Make My Horse Life Easier Tip #12

Here's another tip/tool that I use in my horse life: a putty knife.  

Specifically, one with a metal blade, not plastic.  This is another one of those things that you can buy for less than a foo-foo coffee drink, and use it for years to make your horse related life easier.  Especially if you are maintaining a barn.

In the horse barn, it is not used for caulking, or spreading drywall mud (er, joint compound).  But it can be used for several other uses.

Like scraping poop from the stall walls.  To be blunt, shit happens.  And, occassionally, runny shit that ends up on the wall happens.  A putty knife is an excellent tool for scraping it off, especially after it has dried.

A putty knife is also excellent for scraping down sawdust/bedding build up in the seams or under the corners of the mats on the stall floors.  The tighter the seams on your mats, the less problem buildup is.  My floor mats were put in by DH and I, with engineering precision and construction knowledge.  In nearly three years of existence, they have not shifted.  However, I've worked at a lot of barns where the mats weren't put in with a micrometer, as it were, and over a period of months those mats tended to shift in tiny increments allowing sawdust and other small particles of things to get under them and push the mats up over time.  A putty knife is handy for not only getting into narrow spots, but also for scraping those packed lumps of stuff under the edges of the mats down to the actual floor so that the mats can lay flat again.

Similarly, I use mine for scraping out/removing pieces of pine shavings that tend to get worked between the stabilizer board and the bottom wall board of our stall dividers. Especially the ones on either side of the stall of a particular horse who likes to occasionally body slam or otherwise shove on the wall.  Such sudden impacts of force tend to push out the bottom of the stabilizer board just enough, say 1/4" to 1/2", that shavings end up behind it, then get packed together and I can't just tap the wall back into alignment with my rubber mallet. So, out comes my putty knife, and I use it to push or otherwise work the shavings out from behind the stabilizer board.

Before using the putty knife;

note the gap between the vertical board and the lowest 2-3 horizontal boards.

After, shavings removed and boards put back tightly together.

All is right with the world again ;0)

A putty knife is also good for scraping loose (so it can be swept up and removed) the buildup of fine hay chaff that tends to accumulate over time--in stalls-- where the wall meets the floor, especially in corners.  Some people just ignore that crud, leaving it there.  Not me.  Because that, with the addition of moisture (which could be simply from humid air), is the formula for mold to grow.  And we all know mold is not good for horses (or us) to breathe in or otherwise ingest.  So removing that cruddy buildup with my putty knife is a part of regular barn maintainence.

Chaff/dust crud

Inserting putty knife from the underneath.

Lift and loosen.

Repeat other side

Ahh, clean and healthy again.

A Few More Puzzles

 In August, I did several puzzles.  We had a few weather spells--either stormy and wet, or too hot and humid to work outside all day, and that gave me an excuse to do more than one puzzle that month.  All in the name of cleaning and decluttering, lol, as every puzzle I complete will be leaving my house. (See here for explanation)

Quilts

Lighthouses

Baskets of berries/cherries

September was a really busy month, inside the house and outside.  I did manage to squeeze in one puzzle near the end of the month though.

Fresh foods

So that brings my Left My House tally of puzzles to six since June.  Which is great.  Not just because doing puzzles is relaxing yet brain-engaging, not just because six less puzzle boxes frees up storage space, but because I kinda brought home three more puzzles from a thrifting trip last week.  😆

What can I say?  I have a weakness for puzzles.  Especially good quality ones found cheap.

Sewing Stuff September 29 & 30 (and beyond)

 I almost just lumped these two days onto the fourth week of September summary, but my literal mind just couldn't do it; they weren't part of that week, afterall.  A week is just seven days, not nine.  This is not a rule that was meant to be broken.

So, instead, I decided to do a separate post for those two days.  It just made more sense.  Plus, I could do a wrap-up for the entire month along with reporting on what I did in my sewing area the final two days of National Sewing Month.

September 29, I cut fabric for outer borders into strips.  Then I sewed the strips together to make them longer, and cut the correct length for each border.  After that, the instructions said to sew the cornerstones to the top and bottom outer border pieces.  So I did.  Once that was done, I sewed on two of the inner borders; the left and right sides.

