I'm sort of going into panic mode. Lots to do and so little time to get it all done. We've been granted some amazing opportunities and I'm working on those to get things polished up before I present them to you (mostly in case I screw something up and fall flat on my face, I'd rather not eat too much crow).
The weather has been gorgeous. Cn I repeat that?! It's been GORGEOUS! Chores are SO much easier when I don't have to put on 10 layers of clothes just to go and do chores and worry about freezing myself into my coveralls.
The horses are enjoying the warmer temperatures. I keep seeing them stretched out on the ground, sound asleep. Just yesterday, I saw Chaos and Ivan curled up sleeping next to the barn. Of course I had to go and pester Chaos. He has that personality that you can pick on him and he doesn't care. Now Ivan, not so much. Just a gentle pat and scratch on the head and that's it. Whereas Chaos, I could pick his nose, and give him a great big hug and practically fall all over him while he's lying down.
But with the warmer temperatures comes the mud. Luckily the mud isn't so soupy that you get sucked into it but you do have to be careful. I had drill team practice last night and I decided I'd better not park the trailer where I normally do. Otherwise, we'd be getting the tractor out to pull the truck out of the mud. I don't like tearing up the yard. It makes hauling hay more difficult.
And speaking of hauling hay, Mike is going on travel starting tomorrow and I'll be home alone with two little kids trying to juggle all my chores. Luckily the warmer weather helps everything. But I'll be looking at getting things moved around so I can do a shortened version of chores. The problem is, the two two-wheeled wheelbarrows both have flat tires. One has one flat tire and the other has two flat tires. Loading the wheelbarrows up with hay on flat tires is almost an effort in futility. Well, not really but its' a struggle. I already have to body slam the wheelbarrows to get them through the door of the hay shed. And now that I think about it, that explains why the door is somewhat broken (oops!). I didn't realize until now that me shoving the wheelbarrow full of hay through a door that's not quite the size of a big square is probably what broke the door frame (if you want to call it a door frame...more like wood thrown together to look like a door frame but really it's not). But I digress. I'll have to get everything ready to take care of everyone tonight so I can do shortened chores the rest of this week.
The big herd attacked one bale and didn't touch another bale. Not sure why one is more tastey than another. I need to figure out if we need to put in another bale before this weekend or not. I won't have time this weekend to do anything but shortened chores. Friday and Saturday my drill team (Dakota Thunder Mounted Drill Team) is performing at the Tri-State Horse Expo. That means it'll be later than normal when I finally get home to do chores. Come on out to watch. I'll be writing the white arab! ;-)
So, if you don't see me the rest of this week, it's because I'm scrambling to keep my head above water while Mike is out. I'm also trying to finish up (ok, actually start) a few of my projects that need to be done so I can mention my projects. :-) Nothing big. Just something fun. Until then.. I'll be freaking out.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Friday, March 4, 2016
Throwback Thursday
I thought this went out yesterday, but apparently my internet didn't like the post...so here's Throwback Thursday on a Friday
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This week's Throwback Thursday is from a few years back (because I'm on a computer that doesn't have all my pictures...sigh).
This picture was taken the first day of the Memorial Weekend. We typically "release the herd" Memorial Weekend and let them enjoy the big pasture.
Because we have grown in numbers and because of overgrazing and drought, we now have to divide the pasture to help with grass growth and to ensure we don't over graze again.
The pasture is a huge undertaking and we need some help in maintaining it. We are looking at putting in a permanent fence to divide the pasture and we need to redo the original fencing because it has barbed wire and it started to show its age. We also need help in fertilizing and spraying to keep the weeds (i.e., thistles) to a minimum. The battle with thistles is an ongoing task and probably will always be a battle. But any help is greatly appreciated. So if you have experience in any of these or have funds to help us with our fencing project, let me know!
Cabin Fever
Yesterday I worked from home (at the paying job), and I watched the snow melt away. It was sort of neat to see. I'd look up from my computer every once in awhile and notice the amount of snow disappearing. So the six inches of snow we got Monday night will most likely be gone by the middle of the weekend.
I need to pull blankets tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. I heard that we are supposed to be in the 50s at some point. But Sunday brings wind and I thought at some point there's a chance for rain. So I don't really know what the weather is going to do. It's that time of year when we ride the roller coast of weather.
