More Winter

Thrusday night Holly woke me up. The storm was scaring her. It was storming and lightning flashed across the sky and lite the house up frequently. The thunder boomed and the lightning flashed. Holly never did like a storm. She reminds me of the first dog Bill and I had. She was a German Shepherd named Princess. As soon as a storm started she was under the bed. Holly doesn't go that far but she does get very tense during a storm.

The other dogs were outside and when I called them they did not come back in. I don't know where they spent the night but it was a terrible night and not fit for man nor beast as they say. The wind gusted up to 50 and 60 miles an hour. The rain was pouring down in sheets. The wind was blowing it like a small whorl wind. I have never seen rain come down so hard or in such patterns.

So failing to get the dogs to come in, I went back to bed. Holly was inconsolable during the storm. She was in constant need of my attention. Finally I fell asleep once again and when I awakened again the storm was over. I was thankful I still had electricity. I looked out the windows and the cows were in and were ok.

The dogs were ready to come in now and to be fed. They had come out from their hiding place.

I checked the horse lots and the gates were all open. The stong wind had broken the chains on the gates. Thankfully, only three of the horses were out. The others didn't know their gate was open. So before coffee and before my teeth were brushed, I was out getting horses back in their field. It wasn't hard. They are suckers for a feed bucket.

Today, the rain started and then the sleet and just before dark snow had covered the ground. I heard someone say today that they weren't going to participate in winter anymore this year. I would like to opt out but it just doesn't seem like it is an option right now.

I hope all is well with all of you and you had no further damage from the wind and rain.

You must know I don't have a very exciting life. All I seem to write about is the weather and how often the horses get out of their fields.

God bless. Have a good Sunday

Another Day on the Farm

I am not complaining. It rained today and is muddy. The horses are muddy from where they like to roll. My beautiful horse Mt Girl is a real mess. She is muddy from head to tail and all the areas in between but I think she loves being out in the pasture. Yesterday I was out in the field and she walked up to me and she was all about letting me rub her and scratch her itchy spots. She followed me when I moved. She is no longer indifferent to me as she has been in the past.

It is really nice to actually feel like she knows me and likes to have me around her. At one time when she was with Chris all the time, I believed she was more his horse than my horse and I was a little jealous that she loved him best. That sounds funny doesn't it.

I remember the time I rode her in a show in the horse park. Chris was sitting in the stands and when we did the line up, she saw him and I thought she would have like to climb up to where he was sitting. She would not stay back from the concrete wall. That was as close as she could get to him and that is where she wanted to be. The next class, I lined up in a place where Chris wasn't in front of her.

Horses are funny animals and they have their favorites just like humans do. I am glad I am becoming one of her favorites. And I am glad she loved Chris so much. He taught her a lot about obedience and what riding was all about. She is a better horse because of his great training skills.

Thank you Chris.

A New Day

Today started as cold but the wind had died down so it was not so bad to bundle up and go out to the barn. I started filling water troughs and got feed in a bucket for my gelding that gets extra every day. As I walked toward his stall from the outside, I noticed one of my pregnant Rocky Mountain mares laying beside the big round hay bale we had fed yesterday.

On second look, I realized she had tried to roll and got too close to the hay bale and now she couldn't get up. Her feet were up against the hay bale. I was a little paniced. I did not want to lose this valuable mare. Her head was laying down hill and she looked very unconfortable and distressed. Since it was morning and I had not been to the barn, I had no idea how long she had been in that position.

I knew that when we had cattle, if we found a cow or steer that was laying with feet uphill, it was critical to get them turned back down hill soon or risk losing that animal. So I wondered if horses could get into a position that would endanger their lives as well. So needless to say I was concerned. I really don't know how to drive one of the tractors. My son always drives it and says it is a little tricky so I stick to the IH. Today the bush hog is hooked to it waiting for a nice day for me to do some bush hogging.

I thought of the four wheeler but this was a new bale of hay just put out yesterday and I thought it probably wouldn't budge it. Then I thought of my relatively new 4 wheel drive pickup truck. So I decided to risk a few scratches on it to get that mare up.

So I pushed the bale of hay with the truck and got it far enough away from her that she could get on her feet. Then I smacked her just hard enough with the dressage whip to make her want to move and up she came. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when she got to her feet and walked away like it was just another day with a new adventure.

Later as I was filling up their water trough, she walked up to the fence and let me scratch her neck and make over her. Then she walked away. This has not been a mare that was overly friendly to me in the past. Yes I can catch her when I need to but today was different in her attitude. I felt she was thankful to me for helping her out of a tight spot and I was thankful I could.

Today I have another reason to thank God for his goodness and mercy to me and my farm.

More Snow-More Winter

As I write this the dogs are snoring and the furnace is running. All is well and right in the house.

We had another good snow last night. I saw the horses around dusk last night and the wind was blowing hard and they were running for cover. They have a wooded areas in their fields they go to when the weather gets too awful. They were high tailing it there fast last night.

Day light showed me the snow had accumulated pretty good last night. The horses were out shortly thereafter and were glad to see the big bales of hay coming their way. The wind has died down some and they have hit the hay pretty hard.

