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Post by SandyG on Jan 21, 2019 10:40:35 GMT -5
It is -12 in The Big Barn and yet, every time I check the weather, they say we will hit 12 or 13 degrees above today . . . . that's a 25 degree rise?!
These horses are sturdy but yet so grateful for a light breakfast - all of them. Even The Big Ones. Beauty brings her herd into the doorway but keeps them back while I hang buckets and put feed in feeders. When I open the gate and then look at her saying, "Okay Beauts, time to eat", in they come and to their respective places they go. No one is tied. And yes, there are some attempts to steal but they are very respectful of each other and give each other the time to eat their meal before licking their plate for them.
We humans can learn a lot from the animals.
The Blind Herd is resilient and fighting the wind today since the southerly breeze is bringing in the warm air. So many of that herd are standing inside in the sunlight. I'm sure they all will gravitate out into the pasture to the hay pads once we get a bit above zero and the breeze no longer contains razor blades.
Gracie is resting in the heated workshop this morning and around noon, I will bundle her up and return her to her friends. She will call and be so relaxed with them for a few days but then, on Thursday noon or so, she will return for an even colder blast this weekend.
In this severe weather, my mind cannot help but go to the creatures of all species that do not have food, shelter, and water. I am so very, very grateful for my unending wood pile, for this shelter with so much character, the clothes and boots and jackets to keep me warm while out in the elements, and for the buildings our horses use to stay warm, as they do, and the feed and hay they use to generate their body heat.
Regardless of who or what is your Great Power, contact that Power, please, and say a prayer for those without basic needs in this weather - of all species. Pray that they either are found and rescued or that their journey be swift and pain free.
Amen.
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Post by SandyG on Jan 28, 2019 14:36:55 GMT -5
We are on the cusp of the coldest weather since before I moved to Spring Valley over 25 years ago.
We are as ready as we can be:
* The feed tanks are filled.
* Horse blankets are out and ready to be put on everyone with the exception of Jeri-Ann and Beauty.
* Many already have blankets on and so I'll spend the rest of this afternoon, undressing and redressing those horses to insure they are clean and layered well.
* Meds, wraps, flashlights, and the resupplied first aid kit all sit in a pile in the living room area to be grabbed in an instant. Hopefully, it is not needed.
* Hay bales are in the pastures and also in the barn of The Blind Herd. I will toss hay into the barn side of The Big Ones twice a day for Tues/Wed/Thurs to insure they have good, rich hay from which to make heat.
* The plan is to close the door to The Blind Herd's side on Wed and Thurs nights due to the wind chills. They will tell me if they need to be enclosed even longer and I'll listen to them and do accordingly.
* The skid loader is plugged in, with fuel, and ready to move more hay, if needed.
If you could, I would ask that you engage your Greater Power, what or whomever that may be. Please ask for support and energy and the lessening of anxiety for us as well as every other farm, rescue, barn, and patch of woods in this area being hit with this frigid air. Ask for strong lungs, strong hearts, and the strength and determination to just make it to Friday. Friday is the key - that's the home plate.
Thank you for your emails, your calls, and your prayers. We will get through this. They are tough creatures and I pray I am as tough as they need me to be. However, I'm worried and hence, I'm reaching out for your time and thoughts to insure we make it to Friday intact. Amen.
Thanks! And please be safe, be warm, and be cautious so you, too, are with us on Friday!!
Sandy and The Herd
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Post by SandyG on Feb 3, 2019 16:32:23 GMT -5
An important step in the "recovery" from that -40 weather was to count heads - all of the heads. Count them and insure they are good.
I've counted every day and we've been short one, all week. One little girl was not to be seen.
So the final creature showed her face and, as a result, I can say every one of our creatures made it thru the record setting cold: Kitten Mama presented herself this morning! She let me get within 10 feet of her, talked with me for a while, and then left to go into the hospital where I think she lives in the big hay square bales.
Kitten Mama was the last one to find and I am on top of the moon that she came out today! Presented herself! And took the time to tell me about her difficulty in the cold!
All is right again on the hill.
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Post by SandyG on Feb 8, 2019 11:27:17 GMT -5
They are amazing creatures!!
Standing in the sunshine sleeping . . . Standing with their butts to the wind and eating hay . . . Standing in the barn - out of the wind - sleeping . . .
Certainly, they are designed to withstand temperatures and winds that we humans cannot not tolerate with our fingers and toes and thin skin! Their big hooves do not feel the cold. Their faces are as warm as toast with each morning hug. Amazing. Icicles in their eyelashes, tail heads, and their nose whiskers tell me their moist breath is steady and adds a remarkable elegant touch to even the funniest of them. Those with long forelocks stand with eyes shielded from the bright sun's reflection off the snow.
