Horse Update, March

The weather has continued to be really up and down.  Dry, for the most part, which is good because most of the time (except after heavy rain) I can use my designated longeing area as well as ride inside the fenceing without punching up the ground (much).  So there's been lots of longeing for both horses, followed by lots of riding for the LBM.

Poetess is finally settling in to the idea of longeing being calm and stretching rather than run-like-hell-in-a-circle time if I even suggest a canter.  I've put the bridle back on her and we've been longeing in that with much better results than we were last summer/fall.  Honestly, I think her being able to watch me work the LBM (and the Poetess does, for the most part, stand at the gate and watch while I longe the LBM) has helped her get the idea that longeing is not a big deal and we just go walk and trot and sometimes canter on cruise control, not like our tail is on fire.

A few times, after longeing her, I've led her over to the mounting block and had her stand next to it while I climb up the steps.  She's been awesome about standing still, so I've actually laid over her back a few times once I'm at the top of the mounting block.  No signs of nervousness there.  I'm getting really eager to climb on her back and start riding her, but I don't want to be hasty and end up dumped on the ground with broken bones.  I think I'm going to wait until after she has her teeth floated next month, and probably do a little ground driving first to make sure she's calm with contact on her mouth.  Plus, make sure the footing is good and solid (it's been greasy/slick this week) and have DH there as my spotter.

Meanwhile, the LBM and I have been working on short segments of trot under saddle, as well as lots and lots of circles and serpentines reinforcing the neck reining.  Honestly, she turns really well just with a shift of the weight, and little leg contact and a very slight touch of the rein (ie. my finger curls on the rein and she feels it in her mouth), but her owner wants neck reining, so we're working on neck reining.  We've also been working 'outside the fences' more, riding around the outer perimeter of the pasture as well as the (former) alfalfa field that is the designated site for my outdoor arena.  

The outdoor arena is going to be another project in itself, as it needs some grading/drainage work in addition to taking off the topsoil and adding a sand layer.  I'm hoping this summer, but DH is sounding like it's not high on his list for this year. . .  Meanwhile, until we're done with the wet season, the footing there is too wet/deep about half the time. That will change once we get closer to summer.  

With the increasing daylight and just general progression into Spring, there's been an uptick in play during turnout.  It's not unusual to see the Poetess and the LBM out running and racing at least a few days each week.  It's kind of funny, because the Poetess will let the LBM be in the lead all the way to the back (road side) of the pasture and about halfway along the short side.  But once they near the corner for the long side back to the barn you see the Poetess reach and flatten out and in two strides she's way in front of the LBM and just keeps increasing the distance between them.  You can definitely tell who's the Thoroughbred and who's the stocky, most-likely-got-something-gaited-in-her-lineage, horse.  And the extra two hands of height (and leg!) on the Poetess certainly aren't a disadvantage either!

Usually after a race, no matter what the temperature is (65 degrees or barely over 30 degrees), both horses throw themselves down for a good roll.  I managed to catch a picture of the Poetess mid-roll a couple weeks ago.

Barn progress has been sporadic.  

We got the third pasture secured (gate hung and electric tape electrified) but I haven't turned horses out in it yet because I don't want them punching up yet another soggy pasture, so I've been waiting until a dry spell where the ground is solidified.

DH bought lumber for the extra height (drop?)  needed on the two bottom boards of the stall doors I mentioned last month and got those put on.  We were in a warm spell at the time, so I got them stained and sealed right away.  Now we just need to put mats down in those two stalls and they will be ready for use.  He'd wanted to do that the day after putting on the new door bottom boards, put I'd apparently strained myself helping lift and carry one of the doors and I was having muscle spasms in my chest and back so I was unable to help with anything heavy for a week (like 100 pound stall mats) and we just haven't gotten back to that task yet.  Maybe this coming weekend.

 

Sewing and Stitching Update, March

There's been a whole lot of sewing going on lately.  Mainly the quilt for grandbaby #6, whose arrival is imminent.  I finished hand sewing the binding last night.  Because it hasn't been gifted yet, I'm going to wait until the April update to show pictures of the entire quilt. Here's a sneak peek:

The backing is a large piece of flannel that I bought at my favorite vintage/antique mall just over a year ago.  Kind of an ironic story now, as both DD1 and DD2 were with me at the time, and when I saw this fabric in one of the booths for less than $10 and it was very obviously more than 3 yards of fabric (therefore a great price), I grabbed it. Showing them my awesome find, I said "the next grandson I get is going to have this for the backing on his quilt." 

