About Last Night

The weather has been delightful around here, warm sunny days, calm starry nights for days and days. It hasn't rained in almost two weeks.

About last night: It started sprinkling around 7:45 p.m., but didn't amount to anything, barely laid down the dust. By 10:00 the bricks were dry. I hayed everyone, took Max out for last call and called it a night.

At 4:45 a.m. April started barking, which got Max awake and barking. Right when we were wondering what that was all about the lightning strike hit the trees down the hill at the creek with a thunderous BOOM. It was truly like a bomb went off, brighter than daylight. At the same time the power went out.

Panic and concern ensued. He volunteered to get the horses into the barn while I held Max down on the bed. I don't know whose task was more difficult. As he opened the kitchen door another lightning strike hit so close the house shook. Yikes!

He wore my rain jacket from Muddy Creek. I highly recommend that jacket! Promise you will not get wet. He said the boys were reluctant to come in, hiding under the trees. He locked the little ones into Fred's stall. Hay flakes all around.

The house gutter was overflowing, hitting the window over my head. Max was alarmed by this, too. So was I, the window well under that would be filling up like an aquarium and leaking into the laundry room, again.

Max needed to go out around 5:30; it was barely raining at that time, still mild. When the alarm went off at 6:01 a.m. I most certainly did not want to get up.

Mid-March Sunday

Mild temps continue, more like mid-May, not mid-March. May Apples are emerging, pears and cherries are blooming, tulip poplars are in full bloom. Really weird.

The day started off foggy, humid and chilly. Later on it burned off and got warm; I was wearing a t-shirt!

Had a nice ride this afternoon at Schaeffer Farm. This great park is seasonally closed and only open when the weather has been dry. It was busy, too, which is a good thing. Love that this gem is so popular!

St. Pat's Day - Green Day

You would think the last thing on our minds on a 'green' day would be cutting down about a dozen full-sized Cherry trees. I wanted the one nearest the barn cut down before it leafs out, to keep the debris down and not have the potentially toxic leaves blowing around the horses.

We got carried away. After he cut that tree up into manageable pieces he decided to brush hog between the trees in the old fence line down the hill in the future pasture. He got lots done, exposing groundhog holes, too, and old metal fencing. Some of the metal is buried in the groundhog hole mounds and trees.

Mid-day, after all this hard work it was decided we would go to Southern States Cooperative and get that Stihl saw he's been eyeing for years. The model is called 'Farm Boss.' We took the dogs, because we can, and headed out for town and lunch.

Everybody was so nice to the dogs, too, Max was mostly on his best behavior and April was a real trooper and a gentle lady. Both were offered treats, again and again. Rounding out our order, we also got another cache of 'groundhog bombs' and 50 lbs. of pasture mix seed. The dogs slept on the way back.

He hit the trees pretty good when we got back; before dark he had most all of the Cherries down, lots of them already cut up into manageable pieces. The pasture mix seed is for the bare ground between all these downed trees. It was a beautiful day!

And They Call It "Puppy Love"

Last night, Tom went to bed, I was sitting on the couch, Max was asleep at my feet,I had his lead rope in my hands, April was by the front door zzzzzz and Irene walks by - Max picks up his head, then flattens out again. Heavy sigh, non-event.

LATER - in the bed, Irene (the window is open) climbs into the bed, walks on the pillows into the window sill - and HISSSSSSes at Max (who is asleep), which wakes him up! She's evil, right?

Last Friday i couldn't get home at lunchtime (too busy) so when we finally did get home at 5:55pm he had wet himself and splashed pee all over the cage, the floor, etc., Tom ended up taking a shower with him to get him cleaned up, I mopped the floor and also washed the cage pan and bars. ugh. He has not had an accident since - but I did come home yesterday at lunchtime. I'll be doing that again today, because I can. He still is not sleeping through the night - he now weighs 34 lbs at 16 weeks, he has webbed feet.

Spring or Summer - Which?

Things, everything, is starting to bloom in earnest this week. Last night the Peepers in the creek were really singing. And today is supposed to have the high temp of 87. Really? And it's dry, getting dusty.

On Monday the sprayer machine showed up to do the industrial-strength RoundUp treatment. I don't really notice the 'burn' that occurred across the road in the bean field, I want what they got.

Also on Monday he blew up a couple recurring groundhog holes. Max and April assisted. One of the holes was so fresh the dust hadn't settled just yet, and it was the site of a previous encampment. I could see how well my grass seed was doing from last year. Darn it.

Saturday, Down on the Farm

Saturday did turn out to be a great weather day. We both had things we needed to get done, in different directions for different reasons.

After noon my Godson, his mother, his aunt, uncle and cousin joined us for the grand tour of our little 'dude' ranch.

Also the weekend for changing the clocks forward. I know you lose an hour in the morning, but I'd rather have it in the evening, the better to use it riding after work! I thought my 'droid phone would change itself but it did not; I slept in, wasting a whole hour on Sunday!

Horses In the Yard

Today Todd's crew came out to start liming the open field and the boy's pasture. I came home at lunchtime to let Max out, like I do every single day, put the boys into their pasture and let the minis out of Lil Fred's stall. I had not noticed that the other gate had been left open by the work crew.

We got home around 6, still daylight. I drive into the parking lot and see Skip in his red coat standing next to the Adirondack chairs in the 'little woods.' KC is behind him, eating Clover in the waning daylight. EEEKK!

We jumped out of the car and I ran to KC, who looked at me like, 'wha? We're good, eating Clover." I walked him back across the parking lot and into the open pasture. Skip has no halter on, as usual, and followed KC into the pasture.

What a relief! I wonder if anyone noticed them out there, and especially how long they were out there.