Happy Mother's Day !!!

5.12.13

Wishing all of the Mom's out there a very happy day of celebrating .

This has been a hectic few weeks here at the farm. We have all been working to neaten up the place after a tough winter and it shows. Last Saturday was our Clean Up day here, and a ton of help showed up. We had people washing the stall fronts, raking up left over hay outside, and neatening up all over. 

BIG thanks to :

Joan Smith, Meghan Dau, Tami & her husband, Lou Bello, Patience Stump, Cheyenne Takita, Taylor Stone, Bill & Julia Suter, my husband, Glenn, Hannah Olson, and her mom, Peg, and whomever I have managed to forget ! 

You were such a big help and thanks to you All,

 the farm looked stunning.

Spring 'happened' a little late this year and last week it was still just a little chilly. Then as the week progressed, it got more cloudy, and subsequently rainy. We really needed this rain too, but the timing wasn't so good as our Open House was yesterday. ( 5.11) It rained/ showered ALL day long . We held it any ways, and though our turn out was smaller than expected, we met some great new folks !

 AND made some money for the 'hay fund' for next winter too. :)

 For our open house, we had a bake sale table ( Thanks to our official baker, Tami ) a food / snack table ( thanks Peg Olson ) a used tack sale ( me, who cleaned tack like a mad woman all week long) and a used tack seller ( thanks for coming, Lisa & Dwayne !!).    

All in all, a fun day - here are some of the photos I took :

Tami's delicious baked goods 

Cheyenne & Patience...

  Evie & Breeze- largest and smallest equines at WoodFinn.

this little fella LOVED seeing the horses !

  

Some of our visitors...

  Yep- another horse person in the making 

Joan chatting with some of our visitors- 

The used tack sale !

 Thanks to Peg, we had yummy food to sell !

The information table :

All in all it was a rainy but wonderful day. Thank goodness we have a huge aisle way for everyone to be comfy in.

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Then, today is Mothers' Day. Normally I get nothing from Glenn- because he tells me I'm not a mom.  That's okay, but I think I am. Simply because I didn't give birth to any baby, I have still been loved by plenty of animals, and human kids as well in my life. But alas no thanks from the husband on this. He did get a wonderful roast to cook for this evening, so that's something cool. ;)

There are two 13 yr old gals who I want to personally thank though. They have been working students here for a few months. They come to help out as much as they can, and both of them have become very dear to me. They're funny, can laugh at themselves, and are smart as can be. Plus they both adore the horses here.  

Last night, I was contacted by them, and was told that this morning, thanks to them, I was not to come to the barn at all. (well I did eventually to see how things went) THEY were coming early, and doing ALL of the barn chores !

Now, if that isn't a superb gift for a horsewoman, I don't know what is.

When I went up to see how things were going, they presented me with a wonderful hand made card, a flower ( that will never die) , a super soaker squirt gun that I'd been wanting to have, a yummy chocolate bar, and a hand painted picture of Breeze ( the newest equine here).  I was floored- as I'd not expected such generosity !

Here's the card they created for me- inside it has some quotes, a very sweet note or two and I love it.

Over the years I've gotten some cards, hand made paintings, sketches, thank you's of many different types and have all of them, but this one is special to me.

Thanks you two !

Chickens n' Horses, n' Hair, OH MY !

4.28.13

What a time we've been having at our farm ! All good, all fun and ALL perfect.
First, I have acquired a teeny little lost soul in the form of a Hackney Pony. She arrived here on April 16th, thin as a rail, horrid hooves, and scared of any thing human. Yes, even though I do not make a habit of taking in"rescues", this little mare really needed to be saved. Her owners of two weeks didn't know what to do with her due to her being so flighty and scared, but they DID do their best in care, feeding and being kind to her. I don't know much about her history but she had fallen on that 'pipeline' to a kill auction.

Here she is the day I first met her , after she Jumped over her water tub to get out of her stall. Then she took off in total fear. Luckily she's little or I imagine she'd still be running.

Once she arrived here, she got groomed as much as she'd allow, and has had some work done with her so she becomes more trustful. It has worked well because now, I can touch her ears, and run a whip all over her with no tantrums or panic from being terrified. Just one step at a time, and hers are all 'baby' steps.

We named her Breeze - and she has lived up to it already ! Here's how she looked last Sunday... One of the working students was here, and I happened to have my camera handy !

