Archive for the ‘Wintervale Ranch’ Category
Delilah Again
Delilah stole the show again yesterday. She was a chewing monster in the morning before we went outside. Luckily, what she shredded was a chew toy of her own, so no harm done. I think it is cute that it is common for her to lay her head down on whatever it is she has just torn to bits, to take a little rest. All that destruction must be exhausting.
Later in the day, I let her accompany me, on a leash, for the trip to the barn. I chose to leave her tied up inside while tending to chores in the paddocks. I didn’t have it in me to witness any chasing of horses, and she has not been very trustworthy about behaving appropriately in their presence for the entirety of each visit. When she is good, it is as though she can only hold it for so long, and eventually something gives way and she can’t help but give chase.
What really got me yesterday –and this may be something that you really needed to be there for– was what she did when I finished my barn chores and disconnected the tie line holding her in place. Now I had her by the spring-loaded leash we often use, allowing her to explore, within limits, at her heart’s content. She seemed to have an immediate agenda, and headed for a spot that seemed entirely random to me.
She sniffed and pushed her nose into the apparent nothingness of the dirt, like she so often does. I have watched her appear to be within striking distance of a mole in the dirt so many times, yet come up with absolutely nothing, I hardly glance her way anymore when she starts the routine. Too often, when she starts frantically digging to get after something, she stops and turns to pounce on the sound behind her, which happens to be the dirt she was throwing between her back legs, as it hits the leaves on the ground.
I think she may have attention deficit issues.
Not me. I’m still on track, trying to describe what happened yesterday. So, as I was barely paying attention to her putting her nose to the ground at that unlikely spot, she surprised me by pulling something out of the dirt right there! She is so funny when she gets a critter in her mouth. She gets this expression that looks a bit sheepish, like she is doing something embarrassing. My guess is that she has a sense we might disapprove, which I suppose Cyndie does to a small degree more than I. Delilah also becomes entirely fixated on her “catch” and will take great precautions to maintain possession.
Whatever she pulled out of the ground was so covered with dirt that I couldn’t identify it, but it seemed to be about the size of a mole, and was dangling out of her mouth, swinging as she walked. I couldn’t tell if it was something she just discovered, or if it was something she had previously buried in that spot. I let her lead the way, and we walked out into the warm sunshine bathing the back hill behind our house.
I was more than happy to let her find a spot to lie down and do what comes natural with her little prize. As she licked and licked that dirt blob, I began to recognize the profile of a rabbit ear. I expect it is a remnant of the rabbit she had a couple of weeks ago, and thus, probably something she buried for her future enjoyment.
Work Visit
We put the new “Griz” ATV to use yesterday, and it worked like a charm. One of my goals for the day was to take down the temporary fence we put up to define a grazing area just west of the big field. Our friend, Rich, and his daughter, Sarah, offered to visit and help with some chores, so I also had a goal of having a little fun. Both were accomplished!
They got to meet our horses for the first time, which also served a purpose for us, because we want the herd to be at ease in the presence of visitors. The more chances our horses have to experience receiving visitors, the better.
Cyndie brought Legacy into the barn to be groomed, and Sarah was able to help out with that task. I think she may have done too well, because when we returned to the barn later, to give the horses their afternoon feed, Legacy was covered with mud. He must have felt too clean, and rolled on the ground, in his version of self-grooming, to create a new layer of “insulation.” It was pretty funny to see.
Rich helped me to roll up the poly tape and pull out T-posts. I had rigged a way to connect our little trailer, ill-fitting and undersized though it is, to the Griz, and pulled that along as Rich picked up the posts. We reached that point where the load was becoming precarious, yet had only about a half-dozen left, so we went for it, and with Rich supporting the posts hanging off the end of the trailer, slowly worked our way out of the field.
The load was enough that I got stuck on the slope of gravel leading up to the pavement of the driveway, so I shifted to low, and then put it in 4-wheel-drive, and up it went, easy as could be. Then my only remaining problem was figuring out where the heck I would put all the posts. I hadn’t thought that far ahead!
Rich helped me create some space in the back of the shop garage and we finished putting things away just as soup and fresh-baked bread were being announced, topped off with cookies that Sarah helped Cyndie bake.
