All A Flutter

If you follow me on IG you will see that we have new residents at Oakfield Farm.

CHICKENS

Let me back up a bit. When we first moved to the farm people would say 'are you getting chickens?'
'YES' I would say at the same time Ed would say 'NO!'
I overheard him one day talking to a friend:
Friend: 'Are you going to get chickens?'
Ed: 'Well Teresa wants them but I don't....So you know what that means.'
Friend:  'you're getting chickens'
Ed: 'yup'. 


However, chickens were not a priority, there was so many other things to do. Now Ed is getting ready to retire and we were planning a big trip in September. The plan was that we would build the chicken coop this year and get chickens next.

Of course you know that didn't work out as planned. COVID-19 meant our trip was cancelled (well moved to next year) so I decided I wanted to get the chickens this year. Ed thought that wasn't possible because a lot of people place orders in May. I knew better though and, sure enough, through a FB friend (thanks Sarah!) I sound someone with 2 week old chickens to sell. 

I was so excited to get them- I just love chickens. We're starting with just four little ones. We were so worried that they would die on us. We've borrowed a heat lamp and set up Guinness' dog crate in the garage. We've put a thermometer on the cage that connects to a receiver in the house so we can monitor the temperature. We set up a cage outside for them to enjoy the weather when It's nice. 

They are ISA Browns

The chicken coop is not completed- turns out that COVID-19 has also led to a real shortage of chicken wire.  Every day (when it's nice out) we carry them one at a time to the outside pen and then bring them in at dinner time. 

I just love watching them. They are so adorable scratching in the dirt, fluffing their feathers and doing little flights. 

Their feathers are coming in but still have down on their heads; making them look like little vultures. 

or velociraptors

The second day we had them I had to bring the tractor out of the garage. I knew it would startle them but thought that they'd be safe in the cage. I started it and, sure enough, they startled. I left and was doing my chores when I got a text from Ed: "why are there only 2 chicks?'

I dropped my pitchfork and ran to the garage. Somehow, two of them managed to squeeze through the bars of the crate and were hiding under Ed's work bench. he managed to get one but the other was way back in the corner. I moved some stuff, grabbed a bucket and crawled as far in that I could get. I managed to scootch her into the bucket, peeping like mad. As I turned the bucket up and began to pull it towards me a paint bucket fell off the shelf into the bucket. A loud SQAWK!  came from the bucket and then silence. 

Shit. I killed it. 

I pulled the bucket out and lifted out the paint bucket. Two bright black eyes peered at me. The paint bucket only fell part way in so I put her gently into the cage that end then wrapped chicken wire around.  Fortunately she seems to be fine. But what are the signs of a concussion in a chicken anyway? 

With any luck we'll have some eggs this fall. 

I'm sure you're wondering if they have names. 

Of course they do. But I needed to figure out some good names. I played with some cute names but nothing was really coming to me. Then one day I was laughing at one of them who is quite bold and she ran at me flapping. 

I realized that her name was Jo. 

Another one is quite shy and often hides. Her name is Beth. (maybe she's not shy, maybe it's a head injury but I don't know which one was stuck under the bucket. 

There's a pretty little one that has blonder feathers than the other. Her name is Amy. 

And the last one is Meg. She just bustles around and minds her manners. 

Pretty sure that you have guessed the theme- Little Women. I loved that book growing up (still do really) and if you haven't seen the most recent movie you should- it's really well done. 

Carmen is a little wary of them but Irish is curious. Of course he takes his role as official farm greeter very seriously. 

Welcome little ones 

Mischief Managed

Saturday night we got about 30 cms of snow. It was a lot but it was light and fluffy and easy to deal with. While I would prefer that the snow to be done, I had to admit that it was pretty.

I do love my woods

Guinness loves his ball, although a few times
it was lost in the snow. 

Sunday was a lovely sunny day and I was able to get some snowshoeing in. 

Today though was a whole different story. It was predicted that there would be snow followed by freezing rain and then rain. Which is a worry given the flood last week. The morning was snowy but I let the horses out to enjoy the outside while they could and took Guinness for a walk. 

hard to tell but it's snowing here. I still love my farmhouse
no matter what weather I have to endure. 

