I hadn't seen deer down back in a several days and wondered if the doe were fawning. Spring is the time for babies to be busting out. My sister's ewes have been lambing for the past few weeks now.
And speaking of babies, Dan and Val are going to be first time parents (and Joe and I first time grandparents) earlier than expected. Baby Ava has grown faster, or Val's pregnancy was farther along than initially predicted, so we are expecting Val to deliver a week early, which will be between Joe's (4/18) and Dan's (4/4) birth dates.
I love the enthusiasm and joy of these baby goats as they run and jump through the barn. It is what I envision people doing, as more and more get vaccinated, Covid numbers decline, and it becomes safer to socialize. I think folks will be bustin' out of isolation like this. It is time to bust out the beer and wine, bust out laughing, bust out dancing, bust with joy, etc.
Saturday 3/20 - The first day of spring. Yay!
The sun was shining, and warmed things up a little better than the forecast had predicted. Joe was unable to refrain from going to the ranch. He was bustin' with ideas for his garden and wanted to get going on it. So he left shortly after 8am and went to work. In this photo he is on the Kubota tractor, hauling manure to his garden. The machine shed is on the right and the barn is center in the photo.
Billy took this (video) of Joe plowing the yard for where his garden is going in. And Joe took this photo of the completed work. He has potatoes planted in the straw along side the garden. This is another experiment of his.
Once Joe got back from the ranch, with horse trailer in tow, he loaded the riding mower into it. It had just gotten warm enough (to my liking) to go outside around 10:30, and do some yard work.
I had planned to rake more sticks from the yard, but quickly got side tracked by all the leaves in our drainage ditch that leads to the creek. So I spent quite a while raking them from in and around this area. Lots of sticks and leaves had also washed onto the oasis during the flooding early last week, so I cleaned all that up too.
Joe was waiting for me to finish in the yard, but as you know, yard work is never finished... it is an on going process. So I quit at 1:30.
Joe and I took the trailer out to Terry and Billy's, unloaded the riding mower and parked it in the machine shed in place of the Cub Cadet (which from here on I will refer to as the UTV).
Terry was busy outside, picking up sticks and hauling them to their burn pile. We went around back to look at Joe's garden and talked for awhile. It was a pretty day, so nice to be outdoors.
I had planned to meet some saddle sisters at the barn to ride, so I drove the horse trailer there and Joe followed me in the UTV.
We proceeded to take it out on the horse trail to take a cinder block to prop open the gate to the bean field that swings in the way of the livery trail. It didn't work because the gate was too high, but it was fun taking the UTV for a little ride down the trail.
I took these photos and (videos) of us leaving and going back to the barn. This new little 'toy' is really a lot of fun, safer than the scooter and I can ride along with Joe. It will also be very handy for a multitude of jobs. It is a tad noisy inside, so Joe plans to work on that problem.
Joe headed for home in the UTV and I stayed to ride with Polly who was on Rio. Jan (who was going to ride later) took these photos. Amiga can be a little standoffish, but actually gets along well with all the horses we ride with.
Polly and I rode together some of the time and then I took Amiga through the winter pasture and rode on the upper loop and ridge of the long trail. We hit an obstetrical (downed tree) so I chose to turn around.
The winter pastures were still too muddy to ride in, so I did some arena work before quitting for the day.
Arriving home, I saw that Joe got the UTV parked in the garage. It fits quite well without the scooter and riding mower in there, but there is still some junk in the way that needs to be moved.
It was 6pm by the time I got home, I fed the pets and then took
corn out back. This mallard pair are always glad to see me coming with
my coffee tin full of cracked corn.
We only had time for one episode of Blue Bloods before my bedtime.
I had gotten a few comments on my blog about the gate/fencing/property line dilemma I had written about last week. I had actually already 'let it got' but the inquiries and suggestions re-kindled my thoughts on it. It wasn't until I got the invite from Terry to go out and look it over and change the survey if I wanted, that I acted on it. She and Billy have been so considerate through this whole buying process.
So Joe and I headed to Terry and Billy's. I dropped my car at the barn (a ten minute drive right on the way) and then hopped into the UTV with Joe (Yes it is licensed and legal for driving on the road). I took these two (videos) as we drove the additional five minutes to the 'ranch.'
Terry and Billy met us outside and we looked at the new property line (marked by the surveyor) that I was worried about. We discussed several options to figure out how best to 'fix the problem.' Because there are a few ways we can 'make it work' as is, and I realized it really wasn't worth getting it re-surveyed and submitted a second time to the county, I became content to leave well enough alone.
Then we followed Terry and Billy (they in the golf cart, us in the UTV) around and down to the adjoining property where Billy's parents live. We were looking at yet another property line that has been changed and talked about fencing. Donkey is a real people lover and came to see what we were up to and to get some lovin'.
Resolving my property line worries, I felt all was well with the world, and I was ready to bust out some dance moves.
Joe dropped me back off at the barn, and I fetched Amiga to go for a ride. I had planned to go into the winter pasture, but it had been closed back off because they moved three of the livery horses back out there. So I rode the trail to the old ghost town (bean) fields. I also took Amiga to the Holly trail and partway down it. I had decided it needed a little more time to dry out.
Amiga and Zorro are good buddies (½ brother and sister, same dad, different mares) since they were born the same night. They have been together almost their entire life. They are in two different pastures now (with a shared fence line) so always enjoy some nuzzling time when with each other.
I got home at 4pm, ate a late lunch or early super, and then Joe and I face timed with both of the girls.
Stevie
did not show up for dinner and I immediately suspected she had gotten out
past Joe at some point in the afternoon. Thankfully I found her fairly
quickly and she was ready to come in because it was past her dinner
time.
