Saturday again

I didn't post last night because of the storm. We got a little over a half an inch of rain, which is nice because I won't have to water the hops today! We do have to get the trellises up soon, though, as the plants are really starting to grow fast.

It's a beautiful day, and I have no idea what I want to do. I have lots of things that I should do, but I've been feeling blah lately, even though it's nice out. So things that I want to do I can't because of limitations (no real good/safe place to ride, access to a skidsteer is limited, no money, etc...), and the stuff I should do I don't feel like but I'll probably do anyway. Some may say I have a case of the lazy, but I think it's frustration. I clean and clean, and get very little help. I don't really have a space all to myself yet, no one here truly does. I can't wait to build the new house so I can have a couch and a decent kitchen and my own room and a pantry and storage space and my own office...

So, the list of things I should do:

Work with Sketch
Play with Hope and Never
Clean the kitchen
Organize the office
Clean litterboxes
Sweep and mop
Wash windows

Waiting for rain

It's cool, humid and only a slight breeze... feels like rain. The weather report says that we should get about an inch to an inch and a half by Sunday morning. If everything goes well we'll be mowing on Monday and baling Wednesday.

So it looks like I'm going to be doing mostly inside stuff today. It's grocery shopping/go-to-town day, so inside stuff isn't a problem. It's just a little boring, though we are talking about catching a movie matinée (Wanted looks interesting). It's just more time out of my day that I could be doing something other than spending money on food, necessary to survival I know, but I just want the basics while Jac wants to wander and shop. I'd rather squirrel some of that money away for a new-to-me dressage saddle and some lessons with a trainer.

Anyway, I should go take a shower, but let's put up plan suggestions for the day first:

Grocery shopping (high grade cat food, Nutrena Senior horse feed, and cheap stuff for me)
Build the model of the new house and the new barn
In that vein, do a layout/model of the property and how I want it to look in 10 years
Groom Sketch and Never
Clean more of my tack
Clean my room

What a blah day

Today just sort of petered out about 2pm, which is when I finally got done watering the hops (I told Ken I would if he would trim Cora and Zora's hooves this morning) It takes about 4 hours. I can't wait until we get some kind of drip irrigation (probably next year) or a small vehicle like a Gator or even a trailer to pull behind the lawnmower, to go up and down the rows. Right now we're using a large tank in the back of the pick-up, with a hose attatched. We have to drive next to the bed and walk across, watering hills as we go. It's tedious and hot and awkward and boring and very inefficent.

So needless to say, I was just beat by the time I was done. I ended up taking a nap around 3, then Jac came home around 4 with a pizza and The Spiderwick Chronicles movie (not bad, really). I cleaned one of my saddles while watching CSI, started the beef stock to cooking (should be ready Saturday evening), did chores, and now I'm heading to bed.

I did play a little with Sketch and Never today, lots of petting and scratching. I played with Alex's feet and scratched all his itchy spots. He's going to be a good gelding: level headed, smart and calm.

Goin' to be a hot one

Like the title says, it promises to be warm and muggy. Hopefully the breeze will stick around for a while.

To do:

Water hops
Trim Cora and Zora's hooves
Play with Sketch and Never
Empty dishwasher and wipe counters
Do anything from previous lists
Sign up for 43 things?

Early to bed...

I'm posting this early, 'cause I'm beat.

Haying went pretty well. The weather held, with sun and a nice drying wind. We're going to have to water the hops in the morning, and we need to put up the trellises.

I didn't do much with Sketch or anyone else today (they did get treats and petting), though we did trim Hope's hooves. I'd like to get Cora and Zora's hooves done tomorrow, but I'll have to see how willing and able Ken is in the morning.

The neighbor says that we'll probably mow the rest of the field and the back pasture on Friday or Saturday, and then rake and bale on Sunday or Monday, weather willing. By all the best guesses, we've got roughly 800 bales in the hay loft, and if we put all into small bales we should have around 2000 bales total. We're aiming for at least 1200-1400, and may put the rest in round bales, though having all the hay in small squares saved my butt this past winter (last year was a bad hay year. Too dry.) By my calculations, I use a little over 1000 bales a year if I don't feed round bales. If I do feed round bales I only use about 600-700 small bales, which gives me extra for emergencies, or if I want to sell, trade, or donate to a good cause.

