spring clean up

Does anyone out there in blogland get this magazine?? It is a favorite of mine and has all sorts of good articles and tips for small hobby farms.. thus the name of it I suppose... but, if you happened to pick up the May/June issue....










and if you happened to go the animal section where they answer all kinds of questions....













There just could be someone that you "know"... our photographer friend/neighbor took this picture last spring during the vet's visit. And here we are... Tonka and myself, with out vet! The question had to do with vaccinations for horses and we are "famous" yet again!!!!








The guineas on the loose!!! I want to coop them up soon, just in case they decide to lay a clutch, I would really like to get some little keets this year. But, for now, they are pairing up and on the hunt for "bugs". I have to say, we have yet to find a tick on "anyone" this spring and I have already heard that many are dealing with the ticks. (that's Mr. G in the back "guarding" his gals)

I really do enjoy them. Yes, they are very loud, and they go pretty much where they please (including next door, where I don't think my neighbor is quite so happy)... but I love to see them walking around the yard and gobbling up all those "nasty" bugs!!!!

Sadie has been so anxious to get her garden growing again. With the prediction of a few days of rain coming, she worked on getting her garden cleaned out and ready for seeds. Abbie was more than happy to help, though it took a few tries to tell her that we don't walk IN the garden....

I turned the boys out in the round pen for a bit of grass and to give them a change of scenery. We have cut the pasture back so it has a chance to grow, and I know they feel a bit squished. They were so happy to get out here.

And after some rolling around, and looking for the sweetest spots, they fell into grazing and were the happiest of beasts. Silver has come thru the winter well, we actually got some weight back on him and hope to keep it up over the summer. That's the trouble with these ol' boys... it's often hard to keep the weight on them.








Ed and I went to work in the paddock area. Just because they are so big, the horses keep this area pretty well torn up. And then add rain and muck to it, and it's a pretty big mess. I know it can't be helped sometimes, but seeing horses standing in muck is one of those things that makes me crazy.

So, we took the tractor and dug out as much of the muck as we could. Taking it down to solid pack again....

We ordered a trailer dump of stone dust (which actually is fairly cheap right now) and replaced the muck with that. Stone dust is nice, because it will pack down and sheds the water pretty quickly. It should also be easy for me to pick up and poops that are left behind.








I didn't think we would actually use that whole pile, but we did. And when the rain did come, it seems to work well. We're actually going to get another load, because there are places around the barn that could use some good fill, and if there is a bit left over, I would like to get our walkway to the house done.

Busy, busy spring days.... but it's so nice to be working outside and thinking about those types of projects....