Spring Is Bustin' Out All Over

        As soon as we arrived home last Sunday, it became immediately apparent that all the snow was completely melted away. The grass is greening up, and upon closer inspection, starting to sprout.  The birds have been singing, building nests and getting twitterpated.  Flower sprouts are starting to emerge from the ground.  The sun is up higher and longer and the days are warmer.  Courtney did a fabulous job taking care of the farm.  Everything was in ship shape.  My hats off to her for a job well done.  I know it was a lot of work but good for her to see that.  Abbey was glad to see us back.  She quickly claimed Dan's pile of stuff (that he didn't have room for or wouldn't be aloud to have) that he sent back home with us.

      Tuesday I had a meeting after school so was slow getting home.  Courtney came to groom Zorro so I joined her in the barn and worked on Amiga.  Both horses were quite muddy.  Joe brought home rail road ties that a fellow teacher wanted to get rid of….free to whoever would haul them.  And then he cut down one of the two dead pine trees we need to get rid of.  I helped gather branches and slowly feed them into the burn pile.  After we girls got both horses looking good, we took them to the round pen to work them.  The ground was soft but not too muddy.  Both horses did pretty well.                     

Joe unloading railroad ties.                 Bro exploring the new hiding places.

Joe cutting down tree.                            And cutting off all the branches.

By the time I came in from messing around outside it was 7:15. Can’t believe how late it is getting dark these days.  Love it. 
     Wednesday a big load (don’t know how many tons) of gravel came just after I got home from school.  I had the delivery man spread it as he dumped it, but near the end, the truck stalled or something and he couldn’t get it to stop dumping and we ended up with a big pile right at the corner of the garage where you curve around to the back.  Joe used the Kobota tractor to spread it out since we had a buyer coming to get 50 bales of hay.

      We also took all the old bales of hay that were stacked around the front of the kitchen and chicken coop and spread them out to dry in the sun.  These bales will not be used for feeding, but re-used again next winter for insulating.  The barn kitties enjoyed playing "Hide and Seek" and "Catch Me if You Can" in and around all the bales.  Our house cat Abbey even got in on the action, but didn't play very nicely.

     Courtney came out again and we had another successful time grooming and working both horses.  It is so much better to do this on a regular basis.

     Thursday was the third beautiful day in a row.  Courtney and I had another riding lesson.  She actually got to try out her new saddle.  She is going to go with a different girth than the one she bought, so we still can’t ride here unless we go bare back and no bit.  LOL  It is ridiculous that I haven’t bought any tack  yet.  I

have tried a bridle and a saddle, neither of which fit, and both of which I took back. So, I am a little “gun shy” about buying anything.  Because we are training the horses, in addition to training ourselves, we do lots of extra ground work, and then ride.  All that our trainer shows and does for us is so helpful.  I get a little antsy about ridding sometimes, but Amiga really needs a lot of ground work before being ridden, so I need to cool my jets and take my time.  We either pay for a longer lesson, or have less riding time.Picture of Amiga in the north facing stall, ready for action.

     Friday was yet another beautiful day.  The animals were all enjoying the warm air and sunshine. Abbey even came out of the house...but wasn't so sure about the barn cat Bro or the chickens.

     We had another  huge load of gravel delivered for the driveway.   This got me started on some outside jobs.  I am working on the hillside where the drive curves by the garage. We are straightening out that curve some.  The gravel man said I should fill with cheaper clay dirt rather than the top soil I was using, cause it is less likely to wash out and less costly. So I have been moving rocks, dirt, and some plants.  I also pulled out all the poison ivy on that hill that I could find.  There is probably still some beneath the soil I can't see.  I filled an old 50lb. oat bag with the roots and vines I pulled up.  It is slated for the dump cause I don't want to burn or compost it.

     Because rain was in the forecast for overnight, Joe stored all the used hay bales in the grain bin.  The horses were in the stalls but we had to confine Chuck in the corn crib so Joe could leave the paddock gate open and make several trips.

     Saturday marked the first day of my spring break.  I didn't have any plans, except to get a bunch of work done around here.  Inside jobs included fixing Grandmas chairs and hanging pictures, in addition to cleaning, laundry, and desk work.  Outside jobs in addition to working with the horses, included work on the yard, garden and flower beds. Since it wasn't raining in the morning as predicted, I decided to go out and work a bit more....to get done what I didn't quite have time for late yesterday afternoon.  I kept busy moving dirt, gravel, and rocks; picking up sticks and trash; keeping a brush pile burning; filling in the drive with gravel; and putting dirt in fence post holes, around our foundation and in other low spots. I periodically came in to rest and refuel and worked at my desk.  Because the rains never did come, I ended up working out side most of the day.  In the evening, Joe and I caught up on some TV shows he had taped (“24” and “Survivor”).
               Burn pile                                           Bro and Kaysha

     Sunday  morning we were up at 5am.  Joe had three buddies over for a home cooked fresh eggs with bacon breakfast and then they all took off in the Expedition for a 3 day golf outing down south in Mississippi.  I was looking forward to some quiet time around here.  Since it was cold, windy and overcast, I worked on my Blog most of the day and caught up on e-mails and Facebook (Which is merely for entertainment). I also needed to write letters, grade papers, work on lesson plans, up-date my web site, research tack, plan our veggie garden and catch up on reading. Sitting at my desk all day does not work for me, so I alternated….use the mind.... give it a rest and use the body...give it a rest and back to using the mind.   I went out and moved more dirt and plants and worked on the rock wall. 

     I walked around and picked up sticks.  While out in the pasture with the dog and two tag a long kitties, Kaysha caught 2 mice (voles actually)  The first one I gave to the barn cats to practice with.  They had a good time tossing it in the air and pouncing on it.  (Good thing Kaysha had killed it first.)  The second vole I let Kaysha keep for herself.  So I wasn’t surprised when she threw up in the house later on. 

   
      My list of jobs is never ending, and I keep at them, but now I am now wondering if I will ever have time to just completely veg out during this break.  While working, I do enjoy little breaks by playing with, loving on and watching the animals; and lying in the grass, looking towards the heavens and thanking God for all my blessings.