Well, it could be worse. I did the barn work in the rain before temperatures dropped this morning, and covered the ramp with tarps just minutes before sleet and ice crystals started pouring out of the sky. Very lucky, indeed. The horses were out with plenty of hay, but it was a miserable day. Harry came to get me for a mid morning cup of tea. Life is good.
I spent the day puttering around, and took some bird pictures, since they were feeding heavily in this winter storm weather. The grackle, who has been absent during the pleasant weather, showed up hungry and feisty today.
More birds! I took many pictures, and distilled them to a few dozen. This group features cardinals.
And here are some other birds…
As I slogged through barn work on a truly miserable day, I thought about people who think we are so lucky to have horses at home. Well, we are, but the reality of it is that there is no vacation. Our life is ordered around the needs of the horses (and the cats, if truth be told). By 7 AM, we must get to the barn for morning chores. Our horses don’t eat breakfast, but we must distribute hay, feed cats, dump buckets. The morning ritual takes the better part of an hour.
If I clean stalls, that takes me about two hours. As I get older, I need to check that I haven’t overlooked something. Barn work has five items on the check list – water, clean stalls, hay, grain, bedding, sweep. Water buckets and automatic waterers get dumped, cleaned and refilled; stalls get mucked and dumped into the dumpster; hay is distributed to each stall after the manger is swept out (Bart gets a filled slow feed net); feed buckets are hung and filled with evening feed; each stall gets a bale of pine shavings opened and distributed; the aisle gets swept. Of course, when Marianne does the barn work, she manages to do it in an hour, but I am not an efficient person.
If all goes well, horses are happy outside until around 5 PM, when they come in to the stalls, one at a time, and in the correct order (Bart, Oisin, Stone). The shed and paddocks get manure picked up as needed. The cats get fed in the shed. Afternoon duties take the better part of an hour.
Night check happens between 8PM and 9PM and takes, again, the better part of an hour.
All of this is a joy and a privilege, but also a bit of a burden, in that none of it can be skipped. If aliens came down and observed our life, they would certainly assume the horses and cats were the superior beings, and we humans their slaves. Anyway, that is the glamour and responsibility of having horses at home. No complaints. Well, maybe I complained briefly, when my down jacket got soaked through this morning, and then froze.
The horses were locked in the paddocks. It rained a lot last night and the fields are flooded. It was a very miserable day, so there was some sparring.
Horses came in early, with enormous snowballs in their feet. Tendons are getting stronger and ready for jumping.
Harry spent much of the day in the studio. We were very glad to be able to hunker down here, with snow and ice piling up around us and no need to venture out.
Time for night check. I leave you with my two favorite bird pictures today…
Be safe, be well. Peace.
I just love the cardinals on the curly tree!
I feel your pain with the weather.
Hang in there, spring is coming.
Peace
Great pictures ; hope all is well with you and Harry🙏💗🙏
Your bird pictures are so wonderful…and all the others. I do envy you having horses but I don’t for a minute think that luck has anything to do with it. It’s hard enough looking after small creatures that we can pick up. Horses mean hard work and great expense. I admire all the work you do for them and I live vicariously through your posts. Harry looks like a keeper too! So sorry about the friend you lost.
Best wishes.
Oh, Carolyn, thank you! I look forward to your blog every day, and your pictures are an inspiration. It’s nice that the internet connects people from different places, but I do wish you were closer and could come for a visit!
Wonderful bird pictures Anne. Bless their little hearts. Y’all be careful out there.
The cardinals on the “curly” tree — exquisite! I love all the bird pictures, and now I get excited when I know what they are before I read the note att the bottom. I’m learning! One friend of mine up in Maine had this to say about having horses at home, which she does, “Horsepeople who board their horses ride more.” Well, an indoor sure is nice. The one place where my riding was seldom interfered with due to weather, believe it or not, was Minnesota! But, the joy of watching your horses, and the knowledge you gain from watching horses, is best and more easily enjoyed when you have them at home, no doubt! Thank you Anne, the ice on the dove’s tail, and the icy female cardinal on the blue cedar branch make me shiver. Please no more frozen down jackets!
All those animals are quite lucky to have you and your labors— of love and appreciation no doubt. It’s a delight to read and see them all, not so much about the mishaps. I’m glad to see your fruits vicariously. Better weather times coming soon let’s hope and how great for O’Connell’s to display that small piece- ciao and carry on in good health!
Thanks, Francie!