dancing horses

dancing horses

Monday, February 25, 2019

The Really Bad, No-Good, Awful Monday

Just last night I was lamenting that I really had nothing to blog about. I haven't sat on Carmen or been able to do any ground work for a few weeks with the weather. My time with the horses consists of grooming and feeding of cookies.

cute face looking for cookies

who can resist this face?

Alternate title: Be Careful What You Wish For. (ominous fore-shadowing)

Last night we had a winter storm. It started as snow around 8 p.m. but overnight turned to rain. This morning the farm looked like a sheet of ice but it was actually deep slush. Things looked okay around the barn so I went in to get their breakfast ready.

When I walked into Carmen's stall the shavings felt squelchy under foot. I took a second look and saw that her stall was flooded.

Alternate Title: I Hate Mondays (well any day with a nasty surprise)

I gave her and Irish their feed and hay, headed into the house to ask Ed for help and then grabbed a shovel. I have drainage ditches around the barn but they were full of slush which was preventing the water from getting carried away.

Between the two of us we got the ditches cleared out and the water flowing. Ed then went and got on the tractor to clear out by the stall doors while I did some more shovelling.

All of this before coffee.

Alternate Title: Love is Shovelling Snow to Save the Horses Because You Love Your Wife (too long I know).

Once it was clear I let the horses out and went in the house to have coffee. I then headed back out to
clean the stalls.

So much mess

Alternate Title: FML (short and punchy don't you think?)

It took forever.

Thank God for shop vacs. Also, they are foul evil things. I can just picture them being invented by a group of engineers:

Here, look, I have invented this thing that is powerful and very useful. 

And it looks like R2D2- super cool. 

But it's not evil enough. What can we do to make it both a blessing and a curse? 

Well, let's put teeny wheels on it that only work on the smoothest of surfaces. 'Cause who's going to use it on those?

Yeah! and then have it move in random directions so that it's guaranteed to either stub a toe and/or bruise a shin. 
*enthusiastic nodding*

Daryll, you are a genius. Now, I've constructed a hose that is stiff to make it impossible to unwind but when it does go it will fly up and hit you in the face. 
*applause*

Now you're talking! And, and, and, we can put on a cord that is long enough to make the user optimistic but short enough to be just unable to reach the thing needed to be shop vacced.  

Ta Dah! It's now totally rad. 

*high fives all around*

*ahem* Anywho....

In the end I got the stalls cleaned up and the wet bedding put in the manure pile. During the day I kept making sure that the ditches were running. In between the weather alternated between sunshine, hail and snow.

Early afternoon I was out futzing around the stall doors and Irish's door seemed to be stuck. I pulled on it. It wouldn't move. So I pushed it.  And it fell off the track.
Really Universe? You couldn't wait for this little gem?

Alternate Title: Things Can Always Get Worse (sigh). 

I sent another text to Ed and he came out to help. Together we got it down. Turns out that the bolt holding the front runner on had come off. Fortunately Ed had the part to fix. But we couldn't get it back up between us. The snow was built up and the water was making it all hard. So Ed called a friend to come and help. They got it together. Hopefully, it will hold until a real fix can be made when things thaw.

We are entertained.


Things seem to be calm now. My back is killing me. On the plus side I got my steps in (actually by 11 a.m) and the water is continuing to drain. But the temperatures are dropping and I will be shocked if Irish's door is not frozen solid in the morning.

Alternate Title: Cross that Bridge When You Get To It (cross your fingers). 

Carmen enjoying her nice fluffy shavings and clean stall. 

40 comments:

  1. I am loving all your alternate titles, but only because they're not happening to me. OMG how miserable. And your shop vac description is brilliant. I hope everything thaws and dries out so you can go back to regularly scheduled horse activities. I do love the picture of them supervising you though...

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    1. thanks! I know that your life is often as exciting as mine. :D :D
      They were so curious. Carmen even ran into the stall to check out the shop vac....

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  2. Good thing you've got two experienced snoopervisors to oversee the staff. So much rain here - currently battling a drainage problem with the main hay storage barn. It never ends when you keep your horses at home does it?!

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    1. drainage is one of the biggest things about farm life. Honest to god.