Breezy has gained some more weight this week, and is looking great. I plan on teaching her to drive !

Then yesterday, we had a real busy day. I have been keeping a diary for the month of April for Farm & Ranch Magazine, and the gal from Cove Creek Photography came out to finish the shots that she's sending to the magazine folks. It was fun, but whew- So many photos taken ! At the same time, our barn was stock full of great working students. They did all of the hard stuff, so I could concentrate on getting the photos accomplished. 

THANK YOU  Meghan, Tami, Chy, and Patience !!!!

These gals are becoming such good horsewomen and will certainly be of a continued part of our team.

Later on, a gal came to pick up a load of horse manure, and she ended coming back for one more !  YAY- good bye horse pooh .

The farm's vet came by to administer vaccines for a couple of the boarders, and a  brand new boarder ( arrives June 1st) stopped out to visit , anddddddddddd, whew, a prospective riding student came to see the horses.

It seems that our hens are laying eggs like mad - 

I get about a dozen Daily now- so our girls "rock" !!

 A busy month, but absolutely wonderful & positive. 

Well it WAS warmer...

4.22.13

Happy Earth Day all !!
Who is going to remember to watch the meteor show this evening ? I hope I do.

Mother Nature sure has hit us with some more chilly than average weather. We had a few days of super warm ( almost 82 here) and then a BIG storm session moved thru, bringing very brisk mornings. I have been lovin' it as this is the weather for me !

We have a new addition to our barn, even though I swore that I wanted no more items that ate or pooped....  This new addition is actually a small rescue... Meaning she sure didn't need to be where she was, and the folks knew it. If they let her go to the 'wrong' people, who knows where this little gal would have ended up. I have a pretty good idea, but won't ever be sure as she's Here now.

She is pure Hackney Pony, 12 hands tall, and exquisite. She trots like the demons of hell are on her tail out in the pasture, and has some kinda fancy action. I hear she's "green broke" to drive but am not going to consider she is. She will be taken back to me treating her like she knows nothing at all.

This little gal is scared of humans, point blank. As an equine, she's very brave, but add a human and she's in a panic. She arrived here last Tuesday ( 4/16) evening via a very dark, HOT trailer and was shaking as she came off of it. So far, she's been all over the farm to explore (' shopping' is what I've called it for decades)  has been learning the routine, and meets me at the pasture gate each evening. This doesn't mean she'll let me put her halter on, but she Does meet me, at least. I have an appt with our farrier in a few weeks for a good hoof trim as her feet desperately need it. Vaccines will be administered as soon as she picks up some more weight, and a good de-worming as well.

She has a brand new soft halter and a brand new name as she really didn't come with one.
So with out further adieu, Meet WoodFinn's English Breeze .

Stupid Chicken Things, continued

4.12.13

As some of you know, I have a rooster named Rooster Cogburn ( RC for short). He's a Lavender Orpington and is the Only roo here. Therefore, he is even More macho than ever. He struts himself about, crowing when he hears me talking, or if one of the hens lays an egg. This, we call the " Oh My Gawd, I Laid An EGG !!! song)  He will strut himself around, making all kinds of enormously loud chicken sounds, right along with the hen who REALLY did the work. He really is quite handsome, but he's oh so prone to doing 'stupid chicken things'.

Like when he decided that one of our boarders would be terrified when he 'jumped' at her as she was in the hens' house. Not smart-  Stooopid.... She grabbed him , picked him up and carried him around for a few minutes ( see former blog posts.) I even took pictures of him being held.  This totally befuddles and humbles one so great and majestic. RC, like many other roosters ,isn't known for his high intelligence. "Eraser Brains" is what I jokingly call my chickens.

One evening last week, I walked up to their chicken house calling them as it was dinner / bed time. The hens who know the house belongs to them came running as fast as their little chicken legs could carry them, and RC came hopping along, but not as fast, as he's SO big. We all walked up to their house together....me telling them how smart they were for being such good girls ( and you tooo, RC). I poured some of their dinner in the small black dish (think water bowl for a dog size) and scattered some around for those hens who are lowest on the pecking order there.