September 30, I sewed on the top and bottom inner borders and one of the side outer borders.

October 1, I sewed on just the other side border. It was a rainy day, so I didn't feel too bad about my growing list of outdoor chores needing to be done.

October 3, I sewed on the top and bottom borders, making this a completed flimsy!

I really, really want to get this finished. But we had good weather, the rest of the days so far in October, and I've been slaving working away on my outdoor chore list instead of doing daily sewing .  I will, though.  One day soon, even if the sky is blue and sunny, I'll take another 15 minutes or so to get the binding strips cut and prepped.  After that, if I can get DH to help me keep all the layers lined up for sandwiching and pin-basting, I could probably get it quilted, bound, a hanging sleeve added to the back, and display it on my mudroom wall by the time firearm deer season arrives (November 15th).  

When I decided, in September, to dive into this quilt kit, that was kind of my goal: to see if I could get the top made in September, then take time in October to do the finishing.  Since I'm not planning on any fancy quilting design to finish it with, the sandwiching (without wrinkles) will probably take me almost as long to do as the actual quilting will.

Stay tuned. . . hopefully I'll be showing you pictures of a finished quilt on my wall in November!

All in all, I'm glad I joined in on National Sewing Month and didn't say "oh, I can't do that, I have no time".  Aiming for just 15 minutes a day was a reasonable goal, and it did add up to quite a bit of progress: 

•  I cleaned up a large portion of both my sewing table and my cutting table, getting fabrics from past projects finally put away in the correct bins as well as moving shit stuff out of the sewing area that had been wrongly dumped on the tables.
• I gave away two boxes of stuff that I had no use for (things 'passed on' to me from either my mom or my mother-in-law whether it was something I wanted or not).
• I discovered some real treasures (to me) in a box of DH's grandmother's quilting things that's been in my house for at least six years, unopened, in with other stuff my mother-in-law sent down to me.
• I got some mending done that had been sitting for at least a few weeks (or a few years) waiting for me to 'have time' to get to it.
• I finished a project that DD2 had started years ago, had problems with, and gave to me in frustration.  Not only did I get that project done and out of my sewing area, it went to DD2's house because when I sent her a picture of it finished she asked if I minded if she took it back.  
• I tackled a quilt kit I'd purchased more than a year before but hadn't gotten around to actually opening and making.  This was something I'd bought as a just for me, not to make for someone else, because I loved the way it looked and wanted to add it to my decor (my non-existent decor, LOL).  To work on it was a joy, and I'm really looking forward to finishing and using it yet this year, not some unknown future date that may or may not ever arrive.

Drummond Island

 This past weekend, DD2 came to farmsit so that DH and I could go up to Drummond Island for the wedding of a friend.  Neither DH nor I had been there before.  If you don't know where Drummond Island is, it's on the eastern edge of the Upper Peninsula, out in Lake Huron near its north-most point at the St. Mary's River.  

Fun fact: for whatever reason, when the dividing line between Canada and Michigan was agreed upon, Michigan got Drummond Island and Canada got the other islands in the same area.  So if you look at a close up of the map, the international boundary line jogs up and around Drummond Island, then back down into Lake Huron.

Anyway, to get to Drummond Island from this little place here, first you need to drive about four hours north and go across the Mackinac Bridge.

Crossing the Mighty Mac.

Then you have to drive another hourish east, to the edge of the U.P. and wait for the hourly ferry that runs all people and vehicles across the St. Mary's River to Drummond Island.  Unless you have a private boat or a private plane, there is no other way to get there.

Here comes the ferry!

Neither DH nor I had been on a car ferry before, so that was a new and interesting experience. We drove across the metal bridge that is attached to the ferry (one on each end of the boat), then followed the directions from one of the deckhands on where to drive and park our vehicle (DH's work-issued small SUV).

Driving up the linkspan (ramp bridge) to get on the ferry.

Following the deckhand's directions on where to drive.

 Only the smaller/narrower vehicles fit through here.

We got in the front row!

We ended up in the front row, being the first vehicle of the 'smaller' size that was waiting in line.  Trucks with trailers and large vehicles made up the center row, with mid-sized vehicles and trucks without trailers being in the far right row on this trip.  In the picture above, you can see the linkspan in front of us, which was all that was between us and the open water.  The linkspan rather made me think of beavertail ramps on trailers, or ramps on horse trailers.

