March (and winter) be gone. Bring on the April showers and spring flowers, but please, no bad storms or flooding. .png)
It really hasn't been too bad of a month in terms of weather, and everyday we are closer to the longer, warmer, sunny days of spring and summer, that I yearn for.
Also, the end of this month marks a new beginning for our horse co-op, which starts April 1st.
Patty sent this photo of what the wind had done to the pool, completely flipped it over. There were no shed tears by me. I would be glad to rid the yard of this eye-sore, expense, and maintenance nightmare. Joe however did not want to give up on it.
Babe looked cold mid morning, but it was a case where it was warmer outside than in the house.
After blogging and some computer games, I worked here at preparing guidelines for our new Co-op. I organized questions we would need to address as a group and also made some notes for changes/additions to our stable rules. Joe gave some input and then printed the six pages that I took to Patty's for input.
Patty and I talked for over an hour, and then I went to the gym to workout.
I had a very late lunch, puttered around the house a bit, and then Joe and I went to the ranch together. Kind of spur of the moment, we decided to put the temporary fence up across our side pasture so that our horses don't get too much grass when closed in to their shed area overnight.
The wind was blowing quite hard, making management of the white ribbon (tape) a bit of a struggle. We also were making the space smaller than last year, so needed to angle the fence so that there was plenty of room for the horses to maneuver around the south side of the shed.
The posts were easy to drive into the ground because it was quite soft from all the rain. Getting the yellow tape holders onto the metal T-posts was very tough though. 
After the three horses ate, Amiga came over and was giving me the mare glare while standing by the new stretch gate, as if remembering from last fall that it could be opened, and that is what she expected me to do. Sorry girl, you can't be on so much grass. 
The horses continued to mill about, eating hay, and looking over the new fencing. Joe was rushing me so I suggested he have a beer and go sit in an Adirondack chair and enjoy the ranch while waiting for me. Which he did, along with smoking a cigar.
It was after 6pm when we arrived home. I decided on beer and popcorn for dinner while watching Survivor, after first getting my fur babies fed and cared for.
Sunday 3/26 - Mom's Amaryllis blooming out at the ranch.
Again I woke too early and was frustrated by not being able to get back to sleep. I started this blog post, and as usual, completed the previous day (yesterday) on the following morning (today). Normally, the morning after, I blog about the day before.
Waking from a short nap on the couch at sunrise, I then worked on documents to e-mail to all who want to Co-op.
After attending church with Shirley, Joe and I finalized the documents I had been working on, and I e-mailed them to everybody planning to take part in the Co-op.
Mid-afternoon, Patty, Karen and I met out at the ranch to do a little horsing around. 
We fetched Amiga and Zorro from the back pasture and 'marched' them through the lower paddock to the barn. Karen and I each had a horse, while Patty tended to gates and kept Rio and (mostly) Maslo away from our horses. 
There was much hair and dirt to remove from both horses. Patty was first in the saddle on Zorro. I just hopped on Amiga (riding bareback) and got Karen's input on Amiga's lameness conundrum. We aren't positive which leg or where in the leg the problem is. I suspect (and fear) it may be her distant past suspensory ligament injury giving her pain. 
I put Amiga in her stall with some hay and water while Karen took a 'spin' on Zorro. In this photo, I was looking down on Amiga from the hayloft while up there removing one of the dog crates no longer needed for Wanda. 
Zorro did a nice job with both girls, although needed some brushing up on his manners (standing) at the different mounting blocks.
Zorro got a little more TLC after the girls were finished riding, and then we all headed up the drive back to their paddock. 
I hopped on Amiga with just her halter and lead rope and rode her while Patty walked Zorro. Amiga started to get wound up but I settled her down and kept her at a walk the whole way. Once up to the paddock, I opened the stretch gate so the horses could get to the pond if they wanted. 
Patty used the shedding tool on Zorro first before releasing him. 
Amiga was quick to go down to the pond to get a drink. She was not bothered by the ducks, nor were they worried about her. 
Cowboy was hesitant to go through the open stretch gate, so I put a lead line around his neck and he very willingly went with me, and then enjoyed grazing near the pond and his two 'buddies.'
Before long, Amiga returned to the pond to go for a 'dip,' which includes splashing in the shallows and then laying down in the water (and mud). The ducks gave her more room at this point.
After she got one side all wet and muddy, she proceeded to get up, splash, and flop down on the other side. Zorro was soon to follow suit, but only immersing one side. The water is a good coolant on these 70° spring days when they still have much of their winter coat. Come summer time, the mud makes for a good suncreen and fly protection.
This is Jim (Beam) and Jack (Daniel), Jim and Denise's Silver Appleyard ducks. I had been chatting with Jim and Denise, over the fence and he called for Jack and Jim and they waddled right over. Very pretty and friendly ducks. It was nice to catch up with Jim and Denise. I admire her courage and strength and she has been a real trooper going through chemo.