I got fed up and switched water tanks last night. When I switched the mares and Junior to the back pen, I'd wanted to put the big water tank with them but I petered out and made Mike do water for me. He petered out too and used a much smaller water tank (he totally cheated!) We've had below freezing temps and the horses drink a ton of water (something I didn't realize when I wasn't hauling water as far away...well, I knew it but it didn't register at the time). But after realizing that they were drinking almost an entire small water tank full of water in a day, I opted to go with the big 100 gallon tank. Hopefully the weather will warm up enough for me to use hoses every couple of days instead of hauling buckets of water. I seem to have lost my "bucket" arms and am too lazy to carry bucket after bucket back there. I think I got spoiled. I'm also hoping it doesn't freeze because where the tank is now, the tank heater doesn't reach. Ah the dilemmas of the Sanctuary.
Mike has training almost all of next week so I'm going to be scrambling to get all my chores done next week and juggle keeping the kids occupied and out of trouble. :-) Luckily I was able to push off jury duty for a month. I'm thinking April will be a much slower month (at least that's my hope).
I thought there was more to share but I'm drawing a blank. My daughter had RSV last week and now it seems to have spread throughout the entire house. Luckily I haven't caught it too bad but there's been very little time to do anything but snuggle with kiddos. Horses get their grain, but no scratches or chat time with me. I know they are getting bored. Maverick came up to me last night to remind me that he needs some of my attention too.
I locked them out of the big pasture now that most of the snow is gone. I don't want them tearing up the pasture so now they are stuck in the drylot and are bored out of their mind. I found the jolly ball and tied it to the gate in hopes that Maverick and a couple of the others might play with it. We'll see. I might have to get something else to keep them occupied. I'm not sure a toy will be of any interest, but maybe some treats that they have to work for. This is the time of year that even the horses start getting cabin fever.
I need to pull blankets tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. I heard that we are supposed to be in the 50s at some point. But Sunday brings wind and I thought at some point there's a chance for rain. So I don't really know what the weather is going to do. It's that time of year when we ride the roller coast of weather.
I got fed up and switched water tanks last night. When I switched the mares and Junior to the back pen, I'd wanted to put the big water tank with them but I petered out and made Mike do water for me. He petered out too and used a much smaller water tank (he totally cheated!) We've had below freezing temps and the horses drink a ton of water (something I didn't realize when I wasn't hauling water as far away...well, I knew it but it didn't register at the time). But after realizing that they were drinking almost an entire small water tank full of water in a day, I opted to go with the big 100 gallon tank. Hopefully the weather will warm up enough for me to use hoses every couple of days instead of hauling buckets of water. I seem to have lost my "bucket" arms and am too lazy to carry bucket after bucket back there. I think I got spoiled. I'm also hoping it doesn't freeze because where the tank is now, the tank heater doesn't reach. Ah the dilemmas of the Sanctuary.
Mike has training almost all of next week so I'm going to be scrambling to get all my chores done next week and juggle keeping the kids occupied and out of trouble. :-) Luckily I was able to push off jury duty for a month. I'm thinking April will be a much slower month (at least that's my hope).
I thought there was more to share but I'm drawing a blank. My daughter had RSV last week and now it seems to have spread throughout the entire house. Luckily I haven't caught it too bad but there's been very little time to do anything but snuggle with kiddos. Horses get their grain, but no scratches or chat time with me. I know they are getting bored. Maverick came up to me last night to remind me that he needs some of my attention too.
I locked them out of the big pasture now that most of the snow is gone. I don't want them tearing up the pasture so now they are stuck in the drylot and are bored out of their mind. I found the jolly ball and tied it to the gate in hopes that Maverick and a couple of the others might play with it. We'll see. I might have to get something else to keep them occupied. I'm not sure a toy will be of any interest, but maybe some treats that they have to work for. This is the time of year that even the horses start getting cabin fever.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
National Horse Protection Day
Today is National Horse Protection Day! Totally not on top of it or we would have done some type of fun activity. Maybe next year (of course I said that last year too).
But here's to all who help keep our horses safe!
But here's to all who help keep our horses safe!
Wishlist Wednesday
Call me old fashioned but, I like to send Thank You cards in the mail to our donors when they surprise us with a generous donation. So today's Wishlist Wednesday is a wish for Thank You cards! There's so many to choose from but very much needed at the Sanctuary.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Light the Night 2016
Finally downloaded pictures from our Light the Night fundraiser. I think it was a success and we'll definitely be doing it again! I'll leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the two night fundraiser.
Super Crazy Busy
Holy super crazy busy Batman. I haven't been near a computer in almost a week. I'll just do a quick brain dump so you can see what all we've been doing in the past week or more.
