Public Hearing

We finally have our applications in to the planning board and the zoning board. Perhaps, they are not the best they can be (What ever is?), but they are in. I had spent so much time on them that I was getting a bit numb. At least they are in.

Now we await the public hearing. I am glad for that. I want the chance to make my pitch and see what happens. Several supporters have expressed their desire to attend. I hope they will.

I want the Town to see that what I propose will be a benefit to Alstead and has the support of the citizenry. Our brewery will make Alstead a better place. I truly believe that.

Our hearing will be on either July 13 or August 3. I hope for the earlier date but will accept either. All I want is the chance to get our plan, our dream, before the people of Alstead.

Let the people decide.

Still Working

Not much new to report on the brewery front. We are still waiting to hear when the next combined board meeting will be held. I have been using the time to make some fine-tuning adjustments to our application. I just want to get this thing to a vote.

Public support for the brewery remains strong. We also have one store that has comitted to sell our product once we get going. As with so many things, it is just a matter of time and money!

In the sad news department, we lost two hens to a fox a few days ago. They were taken right out of the pasture in broad daylight. We are now down to eight laying hens. I intend to blog soon on the ethics of killing the fox.

Fortunately we have 16 peeps in the brood pen. This year we got a variety of breeds: Araucana, Buff Orpington, Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, and some kind of bantam. Once everyone is up and laying, we should have eggs out our ears.

Final Site Plan

A short time ago we received our final site plan from Livengood Earth Works. This set us back a few bills, but in the end I feel it was worth it. Lonn is very thorough and has had many previous encounters with the town government. He knows what will cause a snag and has addressed those issues.

I have also been working at making a few changes to our application package that should make it easier to understand. Hopefully we can get this application officially accepted for review and get our day in the sun.

Dear Reader, I will keep you posted.

Max In Harness

Today was another good day for the horses. For the first time ever, our Clydesdale, Ambrosius Maximus (Max), wore a harness. It is also the first time I put a work harness on a horse by myself.

Tracy was off on a trail ride, so I decided to spend some quality time with Max. Max has been getting markedly better about being handled and obeying voice commands, so setting a harness on him and seeing how he reacted seemed a logical next step. In the past, he had bolted during training sessions but this seemed more a case of bad manners and wanting to play rather than panic, as was the case with Aggie.

Things started a bit rough as Max wanted to munch the fresh spring grass, not pay attention to me. I finally got him to the snubbing tree and showed him the harness. No bad reaction there, though he was a still pouting about not being able to munch grass. Having last been on Aggie, the harness was ridiculously too large and needed a few adjustments. In the end it fit quite well.

With the distraction of the fresh grass, Max could not have cared less about the harness being on his back. So I let him munch for a bit then took him back to the main pasture where there is less distraction. Now it was time to see what he really thought.

I lead him all around the pasture and he never seemed to mind the harness at all. Then I thought, “I wonder if he can drive?” I was not sure he would take a bridle, and did not have one handy anyway, so I hooked the lines to his halter.

Progress was a bit erratic, but he took to driving well. Most of the time, I could get him within about five feet of where I intended. After about 20 minutes he was getting the hang of the voice commands and the pull of the lines.

We made one last triumphant lap of the main pasture then it was a reward of 45 minutes of uninterrupted munching among the wildflowers of the lower pasture.