I heard from a friend that the area 7-11 store is having an impossible time keeping their homemade fudge brownies in stock-- record sales ! I am wondering, what does this say about the state of the universe at this particular moment..... Even the horses are eating ravenously but seemingly not satisfied. Are they dreaming as we are of green pastures and spring? Irritated and itchy with the feeling that spring is near... but not near enough. We can venture out and purchase fudge brownies-- what is their anti-dote?

As I mentioned in previous posts, our trail riding is in a hiatus due to deep snow and thick crust. We have taken to riding on the dirt roads, which actually hasn't been too bad. Yesterday, it was a gorgeous sunny day and my daughter and I headed out for a short ride. The roads were well sanded but still a thick coating of ice underneath, so it was a cautious ride...still a lot of potential for slipping and sliding. We did manage a nice slow jog for part of the outing, gave me time to concentrate on my posture and balance. It's always hard work to post to my horse's left diagonal, so I force myself to be sure and give twice the time to that side than the easy one. I wish I had brought my camera with me-- with the sun making everything so sparkly.

People are getting their sap lines and buckets up now.. perfect sugar weather-- very cold at night with nice deep sunshine during the day... although today looks to be dreary-- we are expecting a storm, which is supposed to last 2 days. So we'll try to get out early for another ride, who knows when the next opportunity will be?

I did spend some time with my camera and the new little fellows (Iko and Jockomo) yesterday afternoon. So much fun to watch them run and play tag. Iko was a tad lazy the first week but he is making up for it now... runs with all his heart. Now Jockomo is the lazy one.

Enjoy your day ~

Either my horses’ legs are lengthening or the fence posts are growing shorter.. my fence is too low all of a sudden ! Due to all the firmly packed snow.. lately, I come out in the morning to find maybe one or two horses in a field where they don’t belong. I have my studs tucked away in safer “high security” fenced areas… but some of the younger horses have deciphered a way over the fence. As long as it does not result in anything like the “horses out” experience of late.. I am OK with it. However, it did motivate me to move some groups around some the other day.

I moved the geldings and the one big young stud colt, Sigmund, to a more secure area far away from the teasing up and coming fillies who are feeling the nearness of spring. Then switched the ponies and my pony stud OYY Finnegan to an area down below which I call the Old Suffolk field—even though I have not had Suffolk horses in years… you know how names stick. Sigmund and his fellow gelding playmates were moved 1 by 1 because it is so slippery and after that I decided there was a better plan. I moved the ponies pied piper style, only instead of a flute I used the bucket of grain. A brainstorm—to take a shorter route up the hill through virgin snow. I walked to the top of the hill, shook the bucket.. they didn’t see or hear me so down the other side of the hill I went.. no matter that by this time I had already walked further than I would have by the usual route. And of course the usual route was plowed. Oh well – the deed is done. Walking on this crusty snow is comical and irritating as well. 4 steps on top of the snow, then whoosh.. hip deep. As though you have a peg leg that just collapsed beneath you… 3 steps this time and down again, that peg leg breaks off at the knee… and on and on up the hill and down. Well once the ponies spotted me with the traditional bucket, they all came trotting. Once the new round bale I had set out for them was in their vision, they didn’t even need me to lead the way. Off they went, through the gate, and into the new designated spot for them. Ponies are so smart sometimes !!

Yesterday, my daughter and I decided to brave the trails one more time.. but alas—the snow is just too deep and the horses tired too quickly to get anywhere. Our trail riding for now is at an end. We were able to get up a nice trot down the dirt roads though.. and it was so much fun, we just kept going. We ended up doing the 8 mile loop. In some spots were able to actually canter—fun, fun. Sometimes, trotting on the dirt roads is a tad boring—and I always prefer trail. But it had been so long since I had been out that way, everything seemed new and fresh, it was just as much fun as the trail.

It sure seems as though it is almost sugar weather… very cold at night but warming up as the day grows. The days are noticeably longer now.

