Good Bye Carlene.. 5/17/1991 - 11/17/2011

Yesterday was one of the worst this year for our farm. I had my old Clydesdale mare, Carlene, put down. She was 20, and I'd owned her for 6 years. She and I had many wonderful times together, and then some of the most painful too.

You see, Carlene was a show mare.... a top show mare, in the world of Clydesdales. She was born in Canada from royal bloodlines that destined her to be Great. Her owners took her to many of the largest draft shows in Canada, and she proceeded to win halter blue ribbons, and championships for them. Soon it was time for her to learn to be a driving horse, and learn -she did. Again- only the best shows for Carlene....

She began having health problems - I can tell by how the people purchased her and how quickly she was then sold once more. Three times in 1996, so I guess that is when she began developing health problems. By the time my friends purchased her in 1999, she was well on her way to falling apart physically, but they didn't know that. One day Carlene couldn't breathe- and as soon as she was taken home, a veterinarian was called in. She had Many Many allergies it seemed- which made her unable to breathe properly. That's what I was told- as well as her owners. That was when she began getting 2 shots each month- to help her breathe more easily. I *think* that the damage had already been done to her lungs, but the shots Did help her a lot.

One day I got a note telling me that my friends were going to have Carlene euthanized due to her many health problems. We talked back & forth and in-between snowstorms, she arrived here at WoodFinn  and Our life together began. I got her back to as healthy and happy as I could- for a big mare. We had great times, and some terribly sad times too. There were days while soaking her hooves in warm water and epsom salt that she would be So lame with abcesses in her hooves, that it seemed we'd cry together for her pain. This went on- but she seemed to level out and remained healthy for some time.

This Fall however, her troubles began once more.... I don't know why but I was watching my beautiful mare fall apart. She was no longer healthy like before- her breathing was holding steady, but her feet began abcessing again, and her cough returned. I tried to help her feel better, enticing those abcesses locked inside her hooves cease, but then her soles got so soft I was afraid of causing yet More problems and lameness. She lost a tremendous amount of weight, and this past Sunday, I knew I had to make a decision to help her ''move on''.  She let me know that SHE was ready to be pain free as well, so I made the appropriate plans.

On November 17th, and 8:16 in the morning, Carlene passed over the "Rainbow Bridge''. My vet told me that she laid down peacefully and it seemed like she just went to sleep. I had her buried up on the hill on our farm, beside Dixie so they both can watch over us left here on earth.

God speed, Carlene... and never forget how much we all loved you...

coming to meet me for dinner....

Enjoying life here...

Our one and only show.....

this photo was taken by Whimsy Portraits- thanks so much for liking my mare !

At our one and only horse show...we had such a good day.

October.....snow ????

10/30/11

Every time I think I have the weather figured out here in central PA, it changes. When I finally figured out the path of the 'terrible' thunderstorms as compared to the not so terrible ones, that was all turned around. Now ? I thought that we were safe from bad, cold weather in October- and was looking forward to a delightful Autumn.


Wrongggggggggggggg. Yesterday, it snowed. Yes- it SNOWED !  A good 3-4 inches of very wet, sloppy snow. In October !  The horses all stayed inside because no one was prepared for Snow and hadn't gotten their wintry blankets out. The Percherons were out all night on Friday as it was not supposed to start snowing until very early morning. The weather guys predicted it perfectly and by the time it actually began snowing, the Percherons were inside, happily eating their breakfast hay.

Here is a photo of our typical Autumn day :

Pretty colorful leaves on the trees, 'some' grass and nice weather, thennnnnnn on Saturday...

snowing like crazy !

the ornamental grass didn't care for it...

Poor little annuals got snow covered:

The Hemlock trees were snow covered 

Sunday brought sun- but FOG !

Poor Oak Trees

Low clouds- but the sun is trying to shine - Sunday AM

ground fog made things look spooooky

Even the hens didn't want to come out

our mountain- snowy

The right side- with low clouds

Buffalo Mountain in fog

Soon, the snow was melting and the trees are back to their lovely Fall colors

Our fence line- snow and leaves ???

All in All ? 

 One bizzare, insane weekend 

Autumn Has Arrived 10.12.11

It seems that overnight, Autumn arrived. The trees that change colors are happily dressed in golds,yellows and reds.There are acorns All over our back yard, and subsequent squirrels digging little holes to bury their treasures in. It won't be long until the ground is full of small divots with acorns hidden in them.

Today the weather is dreary and rainy... On my drive to check out a possible new pony for lessons, that gold and yellow brightened things up considerably. The mountains and ridges are gorgeous in their Autumn colors, with just enough pines and hemlocks in deep green to fill in the shadows and dips.