Alright, I guess I'm done for now. I'm going to relax a bit before chores, and then go to bed!

Haying today

Time to rake and bale! The weather is holding so far, crossing my fingers.

Plans:

Rake hay
Bale hay
Unload and load dishwasher
Play with Sketch and Never
Play with Hope?

Sheath cleaning and other fun

Time for a quick update, and then bed.

I did dishes and some laundry, puttered around outside, swept the barn, 'sheared' Misty, and then decided to try cleaning Sketch's sheath. I think I got it a little cleaner, but I'm going to have the vet do it next time, or get some sedative, because he won't drop so I can clean it better, and he's taken to dancing around. I rinsed him as well as I could, and then did a quick wash with one of the easy wash soap sprayer type products. He dried pretty fast, so I took him in the barn for a brushing, tested a couple of saddles for fit, gave him some treats, then doused him with fly spray and turned him back out in the pen. I'm leaving them out in the round pen tonight, as their stalls need to be stripped and washed.

I ordered wormer today, so about 2 days before I open the back pasture I'll de-worm everybody. When I change pastures I'll block off the sacrifice pasture to let it rest, and maybe spread some lime and diatomaceous earth to help bring it back. I'm hoping to split that pasture into 2 sections and separate the horses by age, and one of my projects this summer is to build shelters. I'm thinking about using an Earthship technique, dirt pounded into tires and stacked like bricks, and then cover it with earth and plant grass. We'll see how ambitous I get!

A gorgeous day!

The sun is shining, a nice breeze is blowing, the birds are singing... it promises to be a warm, beautiful day!

I've already had Ken trim Festy's hooves this morning, they're looking better every time. Everybody had been fed and turned out, and now it's time for a list of things to do:

Set the fence posts
Get the back pasture ready for mowing (looks like next week)
Do some cleaning in the barn
Sweep and mop in the house
Run the dishwasher
Trim the dogs claws
Clip Misty, and maybe shear the sheep too
Buy some chickens!

It's been too nice out to sit too long at the computer, so I haven't gotten a lot of photo stuff done. I really need to, though, so maybe tonight.

Better...

I feel that I got something done today, even if it wasn't much.

After lunch, I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, folded clothes, ran the washer, hung out sheets to dry, and moved the lawnmower back to where it belonged.

Ken and I went to walk the hop yard, and as we finished the neighbor pulled in with the haybine. We're taking a calculated risk, gambling that the weather will hold for the next 3 or 4 days so we can bale. I only mowed about half the field, mostly the finer stuff on the hill that will dry faster. With the best luck, we'll be able to bale late tomorrow afternoon, but I'll be happy if we can get to it on Wednesday. We'll probably mow the rest of this field next week, and mow the back pasture as well (it's a little behind as I had horses in it until April). I'm really praying for a good harvest, as I'm just about down to the dregs in the loft, and the neighbor has nothing to spare. He does have a back up field that he just rented, but I trust my fields more as I know what's growing in them.

Jac got home from work and stole the 'bine and finished the field (for a city girl, she really likes driving tractors!). I planted some more tomatoes, then sat for a bit and watched Platinum Weddings on WE. I don't know why, but I like the show. Maybe because I'd like to try being a high end wedding photographer or wedding planner. I'm a bit of a chicken though. I just hate the thought of ruining someone's big day.

We rented 'The Seeker' on pay per view, and I have to say I want my $4.00 and 2 hours of my life back. They say it was based on 'The Dark is Rising' by Susan Cooper, but it had very little in common with it. It was a travesty, and not even a really good movie on it's own.

Chores went well. The boys came in with no problem, Never is really being a good boy when he isn't trying to be a stud. I played with Alex when he and his mom came in. He's getting better about picking up his feet, and about giving to pressure. I even managed to pick up one of Willow's feet of a bit, which is good because she really needs a trim. I brought Festy in because he needs his feet trimed as well. Tomorrow should be a fun day of hoof trimming for all!

