Going to be busy.

While cleaning out the back 'almosta' room, I came across and abundance of seeds.
Apparently I am a hoarder of seeds and didn't realize it.
I have now located all seed packets past and present.  I have an ice cream bucket full of them.

Combine that with all of the perennials that I have yet to dig up before the remodeling starts and those I gave away, it is a wonder that I should even have a yard.

Well this year I am sharing my seeds and my neighbor is getting quite a few perennials as we thought sharing would be fun.

I know some of the seeds are old but I'll plant them anyway and see what happens.

I finally got some Stella Doros to plant.  I have always loved their cheery blossoms in the summer.
I look out my window at the place where we have our garden.  Last year it was used as a pumpkin/squash patch and not weeded.  It looks like it will be an intimidating job to clean up and plant.

I am hopeful though.  I have beets, lettuce, and green beans to plant.  

Of course then reality hits.  I have a mess in the driveway from the last big snow fall, I had raked and cleaned the yard already once and now need to do this task again.

It looks rather daunting.  I started work on it again yesterday until the rain/snow/sleet forced me back inside.

After it quit, I went out to do some more work.  Alas the mess had turned to muck and there was no raking or shoveling it.  It needs to dry out again.

Then there is hubby who is finishing up cleaning up the Dexters's summer pasture.  We spent a whole day picking up the last remnants of stumps and debris that we intended to take care of last year before he had to go through cancer treatment.

This section was the messy area. The tree stumps are those left over from trees that were damaged in a bad storm.

It has taken us quite a while to get it all cleaned up.

The rest of the cow pasture is in good shape.

As soon as this weather breaks, it looks like I'll be back to fence repair in the Merry Meadow.  The deer and coyote have busted some of the electric line on the second wire.  We have brush piles to burn and more trimming to do.
Oh.
That is to be done while we are remodeling, and somehow I need to stick gardening in there also.

Hmmm.  Don't forget work!

Looks like a very busy spring.  

When the winds blow!

April fools!  We awakened to 30 mph winds and gust of winds up to 45 mph!

It was snowing and sleeting at the same time and looked like a whiteout.  When we did chores we gave our slices of hay in strategic positions so the hay wouldn't blow away.

Whew was it cold.  Just a few days ago it was 50 some degrees.  I just can't get with these wild temperature changes.

The girls were doing there thing with their butts to the wind and gathered together like the little herd they are.  Every once in a while someone would jostle another and they'd resort themselves in some predestined order that only equine can understand.

Sunday we are supposed to start out the morning in the 20's and reach 65 by mid afternoon.

I tell you, the weather is crazy!

The cold temperatures and winds kept me inside most of the day.  Outside it would snow, sleet, rain, and then the sun would come out.  And the winds kept the trees shaking and the pines did the hula dance.

I got out some of the skulls I'd been working on.  There was an old deer skull that I'd found.  It was in poor shape and had been chewed on by mice and other animals.  I looked at it as a challenge and wondered if I could paint it up to put on the garage or the outhouse as a 'country' decoration.

I had spent the morning cleaning out the back room shelving and packing it away.  The back room will be one room that will be completely replaced when the remodel starts.

Anyway I thought a bit of quiet time was in order.

I took some Antique stain and began to stain the skull.

I wasn't sure I was even going to like what I'd done, but it was such an old skull I thought I'd just mess around with it and see what happens.  

I sort of like the color and the way the staining brought out the age in the skull. The areas that had been gnawed on were slightly highlighted.  I set it on a rack to dry.

Then I turned to my new find.  A 'possum skull.

After it dries, I will retrieve the rest of the teeth that I have and put glue them into their places.  

The 'possum has such a flat head compared to that of a raccoon.  

I also had two ground hog skulls.  One with teeth and one without.

I used a 50/50 mix of Elmers Glue to seal and preserve the skulls.

'Possum skull in the middle, ground hogs on each side and raccoon for reference on the wood.

I'm thinking that someone reading this is really curious as to why I collect skulls and paint them or seal them.  My veterinarian and I are huge fans of skulls.  He has a huge display in his waiting room.  Frankly I am quite jealous of his amazing collection.  Of course his skulls are animals from around the world.

All skulls are the result of what I find while hiking in the woods and...

I do it for art.

Some painted skulls can sell for quite a bit of money.  The one with the red dots on it sold for $200.  I've given two others away as gifts. I collect antler sheds also and hope to have enough to make a lamp or something very artistic one day.

This is another old doe skull that had seen better days before I stained it and finished it off.

The really fresh bones are left alone to show off their natural color.  
I can't wait until Spring gets itself sorted out.  I have a garden to plant and outdoor things to do.

Oh yes, and the remodel.  The start date is getting closer!

Siera ~ Naughty

Siera is doing well her hoof/frog issues seem to be clearing up.
I should have been exercising her more, but with mud or ice being the normal all around us, I haven't been able to.

However, I was able to get her out and ride her for a bit this past week.

She decided that she wanted to protest every step of the way and be back with her friends in her paddock. 
This is pretty much Siera's normal spring behavior.  She needs to be weaned from her friends/buddies each spring and learn that yes, she can walk away from them under saddle or on lead.

