Oh............Saturday

beautiful morning........cold and windy......almost felt like winter for a while while I walked the dogs.
I got up at 5am with the dogs, put them out and walked them around, made coffee......went back to bed......slept in a little......got up, drank coffee.......read email.....brush teeth, shower, brush hair..........go to barn.
The new chicks are doing great with their adoptive momma. I keep them in a crate at night for their own safety and let them out come morning. They are growing already.....getting little wing feathers and tails.
So today we had a lot to accomplish and accomplish we did. We resolved to replace the perimeter fencing that runs the driveway .....some posts were rotten and the board fence part had many rotten boards as well.....plus we don't want to paint a board fence every year. We replaced all posts with no climb fencing and new wood posts.. LOOKS GREAT! Hard work ...indeed. Three of us got it done. Next weekend we will do the arena.......we didn't have an auger for the tractor. Thank goodness for the tractor......it enabled us to pull the fence tight.
Thank goodness for volunteers......to get the job done.

The sun was out for a good portion of the day and although the wind was brisk, we worked without coats most of the day. Such a nice change from the steady course of rain that we have had.
Ryan helped me feed and I cleaned Mercy's stall.......then we called it a day. Very productive.
Tomorrow I go to look at an RV for the caretaker position. This will enable me to have a day off every once in a while and also help someone with a place to live.

Breeze went to a new home on Friday. I was misty eyed to send her off.......it is always that way when I have cared for a horse for a long while. You hope for the best. Sort of like sending your kid to college , I suppose.

I am worn out..........grilling salmon for dinner, drinking a glass of red wine........hope to watch a movie but not sure I can stay awake that long.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

It is not that complicated..........just do it.

Too late Thursday

gosh, I am behind schedule in almost everything..........too much to do ...my plate is full.

Wednesday we got the cement poured and voila.......now we have a shoeing stand and the beginning of a wash stall. It is fabulous! Thank you to Tom M. for helping us.........you are so generous. This weekend we will put a roof on it and frame the sides.

Okay, I made the little banty hen happy. I told you she was sitting on eggs and that she never hatches her own.........I had put two of another hen's eggs under her.......but I got an idea at the feed store when I saw the week old chicks........and so yes........I did it. I bought two chicks and at dark I slipped them under her and took her eggs. I kept my fingers crossed........the chicks went right under her (good sign) and she was quiet. I checked on her first thing in the morning and all was well.........she was strutting the chicks in the yard, calling to them and they were listening. ...and she was a force to be reckoned with near the other chickens. She has no idea that her chicks are unrelated to her and to each other...........a Rhode Island Red and a Barred Rock. ...and hey, I get two purebred chickens out of the deal.........supposedly hens! We will see.

The weather......oh........the weather. It is winter again. Cold, windy, rainy.................frosty......and maybe snow tonight. Good golly.......I am easily fooled as I thought it was summer already. We are supposed to get high winds tonight as well. I have to admit, I love the wind........the sound, the feel...the strength......the swaying of the trees.........yep, I love it.

Breeze will be going tomorrow.......and then next week Sully goes back to the Jones Farm........maybe there will be rest for the weary. I feel like I am burning the candle on both ends....some days worse than others. I think I need a vacation.........Hawaii..........Mexico.......Palm Springs........ yep........I do.

I think I have dewormed Promise about 14 times now.......she was probably the worst we have seen with worm infestation. Hopefully she can shed her coarse hair and gain some weight. I must get pictures. I am bad about getting "before" pictures.......but believe me, she looks bad. I am hopeful she can turn into a better looking filly. She does love her grain........she still frets about being away from Breeze, but I figure it is better to have a slow separation than a quick ugly one.

I put the boys on a diet because I did not realize what a fatso Church and Max had become. They are huge. I cut grain back and a little hay. They hate to diet......always hungry those boys are. Oh and Yukon too......he got a diet at the foster home. ...fat old man.

I was treated to Chinese food for lunch. I had vegetable Egg Foo Yung.........hmmm........thank you Becky.......my turn next time. If you have never tried Egg Foo Yung......you simply have to.......sort of like an omelette with gravy and vegetables........and I am sure it depends on where you have it. ...but I highly recommend the Emperors Palace.......good service and delicious.

The sun came out for a few hours today *Thursday and I didn't get much time in it.......it was still cold and windy, so not like I was going to get a sun tan anyway........but it was nice to see it after all this rain.

On the way home I listened to Boz Scaggs with "Lido Shuffle".......older than dirt......right?
I still am considering Sirious radio so I don't have to listen to dumb commercials. The last thing I want to hear is commercials when all I really want is music.

Tomorrow...........errands, visit Winston......feed store, bank..........clean the barn, maybe shovel snow.....who knows? I think I will purchase the posts for the arena and the fencing material, so we can be prepared for when the sun comes out and we are a little dryer. I can hardly wait.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow.

Sometimes a lie is more pleasant than a hurtful truth.