RC was So hungry, and being a very big piggy, tried to stand IN the little bowl as he pecked up the crumbles. Well, as you can imagine, one big rooster IN a feed bowl, and trying to peck up some of the crumbles at the same time, didn't work well. He lost his balance and fell out of the bowl, beak first. After much flapping and sorting of feathers, he stood there looking at me ( who was cracking up) very indignantly, as though to say " I PLANNED TO DO THAT .".   Some days it's hard being a rooster. It still makes me chuckle just thinking about it but then I'm easily amused after so many days alone on a farm.

 Here's RC with "My Pet Chicken" Lilly...

So, it's been a while....

4.12.13

I have been BUSY. Spring arrived and it snowed a little. ( ??? snow ???) I was beginning to think Spring would Never get here but it has. < happy dance> Two days had HOT weather, and then we had some storms roll thorough, and Spring arrived. The grass grew a little - well enough to 'look' greener- the flowers started popping their heads up thorough the earth, and the birds singing again. While the horses shed their winter coats ( and omg, they ARE) I rake it up into piles, and put it outside so those birds building nests can use it if they choose to. I've actually found nests that had long tail or mane hairs incorporated into them.  So birds recycle, it seems.

As I mentioned, the horses are shedding their winter coats. Almost daily, I end up with a big pile of it. It's amazing to me how much hair they grow in order to keep warm !  It sure does well for them, how ever, I wish those thick coats were like turnout blankets and I could just unbuckle buckles and take them off in one piece.

The husband is back to work, and comes home exhausted nightly. Its been hard for him to get back into the swing of a work-a-day schedule after being off for three months, almost. He understands this and still is sound asleep on the couch by 8 PM. He has a superb work ethic and people take advantage of that- sure they do.It makes "working" easier for Them, if someone else will do their jobs too. At this point, we are both looking forward to the day he can retire from the daily grind, and devote his time to his 'part time ' job.

The Working Student program is now 'full', and those who were accepted are Great !! They are smart, funny, and so willing to learn all about horses in a more correct manner than they might have from someone else. We had a Vaccination Clinic a few weeks ago- and they learned all about them, plus saw how to administer shots correctly and safely. Then they got to inject their oranges so they understood how it would be to really give a shot to a horse....

In May (11th) we are having our Open House !! All kinds of things are in the making and plans. Today I have been working on that as it's a rainy day here in Pennsyl-tucky. Trying to remember to get listed in the 'event' columns' in local papers is not as easy as one would think. I find as I get Older, remembering things gets older too. < chuckling here>

That's about it from Lake Wobegon, stay tuned for more items of interest ! In the mean time- here are some Spring-like photos I took yesterday :

 YAY SPRING !!

Over Run by.......

EGGS !!!!!!!!!!!!! 

It seems that with Spring arriving, our hens have decided it's safe to begin laying again. And Lay Eggs, they have ! It began slowly... one day, 3-4 then the next, 5-6 eggs. By now ?  I get a Dozen Daily !!  Beautiful farm fresh brown eggs from cage free hens. The younger 10 ( I sold 5 to a friend a while back) are laying smaller eggs, but each week, they are making bigger ones as they mature more. 

Now there are around 7-8 hen sponsors- and each receives at LEAST two dozen fresh eggs. This is wonderful,especially today since it's the right time for egg dying and hard boiled eggs. 

Mmmmmmm,mmmm- fresh Eggs !!

Hoppy Easter !

3.31.13

It's Easter today. I love Easter-but it's a little early this year for me. I usually find Easter Sunday grand fun, but today it is raining and a little miserable. A good day to spend Inside where it's warm n' cozy, right ?

I think so!  Each Easter, we have had 'something' visit us- one time it was Easter Turkeys,( yes- really. They were walking down the road- three of them I think ) another time, an Easter garbage truck ( WHO picks up trash on a Sunday morning ??)  And misc. Easter bunnies as well....  THIS Easter ?? Nothing. Yet.

Glenn always 'forgets' many holidays- Easter, especially. I bought some candy and put it in a fancy basket, thus creating an Easter basket for my beloved husband. ( yeah, I saved some for me too :)

Speaking of my husband- he's doing REAL well just two months from having open heart surgery. He's back to work now, and is finding it tough to get back into the swing of things. We both knew that was to be expected. I'm amazed at how much energy he has again !  Thank God for top heart surgeons around Harrisburg, and that we got the 'cream of the crop' operating on Glenn. So thank you, Dr. Mumtaz for bringing back my husband's health again.... You're the Best.

