When I arrived Saturday morning at my driveway, I was surprised to see 3 strange horses on my property. I slowed down and when one of the horses came galloping towards the truck, I stopped and let the horse pass. Then the second horse passed the truck in full gallop. I drove up slowly and noticed the third horse was next to the little pasture. Flicka and Freya were totally upset of course. They were whinnying and galloping back and forth along side the fence. The third horse then ran by and took off. I drove up the yard, when this third horse came galloping back again and passed my truck, stopped and ran off again. It disappeared on the driveway out of sight. My horses were SO upset about all this commotion of strange horses and, being a herd animal, of course wanted to go with them. I stayed with the horses until they were calmed down.
I needed to get water at the well and loaded up the bottles. The horse’s water bowl was almost empty. Once I was sure the horses were calmed down again, I went to the well. On my way I saw a beautiful Bald Eagle sitting on a branch of a dead tree. I stopped the truck for a minute to take some photo’s. What a gracious bird! When I came back to the yard the horses were calm and I cleaned out and filled up their water bowl. Then I got my fence tools and went to check the fence in the woods. The little pasture got low in grass so it was time to get the girls into the big pasture. When I came at the cabin, I didn’t see my cats. I called and called and finally Taz came walking from the arena. She was limping slightly, which she didn’t an hour ago. Dizzy was nowhere to see. I hoped she would come back soon. The food bowl that I had filled up before I went to get water, was empty. Some animal ate it all.
The fence was fine. No broken wires or trees fallen on top. I opened the gate and let Flicka and Freya in. As soon they were through the gate, they started to graze, happy with the abundance of grass and weeds.
I went back to the yard and started to work on the bedroom wall. Paul came over to help a bit. Together we finished the wall and it is all done. So great to have one interior wall up. I was pretty tired plus I had a supper plans for that night. Friends of mine are married for 50 years so we had a celebration supper. I went with Paul to get the horses back into the little pasture for the night. I got some crunchies in a bucket, and suddenly I heard Dizzy calling. I called her name and she answered with a sad meow. And there she was....way up in a tree! She must have been scared of something to climb up so high. Paul and I were calling here to get her out of that tree. She was trying but then stopped again. Then Paul noticed the tomcat, sitting on a fallen tree right near the tree where Dizzy was in. So now we know who chased Dizzy up the tree, because I know Dizzy is scared of this cat. Paul shooed the tomcat away and we kept trying to get Dizzy out of the tree. Putting a ladder up wasn’t possible, because of so many other trees around. She had to come out herself. But she didn’t. I said to Paul to first get the horses in, and then try it again.
The horses didn’t go far from the gate. They were still grazing in the same spot. I got a food bowl and the treats, and when I called them they both came running into the little pasture. Paul closed the gate and we walked back to the yard and tried to get Dizzy out of the tree. One time she almost succeeded, but then changed her mind and climbed even higher! I really had to go home and I know this could take all night. She will come down eventually, as it happened many times before. I rather had her come down now, so I could put both cats in the trailer. I guess that won’t work today so I also let Taz outside. That way Dizzy isn’t alone. Supper was great and lots of fun. We went to an Indian restaurant just a half hour drive from town. It was a wonderful celebration in company of good friends and the food and wine was way too good! Hahaha!
Today I got at the acreage very early. On my way I saw another beautiful Bald Eagle standing in a farmers field, together with two raven. I stopped the truck but he flew away before I got my camera ready. Too bad. When I drove up the driveway, I stopped at the cross fence to open up the gate to the big pasture so my horses could go and graze. They were very happy and so anxious to get in. But when I asked them both to back up for me so I could open up the gate, they did right away. They were so happy to go in, that after taking a few bites of grass, they started to run around. Freya was shaking her head and I could see that she was very frisky. But after a minute they stopped running and started grazing.
As soon I parked in the yard, Dizzy came running. She came out of the tree as always. LOL I knew she would be very hungry so I fed her in the trailer, where I keep the cat food. Wow, she really ate fast! But very aware of any noises and would look up regular to see if it was safe to eat. I took the food dish out to the deck so Taz could also eat. After Dizzy was done eating, she hid underneath the truck, where it was warm. It was chilly this morning. The hot days are over and today it didn’t go over 9 c. It was a little cloudy too with a good breeze. So yeah, not a real summers day. When the sun came out later in the morning, the cats cuddled up on the deck. Taz was sleeping most of the time on the deck while I was there. She must have been up all night.
In the cabin it was chilly so I started a fire in the wood stove to warm it up. I didn’t have to make a fire for quiet some time. It was nice to smell the smoke when I was outside to get more wood. I cleaned up the floor and moved the scaffold in place to continue with the ceiling. I wanted it done today. I only had to put in a couple of pieces, but it took a lot of time and work to measure correct and still I had to recut one of the pieces when it came out still too long. But finally I could take the scaffold out. The ceiling was done for now and now I can start with building the wall between bedroom and living room. YAY!!
My neighbour farmer came over to do some baling at the north side of the acreage. He had cut a part of my grass and he asked me if I would like to have the hay baled and use for the horses. I thought that was really nice. I can give some hay to the horses for the night when they are in the little pasture. I showed him the large trees that Paul and I hauled from the driveway and asked if he could cut them for me in small pieces. He said it wasn’t a problem at all. I’m SO happy! What a great neighbour. I put the cats for the night in the trailer again. It will be very chilly tonight with 2 c ! But in the trailer they have their big blankets into a foam ‘shelter’ kind of idea. They can cuddle up in there together and stay warm. They have lots of food and water and a clean litter box, so they will be just fine.
Scruffy kept me company when I walked over to the big pasture to get the horses into the little pasture. I had a bucket with their treats to call them. I came at the gate and didn’t see the horses. I started calling them and shook the bucket. It took a while but then they came galloping. Silly Scruffy was also in the pasture, something she normally doesn’t do, and of course totally in the way. The moment the horses came closer to the gate, she appeared in their vision and made them spook. Scruffy didn’t even see or hear the horses coming! It startled her. She will notice a bird when it’s only a dot in the sky, but a 700 and a 900 lbs. pony she doesn’t hear or see. LOL I told her to move back, which she did, and when the horses recognized her they walked through the gate. While the horses ate their treats, I closed the gate and walked back with Scruffy. It was a great day and lots of progress made again.