Timing on Tuesday

I had "raggedy Anne sleep" last night.......tossed and turned, got up at 4am, made coffee, let dogs out.....layed down for twenty minutes to find that it turned into 45minutes and then I am late. I need to go to the post office this morning and now my time is limited. I hate to be late....I am tired......a little worn out I think. Next week I have the whole week off and I hope to take some "me" time. I have been busy running here and there......meetings and arrangements and errands.....too busy.

Sometimes I get to the barn in the morning and I don't want to leave. It is cool and quiet.......peaceful, except for the chattering of squirrels and the cawing of the flock of crows we seemed to have attracted. I love crows and I am always keen on watching them. They are so smart. The morning is cool but I am soon heated up from walking and throwing hay.....I stop to watch the crows and the very slight breeze feels good on my skin....while I have sweat dripping off my forehead....that sounds really pathetic for an athletic girl..huh?
I have opera on the CD player and I tell the boys in the barn that I will not leave it on for them all day.....so they don't have to worry.

Today my mom gets new carpeting in her house and she will be thrilled....she has been living with bare floors for ten days.

I drive to work and don't have time for Starbuck's coffee.....so I make do with my "brought from home" stuff and listen to ZZ Top sing "Legs" as I drive.

I arrive back at the farm after work to meet the hay man......we got some nice hay ...alfalfa and grass. Everyone was anxious to taste it.
Ryan was here today and groomed horses, moved some dirt with the tractor and then Shelli came and cleaned while I fed.

My mom got her carpeting and I guess our rooster attacked the carpet men.....both of them. Oh oh. I guess he just does not like men...as he has not bothered any of the women. He must have a complex.

Hens are still setting. I have let each of them have one egg. That is final.

I will try to remember pictures of Grace tomorrow......she looks pretty normal now....so very shiny and getting a little meat her belly and hips. You will be amazed.... she and Silk are both eating really well and seem happy together still.

Tarbaby has sore feet today......part of his hoof disease. We clean his feet and apply some medicine. It is very dry outside which should be good for him but this is a weird thing he has. It is incurable. However his weight is perfect, his coat is dappled.......he is handsome......as handsome as any 25 year old horse should be...and most of all he is happy.

Max has to go on a more restrictive diet.......he looks pregnant. I have cut him way back, but apparently not enough.

A little more dirt to move in the arena..........almost done...perhaps by this weekend if the weather stays mild. Notice I have not complained about the weather even once?

To the person who leaves the cryptic messages on the blog comments.......ummm......either you don't speak english, you have some obsession with symbols or you are trying to be annoying.......who knows? I don't get it...don't have time to figure it out....so really, don't bother.....I just push the reject button and go on.


9 pm and it is not dark yet......I am waiting to go and put my chickens to bed...but they will not be totally in bed until it is dark, and so I wait.
I have some laundry to do, dogs to let out/let back in.....notes to make........a to do list for tomorrow......

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Cowardly acts do not become you.

Sunday morning

I slept a little late.......no rain, but the morning is cloudy.......the temperature warm.
On my way to the barn, I saw a fawn, crossing the road by himself......no mother in sight......hopefully she is waiting in the field for the little one. The fawn was still polka dotted and wobbly legged.

I feed and clean, wash water tubs and fill them..I add a few extra water tubs so that a couple are shared in the bigger fields. I put fly masks on ....Beaver refuses to wear one and so after a couple of attempts....I give up. He is a Houdini. I am considering duct tape....on the fly mask......LOL>

Grace and Silk are getting along very well and their eating ability and speed is about the same, so it works to have them together, even at feeding time. As I am cleaning their loafing shed this morning, a red squirrel approaches from the treeline....and goes right to the feed tub and helps himself to the sunflower seeds while Silk is eating. Good grief.....poor Silk.....he is such a target with his food.
Hqnnah, if you are reading this......he is eating good and is settled down to a routine with us....don't worry about him and I hope you are having a great time!

We have not one, but two hens who have decided to sit on eggs. I am not getting chicks for them this time. I can only hope our new rooster is doing his "job".....and the eggs will hatch. I do, however intend to limit the number of eggs.....by previous counts, the banty hens will sit on 15 or 16 if you let them. Some Pony Up friends have wanted some chickens, so I don't mind a few extra..but not 15 or 16....when I left the barn, the two hens were fighting over nest boxes.

