This 'n That

[SandyG]

As Josephina came strolling into the barn this morning for her feed, meds, and that all important cookie, I noticed two things:

1 - the hair was like the Charles Schultz character - flying all around her as she caught a breeze or just created her own breeze from moving. The girl is letting loose of her winter coat!!!

and 2 - the woman found a burr patch last night as her mounds of burrs - some as big as a football! - were everywhere!!! I took an extra 30 minutes with her this morning trying to get the worst of them and those that could be touching her skin. Half way through this exercise, I noticed her lower lip sagging as she fell asleep. THEN I began talking to her and keeping her awake - I can just see her coming in each morning loaded with burrs just to get the attention and the feeling of touch! I brushed the places that were open and then I let her sleep. Hoping to convince her that brushing was much better than the pulling of burrs from her hair....tomorrow morning will tell which lesson she learned!

Everyone is asleep in the hay soaking up the sun. Today will be a lazy day. And tomorrow, I believe, I will alternate pastures so I'll have the mule in the pasture in case someone gets into trouble but usually it goes very well. I've learned that all important lesson - prepare for the worst and then stand as smile as the "non-event" occurs in front of you.

Enjoy the spring day and get ready for summer tomorrow!!!

[SandyG]

This is the text of an email I received from Mandy this morning. It is Mandy's Mother-in-Law that is fostering our Lucy. We are SO fortunate for that gift!!! Here's what Mandy had to say about our Lucy:

"Did you get my v/m that Lucy is doing great? I checked on her yesterday -- she is happy as a little clam in an ocean. "

HAH!!!

[SandyG]

At the close of the day yesterday, I could only stand and smile at myself. Sometimes you have a choice - criticize yourself and blame yourself for wasted time and fuel or simply accept that you are preoccupied and human. And guess what . . . . you make mistakes!

Knowing that Wednesday was the day for me to set up the corral panels with the banner at Applebee's in anticipation of our Saturday breakfast, I carefully loaded the panels into the Exiss, strapped them in (very well, I might add!), and went about dropping the trailer onto the truck. All done. Ready to go. Proud of myself for being so organized!

HAH!

On the first strip of highway, I need to take a right turn and so as I took the turn, I checked the electric brake control unit to see where I had the brakes set. It was dark. No electric connection to the trailer meaning no brakes. What happened! I pulled into a church's parking lot and went back to test the connection. But what connection? Somewhere in my "organized steps" on Tuesday night, I had not connected the electric cable from the truck to the Exiss! Dear heavens! Once again, I reminded myself that I MUST check the chains, the cables, the doors, the ramp - everything must be checked before I take that trailer on the road.

And I know this. I do it all the time. But being so organized, I simply started the truck, locked up the house while the truck was warming up, and took off! Lesson re-learned.

The trip to Applebee's was quiet with my head deep in thought. Once I arrived, I went in to insure the manager knew I was there and was setting up the panels. "HI's" all around to the crew and off I went to do the job! The job is relatively easy with the biggest challenge being the sloping front yard at Applebee's. But I had thought of that too - being so organized, you know! - and I brought the block out that I had thought would remedy the issue. And it did. I was chuckling at my smartness when I stopped cold in the lawn. What the heck? The corral was 80% completed and I was out of panels? Somehow, in all of my organization on Tuesday night, I had loaded only SIX panels instead of the required EIGHT panels!! Time to exhale deeply and shake your head at yourself. Truly, I was organized but not very good at checking on the details!!

So, I headed back to THE FARM to get the needed two additional panels. Knowing I had appointments soon in Menomonie, I chose to drop the trailer and put the two panels in the back of the truck. I then headed to my 11am appointment and back to the second appointment before heading back to Applebee's. By 2pm, the corral was where it should have been by 10am - panels up nice and straight, all wiped down with spray and a clean towel, the banner centered and mounted on the front two panels, and the manager updated that the corral was (finally) completed.

As you can see, last evening I had two choices - being angry with myself for the errors committed or accept myself as someone who tries hard but often falls way short. I chose to smile, joke to myself, and then go back and triple check the gates and doors of the Big Barn before leaving the horses for the night!

[SandyG]

The road sign reads:

All things are possible as we begin anew

[SandyG]

"Thompson Lake", as I call the puddle in the driveway, is back! The rains sure stopped all of us from worrying about the dry spring. It is MUD SEASON again!