This morning, one of my working students, Patience,came to help out. These two gals are so much fun to have at the barn. She & her friend, Chy..... they're funny,smart and always willing to pitch in.  I so enjoy them being here !

We are planning an Open House in May. So far, we're having a tailgate tack swap/ sale,( for anyone having things they'd like to sell) games for the kids, a bake sale for the barn, and more. I have to get busy advertising and pray more than a couple of people attend .  If anyone who reads this would like to attend, Please do .

Happy Easter !!!!

Busy Time of the Year

3.15.2013

For those who haven't gotten around to filing their taxes-  You Have One More Month !!!  I finally got the farm's info accomplished and sent to our accountant- YAY. My #1 goal is to keep up with filing information on the farm's program WEEKLY, so I don't have to do it ALL, come the first of January. So far- I am a week behind. < sigh >


We have had some grand late winter/ early spring days here recently. The past couple of weeks, especially.... our daffodils are up thorough their covering of leaves; with little buds on them already ! I keep telling them to be careful, Old Man Winter can Still dump snow on this farm.They haven't listened, but then again, can flowers 'hear' in the first place ?
                                             I think not.

And so it goes here.... the hens are laying really well, considering that one day is like Spring- the next, Winter. Some days I get a dozen and then on those colder days, perhaps 6-8. That's super to me- yay for hens who like to lay eggs. RC- the rooster- has decided that he MUST be boss over everyone. This typically happens when they hit one year old - and are "mature".  He is really happy being the Only rooster here, but eventually, if he continues being nasty to humans, he'll find himself kept in the chicken pasture. That way he won't be able to attack folks who come to visit. It sure doesn't make for nice visits when one has to dodge a grumpy rooster.

The horses are shedding. At least Some of them have chosen to get an early start on loosing their winter hair. It won't be long until we are ALL covered in long hair of black, white or brown ! Nylon jackets and pants become the rage here at this time of the year..... because the horse hair comes off nylon easily.

One of my boarders' pony likes to 'sun-bathe' in the warm sunny weather. He lays down in a nice dry place that has manure on the ground and sleeps right around this time of day. Early afternoon... It's a good choice: dry, soft and warm and he has a nice nap. Alli, my ancient Appaloosa mare, stands up there and watches out for any 'monsters' that might decide to wander by. 

The Sentry.... when horses lay down, ( in a herd)  there is usually at least One horse that remains standing up to watch out for danger. It's been bred into them since the times when horses were not domesticated, and they still will be seen doing this today ; centuries after being domestic, well protected equines.

This is why when one comes into a barn and horses are laying down, sleeping, one hears them All getting up. Now if the horses in a certain barn are very relaxed , trusting and comfortable then those horses will remain laying down. They know that the noise is merely a human , and thank goodness , NOT a predator coming to rip off their ears or worse.

I love 'horse watching' and have become a 'chicken watcher' by now too. Its interesting to see those different personalities come out in the horses living here, and then how the 'pecking order' of a herd will change occasionally. The same with chickens who are the originators of the so called 'pecking order'. There are older hens here and younger hens who are not mature yet. The older hens still rule the proverbial roost, but sheeesh, those young hens .... 

let's say it won't be long before they do, instead.

The cartoon below SO reminded me of when our Clydesdale mare was still alive  :

Is it Spring, Yet ??

 3.3.13
I knowwwwwwwwwww- not for a week or so....  We're being told here in Pennsylvania that we might get a wicked snow storm this coming week. So much for Mother Nature agreeing with anyone at all.

Yesterday was a good day, but a bittersweet one at the same time. You see, I sold my Appaloosa mare that afternoon. I had originally purchased her because I wanted a light horse for riding. She simply wasn't being used enough for me to warrant keeping her, so she was advertised for sale. It took a little time to find the 'right' person wanting to own her, but I finally did. I wish them a lot of happy miles together !

Photos to come.

Then last week, I let my dear little goatie girls be returned to the wonderful gal who offered the 'trade'. Once these little gals got pregnant ( later this spring), they would need a perfect place to raise their kids, and I didn't see any extra money in the near future. The economy is so bad that it is hitting horse farms terribly hard. Every penny is being pinched or spent oh, so carefully here now....

