Tag: horses

Winter prep

PiaChit Chat

As well as going to the sheep market this weekend, we also had straw delivered from a neighbour farmer. 300 bales. We don’t have the buildings to store the modern large bales, nor is the road here compatible with having deliveries by truck through the winter. So small bales that go into the loft are necessary to keep horses on the property, even if it’s a lot of work a few times a year. It takes about an hour at breakneck speed to get 100 bales up, tall guy throwing up with a fork, me blue in the face climbing up and down the stack.

Since I now only have the two senior ponies left, I’d prepared an empty stall with pallets for storage as well, in case the delivery rate got a bit overwhelming, also I have more hay in the loft this year because last winter the mice ate into about 20 of my wrapped(fermented) hay bales. Once the plastic is broken on those, it rots in no time.

I stack so that the dry hay is enclosed in straw, this prevents it from moulding, which happens with humid air contact. The straw doesn’t mould for some reason, so it insulates. So it’s a bit of a construction job at the same time.

This year I decided to try with a paper facemask, since I normally have breathing problems after a session like this, a week of lung pain and lots of slime and coughing. It seems to have helped not get much dust inhaled at least, altough of course it does not help with oxygen levels in a closed loft or the dry throat.

And most of this week I’m guessing will be very low key. I want to give the ponies a bath, trim big brown pony’s hind hooves if my back and hands agree and harvest my weld. I can’t seem to find the twine with gloves on, so it’s all barehand, ouch!

Yeah, hammock and library books sounds pretty good in fact…

first load
first load
half way
half way

halm3

Vinterforråddanish

Weekenden stod bl.a. på halmleverance, 300 småballer skulle jeg have, da vi ikke har lagerplads til de store, og vejen herned egner sig ikke til lastbilleverancer i vådt føre. (eller i det hele taget, de kan ikke komme om til stalden)

Det er tre timers hårdt arbejde for to personer, en lang til at kaste op og lille mig blå i hovedet der piler op og ned af stakken… Jeg havde dog også forberedt den tomme boks med paller i bunden, nu jeg kun har de to gamle ponyer tilbage. Så når jeg blev lidt overvældet, kunne gemalen traske ind og lægge et par stykker derinde imens.

Jeg havde også lige 100 høballer der skulle jongleres deroppe, sidste år bed musene hul på næsten alle wrapballerne i ly af vinteren, 20 måtte vi smide ud, da de rådner så snart der kommer luft til. Men høballerne holder sig fine uden svampesporer, hvis man pakker dem ind i et lag halm som isolering. Men det er lidt af et puslespil, når pladsen er trang og ballerne vælter ind af lugen.

I år forsøgte jeg mig med maske, da jeg ellers får nærmest lungebetændelseslignende tilstande, kraftige smerter, hoste og slim op til en uge efter. Det hjælper ikke på iltmængden, men jeg er faktisk ok (bortset fra træt, øm, skrammede arme og smadrede hænder 😉  Jeg kan selvfølgelig ikke finde snorene med handsker på…)

Så jeg tror det bliver en stille uge, ville gerne have givet ponyerne et tiltrængt bad mens det er lunt, beskæring af baghove på den store brune bisse må vi lige overveje. Faktisk lyder hængekøje og biblioteksbøger også ret besnærende.

Today

PiaChit Chat

Another gorgeous day to look at after a stormy Saturday by the sea. It’s still painfully cold, but the sun, ah, the sun! Makes me feel like this: (remember to turn up your speakers)

So I mentioned a picture book about my Charlie and how I’ve had the title ready for years but not really getting any further ideas. Well, after going public with it, suddenly little sentences are plopping into my head while I’m driving, when I wake up, nothing to make a Stephen King sized novel, but quite amazing considering my brain has been on strike for so long. Trickle is fine, I still have all the artwork to do. 😉

I’ve also experienced lately how communicating openly about various issues, such as carrying an emotional trauma in my body from multiple “rodeo” incidents in the last 10 years that were both shocking and painful (no, not Charlie’s doing), makes the whole issue, not solved and gone but somewhat deflated, a lot calmer and slightly more rational. Simply by acknowledging, to myself not the least, that the problem exists. I had been putting that one at the bottom of my list of “things to work with” and suddenly realised it might actually belong somewhere at the top (or I just finally got ready to deal with it – long story that I’m not going to bore you with)

This is very interesting to me – how speaking your intention out loud apparently sets wheels in motion that just thinking and worrying in your own head doesn’t. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. But it’s something I’m going to play with. A new level of honesty – not that I lie, but there’s lots I don’t tell for various reasons. Or I gloss over problems: real horsegurlz aren’t scared of anything, right? What is also interesting about this concept is whether it sharpens my own resolve, focus, ability to see the path. Will my words and thoughts about subjects become less fuzzy and click into place? I’m sure we could all use more clarity from time to time, or am I the only one who has no clue where I’m headed and what my “calling” might be?

