Is it really done?

 Well, after a week of the arctic vortex stifling us, we are back in more seasonal weather. It warmed up by 30 Celcius degrees to -12C!

 I took advantage of the cold frosting on the windows to capture a few shots of what I call, frost flowers. 

To me, those ones look like they are dancing. What else is there to do at minus stupid weather!

I await the coming of spring when I can grow real flowers!

The mares shed their snow blankets as of last night- I guess they figured the -25C was pretty balmy.

 Compared to the last photo of Velvet, this is all that is left. Ruby too has normal looking hair, not all frost covered and making her look like a roan. 

For the discerning eye- yes she does have a capped hock, I almost didn't buy her when I saw that; she had a scrape on that leg that told me she had kicked something and probably got the leg stuck somehow. However, it is a blemish and not a lameness. 

No Ruby. I don't have any treats and you are still too frosty for kisses!

I found this photo of Mesa on the FB page of the lady who owns her now (she calls her Mindy) ; looks like she also handled the cold snap well. Not hurting for feed that's for sure!

We are getting snow, the kind that is like a drizzle if it was rain. We do have more in the forecast, but at least it's warmer! I'll take it! Actually, southern Alberta has been in a terrible drought and with heavy snow predicted for them, it will be most welcome, I'm sure. The last week of the month, we will be in plus temps, so I bet a lot of it will melt. 

Officially stupid cold!

 

'Nuff said. We are about 10 miles from there and were a couple degrees "warmer". 

By the time I went out to do chores it was -38 here, at least no wind. I had fed everyone extra last night, so the horses (and barn cats) were just fine. The 2 pregnant mares don't hang out in their shelter so I feed them on the leeward side of the top barn, and I put a bale of straw down for them to lay on if they felt inclined (they weren't) . They had white mascara on this morning though, and heavy snow blankets. 

Where does the ground stop and  the horse begin? 

During the day I saw Ruby keeping an eye on something going on south of us. There is a big hayfield, bordered by the now frozen river, and on the other side of that is a feed yard for cattle so I thought maybe she was listening to cows. (There were no coyotes to be seen. )

That is, until I did my evening chores and both mares really were on high alert. 

What's out there, Ruby Roo?

Turns out, there were 3 moose making their way along the river banks to the hayfield . The mares gave them the hairy eyeball until they were well out of sight before they relaxed enough to eat their evening hay. 

Tonight we are supposed to go down to -45Celcius, and 2 more days of this weather before it starts moving off and warming up, which of course will bring on the snow. One thing I have to watch our for is if today's sun melts the snow on the mares backs enough to make ice- if it does, I will have to scrape them off and blanket them. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

It's here....

 The first cold snap of winter has hit. I'm thankful that it waited until January! We were -28 C  (-18.5 F) overnight, and expect down to -41C overnight on Thursday night. 

We had a heavy fog the first day of the cold snap, it lasted the whole day and the next morning it was c-c-c-c-cold! But made for good frost photos. 

Chore time in the mornings is nippy! Brought out the big down work coat today. 

The mares and Beamer were a bit frosty but seemed to be plenty warm enough. I blanketed Belle yesterday as she doesn't move around as much as the other mares. I tried out Beamer's Weatherbeeta blanket on her and it fit better than the one I had on her earlier in the season. 

I can always use the other one on Beamer if needed; actually most of my blankets were his anyway! I don't think Ruby and Velvet will need blanketing- although maybe Velvet when we hit that -41. 

I have considered buying a Back on Track winter blanket for Belle- but the one I want is over $400... so maybe a liner to put under her regular blanket is a better idea. I do use Back on Track products for myself, in particular the "dog bed" which is just a pad of the right size for lying on and helps greatly with my bad back and even rolled up and put around my neck and shoulders when I get a headache. We also have their gloves, both dress style and the fleece fingerless ones. 

Hang in there Ruby, this too shall pass!

2024

 Well here we are at another new year. That last one went by fairly quickly- is it just me or is time speeding up? Overall it was a fairly good year- I got to visit with family, at least some of them, and Ted got to spend time with his family too. One of my sisters moved close to here so it's wonderful having family that close again. 

