The question everyone is asking is "Where is the boss?", "Whats happened to the blog?". Well, Quatre to the rescue!!
The daily diary returns! A little behind, but lots of
great stuff to catch up on. And your host today is none other than me again,
Quatre!
Where to start?
Well there was the apple squeezing party a few days ago!
We had tons of apples to go through before they got rotten and the whole team
here to wash, cut, mush, mash, smash, strain, drain, collect and repeat! With
Maureen holding down the mansion and Bran playing in the leaves. Mal turned out
to be the master apple crusher—turn that wheel! Lots of apple juices were
collected and Greg set to work preparing it for cider. Yum!
A nice evening this week I took the time to bring out
Roman, the black Morgan, and do some work with him in the round pen. As usual,
Roman was alert and ready. After a few minutes of warming him up lunging, I
attached a second lead rope to his halter and rode him around bareback—real
horseback riding. Great fun! Thank you Roman! :-D
Much wood has been split and brought downstairs. A warm
house is good.
Much thanks to Annie for all her help mucking out stalls
in the morning! And for some Kings of Leon playing in the barn. (I agree with
Greg, it’s not real classic rock, but it beats morning radio commercials and
I’m always up for different flavors of
music!)
Maureen makes a daily appearance in the kitchen and
dining room, going strong and keeping up on the gossip, (and cow turning). Bran
is always excited to see her, (and get his extra
treat).
Many a baby chick were hatched and when ready, moved to
the repaired brooder. Thank you Ginger for making the brooder rat-proof!
The other day we had our first frosty morning. The air
was crisp and frost covered every leaf, blade of grass, fence post, the waking
world sparkling in the dawn. A full sun rose to slowly melt it all away and
warm the day.
The boys are getting rowdy. Time to move ‘em! Greg,
Ginger and I separated the wethers from the ewes and Rodney the ram. Then with
the sometimes-but-not-always-helpful help from Bran, we herded them to the back
pasture behind the arena pasture. Their shelter there had been cleaned out and
filled with new straw. Two of the feeders from the sheep’s pen were relocated
to the wether’s shelter and filled with yummy alfalfa and grain to entice them
in. And enticing them in was the goal and the problem, for eventual ease in
capturing single or quads of wethers for butcher later this month. With the
shelter gate open, fresh food inside, the tractor and ATV quad lined up with
the shelter fence, three humans and a herding dog, the wethers still managed to
avoid entering the shelter. Sheep: 1, Humans: 0. But knowing the old trick of
‘if you get one sheep in, the rest will follow,’ Greg proceeded to stalk towards
the group of wethers, a plan in mind. Bran and I stood opposite, keeping the
boys at bay. Several broke free, springing out between me and Bran or along the
fence line. Then with a mighty lunge, Greg propelled himself upon one lethargic
and unsuspecting sheep, bringing him down. But not without getting dragged
through sheep poo in the process. I helped grapple the boy into somewhat
submission and haul him over to the shelter to be placed down and let roam
around, discovering soft bedding and fresh food. The wethers left to follow
their brother and figure things out, Greg, Ginger, Bran and I made out way out.
I grabbed the camera, (forgotten at the beginning of this adventure of course)
and captured a shot of Greg and his poo-smeared jeans for you all! :)
That’s all for now. More to come!
Looking forward,
Q.
The daily diary returns! A little behind, but lots of
great stuff to catch up on. And your host today is none other than me again,
Quatre!
Where to start?
Well there was the apple squeezing party a few days ago!
We had tons of apples to go through before they got rotten and the whole team
here to wash, cut, mush, mash, smash, strain, drain, collect and repeat! With
Maureen holding down the mansion and Bran playing in the leaves. Mal turned out
to be the master apple crusher—turn that wheel! Lots of apple juices were
collected and Greg set to work preparing it for cider. Yum!
A nice evening this week I took the time to bring out
Roman, the black Morgan, and do some work with him in the round pen. As usual,
Roman was alert and ready. After a few minutes of warming him up lunging, I
attached a second lead rope to his halter and rode him around bareback—real
horseback riding. Great fun! Thank you Roman! :-D
Much wood has been split and brought downstairs. A warm
house is good.
Much thanks to Annie for all her help mucking out stalls
in the morning! And for some Kings of Leon playing in the barn. (I agree with
Greg, it’s not real classic rock, but it beats morning radio commercials and
I’m always up for different flavors of
music!)
Maureen makes a daily appearance in the kitchen and
dining room, going strong and keeping up on the gossip, (and cow turning). Bran
is always excited to see her, (and get his extra
treat).
Many a baby chick were hatched and when ready, moved to
the repaired brooder. Thank you Ginger for making the brooder rat-proof!
The other day we had our first frosty morning. The air
was crisp and frost covered every leaf, blade of grass, fence post, the waking
world sparkling in the dawn. A full sun rose to slowly melt it all away and
warm the day.
The boys are getting rowdy. Time to move ‘em! Greg,
Ginger and I separated the wethers from the ewes and Rodney the ram. Then with
the sometimes-but-not-always-helpful help from Bran, we herded them to the back
pasture behind the arena pasture. Their shelter there had been cleaned out and
filled with new straw. Two of the feeders from the sheep’s pen were relocated
to the wether’s shelter and filled with yummy alfalfa and grain to entice them
in. And enticing them in was the goal and the problem, for eventual ease in
capturing single or quads of wethers for butcher later this month. With the
shelter gate open, fresh food inside, the tractor and ATV quad lined up with
the shelter fence, three humans and a herding dog, the wethers still managed to
avoid entering the shelter. Sheep: 1, Humans: 0. But knowing the old trick of
‘if you get one sheep in, the rest will follow,’ Greg proceeded to stalk towards
the group of wethers, a plan in mind. Bran and I stood opposite, keeping the
boys at bay. Several broke free, springing out between me and Bran or along the
fence line. Then with a mighty lunge, Greg propelled himself upon one lethargic
and unsuspecting sheep, bringing him down. But not without getting dragged
through sheep poo in the process. I helped grapple the boy into somewhat
submission and haul him over to the shelter to be placed down and let roam
around, discovering soft bedding and fresh food. The wethers left to follow
their brother and figure things out, Greg, Ginger, Bran and I made out way out.
I grabbed the camera, (forgotten at the beginning of this adventure of course)
and captured a shot of Greg and his poo-smeared jeans for you all! :)
That’s all for now. More to come!
Looking forward,
Q.
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