The river crossing was very smooth, and took a little over 10 minutes.  Then the linkspan was lowered, and the deckhands directed each row of vehicles when to exit. It was all easily and flawlessly done.

We had made it to the island! There aren't a whole lot of roads on the island, and only one that goes from the ferry dock to the town, so it was pretty easy to find our cabin that DH had reserved for the weekend.  It was kind of around the side of the island and closer to the top, but only maybe a 15 minute drive, if that.

Our home for the weekend.

View from our cabin.

We were situated right on the water, with a boat-launch maybe 100 yards away.  Other than some fishermen, there were no boats coming and going, so it was very quiet and peaceful.  With the exception of being woken up Sunday morning to the BLAM!  BLAM, BLAM, BLAM! of either duck or goose hunters at dawn.  But still, I would definitely go back and spend more time there.

Because the wedding we were there to attend wasn't until late afternoon, DH and I had planned to do a little hiking on Saturday morning.  DS2 had driven himself up after work on Friday, and stayed overnight with us.  He is a calibration engineer, and had brought a test vehicle with him, a pick-up truck that we used to drive the three of us on some of the ORV trails (the island has tons of ORV trails).  Because he had instrumentation taking data while he drove (ie. testing), and said instrumentation takes up a portion of the front passenger seat area, DH sat in the backseat and I got the dubious honor of being the navigator in the front passenger seat.  

Navigating required the use of a paper ORV map picked up at the restuarant where we ate breakfast that morning.  Most of the island does not have wi-fi or cell service.  I didn't get us lost, thank goodness!

One of the wider ORV trails.

We drove as far as we could in DS2's work truck; any further would have required a vehicle with an on-board winch because of all the water hazard features on the trail. A regular truck could go only so far, then you needed a vehicle that was specifcially outfitted for off-roading. In addition to a winch, an articulated suspension would be a good thing. for the parts with great unevenness of terrain (big rocks, foot-deep ruts, etc.) So we parked the truck off the side of the trail, and walked in the rest of the way to our destination: Marblehead.

Hiking down the ORV trail once we couldn't drive any further.

We made it to the top of Marblehead, and stood out on the edge for a bit, looking out into Lake Huron and over at Canada just across the water.

DS2 doing his typical thing: hike to the very edge of the precipice, then look down.

(I have similar pictures of him as a teenager in the Badlands in 2008.)

The height here was about 100 feet.

I can see Canada, eh!

Then, because, well, why not?  DS2 scouted around and found us a trail (hiking?  wildlife?) that picked its way down to the beach below.  And so we went scrambling down.

Part of the limestone formation that Marblehead is made of.

We made it safely down the beach, which was made not of sand, but of limestone shale that was loose and rounded from the waves.

Shale beach

After hanging out on the beach for a few minutes, we turned and climbed back up to where we'd started from.  Thankfully we hadn't wandered too far, because it was nearly impossible to see the trail from the shore.

Entrance to the trail we'd come down on.

It was great weather that day, in the sixties, with a blue sky and pretty much no wind.  Also, thanks to several weeks of cold nights, pretty much no bugs either!  I dawdled a bit on the way back up the trail taking pictures of what I could see.

The moss was so lush and bright.

Looking up the trail as we neared the top.

I also dawdled a bit as we followed (first, the wrong, then after backtracking, the correct) ORV trail to where we'd parked DS2's truck.

A very green praying mantis on the trail.

Frog hanging out in a water hazard.

In addition to the beautiful blue sky, several of the maple trees had turned colors, drawing my eye (and camera.)

The wedding itself was very nice.  The venue was on the water, with the ceremony held outside at water's edge, and the reception indoors in a rustic lodge type place (mostly because it's old, not because it was built to be faux rustic).  At the reception, guests were seated at tables that were named after places with special meaning to the bride and groom: The Keweenaw, Alaska, Mexico, Sturgeon River, etc.  We were assigned to the Sturgeon River table, as the bride has been going on our annual canoe/kayak and camping trip there for most of the last 10 years and the groom has been on several of the more recent years.  What was a neat touch was that the table markers had pictures at/from the location it was named after.  DS2 recognized several of the Sturgeon River pictures as those he had taken of the bride there through the years.

