Friday, June 5, 2015

Havin' a ball

Out walking on our recent camp-out to Mt. Adams
That's an understatement!  But I really am absolutely loving interacting with Eagle and Rachel on my weekly visits.  Eagle continues to astonish me at how fast he's picking up on his lessons, and just how very well he's doing overall.  He's been calm, quiet, and really enjoys his lessons, especially the trail rides.  Rachel is taking him up in the hills pretty much daily now, and he's had no more spook incidents other than that first day.  

The footing in the riding arena is causing him some foot discomfort though.  It's a very small, maybe 1/4- rock and it's hard packed, necessary for year round use in our rainy winters.  Eagle's back feet have almost completely worn down the side walls, so I'm buying a pair of boots for him today.  He's been wearing boots on his fronts all along, so there's no problems there, but my sweet boy has tender feet and needs rubber all around. I wish we'd noticed earlier, but he'll manage with wearing Ladde's boots until I get him new ones.  

This weekend our mild weather is turning uncomfortably hot.  We're expecting 90-95 this weekend, and that's just about unbearable for me.  Time to get that swimming pool up!!  I was smart this year about pool supplies.  I've got enough filters and chlorine tablets to last pretty much all season.  That stuff sells out fast!  We bought a new cover for the pool too, so the farmer's field chaff won't be a film on the water, that will help the filters last longer too.  

Hay fields are being cut all over the place, and I'm anxious to get ours cut, baled and safely stored in the barn.  Having to worry even more about our very own field makes me a nervous nellie.  With this hot, dry spell I should be getting my wish soon enough...time to round up our hay crew.  Last year we put 21 ton in the barns and about 2 ton of alfalfa. That's about the maximum that we have room for.  It usually works out perfectly, and this year we've got maybe close to a ton left right now.  The horses are getting 1 flake twice a day and they're fatter than ticks.  Ladde and Missy spend their nights in the corral where they can't eat all night long.  They are the two I worry about the most, they really need a regular exercise routine.  Hopefully we'll have time to begin that soon.  Never enough time to do everything that we want or need to do.  Age old story...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lorie

7 comments:

IanH said...

I miss the rationing. Two of our horses looked like round bales with ears for a while. :-}

Grey Horse Matters said...

Glad to hear Eagle is doing so well. Good for him. I hate the heat and anything over 85 is not my cup of tea. Hope you get that pool up soon!

T.L. Merrybard said...

Have you heard the song by Mary An Kennedy about hay time? I think you'd appreciate it! :) It can be listened to for free here on her site, it's called Hayin Time. Bet you'd like a lot of her songs, if you haven't come across them before, Lorie. :) xxx Tina http://www.maryannkennedy.com/store.html

Linda said...

Happy Eagle's doing well. He must be working a lot to wear down those feet. Good sign! That's a lot of hay. I'm wondering if some of the farmers will be able to get 2 cuttings this year. I'm a little worried about it, actually.

C-ingspots said...

I'll check it out Tina - thanks!

Linda: We'd expected to get 20ish tons and only got about 12-13, which is 30-35% less yield. They blame it on our drier than normal winter. That's the way seasons go though, it all works out in the end I guess. And yes, Eagle is working hard...poor boy, he's in boot camp.

Michaele said...

Must be great to raise your own hay. I don't envy your heat. June seems too early for that. A pool would be a must-have.

aurora said...

Mt. Adam looks beautiful. Hope the weather has cooled off some for you. It's hard to have ambition when a person is melting!! Mother Nature demolished our (above ground) pool a couple years ago & we really miss it. Nothing feels better then floating around early evening, after a sweltering hot day! Glad you are enjoying your time with Eagle & Rachel :)