Around about 11:00 I realized that the horses were hiding in the stall so I went out to shut the doors and lock them in. Irish decided to prance around and generally act like a fool. 

Irish: Nooooo, don't take away my freedom. 

Carmen was conflicted. 

Carmen:  I don't want to be separated from Irish but I really don't want to be out in this. 

After Irish was done voicing his feelings I got a lead line over his neck and brought him inside. 

The sleet/rain started around noon. I went out to clear out my drainage paths. The snow was heavy and the freezing rain was face peeling.  But I was fortunate and the rain stayed off the coast and was not as heavy as predicted. 

Late in the afternoon I brought out the horses to groom them and clean up the stalls. Carmen watched me do Irish and I could see that she really wanted her turn. They are starting to shed and she finds that she feels itchy. 

When I went to get her I fumbled with the halter while she tried to help by shoving her head in it. When I first brought Carmen home she wasn't so sure about being groomed. Now she loves it. She will show me her itchy spots and when I say 'do you want me to do it' she will stop and wait for me to get it. 

Flexible Carmen showing me her itchy spot

Now normally I just ground tie Carmen and she never moves. These days though I am finding her curious. My work with getting her to 'face her fears' has made her want to inspect every single thing that is new. When I brought her out she inspected the little shelf I have to see if there were any treats. There weren't. But there was a blue plastic square (it belongs on the bottom of a water bucket - it keeps the cord inside. It had fallen off and I threw it there to deal with later). She sniffed it a bit and then settled in. 

Carmen: I am ready. You may begin. 

After I finished grooming her she gave a shake like she had finished rolling. That feels better. I left her there and went to clean out her stall. She stood there looking around but not moving.  I went to walk by her with a half bag of shavings and she turned to follow me. 

Carmen: Oooh let me see it. 

Me: ummm. okay. See it's shavings. 

She grabbed it with her teeth. 

Me: NO! Don't spill it. 

Carmen: I need cookies. 

Carmen: Snow days are boring. 

She sniffed the shelf again and suddenly she grabbed the blue square. My jaw dropped. 

Me: wait, what are you doing? PUT THAT DOWN. 

Carmen mouthed it a bit and the spat it out as I walked toward her. 

Carmen: it tastes stupid. I am hungry. 

To be safe I put the square in the tack room. 

Carmen: Yay, the feed vault. Now we're talking! 

Me: Just hang on. I'm working on your dinner.

ooh. I like dinner. 

I have to confess that I am enjoying this curious, mischievous Carmen. It's such a nice change but tense, worried Carmen.

I'm wondering what this will mean for our under saddle work once things thaw.

The Right Tools for the Job

As expected, the outside stall doors were frozen in ice Tuesday morning. We were able to get Carmen's free. (and by 'we', I mean Ed).

This allowed us to lead Irish outside through Carmen's stall. Which was fine. When I brought Irish in she would follow and then get super excited when I took him into his stall. She would run back out again, just in case he was going out.

 For a couple days it was bitterly cold and very windy. We were able to chip the ice away from Irish's door when the temperatures became more reasonable. Unfortunately, the bottom of his door had a thick coating of ice which prevented it from sliding along the floor guide.

We tried chipping it but couldn't get it off. I poured salt all along the bottom and that helped but not enough.  I sprayed a mixture of alcohol and water on it which also helped a bit.

Yesterday I tried using a hair dryer. It worked a bit but it took forever to get even a little melt.

sitting on a horse blanket over ice holding a hairdryer.
My life is so very glamourous. 

The issue was the angle, and being able to get a direct line to the ice. I think overnight the ice would build back up (like a stalactite). I persisted though, periodically taking the shop vac and sucking up the water.

The horses were suspicious. I did notice though that Carmen was much more intrigued and relaxed by the whole thing.

the noise of a shop vac is not keeping our
heroine  from her meal. 

After a bit I gave up and turned to the next fun job: chipping the ice out of my drainage ditches. I also spent some time doing a good clean in the barn. It was nice and warm (relatively) and it motivated me to do some spring cleaning (not in the house though. That would be silly).

