winter solstice 2012

The wind was literally howling this solstice morning and a dust devil was whirling in the back yard. Which seemed fitting given the year we've all had. More than the usual number of things to leave behind in the darkness, many bright and wonderful things to look toward in the growing light.

The day brought many gifts.

When I went out to the barn to feed breakfast, I found a black mare covered in dried mud, which means not only did she roll like every other horse on this property did last night, she got up again! 

On cold windy days I love bringing the horses into the barn, loading them up with hay, and heating up water with my electric kettle to warm their water buckets. There is almost nothing sweeter than standing in the barn aisle, wind blocked with whatever windows and doors need closing, hearing them munch on hay. I did this twice on the solstice day - at breakfast, and then again at dinnertime, when they were all tucked in until the last feed when got their blankets on for the cold windy night and turned out where they could see the stars. 

We had a very beautiful solstice meal together. My daughter made a green salad with walnuts and other tidbits and a home-made balsamic dressing.

My son made falafels which were delicious.

And I baked up some Scotch eggs, which have become a family favorite.

We listened to music, read some poems, and listened to Robert Frost read his poem Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening.

There are also two gifts that need some photos of introduction!

Meet Pixie and her brother Pippin!

 As you can imagine, these two kittens have brought a huge amount of joy to November Hill. We went to pick up Pixie last Sunday and when we brought the cat carrier in, Pippin ran into it and would not come out. So it was clear he had chosen US and what is the only thing better than a new kitten?

Two new kittens!

They were in my bedroom/bathroom area for two days with a gate. The third day they climbed the gate and have done a very nice job integrating with the Corgis and the adult cats. 

We are back to a full house here and I'm so glad. I know that Keats and Moomintroll approve.

Hope everyone had a winter solstice that brought its own gifts to you and yours... 

With thanks to dear husband for photographing these kitten-meows! 

december days

Yesterday afternoon I was out at the barn just enjoying the day - upper 40s and gray, one of my favorite kinds of early December days. The horses were all happy to have cool weather again, and Salina, although a bit wary of the iPad, grew accustomed to it after a few clicks of the camera shutter and allowed me to take a nice picture. A few minutes earlier when I tried to take one of Keil Bay, he snorted and left the vicinity! Salina is doing pretty well. Her abscess is visible and slow to emerge, but it's drained enough that she's moving okay on that hoof. She's eating voraciously, wanting time with her herd, and generally seems to feel good. A couple of days ago I was cleaning and refilling water tubs and she walked up and clearly requested that I hose her hoof. She stood there for 15 minutes or so, licking and chewing when I aimed the water at the abscess site, and pawing if I took the hose away. Periodically she would lower her nose to the hoof and smell it, as if she were checking to see if the water was helping it burst out. I'm in awe of how attuned my horses are to their bodies and how much they know about getting themselves better.  Last night they all had blankets on because it was below 40 and raining. We've had a long dry spell recently, so the rain is welcome, but I prefer it to rain during the daylight hours so it's not quite so cold. In any case, they all got blanketed and when I woke up and looked outside this morning there they all were, adding some bright colors to the winter landscape. In a few days I should have some photos to share of a new family member coming to join us on November Hill. It's been a year with some stressful days, the loss of Keats and Moomin, and when a friend posted recently that several abandoned kittens needed homes, one of the pictures called out to me. It was such a clear call, I knew it was time. We'll wind down 2012 welcoming this litle kit-meow girl into the family. My teens reminded me that I had said recently that I couldn't bring any new cats in because it was so hard to say goodbye when they leave us. And that was true when I said it. But thankfully that place of grief passes and we become able to let more love in. Which I think is because of how much love they give to us while they're here. And even after they're gone. I felt both Keats and Moomin yesterday, as the kitten in her photo called out to me. They said it was time.  Heading out to feed breakfast tubs and take blankets off and enjoy this December day.

a better day

Yesterday Salina didn't whinny for her breakfast tub. Keil Bay was singing an aria for his, and I noted out loud that I missed hearing Salina's response. About the time I said it, I came out of the feed room. She had come to her stall door, was craning her head way out and around so she could get her good eye on me, and she whinnied. That made me feel so much better!

Today she is back to whinnying for her meals and she was a bit brighter overall than yesterday. Although I'm not thrilled with the gnat population blooming with this warm weather, I'm glad it happened when it did because it seems to be good for Salina.

Cody went in with Salina this morning so the donkeys could take a break in the field. They took full advantage of their time and ran like mad up and down the front field while the pony grazed. Keil was annoyed that I let Cody over to the barnyard side of the barn - he refused to go out and kept hoping he would get his turn. Which he did, after lunch.

I groomed Keil Bay earlier today and cleaned up his sheepskin pad so that later in the afternoon I could go out and ride without getting too caught up in the preparation part.

