Watchmares

 Or, who needs watchdogs when you have mares? 

The mares have been really watchy lately. I try to see why, but they have better senses than I do. 

Velvet in particular is very aware of her surroundings. The watchiness is usually mornings and evenings (I can see their pasture from the house) so I was figuring wildlife of some sort. 

Then Ted figured it out when he spotted this:

Gussie is 15.2 hh, and she is closer than that bull moose, so you can figure just how huge he is!

There were 4 moose, browsing on the shrubs across the river. To their credit, the mares didn't get crazy, just ran to a spot where they could get a good look at them. 

Along with the moose, we got a spectacular sunset (view from the house)  and were able to watch as the moose (meese?) chowed their way along the riverbank, until it got too dark to see them. What a treat!

If I see them again, I will try for photos from my Nikon with the zoom lens, if my computer will cooperate in downloading that is. 

Catspotting (or what you do when you are bored)

 It has been pretty quiet around here for a while, I guess you could say the February blahs hit a week early. There isn't much to do to fill the days since I simplified my chores; no more firing up the tractor to move big round bales or struggle with tarps covering them; the little square bales are neatly and conveniently tucked into the barn and the shelter. 

The breakfast crew

Yes, those bales.... stacked to the top in the little barn where I was halter breaking Shayla's foals, and the cats are loving them. 

Mornings and evenings I get outside to do chores; sometimes with 70 km winds and sometimes with balmy above freezing lovely days, never know what you're going to get this winter. 

The barn cats are apparently thriving, despite the cold. 

Ollie, when it was stupid cold... 

and Ollie 2  days later in the balmy sunshine. 

Misty this morning. Cement blocks are not going to keep your toes warm!

Tom, who has stopped being afraid of me since he approves my breakfast service every morning.  He used to hide when he saw me, now he comes to see what's on the menu. 

These are hardy cats, they have the loft of the barn for their personal space, it is fairly deeply bedded in straw just for them; its where Misty's kittens were born. 

Speaking of those kittens, they are all doing great and thoroughly enjoying the royal treatment in their palaces, while their parents are living the pioneer life. 

Lily and Tiger, who live with my sister on the west coast of BC

Better than the haystack?

Much warmer than the frozen pallet!

Lily looks so much like her mama Misty

Lily and Tiger, umm, whose bed is that?

Their sibling Cece who lives with my sister M and has the company of 3 other cats, also is living the good life. 

Plenty of cushy couch to lay on!

The classic pose!

I have been asked if I will neuter the feral cats, the answer is no. It is a huge expense for someone on pension, for one thing, and for another, there are many predators around here that cull the cat population. So far, we have lost the black mama cat, Ringo,  Bandit, Badger and Smudge as well as a couple of other unnamed ones that were here 2 years ago. So I am letting nature take its course. I am just grateful that there are cats here to keep the mouse population down in my haystacks; and I have never seen a mouse in my feed room. 

As far as my personal cats go, Foose is turning 16 in April. 

 and Thumper will be 15 this coming summer. I keep them close, indoors at night and  in bad weather as well as if we will be away from home. 

Thumper does like to patrol the barnyard and make sure the ferals are behaving, he gets along well with them, after having put Tom in his place a couple of times. Cat drama!

All is well, and harmonious, just the way I like it. 

Escorted

 I have had some special moments in the last week or so. You may remember me telling you about how Velvet walks beside me wherever I go, well lately Gussie is getting in on the act too  

Gussie has been a bit stand offish for a while now; she looks away if I go to touch her anywhere on her head, so I started greeting her with a chest rub instead, and waiting for her to turn her head towards me. Apparently she approved of this new routine for she no longer looks away when I approach her. Velvet, on the other hand eagerly offers her head for rubs. 

Anyway, this has lead to Gussie no longer holding back when its chore time. Previously, she would wait until Velvet and I were some distance ahead before following. Now, it starts like this:

I always visit with them and check them over before walking down the hill to their shelter where I have hay for them. So yesterday, Gussie marched right along beside me, and Velvet on the other side.  The moon was out in all its morning glory, so I stopped to take a photo, and both mares stopped right beside me and quietly waited until I started walking again. So to test this, I stopped again in a bit, and so did they. I felt such a beautiful harmony with them!

To top it off, on my way back to the house, the female cat, Misty, escorted me to the house from the barn. She saunters out about 15 ft, stops and looks back at me, then off she goes again, repeating her actions all the way to the house. 

Well isn't that special! 

This morning, they decided to lead instead of escort, but they both stopped when I did.

Here is the moon photo I mentioned, in all it's misty loveliness. 

 

The sun comes up and the sun goes down

 We are getting into the monotonous part of winter . 

As I look at the winter weather other parts of the continent are getting though, I feel blessed that we aren't covered in 5 ft of snow drifts or dealing with a raging fire. 

The fire is in the sky in the morning sunrise

But not on the western side; this was taken only minutes before the eastern sky was aglow.

The evenings are just as pretty

Glowing on that baby belly!

And the skies in true form, rapidly change. 

This is our automatic waterer that is accessible from 4 different pens- I love it! Especially when I recall all the years I had to fight with frozen hoses and frozen stand pipes and frozen heated waterers! Even one year in Creston where I had to deal with 200 ft. of hose, through the bathroom window and hooked up to the bathtub tap. Gah! Never again!!!

Its quiet here on the farm. Not a lot of excitement

Tom, hoping I leave soon so that he can sidle into the barn for his cat food. 

7 more weeks until March and the onset of spring weather. We can do this. 

Listen

 My key word for 2025 is... you guessed it, listen.

Listen to your heart,

listen with your heart. 

Listen to others, 

listen to the silence. 

Listen to the inspirations of grace that God sends your way. 

Listen to your spouse, and try to read between the lines of what they are saying.

Listen to your horses, who speak in a silent body-language. 

Listen. There is always something to listen to! A wise old friend once said, you don't learn anything when you are talking, and I never forgot that. However, there are times to talk and times to be silent. And there is always time to listen.

Mementos

 I believe I mentioned months ago that I had sent off some hair to be made into a few items; hair from Beamer, Coyote Belle, Gussie, Jayne and my first stallion, Chipper. It took a while to complete the order as the lady is a very busy and well known horse hair artist.

Yes she does make items for folks from the US and I think Australia too, check her website. 

The package arrived in the mail a couple days ago, and I eagerly opened it- and didn't I burst into tears as I saw the beautiful work she did for me. 

She did everything exactly as I requested, and sent me a letter explaining whose hair was in each piece. 

The hat band looks perfect on my grey felt hat. 

The stampede strings are for my palm leaf straw hat, which tends to come off if it is windy or if I am loping. 
The tassels with the tin stars (one for me, one for Shayla) are made from Belle and Gussie hair, as bff's they are now always together. The little tassels, made from all the combined horses hair, are perfect for everyday use- the zipper pull goes to Shayla and the key ring for me. 

I highly recommend Donna's work and professionalism. If you want anything made, though, plan ahead as it takes about 4 months for her to get to your order . I must also say, her prices are very reasonable. 

Having these special pieces means a lot to me. I can remember the horses through my photos, but having a piece of them to wear or touch is so much more meaningful.