We are slowly getting this place set up to our liking; we signed a 5 year lease so that helps us to want to get a few projects done. The big one for this year is setting up some kind of hay shed- I really dislike having tarped hay. Too much goes to waste no matter how rigorously you tarp, the Alberta wind  has ways of rearranging things! And with hay this  last year averaging $200 for a 1200 to 1400 lb. bale, wasting any hay is not an option. I'm hoping this won't be a disastrous year for hay production. 

Speaking of the hay burners...

Did you say hay? 

Velvet is getting to the wide load stage....

Baby on Board

I saw a post on FB where someone was asking for old wives tales about predicting foal gender. Some folks swear by the one where if the mare is carrying low it's a colt, carrying high it's a filly. Hmmm... Belle always carried low and she had mostly colts. Velvet appears to be carrying low, so maybe a colt for her? 

Ruby is carrying high and tight as can be expected for a maiden mare. Filly maybe? 

Shall we sing, I want a hippopotamus for Christmas? 

Sing it, Ruby!

The weather has been just lovely! Above freezing during the day and not too terribly cold at night. The wildlife have started coming back around. A small band of deer were investigating the spilled birdseed outside our living room window, and didn't mind me spying on them. 

And Humphrey is back!

When I turned the outside light on he fluffed up his quills but kept on eating the birdseed. We make sure he gets some if the deer don't leave him any. 

I took a sunrise photo the other day and was delighted to find a smiling face in it.

Can you see it?  Nice omen for starting off the new year.

 This is Misty, the female barn cat.  I saw Bandit breeding her just before he went missing in mid November and it looks to me like she may be carrying a kitten or two in there- due in a couple of weeks. In other barn cat news- Smokey has stopped hissing at me and has become quite friendly, even lets me pet him before and during feeding time. Progress!

Every year, a key word comes to me right at the beginning of the year. This time, my word for the year is Patience. Especially with myself, as I navigate the changes in physical and spiritual life that aging brings. But also with those around me both human and animal, and with all the things that I will be dealing with this year that may not be pleasing to me. 

Hope you all have a good year, and don't forget to always look for and find the beauty surrounding us.

'Tis the season....

 What's Christmas without a Beamer photo shoot? 

All decked out in his ribbons

Hoping the girlz will notice...

Oh girrrrlz, where are you?.... 

(They ran down to the pasture)

Hello handsome!

Come baaaack....
(He rolled and left his mane ribbons in the snow)

This morning we were blessed with a spectacular sunrise. Such a warm day too!  

Here's hoping all those of you who are travelling to be with loved ones and family will have a safe journey. Many blessings for all those who don't have family or are shut ins and spend Christmas alone. 

God bless you all!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Around the farm on a wintery day

 We got a dump of heavy wet snow- maybe it will stick around for Christmas!

There's always something to see- like cat tracks amongst stripey shadows....

and coyote tracks going through Belle's pen right where I feed her....

and sun stars....

and barn cats who can't decide if I am friend or foe...

and mama Belle looking good- although this damp cold weather isn't helping her arthritis one bit.

 Ruby and I went for a walk to check out the river. It's finally frozen all over. That halter though- it's the one that came with her and I am giving it to Shayla for some of her draft cross horses. I have one that will fit her better, or maybe make a new one just for her. 

Then there's this guy...

Yep Humphrey is back! Cleaning up the bird seed. I would love to be able to get a good photo of him but if I go outside he hides. So through the living room window it is!

So- are all your ducks in a row for Christmas? Mine are!

Fun in the sun

 The morning sun, that is. It was a brisk -10 C this morning, but the morning light was so inviting I had to get one of my big girl cameras out for chore time. I had a bit of fun taking unusual horse photos; what I call bits and pieces photos. When I first went out, the sky was all pink and purple....

but by the time I was done feeding cats and horses, it went orange and gold. 

Velvet is  the most photogenic (apart from Beamer!) because the light captures her red and gold so beautifully. Ruby, alas, would barely lift her head from the hay pile, so  Velvet photos it is!