Time to get something done

I'm posting a bit later than usual, as Ken was on the computer all morning catching up on his email and forums.

The morning has gone pretty well so far. I fed and turned everyone out, Sketch and Never are in the round pen (and Sketch isn't too amused), and I've even done some laundry.

Plans for the rest of the day are about the same as yesterday's:

Get the field ready for haying (open up fence, pick up trash, move large rocks...)
Check on the hop yard
Empty and load the dishwasher
Sweep and mop
Do some laundry
Groom and play with the horses
Set posts for the new paddocks
Do some photo editing
Work on my business plan

Nevermore

I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped. Cramps kicked in around 10am-ish, so I was pretty useless for most of the day. I did get a little laundry done, but that was about it. Neighbor Guy stopped by to fix the tire on my lawnmower, and he was nice enough to throw down some hay for me. I was getting ready to rise from the dead to do evening horse chores, when he came in saying Never was trying to breed a mare through a metal gate, and she was trying to help him. Crap. By the time I get out there they've lifted the gate off the hinges, but luckily they swapped places: the mare in question was in his paddock with Sketch and two other mares, a foal, and Fiesta the hinny, and Never was in the main pasture with the older, apparently not in heat mares. He was a pretty good boy and allowed himself to be caught and brought in, but now I have to figure out how to rearrange pastures. I can't open up the back pasture until a week or so after we've baled it (so in probably 2-3 weeks). I've been planning to restructure the sacrifice pasture into smaller paddocks, and I guess now's the time. For tomorrow, though, I'll have to put him and Sketch in the roundpen. Sketch is not going to be happy.

I guess when I have the vet come out to float teeth and do Coggins, I'll have him check Glory the tramp to see if she's bred. If she is, I'll have to have it terminated, as I don't want her bred for a variety of reasons (really poor conformation, a very large hernia, she's only three, I don't need more half-breds...) I'd really like to get her spayed, maybe at the same time her hernia is taken care of, but my vet has never spayed a mare before. Maybe he'll cut me a deal...

A day of rest?

My morning has already been a little eventful.

I led Never, the three year old colt, out to his pen then went back to the barn for Sketch. Never either got the gate open or I had left it unlatched, because when I got back, he was wandering past the barn door and down the drive! I put Sketch in the pen and went after Never. He stayed on the driveway, didn't stop for grass or to say hi to Rho, walked right up to the road and turned right. I couldn't quite get to his head, and I didn't want to run because I was afraid he would trot off. I was so afraid a semi would show up, but there wasn't a car or truck in sight (thank all the equine gods!). In a fit of desperation I got a hold of his tail and pulled, not hard but to get his attention. He turned and walked into the tall grass of the ditch. I still couldn't grab his halter, he just walked right past me, back down the driveway, broke into a trot and then galloped past the barn and almost ran over Misty. I thought he was going to run out the other side of the driveway (I have a U-shaped drive with two entries), but he turned and headed for his pen to see Sketch. I caught up, let him in, and triple checked the latch. It looked okay, but I'll check throughout the day to make sure.

Anyway, things to do:

Get the field ready for haying (open up fence, pick up trash, move large rocks...)
Empty and load the dishwasher
Sweep and mop
Clean up the office
Do some laundry
Do some photo editing
Groom and play with the horses
Check on the hops
Set posts for the new paddocks

Almost bedtime...

We decided to head out to Custer for the Energy Fair, and I'm glad we did. I had a great time, got a lot of info for when we build the house, saw some friends and got a lot of exercise. My neighbor had talked about mowing the hayfield today, but when we got back he wasn't here and the field was untouched, so something must have come up. I ended up watching Music and Lyrics and eating pizza rolls.

Time for chores, and then bed. All that sun and wind really takes all the energy out of you!

edited to add: I'm glad we didn't cut hay today. Just as I was finishing chores, the skies lit up and it started to downpour. We didn't get much, but it was enough that I got soaked before I could make it to the house.