The hairdryer was only marginally helpful. I found myself wishing I had a heat gun. I then realized that I didn't have to wish, I could just go and buy the tool that I need. I stopped at the hardware store on my way to get feed.

nothing like a new power tool

Does anyone else feel that sometimes they are their own worst enemy? It's not like getting this is rocket science. Or even expensive. 

It still took about 45 minutes but it worked a treat. 

SUCCESS!
I felt a ridiculous sense of accomplishment. 

I finished cleaning stuff up and then opened the door for Irish and Carmen. They were hesitant. Maybe worried that the shop vac was still there? 

honestly, it's like they think it's a trap! 

I have everything working. Just in time because more weather is rolling in. We are under a snowfall warning for Saturday night and another storm on Monday. I am more worried about Monday because it's supposed to be a rain/snow mix. 

Spring is coming though.

Right?

Git Along Little Doggie

Carmen has been enjoying her vacation. I am glad that I decided to give her the time. We've been training pretty heavily. I am enjoying the reduction in pressure as well.

But things have not been boring. This morning I was enjoying a leisurely coffee and then took the dogs out for their walk. We have my son's dog for a couple months while he is away and Guinness is enjoying the company.

Guinness loves his Ripley. 

We were just heading up by the barn when the horses exploded and came galloping up the field and then turned snorting looking at high alert down the hill. I went over to check on what they saw and at first I saw nothing. Then I saw a flash of white by one of our spruce trees. 

Uh oh

put the kettle on, we've come for tea

 I quickly ran the dogs back into the house and told Ed They're back!

Ed didn't get the number the last time this happened so I sent a quick text to Julia. She said she would contact them. 

In the meantime the cattle were making their way around the back of the barn, panicking the horses. The little white one discovered the garden jackpot! 

I ran into the barn and grabbed a bucket, threw in some oats and went out rattling the oats. The bigger one (a bull) was very interested and came right up. 

Now to be honest, I don't have a sweet clue about cattle but figured that hungry herd animals are the same. I started walking and they began to follow. The white one was quite a bit shyer. 

follow the oats. 

My plan was that if the bull became aggressive I was going to throw the bucket and get the hell away. But other then being a bit rude he followed right along. I led them across the street and put them back in their field. I couldn't see where they had gotten out. The gate was a single strand so I think they might have just gone under. 

The young owner and him mom came along a few minutes later. I told him that I gave them oats to get them back and I hoped that was okay. He said it was fine. I then offered him some electric rope that I had. It had been given to me but I thought that it was a good use if it kept the little wanderers at home. 

I came back to check on the horses. Carmen was much more relaxed but Irish was still on high alert and kept circling her. 

Are they gone? Are you sure? 

this was taken about 15 minutes later. Still on high alert.

It took him until the afternoon before he would go into the bottom field. I was able to give the dogs their walk. 

Guinness quite intrigued following their scent

I can now add cattle wrangling to my list of skills. Honestly, what do city folk do for excitement? They must be so bored! 

And yes, I now have their phone number. :)

Heart's Ease

I know I should not be complaining about the weather- it's certainly been mild. But I still have not been able to get back into a regular riding schedule and it's driving me a bit nutty.

Last week there were some beautiful days but I was 500 kms away for work. When I returned home the weather had turned cold and rainy.  This weekend had mild temperatures but oh my god, the wind was terrible.

Call me a wimp but I could barely face being out in it for a little bit of time.

Riding was out of the question.

On the plus side the wind is drying out the mud.

Irish is starting early with his 'let me into the grass field now' stare. 

Fortunately I had a distraction- a few of us from work were in a Curling Bonspiel. It was a fundraiser for the hospital. It was a lot of fun and a great team building exercise. I do enjoy curling. We had 6 of us sign up- only four can play at a time so we cycled in and out. We didn't win any games (there were a lot of very experienced teams and three of members were new to curling) but I think that we had the most fun.
P

So I  had a good weekend and I should feel happy. And I wasn't unhappy.

And yet, I found myself cranky this afternoon. I took the dogs for a couple walks and I cooked a roast beef supper complete with roast potatoes and yorkshire pudding.

