Snowflakes and silly horses...

March 3, 2006 - My dear daughter (DD) and dear son-in-law (DSIL) had just started moving into the farm - no horses on the property, stuff in Orleans, Nepean and at the farm - and had lots of work to do. It was pretty bleak outside. There were no fences, no shelters, and lots of snow.



March 3, 2007 - Now there are fences and horses and a shelter. You can see six horses in this picture. We have two more in the paddock behind the barn. There's still lots of work to do - it's a farm, after all, but there is progress.

I took both pictures from the same vantage point - the back door - but zoomed in a little tighter on the horses than on the empty field. The pool is still in the same place, just not visible.

Seven paddocks are fenced and hot wired. We're only using four through the winter so that there are some clean ones for the horses once the snow starts to melt. We feed huge round bales in each field. Some of the horses come in for grain at suppertime, but most are just on hay and water.

DD and DSIL took Charlie and Reba out for a ride in the snow flurries this morning. Daisy and Tinkerbelle went along for the run. They rode around the 1/2 mile track, but couldn't stay out too long as DD had to be at work at 1 pm.






Bart the cat thought about following, too, but he decided to stay behind with me while I took pictures of the horses in the paddocks.

Bart certainly has personality - and charming good looks. He fancies himself a great stalker and hunter, but we think only hunts toes and fingers. He's supposed to be a barn cat, but he'd rather loll around on the couch, or steal the dogs' toys.




Charlie decided that he was tired and hot after the ride and once his saddle was off, he had a big roll in the fresh snow in front of the barn. I was laughing too hard to get the best shot in focus - Charlie sat up on his butt and shook all over to get the snow off his back before he stood up.

You can see Tinkerbelle and Daisy watching in amazement. My DD has the reins in her hand as well as the saddle and she's laughing pretty hard, too.

There are snowflakes melting on my camera lens, as well as snow falling all around us.

Once the horses were back out in the field, my DD and DSIL fixed a fence wire that was pulled down by the silly 4-year olds (Charlie and S'Heir). Then it was time for me to head home again.

So much has changed in the last year: Fences, horses, work, and even pets. Sometimes it seems as though you're not making any progress, then when you look back at the photos, you see just how far you've really come. It's amazing!