cold and clear

Last night I went out later than I usually do to help my husband lever the huge new round bale into its shelter. This involved two jump poles, an extra straw bale, and me laying my entire weight on the end of the pole and then shrieking, "It's not working!" But in the end it worked perfectly, and the hay ended up right where it needed to be.

My husband generally does the night-time feed for me, so I'd forgotten how a clear, cold night can be almost magical. All the equines were enjoying their barn time, with lots of hay, straw bedding, water straight from the well (and thus not ice cold!), and lights off. I peeked in at them and saw 6 pairs of blinking eyes.

Out in the arena, the Mystical-kit was dashing around chasing leaves blowing in the wind. I never knew how quickly a small gray body could get from A to X, or how fast a 20-meter circle could be run!

The wind was finally beginning to die down, but we had one more frigid night to get through - 12 degrees F - and the temperature was slowly dropping toward that low.

One of the best things about caring for horses, and I'm sure it's true for caring for any farm animals who live outside, is that it brings us into contact with nature at different times of day than we might otherwise experience.

Early mornings in winter can be brutal, but there is a clarity of thought that coincides with those coldest mornings that I find impossible to replicate without the actual sensation of the early morning sun and the cold.

Similarly, cold nights have a sense of magic, as though something is waiting to happen but you have to be very alert to see it. For a few moments, I waited.

Then I walked to the gate, on along the well-worn path in our backyard that leads to our back door. There's something palpable that happens when I come out the back door to head to the barn - a feeling of being drawn forward, to the horses and the donkeys, to the "barn time" that is for me very different than any other time. Actually it's more like walking out of time, leaving the world ruled by clocks behind.

There is also something special about walking from barn back to the house, especially at night, when the lights from within are shining through the doors and windows, and now, nearing the winter solstice and Christmas, the lights on the tree are twinkling, much like the stars twinkle in a dark night sky.

Feeling the warmth of the wood stove, seeing cats lying on sofas and chairs, Kyra and Bear already inside on their beds. When we go out in the cold, clear night, maybe what is waiting to happen is the homecoming at the end.

adventures in stall bedding - straw!

Well, actually straw on top of pine pellets.

With the frigid weather we're having, I was not really happy with the pine pellets alone - the stalls felt very unsnuggly and although the horses and donkeys aren't really IN the stalls all that much, I wanted them to have someplace soft and warm to lie down during the times they ARE in.

I've wanted to try straw bedding for years, but have never quite managed to convince myself to go for it. Yesterday, with several cold nights in front of us, high winds that would mean the horses would in fact have access to stalls all night (and in the case of Salina and her donkey boys, would not be turned out to the bigger fields at all), I decided it was a good time to try.

Our hay supplier usually has wheat straw but didn't have extra this year to sell. He gave me a name of someone else. He just sold the last of this year's crop. He gave me the name of someone who had oat straw. An internet search said oat straw was more likely to be eaten by the horses than wheat, so I called the feed store. Bingo - they had wheat straw.

I headed over and got a baker's dozen wheat straw bales. Just as the sun was setting, my daughter and I unloaded them and began to bed the stalls, while impatient equines watched over the stall doors and one in particular began to bang loudly to be let in.

The straw made all the difference. We used 2 bales per stall and banked it up high in the corners and along the edges. It was so cozy I wanted to lie down on it myself!

Everyone except Cody and the pony took a few bites. This morning it was fun to see what each equine did with their stalls during the night. Salina and the donkeys kept their straw fairly clean. They used one area in each of their stalls (and the barn aisle) to deposit the manure.

Keil Bay obviously slept more than usual in his stall - there were many flattened manure balls and he uncharacteristically deposited most of his manure in the edges, along the wall. Those balls were frozen hard, while the ones he laid on were still soft.

My daughter mucked Cody and the pony so I'm not sure what they did. It was interesting to learn a new mucking technique this morning. I used the pitchfork to heap all the straw, which was 98% dry, only a little bit was wet with urine, high into the corners so I could muck pee spots and get the manure that was "in the open." Then as I forked the straw back out, discovered that there is a completely different technique to getting the manure out from under the straw. Instead of pushing forward with the rake, as you do with the pellets. what works best with the straw is to insert the rake just under the manure and then pull back, shaking the rake gently as you do so. Once I got the hang of it, it was easy.

I don't know that we'll use straw year round, and it might be drastically different if we stalled the horses many hours a day, but for our purposes, it worked really well. The barn felt warmer this morning, and the horses were in good spirits after a very cold and windy night.

I'd love to hear if anyone uses straw full-time - any special tips, etc.

a sweet december scene

We're having a very cold week for us - highs in the 30s and lows at night in the teens. The horses have remained on their turn-out schedule except for one night when it was cold and dry but very windy - that night we kept Salina and the donkeys in the barn with access to their paddock, and allowed the geldings access to the barn all night as well. 