Saturday

It's the weekend, but since I work for myself it doesn't seem to have much meaning anymore. It's just a time when more fun stuff is available to be done!

Today's list of possibilities:

Go to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair (eliminates many of the choices below)
Help Greg get ready to cut hay
Do more cleaning around the house and yard
Plant stuff
Work on the fence
Wash horses
Clean out the shed
Organize the office (needs to be done, but today?)

Day is done, sun is gone...

I got a lot done today, but not everything that I had planned. *sigh*

After I got off the computer, Ken asked for help watering the hops. We got about halfway done when Jac got home from grocery shopping, so I hiked back to put stuff away and make lunch. I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher and washed the counters while I waited for the food to cook.

After lunch, I hung out the sheets to dry, planted a couple of the tomato plants, and got the mail. Then, as I'm planning my next move (probably washing horses), Ken asks if I have any of the pics printed for his portfolio/brag book to take to the Ren Faire. Crap. So the next few hours are spent looking through all of my pics, trying to find pics of stuff that he doesn't have on display that people might be interested in seeing. Then it's a matter of figuring out how to get the computer and printer to communicate properly. During all this, it starts to rain, not much but enough to have me scrambling for the laundry on the line. By the time 8 pm rolls around I'm finally done, and Ken is out the door for Chippewa Falls.

I breathe a sigh of relief, then realize that it's almost time for chores and I forgot to have Ken toss down hay! Crap. So, wearing boots and shorts (I know, bad idea), I head up to the loft to wrestle with bales. I get enough for a day or two, then bring everyone in, distribute feed and hay, fill buckets (I really have to scrub them this weekend), and tuck everyone in. Sketch seemed slightly spooky, but it may have been nothing. I'll check him tomorrow.

Since Jac's at work until 11pm, I had to do dog and cat chores by myself. Not a big deal, it's mostly supplements for the cats to facilitate a head count, and the dogs are pretty easy: some meat, a little kibble and some milk and they're pretty happy.

It's getting close to bedtime, but I think before I go to sleep I'll rough-sketch out the floor plans for the house and barn. I haven't decided if I want to go to the Faire tomorrow or if I want to go to Custer for the Energy fair, or if I just want to stay home and get more done. I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

To do today, and other goals

Well, the horses are fed and let out, I've had my breakfast and shower, and now I'm checking email and stuff before I get on with the day.

To do today:

Clean the kitchen
Water the hops
Wash Jul and Sketch (and clean his sheath)
Try the other saddle on him and pray it fits both of us
Bake some soda bread for Ken, and maybe cookies too
Work with Hope and Never
Make some calls
Mail Mom the papers she asked me to get
Plant my tomatoes!

While I was in the shower, I 'think'. It's more of a stream of consciousness thing, but it brings ideas and stuff to the front of my mind. A few short term goals that bubbled up:

Build the new round pen
Make hay (weather willing)
Set up the new pastures, place better corner posts, and make gates
Build the picnic table I've been wanting
Paint and put together the doctor's buggy
Paint the other buggy
Re-render the plans for the new house and barn, and make scale models
Get the barn roof replaced
Clean out the barn (strip and wash stalls, scrub buckets, sweep cobwebs, replace lights...)
Write an updated, more focused, business plan

How the day went

Looking at my list of goals for today, I think I did pretty well.

After morning chores I groomed Gem and Jul: combed out the tangles, curried and brushed, and fly sprayed. I'm hoping to wash Jul tomorrow, as she's pretty grubby. I may have Ken do her feet while we're at it.

Then I washed up and had my own breakfast and checked my email, comics, and forums. Ken came in just as I finished up and asked if I want to walk out with him to check on the hops (we've planted a test crop, and after some general hesitation it seems to be growing pretty well).

When we got back I started on the lawn. I ran out of gas about halfway through, and of course it was at the farthest point of the property (I was mowing the path to the hopyard). I walked back to get the gas can, and decided to have lunch before I hiked back. I finished up, then started the fine edging, pulling weeds by hand and cutting grass around the shrubs and stuff with shears (the weedwacker would damage the plants).