They are amazing creatures!!
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Post by SandyG on Feb 21, 2019 16:46:55 GMT -5
Yes, it seems foolish to plow the driveways and pasture lanes today . . . especially when you look at the forecast for the weekend.
BUT!
Without plowing today, it is a treacherous ride to The Big Barn through the high and hard drifts and then the deep snow and previous hardened banks almost pulled me and the truck into Clyde Mare's wading pool this morning!
SO -
Plow I did. The driveway. The end to the driveway which is like moving concrete. The entrances to The Hospital for hay and skid loader access. The entrance to The Blind Herd's pasture. The entrance to The Bid Kid's pasture and a lane into their pasture up to the building. The drifts in front of The Big Barn so I can turn around once arriving at the barn. And, of course, the access to the dumpster and the workshop.
Once again, I grumble because it seems a waste of time and fuel to move something that will melt. However, without plowing today, it could rain and freeze and snow on top of that! And then the difficulty of plowing has just doubled, at the least.
Hence, we are open and a small plane could land at Refuge Farms! Makes me smile, in a way.
The Kids are all eating freshly deposited hay bales and enjoying the warmth of the sunshine. For the first time in weeks and weeks, when I walk into the barn I am alone. They are all outside and either dozing or eating. Wonderful to see and soak in that vision.
Hoping all of you are plowed or shoveled out! It's a job this year that never seems to go away! And so I'll close with my new mantra:
I'm SO ready for Spring!! 
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Post by SandyG on Feb 27, 2019 15:59:29 GMT -5
SO!
The driveway is narrow and not as nice as it should be after being plowed, but it is open. That was Monday.
The lane to The Blind Herd's barn and paddock area is open. It is totally relocated due to the depth of the drifts on the old lane. BUT! We have a path for hay delivery to The Blind Herd and in about an hour I will be out moving bales to them to give them fresh hay through yet another frigid front. That was Tuesday.
The house is packed with 30 bags of pellets in anticipation of the cold air. Rather than open the door and haul bags in when the air is heavy and cold, I opted to get the bags in today and actually get them out of the workshop, too, and all the way into the kitchen. That was a great cardio exercise! Thirty bags from the driveway to the workshop. And then - in lighter clothes - thirty bags from the workshop stacked neatly in the kitchen. Hope no one wants to sit, stand, cook, or eat in the kitchen.  That was part of today.
Tomorrow will be the day to open the lane for hay delivery to The Big Ones. They have hay remaining but now is NOT the time to be stingy with the hay supply. Not in this cold air coming! So I will open the lane and then drop a few bales in their paddock to allow them all to have access to the hay of their choice. Billy can be a non-sharing horse and this way, he really cannot be outside and inside at the same time. Big Boy and Spirit will just have to eat where Billy is NOT eating! That will be Thursday.
Friday will be a few errands to insure supplies are on hand and then it is time to honker down and wait it out. Keep the tanks filled, feed as normal and on schedule, and watch them like hawks.
Hoping all of you are doing well after our snow dump of last weekend! The snow was abundant but it was the wind that made us all be creative is how and where to move the snow that drifted. We must have set records!!
Please be careful and thoughtful when driving or walking - the ice is still under the snow! And please be safe!
Sandy and The Herd
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Post by SandyG on Mar 4, 2019 19:30:52 GMT -5
If I didn't have a calendar . . . If I wasn't aware of the time that has passed . . . If I didn't hear the news or listen to the radio . . . I would think it was the middle of January.
The air is raw and brutal on the skin. The temp this morning was -21 degrees IN the barn - no wind chill factored in. The snow is blowing and drifting in the newly plowed driveway, paths, and pasture lanes. And the forecast is for the same weather to continue until Friday when we may make it to the high teens and . . . even 20 degrees ABOVE zero! We are all impatient and ready for spring. However, it seems this January-like weather that just will NOT move on!
In this scenario, however, you will find I am thankful. Very thankful for the skid loader that started and allowed me to move one big square bale of "severe weather" hay into each side of the barn - one for The Blind Herd and one for The Big Ones. With this WSW wind, there is no place in the pastures that the horses can go to get out of those winds. So putting the hay IN the barn means they can eat under shelter and not spend energy bracing against the cold air. It also means their caretaker can rest tonight knowing they are in out of those winds!
