A Good Week of Riding !

This week we got a few excellent rides in, along with all the usual choretime and training. It's surely moving into Vermont's Fifth season.. mud ! Along with celebrating Maple Syrup time. The weather is warmer most days - and I have even been burning Balsalm in my outdoor boiler-which amazingly enough actually made heat !

Our peppy pair- my Keri and Zoe's Teasel, best buddies and the perfect cruising companions had a nice trip out on the 7th.

The roads were somewhat squishy, but gorgeous sun and blue skies made for a most enjoyable trot out.

I bid on and won a second treeless saddle on e-bay. I love my Barefoot London- enough so that I wanted try a different model. The Barefoot London has- as typically a dressage saddle does- long flaps which makes fitting to a small pony difficult. The treeless saddles have long billets- and finding a short enough girth for a 12 hand mount is nearly impossible. I studied other treeless models- and since I already love my Barefoot, I went with the Cheyenne. I was anxious to use it.. hoping I would also love it. So- on the 13th, Zoe and I found a window of time to trot out again. Zoe chose to take Elektra and .. surprise-- I rode Keri again. Here's Keri reluctantly posing for a quick photo with the Cheyenne before we went out. She is also a bit peeved because she sees that Teasel is not accompanying us on the ride. OYY Elektra (named after a great aunt of mine on the Isle of Crete) is a superb ring horse, but she does love to go out on the road and trail as well, being just as nosey as the rest of us- she likes to get a glance of the world and neighborhood.

The roads are alternately firm and

smushy.

We backtrack on our previous hoofprints.






Our best ride of the week was Saturday- we had more time to plan a longer trip. We decided to do the "Cummings Road" loop. Cummings Road has an entry and an exit-- but for some reason the middle part was abandoned and is no longer a road-- now barely a trail. We thought with all the melting that has been going on lately-- we could get easy access to the trail part and make the loop home.

The trip starts out traveling over Flamstead Road, actually one of my more favorite routes- over Crow Hill. The views are some of the best in our area.

We pass by lots of maples and sap buckets. One of the quintessential Vermont sights in spring. Although mostly people use a maze of sap line all intertwined through the woods, there are still buckets hanging out as well. I read it takes 40 years for a Maple tree to reach tappable size ! Seems pretty amazing.

And here is a wonderful example of why we can't boil maple sap inside the house ! The collected maple sap is about 90% water- it takes approximately 10 gallons of sap to

make a mere quart of the delicious pancake topper. You can see all the evaporating water pouring out of this sugar house. Vermont is apparently the biggest US producer of this sweet liquid treat.

I, myself, prefer Vermont-made over all the other produced. All this "steam" is the water being boiled off.

As we come down off Flamstead Hill, Zoe and I decide to take a quick detour over the bridge into Chester Depot for a quick trot. Keri and Teasel are excited as they seem to love the "in town" excursions the best !

We pass by the Yosemite Fire House, built in 1878-79, trot across the highway and cross the railroad tracks.

We pass my local grain store which is right next to the railroad tracks- they get all their deliveries by truck now I think and the train is mainly for tourist sightseeing trips. Right next door is the Chester Train Depot - which is why this part of Chester, Vermont is called "The Depot "

The best part of the trip is coming up and the horses know it--

Sidewalk trotting !! We all like an animated sidewalk trot- and both Zoe and I have come to rate our horses in training as to whether we believe they could, also, be sidewalk trotters.

Over the past couple of years-- Keri and Teasel have learned to eagerly anticipate the sidewalk. We pass by an outfit where the owner does outstanding chainsaw carving and other neat arty projects. A scarey pit-bull by the name of Buddha jumps out and threatens us briefly-- I know there are probably plenty of very nice friendly pitbulls out there, but I still don't relish meeting one.

OK-- back to our original plan-- off to Cummings Road -- There's plenty of mud-bogging here. We reach the end and find..

UH-OH, not so much melting as we had thought... We will have to hang on and climb this snowpile to get into the trail section of Cummings. I won't get much chance to take photo's in here-

We'll have to concentrate and pick the right spots to direct the horses safely. The snow in here is deeper than it looks..