I am totally smitten with her mane! I have never had any other horse whose mane splits to both sides and hangs below her neck. And doesn't need a lot of brushing to keep it nice!

Mama Belle in the shadows looks completely different than in the bright light:

Well, I did manage one photo of Beamer, but sadly the focus isn't very good- but the expression is priceless!

Please don't tell me you want me to stop eating for photos!

The (large) girls

 I saddled up Ruby. Well.... first she had to let me know she Wasn't Best Pleased about being haltered. She has Opinions about being caught, I have to convince her by walking and blocking with her. But I always let her know I'm pleased once she's haltered! Silly mare. 

The new stirrups didn't add any weight to the saddle, in fact they may be lighter than the leather wrapped ones it came with. That was the only thing I was concerned about, so bonus!

Ruby has definitely gotten... rotund, shall we say?

That back cinch is on the last hole, both sides and it's pretty snug! I always ride with the back cinch laying on the belly, so I reckon in another month I won't be saddling her, so I hope to get in a few rides this month while the weather holds, even if they are only round pen rides.  I didn't really ride this time, just had Ted longe me on her so I could get the feel for the stirrups. Her back has gotten really round too, so the saddle is wanting to roll a bit. I also had to go with a longer cinch. 

Baby belly bump! Due in 4 and a half months

I took her for a stroll up to the mail box and back through the hay field, we both enjoyed the walk. She strides right out beside me on a loose lead, not perfectly but pretty good. A couple times I had to ask her to move over and not crowd me. Although I wasn't riding, everything I do with her is a learning curve for both of us. I see that she is willing and not reactive, and she sees that I am paying attention to her and keeping her safe - and letting her have a bite of one of the bales that are still on the field! Partnership isn't always achieved only in the saddle. 

I will trim the excess strap from the bosal hanger, and add a throatlatch rope. 

Ruby isn't the only one getting large- check out Velvet's baby belly!

She looks huge already but remember she is only 14 hands. She is due in 4 months! For an older mare, she is holding her weight really well through this pregnancy, and I see no reason that she won't have a lovely healthy foal at the age of almost 24. (Which she will be on May 16 next year.) Here is what she looked like as a baby.

If her foal looks anything like that I will be over the moon!

Never assume

 Never assume the worst, that is. On the other hand, if you do, then it's always a pleasant surprise when you are proven wrong!

I had a pleasant surprise this morning when I went to feed the barn cats and Smokey was there, meowing loudly and demanding his canned cat food! He didn't get et by coyotes after all! 

The two Siamese, Misty and Smudge weren't best pleased though, as Smokey is a very bossy hissy cat. Just look at that crabby face! He hisses at me and I hiss right back at him. Now if only Bandit shows up I will be happy, he went missing 2 days after Smokey. 

We have another blast of cold air lately, nights down to -18 C and hovering around or just below freezing during the day. They are saying there is a probability of a brown Christmas- I'm ok with that as it means the mares can graze longer and that will save on the amount of hay I have to feed. 

I bought myself an early Christmas present 😄 Ever since I broke my ankle last year it has affected my balance and my confidence in the saddle, part of the reason I haven't been riding much this year. I still have pain in the arch of my foot and narrow stirrups make it worse. So here is what I bought to help with that:

A set of 5 inch tread stirrups, that I can rest the whole width of my whole foot on, and a night latch handle that buckles onto the swells of the saddle - something to grab if I feel off balance. With plus temps coming up for the next few days, it will be perfect for trying them out. Ruby won't be best pleased, I'm sure after having a few months off!

How pathetic!

I also finished the adjustments on my bosal, at least she won't have a cold bit to deal with!  That bosal is special to me, it is actually a bit heavy as it is designed for colt breaking and was braided for me by 93 year old (at the time, he is now deceased) Al Grandchamp, considered a Master Rawhider in his day. He lived to be 102 and passed away in 2009.  But it will do for now, if Ruby works well in it I may invest in a lighter one someday.