And I was still out of sorts. So after supper I left the dogs in the house (much to their dismay) and went out to the barn.

I started with Irish. I groomed him from nose to tail while he stood there enjoying the scratches. Carmen watched closely and gave a nicker. I figured it was at Irish but when I moved away from him she nickered right at me.   I brought her out to groom and she soaked it all up. She showed me a couple itchy spots and while I detangled her tail she just relaxed.

I then cleaned both the stalls and told Ed to let the dogs out. I played fetch with the two young hooligans before coming inside.

And I felt completely better and content.

Anyone else out there feel out of sorts if they don't get their 'pony time'? And it's not just about seeing them -I see them every day because I feed them and clean their stalls. When I boarded I used to believe  that my horse would be more attached to the barn owner but now I realize that there's a difference between care and caring.

Now I just need this weather to improve so I can ride. In a fit of blinding optimism I have a lesson tentatively arranged with Shanea.

Handy Man

Let me start by saying that I have the best husband. He has embraced country life with enthusiasm. Which is great because there are often puzzles to solve when owning a farm. 

One such puzzle involves feeding hay. I hate feeding hay on the ground. Horses make a big mess of it and then won't eat it. It's wasteful and difficult to clean up. 

Enter the hay box: 

Steele eating from the hay box that Ed made. 

That worked okay but they pulled the hay out and made a mess. Then when we got a lot of snow it would be buried. That caused some concern with me that a horse might get injured. After the winter of 2015 we ditched it and started again. 

The next attempt was the slow feed hay net suspended between two posts:

That saved a ton on hay wastage and made clean up easy. That worked great for the winter and then in the spring the horses broke one of the posts which led to safety issues. Then they did it again the next spring. 

Back to the drawing board. Obviously more study was required. 

One day this summer I walked into the garage to see Ed building something. 

What are you making? 

This is a garden box for Andy's wife. She wanted one and I said I could build it. 

Hmm. 

I circled around it with my mind whirling. I realized that with some modifications this could be the answer I was looking for. 

We talked about it and Ed came up with this: 

It's an elevated hay box. It's large enough to fit a full bale (or more). The hinge makes it easy to lift the hay in. The legs are black because they are painted with some stuff that rubberizes them to keep them from rotting. The whole thing is made out of hemlock which is a great wood for outside. But the  hay doesn't sit there waiting for the horses to drag it out and make a mess. We purchased a slow feed hay net that is suspended between the two arms. 

Carmen modelling. Also, not impressed with how the net is slowing her down.

I'm really really hoping that this will work for us. I may have to put some metal around the edges if they start chewing on it but I'm hoping that they won't.

I told Ed that he could sell these if he wanted. I think he was intrigued with that idea. I will be his agent of course.

(I find him both)

SaveSave

Meanwhile Back at the Farm

No matter what happens life at the farm has it's own rhthym and pace. It makes it easy to gain perspective  and helps me to find my center again.

I had, optimistically, scheduled a lesson with Shanea on Monday. It wasn't my choice but it fit when she was coming and I figured it would be fine. But that night I woke up in the night unable to roll over- my back was so tight as to be seized.  The combination of lugging show stuff and Carmen's shenanigans had irritated my lower back.  I got up and took some ibuprofen and realized that a lesson would not be a good idea.  I sent a text cancelling (and explaining why) and Shanea was very understadning.

Guinness felt that that was the right choice.

you spent the whole weekend with the horse-beast.
It's my turn now. 

He was velcroed to me all day. And we had a good day- walking, and playing and getting belly rubs (well he had his belly rubbed).  Ed has been doing a brilliant job on the trail he cut. It's pretty well finsihed. We just need to let the dirt settle and be packed down and then he will use the chipper to cut up the trees he cut and put on the path. It's a short path but was a lot of work. I now have a circling option which will be great to add to the routine.

It's hard to believe that was brush and trees a couple weeks ago. the dogs enjoy walking on them too. This is a feeble attempt to show you the paths using MS Paint (pretty much not to scale):

the blue indicates paths I can take

There are a lot more woods to the left of the blue line where we will put more to do even a larger circle. Below the blue line is yet more woods but that will be more work so I want to go to the left first.