I was thinking that, fingers crossed, it might be DS2 and his wife as they had indicated they'd really like to get a family going.  Or, fingers uncrossed, might be DD2 and Brad if they weren't careful enough (DD2 has long said she is happy being an Aunt with no ambition to ever be a Mom).

Turned out about 8 months later, DD1 said "Surprise! You're getting a new grandchild in 2024! (And BTW, we're surprised too!)"  And then, in December, when she shared the news that she's carrying another boy, well, obviously he was going to be the lucky recipient of this cute tow truck fabric.

The yarn thief snubbing me because I told her she was in the way

 while I was pinning up the quilt for it's photo shoot.

In the last week or so, that baby quilt has taken up all my free time.  There's been no knitting done, and no work on my counted cross stitch.  Prior to that, though, I had been stitching an hour or more each week and have gotten the adorable squirrel just about all stitched.

I have to finish stitching the random snowflakes in the 'air' around him, and then do all the back-stitching. The designer of this pattern uses a lot of back-stitching to add definition and realism.  With the baby quilt finished, I foresee a return to evening cross stitching and maybe a completely back-stitched squirrel to show you next month.

Knitting Update, March

 Well, last month I set myself a goal to finish sock #2 of my Textured Lace Socks.  Did I do it?

Yes, yes I did!

Natural light showing the colors a little truer.

And then I promptly cast on for another pair of socks, also for me, but this pair will be ankle height.  I am attempting to adapt a crew sized, toe-up sock pattern to a cuff-down anklet knit.  So far, so good.

Actual yarn color;

Knit Picks Stroll in Buoy

The pattern I'm adapting (ie, using the chart, backwards since I'm doing cuff-down not toe-up) is Love Needs A Heart from the book Operation Sock Drawer.  I did my own cuff, a simple K2 P2 for twelve rows, then started the Toe and Instep Chart (from the book) at row 51 and am working backwards.  In the above picture I have completed just three rows of the chart. My plan is to do about 20 rows then begin the heel.  I'm sure I'll be able to be that far and take photos for next month's knitting update.

In the past month, I read three books:

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan, which was a light read with some deeper tones.  It is sort of a sequel to The Bookshop on the Corner, but the characters in the first one have much smaller parts in this second book. (note: link is to audiobook, but I read the hardcover from the library.  Amazon's pic of hardcover did not match the edition the library had but the audiobook pic did, so that's the link I used so you could 'see' the book.)

Ape House by Sara Gruen.  Interesting on many levels, I liked this book.  I found this author years ago, when she had just one (horse-related) novel, and have read and thoroughly enjoyed all but her third book (she has written five).  I tried reading the third many years ago, but set it aside after just a few chapters.  Perhaps it was just the wrong time for me for that particular book; I may have to borrow it from the library and try again.

It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach is a children's book, and I got it from the library to read to the grandkids.  It's a really cute read, and they loved it when I read it to them with inflection and different voices for the different characters.

Currently I am reading Beer and Loathing by Ellie Alexander.  It is the latest (print) novel of the Sloan Krause series.  I'm not a e-reader type, so I'm a little frustrated that there seem to be some in-between novellas that are only available on Kindle.  Anyway, I just finally got my hands on a print copy of this one (via inter-library loan after waiting about six months for one to be available--my local library system only 'owns' e-versions) and I'm only through chapter two, so will have to wait until next month to give an opinion on it.

Frugal Things, February

 Other than our normal stuff like eating from what we have on hand in freezers, cellar, etc., baking our bread and cooking from scratch daily, and getting books from the library rather than buying them, I'm not remembering much of note in the frugal department this month.  Not that we spent money lavishly or indulged in things we wouldn't normally do, just that there seemed to be fewer bargains found this month.  Or, maybe just other than bills we didn't spend much money?  I mean, not spending money you don't have to is the ultimate frugal accomplishment, right?

