We took our herd out to run the pasture and eat grass. We do not have a fence yet so we hold onto the lead mare, Dolly. The weanling Bean and Maple got to run free for a little while. They are still muddy from all the rains we have been getting this spring.
Today our 2nd broody hen surprised us with a single chick after 3 weeks on a pile of eggs. I spent the afternoon candling the remainder eggs. Three had chicks and the rest were not good. But our hen was no longer setting on her nest so the eggs were tossed. Might have to get an incubator for the next group if this happens again. She was off her nest to run after her only chick and the nest got cold. The other hens will peck at cold eggs if left without a hen to protect them. Life on the farm is hard sometimes.
I have always loved the simple beauty of the cathedral windows quilts. It is a great way to use up scraps and you don't have to quilt it! You piece and add as you go with muslin as the background. The tedium is in the making of the muslin squares and sewing by hand. It takes time to sew by hand. Tiny stitches make for a sturdier quilt but do consume a lot of time. But I am happy with the results I am getting using tiny stitches to sew the "windows" inside the muslin.
Alan rode Luna around our forest and pond to get her used to trail riding. She has a problem with staying at a stop upon whoa and will need work on that. But when she gets going she covers a lot of ground quickly in her gait.
Here is my husband with the tractor and the scraper. He is clearing last years plants and enlarging this years plot. We will be adding manure and dirt as well a chicken fence. He was able to get it scraped before the storm on Sunday. Looking forward to a larger veggie garden without my chickens eating all my tomatoes.
My trainer rode my mare, Luna, out to my pasture to see how herd sour she is, oh my! She is quite the sour horse. She will have to spend time tied out after this ride to get away from the "rush home to herd" mentality. But Luna seems to be "more horse" than I am used to according to my trainer. Riding Luna is what she needs and that is what we are going to do. Ride often and pony the weanlings with Luna. All need time to learn to be good horses under the saddle.
It has been a long winter and my chickens have made a mess of the coop. They overnight in the coop but they can still make a mess of it. I made 20+ trips to the manure pile dumping straw and pooh. Then I put down diatomaceous earth and cedar shavings along with new straw. The earth and cedar keep bugs away and keep the coop smelling nice. The straw holds the stuff together in the manure pile. All of it makes great compost in a year or so.
I watched this DVD last night. Wow, what an amazing true story about a Japanese American artist. I had seen photos of Jimmy's work in a book long ago. He has had a terrible journey through life as an American citizen during WW2. This story is wonderful and theDVD extras are a nice closing to the end of this story.
The weather warms up and the indoor bunnies begin to shed. Here is Igor getting plucked of his knots outside. Otherwise there would be hair or "hare" all over the house.
We are getting ready to enlarge our veggie garden for spring. In the way of this expansion is an evergreen shrub. Alan chained it and pulled out of the ground, upsetting several moles. And finally he posed with his trophy shrubbery.
This morning we got a call from our trainer, her clients horse had a foal and he did not want it. He is selling the mare soon and the foal will soon be an orphan. So my friend, Effie, picked me up and we drove to the stable to check on the foal. The little filly was nursing and getting around well. We are hoping to have the mare for at least 4 months if the owner will hold off on the sale. But in these times everyone is in a hurry and time is money. And baby horses cost money to raise, especially without a mare. My friend is willing to take the time to hand raise this foal even though she is a working grandmother with horses of her own.
We have a bale that is eating the heads off our horses. Not really. Our mares know where the best part of the round bale is in the center of it. They are eating all the good stuff in the center and leaving the outside to the weanlings.
