Slowly but surely the days are getting longer. Yay! I eagerly wait for the days to get longer but somehow, the shorter days always manage to sneak up on me. One day I'm outside riding or working in the garden and it's 9 p.m. and still light...the next week it's 4:30 p.m. and dark outside.
Even just a few more seconds of light every day put me in a better mood. I get home from work and there is still some light...I can at least mess with the ponies a bit before the sun sets. Not enough time to ride, yet, but enough time to at least groom and hang out with them and love on 'em. My soul feels lighter when I can spend time with my beasties.
Kayleigh and I rode Calypso and Chief this weekend and I drove Gabe up and down the driveway again. He was EXCELLENT, turning better, stopping MUCH better. He's developing a nasty habit of wanting to stop to graze instead of paying attention. I really wanted to ride him but the paddock where I ride is a sheet of ice and a battleground of frozen hoofprints, not exactly the safest surface to ride on! One thing after another...sigh. I so cannot wait for warmer, dryer weather!
I'm already planning my spring garden and getting LOTS of input from the girls and Robert. I want to try carrots this year. I've never grown carrots before and I found a really neat mix that includes the traditional orange carrot, a purple variety, a white hybrid and a yellow hybrid. I don't know how well they will do in our clay-ey soil, but I'm going to try anyway. So far we are planning: tomatoes (a couple different varieties), sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, sweet corn, broccoli, spinach, a mesclun salad mix, cucumbers, green beans, beets, watermelon, canteloupe, eggplant, carrots, sweet potatoes and strawberries. Eventually I'd like to have asparagus, too.
We are going to plant two apple trees, two peach trees and a couple of grape vines. I just have to decide what variety to get, there are SO many! The goats finished off my last pathetic grape vine this fall, so the new ones will be fenced so those little buggers can't get to 'em.
The strawberries will be planted in a raised bed that was built last year. My herb garden will be chock full again this year but this time around I MUST remember to freeze the basil! The rest can be dried successfully, but the basil should be frozen.
Hey Jenn! I thought I'd pop over here, and answer your question from this morning. While we can't speak for all hoof care providers, all our clients have to do with us is say, "Drop the foot! He needs a spanking!" and we will get right out of the way. Most of our owners will talk with us, and we get a really good feel for where the horse is and what they are about behavior wise. Nine times out of ten, we know what the horse is up to before the owner has to say something, and we are moving before the owner utters a sound.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing, open a dialog with your farrier. Ask him. Explain your worries, and let him know you want to keep him as safe as possible, and also have your horse behave. Trust me- he or she will love to hear your concern for EVERYONE'S safety!!
Cant wait to see those strawberries of yours growing. Do you freeze some?
Ooooh!! 't know you where into home growing...me too :D
ReplyDeleteI have the OH digging new beds for me as and when the weather allows...we planted apple trees last year and are still eating potatos and onions and garlic from last year :) Im very envious that you can grow sweet potatos and tomatos where you are....tomatos do not do well here at all, even in a green house :(
...and yes...roll on spring...it IS getting lighter...even this far north...no longer watching the sun drop down just after lunch..it does lift the mood :)
Wow, that is going to be some garden!! I usually grow a few things, tomatoes, cukes, peppers and last year sweet corn. Not much time for a lot of stuff. Not doing corn this year - did not have good luck with that. I have some berries I planted last year, boysenberries and raspberries - hopefully they"ll make it. Thanks for your comment on my blog. I appreciate the kind words and commonalities with the job stuff. I was very happy for you that Gabe's old owner still shows interest - that is highly unusual, but appreciated by you, I'm sure!! And, I couldn't agree more about the daylight.
ReplyDeleteYou sound marvelous!
ReplyDeleteI have noticed the light staying longer as well...every so often, like today whjile I was working on some hair of a horse lovers friend that boards across the valley. I said, "look, it's 5'o'clock and still light out!" Every little bit counts!
KK
Mrs. Mom...thank you for the advice! He's coming out next weekend so I can talk to him about it then. I really like him a lot and I definitely don't want to be one of those horse owner's with a bad horse!
ReplyDeleteWe'll freeze some of the strawberries and make jam out of others, depending on how many we actually get this year.
Kelly...I have a garden every year, and it seems to get bigger and bigger and bigger. I do some canning (beets, pickles, salsa), but mostly we freeze the produce. I couldn't imagine not having fresh tomatoes! I really look forward to them every year: A fresh tomato with some of my fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil, a couple of slices of fresh mozzarella and salt and pepper...mmmmm!
Cingspots...The biggest problem I have had with corn around here is it always seems to blow over flat right before it's ready to harvest. That is SUCH a heartbreaker. I'm planting the corn closer to a windbreak this year so hopefully it will make it through the summer storms.
We have some wild raspberries and way too many wild blackberries. We try to pick 'em before the birds get to them and manage to get a few. I've never had a boysenberry before!
allhorsestuff...yes, it does! And that little bit of extra light sure does lift the spirit...I'm starting to feel like myself again instead of in the doldrums.