Thank you to Rich and Sarah for the visit, and assistance with chores. More than just a helping hand, having another person around when working provides opportunity for banter that energizes the endeavor.
Wintervale is a place that is made whole by the presence of guests. That has become apparent to me. At first, I thought we just needed to get the horses here to achieve the fulfillment of potential this place holds. Horses are a big part of it, but having people here to immerse themselves in the experience is the most precious of all.
Selective Intelligence
Legacy is definitely the “spokeshorse” for the group, and in most situations, he demonstrates a lot of intelligence. I was cleaning the paddock yesterday while the horses were out grazing. See if you can follow this: The wheelbarrow and I were stationed inside the large paddock, along the fence bordering the big field where the horses were grazing. The gate that was open between the paddock and big field was located in the other, smaller paddock.
At one point during my effort, Legacy sauntered into the small paddock and headed over to the waterer for a drink. While I continued scooping up manure, he crossed through the opening between the two paddocks and walked over by me into the very limited space between the wheelbarrow and the fence.
I was just about to ask him if he wanted something from me when he proceeded to deposit a fresh pile for me to pick up. He was so close, he might as well have just dropped it directly into the wheelbarrow himself.
I got the feeling he was trying to impress me with how smart he is. Unfortunately, his next behavior totally undermined his little show of smarts.
Upon completing his contribution of fertilizer for me to pick up, he looked to rejoin the three horses in the big field, by walking up to the closed gate near where I was working. The herd approached him there and waited. They quickly became frustrated and started running, so Legacy ran with them, along the fence, past me and the wheelbarrow, sliding to a stop when he reached the end of the paddock. He turned, frustrated, and ran back, stepping in the pile he so conveniently placed for me just moments before.
He did this run a couple more times, even as I was attempting to coax him to the wide open route he had used to get into this situation. He is intelligent, but he appears to experience lapses of memory. The horses in the field joined in his increasing frustration and sprinted back and forth, stopping amazingly close to the open gate in the small paddock.
I continued to invite both him and them to join me in passing through the open gates to reunite, by walking in and out through the openings. When his frustrated gyrations finally brought him far enough along to see what I had been trying to show him, he bolted through just as the other three figured it out and were charging in. I thought I was going to witness a demolition derby collision. Somehow, they avoided that catastrophe, and the four of them turned and raced full-speed together through the open gate, out into the big field, throwing chunks of mud 20-feet into the air in a thunder of pounding hooves.
One thing about horses, just as quickly as he forgot which gates were open, they forgot about how frustrated they all were, and instantly relaxed and went back to grazing. It’s one of the more intelligent things they do.
Delightful Delilah
I had a very fine day yesterday with Delilah that started a little surprisingly. Cyndie had gotten up early to let Delilah out, and then was occupied with some activity, while I remained in bed trying to fall back to sleep. I was jolted alert by a commotion in the dark at the foot of the bed. Usually it is the sound of the cats doing battle, but that rarely lasts very long, and this sound wasn’t stopping.
My intuition sensed Delilah was in the room, but the familiar clanking sound of the tags on her collar was missing. Then it occurred to me that the reason she would be able to appear in our bedroom in the first place would be, if she got loose from her leash, which would be logical if she had slipped out of her collar altogether. I jumped out of bed in the dark, wearing my usual sleepwear –which doesn’t happen to involve pajamas– and blindly stepped into the middle of the hissing fracas, feeling a bit ill at ease.
By this time, Cyndie was aware something was amiss and had come running. She toggled the light switch and revealed the standoff between the girls. Pequenita will stand her ground, but Mozyr zooms under the bed at the slightest threat. Calm was restored, but my thoughts of falling back to sleep were dashed.
After breakfast, I took Delilah outside to see if I could chuck a ball someplace where she would have to hunt to find it. It is thrilling to watch her dial in the location, as she passes back and forth across the path the ball took. One of my tosses ended up deflecting off a tree, changing trajectory from what Delilah was anticipating. I thought I saw where it landed and waited for her to narrow it down to that spot. I could tell it was a hard one, because she was obviously having difficulty homing in on it.