I worked on the garden for a while and played with the barn cat. The new cat must have come and eaten during the night..cat food is gone......although it could have been a raccoon or oppossum I suppose. I closed the barn up at 11 o'clock last night and didn't see anything in the barn....all was quiet.

I have to get hay today. Briann and I went to the feed store yesterday and got grain, beet pulp and rice bran. We also got a gate, but I have to take it back today......I didn't measure correctly....my fault.

I spread gravel yesterday in the driveway to use up what we had left over....then Briann and I moved railroad ties (with the tractor and a chain) and made a small retaining wall below the barn. This will help with water run off.....we planted it with a few plants afterwards......it looks good!

I am off to finish chores and run some errands. I have my own yard to work in today and then my mother's too. Weeding and some planting.....watering......

enjoy your day.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:


Laugh it off.

My list of thank yous.......my apologies.

I left a few folks off my thank you list....
I knew I should have made a list and checked it twice....

Thank you to:

Angel
Shelli
Jamie
Brenda K.
The ASPCA (for our grant)
Drea B.
Teresa
Jenny W.
Joe
Ron
Dennis
Mr. Storm
Don A.

We appreciate all you do for us......thank you.

Finally Friday

Yes, the cat was there. No, I wasn't able to pick it up. It ate a whole bowl of food.

Ryan is already at the farm by the time I get there and we feed the horses while we chat....we clean stalls and small paddocks ...then we start the other chores.
We regravel two paddocks and regravel under some loafing shed mats in the upper paddocks so that the floors are level. Is regravel a word or did I make that up?After the mats have set a while...they tend to get sags or dips in them and so we want to level them out. We also reinforce the walls of one loafing shed with some thicker plywood......seems like someone has a sense of humor about kicking the stall walls.......Ollie and Max?
It mists outside for a while and we are not sure if it is going to rain or just what...so we work anyway. The temperature is in the sixties......not uncomfortable in our shirt sleeves.
We put Grace in with Silk to see if they can share a paddock.......Grace fusses for Tarbaby a while, but eventually settles down and does a mutual grooming session with Silk.....then they nap together, so we leave them alone and go about the rest of our chores.
We are very excited to say that the arena.....FINALLY will be ready to us by next week. YAY! This means we can work our own horses or even hold a clinic. The end results of the arena are that not only is the fencing new.....it was widened by almost ten feet and lengthened by four feet.

And so the day goes.....the retaining wall is finished, other small repairs are made.....posts are cemented.....water troughs are cleaned.....we are thankful for the tractor...what would we do without it?

Breeze is still in Eastern Washington at Jen's farm......gaining some weight back and having a great time in the grassy pasture. She will travel to the Jones Farm next week an then to California at the end of July to a new home with Erica.

Sully will be coming home from the Jones Farm in two weeks. We have missed him...and will be glad to have him home for the summer...although I imagine that Beaver still will hate him...like he always did...but that is the way Beaver is.

We have made some good friends in the last year and I don't thank them enough.........so publicly.....thank you to the following persons or companies who have helped us to help horses in the last year
.
I will only identify some folks by their first name and last initial so that privacy stays intact......you will know who you are!

Sandy M.
Hannah J.
The Berglunds
Lauren B,
Rainsong Stables
Kim and Matt
Strohs Feed
Sound Equine Veterinary
Kitsap Humane Society
John
Ryan B
Kelsey
Briann S
Sharon S
Jan S
Darlene S
Colleen and Caryn D.
Cam and Carrie R.
Cararra
Mary V.
Betsy
Kathleen M.
Brooks
The Leitz Brothers Hay
Cenex
the Mishko's
Erin (QHbudy)
Jason
Dr. Julie
Maia
Gary B.
Cherri
Page
Devon C
Liz
Doreen
Dr. Mike
Beth A.
Whidbey Island Equine Rescue
Debbie
Old Dog Haven
Rocky Bay Equine
West Sound Electric
Toni (my mom)
Pam and Joe
Krista D.
Jim W.
Dawn
Julie T
Katy F.
Rod W
Milo D
Bethel Mitchell Chiropractic
Kitsap Lumber

All of these folks have provide time or donations.....Thank you for your generosity and kindness.



Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Do not carry a heavy heart by yourself.