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).

Day Eighteen- Warm Weather

This time last year, the temperature was -1.3degrees celcius and there was snow on the ground (unfortunately). This morning, I did chores in sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. No jacket, no gloves, no frozen water lines. So far, I have only had one morning that something has frozen and it was the little collection of water on top of the outside goat feeder.




Here is a short (well it's long and I wouldn't expect you to watch all of it) clip of goat bliss. Make sure you pay attention to the mouth action of this particular fellow. He is quite enjoying himself! There are some guest appearances at the end as well. A Roland McNugget, a Pipsqueak and another goat!

Day Seventeen- Neighbors

Sometimes when I'm driving home from school or work and there is no one else on the road, I feel like I really am living in the boondocks. Once you get on Lougheed Hwy in Mission and head out this way, you pass through a number of little towns. Dewdney, Deroche, Lake Errock, Aggassiz (among others) and end in Harrison Hot Springs. Although it feels this way sometimes, I am really surrounded by neighbors. If I wanted to see into Wayne & Lucy's windows, I probably could. The property next to me is vacant but the next two houses have horses and families and have all been really friendly. The new neighbors across from me though are super nice and helpful.
This is Dax. One of two dogs. Ironically, the other dogs name is Riley (which is my last name).

The husband is a framer and had this shed up in 2 days and had the tin up and the rest finished the next day. It is very cool- where the fenceline in the middle meets it, it is divided with a wall. There is a wall in the middle as well and then it is open totally on the other side for the field behind the fence. I'm not going to lie either, it is nice having a buffer on that side of the road from the mountain!

Day Sixteen- Damages

This is the result of the gate repair today. The posts and lungelines will come down on Saturday night or Sunday morning. While I realize it isn't the safest way to do it, I have to keep the horses away somehow!

This is what I found when I went outside the other morning. Not impressed!

The bent gate!

Sitting on an angle.

This tree snorfling was definitely a Tonka doing. I went outside the other day to find him with an orange nose. It took me a while to put two and two together as there is not much orange in the paddock.

To see this damage, you have to look at the fence and not Ty (although he is dangerously handsome). I think I did a pretty good job fixing it myself!

It's got a pretty funky warped thing going on!

Day Fifteen- Free Horse

I am so frustrated with my own horse I could send him off right now and not feel bad at all (you know I wouldn't but I think we have all had that feeling every once in a while). In the past three days, he has almost dumped me numeous times on the trail (his stallion attitude has returned with a vengeance) ripped his blanket, ripped Tonka's blanket (don't worry Sarah- I'll either repair it or buy him a nice new one), bent the gate to Wayne's property trying to get food from Wayne and ripped a hole in the fence. In his defense, I am not sure the latter was completely him, but Tonka doesn't usually cause trouble, so I can only imagine. Everything is fixed to a workable state. I am fairly handy- I couldn't build a cool loafing shed in 3 days like the neighbors have, but I can fix a fence with zap straps and wire snips.

On the plus side, it's sunny today! And I have some mucho exciting news that I cannot share yet as it is dependent on a couple things, but it involves me never having to move back home ever again!

Day Fourteen- Goat Van

Today I decided that I was going to gut to goat van. The wind blows all the rain in through the door and it was squishy and gross. The goats have Sarah convinced that they are going to keel over and die if they don't have heated water and alfalfa (but only the leaves and not the stems). However, I am suspicious of this theory. They seemed pretty keen to eat their new hay bedding as soon as it was spread out. Speaking of new bedding, have you ever seen goats with short legs try to walk through fluffy hay? It is pretty comical and if it wasn't raining I would have taken some pictures.

I am starting to suspect that the inside animals are plotting my death via too much dog hair. The girls seem to get up and wander down stairs at the same time and non-nonchalantly return upstairs at the same time, while Spike (the cat) converses with them. Spike likes to hear himself talking, and likes to eat (your food more than his) and likes to take up your bed. HEY! Maybe he isn't a cat at all, maybe he is a real man! Sarah, if you stop seeing facebook updates, call someone important! The animals may have taken over.

Day Twelve and Thirteen

This is Pipsqueak. She is really small.

This is Titan. He is really, really big.

And they are madly in love.

Every morning while I'm outside, she wanders into the paddock with her little tail in the air and prances around while Titan follows her (I am not sure it is following though- it may be chasing at a controlled speed). She flops onto her back and Titan stands over and watches her. It is quite the scene!

Day Eleven

Four steps to ensure that two lazy horses get the exercise they need:

• Turn them out in the pasture and leave the gate to the paddock open.
  
• Make sure one (who happens to be white) stands along the fence line so that he can see the property across the street. The other one must be at the end of the pasture, eating non-nonchalantly.
• Watch as the neighbors SIX (I lied yesterday) horses come galloping into the field beside the road.
• This is when the exercise required will be excused.
  

In case you were wondering, everyone survived. There was just a little running involved. Tonka was more of an excited trot up to the fence, Justin galloped around like no one's business (which isn't surprising, because he thinks he is still a stallion).

The boys checkin them out.

Justin is protecting hay and watching the neighbors. He is a multi-tasker.

Goats eye view.

It's raining again today, and they are actually calling for a break in it today and hopefully tomorrow sometime. I complain about the rain alot, but I actually like it more than I like the summer. I would rather layer up to stay warm than have to strip down to stay cool! Doing things in the rain motivates me to do them fast so that I can get out of it quicker.

Day Ten

Do you see three bums?

We finally have new neighbors! Two or so weeks ago, five beef cows arrived across the street in the field. Rumor around the 'hood was that there were horses coming, but the owner had 6 or 7 and needed to sell some before he moved them down from Chase. Yesterday while I was at school, three (I think- there may be another one hiding) horses showed up! When I got home, Tonka and Justin were in the corner underneath the trees watching the excitement.

Titan says Hello.

It is always sunny in the morning, which lulls you into a false sense of security. It rained twenty minutes later.

The snow line is slowly moving down the mountain, although it varies a lot depending on the weather that day.

Day Nine

Is it bad that I'm blogging from psychology class?

Last night, The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released at 10pm. There was no way I was missing that, so I fed everyone dinner early and headed out to join the line at 5:30 (and I wasn't even at the front of the line)!

There is not much new at Farcical Farm, besides the fact that when I got home last night at 1, it WASN'T raining! How nice is that? Too bad I couldn't enjoy it. I also noticed that Tonka is picking up Justin's bad habits. Justin knows these are bad, so doesn't do them when he knows he is in disciplining distance, whereas Tonka tries to get away with it. It is interesting to see Tonka's old man attitude come out!

Since there is nothing new, I thought I would formally introduce myself. As many of you know, my name is Tess and I am 19 years old. I have lived in Abbotsford my whole live, and LOVE the Fraser Valley. I have been riding since I was 8 and Justin is my third horse(I will go into more detail on him in a bit). I have competed in pretty much every discipline and have been in 4H since I was 11 or 12.

I am in my second-ish (don't ask, it's complicated) year of University majoring in History to become an Elementary School teacher (I want to teach Kindergarten).

I think that is all for now. Please do the sun dance for me!