Enjoy your sunshine when you can ~

Horses out !! That dreaded middle of the night phone call. Last week, the police called around 11:00 to tell me 6 horses were down on the road.. so I jumped out of bed, grabbed coat, boots, mittens, bucket of grain and a couple of halters and walked down to the road. It was snowing/sleeting lightly so I could at least see the many hoof prints and follow the direction of their foray. The prints led up into the woods—back to the area from whence they came. No way could I go searching in the woods with pajamas on in the night—so I returned home to wait to see if I got another call or at least would find in the morning – the horses had gone back to their round bale and all I would have to do is repair the “leak” . Snuggled back under the covers—I could not revisit any semblance of sleep.. I merely waited for the next call—which came around 1:00. A neighbor called to say the horses were headed down the tar road—uh-oh.. I decided to take my car this time—grain bucket and halters/leads already by the door… out fast and furious. Hoofprints revealed the worst. The horses had made their way down the highway- Rats !! The late hour meant very little traffic thank goodness. I found them about 2 miles down, turning back home.. what a bunch of pukes. Another mile or so and they would have been enjoying a take out order at McDonald’s !! I parked the car on the side of the highway- left the flashers on and the car running with the heat on. Jiggled the grain bucket—and they came running. Haltered one of them knowing the rest would follow and began the slow trek home. By this time the horses were tired, heads hanging in contrition – and irritatingly slow moving. Their fun was over. All I could think of was—I’d like to get home with all of them before the storm worsened.. as I still had to walk back for my car. I put all the horses in the round pen for the rest of the night (by this time there was little left of it) and headed back for my car. Well, God was watching and he had had his laugh.. so it was time for some intervention. Another neighbor drove by (what he was doing out at this hour ? who cares… this is perfect) and drove me to my car… He did not mention anything about my pajamas.. maybe he did not notice my outfit of muck boots, grungy coat and star designed flannel jammies. Pajamas in public are at the top of the list of fashion faux pax in the world of “What Not To Wear” but to any serious horsewoman- our night wear is Haute Couture.

I am pretty tired and cranky at this point, but it’s nearly time to get up anyway. No amount of caffeine is going to help this situation. Well, I am grateful that the brunt of the storm held off until we were all home safely—then the snows came heavily and covered all evidence of my horses’ night out on the town.

The two new curly colts were out most of the day 2 days ago. The sun was out and it warmed up nicely as compared to the VERY chilly preceding days. As we were busy around the barn working a few horses in the indoor, I noticed that OYY Jockomo did not stop moving once. He loves to run. The 2 mares drew their "enemy" lines at first, Sassie camped out to the north, Tippy to the south of the round pen. The foals kept meeting in the middle thinking about playing but their Moms kept giving that subtle signal-- not yet boys, maybe when you are a little older.

In between lessons, my daughter talked me into a trail ride even though I had wood to stack. I thought about it for a minute and decided... my RAC goals were-- RIDE. However, once we got to the trail we chose to ride-- we discovered, the extra snow and the high winds we had experienced on the previous day, our trail, once so nicely packed down, was obliterated. The horses worked hard and every few steps fell through the crust. Is this what it is like to ride a camel? What generally takes us 30 minutes to turn this trail took over an hour and we did not even do the entire loop because the horses were tired and it was a challenge to stay in the saddle with all that walk, sink, walk, sink motion. This is a tad frustrating, the dirt roads are slick, the trails are impossible right now... in a previous post-- I was lamenting my need for sun and measured strides-- let me add.. I crave a brisk trot in the woods ! Yesterday, winter dumped another many inches of snow, then rain all day. Back to freezing-- what a mess. I suppose it won't be that much longer and we will have mud to whine about ! :)

Enjoy your day ~

Today was one of those very windy cold days that tire you out just from being in the wind and cold, never mind doing any kind of work. Lots of sun though.. so I am thankful for that.