Of note, DH did find a listing on Craigslist for a place that was having a used horse blanket sale the next day with nothing priced over $25, so he and I went to that to see if I could pick up any deals.  And I did. They aren't beautiful (they've had repairs), but they're solid, and have all their necessary straps and buckles.  I got one that is a heavyweight, which I don't have in Poetess's size, and one that will make a handy spare if the Poetess happens to destroy or soak her mid-weight blanket and needs another to wear while the original dries/gets mended.  Best of all, they were only $20 each. If you want to know how much of a frugal win that was, just google mid-weight or heavy-weight horse turnout blankets and see how pricey they are new. I also picked up a blue square fleece cooler with ties for just $5.  It has a small triangular tear which will be easy to mend.  

I ordered all my garden seeds and onion starts.  Of the five places I ordered from, one was having a 25% off special on all orders placed that day, another was offering free shipping with no minimum order amount, and yet another had some flower seeds I'd been thinking about for 50% off.  Which ended up being a savings of about $20 total.  With a good growing season, that $20 savings on seeds will compound into hundreds of dollars saved on food (that won't have to be bought at the store) in the coming year.

I don't go to the grocery store but about twice a month, and I'd been watching their weekly ads for the best time to go shop (as long as we didn't run out of milk, everything else is just restock, not totally out of it).  I went when they were having a 2-day special on our favorite brand of ice cream: Buy One Get One Free!  Since this ice cream is normally about $6 a carton, that's a great savings.  (Note here; due to my sensitivities to a lot of things like artificial sweeteners and soy proteins as well as some other soy derived additives, there's not a lot of brands of ice cream I can safely eat. Which is why we get the pricey ice cream.)  I bought four cartons, hoping that lasts us until the next time this brand goes on sale. 

This is probably a good spot to mention how useful a stand alone freezer can be as a money saving tool.  Without that extra freezer space, I wouldn't be able to fit four boxes of ice cream in my freezer at once!

I found the brand of wet cat food that the Yarn Thief eats on sale for $3 a box cheaper at the local farm store than it is even on Amazon, so I bought a month's worth while I was there getting horse farm stuff.

DH and I used a few tractor bucket scoops of the pine mulch we got free back in December to mulch around and in the grape arbor and the rhubarb patch.  Hopefully that will work well to keep the weeds suppressed in those areas.

I was given a whole bunch of quilting fabric. My mom was approached by a lady she goes to church with, whose quilter sister had recently passed away, and asked if I would like the fabric that had belonged to the deceased sister (since apparently my mom tells people about my quilts). It is mostly largish scraps, fat quarters, some small yardage, and a huge Ziploc bag of pre-cut strips. In total, there is about three kitchen-sized trash bags full, all nicely folded and bagged with matching/complimentary fabrics together. There are some put together 4-patch blocks, and about half of the pre-cut strips are in Christmas fabrics, which are handy for making lap quilts or table runners I can quickly sew up for gifts.  I've been thinking for a while that someday when life isn't so jam packed full and crazy I'd like to start making quilts for charity (such as women's shelters or infant/children's units at hospitals ), and a lot of these fabrics would be great for that since if they aren't Christmassy they are floral or child-themed designs.

What frugal things have you done or run across this month?

The Weird Weather Continues

 It sure doesn't look, or feel, like February in Michigan around here.  Today it's 72 degrees.  Yes, 72.  In Michigan. On February 27th.  The sky is blue, robins are singing (robins!), kildeer are arriving as I type.  Kildeer!  In February!  This is very unusual.

I have laundry hanging on the clothesline.  Don't think I've ever hung laundry in February before.

I gave both horses are good tail wash and conditioning before lunch, it was that warm all ready.  Their tails look and comb so much better now. I'm really glad that I got a chance (without freezing them or myself) to wash out all the accumulated mud and gunk from the winter.  I've been brushing their tails several times a week, but when they just go out and roll in the mud (or drag their tails through mud/slush), the hairs themselves tend to get gummy and coarse even with brushing.  This afternoon, those silky tails are blowing in the wind.

February, when it's not cold, has been way warmer than a typical mid-winter warm spell.  There wasn't much frost in the ground this winter, and it's all gone out of the ground all ready.  The mud is dried up and the ground is firm in all but the shadiest places.  

