Everyone but me set off this morning for a photography group field trip to the zoo, so I had the chores solo this morning. My mom came over and kept me company while I prepared breakfast, and we enjoyed chatting and hanging out while I mixed minerals, scooped supplements, ground the flax and vitex berries, and got beet pulp rinsed and ready to carry out to the barn.
No one in my family is a horse person, and I talked so much about having horses from the time I could talk, I think everyone, especially my mom, gets a huge kick out of seeing me with the equines, working hard but loving every minute of it.
And it was fun seeing my mom standing in the feed room door, being nudged gently by Salina, flanked by the donkey boys, and feeling perfectly comfortable with them so close. And hearing her laugh with delight as she got to hear the Hanoverian breakfast chorus, which is quite a symphony.
It reminded me of days when I was young, being dropped off for the day by my mom at the barn where I boarded my horse, and being picked up at the end of that day, loading tack into the car so I could take it home and clean it, blissfully tired and talking non-stop about my horse all the way home.
Today is another gorgeous day, and after getting the morning chores done, my mom and I had some rare time to visit without my kids here. With doors and windows open, we sat in the living room and talked about health care, family visits, and reminisced about dogs and cats we've loved over the years. (while Bear and Kyra entertained us, and the cats sat in their various spots as though they were enjoying the conversation!) We went to a favorite place for lunch, stopped by the espresso van for mocha frappucinos, and then headed back here where of course it was time for more barn chores.
This afternoon Keil Bay is getting time in the barnyard with donkeys and Salina, and he's sauntering around making the most of it - grazing, munching hay, checking out the path to the back, locating acorns, and periodically doing his most favorite thing - parading through the barn aisle from one side of the barn to the other. I'm not sure why he loves doing that so much - except that I doubt he's had much chance to do it anywhere but here, and he seems to think it's a fine privilege to have.
Very fine day, in fine company, and happy for all the blessings in my life.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
a first for Rafer Johnson
We've had some funky hoof issues this summer, likely brought on by wet/dry weather combined with lots of pasture, then stressed pasture, and what I suspect is my trace mineral balance getting out of whack. Things are getting back to normal now, but part of my treatment plan is the soaking of equine hooves.
Keil Bay and Salina are of course old hands at having feet soaked. Keil Bay will stand like a rock with multiple feet in buckets. Salina, you might remember, will soak her OWN feet if she feels like that's what needs to be done.
Apache Moon is less experienced, but he knows what to do and as long as you give him some hay to munch, he's okay with the process.
Cody, however, has simply not needed to have his hooves soaked in his young life, and while I've tried to plug it in a few times to at least introduce this practice to him, I admit I've not been diligent about it. So it's a bit more stressful for him. I've discovered that he prefers an old rubber feed pan than the bucket. The feed pan is bigger, the lip low to the ground, and I think he doesn't feel as "trapped" by it. It certainly is easier to manage if he wants to lift his hoof up - no banging or tipping. So I've been working with him this week and he's just about got it down now.
The donkeys have never needed hoof soaking either, and I haven't even tried until yesterday. I expected a bit more of a challenge, as donkeys are not really fond of water in general (drinking it is fine, but the hose is not their friend!).
Yesterday afternoon I was the only one here, the barn was quiet, everyone was munching hay, and I decided it was a good time to introduce Rafer Johnson to the process.
I closed off one end of the barn so Salina and Redford would be out of our way, and sat down in the barn aisle with Rafer, the rubber feed pan, my jug of apple cider vinegar and warm water, a small pile of hay, a few carrots, and Rafer's halter and lead rope.
Rafer smelled the jug. He smelled the pan. The one confusing factor in all this is that obviously the feed pan was used as a feed pan. And now I'm putting something liquid in it. But Cody got over this discrepancy quickly, and so did Rafer. I picked his hoof. I slid the pan under. I gently put his hoof down into the solution. He took it back out. I gently put it back. He lifted it out. I put it back. He stood down and let it soak. I gave him a carrot and lots of neck scratches.
Repeat a few times with each hoof.
And stop before it becomes too tedious.
Whenever I read about how difficult donkeys can be, I think of Rafer Johnson. His response to things is always measured, and for the most part trusting. If you approach something new with quiet, centered requests, he will generally comply. And once you repeat that with some treats, praise, and the same quiet expectations, he gets very good at the thing and comes to enjoy it.
