Sun, Soreness and Seasons Greetings

Well, I feel pretty dang guilty for not writing for almost two weeks. A little thing called life happened somewhere in there. I finished off the semester with final exams and had an awesome Christmas holiday- I hope you all had the same. My mom, her boyfriend and my brother came over on Christmas Eve for dinner and to hang out. I went into Abbotsford early Christmas morning after the chores were done and everyone was fed. I took Tilley and Willow with me and they enjoyed the trip. I would lay them down somewhere out of the way and Willow would slowly inch closer and closer to the Christmas tree.


Last time I wrote, the farrier had just come by. Justin is still sore from the visit. He has had shoes for as long as I have had him, so I was expecting him to be a little tender. It is just hard to watch your babies hurt and not be able to do anything for them! I'm cleaning out his feet everyday to make sure there are no rocks stuck up in the frog or anything.

Justin tends to cause trouble when he is left for too long. I bought some boots that cover the sole of his feet so that I can take him out while he's feeling a little off. With the boots on, he is perfectly fine and not sore at all, but we just walked up the logging road at the end of the main road with the neighbors. Their horses are old pro's (they belong to Back Country Horsemen) at taking back roads and bushwhacking. Justin is not so great. It must be a funny image watching the other two horses all decked out in their western trail riding gear and Justin bringing up the lead in his dressage stuff and purple boots.

Farrier Visit

It snowed overnight again! It's so pretty around here right now, although it's icey. It also rained overnight so it froze a nice layer on top. You know that sound that happens when you crunch through icey snow? I LOVE it!

Today the farrier made it up the hill and did the horses and the goats. Justin slept while she complimented him on his little feeties. Christina said Justin had good feet, even though they were almost 4 weeks over due (I know- smack on the wrist! I was waiting to see when she was coming to do Tonka so that my farrier didn't have to come up to do just one horse).Even though they were overdue, they looked really, really good. Tonka was all excited to get out on his own. Usually Justin leaves the paddock to go on a ride and Tonka has to stay. He was all giddy like a little kid on Christmas.

The goats were fun to do. The two that are friendly just stood around but Roland, the other goat, took us on a chase until we could corner him inside the van. It made for some good laughs.

After Christina left, I pulled out the tractor (just for fun) to try to clear off the driveway. There wasn't too much snow and the driveway is slanted which makes things harder, but it was fun and boy did I feel powerful!

Day Thirty Something

This is the view of the mountain from the road today.

This is the view of the mountain on a regular day.

It started snowing today. We probably have 3 centimeters on the ground right now, and it is still snowing. My non-educated guess would estimate at this rate there will be a total of 5cm in the morning. Everyone has been really good at adjusting to the snow. Justin grew up in Quebec, so he has had his little black nose in the snow all day, munching away. Titan seems to like laying in it, which is not surprising. The goatises are just as cute as ever though!
Speaking of goats, here is the result of the van break. It looks junky now, but it is lasting and they are happy with it.

Day Twenty Eight

Well, today there is no wind, which is raising the temperature by 5or 6 degrees. I put the goats in the back field so that they could stretch their legs a little. Sarah and David SWEAR that sometimes they race around and get all excited, but they must be saving that for a special occasion.

I am currently watching as my horse has a make-out session with Ronald (the goat) through that gate. I wish so much that I could let them all out together, but I don't trust the goats not to eat tails or blankets or anything else even slightly important.

It is supposed to snow from Friday to Monday and then disappear , on Tuesday. I have rather mixed feelings on the subject. Friday I have no plans (except to decorate the Christmas tree at home), Saturday I have an exam, Sunday I am supposed to work, and Monday no plans again. Here is where I am torn. If it snows enough on Friday and Saturday, my exam will be post-poned. I would rather just do it and get it done (it's an English exam), but I wouldn't mind holding off on it either. So that is my current dilemma.

The goats keep breaking the van. I will take a picture and update more on that tomorrow.

Day Twenty Six and Twenty Seven- Video

Sorry I haven't been updating. Life happens, you know?

