Snow on the Outhouse

You think this was a black and white photo, but it's not! It's a color photo, taken Thanksgiving morning after a couple centimeters of snowfall. Thanksgiving was a lot of fun and here's the highlights:
6:00am..phone call from Joe. "Hey becca...your horses are up on the hill."
6:00.5am..aaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6:02am, run to barn, grab halters, look for open gate (didn't see one) run up hill.
6:07am, catch Oscar,lead him down the hill with ponies following
6:10, Oscar locked in barn, start after other two who stopped following. Start tracking hoofprints in snow, which lead to alfalfa field behind house. Joe drives over in the truck to help with the round up but I it's going to be awhile as the ponies are well into the alfalfa. I found out where they got out; the gate I use to take the manure out of the pasture. It was the only gate that didn't have a snap lock so I'm betting it was Beep who played with the chain and got it unlatched.

It took Joe and I a half hour to figure out how to catch the horses. It was futile trying to walk up to them because the baby was herding Red thisaway and thataway. She's even smarter than her mama! I wound up getting Oscar and leading the two ponies back in. They followed right into the barn. Once they were captured I looked at Joe and said "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Then I got to cooking and getting ready for family. This was my second turkey I've ever cooked. I couldn't find my stupid turkey baster. I had to baste with a cup which is not nearly as good as a baster.

Jeannine and family and Brian and fam got to the farm in the afternoon and we went for a short hike. Dinner was at 5 and featured all the usual thanksgivingy things. Brian made some excellent challah bread and Neener made pie. And, just like being at Grandma Jane's, there was Redi-whip in a can. After dinner we had a vicious game of Monopoly, with Jay monopolizing the bank. Here's a photo of Jay studying his next move, and Sam bowing out (he was the first to go).
Note the cluster of hotels near Jay's elbow.

When Jay and Jesse were fighting over rent on the Boardwalk the can of Redi-whip came out. Those of us already out of the game made whipped cream mustaches and eyebrows.




That would be Jeannine giving Sam a shot.

And Emily and Jesse got in a few good blasts until the can ran out.

Here's to kicking off the holiday madness. May we all stay sane and healthy...
til soon,
b

Dressed up Coop, er Cottage

After all the discussion about how to make the Bunkhouse livable, here's a fine design. It has everything but Sara's cat.

I love it! The geraniums are a nice touch. I think I'll move in here and rent the house out as a B&B.

It would be a B & B & CUAY. (Bed, breakfast and clean up after yerself).

Maybe we should replace the windows on the bunkhouse??

That's not a deer!!

That's Rosie, the baby pony. But those were the first words out of my mouth this morning at 6am when I looked out my window and saw a shape moving through the yard (!) about the size of a deer.

I pulled on some pants and a coat and went out for the round up. Fortunately Rosie is easy to catch and wanted to be with her pals, Oscar and Beep. She wasn't sure about coming in the barn but a little hay took care of that. I put her back inside and gave them all some hay and rigged up a barrier so she couldn't get out. She got out through the "people pass" i had built into the gate system. When I had it built I didn't factor in a wee pony!

Anyway, all three of them are doing fine. When Rosie showed up there was a fine display of "kickin' up some heels" as all three of them went tearing around the paddock. Oscar now has two horses to herd only he's a mere fraction of his former self. BG (before gelding) Oscar was a tenacious herder. Now, he just nudges them off the hay and w/o even a snort.

Here's a photo of Oz nudging Rosie off some hay. He reminds me of a T-rex, esp. in this photo.


I am glad I had the stalls built though as now I can lock Oz and Beep in their stalls and let the baby eat her carrots and supplements in peace.

Rosie has the tiniest little hooves--it's so cute!
She's got big eyes and a fuzzy mane and tail. She likes being petted and is good on a lead rope. She jumped right out of the trailer yesterday like an old pro.

She's smart too. When Oscar nudges her from her hay she walks around the fence to the next pile so the fence is between them. That buys her about 15 minutes of grazing time uninterrupted. She's holding her own out there in the herd!

Oh, and I promised Lady B a photo of the bunkhouse; here it is, and that's Joe's barn to the right (just across the street) and my pole shed/garage to the right.

It's the original chicken house and the former owners were using it for a dog kennel. The open space to the right is my lower garden (upper garden is for strawberries!). THe bunk house has the same stone foundation as the barn and house. It would take some work but with a complete rebuild, this would make a cute "cottage!"

