notes on the new turn-out routine

 Reminder: horses now come in for 2-3 hours in the a.m. and again for 2-3 hours in the evening. They spend some of that time closed into their stalls, and the breakfast and dinner tubs are served while they are in. Salina gets an additional tub around 3 p.m. so she comes in at least briefly for that. She and her donkey boys are never closed into stalls, although they have two of them and do enjoy resting in them particularly on hot summer days.

We've been at this new routine for several weeks now and these are a few things I'm seeing:

Salina (27 year old mare with arthritic knees) is moving more easily. I just looked out the window and she is grazing side by side with Keil Bay at the very bottom of our front field. That she is willing to go all the way down is a clear sign that she's feeling good and moving well.

Cody (QH with PSSM symptoms mostly under control) is also moving better. It's subtle, but he has a nice swing in his walk that he didn't have before we shifted to this routine.

The horses all seem a bit sleeker in figure. With a herd full of easy keepers this is a good thing.

They are tending to lie down and sleep either when in stalls or during the warm parts of the day - yesterday I noticed that during the warmest part of the day Keil came up to the upper field and found himself not a sunny spot, but a shady spot in a section of very loose, damp earth. It was in the mid-50s - so while to me it was cool and that damp earth seemed way too cold to lie in, it clearly felt good to him.

They are moving and grazing hay during the coldest parts of their "day" - which they were unable to do in our previous routine, when hay was served in stalls open to the paddocks.  In my mind eating hay in their stalls at night was "cozier." But I also noticed that often on very cold nights I would look out and see them standing out in the paddocks, walking and sometimes loitering near the gates to the fields! With the new plan they get some cozy stall time with hay in the evening, get their warm tubs, and then go back out where they can move AND graze hay during the nights.

We've had a few rainy nights during this trial period, and on those nights we simply reverted to our old way of doing things, as I don't want horses standing in cold rain, and I don't really want to put hay out when it's raining. It was no problem slipping back into our old way while the rain came, and then shifting right back to this new routine when it stopped.

We'd do the same with snow, high winds, etc. And although we just had two nights below freezing, I chose not to blanket. They all have nice winter coats already and I figured it wouldn't stay below freezing for very long. What I'm seeing is that they are not standing by the barn waiting to be let in, but sometimes even have to be actively encouraged to come in and get some hay inside. One morning it rained unexpectedly and Keil Bay and the pony stayed out in the rain and played instead of coming in for hay. That was a surprise, but I love seeing them feeling good and enjoying the season.

So far, so good. When it gets a bit colder and we have night-time temps staying at or below freezing, I'll bring the blankets out, but for now, they are fluffy-coated, happy equines.

November Hill Press announcement

November Hill Press is pleased to announce that the first photographic calendar, featuring many of the November Hill family, is now available in our brand new Zazzle shop.

You may see and buy the calendar via the link on the sidebar to your right.

The calendar is in advance of the nonfiction title, Partners In Zen, which is forthcoming in 2011.

the november garden

I've been astounded at how our garden began to deteriorate in late August and then miraculously seemed to regenerate itself. Suddenly the tomato vines greened up and began to set fruit again, the sweet peppers took off like they were trying to win a contest, and the eggplant went nuts. The beans gave a valiant new crop, the basil went ballistic, and we watched one particularly cute rapscallion grow like, well, a weed.

I kept meaning to take photos but decided yesterday I HAD to since we're looking at a very cold night tonight and I doubt the plants will survive it without being pampered, which I am not planning to do at this point in the season. Well, except for the rapscallion, which is winterized!

And as you'll see, I've had some assistance in the garden lately. A certain garden helper has been very steadily picking peppers for me and bringing them in.

love this article on Uta Graf and her horsekeeping

See it here.

And check out Damon Jerome H - what a handsome!

elkmont, continued

More shots of the Wonderland outbuildings and the remains of the main building. As is my usual style, I walked around snapping photos without really checking to see the results (most of my photography years it wasn't even POSSIBLE to check the results and I have never really gotten in the habit of doing so now that it is) and mainly pointing and shooting to capture the same scene my naked eyes were drawn to. I mostly used a 50mm lens back then and now always start that way before utilizing the zoom feature on my little camera.

When we got home and I had a chance to look at the photos, I was absolutely thrilled with this particular set. Although I wish I'd been able to get the entire building before it was demolished, getting these photos captures the essence of the place for me and I know I'll use them in the future when I want to visit the Wonderland, either for my own interest or for book research.

These photos are the kind that I would have lingered over in the darkroom had I taken them 25 years ago and done the processing myself. I know that first one with the broken window panes would have been incredible to watch in the developing tray, as it came into form on the paper. I miss that aspect of photography - what made it magic for me - the alchemical process in action.

I guess I should say that none of these photos have been photo-shopped in any way. I don't crop or change the color. I will rotate as needed but that's it. And although I can shift them easily into black and white, I rarely do - I miss using my Nikon with Tri-X film that I knew well enough to be able to push it, distress it, and experiment with it having some idea of what I would get in the end. I love grainy, contrasty black and white shots, and I just don't know how to get that with a digital camera.

One of these days I'm going to get all my Paris photos online - I have no idea what that will mean technically and how long it will take, but it will be a fun and lengthy project that will keep me busy for awhile!