No Deer, I'll Take Summer

I thought I saw a deer leaving my front yard - hopping the way they do - bounding out and across the road for the Hutchin's place on the north side of North End Road. So I grabbed the camera, my hat, my jacket, my gloves, my boots...I didn't find the deer but I found this...


Just west of my driveway, toward Henry's house where the cows live.



I found some tall water reeds - you can see them just to the right - and fell knee deep in snow trying to take their portraits. Never did find the deer. I'm over the snow. The novelty value has worn thin! Summer Breeze! Where are you? How I love you...

Levi

Thank God it's warmed up a little bit these past few days. It's not "warm" - don't get me wrong, but the 20's are certainly easier than the -20's.

This is Levi. He's a 3 year old Thoroughbred and is a beautiful animal. I've invited the owner over to the farm to check out our place. We'll see what happens.

This weekend is all about mucking and grooming and enjoying the "not so cold" weather as Jake likes to say. He gets irritated with the weather guy who says it'll be warmer....Jake is of the opinion that the weather guy should say it won't be as cold. He's a funny kid who, as of the night before last, according to our measurements, is almost 5'10". Taking after Uncle Danny! :-)

Did I Tell You ...

...that it's figgin cold here in Vermont?? The temperature measured miserable below zero this morning, but lucky for me, my garage is heated so I didn't have any problems starting the car this morning. I remember the news guy saying that we should keep our gas tanks at no less than a half a tank. Ha! I am so used to running the car down to fumes that this is a whole new concept for me. But I did as the news guy instructed and have been making sure to keep gas in the tank.

As I let the horses out of their stalls the morning, I was amazed by the amount of frosty whiteness on their muzzles. Poor things!

I'm really happy these arctic cold snaps don't last too long. Cuz I still don't have any snow boots.

Jake and I cleaned two of the three stalls today, and it was quite a challenge because the poop was frozen to the barn floors. But, we got it done. I pulled Zazu's blanket off of her to dry it out- forecast is -10° tonight - and when I went outside to put the horses in their stalls, wouldn't you know that Zazu was rolling in the snow - in her newly dried blanket. Ah Zazu. No time now to dry it again. I brushed off as much of the snow as I could and put both horses in their stalls. I gave them extra hay tonight due to the cold and said goodnight.

Took this picture today, about a half mile down the road from my house. The lake is frozen. Lake Champlain is said to be the "sixth great lake". I didn't believe that this huge body of water would actually freeze until I saw it happen. Amazing. I love nature.

Cold

The low this weekend is suppose to drop into a double digit negative - as low as -20°.

The arctic chill is upon us.

I need long underwear.

I'm gonna appreciate this Spring like no other in my life!

This picture is from last Spring, March 25th, North Carolina.

Brrrrrr.

Fun on Frozen Lake Champlain

Getting Colder

I spend a lot of my weekend time outside in the barn, tending to the horses and stalls. This weekend was no different than the others. Yesterday was windy and snowing but I managed to at least muck the stalls - at least it was "inside" out of the biting wind.

Today was sunny but still very cold and the wind was still blowing. I pulled the blankets off the horses, washed them and put them back on. Filled up the water trough - this is such a pain in the butt this time of year. See the open garage door in the background? The water trough is right in front of the barn - you can see it just under Zazu's neck. I have to pull the hose out of the garage and drag it all the way to the trough. It's a pain. And since I turned on the trough heater, the water doesn't last through the week, so I have to do this during the week, as well - at night, sometimes in the wind. It's the worst part of taking care of the horses right now. But still worth the trouble. I love my horses!

Tonight's temp is suppose to drop to 5° below zero so it was time to kick on the heater in the basement/garage. I plugged it in and turned it on - why isn't it working? Took me a while but I finally figured out that the heater would probably work more efficiently if I opened the valve to the fuel - duh! Times like these I wish - for just a split second - that I had a man around. But I figured it out so that feeling soon passed!

Time to make one last trip to the barn to give my girls an apple treat.

Forecast: Cold and More Cold

Just went outside to say goodnight to Laney and Zazu and give them an apple treat. I am out of grain (grain=candy for horses) - they are so sad they didn't get grain this week! It's a trek to the only places that sell horsey stuff - but tomorrow is Saturday so I will have time to go to Tractor Supply. They will be happy girls tomorrow.

While I was outside it started to flurry. More snow. Lots of stuff to do this weekend: stall mucking, horse grooming, car washing.


Forecast: Currently 21
Tonight's low: 4
Tomorrow snow!

I Love That Accent!!

I have a new goal. I will acquire an all-wheel drive car with snow tires. Maybe an SUV with studded snow tires. Or an extended cab truck. Maybe a big-ass V8, 4-wheel drive with studded snow tires and a plow attachment. Extended cab, of course.

A helicopter would be cool.

This picture is the view from the car as we drove home this afternoon, looking out over Lake Champlain. Not much to see as the snowflakes were heavy and the wind was blowing.

Halfway home, my car started to sputter as the engine light started to flash. Lucky for me, I was within a mile of my mechanic (I'm infatuated with his accent, just so you know). I attempted to pull into the parking lot and got stuck in the snow. Back and forth, rev and rev - I finally give up, turn off the engine and stomp through the snow (I seriously need to buy some snow boots). Brian, my accent boy, greets me as I walk into the lobby (actually I think he and the other boys were watching me try to get my car out of the snow bank). I tell him that I have two problems: 1) I'm stuck in the snow and 2) the car just started running bad and the engine light is flashing. Brian takes my keys and pulls my car up to the door - what?? Wait. How'd he do that?? When he walks into the lobby I tell him he's a show-off - he laughs and tells me I need to learn to drive. Ha! He suggests that I drive my car out onto the frozen lake, hit the gas, then the breaks and see what happens. He's nuts.