I felt like baking, so I made a rhubarb crisp. Then I went out to work with Sketch.

I didn't do as much warm up with him as I probably should have, just walk-trot both ways around the pen. I did try to coax him into a canter, but while he took a few steps one way, he just extended the trot the other. I used a bareback pad instead of the saddle, just to see what he would do. He didn't seem as stiff in the trot, but he still offered a buck at the canter in one direction.

After some false starts, aggravation, and hunting for a better mounting aid, I finally got on. I am really out of shape, and it's times like this that really underscore that fast. The biggest reason I like riding Western and shy away from bareback is the ease of mounting. The second biggest reason: security! I had the pad, which kept me pretty much in place (it's the good felt and suede type). We walked for a bit, to the left first. He wanted to trot after a few laps, but I did a one rein spiral to slow him back to a walk, and then spiraled out again. Pretty good.

Not so good the other way. All he wanted to do was trot, fast or slow he didn't care. He has a nice trot, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I tried the spiral slowdown again, and discovered he doesn't bend as well to the right as he does to the left (good to know). He just kept trotting, even in a tight circle. At one point he tried to speed up, turned, I lost my balance a little and overcompensated: fell forward, grabbed mane, gripped with my knees and legs. He's sensitive, so he took this as a cue to collect and canter. Just a few steps, but enough to startle me a lot. *S*

To see if maybe it was just to roundpen that was making him antsy, we did some walking in the yard and around the driveway. He has a very smooth ground eating walk and pays attention to everything, but he wasn't that spooky. We went back to the pen and I dismounted there, then went to the barn where he got a treat and groomed again. We did some hand grazing and then I turned him back out with Never.

Things I learned today:

*Sketch bends better to the left than the right
*I need a bigger round pen, and an outdoor arena wouldn't be half bad
*While he may be pudgy and out of shape, he still has a lot of energy and extra laps won't hurt him
*He's really good on the ground, almost puppy-like, but while mounted he's got a lot more spunk
*He seems to collect really well
*I need a dressage saddle, or at least a saddle that fits us both
*I need lessons, with or without Sketch
*I need to start working out again

I think tomorrow I'm going to try cleaning his sheath to see if that helps, and I have one more saddle I can try on him. If that doesn't fit, well, I don't know what I'm going to do. Probably try and improve my seat bareback, I guess *shudder*

Okay time for chores.

Quick post, plan for the day

In an effort to try and get more accomplished, I'm going to try something: twice a day posting. I'll start with a morning post of plans for the day (posted much earlier than this one!), and then an evening post with what I actually did. That way, I should be able to see how much I'm actually doing.

Today's plan:

Grooming the oldsters
Do some groundwork with Never and maybe Hope
Work Sketch, do some riding bareback/with the pad
Mow the lawn and finish weedwacking
Plant my tomatoes!

Crossing my fingers this works...

Day 1: Evaluation

I decided that with such nice weather, (and no one to bother me) it would be a shame not to play with Sketch today.

Sketch and Never

He eventually came when called, and I rewarded him when he did. We went to the cross-ties and had a really good grooming session. I got most of the mud off, but the rest is going to have to wait for another day (just his socks). I'll probably have to clean his sheath as well, as it looks a bit cruddy. Joy.


Sketch after grooming

After the grooming and a liberal dose of fly spray to repel the horse-sized horseflies, we went to the round pen. Walk and trot one way, walk and trot the other way. He mostly listened to voice commands. He does have a problem with stopping when he wants to (especially by the gate), and after he warmed up he offered extended trot to canter, with the occasional buck, but all in all he wasn't to bad.

When he was warmed up, I saddled him. He took it pretty well, just a little snort while he watched me put it on. I worked him both ways with it, and I'm not totally sure that it fits him right. His walk was fine, but his trot was short and upright, if you know what I mean. I then worked him both ways with the bridle without reins, to get used to the bit.