Thunder and Lightning abounded on this hill last night. As early as 4pm we were experiencing the cracks of thunder from lightning strikes. Helen and Hollie were closed in for the night with hay and water and feed. Gracie, Faith, PONY! and Alexius were also in stalls to keep them dry. They know the routine and so find the old stock tank filled with hay and just stand to eat and sleep the night away. Not even flinching with the noises of the storms - and in a metal building, the noises are so exaggerated!

No pruning of trees, picking of sticks or spreading mulch today! A good day for brushing and paperwork!

Hoping everyone is dry and safe this morning and ready for the dream weekend in front of us. We will all be mowing lawn by the end of this coming sunshine weekend!!

[SandyG]

With the break in the spring showers, two things will be worked on today - getting the hay pad cleaned up from a winter of moving frozen round bales (frozen to the ground, frozen to the pallets they sit on, and frozen to each other!) and getting Helen and Hollie into the yard for a tummy full of fresh grass. Not too much grass so they have sore feet but enough for a good dinner. They will love it!

I'm hoping your Earth Day is a pleasant one and a reminder to love this earth - the trees, the water, and the animals that depend upon it. Including each other.

[SandyG]

Yesterday was one of those days . . . the warmth of the sunshine, a gentle breeze, every glance to the pastures showed me horses grazing the fresh green grasses, and progress being made on winter clean-up projects!!!

The west lawn - now called "the hay pad" - is clean of hay scraps and pallets and every single pallet that was set aside has been evaluated for re-use and stacked in straight line ross ready for the fall delivery of hay bales. THAT was a good sized job! But it is completed and the hay pad has been back bladed and raked and actually looks quite nice to my eyes! To most, it is not even noticeable but to me it dresses up the place when you pull in the driveway.

And remember that pile of rocks we salvaged from the 20 year accumulation of rocks on the slab? The pile that was buried - accidentally - when excavation for the new barn began? Well, all of those rocks have been relocated and that portion of the lawn is repaired, as well. Now only the burn piles remain and then we are "cleaned up" on the west side of the property!!! Maybe this week after Tuesday's rains there will be a calm day to burn!

Helen and Hollie spent three hours in the lawn yesterday - in the shade - munching on the green grass. I didn't even need to lead them to the lawn. They heard the gate chains and came out to meet me. How quickly they learn!! And then last night I fed them their supper and both appeared to be almost sleeping in their buckets!

Today I'll finish the clean up from the rock pile and then clean and swap stock tanks so the large tank is on the side with the big ones. And then the barn cleaning begins. We need drier weather for the skid loader cleaning but I can manage the Helen Keller side of the barn with a fork and wheelbarrows. For now I'll need to make a pile to be moved later. The pastures are just too wet to take equipment out into them - the pastures would just get destroyed. So we patiently wait for sunshine and heat and a breeze to prepare the way.

Blanket washing continues with the hopes of washing one blanket every nice day. It will be mid-summer before all are cleaned and ready for the fall but we'll get there!

Hopeful your day was a good one with friends, hugs, and good things! I know it was such at THE FARM!!!!

[SandyG]

What a difference a day makes!!!

Winter jackets and winter gloves on me this morning as I tended to our family. And I was NOT too warm! Everyone in the barn is fine and I am relaxed with the setup we have worked out. The at-risk are warm and dry and the healthy ones have control over their own lives - in or out as they desire. Right now, however, with this fresh rain, that crew is more interested in never ever letting the blades of grass grow!!!

I have Gracie with a light blanket on her (so she can comfortably rest her legs as she needs) in with Faith. The two of them have a constant battle on who can reach the bottom of the hay tank first!!!Honestly, the starvation Faith experienced has not left her after all these years. She cannot be hungry after just eating a bucket of feed and soaked hay cubes. But she dove into that hay tank like she had not eaten in weeks! The feeling of being constantly hungry never leaves some of them.

PONY! and his girlfriend (not his wife, mind you!) are in the end stall with a hay tank and water. They are two cool cookies just eating, sleeping, scratching each other, and listening to the rain on the roof. When the first cold drops appeared yesterday afternoon, I was leading Alexius into the barn and right behind her tail was PONY!. They both knew where they were heading and PONY! gave out his signature lick of thanks to me as I settled them in for the storms.