I did evening chores after Karen and Patty left. While getting our chickens in the coop, I heard Denise's new rooster crowing.
Monday 3/27 - I had checked e-mail and Facebook before bed, and went to sleep thinking and praying about our Co-op and other ranch business. And for the third morning in a row, I was up shortly after 2am, unable to sleep anymore.
I computerized, doing various things: Facebook, blog, and e-mails (some pertaining to organizing our Co-op). I did not spend any time on computer games, although I did take an early morning nap.
I worked on more Co-op documents and then headed to the ranch for a meeting. When I got there, I was glad to see that Joe had given up on salvaging the pool and cleaned it all up. He was out mowing Jim's back field and Denise dropped by with a plate of brownies to thank us. Patty arrived to do chores and I headed home.
Taking a much needed break, I went to the gym and had a
really good workout. I felt stronger than I have in several days, but I did not go back up on my weights, so as not to bother any
of my sore joints. And actually, my knees and back hardly bothered me at
all. I still don’t know what I’m going to do about my elbows. I had
showered at the gym and came home feeling sweet and clean and relaxed. Joe picked up dinner at Reds, while I completed co-op documents and sent
them off in an email to everybody.
I had actually really taken a sleep aid Tue night and slept well all night long. However, I had some problems getting/feeling awake and was sort of groggy at first.
Two
darling photos of Ava with her 'Fluffy Kitty' cat that Vale shared with
us. So stinkin' cute. Look at the affection. And I love the
head-butt in the second photo.
I was at the ranch at 8:15 for our 8:30 Co-op meeting, which went well, and not too long. I think the organizing and communication ahead of time that I had done, helped out.
Joe left to get a nap before poker and I continued with work along the lower paddock fence, in preparation for moving our horses down there. Well, I got totally sidetracked when I had to go into the woods to get to the other side of the barbwire fence to pick up two T-post covers that had been knocked off and were over there. Drainage from behind the barn, out from the property near the corn crib has changed, and water has been running down our little riding trail instead of in the little ditch (which was full of leaves) that runs alongside the trail. So I raked leaves and dirt out of the ditch from the back gate all the way past the old lookout tower.
Finally getting the T-post covers, I moved on to my next project. I removed rocky, sandy soil from a mound by the shop hillside (seen here in this photo where I had gotten four tractor scoops full).
I took the four scoops up to our side pasture where I worked at
filling in the corner at the gate to the back pasture. We always get a
big puddle of rain in this area and then mud that the horses sink deeply in. The lighter sandy looking soil (seen in these two photos looking from both sides of gates) is what I added. 
I still needed and wanted to do more, but ran out of time and energy. I had taken a 15 minute lunch break to eat a PPJ, but was tired and hungry, as it was already after 5pm.
Bonnie and Susan had fed and put chickens away. But as I was leaving, I noticed these two hens (of Jim's) trying to get into our chicken yard. Well, I 'herded' them out our front gate, down our drive, and down Jim's drive until they could finally find a spot to get through the welded wire fence and back in with their flock.
Maggie and the cats were quite happy to see me home cause I was late for feeding time.
Thursday 3/30 - Last night I had decided I didn't need the sleep aid since I had gotten two good nights of sleep. Well, that actually didn't work too well for me and I was back up after 3½ hours of sleep, wide awake. I computerized for three hours and went back to bed (at 3am) for two more hours.
When I started work on today's post, downloading all of the photos I took yesterday, I was shocked there were 46 of them. I can often tell how busy/productive my day was by the number of photos I took. However, I was quick to see that most of yesterday's photos were of our horses and also Wanda with Maggie.
Joe had limited time, and had not planned to go to the ranch, but I had talked him into helping me this morning (rather than Friday) because the weather would be so much nicer today. 
We were relocating the 100 gallon water tank, taken from the back pasture, and putting it by the new water pump between the corral and front pasture.
Once we had the gravel and tank in it's new spot, Joe left for golf and I finished up, cleaning and filling the tank with water, and putting the sod we had dug up around part of the tank.
I took a lunch break with my project supervisor keeping an eye on me.
Because the weather forecast for Friday and Saturday did not look so good, I decided to show Amiga and Zorro around the lower paddock, where we would be moving them on Saturday. 
I closed Rio and Maslo into the front pasture, where they were happily grazing and then I fetched Amiga from the back pasture, and walked her down to the lower paddock. 
I left the gate to the back pasture open after I led Amiga through it. Zorro and Cowboy followed us. Cowboy looked around for hay and Zorro got a drink from the water trough. Amiga found some hay in the loafing shed. The white spot on her back is sunlight.
Zorro was soon to join us in the shed, and took a look around. 
Zorro leaving the shed, off to do more exploring.
I showed Amiga the water tank, she got a drink, and then I released her. 
Zorro quickly joined up with her and followed her around. And then they headed off to the pond (video).