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  3. Having horses at home is such a delight, isn't it? Haha, I laugh with you. Remember, we must laugh to keep from crying. Meanwhile in MD, all is mud and the ground is so unstable I fear we'll wash into the ocean any day.

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    1. I truly do like having them home. I just wish sometimes I could wave a magic wand. Mud season is coming here. Right now I will welcome it. But it will also piss me off. :)

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  4. You deserve a medal for doing that work without coffee - seriously I don't think I could do it.

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    1. 'Needs must' as my father used to say. :) I had to deal with the first emergency and then fortify on coffee.
      I don't really need a medal but a margarita and a warm beach would be nice....

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  5. Great description of the vac! You really had an awful day and ya know it doesn't sound like it could have gotten much worse! Hopefully, by tomorrow the sun will shine and you'll hear a choir singing and all will be right with your world. In the meantime looks like Carmen and Irish did a great job making sure things got done right. Thank god for their help.

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    1. They kept a close eye on all my shenanigans. No choir and Irish's door is frozen solid. But Carmen's is working and the thaw is coming.....

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  6. Oh man, the universe really decided to pile everything on you. Hopefully that's the last of it and you can just deal until the weather is better for fixing stall doors.

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    1. I wish that the universe would just forget about me for a bit. :)

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  7. They look very helpful supervising the hard work. More cookies are needed as a reward.

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  8. omgosh my heart rate spiked just reading this.... like one big steam rolling snow balling catastrophe of winter-related madness, ugh!! but hey, at least your horses look super cute and intrigued at all your odd human goings on??!?

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    1. As long as the horses are entertained, right? Winter can definitely be like that. sigh.

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  9. Omg, I laughed and laughed at your totally accurate description of a shop-vac!
    This winter needs to go. Like, right now.

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    1. I can't believe how such a useful thing can also be such a PITA. I am ready for winter to go. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to agree with me.

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  10. LOL to the shopvac description! So, so very true. I hope your Tuesday is infinitely better!!

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    1. Tuesday was better. But it is so bitterly cold. I need some warm sun!

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  11. Ugggg winter is the biggest PITA! I can totally empathize with that type of weather/barn crisis. Thankfully, things have been relatively quiet around here until yesterday when Ellie's paddock gate fell off the hinges because it was stuck in the sn*w (and I yanked it too hard) so I ended up tying it to the barn with her leadrope because I was running late for school haha. Thankfully it held up until we got home that afternoon. This has not been an easy winter! (I admit to laughing at your shop vac conversation, because it is SO true!)

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    1. I haven't been able to play in the snow at all because of the stupid ice. And your adventure with the gate sounds just like me. :)

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  12. Oooh at least you've got a sense of humor about it. And a wonderful husband, crouched in the muck trying to fix the door.

    Keep on keepin on, winter will be over soon!

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    1. My humour is both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes Ed thinks I've lost my mind. :) He may not be wrong. But he is pretty wonderful.

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  13. I like when you pull on the shop vac and hose just pops right off. Such a good design. Our previous shop vac broke recently - it was spewing the dirt right back out the other side - and we had to get a new one. I like the new one so far, but ugh, we'll see how long it lasts.

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    1. Oh my- that would be awful= to think you are cleaning to just find it behind the vaccuum.

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  14. Ah the fun part of keeping horses at home... Thank goodness you have some help I guess? Ugh. Hope things clear up soon!

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    1. Yes, Ed is great. And I do like having them at home. Most of the time. :)

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  15. Glad you can laugh about it. We had a similar thing happen when our basement flooded. It’s backbreaking work.

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  16. You described the vac perfectly. Gosh that is just awful stuff. You are welcome to come visit us in Florida if you need another break. ;)

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    1. You know I may just show up on your doorstep! :) I also love to play with teeny children so you could go ride while I played.

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  17. Haha sounds like quite the Monday. One of those! THat last pic makes me happy though <3

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  18. Winter everywhere is such a PITA. If it is not so frozen nothing works it is a mud pit. It sounds like your hubby is worth his weight in gold!

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  19. I bet that coffee tasted good! Last time I used the shop vac I said "never again." Seriously I'll be happy to go the rest of my life never touching one. You forgot to mention the non-stop clogging up. Done!

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    1. The coffee was delicious. And so nice and warm.

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