Josephina, Miss April, and Clyde Mare are in the center of the barn with the door half open so they, too, can go in and out as they desire. From the looks of their backs, however, no one braved the cold, wet winds of last night to go out to the round bales! That's okay because I put hay out in the barn for them, too.

Helen and Hollie are in their corral shelter with a new round bale of hay and a bucket of hay cubes and feed apiece. I stood for a while this morning and watched to make sure no one was shivering in that small shelter and no one was shivering, but this is what I discovered:

I put the two buckets - made up identically, by the way - on to their respective hangers - Helen is facing the house wall eating her bucket and Hollie is facing the road wall eating her bucket. They seem to wait until I am out of the corral and then they both eat Hollie's breakfast entirely and then, as one unit, they move over to Helen's breakfast and consume her bucket together. I was surprised, actually. I knew these two were close but to still eat together - as they did on that very fist morning together - tells me that the tie between them is more than friendship. They are Sisters By Choice. Another Lanna and Liz-Beth. Another Josephina and Faline Another Handsome and Babee Joy. Another Big Jim and DukeDuke. Another RockMan and Gracie. I did not see it and recognize it until this morning. And so, I'll move their feeding to a 3' rubber round bucket so they can eat in one place and together - again, as they did on that very first morning together.

The stock tanks were cleaned and swapped yesterday morning so the water is crystal clear. Hay bales are out for The Big Ones in case the availability of grass gets low. Small squares were moved down yesterday so the needed bales are intact and ready. And Mama is in the house with the pellet stove back on! And a wood stove fire about to begin.

Thank you, Lord, for shelter, blankets, heat, and supplies. Amen.

[SandyG]

We have 5 fragile ones with light winter blankets on today. The winds are sharp and most of the day we have been receiving a blanket of little mini snow balls from the sky. Not a glimmer of sun and we'll be lucky if we make it to 50 degrees today!

Little Gracie is getting her exercise in reverse today: Her stall gate is open and she repeatedly gets to the edge of her stall and sticks her head outside. She is greeted with wind and those little snow balls. THAT kicks Gracie into reverse and back she goes! Back into her corner and then waits a bit and tries the routine again. Ever the optimist!!! Gotta make you smile, that's for sure!

My Mother is in my thoughts today - April 27th is her birthday. She would have been 98 years old and I'm sure, feisty as ever! A sensitive, smiling, warm, and giving woman she was a great teacher, and excellent Mother, and one that I was blessed to be in my life. Sure do miss her!

Stay warm today and tonight! Snow again on Monday, they say!!!!!

[SandyG]

Many of you will remember Bugsy - a little Paint gelding that appeared around Thanksgiving under Andy's maple tree two years ago in the freezing rain. Remember? He was the horse I thought was pregnant because his tummy was so big. And then he pee'd. HE pee'd.

Well, his new home is excellent - good, caring people that take good care of him. However, Bugs is loosing weight and he is creating worry. So Bugs is going to come to THE FARM for a while so we can monitor and try to figure out why the weight loss. We'll take blood for a CBC and then isolate him for a while and watch is eating and pooping habits. We'll see if we can figure him out so he can go home again.

I sure hope so. There is a sweet little 12 year old girl that loves that horse! Absolutely loves him! Her Mom is a the type of caregiver that it makes sense to her to send him to Refuge Farms for a diagnosis and then take him back after we know what to do with him. I love our placements when we find this kind of a family. I love that she reached out to us in her concern for Bugs. Absolutely love it.

So, if you want some time with a cool, cool horse - be sure to come and see Bugs!!! He'll arrive mid-week next week and I'll have him in the corral.

[SandyG]

Good Morning!

Heading out to hook everyone and close the doors. They need to dry off as Isaac is here today to trim the entire crew - except for Miss April and Gracie who are trimmed every 8 weeks by our Specialized Farrier.

Standing cold water everywhere!!! Thompson Lake is back in front of the new building. I sure hope the frogs don't lay eggs in the heat of this coming weekend!!! Like last year when we had about 3,000 tadpoles in the driveway!

Please think of our Bugsy today. Remember the horse that I thought was a pregnant starved mare 2 years ago on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Standing under Andy's maple tree trying to take shelter from the freezing rain? And then when I caught the sight of the legs, I brought the horse into the barn and it pee'd - and it was a gelding! A very parasite filled gelding!!!