Sketch all tacked up

After all this, he seemed to be okay, so I thought about it for a second and then went to get a bucket to stand on. We need to work on standing still while mounting, as he stepped forward a bit (but not much, I think the bucket made him nervous). We walked for a bit, testing his response to leg and rein cues. Not too bad, so we tried a couple steps of trot. I had triple checked the girth, but apparently I should have checked it yet again, as it slipped to the right as we turned. I'm proud that I didn't panic, and I'm glad to find he has a good whoa! I dismounted and walked him in hand, then un-tacked and brushed him, let him graze a bit, gave him a couple of treats, and put him out in the paddock with his buddy Never.

Not a bad first day. I know what we need to work on now, and it's really not too bad. I'm going to try to work with him a little every day, as we're both out of shape, but the next day I'll be able to do anything is Sunday, as the Wisconsin Renaissance Faire opens tomorrow and I need to help Ken set up.

Here's to a good first day!

The Beginning...

Well, I've resisted this as long as I can, but I think it's something that I have to do. I'm not a huge fan of blogging, though I do enjoy reading certain ones. I just don't think people will be that interested in what I have to say. So, I'm not doing this for attention, or to inform, or anything like that. I'm just using this as a journal to log our progress and to measure the distance to my goals.

That being said, let me introduce the characters:

Me: short, pudgy, and haven't really truly ridden in quite a few years (I've hopped on now and then, but no shows, trail rides, lessons...). While I was never one of those kids that was fearless in the saddle, I could hold my own and stay on. Over the years, while I've gained knowledge of horses and riding, I haven't really put it to use. I still have a pretty good seat, but that's about it. *S*

Sketch (AHA registered name Etched n Stone): a 15 yr old out of shape chestnut Arabian gelding, about 15.1 hands or so, mostly Polish http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/etched+n+stone (I know he's the product of a father/daughter breeding, I'm not thrilled but he's a good boy anyway, and he's gelded). I bought him in 2005 from a lady who was selling him on behalf of her daughter. Said daughter had wanted a show horse specifically so she could win top honors at a particular show. After she did, she lost interest in him. *sigh* I saw a picture of him at the feed store, under saddle and moving out well. I had images in my head of dressage, so I called the lady, went to see him, and arranged a payment plan ($1500 in $100 weekly installments). I brought him home, and since winter was quick approaching and I don't have an indoor arena he got to rest and adjust to me and his new home.

The next spring I saddled in up a couple of times to find out what he knew. He seemed hesitant, but not uncomfortable. After the third session, though, I noticed that the bare patch on his girth (that the previous owner warned me about) seemed to be bubbling up. When the vet came out to check teeth and do Coggins tests, he biopsied it and it turned out to be a sarcoid. It kept getting bigger so I took him in to get it removed. It was gross and fascinating and I took pictures. The vet stitched him up and sent us home with a topical spray and instructions to take it easy. I put him in his paddock to rest, and go to work for a couple of hours. I check on him at supper time, and the doofus had ripped out every one of his stiches! I put in a call to the vet, who say he can come out and re-stitch him, or we can just let him heal the way he is. Well, I chose the latter, and it took more-or-less a year to fully heal (with a bout of proud flesh to deal with).

Spring of 2007 comes and I'm ready to try riding Sketch again. The day before my day off, a tree falls onto the fence separating Sketch from Rho-Dawn, a stallion I had gotten the year before. I can only guess that Rho went after Sketch, chased him through the fence to the mare pasture (thank goodness I have electric rope instead of smooth wire!), and then mostly left him be to court the mares. The poor boy had a huge bruise and gash along his back, either from the rope or Rho. So, more rest and healing.

Now it's a new year, 2008, and I'm ready to try again. I don't have a lot of safe places to ride, as I live near a county highway with a lot of logging traffic, but I'll find a way. I have a small round pen that I'm going to be renovating (expanding to a 60 foot diameter with wood fence instead of corral panels), so that will help. I've had the saddle and bridle on to check the fit, and I've hand walked him to get used to it all. So I guess we'll see what happens!