October 8 2012
Pastures are done!
Big arena, small arena and the little pasture all cleaned up! It's ready for Spring.
Finally! The pastures are cleaned up. All manure is mowed down to powder
and spread out with the rake. We finally got rain. Right on time! The rain will help to get the manure powder into the ground. Great timing!
Ron also mowed down mole hills. They create so
many bumps when you just leave them. I cleaned up the yard and organized wires,
wood left overs and garden tools. We have to buy some mole traps as they are
out of this world. Have seen some good ones on the internet that are easy to
set and not dangerous for other animals, as the trap itself is underground,
while the trap holder is above and easy to get to. We must have at least around
10 moles digging around our yard and pasture, so within a week or two we should
be able to get them out.
When we arrived at L Pine Meadow, I noticed right away that the top fence
wire was sagging. Somewhere in the woods it must have come loose. I walked down
the fence and discovered that where we had put in a connector it came loose. We
probably did not bend the wire around the connector and then they come loose
when lots of pressure is applied. A deer or moose must have run through it. We
didn’t bring our tools, because we brought them home the time before, so repair
has to be done the next time. I’m glad this happened as now we know where the
weak spot is. The other two wires are still up.
It’s so nice to see the pastures and yard cleaned up. It must be the most
organized place around. Hahaha! It will be nice to come in the Spring and not
have to do any cleaning up.
After our work in the yard and pastures, we went to see the horses. They
were still in their pen. Flicka was jumpy, longing to be with the other horses.
A lady came to get her horse and we met and talk for a while. Shirley was so
friendly and kind and I loved her horse, a nice big black mare. I tried to give
a piece of mandarin to the horse, but she had no clue what to do with it. It
was funny and Shirley and I had to laugh.
Slowly I start to meet the people that board their horses there too.
I did my first hoof trim with Freya. I watched movies about trimming your
own horse a lot and read a lot about hooves. Trimming them yourself is
different though. It’s hard work and I don’t have a hoofstand yet. It hopefully
will be here within a week or so. But even without a hoofstand I did some work
with the rasp and smoothened out some chips. I find horse hooves very
interesting and even though I made some little mistakes, holding the rasp wrong
at times, not able to keep Freya’s hoof on my leg while rasping because of
wrong posture, I still felt great afterwards. I have lots to learn yet, but I’m
determined to get the knowledge to trim my own horses.
It’s a challenge and fun!
October 4 2012
Winter taste.
The Philadelphia vireo. This little bird came to drink from the dogs water pan. So cute!
The last few days it’s a bit chilly. We have night and morning frost and
cloudy. Yep. It’s cold! We wanted to finish the big pasture yesterday, but
there was way too much wind and too cold to do anything, so we stayed home.
Today we tried, but after 10 minutes Ron drove the tractor back. The wind froze
his fingers and chin. Too cold to work in the pasture. I was cleaning up the
last things that Ron moved a week before from around the 5th wheel to next to
the shed. I went through it, re organized everything, threw out what was broken
and other garbage and put in the shed what I could. Some things can stay
outside as long it’s covered with a tarp. Next time I’m going to organize all
the smaller pieces of wood, pile them and then cover them. Lots of pieces left
over from building the shed. Good wood that we for sure will use next year for
something.
While we were having a hot chocolate, Scruffy, who was outside, started to
bark a lot. Ron looked outside and said:” We have horses coming in!”
I looked and 3 horses came running up the driveway along side the arena,
and came into our yard in full gallop. A bay, a dark grey and a white one. The
white one was a smaller pony, maybe 12/13 hh. The other two looked like 2 year
olds. The bay was wearing a web halter. I grabbed my camera out of the truck
and ran after them. They ran up to our hillside view path and when I came
there, I didn’t see them anymore.
It happens sometimes that horses escape from their pasture. A fence could
have been damaged by a moose and the owner didn’t notice it yet.
I sure hope that the owners will find their horses back. They seemed rather
confused when running through our yard. Too bad I couldn’t catch them. If Freya
and Flicka would have been in the pasture, those horses probably would have
stayed around and we would have time to find the owners.
Before we left, I took Scruffy for a walk. When I came back, Ron was
waiting in the truck, and was taking photo’s of a little bird. It was sitting
at the pan with water that we have there for the dog. It was drinking water and
just looking at us. Not scared at all. I looked up what kind of bird it is.
It’s a Philadelphia Vireo. They will fly south for winter. It’s a pretty little
bird!
We also saw lots of geese in the big dugout we always pass. When we drove
by, they panicked an all flew up in the sky. What a beautiful sight it was!
September 28 2012
Preparing horses for the move.
Ron took this picture of the Chickadee. It had a drink from the dogs water bowl. LOL
It was the last day for the horses to spend on our acreage so we prepared
them for the move. The farrier was there already when we arrived in the
afternoon. He’s always earlier then the time we have the appointment. Have to
love a farrier like that! I’ve had them that just wouldn’t show up, were too
late or even never answered my phone call for an appointment.
He comes every 5 weeks because of Freya’s hooves. If she isn’t trimmed
regular, they start to crack badly and with the dry weather we have the last
few months, we can’t mess with this. She needs to be done. Flicka’s hooves are
dry too, but they are hardy and can have a lot. She never had any problems for
that. Freya’s hooves were terribly neglected when I bought her because she was
never trimmed in her 4 years of life. How people can let that go I don’t
understand. She had like cow feet....2 hooves on one foot. It took over a year
to get them better but it seems it always will be her weak spot.
The horses were great for trimming. They are very used to the routine of
regular trims for years and I worked a lot with them to get them calm and quiet
with the farrier.
No farrier likes to work with an adult horse that doesn’t stand still for
him. By the time a horse is an adult, they should be able to do that. Lots of
people never work with their horses feet and the poor farrier has to deal with
pulling, leaning, rearing and falling horses. I’ve seen it happen. If I
was that farrier I would have said: “ Ok, I will come back as soon you have
worked with your horse on giving their feet. “ I suppose you have to have lots
of patience to be a farrier. Not just for those untrained horses, but for the
people that own those horses and are too lazy to work with them. Of course
there are always the abused horses or horses with bad experience for trimming
feet. It can take a long time to get a horse with a past getting over their
fear. Any farrier will understand a case like that.
Anyway....the girls are done. I dewormed them right away after too. After
giving them their hay, Ron and I left and went for some fishing at the river.
It was lots of fun and we caught lots of fish. (We always throw them back to
grow bigger.)
The weather was so beautiful so taking advantage of that. Winter comes
soon enough, right?
Yesterday it was the big day....moving the horses to their winter spot. Ron
and I went early so I had time to feed the horses and get them haltered and
ready to go. Ron did some more cleaning up around the 5th wheel. While he was
doing that, a squirrel came over and was watching him, sitting on one of the
tires of the 5th wheel. Ron was talking to him and the little thing was just
sitting there, listening. He seemed so curious, and we thought he wanted to
come closer! Then the horse trailer drove up the driveway so I took a quick
photo of Ron and the squirrel. So cute!
Wendy, the lady of the property, turned the trailer right away and parked
it. She helped me with getting the girls in, as I’m not experienced enough to
do it fast and confident. Because the horses weren’t in a trailer since like 3
years ago, and I have no trailer, it could get a little tricky, so the girls
would be better off with someone that knows what they are doing.
Of course Flicka was freaking out in the arena when she saw the trailer
driving into the yard. Calling and running up and down the fence, totally
nervous about it. She knows a trailer could bring or take a horse so that makes
her very exited.
Freya was just looking and called a few times. She’s so much more laid back
for everything.
Wendy took Freya first. I had to keep Flicka back as she was trying to go
with us out of the little gate. But swinging a rope towards her made her back
up. She knows the rope and that she should not get in its way or it will hit
her. In the past she would try to run you over but she got more respect since I
worked her on that. But still....when she gets right brained as they call it,
it’s not easy to ‘get’ to her.
Freya followed Wendy towards the trailer and Wendy took her time to let
Freya smell and get familiar with it. I was at the side, and it was funny how
Freya would look at me lots, like she wanted to know if I was ok with all this.
Hahaha! So sweet. She would step into the trailer with her front feet.
But she did not want to put her back feet in. Wendy said it would be good
to use a little pressure and she got a stick with a plastic bag. I took Freya
in and the bag helped to get her to step in all the way. Then I turned her
around and let her out again. Wendy told me it was good to do this, to show the
horse it’s not that big of a deal and things are ok.
Second time Wendy took her in and I handled the flag. Freya went in again
and Wendy could tie her.
Freya did not like to be alone in the trailer and got restless.
Now it was Flicka’s turn. Wendy needed to work with Flicka a bit to get her
attention. After 5 minutes Flicka was finally getting the message and followed
Wendy. It did not take much to get Flicka in the trailer. Wendy took her in,
then out again.Then in again. Flicka didn’t need the extra pressure from the
bag. For going in she did better then Freya. Working with her before with the
step up must have helped a bit. But I did not do that with Freya. Wendy waited
in the trailer with Flicka until she would relax some, then tied her. Then we
closed the trailer door and it was done! It didn’t take long at all, thanks to
Wendy. She has a great and calm way of handling horses and I learned a lot from her in
those few minutes.
We left the acreage and after a half hour drive we arrived at Wendy’s
place. Unloading the horses went easy and the girls behaved nicely. We put
them in a separate pen where they will stay for a week. They can meet the herd
from over the fence and get to know each other slowly. I like the slow
introduction. Gives the girls some time to settle too.
Wendy gave the horses some hay and minerals and then she discovered a part
of the fence of the pen needed some repair. I helped her, as things like that
are easier with two people. Plus it was nice to be around the girls for a while
too. In no time we were done.
After we did the paper work that comes with boarding, and then Ron and I
left. We had a rest at home and later in the afternoon we went fishing again.
It’s nice to relax at the water for a few hours. It was 26c and sunny. Another
beautiful warm fall day. Fishing was lots of fun. We left when the sun went
down and the full moon was already up.
Next time we can start preparing the acreage for winter.
September 26 2012
Beautiful Fall Day.
Young Bald Eagle.
On our way we saw a young Bald Eagle. He was sitting in a tree, looking
around. So neat! We’ve seen adult ones but this is the first time we saw a
young one. I had to look it up to find out what kind of bird it was. It seems
that Bald Eagles get their mature colors/markings when they are 5 years old.
What a great weather we have. Today it was around 20c and hardly any wind.
Such a joy to spend time at L Pine Meadow. We sure will miss it during winter.
The bugs are so much less now too. A few bumble bees and a couple of wasps and
flies, but nothing to write home about. The night frost dealt with most of
them. I still wipe the horses before riding though, because the little flies
are still bad for them.
