Making Tracks

And to think I was complaining abut how warm it's been.  Yesterday's high was in the low 20's with a good, stiff northwest wind and weak, hazy sunshine that wasn't doing much to improve the temp.  Since it was too muddy to walk while it was warm, I was determined to get out for a walk regardless of the cold.  And I did. 

In multiple layers topped by puffy vest, scarf, quilt-lined flannel jacket with a hood, ear band and thick gloves.  Winter stylish, for sure - lol!  But if I don't start getting some more exercise soon, my jeans aren't going to fit by spring.

I headed south at the end of the driveway with the wind across my right shoulder.  The road that was an inch deep in slop yesterday was concrete hard.   At least it was that hard until I turned at the first corner and headed west.

  
Part of my "you're now living in rural KS" lecture from T was a list of local roads to be avoided it it's wet.  This is one of them.  It's dirt, with a goodly percentage of clay mixed in, and when it's wet it's a nasty combination of slippery and sticky.  Needless to say, it's not one of the roads that gets plowed. 

Even at 20' there was enough moisture left for my sneakers to leave prints.  I wasn't the only one.

Pretty sure these are coyote

Cat, maybe?  Much smaller than the coyote prints

Big coyote...

Raccoon, I think

Walking briskly I was warm enough, although my thighs went numb pretty quickly.  It was much better when I finally made it to the next mile marker and turning around put the wind mostly behind me again. 

I had a pocketful of odds and ends of metal bits and a good-size tangle of pieces of barbwire as well by the time I got home.  It's amazing what rattles out of the back of pick-ups and off of tractors.  Might as well pick it up now while I'm on the ground as have to get off a horse to pick it up later on.

Post-Christmas Reindeer and other presents

The ponies had a good Christmas.  They just don't know it yet. 

The horse treats, peppermint, which is season appropriate and always a favorite, and apple I know they're going to enjoy.  The new-to-us polo wraps, safety trailer ties, and the trail bag... I'm going to enjoy using those, tee-hee!  The ponies (well, they have to share with the cats) also received a TSC gift card, which I'm sure they won't mind if I spend for them....

TrailMax 500 Series Front Pocket

This nifty little number will replace my old, battered camera bag for carrying binoculars, Tylenol, chapstick, etc.  Outfitters Supply carries them, along with all sorts of other trail-riders' and camping and packing supplies.  It has an adjustable strap for fastening securely around the pommel of your saddle, two zipper pockets, and even a velcro belt attachment if I decide to wear it on the ground.   I always carry my cell attached to ME, but the camera or binoculars I've never minded attaching to the saddle.

They have a couple of different sizes, and if this one wears well I might look at replacing my even older and more battered canvas saddle bags with something nicer.  Although they still work for what I want, so probably not for a while.

Other than admiring my er, the ponies' gifts and getting them put away, I haven't accomplished much outside the past couple of days.  Yesterday was wet, wet, wet, and while the air is dryer today (translation, I don't have to wade through peasoup fog), it's also on the warm side and what isn't sticky mud is slippery snow melt. 

I fed the horses in and behind the barn this morning and came in wet and windblown.  Tomorrow it's supposed to be colder, and everything should hopefully firm up again. 

The sun finally came out around 3:30, but the puddles are pretty deep.  It made it up to nearly 55'.  I'm not used to winter this far south!  I was scouting online for some new winter boots suitable for barn wear since my old ones are getting kind of thin, but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't be getting new liners for my knee-high rubber boots, instead.

Sunny and Thunder were happy to play reindeer for me - well, for food, anyway.  The other two were having no part of the crazy lady who wanted to stick jingly antlers on them. 

One last present... no-extra human required video. Santa left a JOBY Gorillapod in my stocking!  If you haven't seen them, they're tripods with flexible legs that let you position your camera hands-free and leave it securely perched on a handy post, branch or whatever.  I had its legs wrapped around a pecan tree branch for this.  And even with the wind, it stayed pretty stable... I've done much worse hanging on to the camera.

How 'bout all of you guys?  What did (you)r critters get for Christmas?

We're melting! We're melting!

T requested Ginger-people bars - post-holidays the gingerbread flavored marshmallows were on sale for $.75/bag, so I picked up a bunch.  

Every time I make them the witch's plaint from the Wizard of Oz runs through my head.  "I'm meeeellltting....".

It really is melting here... mornings are crunchy, but my midday the snow has that slippery, wet feeling to it and the driveway is sloppy.

