Lazy Days Of Summer

     Today we head to Michigan for our annual, extended family vacation.
     So we will have a week of lazy days, and lots of fun and good eating.

     Monday, Daniel and I were bums all day.  We have both realized, when you don't have anything you have to do or get done, it is sometimes hard to get motivated to do anything.   I meet Ann for lunch and enjoyed chatting with her.  Dan reported to the US Army Reserve Head Quarters in Decatur and then sat at his computer the rest of the day. 
                                         The apple tree out on the front pasture has
started dropping apples, up to about 40 or 50 per day, so I no longer put the horses out there.  Don't want them getting too much of a good thing.
The chickens have been enjoying all the different bugs the apples have attracted, and then they have some apple for dessert.












I worked on my Blog, watered again because there is still no rain in sight, did 3 loads of laundry and got Britney's room ready for Angie who will be house sitting this coming week.

"Life on the farm is kinda laid back."  Between intermittent times of "working" I sat and enjoyed watching life on the farm.

     I started the day way too early Tue morning, 2 hours before the sun rose.  Not sure what my problem was, but I had woken several times during the night and finally got up at 3:30 not being able to get back to sleep.  I had great ambitions for the day as I started my second cup of tea after cleaning stalls (once the horses had eaten and been turned out to pasture).  As I posted last weeks Blog, I looked up the weather forecast,  40% chance of rain from 7 to 9am. It was pretty cloudy, but I decided to chance an early ride anyway.  If it rained my ride would be wet, but I would be glad for our ground to get the moisture. I did plenty of round pen work with Amiga and then headed down to Marj's.  She wasn't around, but I visited with others and their horses.  I had a hair raising experience on the way home.  Amiga stepped in a big deep hole while gaiting along at a pretty good clip.  I saw the hole at the last second and tried to steer away from it, but she stepped in it and went down head first, rolling on to her shoulder and side. In the process I did a forward role over her neck, hitting my shoulder, head, and hands.  (Glad I had a helmet on.)  Amiga and I were quick to get to our feet, looking at each other as if to ask "Are you okay and what just happened?" I brushed off the dirt from both of us and looked her over for an injury.  All looked well.  I walked her along the corn field on the road towards home and watched, but saw no indication of leg pain.  So I got back on and rode her home.  I have a jammed finger and sore shoulder, and maybe a little more sense knocked into me. Although coming through that without injury may make me bolder/braver in the future.  I thank God for His protection over us on that mishap.

     Feeling tired and sore, I took over a 2 hour nap and was woken in time to met the vet.  (Emily Tucker) out of Gibson City.  She came to float the horses teeth.  Basically she files them so they are even and they can chew better. (Why don't they call it filing rather than floating?)













 I had Emily look  at Amiga for injury from the fall and all appears okay.  She also looked at Zorro's eye and said he has an ulcer on his cornea and to keep treating it with the antibiotic ointment I have been using. Both horses did great with the floating, although







Zorro was a light weight when it came to handling the anesthesia. He could barely stay standing he was so sleepy.  Courtney had to help support him (by holding his head up) after the procedure, to be sure he didn't go down. 
     Mama hen abandoned the last egg so by evening I took it out to the manure pile and opened it.  I was glad to see it was not fertile, so no baby was lost. 

      I crawled out of bed Wed morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck, with muscle and joint soreness all over. Was this the result of yesterday's tumble....rather than a hard days work?  I am not sure what I did all morning, but it passed all to quickly.  After lunch I headed out to "the hill". Placing the rocks so that they wont tumble, and will hold back the dirt, is a tricky, time consuming process.  The 92 temps with a heat index of 102 slowed me down 
as well.  Dan wondered why I wasn't using cement to hold the rocks in place.  I didn't want to mess with it and I like the results I am getting with the dry wall look.  However, I am wondering if it would actually go faster and be sturdier with mortar. This picture shows the "wall" to the left.  All the rocks to the right are laid out so I can pick and chose size and shape I want.

     Looking at my list of things to get done before we leave on vacation, as I enjoyed my morning tea Thursday, I realized I better get my rear in gear.  I sat at my computer rather long and then Dan and I "redid" his closet which is under the stairs. We moved a board and rotated it, adding 3X4 feet of space so that he would have more room to store his stuff. In this picture, we have the space cleaned, but the boarded has not been nailed over the hole to the right.  I got two more loads of laundry done and then headed out for a late morning shopping trip, to Farm and Fleet etc., It was mid afternoon by the time I returned.
The contractor to fix our storm cellar
was hard at work when I got back.  The heat was so oppressive, after I unloaded and hauled bags of feed to the coop and barn, I headed in to the air conditioning and took a nap.  I got up a little before riding lesson time.  I took Amiga along and rode her around as a distraction to Zorro.  Once home we hosed them both off and let them enjoy the clover by the barn.

                             

Don't even ask what Sissy is up to. 
Ahhh, the joys of living on the farm....
the whole out doors is a litter box.

     I went for an early morning walk with Shelly (after I had fed the animals, cleaned stalls, and watered the outdoor potted plants).  I ran to school on my way home to fill up 6 of my water jugs and feed and water some things there.  When I got home, I watered all the transplants except the pine way out back.  The cellar repair men were hard at work.  I worked Amiga and went for a nice ride.  A 4-wheeler came zipping around a corner of tall corn at Becks and startled Amiga like the deer do.  The driver immediately
turned off the vehicle and Amiga
calmed right down.  I had a nice chat with him and then we continued on our separate ways.  Back at home I worked on all the things that needed to get done before we left.  I had Dan mow outside while I worked inside.  I wanted to leave the house clean, have all the feed and supplies handy (more work out at the barn), dash off a long note explaining all that needed to be done, etc.  The contractor got done way before I did.  Here is a series of their two days of work.

I didn't even start packing until 10:00 Friday evening.  My "to do" list still had several things un-crossed off.  I was up till midnight and up at 5am.  I hate starting vacation sleep deprived and grouchy.  Once we get on the road, I am like a tired baby, and fall asleep right away.