I am thankful for that very hay that they love the taste of and will satisfy their instincts to eat due to the cold temperatures. We are literally down to two (2) bales left of the "severe" weather hay - cutting it close! And I had thought we would have about a dozen bales left to store for next year! HAH!
I am thankful for the building we call The Big Barn and its ability to stand against these winds. Once again, I close The Blind Ones in their half of the barn and they are in the cold air but not the winds. They are relaxing and only an hour after eating, Joseph, Alexius, and PONY! were taking a nap before staking their claim on some of that good hay. Without that building and the doors on that building our horses would be very cold tonight.
And then I am thankful for this 130 year old house that has "charm" but also allows a constant flow of fresh air in through the walls on nights like tonight. Sure I have a few layers on but when I walk into this house, I feel the protection this building provides just as The Big Barn protects The Sanctuary Herd. And I am indeed very thankful.
All in all, this weather is, to me, getting a bit old. Cold is what I expect in January. March? I somehow expect wet snow and the start of the slushy pre-muck stuff. I do not expect -20 degrees and -45 degree wind chills! But then again, who asked me?
Be safe and be warm!
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Post by SandyG on Mar 9, 2019 18:32:13 GMT -5
Perfect timing!
I went to the barn at 3pm anticipating the moisture to start coming down from the sky. Got all of The Blind Herd inside and hooked and, as I was serving their early dinner, I could hear the sleet hitting the roof of the barn. They were all in. And dry!
The Big Ones came in on their own and so Billy - "You-Can't-Come-In-The-Barn-Billy" - is in his stall with a heated water bucket and a tank full of hay. He will be upset with being confined, however that means the others will be free to come and go as they please. I'm betting THE FARM they are all inside and dry tomorrow morning!
So we are set for the storm. More hay moved into the barn sides this afternoon. Tanks are topped off with fresh water. Dinner was fed early so they should remain calm for a few hours. And I'll be out about midnight just to check that all is good. By then, the wind will be swinging around to the north and the snow will be deep. In fact, it is 5:30pm on Saturday and the sleet is already replaced by enormous wet white flakes of snow.
If it weren't so late in the year, it would be pretty, wouldn't it?
Be safe. Be warm.
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Post by SandyG on Mar 14, 2019 15:01:21 GMT -5
I am the very first one in line shouting for joy to see rain and hear the water running from the snow piles that are shrinking!! It is truly starting to feel like, smell like, walk like, and sound like SPRING!
Thought I would pass on something that just happened that in 25 winters of living here has never, ever happened before:
I returned home from a short errand and backed Bertha (the white F250 pickup) in front of the garages facing out so it is an easier, more controlled drive to The Big Barn for chores. With the ice, I would rather be rolling forward than backward - especially with the new hospital building sitting right at the end of the slight driveway slope in front of the garages.
I turned off the ignition, grabbed my folder and wallet and gloves, and headed out of the truck. About 3 steps away I heard something that made me think I didn't have the truck in Park . . the sound of rolling tires . . . kind of. Sure enough! The truck was in Park, the engine was long since off, but the truck was slipping down the driveway slope on the solid floor of ice! We all need to remember that under all this snow is the 2" ice bed that has been patiently waiting for exposure and also helps explain why the water is running off so fast and not being every slightly absorbed!
Wanting to test the truck, I rocked it a bit, slammed the doors a couple of times, and the truck seemed stable. I turned my back and just as I was about to go back and move it down the slope just to be sure, the truck started to gently, quietly slip down the hill again.
I can move when I need to.
The truck is now parked in the snow base at the bottom of the slope with the nose pointing to the lawn. The hospital building is safe!
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Post by SandyG on Apr 23, 2019 20:24:06 GMT -5
Spring is most certainly here. I know this for a fact! How, you ask, can I be so sure of myself to say this?
Today, April 23, 2019, I dug in Randee's Memory Bed and saw several earthworms in the moist soil!!!
Like I said, Spring is most certainly here! I know this for a fact!
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Post by SandyG on May 9, 2019 10:23:20 GMT -5
I must have done this. This wind. This rain. This SNOW!! In mid-May, we are back in March or even worse, already in late October!!
You see, last week I washed and dried clothes on the line. And, in one of those loads, were my flannel lined barn pants. Yup. I was confident that the need for them was behind me and so I washed them, dried them, and packed them in the clothes bag marked "WINTER".
HAH! Guess what I dug out of that bag last night when it was time for hooking and feeding and then again bed-checks? Yup, my flannel lined barn pants!
Sorry, All! I'll keep them on the hook in the bathroom until July 4th. That should be safe.
Don't ya think?
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That was part of today.