First Day of Work

Yesterday, we had our 1st meeting as employees, with the owners. They explained a lot of the history of different people on the ranch, whose names we had heard. We also discussed the owners vision of the ranch, and in general, how he sees that being implemented going forward. There is a LOT for Jeff, especially, to do & get a handle on. There really has not been any true/efficient management in awhile. They had "managers" last summer, but they apparently didn't really "manage" much. So, there are NO records for anything (vehicles, stock, maintenance,lots etc.), no horse registry/roster, no job descriptions, no policy/procedures, etc. Much of the actual hands-on maintenance has not been performed in awhile either, so Jeff will also have to jump right in so that he can get the snow-removal equipment running & other winter-related tasks. SO.. there is the "vision" sort of planning & implementing to do, as well as the day-to-day management tasks that have been lost in the struggle recently. The staff that is still here (only 5 or 6) are SAYING that they're glad to have managers again, but we'll see how long that lasts. They admit that there hasn't been any instruction/direction/oversight for some time, and that can be a hard thing to accept when you've had free rein for so long. As for me? At the moment, I don't have any real specific work. I'll help out where needed, probably in the office for the next month or so. Once the other manager arrives in Jan, she & I can work out where she wants me - probably head of housekeeping and then helping in other areas as needed. For now, I'm mostly still at home, unpacking & getting settled. Here's a few pics from our house: