Those horses DON'T belong to me...never seen them before in my life.....why is it that horses have 30 acres of good green well drained grass and they manage to find ( make) a gooey muddy yucky horse sized patch and that patch turns into horse nirvannah !!! Turn those horse out clean, looking cared for and the first thing they do is navigate towards the mud hole, 20 seconds later, clean, cared for gray or palamino turns into a mud ball. A good muddy roll looks like ecstasy ( wrong spelling. ?..you know what I mean! ) 2 rolls Heaven and 3 almost orgasmic, who can get the muddiest is the challenge and Doc usually wins but Charm (beauty with attitude) is always in the top 2 !! Needless to say, bringing them in in the evening is a fun time ! Your turn to brush...no yours..after you....! A Shire horse is an awful lot of horse to clean up, I get my workout from 1 horse.....2 is a "wearout". It rained and rained and....so yesterday was So much fun, (not) everything came in sopping wet, I came in sopping wet and Bran the dog was a bundle of hyperactive mud with 2 beady eyes looking for more rain puddles to jump in and falling branches to chase. Sam, Destinys' "carer" is showing great potential. I have to admit, that young lady has surprised us.....Greg and I gave her the worst possible scenario of being a horse owner....you know the talk ( my mum came me it 50 something years ago !!) continuity, cost, commitment, ( cost being the biggest issue !) and after several days breathing down her neck I now watch from a distance. Commitment doesn't seem to be very high on young peoples check list but I have to admit that Sam is doing a great job and hasn't cried off when we have had gale force winds ( flying horse poop ) torrential rain ( floating horse poop ), she has appeared smiling and enthusiastic waving her shavings fork and wheeling our rickety old wheelbarrow ( that in itself is a show of commitment, smile ) to poo pick Destinys pasture. Thanks Sam, you have restored our faith in youngsters. Oh well, time to go, I'm sure there is poo somewhere waiting for me ! Take care, keep warm, M
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A power outage in my "other" life was inconvenient, it meant that the lights went out for a little while and tv viewing was interrupted ......a power outage on the ranch causes potential chaos. In my other life, water comes out of the fawcet ( tap) when you turn it on, we don't rely on electricity to drive the pump which drives a well. In the bathroom, if you had to "go"...you went and flushed ..water came even though there was no magical electricity. Here, Greg is the "bucket boy" ( he always gets the mucky jobs) !! Candles are so romantic, aren't they ? Where are the candles ? where are the matches ?, all put in "safe" places so we knew where there were....until we needed them ! Stress and smoke, great fun for the smoke alarms ! Down at the barn, Branches on fences, chicks under lights, eggs in the incubator, empty water buckets, NO coffee !! Now, which is the biggest crisis ?? Buckets line the edge of the barn trying to catch the drops of water from the gutter holes Greg has tried to patch and all around the farm. Water troughs try to get us a sneaky supply of rainwater. It's all SO much fun. I SO love power outages...NOT !!!
