Busy Living

As usual, it was a busy week for me.  It seems that I am just about always busy.  Or, I am taking a much needed day of rest so I can get back to being busy. 

I'm reminded of a quote from The Shawshank Redemption. “Get busy living or get busy dying.”  I discovered that Stephen King wrote the novel that The Shawshank Redemption movie is based on – titled “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption.

Driving to the ranch somebody was tailgating me and I thought why the hurry?  We live in a retirement community.  Most of the people here are retired, and they have all day, all week, all year... so why are they in such a hurry all the time?  Well because they're retired they’re older.  They realize most of their life is behind them and they don’t have much longer to do the things they want to do.  So they gotta hurry to make up for lost time while they were working.

Saturday 4/2 - Photo of Jean and Courtney at the Clinton Anderson (Downunder Horsemanship) Walkabout Tour in Franklin, TN.  Despite Clinton's foul mouth, chauvinistic, egotistic personality, the girls enjoyed watching the horses and were able to take away some training ideas and methods they can put into practice with our horses.

  





I arrived at the ranch about 10:30, having pet care duties over the weekend.  I took Parm out for a walk right away because he was anxious to get outside.  

We went in and out of the laundry room door, using the new deck.  He explored the new deck and around the yard, and seemed to enjoy eating grass.  

I checked on the chicks.  The brooder temperature was great.  One chick was perched on the little stick Jean had put in.  



I found another bigger stick with more branching so that several chicks could get up on it at the same time if they chose.  This second photo was taken with the red heat lamp turned off.  You can see the chicks natural coloring now.  

Joe arrived and helped me hang the wren house and windsock.





Kevin and Dave showed up late morning and fairly quickly added the railing to the deck.  The horizontal boards are the composite material that will not need any maintenance.  I plan to stain the bottom support boards a darker color, but may leave the railing as is.  All the wood needs to age at least three months.  So for now, the deck is finished.  Whoot whoot.

I will need to get the big flat rock situated off the front steps, and put some large blocks to step down on, off the back steps.

I think Maggie and Parm will enjoy sitting up here on the deck, looking out over their yard.

Before leaving, Kevin and Dave fixed our front gate.  It now closes all the way once again.  This photo was taken near the end of the day.

Patty came out and helped me worm the horses and we chatted for just a bit.  

I had a little, very late lunch, and then helped (supervised) Joe with filling this second box full of soil (layered sticks, old manure, dirt from where this box had been by the shed, and then a mix of peat and garden soil).

Joe had started the brush fire down by the barn, so we hauled all the scrap lumber down there.

I finally figured a way to get these border blocks to fit, I removed one from the group.  It makes the bed smaller than I had planned, but it is still plenty big.

During a late afternoon break, Parm let me know he wanted to go for another walk.  He checked out the gator and the fire pit.  

 

And here he is taking a shortcut through our little memory garden for Mom.  

When Parm was done exploring, he went to the back door and waited to be let back inside.  What a good boy.

I don’t know where the day went, but pretty soon it was time to do horse chores (video).  

I didn’t get back in until almost 6:30 and Parm was very vocal about me being late feeding him. LOL Maggie got a late dinner too and so did I.  It was 7:30 by the time I crawled into bed and started reading my new mystery novel, not making much progress the few evenings before. It was lights out by 8:30.

Sunday 4/3 - With no computer when I was up and out of bed at 3:30, I started on the jigsaw puzzle I had brought out.  By daylight I had gotten this far.  

I was ready to get to work outside, but just waiting a little while for it to warm up some more.

I had brought out some cracked corn and put just a little bit in the red pan.  Jean's duck buddies were quick to eat it up.  She gives them clean water everyday, so I did likewise.  

It was 39° when I went out at 8:30.  First off, I took Parm for a walk.  Maggie was having fun playing with a stick that had dead leaves still attached to it.  

Of course Parm had to go see what all the excitement was about.  Maggie didn't really want to share.  







When I checked in on the chicks, I was amazed to see how quickly they were going through the food and water.  It also appears they are outgrowing their little cage.  Their bedding needed changing also.

I ran down to the barnyard to check on the burn pile.  Wanda was thrilled to see her friend Maggie.  

These photos show how much Wanda likes Maggie, and how well the dog tolerates cats.  


At one point Maggie rolled over on her side, and I was worried she would topple off the table.  

Finally, it was warm enough and I was ready to start 'gardening.'

I added this geranium to the pot of daffodil bulbs Jean had planted, moving the bulbs all to one side.