On Sunday morning, we were a bit worried about how long it would take us to get off the island, what with the ferry only holding a maximum of about 30 vehicles at a time, depending on size (trailers, etc).  In addition to wedding guests needing to go home, there were also weekend ORV-ers, fishermen, and a whole bunch of ladies from Wisconsin who had brough their horses (and trucks and horse trailers) over for a trail-riding and camping weekend.  

Thankfully, the ferry was running a special schedule that morning, which meant it pretty much ran continuously across the river, only stopping long enough to load and unload.  Still, we waited in line for a bit over an hour and were on the third ferry trip than ran after we got in line.  

I highly recommend checking out Drummond Island.  Just pay attention to the ferry schedule, and allow yourself lots of time to get home on Sunday in case you have to wait quite awhile for your turn to get on the ferry and off the island!

Books Read in 2026: September

 

The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson.  This novel was published earlier this year and is continuing the story of the main character from The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (that I read several years ago). I first saw it in Meijer while grocery shopping, and, I kid you not, took a picture of it so I would remember to see if my library had it.  They did, and I borrowed it.  I'm so glad I did. It is heartwrenching.  Yet so, so good.  I highly recommend reading it.

Persuasion by Jane Austen.  Can you believe I've never read Jane Austen?  I feel like this book was slow and hard to get into, maybe because the writing style differs so much from 21st century writing?  But once I perserved to keep reading past all the descriptiveness of early 19th century English societal structure, etc., I was very much invested in finding out what would happen to the characters.

A Smoking Bun by Ellie Alexander.  Book 18 (? I think) of the Bakeshop Mystery series, I can't believe it's been about ten months since I read the last one. I used to have to space these out to limit myself to only 2-3 per year so I didn't blast through the series faster than the author was writing them.  But then, as I read the book, I can kind of understand why I didn't read it sooner.  I'm kind of falling out of love with this series.  Something about the writing seems to have changed.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but it doesn't keep me spellbound like the earlier ones did.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith.  I've seen this book mentioned a lot on the internet this year, and I finally decided to request it from the library.  I had such a hard time putting this book down.  Each 'chapter' is short; anywhere from 2-3 lines to a few pages, and they not only relate to each other, but, in my opinion, to a lot of women's experiences divorced or otherwise.  Plus, I love the cover art.  I can't tell you how many times I picked the book up and examined the cover details before opening it to read.  Pretty much each and every time I sat down to read!

The Unveiling of Polly Forrest by Charlotte Whitney.  Hmm.  I had previously read and enjoyed another book from this author, and so had sought out more from her.  This one just didn't speak to me as much.  Some of it was good, other parts I felt the writing was lacking.  It sort of gave off a self-published vibe, which in my definition means could have used more editing.  Not that I found any typos or grammatical errors, but that the story felt sort of unpolished and some of the descriptions of Michigan gardens/farms  and what was ripe when did not jive with my 30-some years of gardening in the same growing zone of Michigan as the book is set in.  So that threw me off a bit.  I did finish the book, although I'm not sure I'll look for more from this author.

Sewing Stuff Sept 22-28

You know, I've really missed making quilts.  After making five baby quilts in three years (Buck, Sixlet, Lucky and Octavia plus this one for a young relative's first baby), I took a break from sewing quilts.  I really didn't intend for it to be a break of over a year, but that's how it ended up being.  When I bought that quilt kit in 2025, before I was even done with Octavia's quilt, I really planned on having that be the next one on my to-sew list and having it done in the fall.  Life didn't turn out that way, though.

But now that I've gotten going on it, I can't imagine not making another quilt when I've gotten this one done.  I really enjoy putting the pieces together, kind of like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and seeing the whole picture come into creation.

Here's how the fourth week of National Sewing Month has gone for me:

 September 22, I sewed the five rows of the bottom left quadrant of the quilt together.  And then, I put the pieces for the rows of the bottom right quadrant in order and sewed two of the five rows.