Whilst writing, I can hear ABCs' coverage of the pending Royal Wedding, I have 2 points to make, (1) I am quite distraught that I was not notified prior to the official announcement, I fly the flag every day and (2) For a country that faught so hard for Independance ( and drowned our tea in Boston Harbor (harbour) ), the tv is on fire with royal memoires, interviews and Bill the butcher from somethingbury the local butcher from the brides home town...I'm quite overwhelmed with pride, the flag will flutter harder today, or maybe it will just be the wind, Time to go, tale care, M I'm having a DOH !!!! moment.....here I am in all my glory, jeans rolled up and lobster colored ( coloured for us Brits !) foot turning into something resembling a shrivelled prune soaking in hot epsom salt water. For some reason which I am unable to fathom, a wooden toothpick embedded itself first in the carpet and then in my foot. Being a Brit and not inclined to scream yell and swear (at least, not out loud ) I gave a few ow...ow ...OWWWWWs and tried to pull the offending tooth pick out. It broke in my foot and this evening it is clearly making its presence known. Right foot is significantly bigger than left , discoloration going up ankle and Gregs not happy.Old cowboy saying, "no hoof no horse"....Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch saying ..."no foot no work from unpaid ranch hand". Confucios says "dont stand on tooth pick 'cause you'll be sorry !!" I'll be better tomorrow, I don't have time to sit in urgent care ! Today I spent a few moments with the ranches' choral society......the turkey choir...standing in the pen ( very smelly !) surrounded by Christmas Dinner I have got pretty good at "turkey talk", not sure what exactly I am saying but they seem to like it. "All together now on the count of three.....gobble gobble gobble ..akh akh akh "and they jump up and down and in unison return the chorus back to me. Bran the dog, ever enthusiastic joins in with a less than musical bark and the chicken pen not to be outdone join in with a volley of melodic ( NOT) clucks and crowing. I'm glad I'm not my neighbour, I'd probably be considering sending for psychiatric help for the crazy woman who talks to turkeys. I must have been short of something productive to spend my time on ! Doesn't happen often !! Well, the foot is cooked, Greg's washed the eggs (bless) Bran's waiting to go out and water a tree, Sarah Palins Alaska is on the TV....it must be time to go to bed. It will all be good tomorrow. good night, God bless, take care, M
Molly has one so has Dolly, Shy, Tiger, Daisy Mae, Bran and ...Greg ! Over the past few days, I scratched Mollys' rump and that cow crumbles, close to bovine ecstasy, her head goes lower, her neck extends and her leg wraps round her quivering bottom lip. All is forgotten, all is forgiven....as long as that butt itch is scratched. Shy the ginger and white feline equivelent version of Molly sits in your pathway, you WILL notice his ginger and white beauty, he makes sure of that ! Shy will sidle up, tail fluffed and motor purrrrrrr running but if he is ignored, that ginger feline restores his ambition to " tea time" love, true affection and whatever else he chooses to bestow on his chosen people. Tiger the Tabby cat is always part of whatever is going on on the Ranch. Tiger is the barn supervisor, self appointed and clearly senior feline on the ranch. Tiger can chastise us, Bran, all the livestock on the farm and still wrap his tail round us all. Tiger is the prince of charm, farm ambassador and that cat knows where and when the next meal is coming. Daisy Mae, our bottle fed calf has become resigned to a life without her bottle, That calf could turn a quart of milk into vapour in three sucks, when the bottle emptied she would suck 3 fingers of my glove, my key chain or the sleeve of my coat. Daisy has now discovered the joys of apples / carrots/ pumpkin/ ,...anything but she will forget everything for a bovine back rub or an under chin scratch !!! Bran will lie on his back, legs akimbo, eyes glazed for a tummy rub and Greg........well, offer Greg a backscratch and he's asleep and snoring within moments. There's something magical about a backrub / scratch , don't know what it is, but I'm not trading the secret !! Goodnight, Godbless. (special hug to MUM xxxxx) Take care, M
I think maybe this is going to be an "X" rated entry......block your laptops....cover your childrens ears, take a sedative. If you are of a sensitive nature it's probably better that you don't continue to read. There's LOTS of frolicking and "stuff" going on down at the barn, round every corner "it's" going on, in the goat pen, in the sheep pen, in the chicken coops, in the pasture, "it's even going on in the turkey pen ( well, I guess if you knew you only had till Thanksgiving or Christmas you would make the most of the time you had left eh?) . In the goat pen Macho has grown 3 feet since he was introduced to the "ladies" and he has mastered the art of seduction after his earlier pretty pathetic attempts to chat up Molly and Dolly the cows. Before you get to see Macho....you can smell him, he diligently "applies" the aphrodisiac ( pees on himself), he applies it