It is not that we do not have any interesting projects to occupy our time;
We have new electric fencing to string for the sheep,
And hooves to treat to prevent the spread of hoof rot.
There are trees to harvest for firewood and lumber,
And that new small barn to house the new draft horses
will not build itself.
We have a barn full of winter squash to bake and preserve,
Fencing the lower pasture in woven wire,
And another cattle barn, small, to be designed and built in that pasture.
Yet, on a day where the temperature has not yet budged above forty,
And a cold drizzle pours down, our day has been spent inside,
Drinking hot tea and taking naps.
And… and wondering why Google Maps has not updated the satellite picture
Of our small farm.
As seen from space
I think I’m up to five cups of hot tea and a cup of coffee so far. Scratch that, I’m about to brew another cup!
Ha! I finally mustered the energy and nerve to go get another load of winter squash from the barn. We bake them two at a time in the oven, scoop out the flesh and freeze. But it may be time for another cup of tea.
Cold drizzle – or snow as we have here. Neither says “Take your time… no hurries”.
So, I see you said draft horses in the plural – these are now on sight? Ginger no longer the sole go to work horse?
And the animal counters are wondering if another puppy is in the works? Perhaps an Austrian tree bark protector… you know, to keep the sheep from ringing trees in the pasture. I think that might be the origin for what dogs do… barking. Or maybe not.
Warm cheers!
Ah, the seer of Ohio still has his gift. A deposit on an Australian Shepherd has been paid. We expect delivery of the puppy in another couple of weeks. We chose the Aussie over another English Shepherd for the aforementioned barking qualities. Our E.S. is almost the ideal farm dog except she can rarely be moved to bark at human guests. Living, as we do, in the back of beyond, we prefer a dog to alert us of incoming traffic. I have had three men in the past two weeks ask nervously where “that” dog was, referring to the recently departed Tip.
Ginger was sold after our near death-experience. We are looking at a pair of “dead-broke” Haflingers. But, since the main barn was reconfigured into a sheep barn last year we need to build a new horse stable for any new stock.
Cheers,
I have to ask… (and am ashamed I didn’t ask earlier)… the pair of Haflingers you are considering – are they females? For if they are of course then they’d be 2 Broke Girls.
Its my impression that Haflingers make excellent cart horses – and with this pair dead-broke I’m guessing someone has spent some serious time with them. Four years old?
And so long as I’m prying – how much more ‘training’ is Brian due for?
Warmest regards (we got 4-5″),
Clem
I am afraid to answer the last question, Clem. 🙂
I’m new to your blog. I love Haflingers. Have you decided to buy them? Maybe someday….. I would love to have one, too. The outfitters up the road have a couple of them. Two of their wranglers brought two of them up the mountain one year to help my hubby pack out his elk quarters and he was very impressed by them.
Caterina,
Thanks for stopping by the blog, as they say. We have had two Haflingers. The first was a definite mistake, way too hot tempered. The second was just good enough to lull us into thinking we were just good enough and damn near killed us. You can read about it here.
So, we are now considering another team of Haflingers: brave or idiots, you can be the judge. Cindy is the horse person on the farm. But I like the idea of using a team to help with some of the logging that we do in our woods. And I’d love to cut our hayfield with a team. But then that whole death or life issue enters into the equation…. Stay tuned.
Glad to know there is a Sweetwater Rd. in Colorado as well. Look forward to hearing from you from time to time.
Cheers,
Whoops, I forgot. I was going to comment on your Google map. I was very surprised to see that your farm is on “Sweetwater Rd.” Mine is, too! Only in Colorado. I love that address. Google doesn’t have an aerial view of our farm which is just fine with me. They also locate the farm incorrectly. I have frequently found errors on Google maps.