Posts Tagged ‘images’
Happy Anniversary!
One year ago, today, we spent our first night here in our new home. Thinking back to that chaotic drama of trying to close on both houses on the same day, in two different states, has me really appreciating that all the plot twists eventually resolved, and we got to move in that next day, regardless the delay in closing. If you aren’t familiar with that part of the story, you really should look back in the “Previous Somethings” archived posts, at the days in October of 2012 when we made the move from Eden Prairie, MN to Beldenville, WI.
It has been an amazing year for us here. A lot has happened. And we are only just getting started. We added a couple of cats, then a dog, and finally, just a few short weeks ago, we brought on the 4 horses. Can chickens be far behind?
Partial Accomplishments
It was kind of a slow day yesterday at Wintervale. We are approaching the first freezing overnight temperatures, so it is time to pull the pump out of our little landscape pond, and drain all our hoses. I got part way through that project. It has been that kind of week for me. I seem to only get part way to completion on everything I choose to do.
We had some luck with Delilah behaving well, a couple of days ago, so I gave her some time off-leash. I was walking around the area that I recently mowed, on the north side of the driveway, taking measurements for future fencing, and she was having the time of her life. She was running back and forth at amazing speed. It was going so well, I offered to take her for a walk through our woods. She bolted down the trail, getting way ahead of me. When I got to a place I could see her, she was facing the neighbor’s woods, locked in on something.
I called her, but she had tuned me out, and then she darted through the rusty barbed wire fence that separates our properties. I didn’t see her again for about half an hour. Our period of lucky good behavior had come to an end. While waiting for her to come back, I killed time by pulling Buckthorn up by the roots. Upon her return, she got shuttled directly to her kennel where she spent the rest of the day.
I tried to do some work shaping the main drainage channel beyond the paddocks, but it was too soon after a recent rain, and my boots and tools became a comical mud disaster. I switched my focus to the deck, where I proceeded to dismantle our gas grill to troubleshoot a problem with gas flow. I hope it is the regulator, because I have exhausted all other logical possibilities. That’ll require a trip to the store where I bought it, to swap out that part.
As the afternoon wore on, a little sunshine appeared, so I headed down to mow the labyrinth pathways. It was still a little wet, but manageable. I guess that one did get accomplished, although it doesn’t feel like completion because, by walking the path to mow, I keep seeing all the things we still want to work on down there. I’m wondering how well it will survive the winter, and whether we will be able to walk the path throughout the complete snow season.
It wasn’t one of those dramatically rewarding days here, but that’s okay. There is something valuable to be gained from days like this. The horses have a way of dealing with things, and then just going back to grazing. At one point yesterday, I decided to go down and be by the horses, to immerse myself in that kind of energy. Being with them can provide a sense of calm.
It was good for me, but I must admit, I don’t think I could rate the visit as being anything more than just a partial accomplishment, in that regard.
Spectacular Views
Up before sunrise, to feed the horses, we are rewarded with some spectacular views. I had Delilah with me, on her leash, and needed to get into the paddock to open the far gate that provides the horses access to the big field. We were slow to get in there, and the herd was miffed that I had made them wait.
They crowded us at the gate, and Delilah got excited to be surrounded by such big, fascinating creatures. They were full of vim after eating their grain. There was a lot of movement, and some hooves were swung in Delilah’s direction, as I fumbled to hold the leash and work the chain that holds the gate.
When I finally got that gate to swing open, those horses bolted with gusto, leaping and kicking their joy. It was the most spectacular viewing of the morning!
Featuring Dezirea
As we have watched the horses going through the process of acclimating to their new home, we have witnessed a variety of interactions among the four. Out of all of them, Dezirea (pronounced dez-a-ray), has been the more skittish one. I’ve seen Hunter totally dominate her one day, and then I’ve seen her stand up for herself the day after. Lately, she can usually be found grazing in Legacy’s vicinity.
When the horses are moving into a paddock, or coming up for grain, she is usually the most timid about committing to the goal. As a result, she usually comes in last at whatever they are doing, but not always. She will occasionally pin her ears back and assert herself to the others, which seems to keep the triad of the chestnuts busy in their ongoing merry-go-round of testing who is in charge between them.
I watched her for a long time the other morning, when the herd was grazing in the middle of the big field. She seemed to have reached satisfaction with the amount she had eaten, and stood with her head up, while the others continued to munch away at the grass. Eventually, it appeared that she was resigning herself to a well-deserved mid-morning nap in the warm sunlight.
Dezirea has the most markings of the three chestnuts. She has a blaze on her face, a stocking on her left front leg, and an anklet (half pastern) on her right front leg. She is the only one of the herd who hasn’t been ridden, as her primary duties were as a brood mare.
I wouldn’t be surprised if, when things settle down once and for all for the herd here, Dezirea asserts herself in a role of matriarch, sharing some of the leadership with Legacy. She certainly has my respect for putting up with all the crap the other two have been dishing out since they arrived.
It Happens
It takes some serious skill to land it on the narrow board of a fence.
We’ve already harvested our first crop of fertilizer. The production crew never seems to take a break, so harvesting is an ongoing process. Looks like we are getting a pretty high yield. We decided to expand our processing equipment, adding a two-wheeled wheelbarrow with an 8 cubic foot capacity to our fleet.
Who needs corn? We got poo.
