Sunny days!

Hurray! A few days of sun with no rain or snow, and the muck at the farm is starting to dry up a bit. The birds are back - mallards are swimming in the big ditch and nesting on the bank.



There are frogs clucking and chirping and honking all around. Different frogs sound off at different times during the day. This one was staking his claim to a section of mud near the pasture. DD scooped him up to show me. He's a Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) according to the Natural Resources Canada website (http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/subsite/glfc-amphibians).


We see lots of different snakes, frogs and toads around the farm - most commonly garter snakes, but the occasional Brown Snake, too.

DD rode Charlie out in the sand ring for the first time this spring - it's finally dry enough. Charlie is going to make a wonderful child a great hunter horse someday. He is a willing worker and loves to be praised when he pleases you.

Charlie loves Elmo, a big Golden Retriever cross, at the arena down the road. Charlie grooms him all over if given a chance.

I finished my first pair of socks and another pair of mittens for the Snowsuit Fund. I used Patons Classic Wool on 2.25 mm needles and adapted the Suzi Knits Basic Free Sock Pattern to suit my knitting style and size. I use oddments of acrylic or wool to make the mittens - it's a great way to clear out part of my stash and benefit someone else at the same time. The mitt pattern is one that my Granny taught me 30+ years ago - basic mitts on four needles.












Syra, my dog, spends her days on the couch, curled up with an afghan.

Jerry, Grace and Will enjoy the sun from their cages. The wet-looking bird is Grace, he likes to bathe in his water dish. Willy is camera shy and hid behind the edge of the towel. Jerry is a the one with the band on his leg. Since he is banded, we know he was born in 2000. I don't know how old Will and Grace are as they didn't come with bands - and since they're rescued cockatiels - I don't know much about their history. All three came to me through a friend just over three years ago. They were not imprinted or handled properly when they were young, so they're not very friendly.













My African violets are starting to bloom, too, now that the Christmas catus flowers are finished.




Spring is wonderful - I enjoy discovering all the new and renewed life!

Busy week

One of our boarder's horses, Queenie, lost her foal this week. We bred her to AA Decadence (Dekker), a black Arabian stallion, in August last year, so she was due to foal in July. Out of 5 mares bred to Dekker, only one is still in foal; my mare Sheba is on track for her foal in May.

The vet came out to check Queenie on Tuesday after she miscarried and checked Sheba at the same time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a safe birth in May for Sheba's foal. The vet says that Queenie is okay and that we can breed her again this summer.

My daughter's dog, Tinkerbelle, visited the vet on Wednesday to be spayed. She's home now and feeling good. The vet said to try not to let her do too much - she's a Border Collie cross with a strong herding instinct. She's being pretty good about it all, but doesn't understand why she can't chase the horses or play with Daisy in the fields right now.

Charlie, the 4-year old, is going to Sunset Farms just down the road for a month or so so that he can be ridden more often. The ground at the farm is just too mucky and slippery for any real work, so he'll be boarded there and worked in their indoor arena. Even when the snow was on the ground a few weeks ago, there was enough ice under it that he could only be worked at walk and trot, even on the lunge line.

Shadow, the horse that was at the farm just to be sold as her family couldn't keep her, has been sold. The new owner hopes to pick her up in the next couple of weeks as soon as she can arrange trailering. Shadow is going to be a broodmare for Canadian Sport Horses and and share a pasture and barn with a couple of other mares. She will also get some light riding work (she wants to work) but not enough that it will make her sore. Her new owner is thrilled to have her and can't wait to have her home.

It's hard to believe that March is almost over. Time is really flying this month - must be because I had so much work to do. I did the permits list for Ottawa Construction News, my regular job, and some work for a Human Resources Consultant. Add that to my "volunteer" work at my daughter's place and for the condo board, plus Plenty of Fish events, and I'm a busy person.

April doesn't look like it will be any quieter, either, and plans for May are already starting to be made. Pony Club activities are beginning to pick up, so my daughter and I will both be out testing and teaching kids and ponies on the weekends.

Pony Club Quiz is in April in Smiths Falls and the first Pony Club Rally of the year will be held at the Rideau-Carleton Raceway on the long weekend in May. Contact me if you want to volunteer - even if you're not a horsey person, we can always use more hands to build jumps.

This is a teaching and testing rally, so the kids and ponies spend the weekend taking lessons in small groups and looking after their ponies - and being judged and tested - with a riding test that covers flat work, stadium jumping, and cross country on the Monday. Everyone goes home happy, tired and dirty after a busy weekend - and most can't wait to do it all over again the next year. This will be our first time at Rideau Carleton - in previous years we held our rally on the Maxville Fairgrounds.

Well, time to start the weekend!