We have been blanketing after dinner tubs with lows in the teens, and one very cold day I left the blankets on all day long, but generally I remove blankets before I feed breakfast so they can eat their warm tubs, head into the sunshine, and soak up the warmth. This morning, Keil Bay rolled immediately after getting his blanket off, which is usually a clue that he appreciates being "naked."


I glanced out this afternoon and saw the sweetest December scene ever. Unfortunately the photo is not great as I knew they'd move if they thought I was coming out. But you get the gist:

This photo tells the story of the herd and one of its configurations. Salina, as usual is in a position of being protected. Cody and Keil Bay are resting, while Apache Moon and Rafer Johnson keep their eyes on both directions. Redford moves around like a satellite guardian, keeping watch over the entire area. 

Both from my vantage point and through the lens, the oak tree in the foreground seemed very present in this scene. The oak has the aura of strength and majesty, and here its bare branches seem to be protective over the equines. 


After a while, Cody got up, then Keil Bay laid out flat for a little while. Then he got up. It was only then that Redford took a much-needed rest - and he slept so long the herd wandered away from him to graze hay - at which point he jumped up like a little rocket man and torpedoed down the hill to Rafer.


I've been mesmerized all this week and last by the equines lying outside my window in the sunshine. One day they lined up by size, from smallest to largest, three at the time, while the other three stood with eyes pointing in three directions - except for my window. I think they know I am in here keeping my eyes on them, covering this side of the herd.

sunday catch-up and simple pleasures

I've been trying to put up a new post for two days now. We're having some internet issues and I haven't been able to upload photos, redecorate the blog for the winter season,  or do anything except check email and browse the internet!

Hopefully things will be fixed tomorrow.

Meanwhile, it has been a very cold week, a rainy and warmer weekend, and now that everything is nice and wet, a cold front is blowing in with winds which means tomorrow night's wind chill is below zero and in the single digits all of Tuesday. Thank goodness for Salina's Whinny Warmers, and for horses that grow teddy bear coats! (no need to even mention the donka boys - they are as fluffy as stuffed animals!) I am so ready to pack up and move somewhere else until this early winter shifts in a different direction. Highs in the mid-40s and lows in the mid-20s would be welcomed. I hate to say this, but I would gladly welcome a winter solstice and Christmas day with the bizarre warm temperatures we sometimes get here during the winter.

Yesterday daughter and I braved the rain and headed to a lovely little tack consignment shop that is jam-packed with riding attire, gear, tack, and home decor. There is an absolutely stunning set of china there that has driving horses and carriages. I drooled a bit over the set and also a foxhunting scene tree skirt while daughter tried on hunt coats, shirts, breeches, and stock ties. We found a very beautiful black wool coat for her that fits well. She has room to layer, a little room to grow, and it looks extremely elegant on her. We also got a white shirt and stock tie, and some tan breeches without breaking the bank.

Unfortunately, the junior hunt and hunt breakfast this coming Saturday looks like it will have a high of 38 degrees and possible rain. There is no way I would go out in that kind of weather, but I suspect they will, and she will, and I will be standing in the cold waiting for her.

It's a good thing I discovered Rita Mae Brown's foxhunting series and just finished the first, called Outfoxed. Maybe I can root around for my inner foxhunting self on Saturday when I'm totally wishing I was home by the woodstove with Rita Mae's second novel!

Today was mostly spent driving around with husband running errands. I rarely go to more than one store or shop in a day's time, as I have totally lost the ability to drive around, park, deal with crowds and those horrid lights they have in most stores, and then stand in line to buy more stuff. But we needed groceries, pine pellets, Christmas tree lights, miscellaneous this and that, and some long underwear (which I couldn't find in the right colors/sizes) so off we went. I am a devoted local shopper but sometimes we have to venture further, to the bigger stores, to find certain things. I am now an even more devoted LandsEnd and LLBean shopper than I already was. I just have to get more organized so I have time to order things enough ahead of time to allow for the shipping.

We did see a double rainbow, there was a cranberry bliss bar and latte from Starbuck's, and the bag the cranberry bliss bar came in made the entire shopping fiasco worthwhile:

Stories are gifts.

SHARE

Good food is like a good story.

With a red deer in snow banks, with huge dark brown antlers tipped with red holly berries and a white dove lighting on one antler, and snowflakes falling all around.

It was almost like a November Hill Press omen landing right in my hands.

Of all the "stuff" that came home with us in the truck, this little brown paper bag is what I have carefully made sure ended up here on my desk.

Sometimes, many times, the simple pleasures are the very best.

of what does a donkey dream?

The two little donka boys are napping in the sun this afternoon, watched over by Salina. I'm sitting here watching them, thinking how lucky I am to have such adorable family members and wishing I could just whisk them right in here with me and tuck them into my bed.

In the midst of his nap, Redford started braying. In his sleep! He kept going until Kyra Corgi barked from the back yard and woke him up.

What does a donkey boy dream about? Hay, full feed tubs, running and playing? He is sitting there right now, little donkey knees tucked tightly together, ears aimed back at Salina who has decided to come closer.