Today was much cooler than yesterday, but the predicted rain never happened, and in fact, the sun was shining, so horses and donkeys and humans and cats and dogs all enjoyed the middle ground of sunshine without sweat, a slight breeze without chill, and ground that was just about perfect in its moisture level. No mud, not rock hard.
My daughter and I took the core of a round bale out to the back field this morning and unrolled it, so the hay would last all day long. The only time anyone came back to the barn was Salina to get her lunch, and Cody to get a ride.
I spent a portion of the morning straightening up the tack and feed room, another portion bringing up more items from the garage (from my office), and late in the afternoon went out to get horses organized for the evening.
The donkeys decided to have an all-out rampage, running all over the back field, up to the paddock, where they dodged Salina who was attempting to settle them down with that mama mare head toss. She decided to let them go, and meandered over to the fence to gaze at the front field, which is resting until April and every day looks greener and more appealing.
Mystic went up the oak tree by the barn, and Dickens sat below gazing up at him.
My daughter was riding Cody in the arena and my husband had arrived home from work.
Salina went into alert mode and I walked to the gate to see what was up. The shavings man had arrived with a new load, and we all watched with relief as he dumped it in our pile. There's a long rainy weekend coming and I had wanted the stalls set up with deep new shavings ahead of that. The worst chore to do on a rainy day is putting in shavings. But not doing them if they're needed is worse.
My husband loaded shavings in the wheelbarrow, I spread them, and my daughter filled hay nets while Cody grazed in the barnyard, a treat after his ride.
Horses are fed and watered now. Round bales are covered. The stalls are soft and deep and clean tonight, the shavings pile is covered with a brand new tarp, and the rain can come as it will.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
first sightings of the season
A purple butterfly.
A carpenter bee.
New leaves on the butterfly bushes, and leafing out in a number of plants along the labyrinth path.
Flies!
Fly predators!
A wasp.
Even with a cool spell rolling in later this week, it seems that spring is near.
A carpenter bee.
New leaves on the butterfly bushes, and leafing out in a number of plants along the labyrinth path.
Flies!
Fly predators!
A wasp.
Even with a cool spell rolling in later this week, it seems that spring is near.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
an interesting turn-around
Earlier in the day I was down in the labyrinth area spreading manure, and I noticed the most fascinating shift.
Last spring and summer and on into fall, the entire area down there was green and almost jungle-like with the wildflowers and brambles and brush growing like mad. My labyrinth path was a fairly narrow band of pine shavings and manure that wound around through this jungle. By summer's end the walls of the labyrinth were taller than my head, and because of the chiggers, my husband was often down there cutting back the growth to preserve the path.
Over the winter the trees were trimmed back down there and the machines made a mess of things. I decided to work on the woodland path for awhile instead, until I saw how to proceed on the labyrinth itself.
Today when I went down there I noticed that all the brush areas are the browns and faded tans of late winter, but the path itself is a vivid green. Apparently, the manure and the hay scraps that were spread along with the shavings had seeds, and now a gorgeous swath of orchard grass is winding around the area, like a giant reached down with a big paintbrush and made a spiral of green.
It was sad to see my labyrinth the way it was last spring and summer fade into the winter and the tracks of huge machinery, but I smoothed it out as best I could and let it sit, figuring something different, but equally good, might come of it when I finished the woodland path. And so it has.
*******
And another turn-around:
Last week we were fighting to keep ice out of water troughs. This afternoon Keil Bay is in the back field doing hoof trough baths for himself, Cody, and the pony, who line up beside him while he goes to town with his hoof. They all get a cool-down and the tub - well it then needs to be cleaned, but the Big Bay knows his personal maid service will be out in short order to take care of it.
Last spring and summer and on into fall, the entire area down there was green and almost jungle-like with the wildflowers and brambles and brush growing like mad. My labyrinth path was a fairly narrow band of pine shavings and manure that wound around through this jungle. By summer's end the walls of the labyrinth were taller than my head, and because of the chiggers, my husband was often down there cutting back the growth to preserve the path.