We now are back in order with chickens, it seems. A friend of mine had been told she couldn't have her hens in her backyard , due to township regulations, so two of those hens moved in here. They're Barred Plymouth Rock hens, and are very friendly. Add those to the 6 hens already here, and I have a yard full once more. The little Widget peep that is a frizzled Cochin cross is doing SO well now. She/ he is walking about- even running, flapping those little fragile wings to get her going FAST. She / he still lives in our tack room and has become quite the pet. Lucky- the one peep that survived the horrid times when his mama was killed- is getting so very beautiful ! He's still practicing that terrible 'rooster' song he has made up.... Oh my, he sounds terrible, but he hasn't an idea of how the song goes. So, it goes like this- instead of "cockle doodle Doooooooooo", Luckys' rendition of it is " Err, err, ERRRRR !"  Not real close but he's rather proud of his crow. He still loves to sit with people in the tack room, and has a wonderful time telling the chosen person of the hour All about his adventures as he sits on their laps. Due to his being able to fly quite nicely, his favorite roosting area is on the bell right outside the tack room. I'll have to try to get a photo of him one of these days.

The horses are all doing super. Busily growing in their winter coats and filling up on what little grass is left. The new stall fronts inside our barn Still are way to pretty. Sometimes when I walk into the barn now, its as though it belongs to someone else, and I'm merely working there. I love my barn now. I loved it before- but now ?   WOW-  Love it big time !

Below are some photos I got today of our trees, etc.

This is the creek- almost back to normal again.

 This is across the creek...

The 'Sedum' has become Burgundy !

The Great Chicken Caper

 Well, the bantam hens and peeps have a new home now. The folks who asked to have them arrived just after evening chores were done one evening last week. They brought with them a pet carrier for taking the hens home with them. Easter did NOT think this a good idea, and prompty flew up as high as she could get in the barn rafters. We caught the mama hen, Pearl, then Starlight, and then one by one, the little peeps. Boy, they got FAST !  Finally it was time to catch Easter- I herded her back into their stall and she made a beeline for one of the empty water buckets. 'New chicken owner' caught her easily. We held the door for the pet carrier and put her gently inside. Then it was time to transfer the peeps from the storage container to the carrier. This to was done as gently as possible so no one got hysterical or TOO frightened. Mama Pearl sure was happy to have her family back and by the time the new chicken owners left, the three hens and peeps had straightened out their ruffled feathers and were being quiet. :)

The next weekend, the little gal who now owns the hens,etc told me that they had gotten two eggs and that the hens and peeps were doing great.

Happy ending to this story. Now to make friends with the New Golden Girls, and to move them into the flock .....

 The horses are so used to chickens by now, that when they are in the aisle for tacking up or grooming, they pay no attention to the poultry. One evening this week, Lucky ( the one chick that survived the Great Chicken Murder a few weeks ago) was now practicing crowing- yes HE is a rooster to be. He has discovered that going into his little 'house' each evening is not what He sees as good- so it's a circus trying to corral him in the correct direction. This one particular evening, there were two of the boarders grooming their horses in the aisleway. I'd herded Lucky Almost towards his house, when he stopped. Looking up at the rather round red Hafflinger above him, he flew up High and landed on the pony's BACK! The pony was surprised as could be but handled it all great. He wriggled his skin on his shoulders and back, and Lucky flew down again. That was when he went into his night time house. Whew.....  We all were laughing at the surprised pony AND that young rooster sitting on his back.

Lucky's picture is below....

The new girls n' some horses

 Here it is a brand new week. Yesterday, the new hens Finally arrived ! See their photos below. Their ex-owner found out that where he lived chickens were not allowed, so he had to find a new home for them.  Luckily that new home was WoodFinn ! We need to find names for them- so I have asked students, boarders and Working students to think of 'girly'  names for these new hens. One of the new students' parents are going to take the bantam hens and all the peeps to their house- this evening, we'll capture them, box them up and off they'll go. Stay tuned on the Great Chicken Capture. :)

The horses have really been enjoying this cooler weather here this and last week. Scarlet  ( my leopard App mare) has been feeling down right silly, as are the Percherons. 60 degrees during the day is Draft Horse Weather, it seems. Little to no flys bugging them, cool days and less humidity makes for 11 happy horses.

Jasmine  ( Standardbred mare) has a new home since a couple of weeks ago. She was sold to a gal I know- and I think she's going to be perfect for them, as Jazzy rides And drives. So we now have another stall to fill with someone's horse. I wasn't using Jazz as much as I'd thought I would be, and she has a wonderful new home forever, I hope.

Here are a couple of shots of the chickens and a couple of the horses from this morning :

The little Bantam hens, and the peeps, my Rhode Island Red hen, Lucy, and Silverwulf, the silver laced Wyandott hen.