They're predicting a chance of rain for Thursday, and then it's back into the depths of winter for the weekend.  I hope we get more snow!


Yesterday I worked on the chicken house, restacking all of the wood that's been stored inside it outside, raking out packrat nests and moving all the other odds and ends that have accumulated.  It finally got too dusty to breathe, so I moved down to the barn and worked on that.

Down there, I acquired an audience.

What'cha doin?

For now I'm hauling the manure over to dump next to the granary in what will, if all goes as planned, be tilled for a melon/squash patch next spring.
 

Cat 1 came to see what I was up to via the barn window.  He tried sitting by the muck bucket, but after a couple of frozen horse apples bounced off his head, he moved over into a spot of sunshine by the door and gave himself a bath. 

Thunder came in to see what I was doing, checked out the bucket to be absolutely certain nothing inside was edible, poked the cat to make sure he wasn't hiding anything tasty, then migrated back around the barn to watch me through the window.

You work, I'll watch

Next trip to Orschlens, I'm getting a wheelbarrow!
 
T and I checked out the loft over the weekend.  It's not as full as he remembered, thank goodness! There's some old alfalfa, and some straw bales along the back side and one wall, and someone stored a bunch of windows along the other wall, but a large portion of the floor is clear.  It's really dusty. 

We'll back a truck in below the loft door and shove the bales out, and I think we can use them for mulch.  The windows... not sure if we can use them to make hot boxes for the garden, or if we'll end up just hauling them to the dump.  Anybody have any nifty ideas for old screens?

Also up there, hanging from the rafters, two complete sets of harness.  I think it's too old and cracked to be saved, unfortunately.  But I'm going to see what I can salvage.

Remnants of the old days

Since the horses have been using the barn to loaf in, today's project is getting the mangers cleaned out.  That way, if it's really nasty I can feed them inside, not on the floor.  And there's more cleaning to be done in the chicken house.

A bunch of cows were shoving one another around their water tank when I finished up in the barn, and when I checked sure enough, the tank was empty.  The guys have only been filling it in the morning so that it doesn't freeze solid at night - no heater, so it saves them from having to break ice all the time.  There's another big tank clear on the other side of the pasture, so some days the cows don't come in to this one at all.

I turned the water on for them and Cat 1 and I hung out on top of the well house cover in the sunshine while they drank. 

Pet me!  Pet me, pet me, pet me!

Definitely not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

2013 to-do list

New home, new pastures, new places to ride... there's just way too much new going around to get used to!  I still need to find a good horse vet, farrier and a chiropractor (for Sunny).  T has some old friends who ride, and he's collecting recommendations - we'll see what sort of agreement there is out there. 

I'm also hoping to find someone/where to take lessons from.  I'm not too concerned about what kind, I've just grown to like the incentive of taking them.

We have fences - real fences, not just the temporary, backed up by the promise of electric shock, kind - to build, automatic waterers to put in, a barn loft to clean out now that the temps are below freezing, hopefully the legless critters are fast asleep, and lots more trees to clear out.  (And that's not even touching all of the house projects that need to be tackled or finished up.)

For today I'm keeping it simple - feed the horses, fill the water tank, feed the cats, feed the people (French onion soup and German apple cake), laundry and Christmas tear-down.

Real live horses!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that 2012 is off to a good start!  I spent some time with my sister and her family out east over the holidays, and had a wonderful time.  We saw some crazy decorations - only a few days before Christmas...

and these folks were still adding lights - see the ladder?  Their neighbors, and the electric company, must love them!

Out finishing up the last of my Christmas shopping I spotted this license plate.

I want one!  Vanity plates galore out there - of course it's wall to wall people, too.

Speaking of lights, is this not cool?  Unfortunately, other than the huntsman's mount, my niece's pretty ponies and her rocking horse, and the carousel we rode at the mall (and not on the horse, she likes the teacup spinner), I didn't see a single horse.

It was, however, a lovely carousel

Unfortunately, I caught the cold/flu bug going around and spent the last few days of my visit hacking, sniffing, and mainlining cold medicine.  It was a wonderful trip, but it's good to be home and finally feeling better.

While I was gone it snowed, and T got the tank heater in. The ponies are round and fully fluffed

I hopped on Sunny for my first ride of the new year - a quick 5 minute slog around the pasture - trailed by Cat 1, who doesn't mind the horses in the least.

He's determined to walk between my feet, and seemed equally intent on getting himself flattened under Sunny's.  

Not much new here, and I have yet to catch back up on my blog reading, so I'm off to do that!