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By on April 25, 2017 in Horse Camp Off-Season, Summer Horse Camp, Summer Horseback Riding Camp

With April camp behind us now, we are so grateful for all of the hard work from the campers we had last week. Road’s End Farm looks beautiful! We were able to rake most of the leaves and gravel with our extra hands (many hands make light work!) and the grass is beginning to turn bright green! We always want to rake off the leaves and gravel before the grass dies so during summer camp the premises of the farm can be lush and green! 🙂

 

The leaves that fall each year, which amount to we are sure many thousand, take many hours for us to rake up and drag into the surrounding woods. With the campers here to help, the time for chores is cut almost in half and we are able to rake up almost all of the leaves on the entire farm. It took the entire group of campers about three days to rake up all of the leaves behind the cape cod house and behind the arts and crafts room. We were able to rake before the black flies camp out, whew!! The rain we are having these past couple weeks and the leaves cleared off of the grass are contributing to the brilliantly green grass we are seeing on the lawns! We would like to extend a huge thank you to our April camp crew! 🙂

With camp about one month away, we are working to prepare the farm for the summer and the help that we receive from our campers is invaluable. We also hope that each camper who participates in such important work to the farm feels a sense of ownership when they come during the summer and other off season camps. With the family-style atmosphere at Road’s End Farm, we encourage each girl to treat Road’s End Farm as her second home. We certainly hoping the the ownership that each camper feels in working to make a place she loves better brings about a sense of pride and joy within each young woman.

By on April 11, 2017 in Horse Camp Off-Season, Summer Horse Camp, Summer Horseback Riding Camp, Summer Horsemanship Camp

April camp will begin this Saturday! We have small off-season camps for campers who are interested in spending some relaxing time at the farm and reuniting with friends. As of now, we have 10 girls coming and we have lots of ponies to shed, spring jobs to complete, and fun to be had! We truly love these smaller off-season camps that allow the campers to see the Farm in different seasons and get a feel for what the camp feels like without 70 other campers. The horses are eagerly anticipating the extra attention! 🙂

 

By on April 3, 2017 in Horse Camp Off-Season, Summer Horse Camp, Summer Horseback Riding Camp

Despite getting a foot of snow a few days ago, it finally feels like spring in Chesterfield! We are walking through the melting slushy snow with light sweatshirts on and have shed our double layers for a single layer. With how warm it feels, we cannot help but eagerly anticipate the beginning of summer camp! With the horses shedding their winter coats, they are ready to be brushed and loved by all the wonderful girls that come and spend their summers at Road’s End Farm. As we begin to hire international counselors and receive camper applications, suddenly the summer feels even close with the warm weather.

 

By on March 9, 2017 in Horse Camp Off-Season, Summer Horse Camp

We are spending a good amount of our time cleaning up the farm before the ground unfreezes and becomes too soft for the tractors. We are cleaning brush out of Peacock Park, the pines in Wheelocks, and in the trees next to the Cape Cod House. Similar to work duty during summer camp, we haul the brush onto the trailer, drive to the bonfire, dump the load, and begin again! Doing brush is one of our favorite jobs. In line with the philosophies here, we love getting our hands dirty and doing some springtime cleaning of the farm.

By on March 6, 2017 in Summer Horse Camp, Summer Horsemanship Camp

With the weather changing so drastically, the horses were a bit chilly during this late February/March cold snap. We had a few days where the nights went into the negative temperatures, and the days didn’t warm up much past 20. We fed our horses a bit more hay, grain, and were careful to make sure they drank enough water before it froze over. The ground is not muddy, rather it has a hard top and the horses are looking a little more clean – now that they cannot roll in the mud :). We are loading up the porches with wood and making sure we have enough to burn to keep inside the farm house and the cape house warm. Alicia will be cutting, loading, and unloading fire wood all day – one of her favorite jobs. Alvin, Simon, and Daisy will be lounging by the fires. We should take a lesson from the wise animals here – snoozing in the sunlight or by the wood stoves are what Mondays are for. Happy March!

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