Well, he was adopted by a lovely family with a 12 year old young lady that slept in his stall with him for his first 2 nights at her farm. She loves him with all her heart. And Bugs is taking a journey today and will wait for her on the other side. Her heart is breaking and Bugs is without pain for now, but in my time with him I get the sense that he is cool and ready. His journey has been a very long and brutal one before he was dropped off - he was so weak and so exhausted. His time with this family has been beyond wonderful and his heart if full.

Think of Bugs today -

[SandyG]

I am sorry to hear Bugsy is so sick. It's so sweet that his final home is a sweet girl who loves him so much. Mandy

Thinking of those in need of comfort: Sandy, my thoughts are with that wonderful horse Bugsy and his family and you. I so hope that little girl can find comfort somehow. Bless you for being there for all of them. Linda

He (Bugsy) sure was loved by her....she (the 12 year old girl) thought the world of him. Thanks for helping us find him and your advice, etc. Bugsy's Family

[SandyG]

After every deworming, I watch them the next day to make sure no one is struggling - having a reaction or worst of all, a colic. This crew is hardy as not a one skipped a beat yesterday morning when we opened the doors and they ran out into the mud!

This morning, some of them have relaxed in that very mud and look like Pintos out there! Unit is black on one side and a beautiful ivory on the other - head and all! Big Jeri-Ann is just mud all over! She loves to play in the stuff - make it spatter with those huge serving plates she calls feet!!!

We do need some drying breezes and sunshine so bales can get moved and, at some point, barns can be mucked out! Right now if I tried to clean barns, the skid loader would be hung up on the bottom plate and the wheels in the air - the muck would be deeper than we could handle. But that moisture brings good hay so I'm not complaining . . . just wishing.

Today we will prune trees, pick sticks, and charge the battery on the big mower. The grass is almost knee high!! This yard is a farm yard and it shows all summer long. When other lawns are brown, this one is still in need of mowing. And in the spring, it could be mowed twice a week!!! I've picked trash in the ditches and I'm glad I did because I wouldn't find it now!

Have a good day today. Enjoy these hours of sunshine. Breathe deeply and mutter a grateful thanks for the gift you have been given.

[SandyG]

Have you seen him???

I catch the news every morning and evening to get a weather update. Every day there are decisions on shelter, blankets, fans, feedings - all those things we promise these horses when they become a member of The Sanctuary Herd. Last night and again this morning I heard and saw "Patches" - a young underdog at The Derby tomorrow.

What makes Patches so special and newsworthy? He has only one eye! The trainer says it is rather rare and I would agree that a one eyed horse is unusual in The Derby. However, I should send the man an invitation to visit THE FARM! We have an assortment of one eyed horses and geez, we even have an assortment of no eyed horses!

Patches is doing wonders in educating the world that the loss of an eye does NOT exclude a horse from life! This is a big day. For the horses that have eye issues and for Patches. May he have wings and very, very sturdy legs in that mud!!!

[SandyG]

The air has a chill to it but the sunshine is warm as witnessed by the horses on their sides napping after a night of grazing. Some - and we won't mention any names - are actually snoring! That Jeri-Ann is comical even when she is sleeping!

Yesterday was a very productive day with 1/6th of Lanna's Memory Bed weeded and preened and mulched. That took the better part of the evening after the sprinkler had softened the soil for a good 90 minutes. You may think I work slowly but remember that Dear Lanna was a good 18+ hands and weighed an easy 2,800 pounds! Therefore her Memory Bed is just about 40 feet by 32 feet. At least those are the measurements I have to work with for her border. The bigger they are the sweeter they are, it seems. What a gift she was and what a great Mama she was! Without the use of her eyes she knew EXACTLY where her baby was at all times! I swear that Mama never ever slept!

Helen and Hollie had 3 solid hours of grazing in the lawn. And Clyde Mare actually stood in her stall while I trimmed the hair on her back legs. She has come such a long way in letting us maintain her! We have moved to her summer schedule due to the flies - in her stall during the sunshine hours with a fan on her legs and then released at sunset to enjoy the grasses. I'm not going to say she likes it but she understands. If I leave the gate open she does not dart out in the mornings. Nope, she knows it is her best choice to stay inside with her hay, her water, and her fan.

I'm hoping you are having a grand weekend. The hillsides are turning green so fast you can almost watch them! And the planting has begun! This is my favorite time of year as there is so much promise in the spring. As my Sister used to say, "Look now because it will never be this green again until next year's spring!".