Brian goes back outside to look at the car. I told Jake that he'll come back in and tell me that it's miss-firing and I need a new spark plug or wire...which is exactly what happened. Except Brian also said that it could be a dying cylinder...no!!!

Oh, and Brian has the vehicle I want. He'll be here tomorrow morning to plow the driveway...

Babe

Dreaming of Spring - Already

Winter has only just begun and I'm already dreaming about Spring. There are so many things I have planned.

The property I live on has a huge manicured front and back yard. Lots of places around the front porch to grow flowers. The barn and paddock are to the left of the driveway, and pasture 1 is behind the paddock and back yard. Pasture 2 is located to the right of the front yard and has a small pond. The rest of the property is woodsy, with big old trees perfect for tree houses, and wild blackberry bushes that produce a ton of berries. A few months ago I discovered a couple of apple trees at the very back end of the woods. There is a riding lawn mower in the garage that needs a new belt and we'll need that to keep the trails in woods trimmed and accessible.

The garden area sits between the backyard and pasture 1, with the clothes line around the perimeter. Not only does the clothes line save on electricity, it's a great barrier between the garden and the deer. They don't like the hanging clothes and stay away. I planted garlic in the fall and will plant everything possible that will grow this far north. This past summer I canned some tomatoes and spaghetti sauce. That was awesome! I love being self-sufficient and living off of the land.

I plan to get a few more animals. I'd like to have another cat to help with the mice population - I've found them in the house, in the garage, and in the barn. Definitely need a barn cat! I want another horse, a young one that I can train. I also plan to get a couple of chickens this Spring because farm fresh eggs are so good! It's amazing how different they taste compared to store-bought eggs. I haven't decided whether or not I want to just buy a chicken coop or try to build one. I'm sure my oldest son will help if I decide to build one. How hard could it be?

As I write this, it is snowing, cold and gloomy. The horses were pissed because their hay roll was almost gone, so I had to ask Henry down the street to bring me another one. The big rolls last about two weeks. I know the horses are missing their pasture grass.

Time to go muck stalls. And dream of Spring!

Thoroughbred Head

Do you now how hard it is to take a Thoroughbred's portrait? I need a wide angle lens to capture the full length of Zazu's head. What happened to her ears?

Loving Vermont

Vermont is like no other state I've ever been in - figuratively and literally. I continue to be amazed by the beauty of the landscape, the ever-changing weather and the people.

My commute to work is about an hour. The kids and I hit the door about 7am, Kaiya's bus picks her up at the end of the driveway about 7:05, I drop off the boys at the corner market by 7:15. I usually pull into the parking garage in Winooski about 8am. It's a long drive, but the beauty of the sun rising over Lake Champlain, or the snow drifting down from the sky, or watching the lake freeze little by little everyday, makes it all worth it.

The people. I have never in my life experienced such considerate people.

This is Laney! I had her halter on for a few days so she has "halter face". Her leg is healing fine.


Jake heard coyotes howling last night. He wants to shoot them. I can't argue...I think they are the cause of the horses breaking the fence at night.

Snowy Pasture

I see snowflakes drift across the road like sand blows from the dunes and over the highway in the California desert. Remember that short warm-up...short and sweet. The snow was back today, flurries at first as I drove to Winooski, light snow by mid-day. Headed home around 6pm after the boys' activity was canceled. Forty-five minute ride turned into two hours. A combination of slick roads, blinding snowflakes, a white road and a Vermont newbie with no "winters"...I really really want an all-wheel drive SUV.


It was nice to see the green grass the past few days, but we're back to the beautiful white pastures. I love the snow. I love weather. I must tell you about the ice fishers on frozen Lake Champlain! Crazy...

Muddy!

I worked my butt off today trying to get rid of the water in front of the barn. My arms hurt. Took a few pictures while the sun was out :)

Mud Season Introduction

January 1st brings us above normal temperatures, rain and...mud! I haven't experienced Spring or Mud Season here in New England yet, but I think I just got my first glimpse into the future.

The definition of Mud Season, as described by Wikipedia:

A term used to denote a time period in late Winter and early Spring. The name comes from dirt paths such as roads and hiking trails which become muddy from melting snow and rain. When the muddy paths and roads are traveled over by wheels, they develop. It is regarded in some northeastern states within the as both a curse and a blessing because, although it is generally a messy time of year, it is an interlude between the standard tourist seasons of summer, fall, and winter.

Mud season occurs only in places where the ground freezes deeply in winter, is covered by snow, and thaws in spring. Dirt roads and paths become muddy because the deeply frozen ground thaws from the surface down as the air temperature warms above freezing. The snow melts but the frozen lower layers of ground prevent water from percolating into the soil so the surface layers of soil become saturated with water and turn to mud.

The warmer temps brought us rain last night that melted a foot of snow. The pasture and paddock are muddy swamps. I can only imagine what it'll be like in the Spring. I was reading on this horse blog what might be a possible solution to the mud issue in the paddock. I guess I have a few months to figure it out. I'm sure our current warm-up won't last. I just hope the standing water in front of the paddock has a chance to dry up before the temp drops below freezing again or I'll have to get ice skates for the horses!