“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
– Dale Carnegie
Lots has gone on at Ironwood is the last couple weeks. 2 residents graduated the program with overwhelming success. Both of them were at Ironwood for roughly a year. It has been cooling down and the weather has been very pleasant with temperatures in the mid to low sixties and many days reaching low seventies. It has been getting darker earlier which is a sign that winter is upon us. The leaves are changing and are becoming vibrant colors of orange and red. Recently the barn has began starting it’s winter preparations.
In the past couple weeks we’ve had a couple of bad storms. We had lightning strike both the Farmhouse and Frye campuses. It even split a tree! We also experienced hurricane Lee a couple weekends ago. Although the storm was not as bad as predicted, we lost power for a few days. Luckily we have generators. During the storm the Farmhouse barn crew was very busy at work. Because of the harsh weather, the horses could not leave the barn; they had to stay in their stalls. Horses are very active animals and need exercise daily. For that reason, the barn crew was on two hour rotations with the horses. Every two hours the crew would have to do a rotation of certain horses so they could give them fresh water, hay, and bedding. The crew let the horses free in the indoor arena. Due to amount of horses, the barn crew was busy all day. After a long day of hard work the barn crew indulged themselves with homemade popcorn made by the Farmhouse house crew.
Recently, Ironwood has been on a crocheting and knitting frenzy. Both Frye and Farmhouse residents are making hats, blankets, and scarves. Ironwood received a massive donation of yarn from a staff and ever since residents can not put the needles and hooks down! Another fun activity that residents have done recently is volleyball. Most nights both Frye and Farmhouse residents come together to play volleyball in the front yard of the Farmhouse. It’s a really good way for us to release any energy before it’s time for bed. We also like playing football and soccer. This past week brought lots of baking, as well. At the Farmhouse we baked homemade cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, pound cake, and a berry cake made from fresh berries. All of these were made by residents and were greatly appreciated by staff and students.