Happy 4th of July

We hope you all had a happy and safe 4th of July. We took a much needed break to spend some quality family time over the long weekend. The stress level is still fairly high for some family health stuff but we are making the most of it.


If you didn't catch our Facebook Live update, Diavlo has perked up. I was so worried about his potential depression but he came around much faster than I had figured. I had based my worries and fears off of Brego, who went into a deep depression when he lost Ivan. I knew Brego was a sensitive horse but hadn't realized how sensitive. He didn't perk up for weeks. In fact, it wasn't until we lost Bo four months later and Zeke was left without a best friend, that Brego perked up after hanging out with Zeke. So my worry was that Diavlo would do the same because he was so devoted to Jessie. But he went through his three days of mourning and was fine. He hangs out with Mayhem but isnt' nearly as protective of her. He gets annoyed by her but tolerates her. He looks for the big herd, so we may do some swapping later this summer/fall and put him in with the big herd and move Mayhem in with the ponies. We'll see how it all plays out.


We need to swap pastures this week or weekend. They've all been on the same pasture for the past month so now it's time to rotate to the next pasture. I should have done it after only two weeks to give the grass a break. It's what the pasture management class said I should do but old habits die hard (and I still need to put him some temporary fencing). At some point that temporary fencing needs to become permanent. But at this point, I need to start pushing to get our perimeter fence installed. After that, I'll be able to worry about the interior fencing. Good fences make good neighbors and we are risking becoming bad neighbors soon if we don't get better fencing up.


I can also tell that the days are getting shorter, even if it's only one minute at a time. But there's a long list of things that need to get done. This week is supposed to be icky hot so I'm planning on washing blankets so they will hopefully dry. The humidity is something else right now. But once they are washed and dry, we can apply water proofing and we'll be ready for another winter. I'll feel better once that project is done.


I'm sure that I'll fly into a tizzy here pretty soon. The katydids are going to start singing soon and those make me anxious. Not because of what they are but because they signal the beginning of fall. Oh not really, we still have two months of summer heat and humidity but there's SO MUCH that needs to get done. Up until the end of June, I spend all my time fixing things that break (I still have hay nets out too) or dealing with winter stuff and then from July on, it's prepping for winter and working on projects that can only be done in the summer months.  The katydids are a reminder that I only have a few short months to get them done.


And with our current situation, we are home more, which would make you think it possible to get more projects done but in fact, it means we get less done but I still see all the stuff that needs to get done. It's a bit of a catch 22. We are doing our best to stay home and social distance to keep everyone safe but in doing so, we stay home and I come up with more projects. My simple house project that would have taken a weekend, has now snowballed into two major updates. I'll need to take time off to work on some of the projects outside but can't do that because we are keeping kids home from daycare until school starts, if schools starts. So it's going to be a balancing act to get all these projects done.


We'll see how it all works out and if it gets done it gets done and if it doesn't, it'll simply be added to next year's long list of projects that need to get done. And when I say "simply", I add it to the list but it sits there stressing me out. Always ways to improve the place. It's been 15 years and we finally seem to be making headway on some areas.


In the mean time, we hope you had a relaxing, fun, and safe 4th of July. Now back to reality!