I finished class on Tuesday and now just have exams. I'm so happy to be done and to get a break for a bit!

Yesterday the internet was down so I recorded this video as an update instead of writing one as I couldn't get on. Enjoy it, as I might be doing more like this.

***UPDATE- The sound isn't working. I'll play with it and see if I can fix it in a bit***

Day Twenty Five- Winds and Awards

Its freakin windy! The temperature is averaging 0, give or take a few degrees. The windchill, however, it making it about -6 or -7. This wind feels stronger than any of the other winds have been, but I must just be imagining things because there are no wind warnings posted.

I finally gave in and threw another blanket on underneath Justin's rain sheet. He is way fuzzy, but I am a suck and I can't watch him stand in those winds and think that he is warm!

Yesterday evening, we have year end awards for my 4H club. I was planning on this being my last year, but I can't get away from them! The 4H leaders are always presenting me with new oppertunities, so the time has come when I have to sit down and make a decision.

Without further ado, here are the prizes I won last night.

Keeper trophy w/plaque

Perpetual

Day Twenty Three- Pink Skies

"Pink skies at night, Sailors delight. Pink skies in the morn', sailors be warned."

Pipsqueak does not appreciate all the action centered around the dogs. She would like you to pick her up and let her dig her head into the crack of your elbow, NOW!Willow does not appreciate the attention on the cat. She would like you to throw the ball, NOW!

Titan appreciates everything. He is such a goof!

I found the secret to triggering the headbutt, and it has to do with tails. It is an almost immediate reaction

Goin in for the kill.

Not ready for the kill- ready for the food!

Peaceful eye

I'm not particulary fond of this photo, but it does a good job showing how big Titan is. It also demonstrates our relationship fairly well. In between fake throwing the ball for Willow and actually throwing the ball for Tilley, Titan fake attacks me and tries to take me down. He usually gets a good run going. I think he misses having a dog to run with.

Day Twenty Two- Procrastination Station

No long post today. Sorry! That's what I (you?) get for me leaving a 2500 word English paper to the last minute. I do have all day today and until Faculty Reception closes tomorrow to finish it, but I want to do a good job.

The hay guy (who I actually knew from a long time ago) came today and we talked about hay and storage and drop off and such other unexciting things. I'm going to call when I have 5 or 6 bales left. I am down to about 15 right now, so I should be hauling 200 bales in a weeks time.

Day Twenty One- Freezing

Today, the water for the horse trough froze. I'm holding out until this afternoon to see if they thaw in the sun as to avoid hauling out water buckets.

I seem to carry the fence-breaking curse with me. If you know me, you know that I work on a dairy farm. I love my job. The 3 or 4 hours that it takes me to get the cows milked and the babies fed really only feels like half an hour! Yesterday however, some cows in heat decided to try to break the place down. They broke through the hot wire twice and then plowed through an actual fence. And got loose. And my boss almost didn't answer his phone. And the helper that lives on the property didn't answer his. And chaos ensued. It was a fun time. We joked that its a good thing they are black AND white or else we would never find them.

The good thing about having horses and working on a farm is that you understand the importance of body language. Cows are so sensitive to where you are standing or what you are doing, one wrong move can send them all running. The best thing I could do was just stand in one spot where I didn't want them to go (the pits behind the barn and the fields behind the barn the other time- I would love to be in two places at once).

P.S. I put the garbage out this morning, thinking it was garbage day. I don't think it was. I can't remember.

Day Twenty- The Sun has returned...

..just in time for exams. It is a wonderful thing isn't it! Just when I have to hunker down and get my homework and papers finished off for the semester, the weather decides to have a two week long sunny streak. That is o.k. though, it makes for a much happier Tess because now the manure area can dry out, I can stop doing so much laundry (to dry multiple outfits in one day) and all the critters are much happier- and it is VERY noticeable.

My mom and brother came out yesterday, and my brother has a fancy camera, so I am just waiting for him to send me the photos and then there should be some cool shots going up. Here is one of Roland to hold you over (it looks blurry in the blog, but if you click on it, you can see that it is actually good quality).