I had a great ride with Freya and Flicka today and they did wonderful. I
really enjoyed my time with them. After lunch, soup with some bread, Ron and I
touched up the shed. The roof is painted now too. Extra protection from rain
and snow.
We only have to add a small edge at the front part of the roof, and then
it’s all done for this year. Next year we will build the lean-to.
While I was painting I heard some noises coming from one of the water
containers. First I thought it was a mouse, trapped in the container. But then
I thought the jumps I heard were way to noisy for a mouse. Ah.... a squirrel!
Poor thing fell into the container and couldn’t get out of course, as those
things are huge. I called Ron and together we put the container on its side.
The little squirrel ran to an opening and stuck his head through it, staring at
Ron. Ron talked to him and after a few seconds it dared to come out and run
into the woods. He was soaked! Aw!
We put the other container also on its side and next time we will put them
up side down. We don’t want more animals falling into them. So sad! I’m glad
I’ve heard this little squirrel so we could save him.
We also have put up some No Trespassing signs. Hunting season started. With
Flicka, from a distance, looking like a moose and Freya like a deer or
Elk......better keep the hunters out of our yard and let them know people and
animals live here!
Oh...the cats are totally used to be inside again. When we open up one of
the doors, they look, but don’t try to get out. They are sitting on their usual
spots at the windows and couches, enjoying their cuddles and lap time with
us.
They are totally indoor lap cats again and they love it.
We’re glad these cats are so versatile and flexible. LOL
September 23 2012
A hard days work.
Red Robins in the Saskatoon Berry Bush. They love the berries!
Hunter and Taz are home again. We had put them in the little travel kennel
and on our way home they were so calm and quiet. At home we let Polly out for a
bit to give the other two the chance to look around without her growling and
hissing at them.
After looking around and their supper, they found their usual spot to
sleep. It didn’t take them long to feel at ease. Polly needs more time to get
used to the ‘intruders’. But that’s Polly. Always a little grumpy when things
change around her. She will get used to them again. Hunter finally starts to be
a little cleaner too. Her white fur was more grey from rolling in the sand all
the time. Taz is helping her a lot with washing and slowly she turns white
again where it should be white. Hahaha!
I’m glad both cats are home again after many weeks doing a good job at
their farm chores: catching mice and moles.
Today we took Scruffy to the acreage again. She was so exited! During our
ride she was looking out of the truck window, staring to the sky, in the hope
to see gees. When she did, she told us with a little bark. She’s so cute!
Ron and I have done a lot today. Ron emptied the little tent shed and moved
the things to the new shed with the garden tractor. He put everything outside
the shed and I sorted the stuff and organized it in the shed. I also cleaned
out the little space between the two water containers that we used as storage
last winter. A lot of stuff could go in the garbage. We are one of those people
that always save things, just in case you never know. Hahaha. Well...if you
don’t use it for a year and it’s not something to sell....then it’s garbage,
right?
I forgot to take the drill so we were not able to put up some shelves. Next
time! But everything is in the shed now and it’s organized. We are able to see
what we have. A lot of work it was. But I’m happy it’s done.
We still have to tidy up around the trailer and the part of the yard where
the shed is. There is fence wire everywhere that needs to be re-organized so
it’s ready for use next year when we fence of the last big pasture.
With 1 small and 2 big pastures we can rotate the horses so the grass get a
chance to grow after being grazed on. Now it’s not a big deal as they only will
be one more week at L Pine Meadow. Once the horses are to their winter spot,
Ron and I will clean out the pastures and get it all ready for next Spring.
Ron will use the garden tractor to mow over the dried up manure and I will rake
it to spread it out. That way the pastures will get fertilized and next years
grass should be better.
After all our work, it was time to relax a little. Ron was so sweet to
untangle my beautiful Butterfly Kite. It took him at least an half hour! He had
it all ready for me when I was done with organizing the shed.
I love to fly a kite. So much fun!
I started to fly the kite along side the pasture, to show the horses.
Well...they didn’t like it so much at first. The flapping noises above them
made them spook a lot. but after a while they got used to it. Then my kite
crashed into the high trees. Aw! Can’t get it out. The tree where it’s in is
too small to climb in. We could cut down the tree, but the kite will probably
just rip because the two tails are tangled in other trees. Really too bad. It
took Ron longer to untangle the tails then it was in the air.
Oh well. What can you do huh? But for the time it was flying it was a lot
of fun!
Today Ron and I went fishing for a bit at the Dam. I caught 5 pike, Ron
caught 1 pike and 1 walleye. The fish were biting good. It was very exiting
because they would jump right in front of us, catching flies and other bugs.
Pikes are such a good hunters! Of course, like always, after catching we threw
the fish back to grow more.
While we were fishing, 3 muskrats were swimming along side the river banks,
looking for food. One of them came right at me. He wasn’t scared at all. He
must have been a young one, never met people that would harm him. He was
sitting just a meter from me, eating something while he was looking at me. So
cute! It gave me a great opportunity to get good pictures.
It was a beautiful day to spend at the water. It was sunny and nice and
warm. A perfect afternoon!
September 22 2012
Fall is here!
There it is....our first building! I'm so proud! :-)
It’s Fall. The leaves of the trees are changing colors and there is a kind
of trees that already lost all their leaves!
Our vegetable garden is ready to be emptied of old plants as also the
sunflowers are gone. Surprised by the night frost. Too bad as I hoped for lots
of seeds. Oh well....have to buy them next year.
The shed is finished! YAY! I’m so happy. The little window is in, framed
and with shutters and we hung up my Dutch planter right under the window. I had
some fake flowers and put those in. It looks sooooo cute!
The door is in too. It has a handle and we use for now a block of wood to
lock it. We wanted to use a different lock but that didn’t work out. We have to
buy something different but for now the block works great.
I closed up the gaps and Ron filled up any smaller gaps with cocking. There
are still some little things we have to do on the inside, like making shelves,
and close up some floor gaps, but the outside is done. It only needs a little
paint touch up here and there.
Next time we can put all our stuff in.
After we were done with the shed, I rode Freya for over an half hour and
she did great. She was a little clumsy, tripping a lot, and she felt bumpy too.
I did lunged her before the ride, but it was like she didn’t had her day. She
even got a piece of carrot stuck in one of her teeth. Hahaha! It took her a
while to chew it away. Just one of those days I suppose. But she did her best,
gave me some good trots, calm walks, wonderful soft in the turns and I was very
pleased. Not bad for a horse that used to bolt. The clicker is a very powerful
training tool.
Taz and Hunter were both at L Pine Meadow. Today was their last day there
as we took them home when we left. It’s getting cold with some night frost now.
Because Taz takes a hike so now and then, and stays away for 3 or 4 days,
Hunter is alone and has nobody to keep her warm at night. So when we saw Taz,
we decided to take them both home for the winter months.
The horses will be moved very soon to their winter place too. They will
get the hay fed that we have stored, until they move. I think they will eat it
all before they go, which is good. My hard work to make those tiny bales was
worth it. The horses love it!
We’re getting our acreage ready for winter. How fast this summer went by.
Next year this time we should have our cabin up and running and we will be
able to stay over night many times and all year long, as we will heat it with a
nice woodstove. We have seen such nice ones! It will be difficult to decide
which one to buy. One thing is for sure....it will be a very cozy cabin!
September 18 2012
Horsy time and shed work.
Can't wait to put in the window and door. :-)
The last week we did a lot of work on the shed. The roof is done and all
walls are up. I have finished painting the outside walls and the floor is
screwed tight. It starts to look awesome! Maybe it’s not the best shed in the
world but I’m proud of it. It will do its job to keep our things out of the
winter weather. In fact....this little building project gives me visions of
building the horse shelter/stable and a cute 8 wall gazebo with screen windows.
But the first thing we will start to build in the Spring is our cabin. Ron has
some ideas of how we’re going to do that and did some drawing for the
measurements and lay out. Can’t wait to start with it. It will be so much fun!
One of the days when we were on our way to L Pine Meadow, we saw a hawk
flying over the ditch at the side of the road. He (or she) was clearly hunting.
Flying low, making fast movements from right to left. Ron slowed down the truck
and so I could make some photo’s but only one came out not too bad. It was
beautiful to watch.
I got a winter place arranged for the horses. Around half of October they
will be picked up with a trailer. It’s a beautiful place with many other horses
and the people are so friendly. It’s only like 10 minutes more driving then to
our place, so not too bad at all.
Flicka was always good for going in the trailer and for unloading. A few
years ago she suddenly changed and got difficult to trailer. She had a few
accidents because of trying to run out of the trailer and even though not hurt
too bad, it still was enough to make her more scared. It made me so nervous
after a while that I sold my little 2 horse trailer. Freya never was a problem
for loading but I have to work with Flicka. She’s older now and more mature and
had lots of training the last few years too. But still....we need to practice
before the pick up.
I build a simulation of a horse trailer and start working Flicka to get on
the step up and stand nice and calm. I teach her this with help of clicker
training and I must say that she is a very eager student. As soon I take her
out of the pen she will trot to go to the step up. Hahaha! Have to love that.
We still have lots of time to practice but she’s doing so great now that
I’m not too worried anymore. If she does have a problem with loading, we just
have to take our time. When it really doesn’t go well, we can always use panels
to get her in.
I also had some Skype lessons again with Leslie Pavlich from Arizona, USA.
I did her 4 horse clicker training courses and after I completed those I joined
the CT5 Elite Group. We all have done the courses and are advanced students in
clicker training with the Pavlich Method. She helped me in a great way with
Flicka and Freya and now I take Skype lessons to continue the training of
Freya. Freya is an advanced clicker horse, but very green for riding. Leslie
knows Freya well from our courses and it’s nice to have a teacher that does
clicker training. Leslie amazes me as she can see within a minute what kind of
mood/attitude my horse has.
Our Skype lesson today was great. Freya did very well and it was lots of
fun. We had good Skype connection and Leslie had a good view on my little
riding arena. Ron made a little holder for the phone and speakers, as before
sometimes Leslie would fall down. I would say to her while I was riding Freya:
” I have rather you falling down then me!” LOL
Ron dug out all our potatoes, a total of around 8/10 kg. Not bad for a
sandy soil garden. Probably those potatoes cost us more then buying a bag in
the store but that’s ok. The garden was just a try out. Next year we will put
in dirt and fertilizer and things should grow much better then this year. We
also lost lots of tomatoes due to night frost. But lucky we did are some of
them and the peppers were still good. We ate those and they were tasty!
Ron also cleaned up the yard and put away the screen room. It was rather messy since the last storm.
It's looks nice and tidy again. Slowly we're preparing the yard for winter.
This weekend we can put a lot of things in the shed for storage.