Tall Trees Sassie finally delivered a beautiful healthy curly colt this morning, sired by Classic Dreams Cherokee Storm. Another fine offspring from Stormy. Sassie and Tippy (who foaled Friday) have been side by side for weeks now.. so I was sure they would foal near one another since mares tend to synchronize their bodies when they are pastured and stabled together. Continuing with our Dr. John theme, this little fellow is called OYY Iko Iko. At first glance I thought he was a palomino, but once daylight set in and I got a closer look—he has black in his tail with black tips to his ears and a nice dorsal stripe. I believe he is a dunskin. He has 2 blue eyes, which may change as he grows. We’ll see. At any rate, he’s a handsome wee cutie !!

Sassie is a great mare who is usually part of the therapeutic program giving lessons. This is her second foal (the last was a curly palomino full sister to this colt named OYY Gnocchi). When Iko is weaned, Sassie will be back in the program, maybe to have another foal in future years. Iko and his Mom had some fresh air for an hour this morning and I took a short video of them out together.. Iko is just a few hours old. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_2ujTqGMEo


Despite the penetrating cold and high winds, my house is toasty warm thanks to my new outdoor wood boiler. I can’t say enough good things about it. I had heat installed in the kitchen and “mudroom” a few years back—I opted for radiant heat. I love it—the floors are always warm. When I come in from outdoors, I generally strip off the many layers of my winter outfit and wet mittens, dropping the whole shebang on the floor by the door (Sorry Dad, all your nagging during my childhood and I still have that BAD habit) . Hey- I figure, a floor is to keep you from falling into the basement and also for throwing things on. Now that I have that radiant heat, when the winter gear goes back on, it’s dry and toasty—what a great excuse for throwing stuff on the floor in the first place!

One day I was cruising through the internet and found this site.. what a surprise. I sold 2 pony weanlings to this farm in France and had never heard any news of either. Aladdin is pictured there on their site. He is out of a POA pony mare, Pal O’ Mine (dam to the little curly pony filly OYY Ceda, who I am keeping) and Mead’s Chocolate Chip (so he is a full brother of Ceda). It is fun to see him half grown up- a handsome boy. The Filly that traveled with Aladdin is named on their site but not pictured-- Dayame is a sister to OYY Demeter who I am keeping.

http://www.lemasdelair.com/PAGES/01CURLY/22aladin.htm

Here is a photo of Aladdin before he left Top O' The Hill. And one of Dayame.

Since my previous post about cabin fever and crankiness.. I came across an interesting article concerning Crabbiness. According to this Penn State study, It’s smart to be cranky—crabbiness could be a sign that you are smarter than the average person ! So Crabby Lucy’s of the world unite !! We are a superior race— Honor and rejoice in your crankiness ~



Enjoy the evening ~

Friday, February 8th-- a curly colt was born during morning choretime. I peeked in to see Mom- OYY Tippateena- standing in her stall waiting for breakfast. I went to start the tractor so it could warm up, began to scoop out the various buckets of grain, went to feed Tippy-- and there was the colt being born !! We have been waiting for him for a few weeks. He is a beautiful sturdy fellow and reminds me of his grand-mother- Teena- about whom I have written in previous blogs. Tippy is named for a Dr. John song (actually Tipitina, but we changed it a bit to fit the circumstance). Naturally the new youngster is also named for a Dr. John song too. OYY Jockomo is a name that fits him well.

Teena was a great old gal .. we miss her but have many

offspring and grand-children of hers. Jockomo looks just like her- except he has only one hind sock. Anyone who has been to the web site has seen the photo of Teena and Tippy driving together which we did several times a week. Tippy grew up to be a fabulous driving horse and now she can drive with her son when the weather clears a bit.

Here is a photo of Tippy during the summer driving in the ring. She wears her mother's harness now. She outgrew the harness she started out with and now her sister OYY Fiona is wearing it! In a few years, if Jockomo is still here- he'll be wearing it.