  The Buff Orpington gals - they're a little shy...

Scout and Scarlet

             and last but not least, our newest student, Michela and her pal, Alli.

Alli was just finishing a tasty peppermint she'd gotten as a treat for being a good ride.....

Hope you all have a great week !

Hospitals and Storms, and Floods- Oh MY !

  There was a LOT happening this past week. Firstly, we got storm watches for a fierce tropical storm that was moving up the coast.... So I was busily preparing for that- winds, rain and perhaps a higher than normal creek. Well, it was MUCH more than just that. Little to no winds, but the rain- Oh the rain. ( we got close to 9" of rain !!) It began in earnest Tuesday evening-just as I was driving home alone from the hospital. Glenn had been not feeling well Monday (which was Labor day and a 3 day weekend for him) so we didn't do much at all. By Tuesday, he was Miserable;complaining of stomach pains again- so I called the Dr's office to get an appointment. No, the Dr was off for a few days, so we went straight to the emergency room. Turned out after a Lot of tests, he had the same problem of before. They admitted him, and that's why I got to drive home in the storm alone. By Wednesday, (thanks to Megan, I had some help that day)  it had really hit us hard.... I had wet stalls in the front half of the barn, and thank goodness, that was ALL. There was rain- no thunder, no lightning- so the horses went outside as usual. I think they enjoyed the cooler temps and being soaking wet as no one acted as though they wanted to go inside. Thursday found me alone again. My poor working student had called to say she wouldn't be there because her basement had flooded. I felt SO terrible for all of their losses ! I couldn't get out of the county to go visit my husband because of the flooding. This road was closed/ flooded... that road was closed.  Whew- Major flooding- when the great river running thorough this area gets full- she goes over her banks and to the houses beyond ! Harrisburg was under water in certain areas, Hershey Park was under water - so badly that they had animal deaths at their zoo america.  It was BAD. I'll add some photos of some of the flooding below.
   While my hubby was getting better, I had found a little peep in the horse stall where the hens were staying. ( one of Pearls' chicks) I thought it was sick, and would die, but nope- it just needed to be treated gently and be allowed to heal- and eat, and drink and Poop.... That's alright- all of that is Healthy. So now, I have TWO little best friends in chicken clothing. One in a Cosequin bucket, and one in the little dog kennel cab. Lucky is growing like mad- has almost all of her/his feathers in now, and Loves to sit in human laps. I thought I'd heard Lucky attempting a crow this morning, so I Sure hope it was NOT. Been calling the little one in the tack room bucket " Widget" which can be either hen or rooster names.
   The horses all survived the storm easily- but for looking at their damp but clean stalls like they had mistakenly gone to the wrong barn. They Were all quite clean too- till the rains slowed down and the mud looked like fun to roll in. Mud is alright- when it dries, it brushes right off.
 Now, today- the farm is drying out, the stalls are doing Much better, and all is well at WoodFinn once again. The little widget peep is having trouble making her/his toes/ feet work correctly- but I pray that time will heal that. Otherwise, Widget is a happy little chick. Lucky likes to visit the Percherons when they are in their stalls during the day. I think they like the company.
  The other hens- Pearl, Starlight n' Easter- are outside today for the first time since they got here. The peeps ( now 8) were having the times of their lives pecking grass and finding bugs. Alli, my old Appy, had walked up to the barn to get a drink, and was standing there watching them, ears perked forward, head tilted so she could see them. I'm glad my horses are so good at getting along with all the other species living here ! Now for some photos :

This is Lucky- notice the "Shrek" ear like feathers on the sides of his/her head ?

And this is 'Widget'... the little chick living in the Cosequin bucket in our tack room.

This is our road past our house...

Below is the front of the barn- 

AFTER scooping out one helluva lot of water.

Buffalo Creek- Wednesday

The creek is normally a few inches deep- by Wednesday, it was easily 6' deep

Those trees are a good 10' back from the creek banks.

These are photos I took on our drive home on Friday- of the Susquehanna River

Another shot- of City Island- from the Harrisburg Hospital.

See those small houses across the river ?

And last but hardly least- this is 322 and Clarks Ferry- almost flooded under.

Saturday was a gorgeous day- hot,but the humidity dropped some as it wore on. I hope we are going to have a taste of Autumn later on this week !

Working Student Program 9/3/2011

Glenn came out of the house to snap some photos of one of our working students having an 'earned' lesson.....  This is Sam, and her favorite guy " BoJangles. She's just had a very few lessons in riding- so she's still learning the many basics.

There's SO much to remember !

walk on !

A little better turn here...

getting some tips....

                                                               Much better !