Grass in the pasture is getting low. It’s not too bad for our horses, as
they get fat from air it seems at times. But I do feed them some extra food in
the form of the hay bales I made (come in handy now!) and hay/alfalfa cubes.
It’s only a few more weeks before they move for winter and we have spots in the
yard where we can let them graze for a while when we are at the acreage.
Taz is gone for a couple of days now. If she’s not back this coming
weekend, we’re taking Hunter home. We don’t like her to be alone out there. She
seems to do well, catching lots of mice and a bird here and there. She sleeps
in the dog house that we put on a table, far from the ground, and she loves
that for sure. It has a thick couch cushion and blanket and it’s totally
sheltered. But still....all by herself it’s a little lonely. The nights get
colder too and without her sister to cuddle up with, it could be a little
chilly for her.
When we are there, she can’t wait for Ron to sit down so she can curl
up on his lap to be petted and have a nap. Very cute!
September 11 2012
So Windy!
Our screen room didn't survive the 75 km ph winds.
Today is a day to remember the people that died in the twin towers in New
York USA in 2001. It was a terrible thing and I remember that day very well.
Ron and I were still living in The Netherlands that time. It was scary to watch
the burning towers on television, not knowing if there would be more attacks
and we had even thoughts of another world war coming because of this.
Especially because this wasn’t an accident but a real attack with the purpose
to kill all those innocent people and take the towers down. Very very scary. I
know I will never forget the first time I saw on TV the planes, hitting the
towers, and the smoking buildings and footage of people jumping out of the huge
towers.
Yesterday we went fishing. The last time we did that was July 1st, on our
10th wedding anniversary. It was great to be at the river again. The water
level was very low at the dam and also at the over flow which is a few minutes
up the river. Ron caught 3 pike and I had 2. It was so much fun! It was windy
but where we were fishing it was quiet sheltered.
The wind is crazy the last few days. We went to L Pine Meadow and when we
were coming closer to where the horses were grazing, they didn’t hear us
coming until Ron honked the horn! They spooked a little, then were happy to see
us and start to run. Silly ponies. Hahaha. When we arrived at the yard, we
noticed right away our screen room was blown down totally. One of the little
cables ripped. We didn’t bother to set it up as the wind was still going full
blast. It won’t go anywhere so we just left the stuff for next time. Wind gusts
are up to 75 km ph. Very very noisy when the wind rushes through the trees,
rustling the leaves.
But the shed was fine! It’s in a very protected part of the yard and
doesn’t get much of the west wind. I’m glad I choose that part of the yard to
put a building.
At home we had cut the pieces on size for the shed and we started to put
up the top sides and the last piece of the floor. We also cut out one little
window and cut out the frame for it. We made one mistake. When screwing on the
one top side part, we did it the wrong way. Our drill battery has to be
recharged so we left it for now. It’s not much work to take this part off and
turn it the right way.
Hunter was so happy to see us. She came out of the doghouse when she heard
us and stayed with us all the time after she ate the food I gave her. Taz
wasn’t there. She must have gone hunting. Sometimes she stays away for a day,
then comes back again for a few days. She likes to explore the environment more
then Hunter does. I noticed some dead mice in the yard. They are doing their
work well!
It look like the wind will go down soon. That’s nice as I can’t wait for my
next Skype lesson with Leslie. When it’s that windy, I don’t ride. Too
dangerous with flying branches around and spooky horses.
The big paper wasp nest we had is gone. It must have blown away with our
last storm. We looked for it and found some pieces here and there but it’s
totally ruined. I’m glad that one is gone. It was huge!
Since this nest is gone, we have less wasps around the water tub of the
horses too.
The horses don’t like wasps. When they fly around them, they get nervous.
They know a wasp sting hurts. When I was getting ready to ride Flicka and
wanted to mount her, she noticed this wasp flying around her belly. She got
nervous and I couldn’t mount until the wasp was gone. She would step away from
the wasp, looking at it with her ears back. They won’t come too close as I put
fly repellant on them, but a wasp is annoying and won’t give up quick to find a
spot to land on.
Once the wasp was gone, Flicka stood still and I could get in the saddle. I
totally understood her jumpy behaviour and didn’t rush her to stand still for
me. She always does, and if she doesn’t, I just know there is a good reason for
it.
September 9 2012
Warm days, cold nights.
Shed progress :-) Getting there!
I did not expect it, but all the sunflower seeds that I planted in Spring
at the sides of the driveway entrance, are in bloom now. It’s amazing. Never
gave them water and it’s dry dry dry the last couple of weeks. It looks great
and we will have lots of seeds for next Spring! It looks beautiful when coming
into our driveway.
I rode Freya a few times and also took her out for a little trail walk. I
also let her graze without a lead rope and even though she would follow me for
a while, soon she figured that the fresh growing alfalfa was too tempting.
Hahaha!
Ron and I worked on the new shed. Ron got some sheets for the floor, roof
and walls and we put most of it on. The heaviest to do was the roof to get the
sheets on top. But they are screwed on and it looks awesome. It only needs one
more sheet at the lean too part.
We have to frame the window, make the door and cut some sheets on size, and
once those are screwed on, I can paint the shed. It starts to look great!
During the day we had wonderful temperatures. But oh boy...did it ever went
down at night! It was only 5c! Our furnace is not working and Ron can’t figure
out what is the problem. So we heated up the trailer with the stove burners,
but you can’t do that all night. We woke up a few times from the cold and had
to get up to put the burners on for a few minutes. When Ron woke up in the
morning , he asked me if it snowed yet. Hahaha! Yep, it felt that cold!
Later in the day the temperatures went up to 26c. So hot! That’s is
Saskatchewan. Just have to love it.
September 5 2012
Windy times!
Working on the roof of the shed.
When we arrived at LPine Meadow, the first thing we noticed was that our
newest gate was down. It didn’t had a lock yet, just a rope to tie it with to
the post. It came off and because we had very strong winds, the gate must have
banged so much that the bottom hinge came off the gate and it fell off. For now
I tied the gate with several ropes and we will fix it next weekend.
Entering out driveway is a joy. At both sides my sunflowers are blooming so
beautiful! I wasn’t sure it would grow as many of the seeds are rather old.
But...they came up and even though I hardly water them, they now all start to
be in bloom. I have to make some photo’s of them soon.
The frame of the shed is ready for walls and roof! I made some mistakes and
had to redo a few things, but now it’s good enough and can be finished. At the
back of the shed, I’m going to make a ‘lean to’, so we have a place to store
our garden tractor. It will be easy accessible and during summer we can use it
to store our snow blower. At one side of the shed I want to make a wood storage
place. It will be very multi purpose!
I’ve got a window I can frame and put in at one side, the side that looks
out on the yard. (later I will put shutters at the sides and hang a planter
with flowers under the window)
But...I’m going ahead too much. First walls, floor, roof and a door. That
could take some time and lots of cutting. I did not measure before I started,
just put the 4 pallets down and worked around them. It will work, just needs a
little more time.
I was having a break in the 5th wheel and suddenly I saw an bald eagle
flying over. I went out with the camera, but too late...he flew over the trees
and out of sight. Amazing and beautiful prey bird! Later I saw a squirrel
playing behind the 5th wheel, running around and then quickly left into the
trees. So cute to watch those little critters. They are getting used to us now
we’re here almost daily.
The most amazing thing that happened today was that we saw an Elk! First I
thought I saw Freya walking through the woods right across from our 5th wheel.
I said to Ron:”It looks like something is walking through the woods there!” I
pointed towards the thin trees that are losing their leaves already. Ron
thought it was an Elk and it sure was. It was way to light colored for a deer.
Deer still have their red brown coat and this was more like a dun color. I went
outside with my camera, but like often happens, too late. The Elk disappeared
into the deeper woods. We know there are lots of Elk around this area. In fall
I often can hear the male making his mating calls. But never saw one up to this
day. So cool!
When I was working on the shed again a whole bunch of tiny chickadees were
looking for insects right next to the shed. I just had to stop working for a
minute to watch them going around an old tarp and pick bugs. I also saw the
squirrel that must have a nest near the shed as he’s always showing up when I
come near and starts to ‘ tjirp and makes his alarming sounds. At times I just
stop with what I’m doing and start to talk to him. He (or she) is very curious
and will come in sight and keep an eye on my while making the most loud sounds.
I don’t go to close to ‘his’ (or her) trees. I hope the squirrels around the
yard will come to trust me enough to not be alarmed too much when I come
around. It’s not an easy task because they don’t like the cats and they are
following me around most of the time.
Talking about cats...Taz was not in the yard when we arrived. But she
showed up late at night. I woke up and made myself a tea. When I looked out at
the yard, that was lit up again by the moon, I saw Hunter rolling in the grass
and there was Taz....walking on top of the water tank in the back of the truck!
I was happy to see her. She’s so much like her mother, Lapje, was. I just hope
she won’t end the same way and run off for good one day.
While I was having my tea, I noticed the yard would get lit up and then get
a little darker again. I looked at the sky and there I saw beautiful northern
lights. I enjoyed a magnificent show of green and white lights in the form of
little round clouds or long pillars, dancing around, suddenly appearing and
just as fast disappearing again. I will never get tired of watching northern
lights.
Ron had made a very good stew at home the day before, and we had it for our
supper this night with some bread. He had cut up some of our fresh tomatoes
and some cucumber we got from our friend Tracy. What a lovely meal! It tasted
great and the red wine went so well with it! We had some pudding as dessert and
I was FULL! How can I loose weight when the food is so wonderful!
Hahaha!
At sunset I went to visit the horses. Because of the wind, the mosquito’s
and horse flies were hardly there. Flicka and Freya both came when I called
them from the big pasture. I petted them and silly Hunter walked into the
pasture and started to role in front of the horses. Freya came closer to see
what this strange ‘skunk’ looking creature was doing in her pasture. Hunter
just looked at her and I told her to get out of there. Slowly she got up and
then saw Freya’s nose coming closer. That made her run! Hahaha!
The horses had a good drink, then went back to the pasture to enjoy a nice
bug-less night.
During the evening Ron had a rest and I read a little , then listened to
the radio. Sometimes it’s just nice to have no TV or computer. I start reading
books again that I did read years ago and which are worth to read again.
Flowers in the Attic from Virginia Andrews is one I just finished. Now I
continue with the following books of this series.
Ron and I like to listen sometimes to the radio. At times there are
interesting interviews, historical facts or funny stories told.
Oh, Penny arrived safely at her new home! The people just love her and are
very happy with all the good ground work that I had done with Penny and the
lady said she will continue the training soon. Penny seem to get used to the
little kids and love all the attention they give to her. I’m so glad the
trailering and travel went good and that Penny is getting settled now at her
new place.
It’s never fun to let a horse go, but to know they are welcomed into a new
loving home where they will get cared for with love, it makes the pain much
easier.