I shot a short video of Jockomo out in the small round pen stretching his legs shortly after birth during a snow shower. As I said.. he's a sturdy colt and active !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LdX0SKqzKQ

Last week I took a quick video of OYY Little "Z" , a coming 2 year old filly out of Ahmet and Mead's Chocolate Chip (also Jockomo's sire). She's beautiful and sporty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILqruf1iKuE

Also, I managed to get a video of OYY Ivan being long lined up in the indoor. He's a coming 3 year old gelding out of Ptesan-Wi and Lynn Downer's WCC Benjamin. He is a careful and respectful gelding who is going to make a wonderful riding horse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szx2Ov8zFRk

The sun came out for a half an hour today.. but it is back to snowing hard again. Oh well... it is winter !

Enjoy your day ~

Today’s post will be dedicated to those lovely thoughtful people who have e-mailed to say they missed me on my blog the last few days.. particularly one—bless his little southern heart !

I believe I am afflicted with the mid-winter malady of cabin fever, only in reverse. Usually this cabin fever strikes those who are stuck inside for long periods of time due to miserable and nasty winter weather… and here it’s quite the opposite. I wish I was trapped inside, but I must be out doing my thing every day regardless… like the ubiquitous mailman who must deliver “Neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night shall keep me from my appointed rounds.” And so is the plight of the farmer/animal keeper. This Vermont girl is CRAAAAN-KEEE !! I am tired of bundling up every time I want to step outside the door, weary of walking like a cautious penguin on the icy snowy path. I crave sun and measured full strides ! And if it must be winter—at the very least, I’d like to spend some time imitating a slug on my couch perhaps.

Just for fun, I took one of those internet “tests” – “what kind of flower are you?” http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/flower-quiz.htm The results—I am a cheery sunny daffodil. I feel more like the dreary, dark nightshade at the moment. Unless you consider the bulb of the daffodil, deep in the ground awaiting its bloom… this is where I feel I want to be—hibernating until spring arrives. But, as Shelley said – If winter comes, can spring be far behind ?? That depends on the ground hog I guess. This year that pesky little ground hog did see his shadow, so we have at least 6 more weeks of winter to look forward to. Where did he find the sun to cast a shadow ?

It is said that on ground hog day, half the winter is gone. Or—Half your wood and half your hay, you should have on Candlemas Day.. which is the original counterpart of Ground Hog Day. Sometimes, I think—February marks half way through—so I am glad.. but then I remember.. I still have half more to go. Spring in Vermont can be long and drawn out with plenty more snow and sunless skies. The days are definitely longer, but we still seem to burn lots of wood. I look forward to putting the horses out to pasture but in reality—even in the ideal situations—if the fields dry up enough to turn the horses out, it’s not until Memorial Day usually.

Someone told me that the snow will never reach the bent over tops of the golden rod.. this prediction could be construed as either good or bad!

My daughter and I did get a chance to get out on the trail the other day. I had planned on riding my Keri, but she had just been used for 2 back to back lessons and seemed quite cranky. She firmly was of the mind that she needed to get back to her round bale in case the other pasture mates would get a larger share than she would. Now, my belief about horses is that they are beasts of burden.. so technically—her crankiness should have not mattered, but since I can relate to that cross and tetchy emotion, I grabbed Teasel instead. It's good for me to ride other horses too.

The snow is still deep, but with a firm crusty layer on top due to the 2 days of rain we received. The horses worked hard.. sometimes walking on top of the snow, then suddenly falling through— making for a funny way of going. At one point, we got to a place on the trail where we travel across a kind of narrow land bridge, a beaver pond on one side, a deep water filled ditch on the other. This trip, there were tracks on the snow—and my daughter and I were speculating what had made the tracks, each of us trying to embellish and top the other with our ridiculous guesses. What were the tracks of a snow shoer out with their dog, became first a beaver dragging something—but wait—the dog tracks became a wolf dragging his prey.. was there evidence of a mooseprint in there somewhere? It’s a moose dragging something with a wolf as a friend. Then, I began to think—hmmmnnn.. if this were true-- and it’s right up ahead.. my horse will spook and I will either end up in the ditch of water or in the beaver pond of ice. The lyrics of a song start running through my mind-- "Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, here I am, Stuck in the middle with you." At any rate—a ride with my daughter is always fun.

Enjoy your day ~