This is winter in Kentucky. One never knows what to expect as far as the weather goes. I remember one year I washed my windows inside and out on my birthday, February 5. The day was beautiful. It was like an early spring day. This year I was so happy to get my power back on my birthday. It was a great birthday present.

Such is life. I have seen 67 winters now and the weather runs in cycles. I remember back in the 70s the cover of one of the news magazines told us it was a coming ice age. We were all going to end up as blocks of ice according to them. Now it is global warming and we are all going to burn up. So now to cover their bases, they are talking about climate change. Well hello. The climate does change. I have seen it cycle for 67 winters now. Some years there is lots of snow and ponds are frozen so we can ice skate them. I remember one year the Ohio River froze over around Louisville Ky. Some not so smart people took crazy chances and walked across the river on the ice.

So that is my prespective on the weather. We talk a lot about it but no one can do anything about.

Hope you are all staying warm and taking care of yourselves so you don't end up as an ice cube this winter.

God bless you and keep you in his care.

Correction

The web site for Southeast Christian is www.southeastchristian.org

My Life Isn't Just All Farm

While most of my waking hours are spent here on the farm, I do get out and about and have other interests. One of them, of course, is my church. I am a member and attend Southeast Christian Church in Louisville Ky. Every year months before Easter, the Church starts the process of getting ready to present an Easter Passion. I volunteered this year.

I am helping with the animals used in the production. There will be lambs, goats, donkeys, a horse and a camel. I am sorry to say that my none of my horses will get to be involved. The animals are provided by someone else who specializes in providing animals for productions.

I went to the first meeting for our group tonight. When I got my assignment, I learned I would be taking care of the lambs. I am somewhat familiar with lambs as we did have sheep at one time when I was growing up on the farm. But I have never really been around the lambs that much. Tonight I was told I would learn how to handle the babies and in turn instuct the cast members how to handle the babies. I will be watching for signs of health problems such as off feed, cough or loose bowels. I can do that. It is the same I do with my horses and cattle.

So I am excited. The Passion will start in early March and run through the last of March. It is well worth the time to go and live the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ our Lord. To get information on the dates and tickets that are available, go to http://www.southeastchristianchurch.org/ You will then find a link to events and find the available tickets. I hope you will join us in worship as we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the most meaningful season on the Christian calendar.

God bless and keep you in his care.

New Life

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

I think the worst of winter is over. At least it is looking better now than it had. Today was another exciting day on the farm.

Today the first calf was born from my beef cows I bought last fall. Late this afternoon my daughter, Mary Beth , and her daughter came to the farm to spend the night in their camper. She walked up to the barn where I had gone to do my chores and announced that one of our cows was about to present us with a new calf.

She, Andrea and I walked to where the cow was and sure enough there was a new calf, not minutes old. From the way we carried on you would have thought this was the first calf ever born on our farm. And in truth it has been many years since we have had any baby animal born on the farm. (Other than the wild ones). He was a nice healthy Angus bull calf.

He was soon trying to stand on his own. He would get up and fall down again. Every time he got up we could tell he was getting stronger. After about a half hour we went on our way to tend to other things. Later when I rode the four wheeler to check on him again, I found he had gone under the rope fencing and down a small hill. I tried to pick him up to get him back under the fence to his mother but he was too heavy.

My dogs Erica and Lilly were all about checking on this new creature. Mom didn't like that at all. But when I got the calf to his feet he took a liking to Erica. He started following her and I kept encouraging Erica to follow me and the calf followed Erica and soon we were up the hill a little where I could put him back under the fence to return him to his mother.

Next I bawled like a new born calf and soon the cow spotted us and came running to her calf to make sure he was alright. When I left the two of them again, he was trying to figure out where the dinner end of the cow was. She was licking him and pushing him in the right direction. Later when I went back to check on them the calf was taking a much needed rest so I was assured that his tummy was full of nice warm milk. The cow was standing gaurd by him and the bull was taking care of both of them.

Today starts a new era for our farm. New life is starting to spring up all around us. Soon we will have another new calf and then there will be the foals born on the farm this year. It won't be long before the fields will start to turn green with the new growth of grass. The daffodils that my grandmother planted will be blooming around the old homestead where my father was born. We will start to see the new crop of wild turkeys and fawns during our trips over the farm.

The yearlings have grown over the winter but as the grass comes on they will start to really shift into high gear as they continue their trip into adulthood. And it is hard to believe from my little corner of heaven that all is not well with the world and our country. I have to turn the radio on to be reminded that things are not as they should be in this country.

It makes me ever more grateful that God has allowed me the privilege of living on this farm again and in the house my father built. And I think of the carpenter, Mr Brookshire that helped with all the building projects on the farm and what a well contructed house he and my dad built. It was home to our children until they were on their own. It has been a place of joy and comfort. Of sorry and grief as we lost those we loved. But through it all it has been home and a place that shields us from harm and at times from the world around us. A place of solace and comfort. A place where we have had our happiest moments and now a place to continue to build memories that will last a lifetime.

And although Bill is gone now and I live here alone, I can still hear his voice at times and see him in the rooms and remember the times we spent here together. And in our memories and our hearts, he lives on. And our lives go on until the day God calls us home and we will be reunited with those who have gone on before. The loved ones that have been so much a part of our lives and who have left an empty spot at the table and in our hearts.

Later everyone. God bless you and keep you in his care.