So now it’s just Flicka and Freya and they are doing great.
This afternoon, before we left, I was changing their water and while
waiting for that, I did some clicker training. No halters or lead rope during
our ‘water time’.
I found it way too windy to ride but playing a little at liberty I don’t
mind and they didn’t neither.
It’s nice to do a little work with both of them at the same time. I let
them back up together, going after the ball next to each other, and as last I
let them soak their hooves in the wet spot near the water tub. (I always throw
out the old water around the tub) Flicka who really doesn’t like wet feet,
stood with both feet right into the puddle! What a great girl and always so
willing to work with the clicker. Freya was doing great too but Flicka made me
laugh today. She wanted to work hard for her click and lifted up one leg,
planning to put her hoof into the water tub. Hahaha! So I said, no...that is
not what I want you to do. Please keep your water tub clean!! So she moved away
and I clicked and treated her for doing so.
I also brushed them. Then I cleaned their udders. When you never clean
your horses udder....try it one time and see how much dirt comes of it. Where
the skin touches you have to go between and there is where it all collects.
Especially during summer time with the flies it’s important to clean it out
regular.
I had a small bucket filled up with warm water and I had two cloths, one
for each horse. I first wiped Flicka and after she was done I did Freya. I’m so
happy they are so easy to handle and let me touch them anywhere on their body.
Wonderful girls!
By the time I was done with the horses, the water tub was filled up.
Time to water the garden. Our cherry tomatoes are done, I can remove those.
The big tomatoes are still growing, as well is the green curly kale and
potatoes. The rest is not worth watering anymore. Next year our garden will be
better.
After the water tank was emptied, Ron and I packed up and I took Scruffy
for one more walk. Once at the hills she took off and I walked back alone. We
had to wait a while before she decided to come back. Hahaha! But it’s good for
her to have a great run.
I let her sit when I opened the door of the back seat. She is so exited to
go into the truck that sometimes she just pushes through and hurt herself
somehow. She sat nicely and then I said Go! Scruffy jumped into the truck and
we went home again. We had a terrific time as always when we are on our little
place in ‘the middle of nowhere’.
September 2 2012
Busy days!
A couple tomatoes from our garden. Mmmm!
We had some busy but wonderful days at our acreage.
When I visited my friend Carol last week, she gave me some Global Peace Flags. They
are hand made in Kathmandu, Nepal. The idea of the flags is as they wave in the
wind, prayer/peace flags lift up and carry our wishes for compassion, peace and
healing around the earth. Prayer flags encourage us to live more mindfully and
help us to restore our own inner calm. A more peaceful world still must begin
in each of us, one open heart at a time.
A very nice present! I hung them up in the trees that look out on our yard.
They look so joyfully!
Ron and I had a tea and we were talking about what chores we would do that
day. Ron wanted to tidy up around the 5th wheel. But....where to put
everything? My mind was working and working and then I said: “ I’m going to
build a shed! I don’t know how and with what, but I’m going to build something
to store our things for coming winter. “
We have a little tent shed, but the roof part is ripped in the last storm,
so not that good for another winter.
While I would start with building a shed, Ron would make some more trails
in the back of our property.
I put 4 pallets together in a square. Then I took a couple of garden ties,
dig holes at the corners and in the middle and put the ties in there. I leveled
them and then attached them with 2x4’s.
Then I ran out of 2x4’s and by that time it was time for supper anyway. Ron
had made lots of trails. They are going up and down hill and all around. I
have 4 points where I can enter the trails from our yard.
The sunset was breath taking with beautiful colors. I was walking around
and the cats were following me like usual. They love to go for a walk with me.
More then the dog. She rather stays around the trailer most of the time. I
found a mole hill and showed the cats the entrance. They had killed a big mole
the day before as I found it in the arena. Right away the cats were smelling in
the hill entrance. I hope they will catch lots of them as they are every where.
No gophers or ground squirrels .....but lots of moles.
The next morning I was sitting in the trailer, looking outside towards the
little path going to the hills. Suddenly I saw a deer crossing the path heading
for the woods. That was so nice!
Later Ron and I had a tea outside and we noticed Taz climbing the frame of
the new shed. She went right on top of one of the poles and just sat there,
enjoying her view! LOL
I noticed a lot of dead mice around the yard. The cats are doing a good
job! They kill them but not eat them. But that’s ok. I throw them into the
woods.
Ron made some more trails while I was getting the horses ready. Penny would
be picked up today. I left Flicka in the pasture because she gets so exited
when a trailer comes, and took Penny and Freya in the arena. I had put fresh
water in the bowel in the arena for them. Then I wiped all 3 with Wipe because
the flies were bad again. Right away after the Wipe they relaxed. I gave all 3
a good brush and some hoof heal oil.
By the time I was done, Ron was back from making trails and we had a cool
drink while waiting for the horse trailer.
When the trailer arrived, I asked the lady to turn around so the sun would
shine in the trailer and not hit Penny’s eyes. It would make the trailer more
dark for her. So the lady turned the trailer around. We got Penny out of the
arena and showed her the trailer. The lady tried to get Penny in, but Penny
wasn’t trailered in 1.5 year and I don’t know if she was trailered much before
that. Probably not, as she was still very young.
Penny put one foot in the trailer, then changed her mind and stepped back.
The lady tried with continues pressure to get her to go forward, but Penny made
up her mind she wasn’t ready yet. I went to get my treat bag and clicker. When
Penny stepped forward to the trailer, I clicked and treated her. She smelled
the trailer floor, and I clicked and treated again. Penny understood the new
game! She put her two front feet in the trailer, click and treat. Then she
walked into the trailer like it was nothing! That was a jackpot with double
treats for her. I went to close the divider and the lady went out of the escape
door. Penny was snorting in the trailer, and I gave her a few more treats and
talked to her to let her know it’s ok.
The lady left with Penny and Flicka and Freya were just calling and
calling, wondering where their friend went.
But after a few minutes they calmed down.
Ron made a lovely brunch with fried eggs on toast, sausage and potatoes. We
were both hungry and it tasted wonderful. After I went to get Flicka ready for
a nice ride on the new trails. I put Freya back in the pasture and took Flicka
in the arena. I put some more Wipe on her and after another quick brush I
saddled her up and lunged her a little and then cinched her up again. I took
her out of the arena and got in the saddle. We walked towards the trails. Ron
went ahead with the tractor as he wanted to make a little movie of our first
ride on the new trails. Flicka did wonderful! She was happy to be out and was
looking around to all the new things. She used to be so spooky when near trees
or bushes. Well...she did not spook once! What a good girl. The trails go up
and down hill a lot so we had good exercise! It’s very different riding from
flat surface. Good for our muscles! The views were so beautiful. Flicka
listened so well and was very light. It’s always a joy to ride this little
girl.
We rode for 20 minutes and then went back. I took the saddle off and
brushed her off a little. It was very warm with a good breeze and as soon
Flicka was back in the pasture, she took a good long drink.
After a break I cleaned out the water tub of the horses and filled it up
with fresh water. Meantime Ron cleaned up the 5th wheel and got our things
ready to take home later.
I played a little with the horses while waiting for the water tub to be
filled up. Then I saw a big frog hopping through the grass in the pasture! So
cute! He hopped right towards the woods.
As last I watered the garden and picked the tomatoes that were ready. After
that we loaded our things in the truck, got the dog and went home. As I
said....busy but wonderful days.
Maybe the flags had something to do with it! :-)
August 30 2012
Squirrel adventure
Taz and Hunter enjoying the morning sun. So cute!
Yesterday after our supper, I looked outside as I saw something coming from
the woods behind our trailer. A tiny squirrel ran right into our screen room.
It wanted to go straight ahead, then was stopped by the screen bottom flaps. It
started to panic and ran around the screen room. Our cat Hunter was sitting
outside the screen room that time and started to run after the squirrel. I
jumped up to help and then noticed he was in the little kids pool with water,
that we have in the screen room. We have some very hot days of 26c to 32c and
I love to sit in it and cool off for a bit. The poor squirrel must have thought
it could walk on water. Probably this was his first bath ever, as there is no
water around our acreage. He swam like a champ though and was able to climb out
without making holes in the soft plastic the pool is made off.
First we took Hunter and Taz in the trailer, as they were now both after
the squirrel. Ron kept them in while I looked for something to help the
squirrel. I found a piece of wood next to our deck.
I went into the screen room, holding the square piece of wood in front of
me. The squirrel was hanging in a top corner, so scared and totally soaked from
his bath. I held the piece of wood in front of him, pushing it on his back
legs. He turned around and while I was talking softly to him, I tried to get
him to put his feet on the wood, and he did. I kept the wood as still as
possible and carried the squirrel to an opening at the bottom where the zipper
wasn’t fully closed. He jumped off and ran back into the woods.
I was so happy I could help this little baby squirrel. He was so cute!
Earlier that day we had found a dead bird and a piece of squirrel tail
under the trailer. The cats had some hunting done the day before.
The day before yesterday I had a Skype meeting with Leslie, a horse clicker
trainer from Arizona, USA. Skype is amazing. We can talk and she can see me
while I was riding and working with Freya, my Norwegian Fjord horse. We’re
working on getting her softer to respond on my reins. She did very well. We
ended our meeting right on time as the wind was popping up and dark clouds came
our way.
We had no rain or thunder storm but the wind was awful. I think the gusts
were around 60 km ph and it’s a miracle our screen room didn’t blew over! It
had before, but lucky no damaged and it was easy to set it up again. We tied it
to our swing and I think that did the job.
Today we also had lots of wind so no riding. I hate riding in hard wind,
and I don’t care if people say you still should ride. My horses get spooky and
like to be in the open when it’s blowing so hard. So I let them be and did
other things. I made a gate that goes from the half arena to the driveway. Ron
helped me to hang it up in the hinges and after I painted it. It looks awesome
and I’m very happy with it. Soon we will start to put wood all around the fence
just like the big arena and remove the wire we use at the moment. But for now
this works.
Ron went with the ride on mower behind the woods to create some more trail
paths for me. It will be so nice to go riding with Flicka on this trail as it
goes through little hills and trees and bush. It will be fun!
We have lots of wasps around at the moment. It’s the hot dry summer we have
that makes them thrive. I don’t like wasps at all. Bumble bees I don’t mind so
much, but wasps....not my bug. I was very happy with all that wind today, as it
kept them away most of the time. Same with horse flies and mosquito’s. I didn’t
need to wipe the horses with bug repellant so that was good.
The horse water tub is cleaned out today and filled up with fresh water. I
do that once a week and refresh their water twice a week. Old water I throw on
the ground near the ground rods to keep it moist. That way the fence stays hot
as ground rods need moist to work properly.
