In Like A lamb....Out Like.....

      I have noticed that a lot of my older posts talk about the weather.  I guess that's what we "farmers" do quite often.  As far as I can tell, March came in fairly mild, rather tame, like a lamb.  It was quite a bit colder on the first of March than it was today or will be through the end of this month, but compared to what it had been, it was warm, and not windy or precipitating.  It looks like the next three days are going to be sunny, warm, and not too windy as well, up to 70 degrees by Wednesday 3/31.  Sounds good to me.

     This past week was my Spring Break.  It was nice to wake up on a Monday morning without the stress of school to worry about.  The sky was dark and cloudy, the winds were up and the temperature down.  It felt like a storm brewing…..so I brewed more tea and sat at my computer all morning, after doing my morning chores of course.  I mostly worked on my Blog. 

     Each week I am going to try to post last year’s farm journal (from my letters to my Mom) with this year’s weekly post. Not sure I will be able to keep up, but going to give it a try.  

     The sun came out just before noon and it turned into a completely different day.  It was warm and very “Springy”.  I ditched the computer and headed back out to work on the drive and flower bed/rock garden.  I had my boom box with classical music playing, which I don't think our turkey Hercules cared for. I had to quit by 3:00 to get showered and go into town.  Good thing I only work 3 or 4 hours at a time…my body couldn’t handle much more.

     I have been slowly acclimating the horses to freshly grown grass by letting them out in the pasture in increasingly longer increments.  Here you can see the grass is getting greener and the "grazers" are happy.  They are

 

always glad to see me come out because usually I open the pasture gate for them. Sometimes though, I round them up for some grooming and ground work.  I usually time it so when they need to come back in from the pasture, it is “dinner” time.  Then they are eager and willing to come.  Our two horses are young, energetic, and smart…but immature, and always trying new tricks.  I need to stay one step ahead of them.  Because I wouldn’t  be home till after 9:00 Monday night, Courtney agreed to come get them from the pasture and feed them for me.

     Tuesday morning it was cold, but the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. I discovered that I did get some poison ivy…especially in the scratches on my forearms that are from branches and barn kitties.  I use two products (tecnu and Zanfel) that both really help. My favorite little barn kitty (Sis) was missing again at breakfast time.  She was missing late last night when I got home and went out to feed them.  Both times I walked around and searched for her while calling for her.  She finally showed up after about 20 min last night.  This morning she never did show up.  I returned to the house and as soon as I open the furnace room door, there she was.  She must have shot in when I went out that door and I never saw her.  Phew….I was glad she was okay.  Once the sun warmed things up, I was able to work in a t-shirt, no jacket, a first for 2010.

      Kaysha was out in the fields rooting up voles (type of mouse that burrows)  She caught three that I was aware of.  The 1st and 3rd ones I took away and gave to the barn kitties so they could work on their catch and kill techniques. I gave Kaysha a leather chew bone in exchange for the third mouse and then got my camera out and took several shots of Sis playing with this mouse.  She would not let Bro have it.



















































My crew of "diggers"
They are searching
the fresh dirt
for worms
and grubs.

Hercules inspecting my rocks.
Brewster Rooster at top of hill keeping a watch out for his hens who are taking a dust bath.  








Now Hercules gets in on a dust bath while chickens rest in the sun.
        

     Courtney and
I groomed and then worked our horses out in the round pen.  And then I rode bare back for a bit just to she how Amiga responded.  She did very well.  What else does one do when they have a horse but no tack? Jump on bareback with reins attached to the halter. 

Wednesday was a little cooler, with periods of clouds, and also breezier.  Like yesterday, I worked in the yard all day.  I have been cleaning out flower beds, working on my rock wall, and transplanting “Surprise Lilies”.  I discovered that the rabbits completely ate to the ground my 3 Holly bushes.  Several weeks ago I discovered they had done the same thing to my Cranberry Cotoneaster Shrub, so put fencing around it.  I need to do the same thing with the Holly.  Hope they all survive and bounce back. I also found a pile of round, large, softball size rock near the railroad tracks where we dump moldy hay, liter box, and large amounts of green yard waste.  I have been hauling these little boulders back to use in my rock garden.  This time after Courtney and I brushed our horses and put them through their paces with ground work, she joined me bareback on Zorro.  Notice we are dressed warmer and it looks grayer.

     Thursday was a rainy day, which was good because I needed a break from yard and garden work.  All my transplants and grass seed need the moisture, and I needed to get work done here at my desk....but didn’t really accomplish much.  Later I ran into town to get groceries, feed and supplies from Farm & Fleet and stuff from a garden center.  What better way to cheer up on a rainy day than to look at cute baby chicks.  Bottom left is a picture of where my chickens go on a rainy day....under the horse trailer.  And to the right is the last of the 2nd pine tree remaining to be cut into firewood.