And I got these annuals planted in the pretty blue pot.  They are some of my favorite because of their mix of colors.  

I planted an azalea in the front flower bed to kind of fill in this spot and add more color.  This variety blooms spring, summer and fall.

Planting took time because I was mixing the dirt with peat moss and potting soil.  

Breaks were taken for water and snacks, and once to walk Parm again.  He enjoyed the sunshine, eating grass, and exploring.  




Finally I got started on planting this corner flower bed.  First I put in this sedum which will get about a foot tall and flower later this summer.  Then I started on planting marigolds.  It took time to cut the fabric weed barrier and prep each hole.  





I was bound and determined to finish planting all 16 flowers before calling it a day.  







I did stop to do horse chores, but then kept on planting.

I was near exhaustion and Maggie was tired and hungry, ready to go home like I was. 

I left the ranch at almost 7pm, came home to do more chores, and fell right to sleep when my head hit the pillow at 9:15.

Monday 4/4 - I didn’t realize how exhausted I had made myself the day before, until I went to the gym for my usual workout.  I struggled to get through my normal routine.  I was tired, sore, and still exhausted. 

I tried to eat a high-protein lunch and then headed to the ranch to get a little more planting done before the coming rains.  I got the onion bulbs and spinach seeds in.  The soil in the raised bed makes planting so easy.




Jean and I took a look at the chicks who are totally outgrowing their little brooding container.  We devised a plan for making a larger confinement area for them.  Jean went to do horse chores and I started getting a new spot set up for the chicks.  We plan to finish Tuesday because it is work we can do on a rainy day.  




I was home by 5:15, much to the delight of all my fur babies, who I fed right away.  Poker Joe was gone so I did a frozen dinner and also had home grown asparagus (I cut from out back) in with onions. 

I caught up on blogging, since I hadn't computerized much over the weekend (hadn't taken my laptop to the ranch) and I hit the hay at my usual 9pm.

Tuesday 4/5 - I woke after just over nine hours of sleep.  I was finally feeling less exhausted, but my allergies were still creating discomfort.  This is the worse time of year for allergens in Tennessee.  

One doesn't always have to be busy to be 'busy living.'  I find resting, reading, watching nature, napping, etc. perfectly acceptable ways of being 'busy living.'

Cuddling with cats is the good life too.  Mama Styx loves laying on my shoulder, and her loud purring is all the better to me.  I don't like her licking my hair though.

I went to the ranch at noon and soon Jean and I were in the chicken coop working.  First we decided to check and clean any 'pasty butts.'  Only two needed attention, with one of them being really bad.  We were rather worried about her because her vent appeared completely blocked.  
  
  




We finished setting up the new, larger area for the chicks.  When we put them all in, they stayed rather huddled together, but soon were all over the place, exploring their new habitat.  They have their heat lamp, water, food, bin of sand and grit, and perching stick.
 

Joe had showed up to do some organizing in the shop and then move manure.  Jean and I decided a bigger stick (branch) would be good to add for perching.  So once the rain let up, I went for a walk in the woods.  That's when I got this photo of Joe on the tractor.  You can't see, but he is wearing his crocks and loungers.  For crying out loud!  

I found a good branch right away.  I trimmed it up some and took it up to the coop.  At first the chicks were leery of this new object, and they moved away from it, while sticking close to each other in a group.  




Soon, the braver ones went closer and some even got up on the branch.  The photo with the heat lamp off shows their most natural color.  In the last photo, I had my flash on which is a little better than just the red bulb light on.  I actually sat and watched the cuteness for about half an hour.  I think they forgot I was there, and went about their normal activities.
  


I joined Jean at the house for a cup of hot tea, granola bar, and jigsaw puzzle work (it's really play, not work).  She told me more about the horse training clinic she and Courtney had attended.

For a few hours before bed, by a warm fire, Joe and I watched the first two episodes of a new series 'Inventing Anna.'  It is an intriguing, somewhat true story of Anna Sorokin, a twenty-something socialite who successfully posed as a rich German heiress under the name Anna Delvey in New York City.

Wednesday 4/6 - This is the only photo I took all day (Babe and Monita playing) and it isn't even in focus.

My day included a good workout at the gym, and a little later a long shopping trip into town for stuff I can't get at Food City.

I arrived home just before the storm hit at 4pm and got the nervous dog walked right away.

We lost power for several seconds during a lightening strike that had to have been very close.