The garden is actually dry enough that we could till it!  Unheard of!  And I am hoping DH is willing to till it when he gets home from work later today.  We were so busy in the Fall (and I was so, so lacking in energy and stamina) that the garden didn't get cleaned up before winter.  Didn't get stakes or tomato cages pulled, and didn't get the weeds turned under.  Also didn't get the garlic planted.

This really warm weather lately has given me a chance to pull stakes and tomato cages.  And to try to redeem myself and hopefully have a garlic crop this summer; as soon as the ground thawed I tucked all my seed garlic into the part of the garden I had intended to plant it back in October. I covered it with a few inches of straw for mulch, and hope that it will be fooled into thinking it's been there all winter, instead of (delayed and forgotten about) in the garage.

Not only have I gotten the garlic (hopefully) saved and on it's way to growing, I also planted the rest of my tulip bulbs (ordered in July, arrived in September) that I was unable to get into the ground in the Fall.  Fingers crossed those grow, too.

Now, I know not to get too excited for Spring.  Because the current warmth comes to a crashing end tonight.  We're on the edge of a cold front that is due to push through (bringing storms) and temperatures that just keep falling all through tonight, tomorrow daytime and tomorrow night. Thursday we *might* see a high temperature of 40 degrees.  So I'll be feeling like winter again and wanting soup and hot chocolate and other comforting winter time foods.

Tonight, though, we're having chicken Caesar salad, with chicken breast cooked on the grill, and maybe even eating it out on the patio!

Horse Update, February

In the past month, we've had super cold weather for a little over a week. And then a warm up where all the frost left the ground and things were soupy mud, then deep mud, then fairly dried up. And then back to cold(ish) weather again, followed by another warm up.

Poetess checking out the sled that I used to carry lunch hay to the pasture during the cold snowy weather.

This was followed shortly after by a quick warm up that included an all night heavy rain (about 3"??) before the ground was very thawed.  Which meant that one Friday morning I woke up to a small pond in a portion of the circle created by the driveway.  It was quite  large puddle, and more than 6" deep in the middle.  So I took advantage of the opportunity to do some water training with the horses. 

The LBM wasn't sure she really wanted to go in the water, but with a little coaxing she followed me in both times I asked her to walk through it.  Poetess, on the other hand, seems to love water.  She really enjoyed marching through the water, even stopping in it and splashing around with a front foot as if she was contemplating throwing herself down for a good roll in it.  I suspect had it been warmer than the mid-30s she would have done just that.

During the soupy mud phase, I daily came in from leading horses into or out of turnout with lots of mud splashed onto my pant legs.  You can definitely tell how tall my waterproof boots are, LOL.

The last Saturday in January I went to a used tack sale and came home with some western gear (because somehow I got rid of the majority of my pads and the only work bridle that wasn't pony sized decades ago).  Since I'll be riding the LBM western, as well as probably a majority of future training horses and anything I might buy for the grandkids to ride, I felt like I needed to restock a bit in that area.

One purchase I was especially glad to find at the sale was some over-sized western stirrups. During our really cold spell, I found that my insulated winter muck boots are too wide to be safe in the western stirrups I had. And it was way too cold (and at times, wet/slushy) to wear my paddock boots during the LBM's training sessions those days. Wet/frozen feet definitely are not my thing at this middle-aged stage in life. So I had decided I needed to find some what I called 'big wide man-foot stirrups'.  And I did!  In brand new condition for $20 (current online brand new price $65).  

They don't match my saddle, but I don't care, as for me they are all about warm feet and safety for winter training rides, not for show.

As you can see in the picture below, they are quite a bit wider than the original stirrups for that saddle.

I've been riding the LBM a couple times a week.  So far, only on days DH is working from home (he has to be in-office three days a week now) in case there's any unexpected dismounts.  But she's doing so well (remember, she'd been in training in the past but not really worked in 2023) that I think very soon we're going to move on to riding whether he's home or not.  I always give her a quick longe session to warm her up and see where her brain is, so that will be the litmus test for riding while he's gone.  