Over the winter the trees were trimmed back down there and the machines made a mess of things. I decided to work on the woodland path for awhile instead, until I saw how to proceed on the labyrinth itself.
Today when I went down there I noticed that all the brush areas are the browns and faded tans of late winter, but the path itself is a vivid green. Apparently, the manure and the hay scraps that were spread along with the shavings had seeds, and now a gorgeous swath of orchard grass is winding around the area, like a giant reached down with a big paintbrush and made a spiral of green.
It was sad to see my labyrinth the way it was last spring and summer fade into the winter and the tracks of huge machinery, but I smoothed it out as best I could and let it sit, figuring something different, but equally good, might come of it when I finished the woodland path. And so it has.
*******
And another turn-around:
Last week we were fighting to keep ice out of water troughs. This afternoon Keil Bay is in the back field doing hoof trough baths for himself, Cody, and the pony, who line up beside him while he goes to town with his hoof. They all get a cool-down and the tub - well it then needs to be cleaned, but the Big Bay knows his personal maid service will be out in short order to take care of it.
Monday, March 09, 2009
swamped
And not the kind that comes with lots of rain in a short period of time!
This is just one of those days when my perspective has gone wonky and I feel like there is NO WAY I will ever be able to get all the things done that seem to be front and center on my pile of things to do.
I would like to ride Keil Bay. Laundry is piled way up. My desk is a monstrosity of things to be done, none of them boring yucky things, and yet there are so many I can't sort out where to begin.
Edits to do, a pony story to continue, my equine nutrition class homework, which involves using a more accurate calculation to get a better estimate of their weights, so that I can begin to figure out how many Mcals they need in a day based on weight, personality, age, and amount of work. A very practical bit of homework that will involve some time. Client paperwork.
A load of furniture to configure. Boxes to unpack. Shelves to empty and then fill. The regular chores of the day.
Part of this is that I never really "caught up" last week, and now everything is snowballing. Or so it seems.
The thing I have to remember is that tomorrow I'll wake up and most of the same things will be calling to me, but the voices won't be as loud, and my sense of it all will have shifted.
Could be spring fever. Could be a hormonal blip. Could be brain chemistry.
In any case, I am going to do the next load of laundry, print out some client forms, and then decide what will come next. One task at a time.
This is just one of those days when my perspective has gone wonky and I feel like there is NO WAY I will ever be able to get all the things done that seem to be front and center on my pile of things to do.
I would like to ride Keil Bay. Laundry is piled way up. My desk is a monstrosity of things to be done, none of them boring yucky things, and yet there are so many I can't sort out where to begin.
Edits to do, a pony story to continue, my equine nutrition class homework, which involves using a more accurate calculation to get a better estimate of their weights, so that I can begin to figure out how many Mcals they need in a day based on weight, personality, age, and amount of work. A very practical bit of homework that will involve some time. Client paperwork.
A load of furniture to configure. Boxes to unpack. Shelves to empty and then fill. The regular chores of the day.
Part of this is that I never really "caught up" last week, and now everything is snowballing. Or so it seems.
The thing I have to remember is that tomorrow I'll wake up and most of the same things will be calling to me, but the voices won't be as loud, and my sense of it all will have shifted.
Could be spring fever. Could be a hormonal blip. Could be brain chemistry.
In any case, I am going to do the next load of laundry, print out some client forms, and then decide what will come next. One task at a time.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
alchemy in the feed room
The alchemists spent years in their laboratories, observing the fire that purified the metals. They spent so much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world. They discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves.
-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
I got two scales yesterday for the feed room, and spent an hour last night and again this morning weighing feed ingredients to get more exact about amounts and ratios.
I should have taken photos this morning, of the vivid green of alfalfa pellets, the mixed and more muted green of the beet pulp, the light brown fluffy wheat bran, and the beautiful oats, layered in the white bowl sitting on the big scale.
Cody's coconut oil is iridescent in its tiny glass, and the vitamin E capsules are a rich amber liquid. I use a pushpin to puncture a hole in each one so I can squeeze it into their tubs.