They each got a drink from the pond, and a good time was had by all.
Maslo came down from the front pasture to check things out over the fence.
Cowboy was enjoying the water and grass at the edge of the pond, and Amiga joined him.
Zorro headed back out to the back pasture, but Amiga and Cowboy were slow to join him because they were enjoying the pond. And then Amiga decided to have a good roll in the dirt before leaving the paddock and joining her brother.
Once the horses were back to grazing, I set to work moving stuff down from our paddock feed room to the barn and tack room. I had filled the feed buckets with the night's dinner and bagged their feed for Friday night as well.
I made two trips with the gator full of stuff we would not need at the upper paddock for the next two days.
Maggie followed me back and forth and visited with Wanda while I was down in the barn.
Wanda really adores Maggie. Her tail continues to heal. The stitches have dissolved from the end of it but it is still a little scabby.
Here is a closer look at it. I can't wait until her hair grows back.
It was such a pretty day and warm enough to be in just a t-shirt. I did take breaks to watch horses and love on Maggie and Wanda.
And I took more than enough photos.
I cleaned in the tack room and kept re-arranging things
to get them to fit well. Below is a photo of the best I could do for now. I was
making mental plans for raising the one shelf that I always bump my head on when standing at the sink,
and I want to add a smaller, short shelf under it..
Polly had arrived to feed Maslo and Rio so I closed our horses out of the lower paddock and opened the gate for Rio and Maslo to go into it.
I chatted with Polly awhile, and then once back up at our paddock, chatted with Bonnie and Susan who had come to feed.
When I got home, I fed our fur babies, and then enjoyed beer and popcorn for a late dinner while watching Survivor with Joe.
Friday 3/31 - Goodby March and Happy April Fool's Day tomorrow! I had taken a sleep aid and didn't wake up until 5am. And while I sipped tea and blogged, I felt like going back to bed.
Monita loves playing fetch with different cat toys. This is her favorite one, and she drags the stick attached to it, behind her. She often straddles the stick, walking funny.
Our boarder 'fooled' us and 'marched away' (moved out) a day early. By 9:30 this morning, when Joe went out to meet a repairman to fix our tractor tire, she was gone.
The tire repairman removed a screw from the tire and plugged the hole.
Once Joe notified me that Maslo was gone, I made plans to finish our move down to the lower paddock. But first, I had to march over to the gym and get in a workout. My heart (and mind) weren't into it so my workout was lame. I had places to go and things to do.
I hit Ace Hardware, the Dollar Store, Food City and then Karen's house on my way home from the gym. And then I scurried off to the ranch.
The first thing I did at the ranch was close the top gate (to our paddock from the back pasture) then I walked down and opened the gate to the lower paddock. Rio was waiting. He started right in eating grass, until he noticed our horses, and then he took off to join them (video). He is so pretty. 
They all greeted each other and Rio was very interested in meeting Amiga. But Zorro did his best to stay between Amiga and Rio. Soon, they all settled in to what horses do best, eating grass (video).
So happy together.
Once the herd had settled in, I set to work moving the rest of our stuff to the lower shed and tack room down at the barn. Wheel barrow, manure forks, extra hay, salt and mineral
blocks, water buckets, feed buckets, fly masks, halters, lead ropes
etc., were all cleared out from the upper paddock shed area. The feed room in the upper paddock is now all cleaned out and ready for Mary and Jack. I really liked this space and am going to miss it.
I got to work setting everything up in the barn, tack room, and shed. And I did a little extra cleaning in Maslo's stall to prep it for Amiga.
Since chores would be new and different, I helped Patty with them. I led Amiga and she led Rio from the paddock to their stalls.
Zorro was a little confused, thinking he needed to go with his sister. 
But once we got he and Cowboy set up in the loafing shed with food, Zorro was content.
I had put Amiga in her old stall because I was still cleaning out her new one. Well after dumping the load of wet stall shavings, coming back towards the barn, I saw this... Amiga had escaped from her stall. She had been closed in, but got antsy and was rattling the gate and apparently wiggled the latch loose. There is a safety clip to prevent this, so we will be using it in the future. Luckily she only went as far as it took to get to green grass.
We put hay out in the paddock for the night, and then turned Amiga and Rio back out with Zorro and Cowboy, and just watched the herd dynamics. Rio and Zorro had been in a large herd together at Wildwood, and recognized each other, but still spent some time getting re-acquainted. In the last photo below, they were grooming each other. Rio has never been in a herd with Amiga, but they have been ridden together many times. So Rio really wanted to get to know Amiga better, but Zorro tried to stay between them. Cowboy was busy eating hay and Amiga was trying to get grass on the other side of the fence. Zorro and Rio soon quit fraternizing and joined in on the eating. Know when to march away, know when to run. Poker Joe was gone and since I hadn't gotten a nap, I went to bed early.
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