Our house is finally getting the siding replaced. This had been in the plan since we moved there. The guys are a father/son team and they are doing an amazing job. They are meticulous and clean up every day. so our yard/deck is in disarray but it will all be worth it.

Soon, all our buildings will match. The big question is what colour to paint the door. I am thinking of a burnt orange. Once the siding is done we can tackle the weed garden flower bed. I need to dig it up and start over. I think I want to do a climbing plant to the left of the door - maybe roses?

And Guinness and I completed Obedience 1. He's very smart and would be much further along- it's hard to find time with work, the farm and Carmen. But we do what we can and he catches on quickly.

smart dog is smart

I am still working on my take aways from the show and will probably do a blog post about it. But for now I'm going to ease up on the riding and enjoy some time just playing at home.

Family Reunion and Puppy Mayhem

If you follow me on FB then you've probably already seen the photos. If you recall when Guinness arrived he travelled with his brother. Judy and I connected to coordinate the pick up and we've stayed in touch. Saturday she let me know that she and her family were coming to my town to pick up a new vehicle and could we get the brothers together. That sounded like a great idea so we did.

I think I would have recognized Lando (G's brother) anywhere- they have very similar markings. Guinness is more sturdy and Lando more refined. I swear that they recognized each other and they were off. There was a bit of worry because Lando ran into the field and the horses were charging around. First of all, you know my history of dogs chasing my horses. Second of all I am fairly sure that Carmen would try to kill any dog that threatened her. I didn't want Lando to get hurt. Guinness stayed well back- he has a healthy respect for the horses.

After that it was pretty much puppy mayhem. I had Amanda (my daughter) keep Ripley and d'Arcy in the house until the two boys had sorted themselves and then let her out. She was not sure what to make of the interloper. After a while they did wrestle and Ripley did her usual flip and Lando found himself on his back. Guinness just lays down when she comes- there's no beating her in wrestling. There was the occasional deeper growl but generally all went well. We did what any proud parents do- we compared our children and agreed that we each got the best puppy.

But really, let me just show some photos:

Guinness has not been around children before- I was impressed with how good he was

hey G- you could share that frisbee (Guinness in front)

Lando on the left, Guinness on the right

Lando: Ha! I got the frisbee and it's now mine

so this is a farm? I like it! 

I was going to crop this but love the story instead- it takes 3 people and
a border collie to get these two quiet enough for a photo (for about 3 secs).
Guiness is in front

The three young children seemed to enjoy running around. The girls both wanted horse shoes so I gave them some to take home. They had also brought a brush and really wanted to groom a horse. Like really. Once the dogs had played enough, Amanda put ours in the house and Lando went into the car. I brought Irish in and he did his favourite job of being 'my little pony' for two little girls who were thrilled to give him brushes and pats and carrots.

Irish takes this role of horse ambassador very seriously.
(yes I know his boots are mismatched. I need to get to the store)

So all in all a great time was had by all. Guinness had a hard nap after his brother left. 

Forward Ho!

Sunday dawned as yet another cold, misty day. I mean seriously mother nature- it's almost June could you warm up already? I had a list of chores I wanted to get done. Starting with planting the two willows. As I was digging the holes in the wet dirt I was longing for a back hoe attachment for the tractor. but in the meantime I figured it was exercise.

I had a lesson booked with Shanea for 1:25 (I know, oddly specific, right?). I got on Carmen about 15 minutes before she arrived. Right as I was tacking up the sun came out so I grabbed my black fly hood. Cynthia bought them at Lee Valley and they are great- they fit right over the helmet and keep them from swarming. Shanea arrived and teased me about the hood. In about 5 minutes she headed down to the tack room to borrow Cynthia's. While she was gone something spooked Carmen in the grass beside the ring and she did a mini-bolt. Because I had her bent around my inside leg I was able to go with her. I just pushed her forward into canter and rode it out. It's funny- I get the adrenalin surge but not the fear anymore. Not that I don't tighten but it's not fear it's me trying to prepare.