It's been an interesting reminder to me this week - working with Cody, working with Rafer Johnson. There's something magical and healing and conducive to success in a quiet barn that has no distractions. The sound of horses munching hay, the occasional snort. It's the perfect backdrop for relaxation, meditation, and learning something new.
And a wonderful lesson for the human in how to accomplish something softly, with no drama and no force. Creating a routine that will make things easy the next time.
Keil Bay and Salina are of course old hands at having feet soaked. Keil Bay will stand like a rock with multiple feet in buckets. Salina, you might remember, will soak her OWN feet if she feels like that's what needs to be done.
Apache Moon is less experienced, but he knows what to do and as long as you give him some hay to munch, he's okay with the process.
Cody, however, has simply not needed to have his hooves soaked in his young life, and while I've tried to plug it in a few times to at least introduce this practice to him, I admit I've not been diligent about it. So it's a bit more stressful for him. I've discovered that he prefers an old rubber feed pan than the bucket. The feed pan is bigger, the lip low to the ground, and I think he doesn't feel as "trapped" by it. It certainly is easier to manage if he wants to lift his hoof up - no banging or tipping. So I've been working with him this week and he's just about got it down now.
The donkeys have never needed hoof soaking either, and I haven't even tried until yesterday. I expected a bit more of a challenge, as donkeys are not really fond of water in general (drinking it is fine, but the hose is not their friend!).
Yesterday afternoon I was the only one here, the barn was quiet, everyone was munching hay, and I decided it was a good time to introduce Rafer Johnson to the process.
I closed off one end of the barn so Salina and Redford would be out of our way, and sat down in the barn aisle with Rafer, the rubber feed pan, my jug of apple cider vinegar and warm water, a small pile of hay, a few carrots, and Rafer's halter and lead rope.
Rafer smelled the jug. He smelled the pan. The one confusing factor in all this is that obviously the feed pan was used as a feed pan. And now I'm putting something liquid in it. But Cody got over this discrepancy quickly, and so did Rafer. I picked his hoof. I slid the pan under. I gently put his hoof down into the solution. He took it back out. I gently put it back. He lifted it out. I put it back. He stood down and let it soak. I gave him a carrot and lots of neck scratches.
Repeat a few times with each hoof.
And stop before it becomes too tedious.
Whenever I read about how difficult donkeys can be, I think of Rafer Johnson. His response to things is always measured, and for the most part trusting. If you approach something new with quiet, centered requests, he will generally comply. And once you repeat that with some treats, praise, and the same quiet expectations, he gets very good at the thing and comes to enjoy it.
It's been an interesting reminder to me this week - working with Cody, working with Rafer Johnson. There's something magical and healing and conducive to success in a quiet barn that has no distractions. The sound of horses munching hay, the occasional snort. It's the perfect backdrop for relaxation, meditation, and learning something new.
And a wonderful lesson for the human in how to accomplish something softly, with no drama and no force. Creating a routine that will make things easy the next time.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
the ship is on autopilot
One:
After my cross-post from November Hill Press blog, and all the lovely support I got, I am happy to report that I got to the upload phase with the first novel this morning. I pretty immediately got stuck in preview mode though b/c of some formatting issues that have to be fixed, but I can say without qualification that my getting out of my slump is a direct result of comments here last week. So thank you to all who commented. I so appreciate it.
Two:
I am living in a boneyard. Sort of like a Stephen King short story. Bear has managed to locate and excavate every bone that has ever been given to Chase or Kyra since we moved here 5 years ago. Every morning I wake up to find that he has been on midnight digs and brought in more of his finds. There were years when I stepped on stray Lego parts or Playmobil parts and squealed in pain. Now I am stubbing my toes on bones. I had no idea we'd even GIVEN Chase and Kyra this many bones!
Three:
It is another gorgeous day and although I still have a list of things, I have spent time on other things too: emailing my writing group partner for support on the formatting glitch, eating the last piece of Mexican chocolate cake that husband made on Friday, and right now I am sitting here cheerfully typing in this blog post, thumbing my nose at the to do list, and letting the ship sail -- on autopilot.
After my cross-post from November Hill Press blog, and all the lovely support I got, I am happy to report that I got to the upload phase with the first novel this morning. I pretty immediately got stuck in preview mode though b/c of some formatting issues that have to be fixed, but I can say without qualification that my getting out of my slump is a direct result of comments here last week. So thank you to all who commented. I so appreciate it.
