Much needed maintenance

Today was wonderfully warm, in the 70s and we didn't put any of it to waste!  With the time change giving us more light after work, I didn't even bother taking the girls inside after we got home and once Eric joined us, I headed off to the barn.  I've got both summer pastures resting now and while I mowed the smaller one in the fall, I haven't done much with the larger one since the animals have been on it through the winter. Now that we're past the freeze, they're off to preserve it a bit.

But there's manure that needs to be managed.

So I pulled out the ATV, hooked up the drag and went to town.  The ground was just a touch too soft for my liking in the low places, but thankfully they haven't pooped in any large quantity there and I was able to spread out the piles so it can dry out and decompose once the heat hits. I also want to reseed to make sure the pasture will continue supporting the animals.  I'm also planning to do the same to the winter pasture once it's resting.

I also confirmed that there were no fence breaks, which still leaves Gwyn's escape a mystery.

Did I talk about that? I'll have to check. That's a post all on its own, lol

WEG 2018!!!! And a neat product recommendation

I'm super excited!  Cheri and I are hoping to represent Stonewall Sporthorses and bring Gwyn and Nyx to North Carolina to the Tryon International Equestrian Center where the World Equestrian Games are being held.  It's a year and a half away, but planning needs to start! Woo!

Fuzzy bum

Snacks while I clean so they stay out of my hair

THE BEST ANIMAL PRODUCT EVER!

It's a curry comb glove.  I've heard from people with movement limitations like arthritis and ED that this is a great product for them because they don't have to grip a brush.  Our cats LOVE it.  Gwyn LOVES it.  Saffron is tolerant but she's really unsure of any grooming if she's not haltered and tied. Work in progress :)

You order it to size but I would recommend going up a size if possible. I'm an 8 usually and I ordered as such and it's a touch too tight for my personal preferences. My hand feels claustrophobic in this glove.  

Kaylee helping me.

"Mom, the small human is out there unattended. You sure?"

The tiniest human got her first floor time in the barn and had fun discovering hay. :D 

Kaylee helping feed.

Gwyn is such a fantastic critter with these kids.

Bye Goober! I have to go to work!

Fuzzy nose after our groundwork last week.

We learned kisses!

We've done some car shuffling since I started my job. As the truck is a lease I was putting miles on it WAY TOO FAST. So we pulled insurance off the truck, I got Eric's car and he got a nice new Volt, a hybrid electric.  So now I get to play "What fits into a Chevy Sonice from the farm store when you already have 2 car seats?"

Answer?

Definitely two, could have done 3 bags of pine shavings, a 50lb bag of horse feed, two 40 lb bags of pine pellets and a 40 lb bag of Stall Dry.

Farm store car tetris COMPLETE!

I couldn't see out the back though....

Safety first!

Weather Guesstimation

The big front pasture drains better than it used to... but we still have an ice skating rink.

I don't keep a hose attached in the winter (it's probably faster just lugging buckets, honestly)  But I can pretty accurately guess the temperature based on how easy it is to use this pump.  Does the handle lift easily? 25 deg F or warmer.  Is it a bit sticky? 15-25.

Do I really need to put my weight into it? Below 10.

Today it reached the 40s.  Everything is wet and my barn is flooded because the ground is still frozen enough that's there's no where for the water to go. Thank goodness the hay is off the ground.

It's also, thank you ridiculous weather, now a good time for maple sugaring. I am NOT ready! Noo!

Happy Solstice and Welcome Winter

Happy New Year as well!

We now have a facebook page, huzzah.

We had snow and the snow is gone. The weather was gorgeous for New Years weekend here in Michigan and we spent today outside with minimal outerwear. Temperatures are supposed to drop though, so it's back to deep freeze.

Saffron now has her own turnout sheet for those blustery wet cold days. Since the wind whips right across our property it seemed a good investment. I'd often see Gwyn out in the open without a care in her sheet while Saffron would be huddled by the tree line. Now they're both out.  These are just rain coats, if you will. Neither critter is clipped so they have their own fur for insulation. When the temperatures really dipped, poor Saffron was shivering, so I knew we were in need of something for her.

Eric got some pepper seeds for Christmas so we're sprouting them and have decided to set up a hard to utilize corner of our kitchen as a mini greenhouse. Seedlings will be moved downstairs and eventually into the aquaponics set up, since having the plants will increase our fish survival. Plus a coworker of Eric gave him a small fish tank so we can run a mini aquaponics set up and get some seed water for the larger set up.

We need more grow lights.  That's the TL;DR

Goals and To-Do List for the Farm in 2017
-Have a successfully cycling aquaponics set up: any size
-Regularly harrow the arena
-Replace and regrade the footing in the pens
-Spread manure in resting pastures
-Fix lawn mower
-Finish the drainage stream through the pasture
-Fix the drainage path from barn to stream
-Acquire wood chips for pathways
-Revamp play set (replace tarp, fix lean on the A-frame)
-Plan and plant front garden

Our christmas tree, still with root ball. It will be planted in the spring, until then, it's living inside!

Itty bitty but pretty!

We made our own plow for the driveway. It worked really well. I'll go more into that in another post.

Me dressing up to go feed dinner.

I added barn lights because my imagination was going crazy. I kept opening the door in the dark and turning on lights with my heart racing, expecting to see something waiting for me. Logically I know it's silly, but this helped.

Saffron's new blanket. 

Keep Saturn in Saturnalia!

Our stockings. The left one is mine, made by my grandmother. The other three were made by my mom for E, K and H. Hazel has the biggest stocking of them all.

Happy Samhain

The end of harvest and the beginning of winter is upon us. But I haven't posted here since the end of August!

We had lots of critter sightings.

My trailer has lots of fun bumper stickers!

And then I got all dressed up to go to a job interview!  (Part of why posting has been infrequent)

Taking advantage of the sun to dry some diapers.

Pony face who lost her fly mask.

HUGE grasshopper!

Boop!

Kaylee started school!

Velociraptor doesn't run away like he should.

Ponyface is good with my babies.

We throw up our heels too.

I did some organization in the barn in preparation for winter. Now all of my blankets have a place to hang up!

Smartpak sells these awesome over the edge bottle holders which are perfect for off the shelf fly spray and show sheen.

And I added more places to hang up pitchforks and my shovel.

Then we tackled the arena.  It was in a sorry state with plants growing everywhere. It was a mini Alder Tree nursery. 

But we got it churned up good!

Then dragged.

Next we'll be salting it periodically to prevent plant growth.

In October we did a few shows!

We even got a ribbon!

With minimal plants in the arena, it was a fun time to pretend to be a ghost.

And love on the donkeys in your life.

Taking naps is fun.

And we decorated for Halloween.

Fall colors and rain.

And it's starting to get cold. Ice in the water trough in the mornings.

And frost.

And our first snowfall! It barely stuck and melted nearly immediately. It was mixed with rain so was a generally cruddy day.

This past weekend we made a trip to Home Depot to make shelves and cavaletti. It was a warm day!

Someone can finally sit on her own and got to sit in the grass!

Handy husband.

Halloween trick or treating!

And naps!