The night was clear with a beautiful full moon. Our yard was partly lit up
and it was as bright as during late dusk or early dawn. Once in bed with the
lights off, we could still see around us as the trailer was lit up too. The
farmers are very busy to get their crops in and we could hear them until past
midnight working on the fields eight kilometers away from us. The strong winds
carried the sounds of the many huge combines all the way to our yard. When we
went home the next afternoon, all fields in that particular area were combined.
They must have worked all night through.
I always like to see this cycle. Bare dark ground that turns into young
green to full grown crops of Barley, Canola, Oats or Wheat that then be swathed
and combined. In the fall after farmers worked the ground again, the fields
turn bare again as it was in Spring.
The sounds of the combines must have scared the coyotes as we didn’t hear
any howling this night like usual.
Another great time at L Pine Meadow.
Freya on her first trail walk. So much fun!
What a great days we had again on our little getaway. It was very very hot
in the afternoons so we kept that time for resting. Our siesta time. Our two
farm cats really got used fast to their new summer home. So many mice they
catch! They are great hunters. They do upset the squirrels that live in the
woods. Every time when Hunter and Taz would go for a stroll in the woods,
looking for mice, the squirrels would start to make their squeaky and high
pitched sounds. They won’t stop until the cats are OUT of the woods. It’s
amazing that I never seen a squirrel since we have L Pine Meadow, until we took
the cats with us. Now I see them all the time, as they come right up to where
the tree line starts. They even come right up the two big water containers we
have stored in a part of the yard. Yesterday early evening I went to see them,
and one of the many squirrels was brave enough to jump around on the
containers, looking at me with big curious eyes. Then it saw our cat Hunter who
followed me (she follows me most of the time where ever I go) and ran into the
woods. Hunter right away went after the squirrel but he/she was way too fast
for her. Squirrels are so noisy when they get upset! The little one was loud
for many minutes and only slowed down once the cats moved away from that part
of the yard. I love to observe the squirrels. I had to wait so long to finally
see them, now I can’t get enough of it. LOL It’s nice to be able to make
photo’s or a movie of them.
Ron and I also moved our screen room a little bit away from the 5th wheel.
It was blocking my view towards the pasture and arena. Our screen room was a
little bit crooked before, but after we moved it over a little bit, it ended up
standing beautifully straight.
We also bought a tiny little kids pool, one of those 3 ring inflatable
things. We filled it up with water, and there we go....our own private cool
down pool. We set it up in the screen room so we could cool off relaxed and not
be bugged with mosquito’s or flies. What a luxury! It really helped to get
through the most hot hours of the day.
The day before yesterday I took Freya to the yard for a walk. She was never
out her new pasture so it was an adventure. I showed her the yard and then we
walked up to the point where we have the view at the hills. Freya just loved
our little outing! She was looking around, curious about all this new stuff. It
didn’t bothered her that Flicka and Penny were calling once she was out of
their sight. She called back, and that was it. She didn’t mind the trees and
bush around us neither. She loved the view at the hills in the distance and we
both took a moment to just watch and enjoy. It was so peaceful. We had a nice
walk and after exploring the trail we went back to the yard. I was so proud of
her. Not one spook, pull or the need to go back to the other horses. She stayed
with me and behaved wonderful. Just have to love working with positive
reinforcement! The clicker takes all the scary out of anything new very fast!
Once Flicka is used to ride the trail with me, Freya can go with us. Ron mowed
a nice path that goes around the trees of our yard to create a nice little
trail through the high grass. I like to see where we walk as there are a lot of
mole hills around. But the path is clear and safe for a ride. The only thing we
have to do is remove some old barb wire that lays there for 20 years or so.
Once it was fenced off with it. We will just cut it and move it away so our
neighbor can pick it up and re-use it.
All manure is removed from the little pasture but we will buy a little
harrow in the Spring for behind the truck. This weekend it will be not so hot
and we will make a manure pit so we can put some there and let it get old and
use it in the garden once it’s ready. We also found out what we need to finish
the little arena. A few more 2x4’s and a gate is all we need to make it ready
and then just a paint job. As it’s small it won’t take too long to finish it.
We also have to redo the gate from the little arena to the small pasture. It’s
hanging on an angle now and needs a piece of 2x4 for support, new hinges and a
good lock. Have everything we need, just need some cooler temperatures to work
in.
One of the nights I was sitting in the screen room having a glass of red
wine and listening to the night sounds. The sky was clear and filled with
stars. Suddenly the screen room lit up and I saw a big meteorite going over,
leaving a bright shiny tail! It was amazing. What a beautiful sight! We see
lots of falling stars but the meteorites are the best. August is always the
best time to see them and our place is a great one to spot them as there are no
other lights interfering.
When I was standing on the deck in front of the 5th wheel I was shining
with the flash light, to see what the dog was growling at. I didn’t see
anything but a bat flew right across the beam of light when I was pointing
towards the woods! It’s so good to have bats around. They eat a lot of bugs.
I also found a Japanese Pine Beetle today, when I was moving the tiny hay
bales from the pallet to under the little camper, where they are more sheltered
for rain. The Japanese Pine Beetle is a creepy looking bug like around 2 inches
long and it has long feelers and sticky feet. Bbbrrrr. I wanted to show it to
Ron, so I picked it up (I had work gloves on) and it made this squeaky sound! I
never heard a bug make a sound like that. I had no idea what those bugs can do
but they seem to damage pine trees when there are lots of them. I should have
killed it but after showing it to Ron, I put it on a tree. LOL not the smartest
thing to do but I didn’t know until I looked it up. From now on they won’t live
once they met me! They lay eggs under the bark of the pine tree and the larvae
will eat the tree. It also leaves a fungi behind that will kill the food
supply ways of the tree. If there are not many around, they normally live in
fallen trees. Best way to get rid of them is to get rid of old trees. I was
planning on doing that anyway.
Ron mowed the round pen again and put the mower very low to get anything
out that bumped up. The surface is now smooth and sandy. No grass anymore in
there. A good place to work with a horse, without them getting distracted by
fresh green grass! He will also make a little path along side the smaller trees
at a spot where I put some agility obstacles. A great starters place to get a
horse used to trail rides through bush and trees, as the path will be short and
accessible from different angles and directions.
Before we left today I filled up the water tub of the horses with fresh
clean water. Ron put all our things together to take home and the 5th wheel
looked fresh and clean, ready for our next stay.
in the afternoons so we kept that time for resting. Our siesta time. Our two
farm cats really got used fast to their new summer home. So many mice they
catch! They are great hunters. They do upset the squirrels that live in the
woods. Every time when Hunter and Taz would go for a stroll in the woods,
looking for mice, the squirrels would start to make their squeaky and high
pitched sounds. They won’t stop until the cats are OUT of the woods. It’s
amazing that I never seen a squirrel since we have L Pine Meadow, until we took
the cats with us. Now I see them all the time, as they come right up to where
the tree line starts. They even come right up the two big water containers we
have stored in a part of the yard. Yesterday early evening I went to see them,
and one of the many squirrels was brave enough to jump around on the
containers, looking at me with big curious eyes. Then it saw our cat Hunter who
followed me (she follows me most of the time where ever I go) and ran into the
woods. Hunter right away went after the squirrel but he/she was way too fast
for her. Squirrels are so noisy when they get upset! The little one was loud
for many minutes and only slowed down once the cats moved away from that part
of the yard. I love to observe the squirrels. I had to wait so long to finally
see them, now I can’t get enough of it. LOL It’s nice to be able to make
photo’s or a movie of them.
Ron and I also moved our screen room a little bit away from the 5th wheel.
It was blocking my view towards the pasture and arena. Our screen room was a
little bit crooked before, but after we moved it over a little bit, it ended up
standing beautifully straight.
We also bought a tiny little kids pool, one of those 3 ring inflatable
things. We filled it up with water, and there we go....our own private cool
down pool. We set it up in the screen room so we could cool off relaxed and not
be bugged with mosquito’s or flies. What a luxury! It really helped to get
through the most hot hours of the day.
The day before yesterday I took Freya to the yard for a walk. She was never
out her new pasture so it was an adventure. I showed her the yard and then we
walked up to the point where we have the view at the hills. Freya just loved
our little outing! She was looking around, curious about all this new stuff. It
didn’t bothered her that Flicka and Penny were calling once she was out of
their sight. She called back, and that was it. She didn’t mind the trees and
bush around us neither. She loved the view at the hills in the distance and we
both took a moment to just watch and enjoy. It was so peaceful. We had a nice
walk and after exploring the trail we went back to the yard. I was so proud of
her. Not one spook, pull or the need to go back to the other horses. She stayed
with me and behaved wonderful. Just have to love working with positive
reinforcement! The clicker takes all the scary out of anything new very fast!
Once Flicka is used to ride the trail with me, Freya can go with us. Ron mowed
a nice path that goes around the trees of our yard to create a nice little
trail through the high grass. I like to see where we walk as there are a lot of
mole hills around. But the path is clear and safe for a ride. The only thing we
have to do is remove some old barb wire that lays there for 20 years or so.
Once it was fenced off with it. We will just cut it and move it away so our
neighbor can pick it up and re-use it.
All manure is removed from the little pasture but we will buy a little
harrow in the Spring for behind the truck. This weekend it will be not so hot
and we will make a manure pit so we can put some there and let it get old and
use it in the garden once it’s ready. We also found out what we need to finish
the little arena. A few more 2x4’s and a gate is all we need to make it ready
and then just a paint job. As it’s small it won’t take too long to finish it.
We also have to redo the gate from the little arena to the small pasture. It’s
hanging on an angle now and needs a piece of 2x4 for support, new hinges and a
good lock. Have everything we need, just need some cooler temperatures to work
in.
One of the nights I was sitting in the screen room having a glass of red
wine and listening to the night sounds. The sky was clear and filled with
stars. Suddenly the screen room lit up and I saw a big meteorite going over,
leaving a bright shiny tail! It was amazing. What a beautiful sight! We see
lots of falling stars but the meteorites are the best. August is always the
best time to see them and our place is a great one to spot them as there are no
other lights interfering.
When I was standing on the deck in front of the 5th wheel I was shining
with the flash light, to see what the dog was growling at. I didn’t see
anything but a bat flew right across the beam of light when I was pointing
towards the woods! It’s so good to have bats around. They eat a lot of bugs.
