3*31*

Last day in March - that didn't take long!

Got up early, did my dog and pony chores and scooted out to Westminster to pick up my Godson and deliver him to my favorite Aunt's for the week. Lucky guy, wish I could stay all week, too. It was foggy and misting while I was there, but as soon as I crossed the Mason/Dixon line the sun was shining and the clouds were scarce.

The weather forecast was wrong, again. We spent a good part of the day cleaning up the tree debris that is now blooming on the ground. The bees have found the flowers, too. We made several trips with the flat bed to the fire pit. We now have more 'fire wood' than we can burn in a year of bonfires.

Still not done moving the tree debris.

Last Friday in March

Busy Bees

Boring, as in BORING Bees ~ ~ ~

I noticed some Bee activity on our patio along with the very warm weather lately. The Common Eastern Carpenter Bee is not the typical Bumble Bee. These Bees look similar, act similarly, but will bore holes in your fence, wooden door frames or lintels.

A pile of sawdust is your clue; these are not termite piles. Boring a highly polished hole about 3/8 in.in diameter directly up into the bottom of a nesting substrate (usually an eave, picnic bench, fence belt, or similar wood structure). The tunnels become larger -- about 1/2 in. -- inside. When the female is boring tunnels, there is a collection of fresh sawdust below the hole.

Male eastern carpenter bees are curious and will investigate anyone, including humans, that comes near their nests. The curiosity is often interpreted as aggressiveness; however, the males are only aggressive to other male carpenter bees. They do not have stingers and cannot cause any real harm. The female carpenter bees tend to be busy with floral visitation and nest provisioning, but have the ability to cause a painful sting if captured.

Last Wednesday in March

Where does the time go? I still can't get traction with this time change. Living and sleeping with a puppy has taken a toll on my rest patterns. Whatever were we thinking!

March Finally Roars In

This last Monday in March debuts with true March weather: Seriously windy, freeze warnings overnight. I put the heavy coats on the boys.

The beautiful, glorious Spring weather we've been enjoying for a couple weeks is history.

All the pretty flowering blossoms are taking flight, blowing up, down, sideways and away. More petals on the mulch than left on the trees. Birds are having a hard time staying the course, my car is having a rough time keeping on track, too.

Last Sunday in March

Also KC's birthday - 9 years old today!
He got his feet done yesterday, model prisoner. Recommended to use Iodine on his soles to toughen them up, the hoof wall is in good shape. He's been on "Horseshoer's Secret" from Farnam since probably November. I'm going to do the Iodine bath on his hoof and frog, but I guess he's not going to be able to go barefooted all his life.

Tom spent most of the day packing wheel bearings on the KeiferBuilt LQ trailer. It's a good thing, too, he discovered that the grease was starting to leak onto the brakes. Eventually the weather cleared so he wasn't sitting in the rain doing this chore.

The standing water in the pasture eventually soaked in, but still a little soft out there.

Todd Greenstone stopped by. I confessed to not having checks, so that's why he hasn't been paid. I guess that's the best excuse he's ever heard. The grass seed is starting to come up, he recommended fertilizing the field, but I think we'll either pass altogether or do it ourselves.

Rainy Saturday

Another thunderstorm rolled in at 5:30 a.m., I went out because it was so close to when I was going to get up anyway, got them fed and in the barn and promptly went back to bed until 8!

It rained off an on most of the day and they spent most of it outside or in the run-in shed. Well, Skip did, with KC only allowed to get his head in. The temps continue to be so mild and I managed to get myself pretty wet.

Our closest neighbor came over to tell us about the motorcycle crash in front of his house at 1:00 a.m. We didn't hear a thing. I thought I did hear sirens, but didn't wake me fully and the dogs didn't bark.

I believe kids should be able to ride their bikes out in the country, people live out here to allow their kids an active and happy childhood. However, these kids don't seem to have adult supervision.

Starting during the most recent full Moon, I noticed that the kids were running up and down the road - no head lights, no helmets. As the Moon waned, they were still at it, late at night. I know I had a curfew, and these 2-stroke bikes are not quiet. They really jazz the boys up, especially Skip.

On several school nights they are going up and down the power lines at 10:30, 11:00 p.m. No headlights, pitch dark, at high speeds.

Our neighbor said there was a fire truck, two ambulances on the road and cop cars parked in his driveway. Bike parts strew across his yard and his lawn is turfed. He said coins were scattered all over the place. I found a dime and a penny, too.

Can only speculate what happened, but I think they collided head-on or nearly head-on on the road and ended up on his lawn. Some of the bike pieces were very small. Ouch.

He cut a dead tree down, adding to the pile of tree debris in the yard. I got a few texts and a voice mail message from Dean's apprentice, Sarah. She was willing to come out Saturday afternoon to trim the others. I warned her that I had no checks! I had used the last one and didn't realize it was THE LAST ONE in the box. I rarely write checks, most bills are paid electronically.

She was still willing, so while Tom had run to Mt. Airy to get oil filters she stopped by. Everybody was on their best behavior, however, we had sticker shock when she gave me the receipt. She's $15 a piece more per trim than our usual farrier.

She said that KC's hoof wall was in excellent condition, but the sole was soft. She suggested I pour Iodine on his foot, quickly absorbed, which would harden the sole. Eventually I want to get him back to shoes, but this hiatus from shoeing is helping, I think.

Saturday night was really quiet.