Nothing like a warm supper in winter!

Angie relishes the last morsels of a hot mash supper, a nice way to stay warm in the continuing crisp days and nights of winter.

Protecting his toys

A bit of wind and snow the other night, Mago has deposited one of his favorite toys by the barn door for safety.  Here he tries to bring it to me....

Snoozing in the sun

The horses are getting a little restless, they are not able to run and romp as readily where it is icy.   Mago and Angie are pictured lounging in the sun and looking out into the nearby hillsides.  With the leaves off the trees, they can see everything that is happening on the west and south hillsides.   When the three girls are watching attentively and Mago is leaping around to show off, you can be sure to see a  creature or two traversing those hills. 

Harley gets comfortable

 Harley the Wonder Dog was happy to receive his new bed!  I was happy too because it was on sale for $32 and it has cedar in the stuffing, making him  a very nice smelling dog.  Harley now sleeps in and has to be fetched to go out in the morning.

Harley boasts about his new bed to his friends.

Stairs underway

We start work on the permanent basement stairs, starting with one partition wall.   Those 12 foot sheets of drywall were a bit tricky to spot into place, but in the end they slid nicely from  upstairs.  Fortunately the temporary stairs are narrower than the permanent ones will be, leaving just enough room for this maneuvering.  The other side requires a double wall, one 4" partition wall to clad the stairs side of the steel column, and one 6" plumbing wall which will also clad the column.  Theoretically, we should be able to slide the stairs into position to secure between the permanent walls.  Theoretically that is.

Morning sun

Ragweed is not something that I have ever given much thought to, other than perhaps to think murderous thoughts as I scalped it down in the summer when trimming its aggressive invasions.   This week I saw who does love it.  At the thaw, some of the snow sheltered and dried ragweed, plus other plants, became exposed.  They were then dusted with a skiff of snow, creating a winter bird banquet.   The ragweed, laden with seeds, was promptly stripped.  Remaining were mostly bare stalks, a few scattered rejected seeds and a dance floor pattern of little dancing feet in the snow.   THAT is what ragweed is for.  Harley the Wonder Dog is shown with the morning light on the house.  Bob is inside rustling up a hearty fire in the wood cookstove while Harley is poised to play the running game.   This is happily played by chasing the squirrels that chatter and tease him as well at the sticks that he collects for us to toss, over and over again.   The top of the snow bank between Harley and the house is where he stores his collection of sticks.  A favorite game is to have the stick thrown over the bank so that he can hurtle himself into the air for a great leap, then to plunge in the snow to climb the bank, panting and eager to do it again.   When finished, we give the stick back to him and he carefully stores it along the top of the bank for next time.  He also makes a little nest in the bed, where during the day he will curl up and keep surveillance over the Harley zone.   Harley is a little distracted and moony eyed over the Scottish Deerhound named Hickory that won the US's famed Westminster Dog Show.  He has requested a poster sized photo of her in the mud room......

Dealing with winter - the four legged way

Harley the Wonder Dog prefers to ride when the temperatures get below -20C.  Although he is supposed to stay in his back seat spot, the other day he leaped into the front seat to check out another dog that he spied.   He managed to press the door lock button and lock the keys in and Bob out.....  Despite there being fresh pork chops handy in a bag on the floor at the front seat, he followed Bob's hand signals and returned to his spot for close to an hour until Bob could get back with spare keys.  Good dog.

George shows how to handle winter, as snuggle cat, under the covers and waited on hand and foot.   Smart cat?

Hand Drumming

Catherine takes on the care of this "grandmother" and attends a local drumming circle where traditional hand drumming is carried out.  It was a wonderful experience, hopefully a path that will allow for further exploration.   Note that the grandmother is not to be set down on her face, when set down horizontally, she  is always to be laid top side up.   She is made of wood and rawhide, the back lacing is where she is held by one hand while drumming with the other.  There are many interesting traditions to learn for the care and handling of the hand drum, long may she sing!

February moon is shaping up

The weather is warming as the February moon waxes in, our precious snow is gradually disappearing.  February 12 was a lovely halo'd orb.   Hopefully there will be some snow for skiing until the end of the month.

Moving brush

Harley the Wonder Dog is pictured having dragged a larger than usual "stick" in the form of a little tree onto a snow bank.   He sees us doing such things in the bush and so perhaps he is just demonstrating pack behavior?  It sure seems as though he anticipates a worldwide stick shortage coming up, he has little piles of them everywhere.