I know just the person for that project. :)

Only she has too many houses in Florida and can't make it up here to work on her wee cottage! That's ok though, that gives me time to fill it up with stuff. It's holding a lot of plywood from the barn. It's the good old kind of plywood; 3/4" and sturdy. I used some of it for the chicken coop repair. You can't buy that stuff anymore.

The coop/bunkhouse even has windows. Those were some spoiled chickens. That's what I like about this place; the Kilians thought ahead. They planted lots of trees back in 1899 and built solid buildings and tall basements. And they left a lot of good karma behind.

Time to get a move on the day. Toodles for now,
b

Put Another Log on the Fire

Seeing as I have nothing interesting to report today, I'll post a photo. This was taken last week, just after I'd mowed up the maple leaves. It's a morning shot of the back yard, looking southeast.

Geesh, it's gotten cold round these parts. I rode to work today and I was dressed just fine so didn't feel the chill. The light reflecting on the farms and fields was amazing; there is something about the cold air and the light that make for unusual tones. I'm glad I get to see it because in a car I'd see very little.

Advertisement coming: Go by bike.

Alright, enough advertising. Back to life on the farm. Seeing as I was in Boulder M-W I have little to report. Marsala (sick chicken) is doing better although she's not out of the woods yet. More cottage cheese and garlic for her tomorrow. Oz and Beep are in good form. I took them both out last night for a walkabout the farm. I think Oscar deliberately did a detour into a field so Beep could grab a bit to eat. He does that now and then...just decides he wants to go this or thataway. It's good practice for a collected circle but all the same I think it's a conspiracy.

I've got a cold cat in my lap and dang, cat feet can get chily. Note to self: buy a small heating pad for Spider. She's a skinny cat and is always trying to steal my heat. I think I could plug in a heating pad on Gabby's bed and rid myself of velcro-cat.

Here's to a pleasant and sunny weekend. Cathy, all the best to you and your family. Rosie the pony comes to La Bella Vita tomorrow afternoon. Oh boy. Another test of my fences!
cheerios,
b

Farm Cross!

So we had a little race at the farm yesterday. Here's a photo of some of the riders getting assembled. The race went around my farm and through the "pit" and then the barn. It was hard and very fun. The spectators were cheering every lap with cowbells and timely beer handups. Post race 20 of us trooped into the house for chili and beer and recapping of the race. We're already talking about Farm Cross 08.

To top it off, me and a few of the women went to feed the animals and they got out which resulted in a hilarious 40 minute chase around the alfalfa field for Beep. Oscar was easy to catch but Beep?? Oh no...I had to do 14 sprints to keep her from heading for the back 40 and it was Natasha who managed to get her, with some help from the neighbor's spotlight. We all gave Beep a new nickname: beep the little sh^*

But, all was well and the horses got fed and I fell asleep about 7pm, in a chair. I got up very refreshed and seeing as it's my birthday, that means two things: many calls from family with offkey versions of Happy Birthday and, cake for breakfest! Woo hoo! 44 here I come.
b
PS: Here's a cool photo I took on Friday morning, after a hard frost.

Publish Post

Winter is Coming

And this was my first clue. Nothing like looking forward to crawling into a cozy bed only to find the best spots taken by furry things. I especially like how Gabby got herself tucked in so nicely. The pillow on her head is a nice touch. Today was the day to turn on the propane heater. According to Dad, it'll be easier to heat up the house if it doesn't have to start from 40 degrees all the time. Good point there, Dad! And I will admit it's nice to come home to a house that doesn't require a hat and gloves until the fire heats up. I doubt it'll keep the critters out of my bed but you can't have it all.

I did get a ride in this morning and I'm aiming to see if I can alter my schedule to allow a morning ride. It'd have to go like this:
5:00 Rise and shine, put on riding clothes: throw hay
5:15 Drink two cups of coffee and eat two bowls of cereal
6:00 Sun rise: Saddle up and ride one hour
7:00 Clean up, drive to work

Ya know, when you write it down like that it seems like it'd work?? Humm. We shall see. I don't think I can afford any Musco lights at the moment (roof needs work) but getting up early is do-able. With coffee, anything is possible!

Ole Blue Eyes

Here's a photo of my dirty horse, Oscar. He has blue eyes. Please disregard the dirt. I was taking photos of Oz and he obliged by having a good roll and this was the only photo that showed how blue his eyes are. Looks like he went a little heavy on the eye liner, eh?

I'm having withdrawal of daylight issues. It's downright depressing not being able to ride after work.

I'm going to have to do a "Work from home" day just so I can ride during the week. Or build an indoor arena. Hey......now there's an idear!

I wonder what those cost.. hummm.
b