After some hard work, we make it through to the other side-- back on the road ~ where we walk the horses quietly as they worked up quite a sweat from navigating the nasty trail. We get up on the highway to head home-

We take a left onto Lacross Road- which leads directly back to the farm. My farm is on a hill, but the top of Lacross Road is an even higher hill.. as you can see- we look down onto the farm on our approach.

On the way up the driveway, I snapped a photo of the brook cutting it's way through the snow, mostly because I thought it was a pretty sight. This is the brook featured in several of our "brook walks" we like to expose the horses to.

It was a week of some super rides - Saturday's of course was the best adventure. As usual, while we headed home- Zoe and I were planning our next long trek out-- We have not ventured into the main town of Chester yet-- the "Green".. so I think next weekend if weather permits.. that's where we'll go.

And- by the way-- I am quite satisfied with my new saddle !!

Enjoy your day ~

February News in the month of March !

We had a fairly nice February thaw this year- I mentioned to my daughter, it seems as though the ground hog may have been wrong about winter... but even as I spoke the words, I was kind of waiting for the other snowshoe to drop- so to speak. And drop it did- winter is back again ! But, since March is coming in like a lion, I suppose this is good news. They do say as the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen. It is warm by afternoon though and some people are already tapping their trees. One maple syrup producer had to bulldoze paths into the sugarbush to get to the trees we have had such a snowfall this winter!



During the month of February, we tried to get a few of the very old apple trees pruned. Number 1 son came over one half blizzardy Sunday with his new "toy".. a chainsaw on a long pole designed just for a job such as this. Here is our first victim-- the 'before' photo.




Pruner at work - It was a lot harder than we thought it would be.. but we also decided that perhaps this handy lopper was not intended to saw through the kind of timber we were taking off. We ended up with a montrous pile of large brush and a few pieces of firewood. Nothing quite big enough to saw lumber though.











Of course the entire process was closely monitored by the nosey bunch of Curlies on the other side of the fence





They were lining up even several fencelines away- this is OYY HummingBird, ChesterBelle Chip's Chocolate (born last November, 2008) and OYY Nimue.





And the dogs are always with us no matter what we are doing-- Dickens, Nicodemus (papa to the pups) and Fritz (King of the Hill). India is inside with her litter.




OYY Tupelo Honey continues with her schooling in the indoor. She is coming along nicely and I managed to get a video of her third time under saddle in the indoor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQoSrx9Jt1o

OYY Nimue is being schooled in the indoor for her first show in April- but during this nice defrosting we experienced, she was able to get out on the road for a change of scenery. She so enjoyed herself ! I don't know the schedule of the UPS route, but somehow, no matter who we are riding or driving-- he passes us everytime! Here's a short video of her foray out on the road

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-QFp51CMpQ

Nimue is such a wonderful pleasurable pony-- riding or driving.

Mead's Chocolate Chip came up into the indoor for some exercise. Lately, he has been ground driving, but today- he had 'free play'. When we free longe him, he loves to head for the poles so we set some up for him. We had a cavaletti set up from schooling another horse-- Chip decided he might try jumping too!

















While normally our time with Chip is a little more disciplined.. he enjoyed his change of pace today.





Last Thursday, OYY Sharona delivered the little pony foal we have been anxiously awaiting! This is her first- and she's a perfect mama. He was born around 8:00 in the evening. He's got LOTS of curly mane, dark buckskin curly colt. We named him OYY Beowulf. Sharona is 12.1 hands, Sire- OYY Finnegan is 13.2 hands. Measuring this little guy's leg from the hole in the knee to the coronet- he is estimated to mature at 11.2.








Here's Finn with Zoe- his dam is 13.3 hands, his sire- 14.1.










Sharona is out of Sugar- 12.1 hands and Frostfire's Tadpole- 14 hands... so lots of 'short' stock in Beowulf's pedigree.






Puppy update-- they were one month old this past Saturday. Here's my daughter's Number 1 son showing off the reddish pup- Rocky.

And the fat pup- Sylvia.