September 23, I sewed the five rows of the bottom right quadrant, and then I sewed the rows into the big chunk that makes up that portion of the quilt.  This day I was able to spend more than 15 minutes in the sewing area as DS1 had called me that morning and asked me to pick Rascal up from school (he was running a fever and the school wanted him gone asap).  So my morning was spent not in the barn or training horses, but keeping an eye on a sick boy sleeping on my couch.

September 24, on this day I really could have just blown off my to-do list and worked for an hour or more on this quilt.  But I didn't.  I gave myself just five extra minutes and stuck to that twenty-minute time frame.  All four quadrants got sewn together into the center of the quilt top!  All that remains to do is cut the border strips and put them on, then the top will be done and ready for sandwiching and quilting.  I'm so excited about how quickly this project is coming together!

September 25, I cut the inner border fabric for the quilt.  Then I prepped some mending to take with me on our weekend trip, with the hopes that I could get some 'sewing' time in on Saturday.

September 26, nada sewing.  I knew, given the fact that this day had long been reserved for attending a wedding in a different part of the state, that I most likely wouldn't be able to do anything for National Sewing Month on this day, but I'd kinda hoped that maybe I could squeeze something in.  Hence the taking mending, needle, and thread along with me.

September 27, Likewise, nada sewing.  Honestly, it was kind of a hard day.  The long ride back wasn't relaxing or conducive to doing the mending I'd brought (something that needed concentration to do correctly), and then when we got home I needed to clean stalls before bringing horses in because my farm sitter had woken up sick and texted me that morning asking if I would be home early enough to do stalls because she wasn't sure she physically could.  Tomorrow is another day, right?

September 28, I sewed!  I got the inner border fabric strips sewn together and trimmed to the correct length for each of the four sides of the quilt top.  I pinned them together by length so that (tomorrow) I will instantly know which goes where--they are almost the same length but not quite--and can get them attached to the quilt top.

I also ironed the fabric that will be used for the outer borders.

This is getting so close to being a finished quilt top!  I am thinking I can get that accomplished before National Sewing Month ends.  

Not Funny, But It Kinda Was

This is DH's mount of his elk skull and antlers from when he went elk hunting in Colorado in 2023.  

He had, for a couple of years, tried to find an existing way (as in a kit or parts he could buy) to mount this (cut) skull rather than just sawing off the upper portion of it that holds the antlers. Part of the problem was the angle at which the skull had been cut, by the place he took the head to for cleaning and removal of brain tissue and spinal matter so that he could transport the skull back home across state lines. Cut how it was, it would not fit properly on the kits or hangers sold for mounting deer skulls.

Eventually, he engineered a way to do it on his own, involving resin epoxy, a small piece of wood cut to fit inside the tiny rounded cavity on the underside of the upper part of the skull, a screw, and a scrap board.  As you can see from the photo above, it worked, and the elk skull hangs on our wall.

In the photo below, you can see better just where on the wall it was installed.  To the right is the mule deer that DH shot in Colorado in 2022.  He mounted it similarly to the elk skull, a few weeks after trying out his mounting system.

So here's where the not funny, but it kinda was part comes in.

In that photo, you can see part of our television.  In this photo (please ignore the grandkid related toy and seating clutter), you can see the heights and location of everything.

When DH put his skulls with antlers on the wall last winter, I expressed concern about the antlers sticking out and being low enough someone might walk into them and poke an eye out.  Especially the elk antlers.  DH, as men do, pooh-poohed my concern, saying it was fine and they were high enough, and besides, no adults walk that close to the wall anyway.

Well. . . Can you tell where this story is going?

Recently, DH poked himself in the forehead with the lower tines of the elk antlers.  He was concentrating on why is the station playing the football game not coming in?!?, walked over to the tv, went to reach behind it to fiddle with the wiring and whacked his head into the elk antlers rather forcefully.  Hard enough to break the skin and draw blood.

I confess, even as I was momentarily afraid he had poked his eye out, I couldn't help laughing. In an uncontrollable and gut busting manner. Because, you know, I told him so. 

But of course I couldn't say that.  I properly expressed my concern for his well being, as well as examined and cleaned his head injury. Even if I did have spurts of giggles while doing so.