Filed under: June 2023 | Tags: Compost, learning new things, sharing, sharing knowledge, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses
June 5, 2023
This weekend, I attended a Suffolk horse fun day in the Hocking Hills area of southern Ohio. We caught up with friends from 4 states and 5 Ohio counties. I learned some new things and shared ideas from them all. For instance, the tree above is a lilac tree! Who knew? I have seen lilac bushes all of my life, but this is a tree planted around 1909. It was a gift from a husband to his wife. They are long gone but the tree stands as a testament to their love for each other. The fragrance was wonderful!
Our non-profit, sister group, hosted the get together. We gathered to plant open pollenated seed corn using walk behind seeders and a single horse. Men from North and South Carolina, shared their knowledge and equipment with us all.
We did a little soil preparation before planting. Amee and Bree in the foreground, pulled a forecart and small disc. This was Bree’s first time off the farm. She did very well meeting other horses, all sorts of people and situations, even traffic on the road. She has a ways to go, but I was pleased with her.
The small fields were first “laid off” with a small plow with sweeps on it, making small furrows for the horse to walk in and define the row spacing at about 42″. This was made to look very easy, but it takes a steady horse and a man with a keen eye!
The horse walked down the row pulling the seeder. One man can drive the horse and guide the seeder, but in this photo, a young 2 year old Suffolk gelding, pulls the seeder while being driven. This builds confidence in a young horse as he learns a new job. He did and outstanding job.
Bree stands patient (yawning) after doing a little single driving. She wasn’t ready to pull the seeder yet. She is still learning to walk straight and be where the lines tell her to be. She got a little frustrated, but we worked it all out. I will have her understanding her job better very soon. The photo also shows either great conversation, or a whole bunch of “compost” getting spread. My weight loss journey only shows in my baggy pants, but that too will be better soon…I hope
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: 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.
Filed under: April 2023 | Tags: foal death, promise of things to come, Suffolk Punch horses
April 25, 2023
We were filled with emotion as “Tug”, our second foal of the year was born. He was a little slow getting going, but once he figured things out, he was off and running. He, along with his mother, half sister Joy and her mother Abby, were all out on our big pasture. The foals could run and rest in the warm sunshine. Tug jogged around and nursed often.
Yesterday morning, I found Tug laying on a grassy knoll, stretched out as if sleeping peacefully, but Tug was dead. He had passed in the night. We don’t know why these things happen sometimes. There were no signs of distress, stiffness or soreness of any kind. The night before he passed, I checked on them all at dark. He was walking near mom just doing what baby horses do.
I buried Tug right there on his grassy knoll. Mom Amee, whinnied for him awhile yesterday, but had become quiet by evening. Today she is grazing and keeping Abby and Joy company. Thankfully Amee is ok and doing fine. We will breed her back next month and try again for 2024.
Amee is a great mother. Tug was her third foal. This breed is critically endangered. Many mares get bred, but only about 80-90 foals get registered each year. I will remain undaunted as we do our best to help preserve this breed. So with heavy heart I say goodbye to Tug, but with the optimism of any farmer…I say, there is always next year.
Filed under: April 2023 | Tags: Baby horses, foals, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses
April 22, 2023
Two days ago, we welcomed “Tug” to our farm. He is a big boy. Mom Amee, was glad to meet him too. Tug made his debut at 7:45 Thursday morning. I had to help mom just a bit to get him on the outside. He was a little slow to nurse, but once he figured it out he was a happy little guy!
A little white star and long legs makes him a handsome boy. He struggled to make those legs work, after being cooped up for the last eleven months. Today he is out on pasture with mom, his Aunt Abby and half sister Joy. They are all enjoying the rain and wide open space to run and rest.
I am not making much of a fashion statement, but this is how you look after jumping out of bed and into your clothes to help deliver a foal. It took almost 2 hours to get to this point, but it was worth every minute!
We have two more of Hank’s babies coming in the next few months. Hank is now proven and the barnyard is adjusting to the new arrivals. Connie and I are all smiles as we watch the youngsters frolic in the pasture, zooming past their moms in big circles.
This guy gets all the credit…but the girls do all the work! Many thanks to my great mommas, Amee and Abby. Thanks be to God for his many blessings!