Stevie was exhausted the remainder of the evening. This is what happens when you escape from the house while your mama is gone, and your dad has no idea, and you’re outside all afternoon running around who knows where.
It was one episode of Blue Bloods and then to bed to read.
I did my usual workout and then had lunch (a large salad) in the sun on the back deck.
In the meantime, Joe had gotten the go-ahead and went to pick up the tiller and go to the ranch. I had him send me photos.
After Joe had the new plot all tilled, he put down landscape fabric and also planted sweet corn (the three rows between the black cloth and the straw where the potatoes are planted).
Joe had grilled steaks for dinner and we had time for two episode of Blue Bloods.
Tuesday 3/23 - It was a 'big day' for me because I was getting my second Covid vaccine. Joe and I left home at 10:30, ran to Lowe's for a few supplies, and then headed to Evensville for my appointment. We had at least a 30 minute wait in line, not helping my nerves any. I wasn't worried about the shot, it was more the after affects I was dreading. We stopped for lunch at McDonald's on the way home and I treated myself to a chocolate milk shake.
The pear trees were in bloom everywhere, so I took some photos (here is one) while Joe was driving.
Later in the day, Patty posted this photo of the pear tree she took out at the barn. I love the 'photo bomber.'
As soon as we got home, I was in need of exercise. It was no wonder after sitting in the car for about three hours and consuming a McDonnell's hamburger and shake.
So Maggie and I headed up the Library Trail. We made our way over to Mirror Lake, enjoying the various flowers. You can see the yellow forsythia across the lake behind Maggie in this photo.
We worked our way around the lake to the amphitheater. The only additional work I noticed was new wiring put in for the lights that go along the walkway across the dam. And nobody was around working today.
I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for our departure on Thursday morning. Joe and I were actually making a trip to my sister Carol's in Indiana, having to cancel it last year because of Covid. This is the first we have been to her sheep farm in I believe two years. All her lambs have busted out from their mama's wombs already. The birthing process has been occurring all month and we will have the pleasure of watching all 19 of these little cuties running and playing. It is always so much fun.
Joe went to pick up Patty's extension ladder, was able to fit it in the SUV, and even get the back hatch closed. He serviced our chain saw and then worked on sound muffling the UTV.
I got most of my packing chores completed and was ready for two episode of Blue Bloods when the time came. By bedtime, I might have felt a little 'off,' but think it was mostly all in my head.
Wednesday 3/24 - I was up at 5:00 and starting to feel achy... head, muscles, and joints, around 6am. I finally took a Tylenol close to 7:00. It made me feel so much better. I had planned to have a lazy day, and did just that all morning. Joe did a few chores for me, like hanging the new flag. The old one was so faded and tattered, this was a huge improvement.
The day had started rather gloomy but then the clouds lessened and we saw sunshine off and on. Joe continued work on sound muffling the UTV.
Since Joe had busted out the circular saw and was cutting wood, I had him saw a piece to fit under the kitchen sink, where a former leak had soaked into the bottom board causing it to bow so badly. While every thing was out from under the sink, and up on the counter, Stevie decided to curl up in the dish pan. I keep one of these under each of our sinks, just in case of a leak.
I had lunch on the deck and later Joe and Maggie joined me for catching some rays. It was 68° out. I read and napped.
I finally got productive and cut all of the cat claws, in preparation for being
gone for five days. Hopefully nobody would scratch anybody’s eyes out
while we were away.
And, since I was still feeling okay, I decided to go to the barn for a short ride. Jan and Babs soon showed up and we all went over to the arena together.
Amiga was a handful, because she was being quite willful. It actually wasn't until I had cantered her some, that she got all wound up.
After riding for abut an hour, I worked on trailer loading. I tried to take a (video) but it didn't work too well, because I really needed two hands.
Amiga did stand nice and quietly while tied to the trailer for about 10 minutes, while I cleaned out and closed the back up.
There was no TV time because it was 7:00 by the time I was sitting down to dinner. I still had a few jobs to finish before leaving for an extended weekend.
It had stopped raining and we had a list of jobs to do, so got to work right away. It felt good to be moving after sitting for so long. Our first task was to take down the old arched chain. We quickly realized cutting it was going to be way too difficult, so we ended up pulling it out of the ground using our SUV and tow chain. Then we drug it to Carol's old cattle feeder and set it in that.
I do not know why this huge space is occurring here, but I can't get rid of it.... just scroll down past it.
While back behind the barn, where the lambs and ewes were, I took some cute photos.
I think this is the cutest, and she is for sure my most favorite lamb.
It was good to see Hercules again, who is definitely looking like the old man that he is. I think he has way outlived his life expectancy, especially if he had been re-homed with someone else who had their eye on him for Thanksgiving.
Giving up on the chainsaw, we then started work on hanging gutters along one side of Carol's pole barn. First we gathered all the materials and tools (gutters, 2X4s, nails, saw, hammer, etc.).
It started sprinkling and we needed more hardware, so Joe ran into Crawfordsville to check into the hotel and pick up supplies. Meanwhile, Carol and I gave up on the weather (rain got stronger and wasn't going to stop) and headed into the house to start on meal preparation.
Carol went through two bags of stuff (mostly her's) from Florida vacation 15 months ago, and then she shared a gift for me, while we had a snack with our libations.
Joe and I headed to the hotel in a downpour about 8:00, I was getting very wet in the process of closing Carol's front gate, especially since I had to stand in a river of water coming down the road.
I cranked up the heater in the room to dry my shoes, socks, and jeans I needed to wear the next day. And I quickly warmed up, being in my winter pj's and with the room temperature at 74°. Rather than bustin' out, it was nice to hunker down and sleep in a warm room while the storm raged outside.
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