An update of sorts

I've been having a heck of a time getting myself motivated to write something here.  So this post will just serve as a bit of a photo dump and catch-up of sorts. 

I was very lucky to have a friend loan me his tractor for a week back in late May. I quickly got to work cleaning up my manure piles and scraping the problem spots in the paddock.   I love tractors AND clean paddocks, so I was pretty happy to get this major job done for this year.  I like to have a tractor in once a year, as our equine friends happily keep producing manure!

Not quite a between the ears view, but the next best thing!

It took me a bit to get the controls down for the bucket and the box scraper, but after a couple of hours I got more agile and quicker with my work.

Fred was very curious the whole time I was working outside. He is such a funny guy.  I was trying to get an "after" picture, but Fred kept sneaking in to the picture, so I just went with it.  I told him he couldn't poop in the new cleaned up area, but I don't think he quite got it. lol

So clean and smooth! 

With some help, I have both pastures all set up for grazing.  We fixed the fences and made sure all the fencelines have lots of juice, in case Fred decides to lean on the fence.   The horses sure seemed happy to have more room to wander and lots of grass.  Copper is in a grazing muzzle, since he can't handle that much grass. 

As is the case with a lot of my pictures, when Fred hears/sees me outside, he comes over to say hi. 

So cute...

Things are slowly opening up here in our province, so a friend asked me to go with her on a road trip to a neighbouring province.  She had sold a mare and bought a new filly and needed to deliver the mare.    The farm we visited is a well known AQHA and APHA breeder and I had met the owner a few years ago at a show, so I was interested to see his farm.



And yes, this is a pic of a horse butt.  lol  What can I say?  My friend asked me to take this picture, so I was just doing as asked.  This is a cute little double registered AQHA/APHA filly that my friend is hoping to show next year.

These people also breed corgis and border collies, so I spent a lot of time cuddling cute dogs and even a few puppies.  Luckily all were sold, so I didn't come home with a new creature.  ;-)

I snapped this from the side of the road on an early morning drive - this time of year in this part of the world is pretty amazing - I try and find time to appreciate that.  The long days of sunlight make up for the opposite that we get in the winter.

5:40am drive

On the other end of the spectrum, the sun doesn't set until around 9pm and the sky is still light until 9:30 or so.

9:25pm 

And finally, a picture of my peonies, just about to bloom.   I've been busy with the horses/barn/pastures, but have sort of neglected my flower beds.  Clearly gardening is not my favourite thing to do...!  This house has way too many flower beds for a place that has horses to take care of.  My goal before the end of the month is to get the outside of the house tidied up as well.

Hopefully this post will help me get back into the routine of posting...we'll see! lol

Black Lives Matter

I wanted to take a short moment to post something here - I've been waffling on what to say for many reasons - but those don't matter.  I'm sure I'll make mistakes, but you can't start out perfect.

My anxiety has been high this week - as I do work for the police and police actions are a part of my day to day life - but that's ok, I'm just trying to sit with the feelings and not judge or hide, but learn.

Anyway, I'm reading, listening, learning and trying to find ways to to take action to become an anti-racist.  Cause, guys, racism exists here too.  And just saying it is only a US problem is not good or remotely true.

Please check out L. Williams post, if you haven't already - she generously shared resources and her story and for that I am beyond grateful.

In addition to US resources, I'm making it a priority to find and support Canadian groups/charities and resources to further my awareness.

Edited to add:

Black Lives Matter - Toronto

Black Lives Matter - Vancouver

Huffpost article - Cdn resources

https://threechestnuts.com/2020/06/03/reading-lists/
https://8cantwait.org/
25 books on being Black in Canada (added Jun 19)

Home sweet home

Man, am I glad to be home.  I've been trying to write a post since I got back, but haven't had much inspiration.  I've just been enjoying the nice weather, my pets and of course the hubby.  Being out in the world a bit more than the norm was interesting/stressful, but it sure makes me feel grateful for what I have at home and being able to be at home.

The first 2 weeks of May were unseasonably cool and this first week home has been unseasonably warm - like almost 30C, which is approx 90F.  Which is pretty nice when you are working from home and can work on getting some chores done in the early mornings.  We got our pool opened and the back pasture is all cleaned up and open for business. 

The first few bits of sweet, sweet grass. LOL

I'm working the horses up to being out on grass full time but I'll need another week maybe before they are ready.  For now they are up to two 1.5 hour stretches.  

I've been working on fixing fences and I, for the first time ever, have all of the fence lines mowed before the grass is knee high!  w00t w00t!!!  LOL  Usually I start the spring with good intentions about keeping the field mowed so the electric fence doesn't short out, but I get lazy/sidetracked with other things. 

