Naps and Freedom

Our herd got to run around on a windy afternoon in their new pasture. All this running wore out Luna the gray mare, so she took a nap. Luna is getting back in to shape for trail riding again. Her son still needs to grow up a bit before he can be ridden.

Free at Last

We got our electric Horse Guard tape up after 2 long years of waiting. We fenced in over 15 acres of pasture and woods for our two mares and their babies. Now our horses are clean and happy to have the tall fields to be natural in. They can run and nap in the clean grass instead of our dry lot.

Pasture Afternoon

Our horses, finally, in our fenced in pasture enjoying the fresh grass. Our two year old horses will soon be under the saddle this summer. They still have a lot of growing to do. Bean the gelding is pony sized while his sister is taller than her dam.

Great Day

We had a bit of spring today with the warm breezes and temperatures here in the Ozarks. Great for drying the laundry outside and brewing sun tea. A wonderful day to be outside soaking up the sun.

Driving Rocks

Here is our friend leveling our driveway after welding a homemade harrow out of a discarded footstool, harrow and a very large rock. He was able to drag it behind his ATV to level both our driveways. And he had fun doing it too. It is a blast dragging rock over rocks. We are very pleased with the results.

Gel Color

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We had to go into the big town of Springfield to get some clothes shopping done after almost 3 years of not doing so. While at the the mall my husband talked me into getting my nails done. He picked the color after the manicure was done. And boy did I need it. My hands were hard and snagging after years of farm work. Digging, planting and grooming took the toll on my hands. But after the manicure, I was happy with the results. I got the new gel polish and it was worth it. It last for 2 weeks and dries very fast. I am very punishing to my nails and this gel polish takes the damage very well, much longer than regular polish. I think the gel polish is the way to go for me. And my chickens like the color, too.

Feed Sack Quilts

I was invited to a friends house for lunch last week. She was kind enough to share her families handmade quilts. Some unfinished tops and quilt blocks all waiting for her to finish or pass on to the next generation of quilters. I can see the care given to these quilted pieces of art. It was nice to see the variety of feed sacks and shirting used in each piece.

Dirt Work

Our neighbor came over with his digger to dig out a line for our electric fence. It would have taken us a week to dig this by hand. While he worked on the hole my husband kept the pup from getting into trouble.

Puppy Afternoon

Today, while our neighbor was digging holes for us; I babysat his border collie pup. Actually, I just got in the way of my shepherd and her play with the pup. They chased, dodged and ran all over our farm. And after a few hours of play, my shepherd is sleeping hard. I am sure the puppy is too. It's good to be a farm dog.

On the Wet Farm

Braving the cold morning thunderstorms I got our poultry out of the coop and fed. The snow melted away under the raindrops to reveal the worms under the ice and mud. Our ducks prefer the big pond for frogs and fish for breakfast.

Before the rain I was able to put the clover seed out after the snow fell. And now the rain and the horse hooves have planted them in the pasture mud. I am hoping the clover gets roots set before the chickens find them.

Lark Rise to Candleford

I found this BBC show after another blogger talked about the actors riding sidesaddle. And after watching the first season, I am hooked. I love all the characters and the stories each one has. The characters live off beautiful land in a more genteel time. My husband calls it watching "my stories". I am looking forward to reading the books written by Flora Thompson in the 1940's on my Kindle. If you like realistic antique country life this is the show to watch and enjoy.

What is it?

A friend of mine found this 7 inch item with a 3.5 inch wide split end (the pen is 5 inches) on the banks of the Mississippi river near a ferry landing in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He thought it was a clam or oyster device, but it is too dull and heavy for that. It is forged steel with no markings. It is clearly handmade, flat shaft and square stock hook loop on one end. I thought it might be a hoof pick. Anyone have some ideas?

Snowy Monday

Woke up to flurries followed by ice then fat flakes slapping the windows.

We have over 4 inches on the steps on our deck.

And the wild birds are eating all the homemade coconut suit cakes. I found out Lou Ann coconut oil is not the healthy choice as the coconut is heated. So it is now bird feed. I have very happy birds and chickens.

And as I went to hike up to our mail box a red fox walked right in front of me and Osa. Chase ensued and the fox backtracked and escaped as foxes do. I could see his tracks clearly in the snow and read the whole chase. The fox was after a rabbit and did not see us as he was following bunny scent.

Just nice to have winter show up and stay a while.