The storm did not last long, but Maggie remained nervous the remainder of the evening.

Thursday 4/7 - It was a ranch work day, although I didn't get there until 10:45 because I had chores here at our house to do.  First off, Joe and I worked at putting out a new round bale for Amiga and Zorro, and hauling away all the old moldy hay left from the last bale.  

I 'manned' the three gates as Joe hauled bad hay to the backside of the lower pond dam.  He also picked up scoops of well aged manure/rich soil out on the back pasture and dumped it off up at the corner of A&Z's side pasture, where we have been filling in the low spot all winter, with manure and old hay.  We made a total of five trips back and forth.  

I took a lunch break and Joe worked at removing this tire from the yard by our shop.  It is really buried deep, although the top ⅛th sticks out of the ground and can't be mowed over.  It's a definite eye-sore and in the way.  Maggie and I inspecting Joe's work later in the day.  





I needed to empty this wagon that was full of dirt so it could be unhitched from the riding mower so grass could be cut.  I filled in some low spots in A&Z's pasture and then went along this fence line adding dirt to the post holes we had dug last fall, because several had gotten loose and needed more fill.  And finally, here on the dam of A&Z's pond, I finished dumping the wagon load of dirt in a low spot. 

  




While down at the dam, I got a photo of the work being done on the neighbor's new double wide trailer.  I was surprised they put vinyl over the whole end, once they had the two halves attached.  I figured they would put a door and deck on this side to enjoy the view of our pond and pasture, and the distant mountains. 

Patty dropped by and we spent some time sitting in the coop watching the chicks.  She went down to visit Wanda and I hit the next item on my 'to do' list... get grass seed planted here, over the former flower bed I had shrunk.  It involved removing dirt from some high spots, filling in low spots, and raking all the soil loose and leveling it.  Once I had it seeded (as seen in this photo) I then spread old hay over the top of it.  




Here in A&Z's pasture, you can see one of the many circles of where a round bale used to be.  These are the spots where I raked up old hay to use over the grass seed.  






And here is one more closer look at the neighbor's, once the workers were done and gone.

I got home with Maggie just after 6pm and once done with chores and dinner, Joe and I watched two more episodes of 'Inventing Anna.'

Friday 4/8 - The morning air was cold, and didn't really warm up all day.  It was enough to make Babe want to snuggle with Maggie.

I made myself hot soup when I got home from a good workout at the gym, and was then trying to build up my nerve to brave the cold and go to the ranch.  

I knew I would be taking my chances with the possibility of rain, but I wanted to get a little more work done out there.  And then, it started sleeting and snowing (video).  This was a 'game changer.'

So, I decided to stay home, and mess around on my computer.  I like to do the jigsaw puzzles I have on an app.  

Stevie's face displayed my sentiments exactly, but it wasn't the weather she was pissed about.  She didn't want Mama Styx sharing my lovin'.

It was nearing the 4:00 hour when I finally arrived at the ranch.  I had horse chores, so got started on those right away.  Here is a photo of the seeded area covered with old hay. 

When dumping the wheelbarrow of manure up near the solar charger/red gate, I took this photo of the area I had spread dirt on (to later be planted).  In the foreground is the manure and old hay mix that still needs to be covered and then seeded. 

I stopped in the coop to see the girls.  Here is a close up of one that was sleeping with her chin (beak) resting on the branch. 

  








Her neck was stretched to reach the branch and her eyes had been closed until I got close enough to take the photos. 

  

Jean and I had started a jigsaw puzzle, but were cold so decided to start a fire to make it cozy for Cathy and Ralph's arrival.  Then it started to hail/sleet.  Actually the term is 'graupel' (which are little snow pellets).  So I went out to cover all the potted plants and raised bed garden. 

Parm had been on the couch, and the three were enjoying the fire.  But he came over to me (begging for dinner) when I got close enough to take this photo.

Sister Cathy, her husband Ralph, and their son's dog Pfieffer arrived a little after 5pm.  Maggie and Pfieffer look so alike.  They did their meet and greet and got along quite well together.

We hung out, had libations, and then enjoyed dinner Joe brought us (carry-out orders from The Pitt Stop).  





Jean kept putting logs on the fire, which we all enjoyed.  Patty and Karen stopped in later to say hello.

It was after 8pm when we all left Jean, and our two Ohio guests, at the ranch.  My cats were anxious for their evening T-spoon of can food for dinner. 
Life is busy, and I am busy livin' (and lovin') it.