I am also alllmmosst done cleaning out the front hay storage area in my barn.  That area is not only for hay, but seems to be my catch-all for all the stuff that doesn't have a permanent home - rain sheets, coolers, and random tack bits that don't fit Fred, etc.   I just need to finish putting away my winter blankets and give the area a thorough sweeping/dusting/de-cobwebbing, etc and it will be ready for this year's hay.    It feels great to get some of these spring cleaning chores done!  

The final stretch

I'm still on my work assignment, but the end is near as I'm heading home Friday afternoon.  It has been an interesting experience and one that I will remember for a long time to come.




We have been able to get out a little bit and see a couple of famous sites and use the fresh sea air to decompress from work.

Beautiful restaurants/shops along the water

It was weird seeing these popular tourist sites almost empty and boarded up.  In both places we visited, we were walking right down the middle of empty streets.   We met a few people also out for walks as the parks have opened up here, but all in all, things were quiet.

rarely photographed without hordes of people

I couldn't help but wonder how these small tourist towns will recover from the shut down - will tourism bounce back a tiny bit this year?  Will some of these business even survive the year? The whole scope of the pandemic just seemed a bit more real being out in the world - ya know?

So pretty...



So goofy.  Couldn't resist this photo op!

My friend that is helping take care of the horses has been sending me a few updates, which is much appreciated.    Copper has been shedding like  crazy since early April.  When will it end?  Is he completely made of hair?  Stay tuned as this story unfolds!  lol

Copper - world's hairiest mini?

She has also been lunging Fred a bit since his abscess is better (yeah!) and since her horses is lame. (apparently he is doing better now too) and she also tested her new horse heart rate monitor on Fred.  

Lunging doesn't make an exciting map, but cool all the same.

I'm sooo looking forward to spending some time in the barn and just being at home in my own bed and not in a hotel eating out of take out containers! 

A little trip East

Thanks for all of the kind comments on my last post. Rereading it again today it seems a bit too raw for the blog, but hey it is real life for me at the moment.

This week got interesting with work. I went from being a non-essential bump on a log to a quasi-essential worker.  On Monday we were asked if anyone was free to travel to Nova Scotia to provide back up for our colleagues there. I put my name in since I really like seeing how our regional colleagues work and it would be nice to do something useful, even for just a couple of weeks.

We got the call Wednesday and myself along with two colleagues were on our way to the airport the next morning. I was a little hesitant about flying during the lockdown but it wasn’t too bad in the end. We were required to wear masks the entire time and it seemed most people and air crew were being careful about keeping some distance.

En route

My friend that boards at my place was willing to take care of Fred for me as my hubby isn’t up on poulticing and feeding the horses grain. He does hay and water though if I’m away so that is good.

I got an update Thursday from the farrier that the abscess burst through the heel bulb and was draining nicely. He didn’t think it needed any more poultice or wrapping so that is a relief!

I will be here for two weeks and it will be interesting living in another city during a shutdown! We went down to the harbour for a walk the first evening we arrived. There were a few people out walking, but normally this part of the city would be packed with people out for drinks and dinner and just having fun.  My last visit to Halifax was 20+ years ago when I was in the military! I lived here for 4 months doing some training at the military base. 

Flags at half-mast, downtown Halifax

It was a bit hard to leave home at the moment as the weather was just getting nice and I was ready to tackle more home/barn projects. Oh well, it will all be there when I get back and since it seems we’ll be working from home until at least the end of May I should have ample time to stay on top of my to do list when I get home.

JFC, 2020 can just staaahhhp

What else is in store for us this year?  I was doing ok with all of this stay-at-home stuff and the new way things work up until recently.

The last 10 days have just sucked. No other way to put it.   I'm aware that many people are in far worse situations than I am.  It seems tho, feelings are just a bit raw and it doesn't take much to weigh you down with anxiety and sadness.  Don't worry - I'm ok now, but sheesh...2020 can take a break and maybe we could just coast through the rest of the year?

Coping mechanisms

To start, my hubby got laid off from his job.  Now, this isn't a shock as I have been expecting it since the work from home order started.  We were just hoping maybe his company would hold on a bit longer and ride out the storm.  We have plans and options during this time, but it just sucks.

And then.  On top of all the shit the world is going through, on April 18/19, Nova Scotia had the highest casualty mass shooting that we have ever seen in Canada.   There 22 deaths, including one of our police officers.  The police force I work for is across the country and everyone is connected - I didn't know her personally, but coworkers did - and it sucks.  This fucking situation is just brutal.  The poor families can't even have funerals right now for their loved ones.  The towns where these crimes took place are all very small and community-focused and it must be very hard for them. 