But sometimes she just needs to stand and think about it.

She is actually getting better at this and realizes that when she is going to toss her head and act like love sick animal, that she will get a time out at the 'naughty' tree.

I let her stand there for about 45 minutes while I did some yard work.  She pawed a few times and tossed her head only once or twice.
Then she settled down and stood quietly.

I loved her up and we took a short ride to the ridge.  The woods were too slippery and muddy or we would have gone on a nice narrow trail.

When Siera has too much open space and nice even ground, her mind wanders and she thinks more about misbehaving than worrying about her next step over a log or climbing through a ditch.

We worked a cornfield for a while until she realized that I was not going to just turn her in the direction of home.
We did a lot of circles and many 'stand stills'.

When she finally took a deep sigh and moved on with forward ears, I knew that we'd gotten through the first stage of separation.

Since she hasn't had to work most of the winter, I rode her out 1/2 mile and back to get the mail.

It is funny that different animals have different attitudes about leaving the farm.  Siera puts up a fuss and eventually quits when she is asked to work a difficult trail.

Lil' Richard was more than happy to leave the farm. 
Badger never minded.  
Fred brays and vocally carries on for about 1/4 mile, and then steps right out.  
Opal used to turn her head towards the farm and walk with one ear turned to home.  When we got past that magical mark in the trail, she'd stop and she'd be all attention to detail.
Sunshine will turn her head and may even bray once, but then she marches on.  She waits until you aren't paying attention and then will try to turn back home.


I would like to see Siera get over her separation issues, but I also realize that she may never be that kind of mule and I will have to deal with it each spring.
That is okay, she is a fun ride. 
Siera's best feature is that she doesn't spook.  

She is one of those equine that will lock up and stand still as a statue until she figures out the situation.  

I'll put up with her idiosyncrasies if she'll put up with mine.

Taking a walk with Siera

I meant to take a walk with Princess yesterday but Siera gave me started to knicker at me when I came out of the shed with a halter and lead rope so I took her instead.

It was a good thing that I did.  The snow was slippery, the footing terrible, and it was very very wet due to the sudden warm up and the strong March sun.

Siera really didn't want to 'leave' home.  We have this issue every spring after a long winter lay off.

So she planted her feet and cocked one ear back towards her 'paddock' pals and refused to move.

So what do you do with a mule that refuses to move?
Wait.
I've known Siera long enough now to know that she really needs to think about this whole leaving home business.  If she is forced she will go, but there will be a lot more hesitation and balking if she is forced.

So she stood and waited.  I stood and waited.  Fred carried on as if he'd lost his best friend back home and she could hear it.  Normally Fred doesn't care about Siera in the least.  Of course he did on this instance.

I was again amazed at a mule's agility at taking on terrible footing.  I was slipping more than she was.  I wish I had her 4-Hoof Drive sometimes.

Siera finally convinced herself to move and off we went making a trek up the north wooded slope and then back down and around.  I didn't take a long hike because the snow is so deep on the hillside.  It was more of a 'let's get used to leaving home exercise' than anything else.

She never was in a rush and followed me quietly.  The path is narrow with many trees, the one time she did try to surge ahead, she caught my elbow on her nose.

Just like leash training!  She only bumped her nose once and while on the narrow trail walked a polite distance behind me.

I was rather pleased how our hour went.  She was perfectly content to stand around with me in the woods when I decided to stop.

I plan on hiking again today.  Morris could go with us.  Siera adores having his company.

Our temps are supposed to get to 45 degrees again today!

That means we should have another snow melt that will crash down the rocks into the creek.

I caught the mini flash flood as it began yesterday late afternoon.

Bring on Spring!

I'm really waiting on Spring.
I know, you never thought you'd hear me say THAT!

Yes I do love winter.  But it seems to be dragging on a bit much this year.  Last year we were spoiled by an nice warm March and April.

The sun is so much stronger now.  Hard to believe that daylight savings time is just around the corner.
If I am correct, it is next Sunday.  That means light longer in the evening, something we all sort of crave.

I am busy thinking ahead to all the work Spring will bring.  The flower beds around the house and the garden next to the outhouse are still buried in snow and ice.
Yet I am anxious to get at them and rake out the old stuff and smell the dirt warming in the sunlight.

I suppose I'll get over that fairly quickly after working on it for a day or two!  Then my mind will turn to things I wanted to do all winter.
Start Nikki and Eddie, the donkeys under saddle.
Ride Siera, Opal, and Sunshine.

Start working and planning on my summer garden.
Beets.
Green Beans.
Lettuce.
Onions.
More lettuce and some tomatoes. 
Simple and what we like to eat a lot of.

The Dexter Boys went in to be processed on Monday.  Hubby went to pick up their heads today.  I am going to de-flesh them and clean them up.  I plan on keeping the one with the loveliest horns and selling the other one.

Doesn't everyone want a small bull head with horns to decorate their house with?

I talked to my mom the other day.  She recieved 12" of snow when we had a dusting.  I told her she could keep it.
I'm still thinking about Spring!

...and lots of shedding mule hair!