The days of gray skies are getting old, but I guess it is a precursor to Spring. The weather has gone from snow, to sleet, to rain, to clouds, to sun... off and on, all week and sometimes in one day. Of course the temperatures and wind have fluctuated as much also. 
Picking and finding a time to go out and ride has been challenging to say the least.
Saturday I drank lots of hot tea, ate, napped, and messed on the computer.
I did go out to work Roni in the round pen, but it was too cold to ride or work long. 
I spotted the hawk soaring over the yard and went out to take a picture but it had flown too far away and landed on a utility pole by the tracks.
It spit snow off and on during much of the day so I was a home-body for most of it. We had dinner out with Bob and Marge again, and then headed to the VFW for some dancing.
Work for Joe has been void of things to do... but it follows on the heels of being completely swamped and having to work in the middle of the night and on weekends. He is always thankful to come home to a different
kind of work. He is still cleaning stalls everyday,
which my wrist can handle, but he is willing to help me out and save my wrist from over-work. Once school is out, I will resume that chore. Joe also is great at keeping all our financial records and paying the bills. And he keeps our computer system up and running, trouble shooting when needed. This cartoon is quite fitting for him. Our jobs keep us mentally active and this farm keeps us physically young, but there are days when over activity makes us sore and feeling old, and the number of gray hairs keeps increasing. Sunday I slept in until 5:45, getting almost 5 hours of sleep. With the sky lit up by the time I got outside at 6 am, there were some antsy barn yard animals. I worked on lesson plans and then in the car going to and from Church (Joe drove) I graded papers.
After an early lunch I headed out to work Roni. I used the side pull reins which he seemed to accept. He listened and performed nicely during lunging. Riding went well. I only let him gait while we were in the round pen. After circling the side pasture and doing some big figure 8's we started on a big circle around Becks.
I kept Roni at a walk, and worked
on stops, but had to remind him many times to slow down. Once aimed for home he started really rushing... and would not keep his feet still when I halted him. So, I took him straight to the round pen when we got back and had him gait around in each direction for about 10 minutes.
Courtney showed up a few minutes after I had finished with Roni and I held each horse while she gave them their worming medicine. 
Then it was time for Babe to get her tetanus shot. That wasn't quite as easy. Getting her into the little calf stall and a halter around her head was tricky. Courtney was great help.
Once Babe calmed down I gave the shot and she didn't even flinch. Phew. The sun had been shining most of the day but the clouds were blowing in as we finished up outside.
After dark, it started snowing lightly, and ever so gently. It was rather cheery Monday morning to see the sun rising with the light covering of snow.
When I had opened the chicken coop, the ducks came rushing out as usual.
But their cold feet stopped them in their tracks and they would plop down to warm them back up.
The view from our bathroom window while I was getting ready for school.
I took this little video before heading out the door for school. I have got to figure out how to clean my camera lens... it is worse with the videos. Maybe it is a good excuse to get a new and better camera.
It wasn't a bad day at school, even though I had rashly been hoping for a snow day the night before. The sun was shining all day and melted all the snow away, even though temperatures stayed in the mid 30's.
Having the bare holiday tree, I was now ready to spruce it up with a St. Patrick's Day theme. Leave it to Christmas lights to fail at inopportune times. When I had last used the string of all green lights, they were working, but now they wouldn't. I tested to make sure each bulb was pushed in all the way, but still no go. Why can't Christmas lights warn us by slowly fading out (turning gray so to speak) instead of going from bright and youthful to dead as a door knob?
Well, I had to make do with what I had, putting a few green stars and round bulbs over the white lights,and got these results. Abbey had to get in the picture. Once I open the shades back up, she preferred to watch the birds outside.
We got some sobering news at Growth Group... our leader was just diagnosed with cancer. It can be a scary thought that any of us could decline in health at any time, but it is also comforting to know God is with us, giving us strength for any battle we face. Through Him our fears can be calmed and we can be at peace. My prayers go out to Dean and his family.
Tuesday had high temps and high winds... 65 degrees and 33 mph winds when I got home. The sun was shining and I really wanted to ride, but decided it might be best to wait till the wind died down some. It never did, so I graded papers and then took the dog for a walk.
As time passes and the years fly by, Kaysha also gets older. Her face has really gotten white and she has slowed down considerably. She also needs to go out to relieve herself more often. But she still gets excited about going for a walk and perks up at the possibility of getting a dog treat.
She and Abbey are good old friends. I wonder how an already gray cat turns old and gray?
At one point Wednesday, the wind was up to 38 mph with gusts up to 45. The wind advisory was in effect until 6pm, but it still seemed awfully strong at that hour, when I was finishing up chores.
This is not an old flag or one that is gray. Kendra McKinley is pulling it from the debris of her grandparents' river camp home after a tornado hit in Henderson, Ky. According to the National Weather Service, 42 confirmed tornadoes tore through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio on March 2. This situation is gray (grave) and here I am aghast by our winds. Maybe it's the realization of how bad it could be, or could get.
I felt really good about the day's riding lesson, which seemed to go well, even though Roni started out more nervous than usual. I think the wind, and noises it made through the barn, worried him some. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of keeping a constant pressure on the bit, to stay in contact with Roni at all times. He also seemed to like the different bit I was trying that Marj let me borrow. Two of our science department teachers made this. They are so clever.
I had to miss the
We had storms through the night and I got drenched during Thursday morning chores. I had decided to keep the horses in their stalls. By the time I got home, the sun was doing its best to shine through the clouds. The horses were glad to get out, even though it was just in the paddock. I waited till late afternoon when the winds were calmer and the clouds mostly gone and went out to work and ride Roni. This is when I discovered that the little Electrobraid rope splitting the paddock in two had blown loose in one spot and the cows and horses basically switched sides. I wasn't 
sure what the poultry found so interesting in the gravel drive or why they were all together. While brushing and tacking Roni, this little cat showed up. Maybe she had spooked our fowl. I gave her some food trying to befriend her. She wasn't totally wild, but was definitely skittish. 
After lunging Roni with the side pull reigns, I stayed in the round pen to ride because it was too muddy anywhere else. It was also still kind of chilly with the wind blowing. Due to a technical error taping Survivor, we had to wait an extra night to watch it, and then did so huddled around a computer screen, viewing it on-line. Even that was bad the last ten minutes because we lost the video and had to just listen to the end of it.
Today's was a beautiful morning so I paused to watch the farm yard activity after getting done with chores. Many birds have migrated into the area and are busy establishing mates and places to raise their families. I actually watched two hawks mating, high a top a utility pole by the tracks. The visiting cat has gotten friendlier (maybe because she is more hungry). Brother was intrigued by her, but Missy absolutely hates her. I knew I needed to find her a home.
By 3:00 I had spoken with seven of our closest neighbors and they all said that the stray Calico kitty was not theirs. I called our vet in LeRoy and two animal shelters and none of them had any room for another cat. I called Animal Control and they were willing to let us drop her off there, but I knew what that meant for her life. We were considering turning her loose some where else, to at least give her a chance to survive. Then Brian called and said she was his. I had e-mailed him a photo. Earlier he had described her as gray with stripes, and I had said she was a calico. I got this video of Missy this afternoon.
I had a great ride on Roni after working him in the round pen with the side pull reigns. We did lots of transitions and I love the way he is backing up for me. I took him down the road to Brian's house and then through a bean field to another neighbors to check out the new fence they are building. He only started to rush about five different times and I was able to convince him to relax before he got too wound up.
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