Two:
I am living in a boneyard. Sort of like a Stephen King short story. Bear has managed to locate and excavate every bone that has ever been given to Chase or Kyra since we moved here 5 years ago. Every morning I wake up to find that he has been on midnight digs and brought in more of his finds. There were years when I stepped on stray Lego parts or Playmobil parts and squealed in pain. Now I am stubbing my toes on bones. I had no idea we'd even GIVEN Chase and Kyra this many bones!
Three:
It is another gorgeous day and although I still have a list of things, I have spent time on other things too: emailing my writing group partner for support on the formatting glitch, eating the last piece of Mexican chocolate cake that husband made on Friday, and right now I am sitting here cheerfully typing in this blog post, thumbing my nose at the to do list, and letting the ship sail -- on autopilot.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
keeping the ship in balance
It's another gorgeous day and I'm trying to keep the same sensibility I had yesterday - enjoy the day, work on the various projects I want to work on, get things done but refrain from getting stuck in the mode of "have to get these things done or I have wasted the weekend."
It's more difficult because today is Sunday and all the things I didn't get to yesterday are sitting here (figuratively) in front of me today, looking quite pitiful and needy and all seemingly having the exact same amount of "needs to get done" weight.
I feel like I'm sailing a big ship, with lots of boxes that need managing, and I'm running from bow to stern trying to keep the whole thing in some semblance of balance. The key is not to turn the "what's at stake" question into that of the ship sinking (which it isn't) but to make it what it is: this ship is sailing mostly forward, but we're on a somewhat zigging and zagging course.
And as much as I want all the boxes sorted and organized, there are helicopters landing with new ones all the time.
How's that for a nice visual of my to do list?
Things I did this weekend:
-enjoyed the gorgeous day yesterday
-many loads of laundry
-various shopping errands with husband, which gave us some time to ride a lovely country road and chat along the way
-bathed two Corgis and made sure their nails got trimmed (husband does that part!)
-designed book cover for second novel
-reformatted first novel and am very close to being done with that "final edit" I keep talking about
-made sure all humans and animals were fed (with help)
-watched several episodes of West Wing, in which the focus was on how to use the 365 days the President and his staff have left! - inspiring but there are no term limits on my to do list, unfortunately!
Things I have not yet done which I wanted to do:
-finish the equine mineral calculations
-soak some equine hooves
-ride!
-read my Proust pages for tomorrow night's group meeting
-finish clearing the truck side of garage/basement
-change linens on bed
-vacuum
-garden
-do some ant patrol in front pasture
-organize my entire life and save the world (whoops! that is one heavy box - how did THAT get on my ship?!)
It's still before noon on Sunday so some of these things will get done today. Those that don't will not sink the ship, but they will weigh heavy if I allow them to... I'm heaving that last one overboard right now, and that has lightened the load. :)
It's more difficult because today is Sunday and all the things I didn't get to yesterday are sitting here (figuratively) in front of me today, looking quite pitiful and needy and all seemingly having the exact same amount of "needs to get done" weight.
I feel like I'm sailing a big ship, with lots of boxes that need managing, and I'm running from bow to stern trying to keep the whole thing in some semblance of balance. The key is not to turn the "what's at stake" question into that of the ship sinking (which it isn't) but to make it what it is: this ship is sailing mostly forward, but we're on a somewhat zigging and zagging course.
And as much as I want all the boxes sorted and organized, there are helicopters landing with new ones all the time.
How's that for a nice visual of my to do list?
Things I did this weekend:
-enjoyed the gorgeous day yesterday
-many loads of laundry
-various shopping errands with husband, which gave us some time to ride a lovely country road and chat along the way
-bathed two Corgis and made sure their nails got trimmed (husband does that part!)
-designed book cover for second novel
-reformatted first novel and am very close to being done with that "final edit" I keep talking about
-made sure all humans and animals were fed (with help)
-watched several episodes of West Wing, in which the focus was on how to use the 365 days the President and his staff have left! - inspiring but there are no term limits on my to do list, unfortunately!
Things I have not yet done which I wanted to do:
-finish the equine mineral calculations
-soak some equine hooves
-ride!
-read my Proust pages for tomorrow night's group meeting
-finish clearing the truck side of garage/basement
-change linens on bed
-vacuum
-garden
-do some ant patrol in front pasture
-organize my entire life and save the world (whoops! that is one heavy box - how did THAT get on my ship?!)
It's still before noon on Sunday so some of these things will get done today. Those that don't will not sink the ship, but they will weigh heavy if I allow them to... I'm heaving that last one overboard right now, and that has lightened the load. :)
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