RicelandMeadows

June 12 2024

It has been a very busy crazy few weeks since my last BLOG post in May. In thirty years on this farm, we have never made dry hay in the month of May. We can’t say that anymore. We had two very nice dry spells that allowed us to make a majority of our first cutting hay. We got it made and all put inside before the rains came. Haying is a busy stressful time as we mow, fluff and rake the drying grass, then bale it at the right time. Lastly, rush to get it picked up off the field and put away. We are very pleased with this blessing.

It is also breeding season. Here “Hank”, our herd stallion shows off to a visiting mare. He looks tough, but he actually flirting with her. He has been a busy guy with five mares and still three more to go, perhaps a couple more. Time will tell.

A friend found me this antique seed cleaner. I plan to use it in conjunction with our treadmill, to clean seed and the horses feed grains. It is a back burner project for now, but soon it will be in operation.

Training the young foals continues too. We have been working on haltering and tying up. We keep the lessons short and the babies safe. They are getting the hang of it.

Blossom isn’t too thrilled, but she is tolerating it very well. Kind, steady training makes this go quite well. I enjoy it, but I like it best once they understand that this is just part of their life. They succumb to it and put their heads into the halter and await instruction. That is a day any teacher relishes.

Our Montana granddaughter got married last Saturday. This is a wonderful thing. We wish them well on their life journey together. Illness prevented us from attending, but we will see them soon.

June is almost half over and so is 2024. “Time and the tides wait for no man”. I stand in awe at how fast the days fly by. We look forward to some much needed time off coming soon! First we have a little more hay to make, two more mares to foal and a load of garden work to catch up on. The best part of the hard work is the sweet sleep that comes after the work is done. Slow down a bit summer!