I also found a Japanese Pine Beetle today, when I was moving the tiny hay
bales from the pallet to under the little camper, where they are more sheltered
for rain. The Japanese Pine Beetle is a creepy looking bug like around 2 inches
long and it has long feelers and sticky feet. Bbbrrrr. I wanted to show it to
Ron, so I picked it up (I had work gloves on) and it made this squeaky sound! I
never heard a bug make a sound like that. I had no idea what those bugs can do
but they seem to damage pine trees when there are lots of them. I should have
killed it but after showing it to Ron, I put it on a tree. LOL not the smartest
thing to do but I didn’t know until I looked it up. From now on they won’t live
once they met me! They lay eggs under the bark of the pine tree and the larvae
will eat the tree. It also leaves a fungi behind that will kill the food
supply ways of the tree. If there are not many around, they normally live in
fallen trees. Best way to get rid of them is to get rid of old trees. I was
planning on doing that anyway.
Ron mowed the round pen again and put the mower very low to get anything
out that bumped up. The surface is now smooth and sandy. No grass anymore in
there. A good place to work with a horse, without them getting distracted by
fresh green grass! He will also make a little path along side the smaller trees
at a spot where I put some agility obstacles. A great starters place to get a
horse used to trail rides through bush and trees, as the path will be short and
accessible from different angles and directions.
Before we left today I filled up the water tub of the horses with fresh
clean water. Ron put all our things together to take home and the 5th wheel
looked fresh and clean, ready for our next stay.
August 19 2012
Hunter and Taz
Pelicans flying over L Pine Meadow
We have spend some nights at L Pine Meadow the last few weeks. Ron is
healing up nicely from his surgery and radiation and every day he feels a
little better. He’s taking it easy, doesn’t do any hard work and rest when he’s
tired. At L Pine it’s not that difficult to relax. We enjoy so much to be
there.
Yesterday we took our two farm cats to L Pine. We really need cats there
for mice and moles. We do feed them but we saw Taz, the little black cat (she’s
4 years old now) catch a tiny little mouse. They always hunt and even though
they were house cats for a few years, they did not forget how to hunt! Hunter,
Taz’s sister, loved it too and would run and jump and roll in the sand. For
them this is paradise. They were born out side 4 years ago, lived on a farm
yard for 2 years and then we took them home and they were house cats for 2
years. But it’s in their blood to be outside. Once they investigated our yard,
they went into the woods.
The squirrels got totally upset and were making noises to scare the cats
away. But Taz and Hunter didn’t care about them and would explore the woods in
spite of the warning noises of the squirrels. I finally got a chance to make a
photo of one of the many squirrels that are in our woods. I was talking to him
and he didn’t mind. He would just keep on making those “get out of here cats!'”
sounds. So loud! LOL
We had a nice visit of our dear friends Ed and Darlene. They loved our
place. While we were talking , suddenly a big flock of pelicans flew over. What
a beautiful and exotic birds they are. Amazing to see them in prairie country.
Ed and Darlene were so nice to bring us apples for the horses and for us,
plus a jar of home made raspberry jam. Mmmmmm! Very sweet of them. We had a
great visit. It was so nice to see them again, as it was a while ago. Soon we
will have to go to visit them and see their beautiful garden.
Darlene and I went to see the horses and I wiped them off as the flies were
bad. Suddenly they spooked and turned towards the woods, staring at the trees.
And who was there in the woods? Taz! She followed us through the trees. The
horses didn’t see the cats for 2 years so they have to get used to each other
again. I did not work with the horses for this reason as Flicka and Freya
really were freaking out and were very jumpy. It can wait until they know the
cats are good folk. The horses would run to the far end of the little pasture
and it took a while before they would come back for their wipe. LOL
Today I dug out one of the potato plants to see if we had any potatoes
growing. And yes! We have some growing. I got 2 medium and 2 small sized ones
and Ron prepared them for our breakfast. Mmmm...that was so good!
It won’t be a big harvest, but what can you expect from sandy soil, right?
Next year we will put in good garden soil and get some good old manure.
Everything will grow nice next year!
Ron had brought a piece of wood that we screwed against the dog house. Ron
made a little opening in the wood. Now the cats have their own little house to
sleep in at night. There is a thick cushion in it with a thick blanket on top.
It smells like home so I hope they will use it for the nights.
Last night I thought I will let the dog out for a bit. She didn’t want to
and I was glad as suddenly I smelled SKUNK! Ugh! When I put on the outdoor
light, it scared a skunk and it gave a warning spray. In the morning the smell
was all gone. Whew! Nothing as bad as skunk smell right? I would not be
surprised if that skunk used to sleep in the dog house. Hm...wonder if it still
will now the cats are around?
If so, the cats probably end up somewhere under the trailer, or in the
screen room.
Our neighbor was so kind to cut the tall grass away around our yard in some
spots where Ron didn’t mow yet. I wanted to get rid of the hay and I made tiny
little hay bales. Yep...by hand. The only thing I need is a plastic tub and hay
twine. I put the twine in the tub, the end hanging over the edge, forming a
cross at the bottom. I put hay in, press it down as much I can, then tie the
twine ends together. Done. I’m not sure how much one bale weights, but I’m
going to find this out. Bringing my scale. Hopefully it won’t disappoint me as
much as when I get on it myself. LOL
It was funny....as soon I started to make the bales, Freya started to
nicker over and over again. So I gave her a hand full. I can’t resist that soft
low voice nicker.
Yesterday afternoon Ron had a rest and I finally found some time to read.
It was so quiet and peaceful, and also nice to actually have time to read a
little! Only a couple of pages though....then I fell asleep!! LOL
We had a beautiful sunset last night. What an amazing colors. Ron and I
loved watching the sun going down and the colors changing every minute. The
horses stayed in the big pasture for the night. They seem to love that. Only
when something different is going on or they are startled, they will run back
to the small pasture, to the water tub.
This morning the first thing I did was wipe the horses with fly repellant.
The flies came into their noses and I can’t see them suffer that much. Once
wiped, they could relax. I put hoof heal on their feet and then I cleaned out
their water tub. I used the old water to wet the ground around the tub. Good
for their hooves, as the ground is very dry. Flicka and Penny have no problem
with it, in fact their feet thrive on it. But Freya’s feet are suffering and
she is getting cracks. So now we soak her feet in water and daily lots of hoof
heal on it.
Ron came with the truck and water tank to fill up the water tub of the
horses after I had it cleaned out. The horses were hanging out with him while
he was waiting for the tub to be filled up.
We will stay over night a lot as long the weather is warm and nice. To be
at L Pine Meadow is very.....hm...how you call it...oh, yes...it’s ADDICTIVE!
LOL
healing up nicely from his surgery and radiation and every day he feels a
little better. He’s taking it easy, doesn’t do any hard work and rest when he’s
tired. At L Pine it’s not that difficult to relax. We enjoy so much to be
there.
Yesterday we took our two farm cats to L Pine. We really need cats there
for mice and moles. We do feed them but we saw Taz, the little black cat (she’s
4 years old now) catch a tiny little mouse. They always hunt and even though
they were house cats for a few years, they did not forget how to hunt! Hunter,
Taz’s sister, loved it too and would run and jump and roll in the sand. For
them this is paradise. They were born out side 4 years ago, lived on a farm
yard for 2 years and then we took them home and they were house cats for 2
years. But it’s in their blood to be outside. Once they investigated our yard,
they went into the woods.
The squirrels got totally upset and were making noises to scare the cats
away. But Taz and Hunter didn’t care about them and would explore the woods in
spite of the warning noises of the squirrels. I finally got a chance to make a
photo of one of the many squirrels that are in our woods. I was talking to him
and he didn’t mind. He would just keep on making those “get out of here cats!'”
sounds. So loud! LOL
We had a nice visit of our dear friends Ed and Darlene. They loved our
place. While we were talking , suddenly a big flock of pelicans flew over. What
a beautiful and exotic birds they are. Amazing to see them in prairie country.
Ed and Darlene were so nice to bring us apples for the horses and for us,
plus a jar of home made raspberry jam. Mmmmmm! Very sweet of them. We had a
great visit. It was so nice to see them again, as it was a while ago. Soon we
will have to go to visit them and see their beautiful garden.
Darlene and I went to see the horses and I wiped them off as the flies were
bad. Suddenly they spooked and turned towards the woods, staring at the trees.
And who was there in the woods? Taz! She followed us through the trees. The
horses didn’t see the cats for 2 years so they have to get used to each other
again. I did not work with the horses for this reason as Flicka and Freya
really were freaking out and were very jumpy. It can wait until they know the
cats are good folk. The horses would run to the far end of the little pasture
and it took a while before they would come back for their wipe. LOL
Today I dug out one of the potato plants to see if we had any potatoes
growing. And yes! We have some growing. I got 2 medium and 2 small sized ones
and Ron prepared them for our breakfast. Mmmm...that was so good!
It won’t be a big harvest, but what can you expect from sandy soil, right?
Next year we will put in good garden soil and get some good old manure.
Everything will grow nice next year!
Ron had brought a piece of wood that we screwed against the dog house. Ron
made a little opening in the wood. Now the cats have their own little house to
sleep in at night. There is a thick cushion in it with a thick blanket on top.
It smells like home so I hope they will use it for the nights.
Last night I thought I will let the dog out for a bit. She didn’t want to
and I was glad as suddenly I smelled SKUNK! Ugh! When I put on the outdoor
light, it scared a skunk and it gave a warning spray. In the morning the smell
was all gone. Whew! Nothing as bad as skunk smell right? I would not be
surprised if that skunk used to sleep in the dog house. Hm...wonder if it still
will now the cats are around?
If so, the cats probably end up somewhere under the trailer, or in the
screen room.
Our neighbor was so kind to cut the tall grass away around our yard in some
spots where Ron didn’t mow yet. I wanted to get rid of the hay and I made tiny
little hay bales. Yep...by hand. The only thing I need is a plastic tub and hay
twine. I put the twine in the tub, the end hanging over the edge, forming a
cross at the bottom. I put hay in, press it down as much I can, then tie the
twine ends together. Done. I’m not sure how much one bale weights, but I’m
going to find this out. Bringing my scale. Hopefully it won’t disappoint me as
much as when I get on it myself. LOL
It was funny....as soon I started to make the bales, Freya started to
nicker over and over again. So I gave her a hand full. I can’t resist that soft
low voice nicker.
Yesterday afternoon Ron had a rest and I finally found some time to read.
It was so quiet and peaceful, and also nice to actually have time to read a
little! Only a couple of pages though....then I fell asleep!! LOL
We had a beautiful sunset last night. What an amazing colors. Ron and I
loved watching the sun going down and the colors changing every minute. The
horses stayed in the big pasture for the night. They seem to love that. Only
when something different is going on or they are startled, they will run back
to the small pasture, to the water tub.
This morning the first thing I did was wipe the horses with fly repellant.
The flies came into their noses and I can’t see them suffer that much. Once
wiped, they could relax. I put hoof heal on their feet and then I cleaned out
their water tub. I used the old water to wet the ground around the tub. Good
for their hooves, as the ground is very dry. Flicka and Penny have no problem
with it, in fact their feet thrive on it. But Freya’s feet are suffering and
she is getting cracks. So now we soak her feet in water and daily lots of hoof
heal on it.