Thus the 'letting go' of beloved animals here. My hens are supporting themselves, so they're staying as well as my old horses and the two Percheron mares who I adore. This has been needing to be accomplished, and by tomorrow evening, it will be. Soon, I will have one less horse to care for properly, and the money gotten from her sale will help with hay purchases this year ; so thank you, Scarlet, my love... I will miss you and your goofball antics.

Luckily for me, there are lots of great folks- kids and adults- who are enjoying being at 'The Barn'- and learning more about horses. 

For now, I am counting all of the Blessings given to me in Pa... a wonderful Healthy husband who loves me, some mighty fine Percherons to love, a couple of dear to my heart Appaloosa mares, great boarders that I love having around, a peaceful, lovely
farm to live on and a warm house to hang my proverbial hat.  
We have been blessed, Glenn & I, and I appreciate it so much.


This past Sunday, Scarlet was sold....A wonderful gal called to ask about her, and when she came to meet Scarlet, I guess she fell in love with her like I had. So, on Monday, Scarlet left our farm for a new one.... a new life and new human in her life. I wish them both the Best of luck in their life together.

Good luck, Scarlet, my sweet heart.....

Chicken Idiocies, continued...

2.27.13

It continues.... goofy chicken things around our farm. Now, my husband didn't WANT me to get chickens in the first place. ( see former blog entries) But I did any how- and figured out a good way for the Girls to support themselves. Being a Chicken Sponsor will get a person two dozen "Farm Fresh, Cage Free brown chicken eggs".  For a small fee of just $6.00 / month ! These girls are More than supporting themselves by now. My guess is that we can handle 6 Chicken Sponsors- and all of the slots are now filled. A Win- Win situation- I don't have to be concerned with getting rid of eggs, nor using a 'Kabungle' of eggs daily, so they won't be wasted, and friends get to enjoy wonderful Fresh brown eggs each month.  ( yes, that is a new word for eggs.... a kabungle of them !

The young hens I got last summer are now laying. Small, dainty brown eggs- of all shades... from a deep deep brown, to a lavender tinted brown egg, all the way to the very soft light brown. By now, I'm getting an average of 4-6 eggs daily just from those girls, and some of them who are a little slower to mature have not even started yet. Then the good ol' gals who are year olds by now, are getting back into steady laying too.

I've not come up with names for ALL of the young hens. Slowly but surely they will all have names.

This evening, some of the working students were here helping out with feeding and turnouts. One of them walked up to the hens' house outside in an attempt to call those hens for dinner, and they would be locked in , safe and sound. She had gathered the eggs in there from today, and felt something smack into the back of her leg. For those who "know" chickens most likely guessed it was a rooster. Sure enough, Rooster Cogburn- our Lavender Orpington Rooster- had decided that she was no hen of his and needed to remove herself from the hens' house. What I tell everyone who comes here is that Rooster Cogburn is NOT allowed to jump at humans- Everrrrrrr. Usually it takes a person acting nasty and scary- and he gives up his bluff. Lately, however, he doesn't bluff- but attacks. He's a BIG rooster too, and eventually will do some damage, should he be allowed to continue .  Anyway, what one is to do is to 'egg' ( pardon the pun) him on enough so they can reach down, and pick his bossy self up. Then, carry him around for a while- it WORKS !  This is the first rooster I've tried it with and it does work fine. Providing one can Catch the beast.

So, here's my working student- who is Already in a very bad mood because she's getting sick again- being picked on by R.C. Bad choice of humans to try to boss around. She shoved him with her foot, and he came back, then she stomped her feet at him, and he turned to run out of the hens' house. Right then, she reached down, and grabbed his fancy tail feathers, scooping him up into her arms. Well !  RC was confused as to what had just happened, and being a little befuddled, just sort of sat there. No struggles, just " What the Heck ???" 

See ? She's got an armful of Rooster Cogburn !

Even from the back, he's still confused. I sure hope he learns who he better not jump at from behind fast. Can't you just see the hens laughing and pointing at Mr Macho ? 

I need to mention also about this gal. One time, we had a bunch of new Working Students, and this gal just about knows how to run the barn by herself. She is THAT good. That morning a few weeks ago, I told the new-bees that if I wasn't around, that they could ask Shanna about anything because she knew it all about WoodFinn.

Well- I have never lived that down and the teasing continues towards me. Its alright- I didn't mean it as Shanna was a 'know it all' but simply someone to ask if one was confused.