As I told him the other day, when I'm on her back she doesn't feel any less reliable than any rental stable trail horse I've ever been on.  So, while it's definitely not the fine tuned contact and dressage horse feel I'm gotten used to in the past decade or more, I don't think it's high risk for being unsafe.  She's actually a very calm, steady horse. I think she would make someone with a horse experience and a firm yet calm hand, a super trail riding horse, or even an endurance horse.

view from her back

While the weather was in it's 'good' phase, we worked on fencing for the third pasture, getting all the posts in as well as insulators and the electric fencing tape installed.  Just need to brace the gate post and hang the gate and that one will be ready for use.

DH put together and we hung all four of the remaining  stall doors.  Two need different bottom boards; with the pitch (for drainage) of the cement floor over the 48' length of the barn we had to do some creativity with the height of bottom boards to get all the grills to look good and not like they were at different heights from one stall to the next.  Which means two of the stall doors need 2 x 8 boards for the lowest board instead of 2 x 6. You might be able to see in the picture below that we have yet to put the bottom --Wolmanized-- boards on each stall front.

We also bought a bunch of 2" x 6"x 12' boards for making the remaining dividing walls between stalls, but at least half the batch the lumber mill gave us were not good and will have to go back and be exchanged before we can finish those walls.  Boards with multiple raw/live edges just don't stack vertically very well and won't work for our purpose. As DD2, who took several classes in forestry as part of her wildlife management degree, said "These look like they were made from pulp sticks, not saw logs."

During the week where we had a string of days in the mid-40s and even up to 60 degrees, I stained the walls for the next group of stalls. Which is one entire stall. two stall fronts, and all but the dividing wall in the adjoining stall. The doors will get stained once we have the right bottom boards for them (DH put in some scrap ones in the meantime).

Do you remember in January's update where I mentioned having cold weather problems with gate posts shifting? One gate no longer lined up with it's latch and I had to use a chain to hold it shut.  Well, once everything thawed, DH was able to use the tractor to fix that post and now the gate and latch meet up correctly.  Hooray!

We have discovered a new gate woe, however.  With the gustier winds of the Spring-like days, we found that when the big 16' gate is opened (say, to drive the tractor through), the wind will take it and ram it into the mesh, bending the mesh, getting the prong that goes into the latch caught in the fence as well as allowing the top of the gate to lean on the strand of hot tape.  Not a gate you want to touch without unplugging the fencer in the barn first!

We are going to have to rig up some sort of 'door stop' for this issue so the gate can't open quite that far.  Gates touching the fence is not allowed!

Oh! Almost forgot to add that the water hydrant in my barn thawed and had been back in use for a few weeks.  Then we had two cold windy days in a row (highs only in the 20s) and it froze again.  :0(  But only for a couple of days, then the temperatures returned to 40ish and the sun came out and it thawed.  We definitely are going to have to do some investigating and repairing of that issue this summer so that it doesn't happen next winter.

Sewing and Stitching Update, February

 I did quite a bit of counted cross-stitching in the past month.  I guess I started it since the January update, and have the cross stitched portion (not to count the backstitching, etc.) about half done already!

The pattern is one I purchased off of Etsy and is by the same designer as the fox I stitched last winter.  It's a cute little Eurasian red squirrel in a very warm and comfy looking sweater.  I decided not to do mine on quite as dark of cloth as the original and am using a piece of  'natural' colored Aida instead.

In addition to stitching the squirrel, I've been working at least a few hours a week on the baby quilt for grandbaby #6.  It took a week for me to get all the pieces for the star blocks cut.  31 blocks with 17 pieces per block = 527 pieces.

Then I started sewing the star blocks together, beginning with the lowest number of stars needed in a particular fabric combo and working my way up the the highest number.  That took about a week and a half of my designated sewing time.

one of these for the center

two of these

eight of these

eight of these also

(color really off in this photo)

twelve of these

You're probably thinking "how are those blocks ever going to be in the same quilt and go together?"  If the mental picture I have, and the rudimentary drawing in colored pencils that I did before even starting to cut any fabric turn into reality, it's going to work.  Trust me.

It'll be a loud quilt, that's for sure, but hopefully cohesively chaotic rather than just a clashing mess.

first four rows