My daughter came down with RSV. She just had her six month birthday (hard to believe), but being the paranoid parent that I am (thanks to the health scares we've had with our son), I've been focusing almost all of my time on my daughter to make sure we don't have to spend any time in the hospital.
So between snuggling with a sick daughter and caring for the horses, I was able to throw together everything we needed for the fundraiser. Total success as far as I'm concerned. We lite almost 50 luminaries in honor or remembrance of people and animals. We also lite another 30 for the Sanctuary horses (both current and past). I'll have to write more and post pictures. I've been meaning to post and tag pictures since Friday night and have been too exhausted every night to do it.
We didn't have any snow for the fundraiser. I was a little bummed (and worried) but it worked out. But wouldn't you know, three days later and we get snow, and lots of it. Reports are coming in that it's about 3-4 inches but there's snow up and over my ankles so I'd say that's more like a solid 4 inches. And to think, it was only supposed to be 1-2 inches. Boy were they wrong. I didn't even know we were supposed to GET snow. Too bad we didn't have snow for the fundraiser but it worked out all the way around. We also got rain Sunday morning which made me hustle to pick up all the luminaries Saturday night.
And that snow. Boy did it come down in a hurry. I went out just after 3pm yesterday to put stuff away and start chores. I came out of the barn maybe a half an hour later and there was already accumulation on the ground. Of course, I'd played musical pens and moved horses around thinking that we wouldn't get any more snow and that I needed to pull horses off the pastures so they wouldn't tear it up. And what happens, we get enough snow that I could have left them there. But feeding round bales, I knew the mares and Junior wouldn't get through a bale fast enough before I needed to pull them. But it does cause problems. They are in the back pen without a heater on their water. Mike filled the water trough but he used the smaller one so I can't even get away with not hauling water every day (and using hoses is out until it warms up...which will be at the end of the week).
There's a ton more that I want to say but think I'll post this and come back and rehash more of what's been going on in more detail. But wanted to let everyone know that the fundraiser was a success. We got some beautiful pictures (with just my phone) and I can't wait to share them. Fundraisers are stressful but are very helpful. We raised more than enough to cover the cost of grain for the month of March!
But, I'll be back with more ramblings from the Sanctuary!
My daughter came down with RSV. She just had her six month birthday (hard to believe), but being the paranoid parent that I am (thanks to the health scares we've had with our son), I've been focusing almost all of my time on my daughter to make sure we don't have to spend any time in the hospital.
So between snuggling with a sick daughter and caring for the horses, I was able to throw together everything we needed for the fundraiser. Total success as far as I'm concerned. We lite almost 50 luminaries in honor or remembrance of people and animals. We also lite another 30 for the Sanctuary horses (both current and past). I'll have to write more and post pictures. I've been meaning to post and tag pictures since Friday night and have been too exhausted every night to do it.
We didn't have any snow for the fundraiser. I was a little bummed (and worried) but it worked out. But wouldn't you know, three days later and we get snow, and lots of it. Reports are coming in that it's about 3-4 inches but there's snow up and over my ankles so I'd say that's more like a solid 4 inches. And to think, it was only supposed to be 1-2 inches. Boy were they wrong. I didn't even know we were supposed to GET snow. Too bad we didn't have snow for the fundraiser but it worked out all the way around. We also got rain Sunday morning which made me hustle to pick up all the luminaries Saturday night.
And that snow. Boy did it come down in a hurry. I went out just after 3pm yesterday to put stuff away and start chores. I came out of the barn maybe a half an hour later and there was already accumulation on the ground. Of course, I'd played musical pens and moved horses around thinking that we wouldn't get any more snow and that I needed to pull horses off the pastures so they wouldn't tear it up. And what happens, we get enough snow that I could have left them there. But feeding round bales, I knew the mares and Junior wouldn't get through a bale fast enough before I needed to pull them. But it does cause problems. They are in the back pen without a heater on their water. Mike filled the water trough but he used the smaller one so I can't even get away with not hauling water every day (and using hoses is out until it warms up...which will be at the end of the week).
There's a ton more that I want to say but think I'll post this and come back and rehash more of what's been going on in more detail. But wanted to let everyone know that the fundraiser was a success. We got some beautiful pictures (with just my phone) and I can't wait to share them. Fundraisers are stressful but are very helpful. We raised more than enough to cover the cost of grain for the month of March!
But, I'll be back with more ramblings from the Sanctuary!
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