So that's pretty much the month of February news in one blog entry-
Short month-- long blog!


Enjoy your day ~

The Scent of Spring

February is the month of simultaneous thawing and freezing. The days are longer, the sunrays brilliantly stronger- and even with the numbing temperatures, the snow is melting. All the springs have awakened from their hibernation and water is flowing and freezing all at the same time, creating long glacial rivers of ice. After what seemed like a long slumbering, lumbering stagnation of winter, February is the month that begins the break from dormancy bringing a subtle whiff of spring. The snow on the roofs are melting off, but freezing all at the same time- a kind of stop action moving quietly unfurling energy which is happening everywhere now in the month of February.

Last week, Zoe and I went out for a nice trot. I rode OYY Salvadore ( I call him my Sally Macaroni Pony) for the first time. Zoe took OYY Finnegan. Salvadore is a small pony with the attitude of a big horse and his trot is very forward. My saddle does not fit Salvadore so I rode in Zoe's and she rode in my old dressage saddle. When we were almost back home, we switched mounts so I could try Finn. What a difference ! Finn is quietly forward and easy to just sit and trot-- while Sal is always a controllable bundle of energy. I did take my camera along but while riding/trotting swiftly along- I did not get the chance to snap any photo's. After our switch in mounts- I got my usual photo-- the ears of my mount and the back of Zoe and hers ! This was the first long trot down the road for each of the boys and they were perfect, meeting quite a bit of traffic and another horse and rider.

One of the nicer days I spent with small carpentry jobs in the barn- little things that needed repair. This is a kind of quiet, solitary "zen" task.. that whole "chop wood, carry water" meditative work. This matches my February frame of mind-- it's the essence of awakening, while seemingly doing nothing.

Zoe took Zoe's Day Dream (aka, "Reverie") out on her first highway ride. Reverie was perfect as she always is. Someone is going to just love that mare for a steady mount. Nothing fazes her - as she loves trotting out anywhere with a joyful attitude.

Our Main man- Mead's Chocolate Chip - is back in training. We are going to get him driving this spring. He's going to make an awesome driving horse. We also made the decision to offer him up for sale. Chip has accomplished greatness here on the farm with his offspring and he has certainly proven himself many times over with his many offspring. I created a special "page" on my web site for Chip.. check it out - http://www.vermontel.net/~top/chipfeaturepage.htm

I am proud of Chip's "credentials" as a stud plus he is a wonderful riding mount. He'll make a superlative stallion for another breeder or a fabulous gelding. Big, medium and small -- his offspring are all great horses, and Curly to boot !

Puppy update-- Valentine's Day, the puppies were 2 weeks old. My Number 1 son came over to help me with my wood chores- cutting and splitting (I am saving the pleasure of stacking wood for Number 3 son!) His own Number 1 son and Number 2 son came along for some "puppy training". It's so beneficial to expose the pups to handling- even better when it is kids doing it.

Patrick with a wrinkly female pup on the left. Kyle holds the only reddish male pup -

and the light colored wriggly female pup.

Their Mom holds the quiet sleepy pup.

The puppies have grown amazingly fast- they are developing an adorable little puppy "bark" and beginning to totter around on shaky legs. Their Mom- India- is an outstanding mom.

Enjoy your February awakening and rejoice in the glimmer of spring ! It is coming !!

Anti-dote for the February Blahs

There's nothing like a refreshing trot to scare away the doldrums. Sunday we saddled up our two mounts- Keri and Teasel - and went out for a ride. Keri was in a great mood... one never knows if she is going to be feeling zesty or pokey- to which I completely can relate, being a "senior" myself. We got a good forward trot for nearly the first 5 miles of the trip. When we reached what we call the mile long hill (because it's exactly one mile long and quite a hill) both horses wanted to canter. Generally we use that hill to build muscle, so we contain the horses to a trot- but today was a recreational outing so .. canter we did. The skies moved in and out of brilliant sun to squalls of spitting snow and almost hail.

As we pass by the frozen and snow covered pond, it's gorgeous and sunny. In the summer there is usually a family of Canadian geese here, making for an interesting "obstacle".