She would pop out of the woods, and then circle back in to hunt some more. One time, when she came out and headed all the way back toward me, I figured she was giving up. Then I spotted the ball in her mouth. I didn’t believe it, because she hadn’t made it back to the spot I had been watching. I thought she must have found some other ball from an earlier time. I hiked in and checked out the spot I had been eyeing. Nothing there!
Her nose is definitely better than my eyesight.
The morning altercation with Pequenita must have stirred something in the cat, as she came out three different times throughout the day to approach Delilah and make contact. It is not entirely unprecedented that she do that, but it doesn’t happen every day. Three times in one day is of noteworthy significance. When Delilah remains calm in the presence of the cat(s), she gets a treat.
On the third occasion, when Cyndie had arrived home, they were almost nose to nose, gobbling up the treats she was putting down. It was very rewarding to see Delilah maintain her composure for all three of the visits from Pequenita.
Progress has been very slow in coming, but it appears our patience is finally being rewarded. I don’t know about the cats, but I am truly looking forward to the day when we don’t have to confine Delilah to a leash when she comes inside the house.
Incredible Gift
We have received an incredible gift from our friends, Mike and Barb Wilkus. It has Cyndie and me struggling to find a way to fully convey our appreciation. It is a one-of-a-kind painting by Mike. Not only is it a unique and generous gift, the artistry has absolutely captivated both of us. Like a favorite song that you want to hear over and over, we keep finding ourselves drawn to gaze upon this image repeatedly.
Cyndie has collected and displayed a significant number of images of horses, but none of them come close to catching my eye as much as Mike’s watercolor image does. It is alive with the vibrant spirit of a horse.
It is absolutely stunning, and perfect for us, Mike. We can’t thank you enough.
It is a priceless masterpiece that we will enjoy anew every single day.
Grizzly Arrival
I had a great day yesterday with Delilah as my off-leash companion for a variety of tasks and activities. We finally got the “Chuckit” device to save my arm and shoulder when tossing balls for Delilah to find. I was testing the distances and trying to give her a spread of different areas to search, and then the delivery of our Grizzly ATV arrived. I hoped to leave her searching, while I headed down the driveway to direct the driver to pull his trailer onto the loop around the hay shed.
She saw me walk away and followed, without the ball in her mouth. By the time I got done helping to unload everything (came with a spare set of tires/rims and the plow blade), I discovered I couldn’t recall which direction I had last thrown the ball. Off and on for the rest of the day, I urged her to use her nose to go find her ball, but it never turned up. I even walked the woods in the areas I had been throwing into, but found nothing.
Do some people clean the underside of their lawn mowers more than once a year? What a mess ours was. It surprises me it even works when there is that much gunk accumulated. Delilah was happy to wander off with chunks of the stinkiest pieces. I think she believes she is being helpful.
I mowed the grass on Sunday, hopefully for the last time this season, and yesterday got the mower deck dismantled from the tractor. Now there is enough ground clearance for that tractor to go places it usually gets stuck. There is also plenty of room for changing the oil.
Of course, we don’t need to drive that lawn tractor into the fields now, because we have an ATV that is made to do that, and much more. It’s a big one. I’m thinking we should call it, “Griz.”
Oil Averse
Those of you who know me are likely aware of my past aversions to gas-powered engines. My favorite tool of all time has been my trusty Scotts 20-inch reel mower. I couldn’t part with it when we moved, and now we have found it to be the perfect tool for mowing the path of our labyrinth. But, alas, a 20 acre ranch with horses, that has a quarter-mile-long driveway, in a region that gets significant snow accumulations, calls for the power of an engine.
We do have some engines here. We bought the New Holland diesel tractor with a front loader and a back blade, plus the brush cutter. Then we have a Craftsman riding lawn mower tractor. We even added a back up generator that has a motor that requires periodic oil changes. It came with a spare filter, thank you very much. The classic reminder that I have another device that will require occasional oil changes.
Long, long ago, I gave up changing the oil in my cars. I pay someone else to do that for me, and I find it worth every penny, …oops, make that dollar. But how do you get someone to change the oil/fluids in your tractor? Drive it to a Jiffy Lube? That might be possible for the diesel. It’s got a gear for driving on the highway. But the lawn mower? I think not. And our generator is a permanent installation here, so that’s not going anywhere. I’m going to have to start servicing my own engines.
