Sunday 30 March 2014

Spring Sprung

Spring has finally sprung here in SW Ontario.  
I would never have believed that last night when we got over an 1" of snow that had the ground completely engulfed in white again.

You may be wondering how on earth I could be thinking Spring his here when we just had snow….but this is how…This was what came out of Wanda after one grooming this afternoon.  Plus the temps hit a balmy +10C with sunshine.   It melted all that heavy, wet, white shit snow that was covering the entire ground this morning at chores.

Last weekend DH went to an estate auction that he had seen advertised a few weeks prior.   He had shown me a gorgeous harvest table that was up for sale and thought he'd go and see if he could get it for a reasonable price.  I had low hopes when I sent him off that morning.   I had decided to stay home and ride my ponies and wait for the text message telling me he was outbid.   We had a top $$ amount like most people that go auction hunting and it figured after searching now for almost a full year for al large harvest table at antique markets, Christie's and through Kijiji that it was going to be out of budget. You can only imagine my surprise and delight when I got the text that he had got the table and it was only $50 over the budget we had set!!

This weekend we went to a chair warehouse in Mississauga looking for high backed leather chairs for the monster table.  We had tossed around the idea of 10 different wooden chairs…to have a country eclectic look but decided to go with the leather chairs since they would be more comfortable.   As it turned out the warehouse had 10 chairs in stock according to their website of a design that both DH and I liked.   When we arrived there tho and seen the chairs, they were not what we had hoped.   Of course tho they had no other styles with 10 chairs in stock.   So we went with an eclectic leather collection of chairs and we are so pleased with how it came together.

My mission this year is to try and put the house together.   I am tired of the mismatched furniture and the odds and ends style that we have from 2 amalgamated houses…over 10 years ago!  (Eek…I guess tending house has never made the top of the list before!!)   It's time to stop living like college students and start to be grown ups.   A bunch more changes to come and some new pieces are now being sought after.    This process may take a bit of time but so far I am happy with how the dining room table looks and will keep looking for the sideboard and a few other pieces for other rooms.
We have some furniture to give away and a couch for sale…if anyone is looking for a few pieces of furniture send me a message.   I need to make room for the new (old, but new to us) stuff that I have envisioned in by head?

Monday 17 March 2014

Emma's Birthday & Busy 2 Weeks

It's been a busy couple of weeks on the farm!

Lets start with the special day yesterday was…IT WAS EMMA'S BIRTHDAY!!!  The retiree turned 24.   She's still boss hoss in her field and is always the first to come to the gate when I call for horses.   I believe Emma has the spirit of my first pony as we have a connection just like that pony and I had.   It brings me such joy and love to see her every morning with her nose poked over the gate waiting for a scratch and how she waits every day after each meal for her after dinner mint.   Cheers Emmy…to many more!  DH and I celebrated in her honour with a decedent home baked carrot cake!

The Twin Trouble Makers (aka Molly and Marley) went to vista their Aunt Terrie at TLC Dog Grooming last weekend for a spa day.   They came home looking beautiful with soft silky fluff.   I can't believe how soft their ears were!   It's nice to know that even farm dogs can clean up kinda nice once in a while!   
Here is Molly getting her bath at the spa.

Here is Marley getting her ears dried!

Here they are looking soft and gorgeous!

We where loving the beautiful +12C day last week but it also included lots of mud which was sad for the spa day!

The warm weather encouraged all the little birds to take dirt baths in the loose stone dust in the barn.   Here you can see their little "bath tubs"!

All the beautiful and colourful birds have been active at our feeders.  They just wish I'd refill more often by the sound of the jays squawking in the mornings!



Marley was at the vet this past week to be spayed.   She wasn't very shiny on Thursday night or Friday after her surgery but she is bouncing back now and looking like the loving, happy dog we adopted.   The vet believes that she is no longer 4-5 years old but more like 6-7 years old after she had a look inside.   No matter…we don't care.  She is still a perfect addition to our home; as she adds so much without even trying.
My little side kick recovering in the sunshine in the arena while I ride.


With the change to day light savings time, DH and I got to spend an evening toasting on the dock while watching a beautiful sunset over the river.   
Here's a selfie of us with the sunset!

Here is the sunset.

Here it's almost gone.

DH spent some time shovelling off our pond for skating!   He had helpers!

My mom come out for a few days to visit.   Her idea of a vacation tho means that she is helping us around the farm with our projects.   Love that she wants a "break" and makes our farm her destination of choice!   On this visit she decided that waxing all the hardwood floors was in order.   Boy do they ever look fantastic!   Shining, shining, shining!   Thank you mom!
Not only did she do the floors but she also took charge of one of my painting projects too.   We got this black corner cabinet but it just never seemed to work with our furniture and decor in the black…so my plan was to paint it and distress it.   Doesn't it look fantastic transformed??
Before                                           After

Izzy and I ventured out for a hack on one of the sunny nights after work.   With the time change there is actually time to ride outside after work again before the darkness falls.
We were blessed with the view of 50+ deer in the back 40 grazing.   