We pass by a neighbor horse and a nosey donkey and more natural "obstacles"- evidence of the intermittent gusty winds of the day.

It's starting to snow and hail on the mile hill road.

At the top of the hill, on the corner is a house which used to be a schoolhouse. This road used to be called Schoolhouse Road, but with the advent of 911-- the road name changed. As we take a left at the top of the hill, the horses knew we were headed back home so they traveled along pretty quickly and steadily. Great ride !

During the week, Zoe schooled OYY Finnegan, our medium extreme pony stallion. He was definitely having a lazy day.

You can see Zoe is wearing her Champion RAC jacket- here's a close up shot of the back of it.

I managed to get a short video of OYY Dante being schooled in the indoor and his first trot down the road. He's a handsome young man, around 14.2 hands, and he loves his work.

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

And lastly- a puppy update. The pups were one week old on Saturday and have grown amazingly. India is a super mom as I knew she would be.

Enjoy your day ~

Winter Doldrums

Well, Ground Hog Day has come and gone-- I guess we're in for another 6 weeks of winter. We all are suffering from the winter doldrums here on the farm-- even the horses seem itchy for a change. For me, February has traditionally been the longest month of the year .. maybe because we feel spring around the corner but have to wait it out through cold and snow.

I study the wood pile and what's left of my hay... keeping in mind that old adage ~ Half your wood and half your hay You should have on Candlemas Day (which is Ground hog day). I am pretty sure I am all set for hay, but my wood pile is dwindling- discouragingly so. All the other wood burners I have talked with say they have also burned more wood this year than past years. Despite what I thought were excellent efforts to have a goodly amount stacked and at the ready... there is not so much left. I did get a nice log load the other day-- and have already started to burn from that ! So I spend a lot of these February days with thoughts of how to better prepare for next year's February.

Number 1 daughter (and only daughter), Zoe celebrates her birthday on the 3rd of this month. We managed a nice ride out on the day before- a gloomy Ground Hog Day. We rode Keri and Teasel- the fantastic duo-- but both horses were incredibly lazy and pokey. The snowbanks have blocked all access to our usual trails. We thought perhaps we could dig out small pathways, but the fairly regular snowfall would have made it impossible to maintain openings, so we are sticking to the highways and by-ways- trying to come up with new loops and treks.

We ride by the farm up on the hill past their leaning silo, which I
always expect one year will topple. Past the little round home we call the "Gnome house". We took a road I am not sure I have ever traveled on in all the years I have lived here. That woke the horses up a bit-- new sights ! Here's a view of Okemo off in the distance, one of Vermont's ski areas. Ski resorts are the bread and butter of Vermont's economy I guess-- so they must be pleased with our weather.

Training continues and it has been staying rather "warm" inside the indoor. OYY Dante had another ride out on the road. OYY Nimue had a few sessions with head set and has greatly improved as she gets back into her driving training. OYY The Doctor of Dreams also got in a couple of short trots down the road after his schooling in the indoor. Zoe's Day Dream, aka Reverie, had fun trotting down the road. I took Camille out for a very brisk 3 mile trot which she thoroughly enjoyed.

"Old news" -- which is new news -- January 31st my dog India, a standard poodle, delivered 4 healthy fat pups. Two females, 2 males. A perfect size litter for a first time Mom.

Dad of the pups is my yellow Lab, Nicodemus-- aka pork Chop. Here's a photo of India with her brother Dickens (the reclining black poodle) and Nicodemus as a pup. He resembles a fat toad in this photo !

Nicodemus more grownup, after a swim. He's a fine dog, as is India, so the puppies have a good start genetically.

Labrador plus Poodle = Labradoodle.... this year, the President's first choice of pets !

One nice thing about this time of year-- the days are noticeable longer- the afternoon sun a lot stronger and deeper. So if I can get through this month- short on days, but seemingly long on passing, I am sure the winter doldrums will be forgotten--- as Shelley is quoted saying-- O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind? We'll see... according to the pesky ground hog.. it's still 6 weeks away.

Enjoy the day ~