Chomping At The Bit

      Monday I was chomping at the bit waiting to go out and work on the rock garden and rail road tie tiers on the hill by the driveway curve....but we were getting and due for more rain. I was also anxious to slip the bit into Amiga's mouth and hop on to practice all the new exercises we had learned Sunday. There was also 8 more episodes of the 1st season of Lost Britney and I wanted to finish before we all left for Guatemala in less than a week...plus, I did not want to pay any more late rental charge than necessary. And then there were the many things to accomplish before leaving the farm for a week and traveling to a "foreign" land. I was spinning my wheels, but crashed and burned on the couch watching Lost with Britney for over 3 hours.  After that I spent a lot more time putting pictures on last weeks Blog to get it posted. Next thing you know it was time to head to Bible study.  Britney took this picture of the sun to the west. 

     Tuesday morning the rains from yesterday and last night left the paddock a muddy mess along with a dense fog similar to what we have had the last two mornings. I found Chuck and the horses out in the corn crib
                                                                                    together. The
home baked cookies Britney made were enjoyed while vegging out on the couch and finishing up our last disc of Lost.  I have got to get out of this rut!  Once done with Season 1 of Lost, I headed out to run errands....to Marj's to return borrowed saddle, to Farm and Fleet for more oats and much needed fly spray and worming med, to pharmacy for med.s for traveling, to school to get my Teaching File so I could renew my certificate and to fill water jugs (I have been hauling water all year because there is too much crud in our well drinking water) and then to the grocery on the way home. There was a torrential down pour the whole way home...which took longer than usual because everyone was going so slow, out of necessity.  There was water up over US 150 in one spot and the lower end of our driveway was not even visible. There was now a huge lake in our pasture. I am so thankful we got all of the hay out of
there when we
did.  Briney, Joe and I headed to town to pick up her new running shoes, buy a new vacuum cleaner, shop for gifts to take to Guatemala and then have dinner.

     Wednesday was welcomed with sunshine and cool air.  It was beautiful out. I walked around and took pictures of all the standing and running water.















Amiga had a bunch of green goop in her right eye so I e-mailed Marj about it.  Later she came by with eye medicine and showed me how to apply it.  Once again Marj to the rescue.  Then I took the house cat (Abbey) and dog (Kaysha) to the vet for their annual check up and shots. After a big salad for lunch, the Farrier came and clipped Amiga and Zorro.  When Courtney came out after work, we decided to ride to Marj's and back because the fields were too wet.  The horses did great, although were a little tender on the gravel section of road after their hoof trim. We had a nice little visit with Marj when we got to her barn.  Once home we gave the horses their wormer. It was already 9:00 when I came in from the barn....woo, time flies when you are having fun.

     Thursday was another gorgeous day.  Britney and I watched a 2 hour movie together.  Then I cleaned the 55 gal fish tank.  It was a major job.  I took all the fish out and vacuumed the gravel, removing almost half of the water.  Scrubbed everything down, cleaned the filters and filled it back up with buckets of water from our rain "barrel".  Now to let it sit until we get back from Guatemala. I got the sheets washed and guest bed made for Courtney who is going to be house sitting while we are gone. And then I
                                          went out to read and enjoy the sunshine.
Often times before putting the horses in the trailer, I move it into the shade and open it up to let it cool off.  Here the chickens have decided it needs to be investigated.  The rooster, bottom left, keeps an eye out for the "girls".  Courtney was unable to ride Zorro in her lesson because he was lame ("limping" on his back rt. leg)   So she borrowed Arboleda.  I was hoping to ride home with her and Zorro, but since that was not going to happen, I headed back on my own.  Amiga was a little concerned about leaving Zorro behind...but once we got closer to home...she picked up the pace.

     Friday I was up earlier than usual, and as soon as I went out the wind really started to pick up and it looked like it was going to pour.  So I closed all the barn doors.  Our "lake" was almost dried up, and I needed to water potted plants and new transplants, so a little rain would have been okay, but it missed us.  I have a broody chicken that I can't get to stop.  She is chompin' at the bit to have babies.  She isn't even sitting on eggs....just an empty nest in the barn. She has not laid any eggs in over a week. I never see her off of the nest to eat or drink.
I keep taking her back to the coop and as soon as I set her down she races back to the barn. Some times she will grab a quick bite and drink before running back, but not always. I shut her in the coop at night, but she comes flying (not literally) out first thing when I open the door.  I set the board that is leaning over her nest in this picture, right on top of her nest last night and this morning she just moved down to the next nest.  I should be able to out smart this bird... but what she lacks in brain size she has in perseverance.  She can't out wit me... but she might out last me.  The distant rains and front that passed through cooled things off, so I headed out and went for a nice ride (almost 2 hours) going into uncharted territory to the west.  I went past Becks, all the way to the neighbors who have the 5 horses.  I stopped to see if anyone was around but just the horses acknowledged our presence. After lunch, I spent much of the day pulling thistle (2 wheel
                                         barrows full) and transplanting day lilies around
the river birch I put in the paddock to replace the red maples we had fenced off.  I had to "lock" Chuck out of the paddock because he kept interfering with my work.  Eventually he laid down in the shade of the willow tree.  You can see him in the back ground of this picture.  Britney's room mate Alissa came to visit her.  We eventually ate a light supper, and then went to Moraine View.  I took Amiga and rode her to again expose her to new adventures while the girls went for a slow jog.  We had caught the ground hog from under the corn crib


so we also took it out there to be released.  Amiga and I  saw 5 deer....and she never spooked, but then later she jumped and spun for some reason, but I saw nothing.  She was definitely on the look out and jumpier than usual....but still did well for me.  Just when I was climbing into bed the wind really picked up and it started thundering and lightening, so I ran out to the barn to shut doors.  By the time I got back to the house it let loose in a torrential down pour.  The strength of the wind was a little scary. 

     Saturday morning's feeding was followed by inspecting for storm damage.  Everything weathered it just fine.  Other than some large branches and sticks down, and over turned lawn chairs, all was well.  The day promised to be busy with packing, cleaning the house, last minute shopping, pet care note written, filling feed containers, watering house plants, mowing, etc. etc. etc.  I also wanted to get this blog posted today. It is a lot of work to get ready to leave on vacation, but as of now, I am ready to go.  Britney is chomping at the bit to get back to her beloved Guatemala.

     As you can see from the next post, which was at this time last year.....some things never change.