RicelandMeadows

June 30, 2025

It is hard to believe that June ends today. Thirty days gone in a blink! We have been busy here with foals, breeding and building. We also mixed in some hay making, gardening and lawn care. The foals are growing well. We have one more on the way, but will not be a June baby after all.

Hank has been busy settling mares with 2026 babies. The photo above is a 16 day old baby on an ultrasound machine. Exciting times for sure!

Connie and I decided to retrofit our old pig barn into a horse barn. The farm focus has shifted away from meat production and towards the breeding, keeping and training of the rare breed Suffolk Punch horse.

The old pig barn sits adjacent to our feedlot. Electricity and water are already present in the building. It was a wise decision to use this building over and renovate it to fit our purpose. It’s a lot of work, but will save us time and money as we build. Much of the lumber came from our white pine trees harvested just for this job.

This was the pig barn as we started dismantling. The roof was rebuilt and enlarged, doubling the size of the building. The following photo dump is a visual display of what I have been up to so far.

There is still much to do. Prepare for concrete, install siding and build the stalls. The siding is being sawed out at a local sawmill as I type. The hardwood lumber for the stalls has been ordered and will be here before I am ready. The concrete job is a big one for me, but I will get it all sorted out very soon. I am satisfied with the progress so far. The trusses were made by a local company from our white pine lumber. They did a fantastic job.

Many jobs await me as we work our way through summer. The pastures are getting mowed, manure is being stacked for composting and horses are being trained. The breeding season is wrapping up with just 3 more mares to go. The gardens are growing with corn almost knee high. Hay is getting made when the sun shines on us. All and all, things are very good. Thank you June and goodbye.