Filed under: May 2023 | Tags: draft horses, foals, handling and training drafts, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses
May 20, 2023
Our filly Joy gets a morning back rub. She is a very tame little girl. She seeks me out for attention.
She is almost a month old already. She has been tied, led and even had her first trailer ride. She is a trusting baby who loves to be petted and made over.
Magee, is in the background. She is a year old now. She and 2-year old Grace keep Joy and Abby company. They all stay together and come when called. Joy has a big girl attitude with lots of sass. She is a “joy” to be around! We spend time together daily.
Bree, in the photo above is doing well with her training too. She is doing meaningful work. Here she drags the garden. She has hauled manure in the noisy manure spreader three times now. She isn’t bothered by the loud, squeaky machine anymore. She just gets right in to her collar and pulls with whichever teammate she is with. I am pleased with her progress so far.
Filed under: May 2023 | Tags: Love, Mother's Day, mother's love, Suffolk Punch horses
May 14, 2023
Today, we honor our mothers. This is just one day set aside for mom, yet she deserves so many more! Like Abby watches over Joy, in the photo above, they watched over us as we slept. They attended to our every need. They did their utmost to help us get our wants. They listened to our hopes and supported our dreams.
All of us stand in her shadow and hopefully reflect her best attributes. Her love is never ending. In fact, it grows for us every single day of her life. No matter what we do or have done, mom loves us!
So, today, call mom, hug mom if possible, pause to think of her if you can’t . Never forget that she loves you beyond words and deeds. Lastly, don’t wait a whole year to let her know how much you love her too. Let it be Mother’s Day every day. She deserves every kind gesture that we can make. She requires none. She asks for none. She gives freely. She prays daily and she loves without ceasing. Hold her in your arms when you can. Hold her in your memories when you can’t. Hold her in your heart forever, because I assure you that you are forever in hers.
Filed under: May 2023 | Tags: honey, honeybees, small farm jobs, Small Farming, swarms
May 6, 2023
This day started out like I had two left feet. I was planning to head to a plowing match but everything would not cooperate. I finally threw my hands up and surrendered the day to God. There must be a reason that all my plans had a wrinkle in them?!
After finishing chores and taking care of a thousand little things, everything started to fall into place. Many jobs that I had neglected over the last rainy week, got accomplished. I am a bit sad to have missed the plow day, but I feel much better now.
Late this afternoon I captured this swarm of honey bees. It is my first one of the year. It is a dandy too, almost 5 pounds of bees. I managed to catch the queen in my first attempt. I got her into a small hive with about half of the bees on the post. It is easy to get a swarm that is hanging off a limb, but a 360 degree post with bees all in the woven wire too, is a big challenge! I swept a second bucket of bees off the post and shook them at the hive entrance. In about fifteen minutes, 90% of the bees had entered the hive. In another half hour they had all entered their new home.
It was a beautiful day. This team in the foreground hauled all the sap this year. They are soaking up the sun and nibbling some grass. I think they enjoyed the day too! Especially since they didn’t have to pull the plow for my “fun”.
Filed under: May 2023 | Tags: Draft horse training, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses
May 5, 2023
Bree and Rosie waiting for the rain to let up. They stand waiting at the gate, looking to me to open it. We are in a holding pattern due to wet ground, cold weather and more rain. It has been a cold and wet two weeks. April started out unseasonably dry and even hot, but ended the month wet and cold. May has kept with the April pattern, but summer is coming!
They stand quiet. Patience is a good thing to teach a young horse like Bree. There will be many times in her working life where she will be required to stand still and wait. These short lessons are well worth the time.
You’ll notice that the barn floor is littered with gobs of hair. The horses are shedding their winter coats quickly. They know that warm weather is coming fast. I am doing my best to keep up with the curry comb!
If you look close, you’ll see my Border Collie Sam, watching and waiting as well. He thinks its time to go…it’s just a little rain!
In the background, Grace munches her hay. Her training will start very soon too. She had her second birthday two weeks ago. She is big girl now, so time to do big girl things. She spends time in the tie stall learning commands like, “get over” , “back” and “whoa”. These are all commands that she will hear all of her life. She already complies with just my quiet voice. She will make a good workhorse.
In the photo, Rosie looks almost bored as she waits patiently. I know girl, I’m a little bored too!
Filed under: May 2023 | Tags: draft horses, plowing, Spring, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses, Wagon rides
May 1, 2023
We had a good time in the drizzle at Joel Baldwin’s 3rd annual Plow Day last Saturday. I used our son’s team Belle and Anna to give wagon rides. There were 20 horses and their teamsters in attendance. The crowd watched from the road, in the field and walking among the plowing teams. It was a fun day.
The weather could have been worse. Scattered drizzle ruled the day, but the plowing went on in spite of the wet weather. The local Plymouth Grange folks fed us and made sure we had sweet treats to eat. The local newspaper showed up late in the day, but still gave us some press and exposure.
There were several photographers in attendance, both amateur and professional, Lori Spellman, Caitlyn Mosier and Martha Gillespie got some neat photos of us all. Joe Mischka, from Rural Heritage magazine came to make a video for RFD-TV, and get some still shots as well. We appreciate all the support. All of the photographers shared their work with us. Great folks!
The rain came and went until a little after noon. At noon, the sky opened up a bit and soaked us all good. We unhooked and enjoyed some lunch while we waited for the skies to clear. They actually did, but much of the crowd was gone. Undaunted, we hitched 9 horses to a 2 bottom plow and plowed for the next 90 minutes, filling out a nice day.
It was a wonderful spring day!
Today is the first day of May. Our work on the farm is in full swing. It was fun to take a day off and spend it with other horse friends. This week will be back to training youngsters and all things farm…even in the rain.
RicelandMeadows 