Featuring Cayenne
To my admittedly untrained eyes, of the four horses, Dezirea appears as the least sure about the new environment, but Cayenne has been the more difficult one for me to connect with thus far. We have interacted a few times, but more often than not, when I come around, there is something more interesting to her in another direction. Maybe she is playing hard to get. More likely, her behavior is directed by the interactions with Hunter and Dezirea, as they continue to work out the pecking order in their new location.
Each horse is definitely special in their own unique way, but Cayenne strikes me as having something exceptional simmering within her that has yet to fully blossom. She is a daughter of Dezirea, but has already outgrown her mother.
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Several times, I have spotted the herd split into two, and thus far it has always been as two mare/gelding pairs. However, they haven’t always been in the same pair. I was told that Cayenne and Hunter grew up together, so they certainly are familiar with each other, but I think it is nice that they aren’t an inseparable pair. She seems equally comfortable meandering with Legacy to graze.
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I caught this funny shot of Cayenne picking her head up high over a gate when Cyndie’s parents came out to meet them for the first time. It shows that Cayenne is not so vain as to avoid allowing herself to get caught looking silly on occasion.
Hmm. She reminds me a bit of myself in that way. No wonder I sense something exceptional in her!
Other Things
There are other things than horses for us to deal with around here, even though the new herd is commanding the majority of our attention. Last Saturday, we did sneak away long enough to attend the “booya” hosted by our fencing contractors. There was plenty of good eatin’ to be had, but what really made the night for us was a trio playing blues music of a quality that could headline any venue in the city of Chicago. In a pole barn in the countryside outside of River Falls, no less! It was a wonderful surprise, not that I hadn’t been warned, but this was way better than I had expected.
Over the weekend, our trees came to life with the colors of fall. Each morning we would find that it looked like someone had been up all night painting leaves. I was walking Delilah in the evening when I spotted the setting sun through the trees. It made for a nice picture.
Yesterday was my weekday that I stay home from work, and I did some catching up on chores that have been neglected during the final preparations to get the horses here. I sorted through the pile of clothes that were pouring out of my closet and put away items that were clean, and washed things that needed it.
It was a perfect day for hanging laundry outside to dry: warm sunshine and gusting winds.
We have been here over 11 months now, and I had yet to ride my mountain bike on our trails. I think that is a function of how much the projects to get us ready for horses have dominated the bulk of our time. Well, no more. With the horses now here, with things pretty much in order, I felt the need to address some of the areas that have been suffering from neglect. I pumped up the tires and lubed the chain for the old bike’s maiden voyage around Wintervale.
The trip was made even sweeter by the company of our dog, Delilah. This will be a great way to get her some exercise that will burn off her energy. With her little orange vest on, we headed into the woods, down the steepest hill.
I don’t think she knew what she was in for, as we went from zero to high-speed in an instant. She loves to chase, and I made the perfect “rabbit” out front to encourage her to sprint after me. As the grade changed to flat and then eventually to up-hill, my speed dropped to near zero. Delilah would pass me by and go running ahead on the trail. It is kind of deflating to have her out front, pausing frequently to look back at me, as if to ask, “Are you coming?”
Or maybe, with my wheezing and panting, she was asking, “Are you going to be alright?”
Since it was my first ride in a long time, I made it a short one, to save my legs and lungs for other pursuits, and then went to the paddocks to let the horses out into the big field. After that, I needed to mow the lawn, as we have been neglecting this chore for weeks.
It was a day for tending to things not directly related to the horses, and by evening, I had brought some order to the chaos. It was a good way to wrap up September. The month that vanished into thin air.
How the heck did October get here already?
Horses Run
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Get out and run, they did!
We accomplished some significant steps yesterday, and that allowed us to open up the front field to the 4 horses.
First order of the day was to finish covering the old existing fence on the far side of the field. The type of fence that previously existed around that field, which we kept intact along that back side, has 4″ squares of woven wire. We were told we should cover those to keep a horse from putting a foot through. It took several days, with Elysa’s help, to finally get it hung the full length
, working our hands raw through a variety of weather, running out of material part way, and negotiating the tangle of old growth along the entire length.
It was a major milestone, and key to feeling comfortable opening the space up to the horses.
Before allowing them out there on their own, Cyndie wanted to walk the horses, two at a time, along the inner perimeter of the fence-line to familiarize them with the border. That causes a bit of a stir, because those who are left behind make a big fuss. Cyndie and Elysa took the horses for a walk,
and I stayed behind to watch each of the remaining pairs calling out to their missing herd members.
The final thing we did prior to letting the four of them out together was to energize the electric fence. It wasn’t immediately needed while they were initially in the paddocks, but we want them to learn to respect our fences, especially around the front field, so this was the time to finally turn it on.
They didn’t go near it while we were around, so we haven’t witnessed whether they have received their first lesson or not. When the gate to the big field was opened, they stepped out a short distance and immediately began to graze the new territory. It was a little anticlimactic.
Slowly, they increased their range of movement out there, eventually getting out of sight over the hill. My curiosity got the best of me and I headed up the hill with my camera to look for them. They were doing great, grazing in some really lush grass. As I lifted my camera to capture the moment, they spotted me and came running. It was kind of funny, looking as if they thought they weren’t supposed to be there, or something.
As I walked back into the paddock, they decided to follow me, so we closed the gate behind them and I went back to finishing the chore of wrapping the trunks of the two trees there, so they won’t chew them up.
At the end of the day, they seemed pretty happy with their situation here, having gotten a taste of that grass they knew was on the other side of their paddock fence.
Needless to say, we are pretty happy, too.