very liberaly and the ladies love it. Macho grunts, he sticks his tongue out and he chases his love object round and round over and under through the pen He tirelessly pursues, the ladies just as tirelessly avoid him. Meanwhile, in the chicken coop the big Rhode Island Red rooster keeps a careful eye on his girls, every so often one takes his fancy and with a lot of screeching skwalking and chasing around he adds her to his little black book. Rodney the ram is the James Bond of the barnyard, never doing anything fast and master of seduction he takes good care of his ewes. Rodney quietly follows, curls his top lip, head in the air sniffs hard, checks out the situation then makes his selection aware of his "interest". The tom turkeys are all out, strutting their stuff, feathers puffed up and tails fanned out not concerned that the objects of their affection are more concerned with food than passion.Destiny, the old gray mare has, for the moment resigned herself to her celibate life and the geldings will sell their souls for an apple. Who would have thought that a day on the farm could be hotter than a bikini barristas' kiosk !!! Time to go.....Gregs getting a funny look in his eye, if his lip curls, I'm in trouble !!! smile. Take care, sleep well, M
Winter's here as evidenced in the house and down in the barn. Waterproofs are hanging everywhere, dripping puddles on the floor, rubber boots line the garage and warm coats fleeces hats and gloves are retrieved from the depths of the "winter drawer". I want to know how a pair of gloves or warm woolly socks, carefully put away in the spring turns into a single sock or glove when you need it most !! How come every pair of gloves has a finger missing and every pair of socks develops a hole ? As dawn breaks I peer out the window into the early morning gloom...rain ? frost ?....worse, snow ? How many layers of clothes, how many pairs of socks will fit in my boots ? I start off a size 10 and finish a 20+....and its only November ! Down at the barn, the sweet smell of hay and the not so sweet smell of manure mingles with the smell of wet / drying horse blankets and wet animals. I can almost guarantee that if I stand still for an unguarded moment, I will be dripped on through a hole in a rusty gutter that is older than me. The livestock lay quietly in their warm dry pens, no one pushes or calls out to be sent out into the rain. The chickens line up on their roosts, feathers fluffed up waiting their spot in the nest box, loudly complaining at the sound of the rain drops heavy on the metal roof. In the barn kitchen the smell of woodsmoke from the stove mingles with that of freshly brewed coffee and wet dog. Yes, it's winter again with all its challenges and frustrations ...but spring is only around the corner and before that we have Christmas, brightly colored lights, steaming mulled Wine and spicy English mince pies, it's not so bad...is it ???? ask me again in February !!! Bed time, I'll go to sleep and dream of warm sunny dry days or maybe why the washing machine ate my favourite warm sweater ?. Take care, M
Just a quick little post this morning, it's already 7am and I know sleepy little (and very big) heads are stirring and tummy’s starting to grumble as their time clock kicks in. It's breakfast time!!! Yesterday was a busy day, I had my Mustard Seed volunteering duty in the morning and Greg had a doctor appointment...so no chores got done. Sadly and very inconveniently, poo doesn't just evaporate and disappear so it was still waiting for us when we got back. DOH!!! Actually there was also a pickup truck parked at the gate waiting for a truck bed full of said smelly, very rich black poo. In the winter there isn't much time for anything in the afternoon as nightfall comes so quickly. Stalls were cleaned, water buckets and hay mangers filled, feeds prepared and it was time to start evening chores, phew! Sam, came for her first "horse care" lesson this morning, it's lovely to see her enthusiasm, eyes bright and excited. She reminds me of me, I wanted a horse so badly as a child and would have done ANYTHING for the chance to take care of one. Greg and I were firm, before you ride, you learn what it takes to take care of a horse properly and if she gets through that stage and shows commitment then she can ride. A very special little boy and his special mom have given us a special request, we are going to prepare a "cast of characters" page on the web site so the animals I talk about and that are so familiar to us become known to you as you read. Thank you for visiting, I have fun sharing our day with you, it's 7.20 am take care. M