     When in town, I also stopped at a friend’s and at school to feed and water critters. Late afternoon we had another ridding lesson. Amiga did very well but Zorro got in trouble.  Our trainer worked with him for quite awhile. He just wasn’t listening and responding to Courtney very well during ground work.  By the time Marj was done with him, he was calm and compliant, and then did pretty good when Courtney rode him.  He continues to balk when loading on to the trailer, but we are working on that.

     I don’t know what happened to the day Friday.  It was 24 degrees when I got up and with the breeze felt quite cold.  With the frozen ground and low temps for the day I decided another day at my desk would be wise.  I took the two barn kitties to a vet to get spayed and neutered. A load of clay/dirt
arrived. In this photo you can see how I am widening the curve to kind of straighten it out.  We are going to spread and pack the clay to help hinder wash-out of that slope and add gravel on top.  The dark green plants are the Surprise Lillies, 8 of which I transplanted....getting them from various random places in the yard.   
     I walked the horses out to the front pasture.  Did some work at my computer, but not near enough. Took a nap. Walked around the place looking at all the projects I needed to get done and thinking about how to go about doing them. Went back to the vet to get the barn kitties. Walked the horses back to the paddock from the front pasture.  Observed, nurtured, and fed the barn kitties.  Sis was very upset, still coming out of anesthesia, hissing and growling at Bro and not liking me. Interestingly she still was very comfortable around Kaysha and would rub up on her legs and then when I had our dog lie down, Sis put her head into Kaysha’s coat.
I put the two kitties into a cage that I had put together  in the morning, because they are not supposed  to “over do it”…. climb stairs, rough house, jump around, etc.  and they are to stay clean and dry.  The only way that is going to happen is if I keep them caged up for a few days.  They are not to be in a draft either, so  I added a heat lamp just in case.  The two cages are attached with a hole between them, so they have a fair amount of space.  One side is for play and the other for sleep and eating.  I later moved the heat lamp above the bed which made more sense. We can no longer shut the cats into the tack room because they have figured out how to climb the support beams and escape between the rafters.  I am wanting to put in a ceiling to keep out additional dust, moisture, cold air and unwanted critters.  It will also help me contain barn cats if needed in the future.

      Saturday morning it was 8 degrees warmer than Friday morning, and with the sun shining, looked like it was going to be a nice day. I was glad to see, during morning chores, that the barn kitties were feeling much better.  I can’t even tell where they did the surgery on Bro, and Sis’s incision looked pretty good, maybe just a bit swollen.  We met friends in Down’s for the community breakfast they offer once a year, and then had them back to the farm for more coffee and to look the place over.  Our friend Bob patched the copper water pipe that split open in three places last fall.  It runs through the garage to an outdoor faucet which we neglected to shut the water off to and drain before the first hard freeze.  I hate learning the hard way.  Next fall we will know to take care of that winterizing before it’s too late.  Joe and I stayed busy all day with little outdoor jobs.  Moved some dirt, collected
some larger rocks for my garden, pulled several dead branches out of trees, raked and moved several wheel barrow’s full of little sticks and bark from the branches and two trees Joe cut down earlier.  Joe worked on the fence, repairing brackets that hold the electro braid to the poles.  Several were broken from the snow drifts.  He also filled in around fence posts where the ground had sunken in and spread “pasture mix” seed out in all the bare spots.  I did a little more work on my rock wall.  Round bolder rocks just don’t stack very well.  So it was slow going.

     Sunday brought more cold air and lots of rain.  I kept the horses in the barn, the kitties in their cage, and myself in the house.  After Church, I went to school to xerox and get organized for classes tomorrow.  Then it was home to grade papers, work on my blog, do some laundry and take a nap.
     Rainy days and Sundays….God’s way to insure a day of rest.
It did stop raining by 2pm so I let the horses out of the barn and even on to the back pasture.  The sun actually came out by 4:00 so I let the kitties out of the barn and did a few outside jobs like fill the bird feeders, scoop dog poo and clean the cat's pans.  Because it was still muddy and quite windy and I was bound and determined to get this Blog done today, I came back in to work.
Horses resting...                                         Close up of Zorro

Amiga                                      Zorro         While sitting here working, it was nice to look out at the green grass, sun shine, blue sky, and my hooved friends grazing. These pictures were taken Saturday when we put them out on the front pasture.

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.