Posts Tagged ‘dying willow’
Spring Growing
The new green growth of spring is ramping up to top speed around here. The thing about mowing the grass is that the saturated ground is not solid enough to support the riding mower in most places. I almost buried the back wheels by pushing my luck in the ditch beside the driveway that I knew would be a risk.
Every time I make this mistake, I ask myself why I can’t keep from testing the inevitable. Just don’t. But then I do.
It’s such an affront to my sensibilities when certain areas of regular mowing are neglected and stand tall, looking hideous, while the surrounding grass has been freshly trimmed. You’d think it would be easy for me not to care, but my true lawn vanity seeps out in the end.
One place where the super-wet ground is making spring growth very happy is the willow tree in the small paddock that is supposed to be dead.
I’ve never before seen such a dead tree look so happy to be alive. Doesn’t make any sense to me. The horses continue to gnaw on the wood as if they are intent on making it disappear. It can’t continue like this indefinitely, but I am becoming fascinated by how big the new growth on top will get before the end finally arrives.
Moving indoors with the subject of new growth, our repotting of the ZZ plant got me thinking about our Bird of Paradise, so I sought out a picture of what it looked like when it first arrived from Elysa and Ande.
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Look how many new leaves have sprouted on that in the 20 months it’s been here. It’s reaching for the sunlight, but we are hesitant to turn it because the tallest leaves are being supported by the cabinet. The main trunk leans enough that we fear it will topple over without support.
This afternoon, I hope to mow the grass along the driveway and the road. Tomorrow, I will mow the labyrinth. Even with so many trees, bushes, and ground cover growing rapidly, there are plenty of things that barely have buds yet. It leaves so much of the splendor of our spaces far short of its ultimate lush glory.
It has me thinking we should create an event of similar attraction all our own, later in the growing season. A Labyrinth of Love walk, maybe. All we would need to do is find a weekend in the summer when we aren’t away at the lake. Is that a thing?
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Silly Horses
We give them this fabulous sail that casts a large shadow and filters 95% of the UV rays, dropping the temperature by an easy 10 degrees F, but they can’t give up their affinity for that damned willow tree.
Gotta love ‘em.
Maddy, from This Old Horse, came by yesterday because we reported Mix was looking like she was hurting again in her back end. The consensus is that it isn’t one leg or the other, and it isn’t either foot. It’s possible her issue is arthritis, but Maddy felt it seemed more muscle-related. She massaged Mix around her hips and butt and lifted her hooves to do some stretching while I held a lead rope attached to a halter.
We decided to start giving Mix the same pain management dose that Light has been getting each morning to see if it will provide some relief. All we can do is watch to see if she appears to start moving a little easier. They’re all old horses, though Mix is the youngest of the bunch at 21. They all tend to move like old creatures at this point. The fact that they can behave so spry most of the time lulls me into forgetting they are justified in having age-related aches and pains.
I should probably say, spry when they aren’t napping, since that is how they like to spend most of their time.
Yesterday, I had a wonderful exchange with our friend, Patty, who astutely observed a curious sight in the photo of Cyndie and Mix between the fence boards. I noticed it, too, upon seeing the image on my computer. How many of you other horse-savvy readers spotted something? If you did, can you identify what it is?
Patty guessed correctly.
Here is the image, again, for your reference:
If you have no idea, click here for a clue.
What could that be?
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Early Test
The shade sail had barely been up for 24 hours when a line of thunderstorms closed in and weather watches and warning alarms started pinging our phones. As the wild-looking radar scans reached our area, I stepped outside to see if the sky looked as spooky as the Doppler readings and warning boxes on our screens. Rain had started to fall, but I was outside during an early pause in the precipitation.
When I came back inside, it was announced that our county was under a tornado warning for the next half hour. Did we run to the basement? No. We were hardly getting any rain, and there was very little wind. The sky seemed to be getting lighter instead of the expected threatening darkness.
When the line of storms had moved beyond us and all the warnings had expired, we went out for a walk. The asphalt of our driveway beneath the trees wasn’t even wet. Not only did we dodge a severe storm, but we didn’t even get enough rain to water our plants. We thought it was going to be a big test for the new canopy in the paddock. A thunderstorm wasn’t the test.
Behind this line of storms, we got slammed with heavy, gusting winds. Serious gusts. Suddenly, I heard the distinctive sounds of wood cracking and raced to look out our back doors to witness the top of one of our big maple trees crash to the ground in a cloud of shredding branches and leaves. Wind gusts were reported around 40mph.
The tornado didn’t materialize, but we still suffered the loss of a big tree. So many maple leaves that just popped open in the last week, snuffed out in an instant.
We went for a walk to check on the shade sail. It was holding its own amid the gusts.
I took some pictures showing more details of the turnbuckles we are using to anchor the canopy and how we ran the eyebolts diagonally through the corners of the posts.
Here is a shot from Wednesday showing the level of shade the canopy provides in the hot part of the afternoon. The old willow tree never offered that amount of solid UV protection in its heyday.
Speaking of the old willow, I noticed the other day that it is refusing to give up entirely.
I don’t think it will be offering much in the way of shade this summer, but it is probably making a statement about what it thinks of the new shade-maker taking its place.
First thing yesterday morning, we finished reconnecting the electric fence and took down the temporary barrier between the two paddocks, which gave the horses access to the automatic waterer again.
I’ve been waiting a long time to get that stretch of wood fence standing straight up again. It’s very rewarding to see.
Throughout the evening, I frequently checked on the canopy through our surveillance camera down at the barn as the wind continued to blow. It was definitely being pushed down or puffed up at different times, but not in a way that looked worrisome.
Since I’ve heard from several people with shade sails that they leave them up in the wind, I’m feeling less skittish about taking our chances with it.
Yesterday was a pretty dramatic first test. So far, so good.
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Relative Something 