 A few days ago, I met another chicken person ! Her name is Harley, and she's , ohhhhhhhhhhh, around 7-8 years old. Cute as can be with curly brown hair and a sweet smile.  Harley loves chickens. Its' not the horses nor the goats, but my hens. There was an egg in one of the nests and while visiting with The Girls and Harley saw it. I picked it up and asked her if she would like to have it. Oh my- she did ! As they were all getting ready to leave, she found Two More under the mounting block, so she got to take those home as well. I hope she realizes that these eggs are for making scrambled eggs for breakfast, and that they will not become baby chickens !

My husband is getting better each day that passes. NOW he is joking with folks, telling them that because the doctors and nurses refer to his scar as a 'zipper' that he wants to have a small zipper tab tattooed on the bottom of it.

And so it goes at the farm.......

Chicken Things

2.10.13

Tomorrow is Glenn's birthday. He's still recovering from his surgery and while we have been accumulating a TON of hospital bills, I think I'm still going to surprise him with a nice birthday dinner here instead of dragging him out somewhere....  Stay tuned !

Today, a good friend n' I were outside at the barn discussing her photography class she's been taking. She is doing SO well in learning more about her camera and how to use it other than hitting the 'automatic' button and snapping away. She's learning about apertures and different settings and I'm learning a lot just listening to what she says.

ALL of the chickens were outside today, enjoying the warmer weather ( A whopping 38 degrees !). They were busily scratching about the manure mountain and taking dirt baths due to the earth being a little bit softer. What a grand life hens here have! Just about all they need to do is stay up at the barn and not get run over by cars or trucks that travel the little road near our house. ( interesting sentence, that)  The pullets do come down to check out our house,but they're learning to mostly remain at the barn , thank goodness.

So- here are some of the shots I took of The Girls, plus one endearing shot of our POA, Holly. She was sound asleep in the warm sun.

Uhohhhhhhhhhhhh

2.15.2013

Yes, I have been thinking ..... while I'm doing menial labor at the barn like cleaning stalls, I was pondering about 'the wanna-be horse people.' Wanna-be horse people meaning those who say "I love horses" and really have no clue about what it is like to actually be owned by a horse. They wanna-be around other horse people, chat with them about horses or their views on training, horse care or the millions of things true horse folks chat about. BUT....Not many true horse people want to take the time to sit and discuss things with the wanna-be's .....

I find that a little sad.

At horse shows, on a drive, or where ever we may be with our horses, chatting with different people is fun. For both of us. We enjoy showing off our horses, and learning what these people have experienced or answer their questions. ( no matter How many times I've already answered the same one.)   To me, I find it interesting to hopefully teach a 'wanna-be' about horses or the vehicles we are using, or Anything horse oriented. There are subjects I shy away from, but generally, if asked, I'll give them an answer.

So- why is it that someone dying to meet a horse, or a horse person, that these new folks

 do not feel welcome to ask questions, or talk horses ?

Might it be that we 'pros' get so busy we haven't got the time to talk horses to someone who 'might ask dumb questions' ? Or is it because we simply have no patience with them ? Perhaps because we see ourselves so much more educated , wise, experienced or what ever that we can not sit and discuss things with these beginners ?  Answers to those questions need to come from within us.

Personally ?  Sometimes when showing, I Am to busy to stop what I'm doing and chat. That's when I ask the person to please excuse me - and to come back after I'm done showing my horse. I try to never ignore or snub possible new horse people-or those who have loved horses all their lives, and never have had a chance to be Around them ?  To me, I remember how I, too, was once a newbie to the world of horses. I remember how I felt when ignored after seeing a group of true horse people... I might have been just a mere child, but I remember.

I can only speak for myself, but after having dealt with horses and humans all of my life, I shall Always have time to help another learn more about these wonderful equines that bless my life.

The "Small Snow Storm"

2/9/13

It seems that we were supposed to get some snow yesterday, into this morning. It seems that we didn't !  Turns out all we got was about 30 minutes of a very heavy, wet snow and then ? It simply stopped. Mist, a little bit of ice in some areas is all we ended up with.

Now, up in New England life is Much different. Those folks got dumped on by Mother Nature.... a friend in Vermont told me it was still snowing with a good two feet of it already this morning. Some areas will see up to three feet . I am sooooooooooooooooo glad we were not in this storms' direct path.

