
Getting Ready …
Getting Ready …
We’ve been busy at Wilderwood getting ready! Our next Volunteer Day is Saturday, November 2 on a “drop-in” basis. We’ll be working from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on building the Raised Gardens! We’ll also ask our amazing volunteers to help us with the last remnants of clean up (moving branches to the bonfire, hauling building materials to the truck).
Below are pictures of things we’ve been doing in the last month. The solar lights on the Wilderwood sign look amazing at night! The utility area (now chained/cordoned off) is a safe place to put needed tools and equipment to maintain the Wilderwood grounds. And, take a look at the video showing the horses checking out the new Round Yard. Desmond, of course, steals the show!
In other exciting news, we’ve been preparing our sign-up and informational materials for the upcoming Wilderwood Therapy Curriculum Pilot Program! This program is to help us test the curriculum as a “trial run” before we open officially in September 2020. There will be no fees involved for participants and the information and feedback we receive will be crucial to help make sure the curriculum is sound and ready to go!
Interested in the Pilot Program? Check out our Application Form on the homepage. Once we’ve received the form, we will contact you to discuss the program, your goals, and the ways in which Wilderwood may be able to help you.
Helper Horses
Helper Horses
Desmond, Saeed, and The Baby decided they would like to “help” measure for the Round Yard this afternoon …
Our Wilderwood Sign!
Our Wilderwood Sign!
From concept to finished is all part of the adventure!
A Red Barn
A Red Barn
This week, we completed some much-needed painting and repairs on our barn. The difference is amazing! — with a huge WOW factor! We were very lucky to hire a painter who gave us a great price on this job, and the results have been marvelous. It has improved the functionality of the barn and created a wonderful aesthetic.
Take a look at the before and after photos, and we think you’ll agree. The horses seem to like it, too!
Fence Donation
Fence Donation
We are so grateful for any donation we receive at Wilderwood to support the work we and the horses do. Most recently, we were thrilled to receive the donation of labor to put up a much-needed fence.
Thank you to our wonderful donor! The old fence was falling down and had hazardous old, barbed wire — a safety issue for our horses, dogs, ourselves, and visitors. This new fence has made all the difference, not only in terms of safety but also practicality.
This new area, complete with gate, not only keeps curious horses safely at bay, it also means our raised garden area is ready to start building. Once completed, these raised gardens will provide visitors to Wilderwood the opportunity to grow, maintain, and participate in organic small-scale farming.
Viv and Des
Viv and Des
Today we spent time working with the little ones. It was also the first day we rode Desmond under saddle! — being so close to his third birthday (April 11), it was time. He did great! Gentle, happy horse; interested and curious, yet also quite focused and calm.
We then worked with the Baby (Viv), who is close to his second birthday (also April 11). He did wonderfully well, too! Although not yet close to coming under saddle, we took time with Viv with his turns, voice commands, and becoming accustomed to strange things like mounting blocks and cavaletti rails. Viv is so gentle. We looped the lead rope over his head and he just stood there, wearing it proudly!
These two boys have been raised with lots of gentleness and love, and give it back to us in abundance. Love our boys!
Preparing the Pasture
Preparing the Pasture
With five ever-hungry horses, preparing and planting the pasture for summer grazing is an imperative task! All winter, we added organic matter to both the front and back pastures and were fortunate enough to (finally!) procure a tiller to help better prepare the soil. In February it was time to test the sprinkler system — and repair many of the sprinklers knocked over by the horses last season!
Now, in early March, it’s time to plant the seed. We chose an Equestrian Mix from a local nursery and seeded into the newly-tilled and turned earth. It smells so good and, well, earthy! While Mark drove the tractor, I sat perched on the bucket, hand sowing the seed and waving royally like a Queen!