Filed under: April 2023 | Tags: Baby horses, draft horses, foals, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses
April 18, 2023
Welcome to our world, Riceland Meadows “Joy”! This little girl was born yesterday afternoon. We waited on her for a while, but she was worth the wait! Her momma Abby, was very happy to meet her too. We struggled to name her, because we had so many choices, one of which was “Patience”. It took a lot of that while we waited. First I had her due date wrong by a month. Then mom went almost to weeks beyond that day! I carefully watched and we all waited, finally Joy picked yesterday for her debut.
Hank is now a proud papa with his first baby on the ground. We are happy with his efforts. We have another Hank baby due in a few days and hopefully two more in the early summer. We look forward to meeting the coming foals.
We will be posting more baby pictures in the coming days and weeks. Farm work continues with a few projects wrapping up and a few more about to start. Training continues too, but everything pauses when the babies come!
Filed under: April 2023 | Tags: firewood, maple syrup, maple syrup season, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses
April 2, 2023
I have no idea where March 2023 went! We were crazy busy with Maple syrup and all things farming. I made a rookie mistake and calculated the due dates of our two mares wrong. They are due in April…not March. They did enjoy a couple extra weeks of maternity leave. I got up a few extra nights for foal watch checks…but then I figured out what I had done. So, we are now making preparations for the new arrivals.
The maple syrup season finished up for us on March 23rd. We boiled until almost midnight that Thursday. We are in cleaning mode now as we get everything disassembled, cleaned and stored for next season. We are happy with the 2023 season, even though we missed the first sap run. We were busy processing our pigs, but we rallied and made it happen. It did add a bit of chaos, but it all turned out well.
We had a couple photo sessions with our stallion Hank. We want to advertise him a bit in the future. He is a handsome fellow!
We think the photos turned out well. Hank will have babies on the ground very soon. Our mares are just days away from foaling and we are very excited. Hank is a registered Suffolk stallion. His full name is Ridgewind Atheling Hank of Indian Mound … Hank for short.
The biggest things we will be occupied with in the coming weeks are the babies of course, but completing the maple clean up, working on next years firewood for syrup, plowing for spring crops and working/training the young horses. Things are settling down. My sister’s house is complete and she is moving in to it. I still have some follow up there, but the intensity is over. So, yes, no fooling, it is indeed April already!
Filed under: March 2023 | Tags: firewood, maple syrup, maple syrup season, memories, Small Farming, Suffolk Punch horses
March 11, 2023
We have been crazy busy here! We completed the hog butchering on the day that hindsight would tell us we should have tapped our maple trees. We missed the first run, but did scramble and have been on track since. The photo above shows a sample from our first boil of 2023.
The contraption sitting on our evaporator with all the pipes, is a preheater. It preheats the sap using the steam. The heated sap enters the evaporator at 180 degrees F. A byproduct of this is hot water from the condensed steam that is collected in the round tank to the left of the picture. Having hot water and plenty of it, is a wonderful thing.
The preheated sap helps me burn less wood too. The steam from the boiling sap, usually just vents out the building, but this allows us to make use of the BTU’s that would otherwise be lost. It has upped my efficiency too, allowing be to boil faster, using less wood. There is still plenty of steam to fill the sky and make me remember my grandparents sugarhouse steaming away in my childhood memories.
I am using our son’s horses to gather sap this year. Our main team Amee and Abby are both on maternity leave. These youngsters have been doing a great job. We haven’t had much snow, but the mud has been plentiful.
A quick shot of our midseason lineup. We are about halfway through the season I think, but Mother Nature will let us know for sure. We got a little “sugar snow” this weekend. “Sugar snow” is a term I grew up with describing a snow while we made syrup in the late spring. We have seen buzzards, robins, a wandering ground hog and just today, red-winged blackbirds. These are all signs of the coming spring. The season will come to a close for us when the maples start to bud out or when I run out of firewood. I am pushing the wood pile to the limit. I want to completely clean out the stored wood. I will fill it all again with wood cut last fall and split when we fill the woodshed. Good dry, well seasoned firewood makes a very hot fire, the very thing needed to boil maple sap.
Our mares, hanging out waiting for their babies to arrive. It looks to me like they are ready for the big day. They are both just due, so in a couple days, we may have pictures of foals to share. In the meantime, I will keep working in the sugarbush and around the farm, waiting on the warm greener days of spring. Tonight we “spring” ahead with our clocks allowing for more daylight in the evening… I think I’m ready.
RicelandMeadows 