So, as long as I’ve got to start servicing fuel-burning engines, what’s one more?
That Craftsman lawn mower is the machine Cyndie has taken to for all manner of bushwhacking our fields, doing heavy mowing, and hauling with our pull-behind trailer. It has performed admirably, but she is frequently trying to coerce it to do things beyond the scope of its intended use. If she hadn’t gotten that pickup, I think she would be driving the lawn mower to Fleet Farm to fill the trailer with merchandise.
Well, now she won’t have a reason to get that tractor stuck in our fields anymore. Last night we made a deal on a used ATV with a plow blade. It will become the primary workhorse for navigating the far reaches of our woods and fields, hauling firewood, raking the paddocks, dragging the round pen, and even plowing snow in winter.
Now the poor old Craftsman can go back to just being a lawn mower for our yard.
Luckily, our new ATV came with an aftermarket service manual, so I can learn how to do all of the maintenance myself. Is changing oil anything like doing a software update? The time is coming for me to make peace with getting my hands dirty with oil.
Momentary Bliss
We had some blissful moments yesterday, working in the paddocks and round pen with the horses grazing around us. Cyndie decided to allow Delilah to accompany us, off-leash. That exercise went surprisingly well, until it didn’t. More on that, later.
Like happens so many times around here, I set off with one project in mind, and then found myself drawn to work on another. I was intending to cut down some small trees in the recently cut field north of the driveway where the brush cutter wasn’t able to mow. I never made it out there. The allure of the herd was just too great.
I needed to stop by the paddocks, because I had offered to bring in the wheelbarrow for Cyndie to harvest the latest crop of fertilizer. That’s when I noticed that Cyndie had included the gate to the round pen when she opened up the gates to grazing fields after she fed the horses earlier in the morning. While we have been busy with other things, the dirt of our round pen area has been getting overgrown with grass. They have been grazing the area around the pen, but the grass inside was untouched. Horses to the rescue!
Cayenne was the only horse inside the pen, when I showed up. I decided I wanted to pick up where I had left off last week on the task of turning over the soil in the round pen while the horses were around. It didn’t take long for the other horses to notice my presence, and in no time, I had 4 helpers. With all 5 of us inside the round pen together, Cyndie came over to take a picture:
After a break for lunch, I moved just outside the round pen to cut down growth that had sprouted from a stump left over from last fall’s project to clear that area. Delilah was with me, alternating between being entirely fascinated with piles of poop she came across, and digging and chewing on the stump and sprouts I was cutting.
Once again, the horses moseyed over to graze right beside where I was working. I looked up at one point and paused to absorb the bliss of Delilah nosing around in the grass among the four grazing horses, beside Cyndie and I toiling away on our respective tasks. Delilah had had a spectacular day off-leash. Cyndie had walked her up and down the driveway, practicing commands and rewarding her with treats. Delilah had stayed close to Cyndie, following her commands, when Cyndie was cleaning the paddocks.
At one point, Delilah and Hunter greeted each other, nose to nose, with no adverse reaction from either of them. Cyndie and I instantly shared the same hope that those two might somehow become fast friends. Delilah continued to receive treats rewarding her good behavior and the horses remained calm despite the dog wandering among them. We were enjoying things working the way we envisioned they could.
I have no idea what changed. Maybe it was that Delilah still has a lot of puppy in her, and just couldn’t hold herself any longer. She wanted to play a game of chase, and the horses make such irresistible targets. While Cyndie and I hollered at Delilah, the pursuit spun around the outside of the round pen fence. With me brandishing a shovel and Cyndie, a rake, we eventually collared the dog to put an abrupt end to the disruption, and an instant revocation of Delilah’s off-leash liberties.
Realizing how quickly things can go awry is probably why the moments of perfect harmony seem so incredibly blissful.
Important Lesson
Legacy is showing signs of growing a bit shaggier in preparation for the onset of winter weather. That same growth hasn’t been as noticeable on the others yet. “Legs” doesn’t hesitate for a second to walk over to the fence to command our attention when there is something he wants. On this day, he was getting tired of being wet, and wanted to go in the barn for the rest of the evening. It was the day Cyndie returned home, so we were able to give them all a chance to get dry.