Ron came with the truck and water tank to fill up the water tub of the
horses after I had it cleaned out. The horses were hanging out with him while
he was waiting for the tub to be filled up.
We will stay over night a lot as long the weather is warm and nice. To be
at L Pine Meadow is very.....hm...how you call it...oh, yes...it’s ADDICTIVE!
LOL
August 7, 2012
Big pasture is ready!
Freya, Penny and Flicka exploring their new pasture.
After the painting of the posts and gate was done, I mowed under the fence
line. It did not take long to do that as it is just a straight stretch. Good
exercise!
Ron and I hung up the gate. In the future we will change the hinges that go
two ways, but for now it’s one way and it works. I still have to paint the
piece of 2x4 we put on it to keep the gate straight.
Paul came to help me out one day to get the wire ready. It’s a little more
difficult to get the wire done, as it’s not on a spool but rolled up by hand.
In fact we should have 3 people to do it, but it is too dangerous for Ron with
the spinning and jumping wires. But Paul and I managed it. Yesterday morning
Ron and I tightened it and attached the ends to the end posts. Even though
there wasn’t any electricity on it yet, we let the horses in their new pasture
and let them graze. They were soooo exited and happy. Their little pasture was
getting very low in grass.
I kept an eye on them while they were grazing and did the finishing
touches. While I was working, a flock of pelicans flew over. Beautiful!
After around 2 hours of grazing they went back to their little pasture and
I locked the gate to the big pasture. They were ready to be wiped off with fly
wipe and were waiting for me. Then I filled up their water and wet the ground
around the water tub so their hooves got some soaking, which is good for them.
When everything was done, the horses were resting. Full belly, a good drink of
fresh water and no bugs....time to have a nap.
This morning we opened the gate to the big pasture around 8.00 am. While
they were grazing I watered the veggy garden and did some more finishing
touches on the big pasture fence. First I checked the wires in the woods and
all looked fine. Then I connected the top wires with the hot ones of the little
pasture, so now there is electricity all around the big pasture too. After I
taped off any sharp edges along the fence line and put strips of tape at the
top wire for visibility for horses and wild life. I don’t want wild life run
into our wire fence so I try to make it as visible as possible. If it helps,
great. If not...then at least I know I did the best I could.
And wild life there is!
We’ve seen a young bear in our yard and just a little while ago we saw a
cub along side the road, just a minute from our driveway.
A couple of times we have seen this beautiful big buck crossing the big
pasture. We’ve seen deer and moose tracks in our yard and today I heard a moose
walking around in the woods behind the pastures. What a noisy animals! Hahaha!
It was like a whole herd of cows were coming through. I saw this dark shadow
going through the trees and knew it was a moose. Later I was filling up the
water tub of the horses and suddenly all 3 horses turned around to face the
woods. Freya got really exited and started to trot to the end of the pasture,
more in the open. Right away Flicka and Penny were galloping to follow Freya.
They don’t want to be alone when there is a chance of danger!
I heard the same noises again in the woods. The moose was back again! I’m
sure he (or she) heard the water going into the tub. In the first weeks we
noticed that the water level of the tub went down a lot in one day. The horses
could not drink that much so we had the feeling that wild life came to drink
too. Now we think it’s that moose that hangs around. Tomorrow we will check the
water level again and see if there is more water out then the horses could
drink. Then we know for sure.
In early Spring I put lots of sunflower seeds in the ground at the sides of
the driveway. Well....the first one is blooming! Yay! It’s amazing as I never
watered them. I had so many sunflower seeds from years ago and just gave it a
try, not expecting them to come up. But a lot of them did.
Our garden is doing well, but it could be better. Potatoes doing great.
Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and peas also. But no carrots, and the corn is not
growing much. It’s blooming now, but they are just not as tall as they should
be. Next year we will put in soil. The sandy soil doesn’t give the plants
enough, even though I did fertilize it a few times. We learn as we go and it’s
nice to know that even in this sandy soil the potatoes are doing great. I have
to keep the ground moist though, as the sand drains so fast and leave the
plants with nothing.
Working on the fence took up a lot of time but now it’s done and the horses
should be good until winter for grass. Now I can start to clean out the little
pasture. Lot of manure in there and I like to remove most of it. We have the
garden tractor ready on the trailer and we will take it to L Pine Meadow. It’s
easy to remove manure with the little cart behind the tractor. The mower is
also fixed, needed a new belt, so I can start mowing the driveway and yard
while sitting. A big improvement compared to walking behind a mower. LOL
line. It did not take long to do that as it is just a straight stretch. Good
exercise!
Ron and I hung up the gate. In the future we will change the hinges that go
two ways, but for now it’s one way and it works. I still have to paint the
piece of 2x4 we put on it to keep the gate straight.
Paul came to help me out one day to get the wire ready. It’s a little more
difficult to get the wire done, as it’s not on a spool but rolled up by hand.
In fact we should have 3 people to do it, but it is too dangerous for Ron with
the spinning and jumping wires. But Paul and I managed it. Yesterday morning
Ron and I tightened it and attached the ends to the end posts. Even though
there wasn’t any electricity on it yet, we let the horses in their new pasture
and let them graze. They were soooo exited and happy. Their little pasture was
getting very low in grass.
I kept an eye on them while they were grazing and did the finishing
touches. While I was working, a flock of pelicans flew over. Beautiful!
After around 2 hours of grazing they went back to their little pasture and
I locked the gate to the big pasture. They were ready to be wiped off with fly
wipe and were waiting for me. Then I filled up their water and wet the ground
around the water tub so their hooves got some soaking, which is good for them.
When everything was done, the horses were resting. Full belly, a good drink of
fresh water and no bugs....time to have a nap.
This morning we opened the gate to the big pasture around 8.00 am. While
they were grazing I watered the veggy garden and did some more finishing
touches on the big pasture fence. First I checked the wires in the woods and
all looked fine. Then I connected the top wires with the hot ones of the little
pasture, so now there is electricity all around the big pasture too. After I
taped off any sharp edges along the fence line and put strips of tape at the
top wire for visibility for horses and wild life. I don’t want wild life run
into our wire fence so I try to make it as visible as possible. If it helps,
great. If not...then at least I know I did the best I could.
And wild life there is!
We’ve seen a young bear in our yard and just a little while ago we saw a
cub along side the road, just a minute from our driveway.
A couple of times we have seen this beautiful big buck crossing the big
pasture. We’ve seen deer and moose tracks in our yard and today I heard a moose
walking around in the woods behind the pastures. What a noisy animals! Hahaha!
It was like a whole herd of cows were coming through. I saw this dark shadow
going through the trees and knew it was a moose. Later I was filling up the
water tub of the horses and suddenly all 3 horses turned around to face the
woods. Freya got really exited and started to trot to the end of the pasture,
more in the open. Right away Flicka and Penny were galloping to follow Freya.
They don’t want to be alone when there is a chance of danger!
I heard the same noises again in the woods. The moose was back again! I’m
sure he (or she) heard the water going into the tub. In the first weeks we
noticed that the water level of the tub went down a lot in one day. The horses
could not drink that much so we had the feeling that wild life came to drink
too. Now we think it’s that moose that hangs around. Tomorrow we will check the
water level again and see if there is more water out then the horses could
drink. Then we know for sure.
In early Spring I put lots of sunflower seeds in the ground at the sides of
the driveway. Well....the first one is blooming! Yay! It’s amazing as I never
watered them. I had so many sunflower seeds from years ago and just gave it a
try, not expecting them to come up. But a lot of them did.
Our garden is doing well, but it could be better. Potatoes doing great.
Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and peas also. But no carrots, and the corn is not
growing much. It’s blooming now, but they are just not as tall as they should
be. Next year we will put in soil. The sandy soil doesn’t give the plants
enough, even though I did fertilize it a few times. We learn as we go and it’s
nice to know that even in this sandy soil the potatoes are doing great. I have
to keep the ground moist though, as the sand drains so fast and leave the
plants with nothing.
Working on the fence took up a lot of time but now it’s done and the horses
should be good until winter for grass. Now I can start to clean out the little
pasture. Lot of manure in there and I like to remove most of it. We have the
garden tractor ready on the trailer and we will take it to L Pine Meadow. It’s
easy to remove manure with the little cart behind the tractor. The mower is
also fixed, needed a new belt, so I can start mowing the driveway and yard
while sitting. A big improvement compared to walking behind a mower. LOL
July 26 2012
Post painting done!
All painting is done! It's ready for wire now.
Thursday afternoon I went to LPine Meadow. The first thing I did was wipe of the horses with a bug repellent. They were waiting in line for their turn. They know exactly what will happen as soon I wipe them off: no annoying horse flies or mosquito's on their body. After the horses were done, I cleaned out the tub and filled it with fresh water for them. Then I put hoof heal on their hooves. Flicka wasn't in the mood for it. She doesn't like the smell of it. Hahaha! Penny was very curious and stood so still when I was putting it on her hooves, it was cute. Freya needs it most and she was wonderful. I did not need to halter them to do their hooves. They behave so well.
After the horses were taken care off they started to graze, but this time relaxed and in peace. Horse flies are the bad part of summer and wiping them off helps a lot to give them some rest.
I started with painting the rest of the posts of the second pasture. I had the radio going. Love some music during the job. :-)
It was a beautiful afternoon. Not too hot with a nice breeze. A couple of hours and all posts and the gate were done. Next thing is mowing the tall grass under the wire line so it won't interfere with the bottom wire when it's wet. Then hang the gate and put the wire up. It won't take too long. And it's sooo much fun to see it coming together.
I know I paint the posts mainly for visability for horses and wildlife....but wow...it sure looks nice! In the future the whole pasture fence line will be wood. Posts are already put in in a way we just ad a post between them and it will fit the 2 by 4's. Painting the posts wasn't that much work. A couple of afternoons, that was all. I'm very happy with the result.
After the horses were taken care off they started to graze, but this time relaxed and in peace. Horse flies are the bad part of summer and wiping them off helps a lot to give them some rest.
I started with painting the rest of the posts of the second pasture. I had the radio going. Love some music during the job. :-)
It was a beautiful afternoon. Not too hot with a nice breeze. A couple of hours and all posts and the gate were done. Next thing is mowing the tall grass under the wire line so it won't interfere with the bottom wire when it's wet. Then hang the gate and put the wire up. It won't take too long. And it's sooo much fun to see it coming together.
I know I paint the posts mainly for visability for horses and wildlife....but wow...it sure looks nice! In the future the whole pasture fence line will be wood. Posts are already put in in a way we just ad a post between them and it will fit the 2 by 4's. Painting the posts wasn't that much work. A couple of afternoons, that was all. I'm very happy with the result.