Izzy also made her debut in the double bridle in the last few days.   It was fantastic to get on and ride her just like in a snaffle.  No fussing, no hassle, no change in her way of going.   Thrilled…after the start we had with her inability to take contact after the terrible fuss we went through early on in her training.   The decision to go back to basics and take the bit away and ride her in a side pull to connect to her body to let her understand that the reins are only for connection to her mind and insides…not for stopping, turning, collection…ended up being a wise one after all.   I am so glad we met Josh Nichol and he reminded me why I ride and why I want to make the connections with my horses the number one priority over any training goal.   This is why the training goals are just simple steps when you make the connection the focus.   My little baby is so grown up!


This is a pic for my mom…look I got it to bloom again and I didn't kill it first!   
Typically my mom rescues my house plants from imminent death.   For some reason I am quite inept at keeping house plants alive but I can grown awesome perennials and veggie gardens.   My mom gave me this tropical plant last year when it was blooming…and I managed to not only keep it alive but keep it alive long enough for it to bloom again!!

DH and I put the last treatment of MAG down on the arena.  (At least I hope it's the let treatment!)  The dust has been very minimal this winter even with the cold dry weather.   The frequent light treatments seem to be a good system.
Here is DH helping me rake in the track.

Here is DH harrowing before treatment.

We had an interesting day at the farm with a photo shoot!   Professional photog and make up artist with model Laura Reid.   Pro photos will be available on Laura's website in the coming months.   Here a couple from behind the scenes.


In closing, my hope for spring is eternal with shedding horses and beautiful spring tulips blooming in my bathroom window sill.


Sunday 2 March 2014

Farm Life…Living the Dream!

Life on the farm is rolling right along as it should be for this time of year.   Busy moving snow, cutting wood (or at least trying), riding when the weather is reasonable (read as not -20) and working on smaller projects inside.

DH and I went to the bush this weekend to cut some much needed fire wood for next season.   We have literally dozens of trees already down that need to be cleaned up and removed…so one would think this task of gathering wood should be a rather simple one.   Well, once again mother nature has humbled me in her quiet way that she uses.  We spent the afternoon trudging through the knee deep snow, trying to remove large sections of fallen trees that were partially frozen to the ground.   We where mildly successful…there are some large logs pulled to the entrance of the bush.  But after a few hours of work and the effort put forth the log pile was pitifully small!

Here I am with my baby chainsaw limbing a fallen tree.

Izzy update - She is schooling beautifully these cold winter days.   Even with less work than her normal 5-6 days per week schedule, the days that she is ridden, she is coming into the arena with a mental attitude that is showing maturity, a willingness to work hard and a desire to try and answer all the questions she is being asked with genuine effort...with trust and enthusiasm.  I could not ask for more from her…as a rinsing 7 year old I am so pleased with her progress and the changes she has made in the 4 short years we have been partners.   Did I ever think that the wild, opinionated 3 year old that bucked me off at the keuring and dumped my in the conservation area would ever be so trustworthy and such an equal partner…never!   She has taught me so much in those 4 short years.   She has brought me to a new point in my horsemanship journey…she has taught me to listen in a new way…one that I have enjoyed more than I could ever express here in words.   Life has a way of answering questions we hand not even known we needed to ask in such a surprising way.   Thank you Disney (Izzy)…you will always be a character (hence the name Disney)…that's part of your individual personality that has captivated me; heart and soul.

Moving hay once a month has become part of the winter routine on the farm.   We have reached the end of the first cut for this winter.    Here it is…the last 50+ bales will get used up this March and then I will have 5 very happy horses until spring eating the decedent grass second cut.   They are already in the transition to 2nd cut now getting a few flakes per meal.   There is normally a few pinned ears and ugly chases until everyone finds their own pile to eat in peace.   Can I blame them tho…my motto is always to eat dessert first too!


During the moving process I uncovered the "3 Blind Mice"…which unfortunately met their demise in this harsh cold with very little fur.

A winter reality is that the manure pile continues to work even in the harshest of cold.   This morning we had a good 2 inches of snow overnight and the thermometer was telling me it was -14C at morning chores.   The steam was wafting and the snow was melting on this pile of fertilizer that will help grow next years veggie garden!


As a last note for this post…I had a welcome little hint of spring arrive home with DH from work on Friday night…he brought me Gerber daisies….just because!   Thanks Honey!