Today the sun shone, everything always seems so much brighter when the sun shines. I had a great day, as a girl, I often had pen friends, through a series of coincidences I found a "phone friend" that has taken a special place in my heart and today we met her. Thank you for being just exactly how I imagined you to be , somehow I think we were meant to meet, please take care. The turkey flock is shrinking, I think they were growing as I watched them.....each one a "Big Bird" getting bigger by the moment, no one told them about Thanksgiving and Christmas and still they eat and eat and.....eat. ( Oh, and poo , a LOT ) We allowed Lady and Quest ( our gentle giant Shire horses) into the ram lambs pasture, BIG mistake, they decided they were cutting horses and proceeded to round up the lambs, end result, 7 ram lambs playing ring a ring a roses round the field shelter enthusiastically pursued by 2 over enthusiastic equines. If those lambs come in underweight I know who to blame ! Daisy May is now 3 months old and we have decided to start weaning her, needless to say, this has not gone down very well with Daisy and her mournful bellowing from the depths of the barn have not gone un noticed ...by anyone ! Poor Lamb Chop, her frequent partner in crime has been a casualty as Daisy bulldozes her way through any barrier between her and her bottle. It's tough growing up ! Destiny is back in season, that young lady needs to be reminded that she is 25 years old, when Charm fails to respond to her flagrant flirting, the old gray mare turns her attention to Hassan and when she recognises that he is finding a flake of hay more enticing than her she flashes pleadingly at Apache and Doc in a distant field. It's got to be tough to be a wanting old gray mare surrounded by handsome young men. Oh well, it's getting late, there isn't an extra hour tonight, the rain is coming down outside and Bran is chasing sheep in his sleep, time to say goodnight and God bless. Take care, M
Destiny is a very happy old gray mare tonight, just as the rain came on, her shelter took on some similarity to a regular stall. Tony went to work today, nuts and bolts were flying, hammer hammering, table saw zzzzzzzzing, the drill died but the shelter was almost ready and with the bad weather in the forecast Destiny would be warm and dry. Greg had a tough day, this morning his pain level was intense and he struggled to get out of bed but Greg being Greg wasn't about to give in ! Tony and I had our work cut out to keep him under control......Greg and I had a "business meeting" and reluctantly he gave in to pressure .......very reluctantly !! Tomorrow Tony goes home to Boston, thank you for being here, we will miss you. Tonight Greg is feeling a little better, hopefully each day will bring some improvement but until his surgery, whenever that may be I know that any "feeling better" is drug induced, I look forward to the day things are back to how they used to be and he doesn't wake in pain and go to bed in pain. I have faith in the future and in Greg. These are tough days but we'll get through, each day will bring its challenges but each day will take us towards his recovery. Goodnight, God bless, take care, M
The cavalry has arrived !!! Thirty seconds after arriving on the ranch brother Tony was in the thick of it. It's an interesting exercise watching Greg and Tony working together, their Mom did a REALLY good job of raising confident strong willed children! I have managed to work the "my way or no way" ...it usually turns into Greg’s idea after a while, which is all good. Tony and I are on the same page here, Greg is continuing to lift /pull/ push things he shouldn't be lifting pulling or pushing with his backs condition. I feel an interesting few days coming on ! Today Greg went for his discogram, sounds a bit like flashing neon lights and a mirror ball (shows my age, smile) but it was a procedure to establish the extent of deterioration in Greg’s discs. Tony took Greg (bless him) and I stayed here to take care of the ranch. At 7.30 this morning I was standing in the barn, as usual, every head was over the door, ears pricked, holding their breath in anticipation…feeding time. PANIC….everyone wants to be first fed, and first out to the pasture and there was only me…animals aren’t too understanding and my pathetic pleading for patience went with blank stares, no excuses. The cats lined up on the hay bales, the goats noses to the gates, sheep expectantly looking to their feeder and the cows mooing mournfully in their pen. Bran took refuge in the kitchen…he doesn’t do noise…..I was on my own….then I looked up and there was my angel ! He doesn’t look much like an angel I have to admit, he’s tall and bearded and he wasn’t wearing wings or a halo but at that moment in time he was the closest thing to an Angel I have seen in a very long time. Thanks Dave, I think you saved my sanity this morning…and we had fun too ! Tony, you are also a star, I don’t think we will ever make a farmer of you but I will sure have fun trying !!! Thank you for being you and for coming when we most need you. Between us, we may be able to make Greg follow doctors orders…or maybe not ! Today was an interesting day, I closed the farm gate tonight and I wondered how the weeks and months to come will pan out, I know that we have people who love us and I know that I will never be “alone” in this family or community but the future is a bit daunting and we will just have to put it in the hands of the powers that be and trust that all will be well. Good night and God bless, eggs are washed, cuckoo clock says its time, Bran has been out and I’m tired. Take care, M
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AuthorIts me, Maureen, (the Boss) Archives
March 2018
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