worry...

It's already day 3 again and soon I am off... Unfortunately, Mavis was sick last night. I didn't see her the whole day but this is not unusual when there are lots of dogs in the barn. She doesn't really like dogs ! But unusual is that she is not there around 3.30 pm / 4 pm. Most of the time she finds me and then stalks me to make sure that I feed her before I leave. Not yesterday ! Well, I thought she is busy hunting or sleeping in the shade 'cause it was pretty hot. I was looking for her at 6pm when I went to the barn for my supper... no Mavis around ! The next time when I went over to the barn to do night check she was laying in the flower bed on her favourite spot. Weird was that she didn't jump up and came to greet me ! I went inside and fed horses, thought she will follow me inside... Mavis was still laying in the same spot when I came outside to count horses and fill up Cuties water bucket. So, I knew for sure that something is wrong with her... I picked her up and brought her in the barn. Poor little girl ! I had no idea what to do and so I called my friends to ask for help. Well, it's hard to say what's going on when you can't see the cat. I put fresh water beside her and left her in the barn so she is safe from the coyotes. Today, when I came in the barn at 6.30 am she was still laying on the hay bales but looked fresh and not so tired anymore. She even wanted her breakfast ! Good sign. :) After a little nap after breakfast she went outside and went hunting again. Mavis spent the whole afternoon in the yard. Around 3.30pm she found me outside, sat on the hay bales in the wheelbarrow to make sure I wouldn't forget to feed her. I had to catch two more horses and when I came back inside somebody was asking pretty loud for her supper ;D Looks like Missy is feeling good again :D

wet day... time for stuff on the farm

I couldn't do some more raking the next day :( too wet ! There was a pulpit which needed a face lifting. Both sides were open and everybody could see through it, so it needed a wall on the one side. That was our next project for the moment. I was varnishing the wood. We had to wait till it was dry and I needed to buy food anyway and so we decided to have a nice lunch, buy food and fuel in Falun. The afternoon wasn't over yet when we returned from the trip, time for a second coat of varnish on the pulpit :) And while we were cleaning up afterwards I had the idea to put up fans in the church. This was a project which was on the 'to do' list since a while ago and I should help. We only put one fan up yet, work like that is hard on the back ! :( I was just swamping 'cause I would have to climb up a tall ladder... and this wouldn't be a good idea, I am afraid of height....

lazy morning, busy afternoon

My first day off started pretty easy. After breakfast I got comfortable on the sofa and read a book (well, not a whole one...). Around 10 am I made two bottles for the brat (heifer). She was hungry like always and pretty demanding too. Next project was feeding the guys out in the field and take down the stage in the arena, still there from the Camp Meeting. After lunch we took off to the hay field to check the hay if its too wet to bale. It was good and so I got the job to rake one row in another. It sounded pretty complicated first but when I tried it it was actually fun. I really hope I can do some more raking tomorrow again :)

three days of running

After a busy Monday morning and a normal work day today I am off again. This time I really need some peace and quiet... ! The last three days were just busy and even more busy. I am almost exhausted. I am glad I can take it easy and will go raking hay in the afternoon. I will enjoy a lazy morning ;) well, maybe there is something else to do and I wont be lazy at all... ;D I have to recharge my batteries somehow...

jumping show and colic

Another busy day, Jumper show. I found the one horse with a colic in the morning. After feeding the other horses I did acupressure on him and got his gut going again. Still, he wasn't getting better, it seemed that he was feeling better and then the pain came back... So, I did more acupressure and walked him for around 2 1/2 hours till the vet came. More walking and two injections and still he wasn't better ! The vet said he needs to go in the vet clinic for more treatment and clarification of whats going on. Poor guy ! You could see when the pain came back he was like a tanker 'let's goooooo !' and he just took off. I was tired after my work out with him in the pasture. The afternoon was a usual one when there is a show. Pick outdoor stalls, feed, answer questions, deal with rider, get horses in and sweep. A looong day !! I really hope my next two days will be normal long !

day in town and fixing a baler

Yesterday, we went to town, Wetaskiwin, for a 'parts-hunt'. The baler needed a few new parts and it's better to have parts in stock at home if you need them... And I had to do some business in town too. We left home around 10.30 am and were home around 5 pm. It was a loooong day in town. I was soo tired. Next project was to take the pickup and bring fuel to the guys in the field who were baling the whole day. I took the chance to be on the tractor during baling. Unfortunately, something got stuck in the baler and there was black smoke coming out of the baler !! Something wrong.. ! One of the belts had a problem and heated up the one metal roll. Okay... next thing is to fix this thing. The three of us spent around 2 hours to fix the baler. My job was to make sure all the bolts are there. It was interesting see how you can change a belt.

move cows, trail ride and grand opening

My day off started with a nice little breakfast, cinnemon toast and tea. After that I fed the calf her breakfast. She was demanding like everytime when she hears that I mix her milk. :) She is so cute ! Our next project was to saddle horses and move cows and calves from the pasture along the road down to the lease. I rode Dusty again. We had a little discussion but then everything was good and we had a good work out. We decided to check cows down in the lease and go for a nice trail ride. It was nice sunny weather, little cloudy and a nice breeze. We made sure the little group we dropped off in the lease find their buddies which are already there. In the group we moved was also a bull... he thought he is the king and started to holler as soon as he heard or smelled the other bulls. Soon, there was a bull fight going on. I made sure I am not close ! We left the cows fighting or visiting with each other and took off for a trail ride. It was great to sit on a horse again. I really missed it ! ;) The ground was just wet and some wet spots so deep. Dusty was up to his knees in the one mud hole ! Poor guy ! After lunch we headed down to the hay field raking the hay. We waited for the baler to come down too. Unfortunately, it was too wet to bale yet... so we decided to go to Edmonton. There opened a new outdoor store today. It's an outdoor/hunting/fishing/hiking/camping store. They have nice bedding :) Lots of stuff with moose pictures on ;) It was amazing to see all this different things and soon you are just tired from watching... Next thing was getting food ! Chinese food and for dessert ice cream ! It was a great day, I really enjoyed it and we were laughing a lot ;D