That’s what it’s turning in to here in Kansas. The wind has been howling since before dark, which hasn’t helped the restfulness that we all hope to acquire in the quiet of the evening hours.
Not alot going on here, in some ways. My days are about the same, day after day. I DO live on a working farm, so ALOT of my time is spent taking care of the farm, after I have successfully taken care of my husband and son.
Cooler weather has come to Kansas. The temperatures have been Fall-like, but they also remind us that snow could be coming at ANY time now. We have about half of the hay that we wanted to have. We will be getting more hay next week at some point, or the week after. The grain for the rest of the animals will do us until towards the end of November or into December, so we will be okay there for a bit. We will probably need one more order of grain to get us through the Winter, if I keep feeding at the same rate I have been. We will be laying in lay mash for the chickens in the next two weeks, as well, which means the rest of the grain should last us even longer.
I AM kind of concerned, though. One of our goats that we hadn’t meant to breed until next year appears to be pregnant with her first babies. Goats are breedable at 4 months old or so, from what we’ve read, but we had basically decided to not breed our younger doelings until NEXT year….to give them a little time to grow some more. So, now, after having done all the calculations as to when she MIGHT have been been bred, we wait….and count the days….and see if she really IS pregnant….or whether she is just a bigger pig than we figured.
The horses are doing good. I was able to get up on Alice here a few days ago! It seems like a LONG time in coming, since that has been one of the goals on my to-do list since we moved in here two years ago. She was calm and collected. I had my husband out with me, to make sure that, IF anything happened when I got on her, I would have someone there to pick up the pieces. And I put a lead rope on Alice and he led her with me on her without ANY trouble! That is a BIG step for her!! I need to change the bit on the bridle that I was using. I don’t think she likes my mechanical hackamore that I had on her. It has been apparent that she is used to having an actual bit in her mouth. So, I will be taking the curb bit off of one of my other headstalls and cleaning it up (it was doused in Neatsfoot Oil the last time the bridle was oiled) and trying it the next time I ride her. She might respond a little better.
On another horse note….or two…..we acquired another horse when we went on vacation. His name is Rusty and he is completely broke to ride already, so I have been able to ride him several times since we got back from vacation. I have taken him out and up the road twice without too much trouble. I have figured out that he hasn’t seen a culvert before, so the next time I take him up the road, I will probably have to take the time to let him investigate the 4 or 5 culverts on my riding route. He rides nice, though. I even had him into a canter for a short distance a few days ago when I rode him. That was a BIG step for us, as I had shied away from letting him canter because, when he tries to play that he is spooked, he will try to run.
We will probably be getting rid of Pheline…probably at one of the livestock sales before long. I have been having some challenges, and just don’t have the inclination or patience to try to train her to ride at this point, and, at this point, I’m not even sure she could handle being ridden. She has VERY poor confirmation, as well as a bad hoof or two, and she’s not all that healthy. I am not even sure that the sale is the best way to get rid of her, if she’s not going to be of any use to anyone. We will have to see, though. We have put the word out that we are trying to get rid of her, so we will see if anyone wants her in the next week or two. By getting rid of her, that means we have one less productive mouth to feed through the Winter. The direction that we are taking the farm in the coming months will be even more towards the producing-side of things, so if it’s not producing something for the farm, then it won’t be here very long. There will be an exception or two….but not too many.
Well, I think it’s time to see about doing something else….now that I’ve rambled for a bit on one of the longest entries that I have done in a long time.
Have a BLESSED weekend!