Today is the first time in a long while that we have been at freezing. All last week it was terribly cold and the winds made it harder to move about. You know it's cold when the draft horses would rather just stay in the barn....

Here's a photo or two I took from our "big snow " : 

 this is our lane....

and our ring - after it stopped snowing.

Alli waiting for me to come let her inside the barn.

Ahhh, eraser brains !

2.2.13- "ground hog day"  Phil didn't see his shadow, so according to fable, we'll have an early spring. 

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As you probably know by now , I have chickens.

 I am not obsessed with having chickens, but from "chicken watching" I sure as heck have learned a Lot about them. ( 'Chicken Watching' being when I take a break or am doing things outside the barn )

Ok- so I have chickens..... one in particular is a pretty neat hen. That would be Lilly, one of my Lavender Orpington hens. Lilly almost died when she was just a baby, so she lived for a Long time in the tack room, with a heat lamp and in a box. I fed her by hand for quite a while, making sure she DID live and had enough food. She began sitting up, then walking and now, is a year old, and laying delicious "lavender" shaded eggs. ( All of the free range eggs are SO much better than those washed out ones purchased at a grocery store.)  Lilly seems to believe that she is not REALLY a chicken, but a really short person. She finds what we do in the barn fascinating, following along with us as we mix feed, sweep, clean stalls and all the items associated with a horse farm... She will fly up Into our wheelbarrows, pecking thru the manure and misc. things in there as we clean stalls. Sometimes if we're really careful when we move from stall to stall, Lilly gets to go for a wheelbarrow ride.

Lately the weather has been Very cold - making chickens search out 'warm' places. They enjoy roosting in the hay, sitting in it, and scratching about in the 'manure mountain' during the day. At night- everyone heads to their chosen spot to sleep.

Lilly, however, figures she has the run of the whole barn and sometimes wants to be in with the young hens or is happy to be in a stall. One day this week, I filled the goat's hay bag ( it is one of those nylon ones with a top to add hay and a hole at the bottom for them to pull hay out- little waste that way & much safer for goatie girls) full of fresh hay for them to nibble on during the day. Forgetting about where Lilly was, I walked up the aisle to get another empty stall cleaned . All of a sudden, I heard this god-awful squawking ! I jogged down the barn to where the big ruckus was and looked into the goats' stall.  Lilly had decided that SHE was going to sit in the haybag on that wonderful cozy new hay. The only trouble was that she is a Big hen, and the hay bag ?   Yeah- little.
 MUCH smaller than Lilly's big ol grey behind...  So she was stuck, with her feathered behind hanging out of the hay bag and her face peeking out the other side of it.  All I could do was laugh at her !  She was Most embarrassed, and once she saw I'd come to 'rescue' her, her squawking died down to pathetic clucks directed towards me.

I helped her get free from the hay bag which surely was going to eat her, and after ruffling her beautiful feathers back into place, wandered off down the barn aisle once more.  I have discovered that chickens
 "cuss"; not so WE hear them, but to themselves .....  after they are safe.

A New Endeavor ! ????

1.31.13

I was working on our farm's website ( www.woodfinnfarm.com ) and had to replace a photo on our 'contact us' page. Lo' and behold- I saw a little box on the top " enquiry forms".  I clicked on it w/ my ever faithful mouse and there were  a good 10 emails that never had been forwarded to My personal email address !  From as far back as oh, last July. Interest in boarding a horse here, a working student enquiry, a wonderful gal interested in the "Mommy & Me & a PONY !"  sessions ( to be held this coming spring ) and then one I Almost didn't look at but am SO glad I did.....

It was an email from a gal who worked for the ' Farm & Ranch ' magazine asking me if I might be interested in keeping a month long " diary" of what goes on here.  Well, after picking my chin off the desk, I started smiling. I knew the magazine well as I used to subscribe to it when I lived in Maryland and simply couldn't afford it here in Pa....

 " Of COURSE I would like to keep a 'farm diary' of going's on here !! "

She returned an email today ( the high winds today kept me from getting email in a timely manner) and asked if April would be good for me. Omg- would it be GOOD ??  It'd be PERFECT !!!   Springtime here is marvelous- all the plants begin to bloom, horses shed those awful dirty winter coats, humans begin coming out of "winter hibernation" and want to do things- and of course, the springtime weather is Gorgeous. Warm sunshine, grass is beginning to green up nicely,and we no longer need to wear heavy clothing creating that ever popular Michelin man look !

