RicelandMeadows

Our weather continues to be average, but the high end of our average. In other words, we are muddy not snowy. This picture is our horse work/playground.

The outside edges are sod, giving us a place to work horses and not be in the mud quite so much. The center portion has been plowed and lightly disced. I did it in time last fall for the grass to grow up through it some to act as a winter cover.

This area is where we work and train young horses. It allows us to break them to all sorts of horse drawn farm equipment. It also provides a place for steady repetition of pulling an old tire or wagon. Just giving them time in harness to work and learn. It does get a bit boring, but steady work makes good horses.

Work continues in our woodlot as we clean up trails and sap roads. The constant falling of dead limbs and wind blown trees keeps us a little busy. It too makes good work for the horses as we clean up and salvage the firewood.

As we clean up the woodland, we create brush piles from the smaller branches found in the tree tops. These piles create a good amount of habitat for the smaller woodland creatures. It provides them with shelter from the inclement weather and a safe place to hide from predators.

Environmental and woodland stewardship is a good idea on so many levels, one of which is simple kindness. I feel good when I see a chipmunk run into one of the piles I have made. I also like the small streams free from tree limbs and debris. It is a never ending job, helping nature clean up, but I think it is worth it.

Like the field edges of our horse playground where the grassy buffer filters surface water before it runs off the farm. It holds the topsoil and nutrients in place not allowing them to float off into the water courses. The leaf litter in the woodlands do the same thing, one more case of harmony on our farm.

The changing weather patterns that keeps our soils wet and unstable, makes for a bit of a challenge to work horses in the off season. Using some common sense and caring a little allows us to work with nature. We keep the soil where it belongs and still bring the value of working horses into play.

No matter if it is the fields or our woodlands we have a winter playground at our disposal every day. Today, the rain is falling steady. Snow is on the way for the next two days. Our playground will be inside the barn as we wait out the weather. Its time for grooming and haircuts and planning for our next project.