RicelandMeadows

October 1, 2024

We spent the last two weeks of September up in the great white north called Canada. We attended the annual North American Suffolk Gathering in Caron, Saskatchewan. It was a 2500 mile road trip! We had a great time, met some wonderful people and saw some very nice Suffolk horse stock.

After the event in Saskatchewan, we drove east to Manitoba where we visited a ranch where Suffolk horses and beef cattle are raised. This ranch was considered small…a mere 2000 acres! It was impressive as were the horses. It made for a whirlwind, exciting trip. We even managed to catch colds while we were gone adding to the “fun” during the trip.

We came home to a very green, very wet landscape. It had drizzled almost every day since we left. The greedy dry ground sucked up the moisture and got the grass growing lush again.

I made use of the damp soil and wet grass to burn some old firewood. It was a pile that I have been working out of for the last 3 years. What was left was “punky”. This means it would burn, but the BTU’s are significantly reduced. It was campfire wood, but not the type needed to boil maple sap. I made a pile for the small animals to use this winter for housing, but the rest I reduced to wood ash for the compost heap.

There is something magical about a cool evening fire. I sat and stared into the coals and flames and reflected on the month of September. It was a busy month that flew by quickly. The last two weeks when we were gone were a blur. We had a good time, but there is “no place like home”.

As we move into October, there are many exciting things we are working on. Young horses continue to get trained. Baby horses get weaned from moms making it a bit tense for a day or two, but quickly they forget the desire to nurse. Herd dynamics change a bit as babies move to permanent pastures with buddies of their own. The dynamics change again as the babies move on to new homes.

Jobs like fall plowing and firewood gathering offer opportunities for young horses to learn new things. We have a couple upcoming movie and photo shoots to discuss later.

The jobs at hand seem trivial when we watch the devastation in the southern states due to the recent hurricane. Our hearts go out to those affected by the wind, the rains and the flooding. Prayers for all of you as you put your lives back together.