Stay tuned- I hope this actually happens - if not, well it sure made a windy, bitter cold January day more interesting .

 Here's a little chuckle for your Thursday afternoon :

He's Home !

 My husband was released from the hospital on January 28th - Four days after having open heart surgery !  Wow- I was floored when he said he was allowed to go home So soon.

It was a rainy/ icy/ sleeting type of day and the ride to the 'big city' took a little longer than usual, but I got there with no mishaps. ( thank goodness)  We had to wait and wait for the discharge nurse to come and "sign off" , but eventually got on our way before the traffic really got heavy.

So- he's Home. I have never welcomed that sentence as much as I do right now. His scar isn't anything like I was expecting- its much smaller and was glued shut. Amazing ! A serious , difficult surgery like that and the surgeon used Glue. He has four little dashes on his stomach that look as though someone might have been sending a Morse Code... but they are only where some chest tubes had been inserted. 

I am once again amazed at how wonderful medical science has come from the days of my dad suffering from heart disease. The husband is going to be Fine, the folks at the hospital who cared for him so well, and the wonderful surgeon who gave him a brand new aortic heart valve are incredible

If any of them happen to read this-

 THANK YOU from the Both of Us.

Jan. 26, 2013...

My husband went to the hospital this past Thursday... Open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. We were both terrified, but neither one let the other know. Go figure...  I was the one who waited from 7 AM until 7 PM when I finally got to see him. He came thru it all with 'flying colors' and was totally out when I did get to see him. That was all I wanted- to just See him; to be sure it was all 'real' and not some cruel nightmare. To me, he looked so helpless, and I knew the pain that was going to meet him when he did finally wake up. The surgery went splendidly, according to his surgeon - and Glenn now has a bovine valve replacing his that wasn't working and was crusted with calcium... In a few months he should be almost healed and each day, his sternum and ribs heal a little more, therefore causing less pain.

I spoke to him today- just two days out of a major surgery, and he sounded SO much better than yesterday. All of the tubes he had are out now, and the only thing left is the insulin drip. That hopefully will be removed this evening and he'll be entirely on his own once again. He's in a semi-private room as well. His nurse said today that he was coming along super, and he's trying hard to get past it all.

 I am SO proud of him for being who he is ;a strong willed, intelligent, hard working man who will work hard to overcome any challenge.... and those are what allowed me to fall so in love with him.

 Here he is, doing what he Adores the most :  Drumming !

A New Year..... And Elvis is in the house

 January 6,2013

It is a new year; full of wonderful things to hope for, work towards and to see to fruition....

My husband and I began the new year with going to hospitals, having tests done, and a lot of waiting, for me, that is. It seems that he needs open heart surgery to have his aortic valve replaced. We Both hope that it can be accomplished soon...and then he can spend the winter letting his rib-case heal. THEN  we pray that he'll be set to get back to being "Glenn".

A funny thing happened when he had returned to the recovery room in the hospital.  We had started out in one area of it, then he was taken via  hospital bed to have a TEE done. ( this is where a small camera is put down via his throat to snap some good photos of how his valve is or isn't working- he was put under for this)  Once he was returned to the same room- he was wheeled to a different cubicle to 'return to lucid'. All was going fine... I was there and he asked me 'where was he', then what floor we were on. He was trying to figure out just where he'd 'landed'.

Then, way across the room- past the nurses area- there was a woman returned. Obviously the same sort of tests had been done to her as well.

Glenn kept chatting with me and the nurses checking on him - making perfect sense too. He was coming out of it all perfectly, it seemed. There were some people who had come into see the woman across that room- and I noticed it was "Elvis" ...with Mrs. Elvis too.  Very obviously an impersonator but Elvis- just the same. I pointed him out to Glenn- who was seemingly returning to the land of living really well.

" I must have gone over the Rainbow Bridge - There's ELVIS !!!" 

 And laughing,totally cracking up. Thank goodness those folks were far enough away that they never did hear him.  He must have said it three times, and even noticed the guy's cowboy boots .

  "He must be Elvis- he's got the boots too- I've gone over the Rainbow Bridge...."

The whole thing cracked me up as well as some nurses...
 Life is never boring with my beloved husband !