Little Up Date.
July 25 2012
July 14 2012 Walking over the horses to LPine Meadow.
We had a hectic time the last few months. In May Ron had to have unexpected
surgery as cancer was found in his mouth and jaw. The surgery took over 8 hours
and recovery from this was painful and uncomfortable. Once Ron was recovered
enough from the surgery, radiation treatments started. For these daily
treatments he had to stay in Regina during the week and only could come home
for the weekends.
In the middle of Ron’s treatments we also had to move our horses from the
boarding place within 2 weeks! We had the plan to move them early Spring, but
with Ron’s illness we had to postpone it, as working at LPine Meadow was just
not possible. We only had put the fence posts in the ground and wired through
the woods.
Unfortunately some people are not very considerate of our situation and so
we had to get the pasture ready in a rush to move the horses over.
This was the most stressed time for Ron of course, something he really couldn’t use at
that time. Lucky we had Paul and Katie, his girlfriend, who helped us out right
away. What a sweet thoughtful kids! Every morning Paul and I would be at the
acreage at 6.00 am and worked until it was just too hot. (we had temperatures
between 25c/30c) Paul was awesome.
But...we got it done. Saturday July 14 Paul, Shaun and I walked over our
horses from that boarding place to the new pasture. It was a 15 minute walk
and the horses did great. What a good girls! The walk was a very relaxed one.
Flicka did wonderful, taking care of Paul who doesn’t has much experience with
horses. Shaun had Penny, the little pony I bought. This little thing was never
out of her pasture or the arena, and she was just amazing. I had Freya and she
just loved it to look around and following my lead. All 3 were very well
behaved girls.
We let them in the their new pasture and right away they started to graze.
Ah...good grass! They just loved it! After they settled down they had a good
drink from the clean fresh water.
Paul and Shaun went back to the boarding place to get my round pen panels
and wooden step ups that Ron had build for me to work with the horses.
The week before Ron and Paul had removed our little camper where we keep
our horsy stuff in. Our little ‘tack room’. Great in winter as you can heat it
up within 5 minutes with the propane stove. Now it’s next to our arena.
Even though it wasn’t the best time and certainly not planned until after
Ron’s treatments to move our horses, we are so happy now to have them on our
own land. The horses love their new pasture with enough bush and trees to shelter and lots of grass to eat.
Also no bale twine every where in the grass and piled up manure of years.
Working with the horses is a joy now. It's nice and quiet, very peaceful.
No yelling and screaming at the background from frustrated people. That's probably the best part.
Our arena has great footing of pure sand. Also it slopes a little and any heavy rainfall, or even many days of
rain, won’t make any difference. No mud and as soon the rain stops....it’s
ready for use again. Yay! The other best thing......no holes to watch out for.
This arena is very safe and I don’t have to worry about my horse tripping all
the time. What a joy!
Today is a wonderful day. Ron had his last radiation treatment. From now on
he can stay home and rest and heal. The radiation left him with burns around
his neck, which are very painful of course. But now the radiation is done, it
has time to heal.
Our little vegetable garden is doing great for potatoes, corn, tomatoes,
cucumber, peppers and curly green kale. The carrots and beets....not so great.
I think from the seeds I only have 3 carrot plants growing and they are soooo
tiny. We had hard rain after I seeded, so I had to reseed as everything washed
away. But even the second seeding did not do well. Another hard rainfall must
have washed it away again. So I gave up. LOL But one thing is great....I hardly
have to weed this garden. Which is great for a change.
Wildlife doesn’t seem to bother the garden. Sometimes they walk through it,
but it looks like they are very careful not to touch the plants. Hahaha!
I planted a lot of sunflowers and they are growing well too.
I can’t wait to see them bloom.
So..this was a little update about what’s going on with us and LPine
Meadow.
surgery as cancer was found in his mouth and jaw. The surgery took over 8 hours
and recovery from this was painful and uncomfortable. Once Ron was recovered
enough from the surgery, radiation treatments started. For these daily
treatments he had to stay in Regina during the week and only could come home
for the weekends.
In the middle of Ron’s treatments we also had to move our horses from the
boarding place within 2 weeks! We had the plan to move them early Spring, but
with Ron’s illness we had to postpone it, as working at LPine Meadow was just
not possible. We only had put the fence posts in the ground and wired through
the woods.
Unfortunately some people are not very considerate of our situation and so
we had to get the pasture ready in a rush to move the horses over.
This was the most stressed time for Ron of course, something he really couldn’t use at
that time. Lucky we had Paul and Katie, his girlfriend, who helped us out right
away. What a sweet thoughtful kids! Every morning Paul and I would be at the
acreage at 6.00 am and worked until it was just too hot. (we had temperatures
between 25c/30c) Paul was awesome.
But...we got it done. Saturday July 14 Paul, Shaun and I walked over our
horses from that boarding place to the new pasture. It was a 15 minute walk
and the horses did great. What a good girls! The walk was a very relaxed one.
Flicka did wonderful, taking care of Paul who doesn’t has much experience with
horses. Shaun had Penny, the little pony I bought. This little thing was never
out of her pasture or the arena, and she was just amazing. I had Freya and she
just loved it to look around and following my lead. All 3 were very well
behaved girls.
We let them in the their new pasture and right away they started to graze.
Ah...good grass! They just loved it! After they settled down they had a good
drink from the clean fresh water.
Paul and Shaun went back to the boarding place to get my round pen panels
and wooden step ups that Ron had build for me to work with the horses.
The week before Ron and Paul had removed our little camper where we keep
our horsy stuff in. Our little ‘tack room’. Great in winter as you can heat it
up within 5 minutes with the propane stove. Now it’s next to our arena.
Even though it wasn’t the best time and certainly not planned until after
Ron’s treatments to move our horses, we are so happy now to have them on our
own land. The horses love their new pasture with enough bush and trees to shelter and lots of grass to eat.
Also no bale twine every where in the grass and piled up manure of years.
Working with the horses is a joy now. It's nice and quiet, very peaceful.
No yelling and screaming at the background from frustrated people. That's probably the best part.
Our arena has great footing of pure sand. Also it slopes a little and any heavy rainfall, or even many days of
rain, won’t make any difference. No mud and as soon the rain stops....it’s
ready for use again. Yay! The other best thing......no holes to watch out for.
This arena is very safe and I don’t have to worry about my horse tripping all
the time. What a joy!
Today is a wonderful day. Ron had his last radiation treatment. From now on
he can stay home and rest and heal. The radiation left him with burns around
his neck, which are very painful of course. But now the radiation is done, it
has time to heal.
Our little vegetable garden is doing great for potatoes, corn, tomatoes,
cucumber, peppers and curly green kale. The carrots and beets....not so great.
I think from the seeds I only have 3 carrot plants growing and they are soooo
tiny. We had hard rain after I seeded, so I had to reseed as everything washed
away. But even the second seeding did not do well. Another hard rainfall must
have washed it away again. So I gave up. LOL But one thing is great....I hardly
have to weed this garden. Which is great for a change.
Wildlife doesn’t seem to bother the garden. Sometimes they walk through it,
but it looks like they are very careful not to touch the plants. Hahaha!
I planted a lot of sunflowers and they are growing well too.
I can’t wait to see them bloom.
So..this was a little update about what’s going on with us and LPine
Meadow.
|
April 23 2012
Just a nice enhanced picture of Flicka.
We had prepared everything to pound in the posts
but there was still frost in the ground at the shady spots. So we waited and
waited and waited and finally I could dig a hole without a problem. The frost is
gone. We hope to pound the posts in this weekend. Yay!
Once the posts are in, we will try to get Paul
and some of his friends to come over and we have a Paint Party! All posts need
to be painted white. I like to have a good visible fence line for the horses,
plus it also looks nice, right? It will be fun to have a Paint Party!
While waiting for the frost to be out of the
ground, I prepared my vegetable garden. I choose a nice sunny spot, and put
garden ties around it. It will be a small one for now, as we will be very busy
this summer with building the horse shelter, sheds and of course our cabin. But
I still wanted to grow some veggies. The garden is on a spot where I can expand
it easily. I tilled the ground with a shovel, killing the weeds. Yesterday I
raked all the dead weeds out and it look great! We just have to ad some good
soil and fertilizer and it's ready for planting.
The agility obstacle parts are getting slowly
together. We got lots of old tires, I have my curtain made, we got barrels and
colored poles and some wooden 'bridges'. I also found some old pond liner that I
will use to make a water stream for the horses to walk through. The agility
course will be awesome! Can't wait to put it all together.
Our dog Scruffy is very happy to be out at the
acreage again. She runs and runs and sleeps so well at night. She's getting back
to her right weight. She got a little stubby during winter, as am I. Hahaha!
I bought a new pony named Penny. Just a little
one, 10hh, around 3 years old. She needs lots of training. She halters nice but
leading is still new to her and she don't like brushing her tail and get nervous
when I am brushing or touching her back. I worked with her a few times and she's
doing so well. Very playful little thing and a great summer project.
SPRING!
Our yard. The most snow is in the arena as it is in the shade.
March 20
2012
This year we have a
lovely early Spring. Yay! We are able to get into our acreage again and start
working. The snow is as good as gone and we had so much wind the last few days,
it will dry things up fast.
During the winter we tried to go in one time with the truck but we got stuck. Hm, no fun to dig us
out of the deep snow. We managed, but we stayed out of it the rest of the winter.
Monday we had a look and we can see the ground again.
Now we have to go shopping. We will get some seed for the pasture first. It's rather thin so
better to give it a little boost. After seeding we can start with fencing. First
alongside the tree line and then we will put the posts in with a post pounder
that you can put on the truck and drive alongside the fence line.
Makes the work a lot easier!
Once we have the fencing up and running, we can bring the horses over.
As soon the horses are over, we can start building our cabin and between I will build our agility
course. It will be busy but soooo much fun!
2012
This year we have a
lovely early Spring. Yay! We are able to get into our acreage again and start
working. The snow is as good as gone and we had so much wind the last few days,
it will dry things up fast.
During the winter we tried to go in one time with the truck but we got stuck. Hm, no fun to dig us
out of the deep snow. We managed, but we stayed out of it the rest of the winter.
Monday we had a look and we can see the ground again.
Now we have to go shopping. We will get some seed for the pasture first. It's rather thin so
better to give it a little boost. After seeding we can start with fencing. First
alongside the tree line and then we will put the posts in with a post pounder
that you can put on the truck and drive alongside the fence line.
Makes the work a lot easier!
Once we have the fencing up and running, we can bring the horses over.
As soon the horses are over, we can start building our cabin and between I will build our agility
course. It will be busy but soooo much fun!