Here is a link to a work-related photo - the officer that died was on the Musical Ride earlier in her career and they did a tribute to her: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10158189310303917&set=a.390936358916

Phew. Sorry for the heavy post. But wait, there's more!

Friday morning when I went out to the barn, Fred was lame.  There wasn't an obvious injury, so assumed abscess.  I soaked and poulticed and crossed my fingers that would drain soon, or I'd need the vet or farrier to come check it.

Update:  I didn't get this post finished the other day so I'm tacking more on here.  I had the vet out for Fred today, since his leg was all swollen yesterday when I went to remove the poultice.  The soaking and poulticing didn't get the abscess to drain, so I was worried there was a soft tissue injury. 

Sausage leg.  Ignore the dings - those are old.  

The vet found a super soft spot on his heel bulb (why there? sigh) and dug around in his hoof, but couldn't get it to drain.  I have to soak, poultice and give antibiotics and see if the farrier can find something on Thursday when he is here.   In the end, I'm glad it is an abscess and not something more serious (although this is Fred we're talking about here - 2 vet visits in a month! lol). 

pink unicorn duct tape? Yessir.  

How are you guys doing?  I hope everyone is hanging in there in these times. 

Q1 Wrap-up and goals moving forward

Well, everyone's goals for 2020 have sure taken a hit, haven't they?  It is still to early to tell if there will be a show season here, but it isn't looking great and that is ok, since it is soooo out of my control.  With our weather, outdoor shows past September are pretty tough, as there aren't a lot of facilities with big indoor arenas set up for shows.   In fact, I don't think there is one in my region at all.

I've already had to pivot on my goals a bit and I added a couple of thing to the list.  Who knows what else will happen this year?  I'm not going to give up on my horse showing goals jussst yet.  We'll wait a bit and see where we end up.

So cute. Might not show this year. If ever...? lol

Q1 is usually quite slow around here anyway due to winter.  No shows, no real training, etc. happens, etc.  

I can't believe my 2020 horse goals didn't have the foal on there?  Sheesh.  That is one thing that (fingers crossed) is going well!And I have new horses goals to add for Q2 and onward.

Q1 Personal:

• read 45 books - I'm at 12 so far
• back up and organize photos (my computer is dying, so this is urgent!) - meh - this is ongoing. Does anyone have any tips on fun ideas with digital photos? I don't want stacks of prints lying around!
• volunteer somewhere horse-y - on hold due to coronavirus
• save $$ for foal hopefully coming in 2021 - this is going well, since I'm at home and not spending any money!
• exercise program of some sort  - started walking 3-4 times / week
• stick to a budget - this is one silver lining of the pandemic/SIP - spending is almost down to zero!

Q1 - Horses:  

• start working Fred in hand, where possible - I was able to start this in March
• Copper - stay healthy - CHECK!
• get Lucy in foal - CHECK!!  We had the 45 day ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and all looks good!
• New! find a second mare for my friend to breed and potentially ride 
• New! find a bridle that fits Fred properly
• New! get Fred more comfortable in a bit, if not try a hackamore
• read/listen to some horse training material - podcasts, youtube, books etc - hard to quantify, but I read a bunch of interesting horse books back in January
• clean and oil tack - um, no progress in Q1 - I have high hopes for Q2
• continue to declutter and sell unused tack - um, no progress in Q1 - I have high hopes for Q2 and the rest of the year

work on selfies should maybe be a goal?  lolz

I don't have much going on right now, but I do have my horses at home, so having some extra time at the barn has been a real important thing for me.  I have lots I can do out there and this type of stuff is what I normally try and get done over the course of the year, as I have time.  Now though, having a bit more time in one chunk had me starting an updated to do/goals list for the barn for Q2:

• clean and organize my hay storage area
• fix and bury fence ground wires - DONE!
• check pasture fence and come up with a plan to have fence fixed by mid-May
• source some 2nd cut hay
• clean and organize tack
• try and figure out a bridle/hackamore option that fits Fred
• repaint jump poles (note: not sure I can get any paint, so this might have to wait)
• clean and put away winter blankets
• put away the trough heater and extension cord
• clean the tack room 
• daydream about tack room renos/updates
• clean cobwebs/windows/shelves

Random Archie photo, cause why not?

I'm sure this list will evolve the longer I'm at home, but this is my starting point.  Nothing is urgent, but all these nice-to-haves will make the barn tidier and more organized.

What about you guys? Are you still hoping for some 2020 goals to work out? Have you made some changes?