So so Sunday

Another week has gone by......another day with rain and some wind. I didn't get much done besides one new nest box for the hens.........oh and I did find the broody banty and her nest of 8 eggs. She has been hidden for two weeks and I didn't have the heart to boot her off the nest. I put two of another chicken's eggs under her because she usually only hatches one or none at all...I am not sure why...so she will have a chick.....or two. She works so hard at hatching them...it is sad when none of them hatch. Last year she sat twice with zero chicks produced. She is getting old so maybe this is her last hurrah...anyway, she has two "good" eggs under her now.

We moved the horses around on Saturday, so that Breeze can have some stall rest for her leg.......Promise is not happy. She is back to paddock walking and running her teeth along the edge of the gate. She really is a horse who needs a buddy all the time....it is her security blanket. We have no one else for her to buddy up with right now.

We also moved Mercy to the outside loafing shed and she has made friends with Tarbaby who shares his hay with her and stands with her in the rain or wind....even though he has his own stall.
We soaked Tarbaby's foot twice on Saturday and once this morning. I am sure he has an abcess.....swollen ankle and ouchy foot. Probably has a gravel......and it will have to work it's way out.

Beaver and Sully groomed each other in the "twenty" minutes of sun that we had today......over the fence.........all they have is each other, so I guess any port in a storm and they can go back to hating each other later but right now there is grooming to be done.

We will make arrangements for Sully to go back to The Jones Farm in the next week or so... to get to the bottom of his canter issue.

The weekend was too lousy to work on the fencing project of the arena.........but hopefully next weekend we will have some decent weather or else we will give up the notion of working in good weather and just get it done anyway.

It is raining Thoroughbreds........free.......free......everywhere........old ones, young ones, ones off the track, some event trained.......some retired.... but no room at the inn currently. I always have an eye for Tb's......bay......short backed, tall, leggy.........beauty is in the eye of the beholder .......come and see my own horses sometime.........they look like they were cookie cut outs of each other. There has never been a better color of horse than bay........NEVER. IMHO.

We are looking for an RV still........have our eye on a couple.......and will buy something at the beginning of next month. This will be housing for a hired hand......it will help us and we can help a person who needs a place to live. A win win situation.......


Easter morning and I worked by myself........fed, cleaned, watered and fed chickens and barn cats. I have been wondering why the cat food is going so fast and low and behold this morning, I found out why.........we have two extra cats....okay.....they are NOT our cats, but they are eating OUR cat food in OUR cat room..........a black one and a gray one who has a half of a tail. Who knew? I don't mind if they eat......I would rather feed them than raccoons or possums. I need one of those hidden camera's to see what comes in the barn at night.


Well......here comes a new week........still lots of work to be done.........and yep, I will say it again, we need gravel and this year I think we will put some sand in too........oh and sand reminds me that we will need sand for the arena.........LOTS of sand....think Sahara.....yes, now you have it.
I wonder how we will get everything done and then I think about all we have done and accomplished.....lots of good things have come our way.........we are thankful and always hopeful.
The farm is coming along.......sometimes by leaps and bounds, sometimes by inches.....but always a progression.

thanks for your support and friendship!


Pony Up Fortune for tomorrow:


Exercise integrity and put the brakes on ego.

Fly a way Friday

OOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhh...the wind was back today..........62MPH in some spots......with associated rain.......the paddocks are soggy and there is water everywhere. I will be glad for some sun, even some dust at this point! I love dust....really I do........and flies......and dry hooves.....

I didn't really do much today besides feed, clean and then I went home, the weather was so bad......horses have been in stalls voluntarily.......an of course the stalls were a mess. When the weather is like this, I feed lots of hay to keep them busy an occupied.

I didn't even go see Winston today...........way too much wind.....I needed to stay close to home. I left the barn around noon and decided I could take a nap. Yep, the dogs and I had a two hour nap and it was grand. The house was quiet, save the wind and pouring rain......and we drifted off while the storm carried on. Woke up, brewed some fresh coffee and back to the barn........put the chickens up......fed horses, locked the barn up........and back home to fix dinner.

Not sure what the weather will hold tomorrow. I had hoped to start on arena fencing...but not if it is raining and pouring like today. No fun.

TarBaby has an abcess......so he got some bute, some antibiotic and a foot cleaning.....he will get an Epson salts soak in the morning if nothing has broken through.

Breeze and Promise are potentially headed for new digs next week....stay tuned for details.

We had the slightest breakthrough with Mercy........she is rubbing on me and snuffles my sleeves..licked my hands.......I know it doesn't seem like much, but if you had seen her before.......well, it is really a big deal. So far this is just with me..... keep saying some prayers for her.....or send positive thoughts her way. She has been a very tortured soul for a long while and we are all she has....it has been a difficult situation for all of us. You expect them to WANT to make friends with you..........you expect them to be grateful I guess.......but it doesn't always work that way.

I hope your weekend, wherever you are is less wet than mine........

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

Celebrate a victory........embrace a kindness.