Equinox. Time for change. Again.

Friday:

On the way to TRC this morning I moved a tiger salamander off the road. There was one living under Oakley's water tub too. And one by the barn door. It seems it really is the Year of the Salamander.  http://www.parcplace.org/news-a-events/2014-year-of-the-salamander.html

Last night when Glenn got home I still had some barn chores to do—the horses had been hiding in there for hours to escape from the biting horn flies.  They are horrid little beasts that spill over from the cattle across the road when they range close.  (they have 3000 acres and are always being rotated.) Yhey don’t hurt as much as deer flies but it’s more like a needle poke. They just love flesh…they opened up a wound on Winny's girth that had scabbed over.  I can’t wait for a fly free barn…
 

 

 

I finished up the work while G sat on a chair in the middle of the paddock with a bevie. We finally had silence!! No more sheep yelling for dinner, lambs yelling to be brought back to their stall, horses trying to rush the gate since they knew it was grain time. Just contenting munching on hay and grain, some geese flying overhead, crickets...very peaceful. So I grabbed another chair and we sat there with the orange moon rising behind us while we chatted. Pretty great : )

 

Stars and sunflowers : )

 



Prince is taking his dewormer directly off the syringe with no restraint!! He seems to think it's a treat.  It's really really cute to watch.  They are finished their treatment but I think I'll try to maintain that behaviour using something fun like the fruity electrolytes they like.  Too bad Henry didn't really go for it...

***

After TRC I brought Lorpie to the vet.  Sure enough she had 340mls of ascites on one side and 120 on the other.  So unfortunate...she was having a great summer with her Lupron implant.  Her feathers have been growing in well and she's the gorgeous Lorp from her younger years.  She's in the house again at night so I can make sure she's warm and resting, unhassled by the other hens.  She had a bit of crop stasis and her gut isn't working great, so hopefully after a week of TLC we'll get it going again.  After that, I don't know how long she will have and what our next step will be.

 

Venga and Pepper with Lorpie.  They used to try to get under her wings/bloomers at roosting time.  She's some sort of maternal figure to them, as well as the boss.

Sunday: 

Rode Oakley last night. Let's just say between his anxiety at the flies and the saddle slipping back so far and pinching his sides that I wasn't surprised that he started to buck.  What a drag.  He hasn't been like this at all during my recent lessons (with my AP saddle).  Guess I'll have to figure out how to keep it from slipping (my aussie saddle) because it's soooo comfortable, and the only one I'd feel safe using to take him out and down the road.  Hope to have our coach out twice a week until the snow flies.  A lot depends on my stupid back.  I also have an appointment at the physical therapists clinic in Roseville. They specialize in neck and back injuries.  It's likely going to be horribly expensive. But since we're here in the US we might as well take advantage of these specialty type places.  I want to be back to my former self so badly...

As soon as we got back to the barn after trying to end the session positively, he was calm, and seemed almost sheepish.  He wasn't bargy, so I decided to try something else. Put his surcingle on and long lines for the first time.  Made it really positive and he wasn't concerned with the lines touching his hips or anything.  Still bummed about the ride, but pleased that I sat it just fine, got him under control, didn't come close to panicking, and hopefully by the end he felt he could trust me since I took that nasty pinching thing off his back!!

 ***

Sassy the duck went on walkabout last night.  We went out to the canary grass field and searched through all of the duck trails.  It's quite the maze out there they've created, considering the grass is shoulder height!! For many mornings lately she's been flying directly out to the field, leaving the stunned drakes behind.  She'll disappear for and hour or more.  My best guess is that she's made a nest out there and has been laying a clutch.  We figured she'd gone to finally set on them.  She was at her pool bathing and drinking by 7am today, and has been with the group for a few hours.  I'll have to see if she's still around when I head out shortly...My goal was to keep an eye on her and try to follow her out there, but I have so much to do today I might not have that luxury...

 

G's Saturday morning project! We've already had a frost so he needed to get this started right away!

I can never get him to JUST SMILE. GOOF!!!

 

 

 

 

As soon as G gets back from his ride and takes a break we will finally wrangle the sheep, and do hooves and body condition checks.  It's nice and cool today so I'm glad we waited a few weeks.  They are already in such heavy fleece after being shorn in late May.

Hopefully there will be no bucking. Be good sheepies!