Peeking around the corner

Naturally it is Mago peeking around the corner at me, where I am on the front porch of the house.  Once again, he hopes that we will play together.  Yesterday I watched him galloping around the pen with his mane flowing and his tail flagged up in the air, round and round the three mares who stood stoically with disinterest as he tore about and played in the snow.  Here is a creature who understands the joy of the moment.  He can often be found hopping about on his hind legs, flapping his "Jolly Ball" up and down by the handle.  The only encouragement that he needs to play is for me to show up and swing his halter and lead over my head, then he comes galloping and tries to stuff his head into the halter (or steal it, depending on his mood).   He is the answer to feeling sad in any way.  

Railing in progress

Pictured are stacks of some of the white cedar from our bush that we have stored in preparation for building the permanent west side porch railing for the house.   The temporary railing is pictured to the left and behind the pile of future railing spindles.  In the foreground are some of the posts and rails, kept swept so that they are accessible for when the railing is fabricated - tentatively this month (February).   We plan to ensure that the final backfill around the north, east and south sides of the house is within 24 inches of the porch deck, making railings unnecessary.  The drop is about 10 feet on the west side where the basement walkout is, so a railing is definitely in order.

New friend and forever home

This is my friend Bunny, meeting her new horse for the first time.  It was love at first sight.   I have been along "for the ride" while she looks recently, having lost her previous "horse partner" to old age, she has been horse-less for the first time in over 40 years.  Although we have looked at some very fine horses, THIS was the one.  He is a 9 year old Quarter Horse gelding that is trained in western riding.  He has good feet, nice balanced bone structure and is a complete gentleman - all of that with pizzaz and eagerness to move out.  I took  several photographs, and each time I raised the camera and clicked, he POSED.   Someone wants to be a parade horse.......   We go to pick him up tomorrow.

A week of more sub -30C weather

It is a good thing that when the thermometer dips below -30C, that there is typically no wind.  Not the smoke from the wood cookstove is wafting straight up - Bob is in there warming things up, note that I am NOT.  This morning I had flash frozen fingers while watering the horses....

Harley the Wonder Dog even tried to piddle on the porch columns in preference to going for our planned walk.... this was averted but he shows the displeasure in his face.  By the time we finished our chores and came in to warm up, he already had frosted frozen eyelashes (as I did too!).

Out and In

The horses and Princess are treated to some small bales of hay with a little tasty alfalfa when it is very cold, this in addition to their free choice supply of large bales in the feeders at the background.   A couple of days left and they will be refilled, hopefully at a little warmer temperatures for the tractor operator (Bob) and gate/twine handler (me). I have to hurry when I give them their hot mash suppers every day so that they are still warm when they get into their stalls to eat it.  Not a bad life for a horse in the winter!

Although the horses are fluffed up and not shivering at all, George (left) and Ivan (right) snuggle together for maximum warmth.   It appears that they feel we are being too frugal with the heat?

Plunging to -35C

Sure enough, La Ninja temperatures arrived through Saturday evening to give us -35C on Sunday morning, the cold point of the year to date.   The trees in the forest are snapping with the cold, this majestic old and spreading oak is next to where I am making my manure pile from cleaning the barn and paddock.   It will nicely compost away from direct contact with the tree and may help to promote some strong acorn growth for the next generation.  

Window and door trim

We add white pine trim to the interior sides and bottoms of the windows and sides of the doors in the log walls.  The top is dressed temporarily with a strip of neutral colored canvas, this covers the "sausage roll" of insulation, vapor barrier and Tuck Tape sealing, which is held in place by a settling boards that are periodically narrowed to accommodate the log wall compression.  Over the first five to six years, we can expect 6% or 5-1/2 to 6 inches of reduction in the height of the log wall. After this period, we can permanently fill and cover the top gap areas of the windows and doors in the log walls.  Now to finish sanding and staining these areas....

Frosty Morgan mare

Angie (short for Angara Tranquility) is normally bay in color, but is frosted at the tips for the season.  She has just had her hooves trimmed and is visiting from nibbling hay to see if I have any horse treats in my pocket.  This is a likely bet, since I usually carry pelleted hemp seed pellets for just such encounters.  Following doing some yielding to touch or signal, she earns a treat.   Angie is a Morgan and so a very "easy keeper"- the hemp (not the hallucinogenic variety) is a healthy treat because it is tasty plus contains no sugar and is packed with omega 3 and 6 oils.  Even Harley the Wonder Dog likes them (maybe just because he sees that the horses like them?).

Re-opening the snow machine trail

Maurice drops by on the groomer to notify us that he has reopened the snow machine trail.   This is great news and a sign that the local (and "resident") ski trails will soon be ready for gliding as well.

Snow arrives - better late than never

 Finally some snow arrives this week, mid January but better late than not at all.

New snow and morning chill create a mantle of glitter and heavenly shafts of sunlight.