I don’t like it when he approaches when I am not at a gate. The top wire and the third wire are electrified. We have not witnessed them getting shocked by the fence yet, but I’m confident they know about it, one way or another. Still, I don’t want him to accidentally get bit by it when he is focused on communicating with us and neglecting to pay attention to the fence between. I would rather it happen only when he is being mischievous with the perimeter of his confines.
Last night, well after dark, I was walking Delilah on a leash and Cyndie was putting hay out for the horses as she was bringing them in from the big field for the night. We were up the driveway a bit, and Delilah noticed Cyndie’s head lamp moving about in the distance. The dog walked up to the fence to investigate, but got too close and received a shock. She let out a series of yelps as she ran off in a circle around me.
That scared the horses and they ran out of the paddock before Cyndie had gotten the gate closed.
It was the second night in a row that Cyndie was caught in the darkness when the herd startled and ran away in a thundering escape. She said the previous night was a result of some exclamation I made up at the house when I stepped out the door to greet our single surprise Trick-or-Treat visitors. Oops! I got so excited I scared the horses.
They were neighbors we hadn’t met yet, who took advantage of Halloween to come up and say hi, so I was thrilled.
Our horses are showing signs of being comfortable with their new home, but they continue to be quick to exercise their emergency response reactions. Cyndie is learning to make sure she is highly visible when she is inside the paddocks with them after darkness has set in. That’s an important lesson, because I don’t think I can be trusted to keep from doing something that might end up startling the herd while she’s in there.
Mostly Unscathed
It is finally the last day of October. What took it so long to get here? Geesh. Trick or treat?
I was thinking it would be fun to do a surprising reversal of tradition and visit all our neighbors on this day to ring their doorbell and offer them a treat from us. Great idea, huh? Too bad that is all it is: an idea. I thought of it while tending to the animal-care chores all by myself during the time Cyndie has been out-of-town. Were she here, I could have tested the idea on her, whereupon she would become inspired to bake something incredible, and then the treat-full trick would be on.
Ah, but Cyndie is home now and the animals get to receive her masterful attention once again. I am happy to report that they all survived, mostly unscathed, under my care. The “lowlight” of the time I was the sole care giver was the morning I brought Delilah with me to the barn to feed the horses. She had been so good the day before, I figured she deserved a day off-leash. I had it in mind to do some work that would accommodate her roaming in the vicinity.
I left her enclosed in the barn while I was out under the overhang with the horses. I walked across the paddock to open a gate to the big field so the horses could wander out there after gulping down their feed. The “chestnut-three” were particularly squirrelly during the feeding, startling each other and doing their merry-go-round rotation of chasing each other off the feed pans.
Unbeknownst to me, Delilah was picking up on this through the wall of the barn. I shrugged it off. I had the gates opened that I wanted open, the feed distributed; my work was done here. I was prepared to take Delilah and move on to the next project I had planned. I was not attuned properly to our dog.
I cracked the barn door open enough to step out and Delilah bolted like she was shot from a cannon. She bee-lined a circle around the barn to where the horses were eating, despite my hollering to stop her. If none of the horses had moved a muscle, she would have barked a lot, but nothing would come of it, but the chestnuts were already on edge from their own shenanigans, so they jumped and ran when Delilah showed up. The chase was on.
It is such a helpless feeling when Delilah tunes us out and goes into predator mode. I shouted, the horses neighed, bucked, ran, and kicked, and Delilah barked and chased. The only result of that formula is escalation. Two of the horses headed out into the big field, but that just inspired Delilah more. She picked one out and stayed right on its heels. In the frantic moment, I wasn’t able to notice which horses she was picking on. Luckily, whoever it was, they ran back into the paddock again and I was eventually able to reclaim the dog’s attention and get her to come out of there. I unleashed my meanest alpha dog routine and rescinded her chance at frolicking off-leash that day.
After I put Delilah in her kennel, I returned to the horses to give them my humble apologies. They seemed to have already forgotten the incident. In fact, it appeared to have helped settled down the chestnuts, as they finally parked themselves, each at one of the 4 feed pans, and were now calmly munching away.
Here are a couple of shots from two distinctly different days:
Relative Something 