them to come
to us. We have developed a relationship with them so that they see us as important to them. When we go out to get them, they come right up to us. Sometimes we have to call out to get their attention, but once they see or hear us they head our way.In this photo, they are following Britney and I along the fence down the drive as we head out for an evening walk.
Monday was cool and sunny...perfect for working. I moved more Day lilies (half the plants in the picture below) to under the kitchen window. Planting of grass seed included hauling in more dirt to fill in the hole around the fire pit and where the picnic table was. I covered the seed with a 1/4 inch layer of peat and soil mix, and put some grass clippings over that to keep the ground moist. I also had to fence the whole area off because my chickens will dig in the dirt, eat the seed and take dust baths there.
Kaysha with cat toy she swiped. Benches used to support the fence.
I went for a ride mid afternoon. This time I chose to go bare back again. I love the feel of Amiga under me. We really enjoy our little jaunts together.
Tuesday morning looked like rain was coming so I went for an early morning ride. I headed down the gravel road (2325 E.Rd) toward Marj's. The workers at Brian's were moving boards for the new house which startled Amiga, but she settled right down. Just after I crossed the bridge over the creek, the drops started falling. So we turned and "high tailed" it home. I had Amiga in the Largo gait, moving along smoothly and quickly. I slowed her down to a Corto after about a mile, and then walked when we got to the pavement. Again I felt very good about our riding success.
The rain did come after we got home. So another day of desk work... and then I went into town to shop for needed groceries. Below, Mr T. can be seen catching a few rays of sun while the goldfish beg for food. And Chuck is seen resting in the shade of the apple tree. Notice the day lilies left out in the front pasture with him? Most have been trampled or eaten.
After dinner, Britney and I went into LeRoy to walk and rent a video. We ended up bringing home the first season of Lost....which neither of us has ever seen. We watched 2 episodes.
Wednesday was a semi-productive day. I started out watching 2 more episodes of lost with Britney, Worked on cleaning the office some, and then went out to work. I did the usual chores of cleaning stalls and filling water buckets, etc. It ended up getting pretty hot, so I watered the grass seed and outside potted plants that had already started drying out. I walked around trying to decide what else to plant where. Then I did some weeding, and got the last of the flowers (I bought eons ago) planted. I re-weeded the flower bed by the dinning room windows and then wasted two hours of my time trying to get Chuck in the trailer to take him back to the paddock...a decision made because he was destroying the pine trees out in the front pasture. Where was sister Carol with her herding dogs when I needed them? When Courtney came, she suggested leading Chuck with the grain bucket and driving from behind with the stick and string. I was dubious, and next thing you know, Chuck is running through the back yard with Courtney chasing him. With a little zig-zagging and sight seeing of the yard....he made it back to the paddock. Whoo hoo! Thank you Courtney.
These photos were taken by Britney during our evening walk. As the sun set, the sky continued to change colors. It was just beautiful.
Thursday morning I got an e-mail from my trainer Marj inviting me to join her at Moraine view for a trail ride. So, a bit later, Amiga was loaded in the trailer, and off we went leaving Zorro behind, whinnying out by the barn.
I had a great ride with Marj and two other nice, young ladies. Amiga did well. She spooked at a deer that ran across the path when we were just getting started. After that she was jumpy for a bit, over-reacting to two light color fallen dead trees at the wood's edge. But then she settled in and was listening pretty well. I really appreciated being able to ride with others. Too bad Courtney was stuck at work, but later in the afternoon it was her and Zorro's turn to hit the trail. I decided to leave Amiga behind this time.
Courtney and Marj returning from trail. Marj with Vinnie
Sitting at the horse park while Courtney and Marj rode, I read a book and relaxed, and watched other campers come and go with their horses.
Friday I kind of puttsed around all morning. Watched 2 more episodes of Lost with Britney, did a load of laundry, re-potted some house plants as I gave them their weekly watering, and I kept munching all morning long. I need to get out of the house and away from food. I have no control lately. The gate guys from Kentucky happened to stop in on their way home, and I ended up buying 3 more panel's for our round pen. They are green not red, but I am not so picky. Courtney has been suggesting we expand our working area so it is not such a small circle. This should do it.
Here can be seen two barn swallows resting on the electric fence which
was turned off. It is in front of the round pen in this photo, which Carol took a few weeks ago. I transplanted some iris and started work on the hill side where I am putting the remaining railroad ties. I got Joe to cut one for me and help move a few of them along with a big rock I couldn't budge. Now that I can picture what it is I want to do...I am excited about getting to work on it.
Saturday the farm work was put on hold and Joe and I headed out to play in the Stretch Open, a biannual golf tournament Bob and Marge put on. It was extremely muggy and quite warm but a nice day for golfing. The rains did eventually come....in a torrential down pour. Standing behind a large tree waiting for it to pass, we spotted lightening....and at that point decided to head for the club house. The party at Stretch's had great food and drinks, but more importantly people. It is always so nice to be included as family by all of them. Joe and I slipped out a bit early to head to a pub in LeRoy to catch Biscuits and Gravy. Not more food....but a band we enjoy dancing to. It was a bit of a disappointment.... not the band, but the place....very crowded, bad acoustics, few people dancing, and loud talking to be heard over the music. So we didn't stay long.
A sun rise seen from the Villhauer Farm.
Sunday Courtney and I loaded up the horses and headed to Jan's barn (a lady Courtney works with) for an 8 hour clinic on horsemanship with Laurie French. We had over 2 hours of lecture, question and answers, etc. After an early lunch we then did lots of ground work. During the "lecture" part we were able to answer many of the questions because of what we have learned from Marj. Lots of the ground work exercises we did, we have already been taught, but it was good to review them, tweek how we have been doing some of them, and affirm what we have been doing correctly. We also did pick up several new ground exercises. It was really good for Amiga and Zorro to be in a different barn setting and around new horses. Zorro was a hoot, wanting to say hello to all the other horses. Amiga was so willing to work and learn new things. And it was great to meet so many nice horse people. Here are a couple of clinic pictures.
Life has been great....including riding the horses, regular walks, working hard around the farm, and watching a few episodes of Lost morning and night. We have Growth Group (our Bible Study) every Monday night, golf league on Tuesday afternoon (if we don't skip out or get rained out), and Courtney has a riding lesson on Thursday early evening which I take her and Zorro to and sometimes take Amiga along for a ride.
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