He was a little bit difficult in between the warm-up and the more intensive riding part - daughter came in with Cody and Keil Bay was pulling toward them, not really listening. I gave him a fair warning and told him I was getting ready to get tough if he persisted. I had to get tough two times and then he woke up, really woke up, and was immediately responding to my thinking the aids. Very very nice ride with some powerhouse trotting. I don't like getting tough with Keil Bay (translated, that means I used the whip two times with more energy than simply tapping), and I try hard to listen if/when there is something wrong and he's telling me with his behavior. His immediate surge of energy and compliance tells me he was slugging and just not in high gear yet. Sometimes I do have to ask for that with enough energy that he takes the question seriously.

We rode right up to the sunset, which was beautiful, and he got his usual snack at the feed room door. A good day starts and ends with the muzzle of a horse in your hand, and I am lucky that most of mine start and end that way.

we're hanging in there and PONY FUN!!

Salina appears to have an abscess - she's eating, moving, doing all the things she needs to do. We're hoping the abscess blows quickly and then we'll look at the pentosan injections Calm, Forward, Straight recommended as a possible treatment for the arthritic knees. It's worth a try!

Otherwise, it is 70+ degrees here right now and we're putting up the Christmas tree. Crazy!

But not as crazy fun as this girl and her pony are having. This made me laugh out loud and I hope it does you too. Pure joy of life here. We all need some of this!

pony portrait and another difficult day

Apache Moon, aka the Little Man, heading up the hill to check out the photographer. I love seeing those pony ears pricked forward. :)

Yesterday we had another rough day on November Hill. Husband fed hay before he left for work around 8 a.m. Around 9:15 the Corgis started barking. I went to the front first and saw nothing, then went to the side and saw nothing. When I looked out the back door, the geldings were standing in a perfect circle, heads in, surrounding Salina, who was laying flat out on her side.

It looked like some kind of sacred tribal ritual in progress, and it was so sweet it just about made me cry. I went in the bedroom to throw on some clothes and when I glanced out the window Keil Bay and Cody came to the field right outside and began marching around in a big circle, as if they were trying to get my attention.

When I got out there, Salina was okay but not able to get up. Fortunately she was in a sunny spot, on fairly soft ground, and she wasn't struggling. I opened the front gate to let the geldings into the paddock - Keil and Little Man came running over and headed to the barn. Cody refused to leave Salina. He stood over her, right where she could see him, and kept guard. The donkeys were still forming the circle.

I coaxed Cody into the grass paddock and left the donkeys with Salina, then called my husband and he headed home. My daughter and I tried to get Salina to get up on her own. She tried a few times but her hind legs seemed very stiff and she couldn't get enough "oomph" to get up. I got breakfast tubs ready, hoping that might help, and she did try again, but still couldn't get up.

When my husband got home, my son came out too and all four of us tried various things to help. Nothing really worked. I gave her a dose of Banamine. As usual, I started asking the question no one wants to hear: is this the time when we need to make the call to let her go?

As usual, I promised Salina that I would take care of her donkeys if she was ready to go. 

We touched base with the vet, tried a bit more, and finally decided to have the vet come out and help us decide what to do. The vet on call was a new one to us, and I appreciated her compassion and her practical approach. After she checked vitals, all really good, and flexed the legs, she said this: let's see if all of us can pull together and get her upright, then see if she can get up from there. If not, we'll talk about what to do next.

It worked. It took a massive effort on the part of dear husband, but we got her upright and once we did she managed to get on her feet and walked off, not quite steady, but not injured. She was immediately ready for some breakfast. Rafer Johnson once again came up to me, put his head up to my chest, gazed into my eyes, and said, as clear as day, "She's OKAY."

Today she is moving slowly, I'm sure she's sore, but she's eating and doing all the things she needs to be doing. She was asking to go out with the big boys but I said NO. She and the donkeys stayed in the grass paddock and barnyards all day and she was out grazing most of the time - but in her stall looking at the kitchen window when her meal times rolled around.

They all had hoof trims this morning and she was able to get hers done - though we made a little "step" for her to prop her hooves on instead of asking her to put them up on the hoof stand. She's moving better with her toes trimmed back, and I'm hoping the stiffness is less tomorrow. We're having a little warming trend here which might help with that.

There's never a dull moment, it seems - I'm feeling grateful for the vet practice we use. They are so good at times like this, and we're lucky they rotate a dedicated on-call person 24/7 who does nothing but emergencies. Even though she's fairly new, she had Salina's history on the laptop when she drove up and walked in very informed. We needed someone to set out a short, to the point, plan of action. It was impressive.

Here's hoping we get some boring, slow as molasses, low-stress days as we move into December!