To be continued – a storm of comments are as always welcome.

I still haven't decided on the image style for Charlies book - 3D, cartoon style, painting, a mix?
I still haven’t decided on the image style for Charlie’s book – 3D, cartoon style, painting, a mix?

Beginning of the end

PiaChit Chat

Do I feel a slight hint of spring on the frosty breeze? When the sun is out, I can almost imagine…. So I put the laundry outside on the line! Aaah, yes, I’m definitely ready.

Not quite there yet
Not quite there yet…

I’ve been working on a few things this week that I thought I was going to blog about, but none of them are quite done yet. I did finish my dry leaves printing experiment and I’m not very impressed, so that project post got archived vertically as we say here. As in, I’m not even going to bother scanning the results for you. Cochineal prints lovely on paper though, but it also  pokes a lot of holes, LOL.

Knitting and spinning progress = 0

I’ve been thinking a lot about my painting etc. which normally is a really bad sign, and probably is in this case too, but I seem to be all over the place and that’s not very constructive either. To improve your skills it really works best to pick a theme and make multiple versions. You rarely fix all your mistakes in one go.

One minute I’m into intuitive abstracts, the next I’m trying for the impressionistic turneresque landscapes in my mind which on canvas then looks more like a naive illustration for a childrens’ book. Which I kinda dig too, in fact it could be a very good way to warm up for a picture book which title has been floating in my head for 7-8 years about my horse Charlie. Problem is, I have the format in place, but the actual plot is missing. Would be a great tribute now that he’s gone. I also had wanted to do a series of cartoons around the critters, probably for 10-12 years, but made TWO crummy attempts. Now we have Fergus who is everything I wanted to do exactly, and I’m not jealous, I LOVE Fergus, but I’m not going to copy any of it when he’s obviously so much better than anything I can output at this time. 😉 However, my brain has produced a couple of cartoon sketches this week, nothing original, but I may just work on them anyway – for the practice.

Charlie's favourite trick - as you can see I take my riding dead seriously
Charlie’s favourite trick – as you can see I take my riding dead seriously

So it’s a lovely day out today, and even though I’d really like to work on my mandalas and one of my wip paintings, I should go be outside. I’m sure I’ll feel all the better for it. Dog to be walked, firewood to be stacked, maybe I should actually go riding on the old silly? And all the frozen horsepoop in the paddock is probably going to unfreeze real soon. It’ll be so good for my back and biceps….

And, well, spring on the way also means photo weather, if my old Canon 20D is still willing (shutter has passed the average number of exposures for this model). Not that it’s impossible in winter, I just don’t like being outside in the cold wind and the batteries die to quick. Anyone want to sponsor me a 7D house?! I promise I’ll do at least one excursion every week to a new location. 😀

Meet the critters

PiaChit Chat

This really has nothing to do with art or yarn, but since they’ve been such a big part of my life, I thought I’d introduce the inhabitants of this farm, my bestest friends in any weather, giving me much joy and much heartache.

Too many of them have passed in the last couple of years, so actually this is more like a memorial page. But so be it. Life at the moment is such that those who are gone have not been replaced….

Max

My baby. First and closest for nearly 12 years. He’s gone now this June and I don’t know if that chunk of my heart will ever grow back…. He will most likely appear in photos from around the place more than once, since he never left my side unless locked behind a door, and then he’d shout and whine until I let him back out. Or in. My sweet, giant puppy who thought he could fit in my lap… Rottweiler/Labrador mix.

Also known as Max Motor, Maxmeister, Maxenheimer, Maximax, Maximouse, Porridge Head, Ouchgeeroffofmyfoot!, Teddybear.

Continue reading “Meet the critters” →