Right now I'm doing one horse's feed at a time, using the nifty bowl scale which allows you to zero out after each addition so you don't have to calculate as you go. The smaller gram scale is for the few things I am feeding in smaller amounts, like flax seed, and measuring individually for each horse.
Once I get everyone on the exact amount by weight, I can convert back to the easier measurements, i.e. Salina gets two scoops of this, that many of that, etc.
I keep the best sized scoop for each ingredient in the bins and a white board with instructions so nothing gets confused.
This morning I also took my new coffee grinder out so I can start grinding the whole flax fresh each feed. It turned out beautifully and smelled really good. The horses were intrigued with the grinder, not at all afraid of the noise. Salina and Keil Bay actually seemed to be happy hearing it - the warmbloods love food and I suspect would put up with anything if it meant a feed tub was the end result.
My husband was not thrilled with how long it took me to get all the tubs done. I know there will be times when it will seem like a lot of work, but for the most part, I truly enjoy it. The scooping and measuring - just the sight of the flax seeds in the little scale bowl made me happy. I had NPR on, and the sun was shining through the feed room window. I have a pretty vinyl tablecloth on my work table in there, and a container full of measuring spoons and scoops.
I fancy myself a sort of equine nutrition alchemist, mixing up potions that keep them healthy and well.
It's time for a spring cleaning in there, and I have a dark green wicker love seat that came from the foyer outside my old office, so if there's room once I clear and shift things, I may get the seating I've been longing for. There's a lot of good energy in the feed room, and I'd like to be able to sit down and soak it in.
I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things. I learned that many alchemists realized their destinies, and wound up discovering the Soul of the World, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Elixir of Life. But above all, I learned that these things are all so simple they could be written on the surface of an emerald.
-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
I got two scales yesterday for the feed room, and spent an hour last night and again this morning weighing feed ingredients to get more exact about amounts and ratios.
I should have taken photos this morning, of the vivid green of alfalfa pellets, the mixed and more muted green of the beet pulp, the light brown fluffy wheat bran, and the beautiful oats, layered in the white bowl sitting on the big scale.
Cody's coconut oil is iridescent in its tiny glass, and the vitamin E capsules are a rich amber liquid. I use a pushpin to puncture a hole in each one so I can squeeze it into their tubs.
Right now I'm doing one horse's feed at a time, using the nifty bowl scale which allows you to zero out after each addition so you don't have to calculate as you go. The smaller gram scale is for the few things I am feeding in smaller amounts, like flax seed, and measuring individually for each horse.
Once I get everyone on the exact amount by weight, I can convert back to the easier measurements, i.e. Salina gets two scoops of this, that many of that, etc.
I keep the best sized scoop for each ingredient in the bins and a white board with instructions so nothing gets confused.
This morning I also took my new coffee grinder out so I can start grinding the whole flax fresh each feed. It turned out beautifully and smelled really good. The horses were intrigued with the grinder, not at all afraid of the noise. Salina and Keil Bay actually seemed to be happy hearing it - the warmbloods love food and I suspect would put up with anything if it meant a feed tub was the end result.
My husband was not thrilled with how long it took me to get all the tubs done. I know there will be times when it will seem like a lot of work, but for the most part, I truly enjoy it. The scooping and measuring - just the sight of the flax seeds in the little scale bowl made me happy. I had NPR on, and the sun was shining through the feed room window. I have a pretty vinyl tablecloth on my work table in there, and a container full of measuring spoons and scoops.
I fancy myself a sort of equine nutrition alchemist, mixing up potions that keep them healthy and well.
It's time for a spring cleaning in there, and I have a dark green wicker love seat that came from the foyer outside my old office, so if there's room once I clear and shift things, I may get the seating I've been longing for. There's a lot of good energy in the feed room, and I'd like to be able to sit down and soak it in.
I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things. I learned that many alchemists realized their destinies, and wound up discovering the Soul of the World, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Elixir of Life. But above all, I learned that these things are all so simple they could be written on the surface of an emerald.
-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
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