Good Friday

Our April Fool

Today is Skip's birthday. He is now nineteen. His breeder said she knew he was going to be a special guy, born on this prankster's day. I personally hate pranks and 'gotchas' but we do love Skip.

Brush Fire

Had some exciting activity today - a 'brush' fire along the PEPCO powerlines the next farm over. I had been hearing sirens, but what are you going to do about that? When I saw Lisbon Fire Department come by I took Max out, that's when I smelled the smoke and heard the Maryland State Police helicopter, going around and around.

Went to investigate, traipsing along the powerline cut, over the berm, through the corn stubble and briars. We scared up a groundhog that ran right to us! but then ducked into his hole. Max was outraged! Lots of bluebirds and Robins and the peepers, leaving egg masses in the marsh.

it was so windy - 40 mph gusts, I don’t know how this one started, but it rained pretty good later in the afternoon (twice) and that seemed to have helped, but this incident went on for HOURS - the tankers were going to Mullinix Mill intersection to water at the hydrant there - blocking the road, and running back down to the fields.

Made the local newsfeed and their report says it was a thirty-acre 'brush' fire. Some trees did get scorched, but mostly it was corn stubble, with the wind blowing it up the hill.

Last Monday in March Ride!!

The weather, it is always about the weather, has been lousy and getting a chance to ride has been hit or miss. We took the opportunity to ride.

We started out late, because that's how we roll, and the days are longer so we don't have to chase daylight aggressively.

Hadn't ridden since early February, but the boys were pretty darn good. The one exception was where the tree that had been felled by the beaver, but not blocking the trail as badly as it had: Skip did a partial refusal and fell off backwards off the ledge that is the trail. The solid rock proved to be his undoing and when urged to regain the trail he scrapped the inside of his legs, skinned himself pretty good. Let's not do that again!

Later at home I put some 'Wonder Dust' on the scrapes and he is good as new.

The Woodstock Inn was sleepy on this work day, and only about six of us were there for a late lunch. The barkeep and other patrons regaled us with stories about the train tracks and tragic outcomes when people don't use the sense that everyone should possess. We all think it won't happen to us!

Inside Job

After the complete failure of the original skim-coat he applied another coating of wall mud, and used the 'Magic' trowel, which is actually a squeegee. It worked perfectly. It is just begging for that coat of paint color.

While he had the wall mud for repairs, he started picking at the failed walls in the bathroom. This bathroom is a disaster, honestly. Everything that could have been installed wrong, was. For instance: the bathtub is set at a severe angel, making it impossible not to slop water over the outside rim and into the wall. He repaired the ceiling in the downstairs hallway and now we know exactly why that ceiling failed. Each time the shower was used, water leaked down onto the ceiling.

The bathroom door was installed onto the tile surround. The door hinge didn't stay, so it was reinstalled higher up. After that fix the door never closed properly again. The door wasn't correctly sized but that was another issue.

Maybe we're suffering from attention deficit disorder, but he started picking at the threshold at the living room and hallway junction and next thing you know the carpet is pulled up and laying on the bricks outside. The wood floor is actually in remarkably good condition. Not perfect but it is quite nice.

And it has been cold and windy. Tonight the low will be 8 degrees. March has been brutal and winter will not say goodbye.

Birthday Boy

Today is KC's birthday. He's twelve, and that number is so big it is hard for me to comprehend. He is still my baby, and I call him that, it will make him turn and look at me.

We've been through a lot, ups and downs - me on the ground lots of times! - but he trusts me to look out for his best interests and can get him to do pretty much anything he's able to do.

Interior Projects

Lately, chronically, the weather has been the pits. Unfortunately that groundhog was right! Winter just can't let us go. And between snow storms, rain and ice, the riding part of horse ownership is just not happening.

So we look inward. And maybe address some issues with the house that have been neglected for too long. Five years? Time does fly.

I painted with a ‘special’ formula of KILZ that had shellac in it, he got a mudding blade and special tool to even out the textured wall - I painted two coats, he mudded twice to diminish the severe texturing on some of the walls - dried with a fan and the portable heater - it shrunk away from the wall and tonight it peeled off like heavy vinyl wallpaper - at least the orange paint is gone! but we wasted materials and an entire weekend - darn! But we are making progress. Really we are.

He's replaced or added moulding and closet framing, pulled all the carpet and padding, pulled staples and tack strips, scraped gum and unknown melted objects from the flooring, replaced the threshold in the bathroom.

Also reconfirmed that there is ONE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT for the entire upstairs and the outlets (in the closets) are back-to-back. The added outlets in the 'cowboy room' has electrical wire under the moulding snaked around the perimeter. Definitely not to code.

In the past plastic sheeting was tacked around the windows. The plastic was pulled off, leaving plastic and tacks imbedded in the window framing and walls. Then painted over. The paint colors that this house has hosted is incredible: from white to blue (3 shades), teal, green, yellow, gray (2 shades), brown, tan, orange, bright red and pepto-bismol pink.