Anyway the lesson was all about bending and going forward. I finally was able to do truly understand how to ride a figure 8 properly. Which seems foolish but there you have it. Our struggle is about controlling the forward. In some ways it's a happy problem. Remember when Carmen used to resist going forward and would throw in her haunches, pin her ears and just be pissy? Yeah, me too.

Now I have a horse that wants to go forward. But it can get over the top and then she loses balance. Especially at the canter and T-C or C-T transitions. I had to really figure out my seat to half-halt her instead of using the rein. We got there and things seemed to fall into place.

here I am riding in my 'veil' but it really works!
Admit it- you are jealous....

All in all it was good lesson. I was happy with how we worked together and dealt with whatever was in the grass (there was something there - I could hear it too). Shanea remarked that Carmen seemed to be enjoying the work now. I have to agree. It's not something that she dreads or feels negative about. I may not be the best rider in the world (understatement of the year) and I've had a TON of help but I feel proud when I see how she enjoys coming to work. Even if she makes me work for it. 

All in all it was good lesson. I was happy with how we worked together and dealt with whatever was in the grass (there was something there - I could hear it too). Shanea remarked that Carmen seemed to be enjoying the work now. I have to agree. It's not something that she dreads or feels negative about. I may not be the best rider in the world (understatement of the year) and I've had a TON of help but I feel proud when I see how she enjoys coming to work.  Even if she makes me work for it. 

After my ride I put the finishing touches on some poles that Ed had got for me. Last week I painted them white and yesterday I painted the stripes. I need some more but this will be a good start. 

they look good - as long as you don't look too closely. 

I'm not sure that I can have too many like that but all in all it was a good day. 

Catching My Breath

After Friday's rest I was ready to tackle the weekend. I was glad that I had taken the time to let my batteries recharge because we had some farm chores to do. Fortunately my daughter, Amanda, came out to help by puppy sitting. Otherwise the weekend would have been a lot harder.

Saturday morning I dragged the ring and set up trot poles. After walking the dogs and my normal barn chores I tacked up Carmen to ride. The weather was cool and it started to drizzle but I shrugged and carried on. As expected Carmen was energized and a bit spooky. But it didn't seem to be fear to me - it felt more like she didn't know how to use her energy so she used it by spazzing. I put her up to a canter and she immediately began to blow and relax.

It wasn't an 'easy' ride but it was one where I had a chance to put all my tools to work. With the rain she was not happy- she doesn't like the noise I think. What I was really struggling with was not tensing when she got very tight and tense. After a few flails I realized that I had to focus on not holding my breath. I began to take in deep breaths every time she began to speed and get fast. I actually couldn't attend to other things or worry whether my seat was following or my hands were perfect. I just breathed.

It's amazing how hard riding and breathing can be. But we got there and finished on a good note. I rode for about an hour and we did a lot of trotting and cantering. But she wasn't even sweaty.

Mare is getting fit. Her servant better step up her game

 After my ride Ed and I got the tractor and utility trailer set up. We wanted to clean out some garbage dumps we had found in the woods. I don't understand why people in the past just dumped stuff in the woods but they do. We filled 12 garbage bags and had a pile of metal and tires. Here are some snippets of conversation:

Ed: I found a shoe. I really hope that there's no foot in it. 

Me:  ummm

Ed:  I think I watch too much TV

But we both checked the shoe carefully before picking it up. 

Ed: OW!

Me: Are you okay? 

Broken Glass

Did you cut yourself?

Yes. 

You need to go to the house and wash it out right now. 

It'll be okay

No. You need to wash it so you don't get an infection from bacteria on the glass

So?

It could turn septic. 

What's the worst that could happen? 

You could lose your hand. 

<pause>

 I could learn to get by with one hand. 

You should know that I am NOT helping you to pee. 

<pause>

I'm sure I can manage it with one hand

After we went to the nursery and bought two weeping willow trees. There's a spot that gets wet and swampy and I wanted to plant something that would drink up a lot of water.  

That night we went out to dinner with friends and I ordered the steak and scallops special. I was STARVING.  I had a good sleep that night. Which was good because there was more stuff to do on Sunday....

Community

Growing up, my brother and I spent a lot of time with our grandparents.  We were surrounded by a community- neighbours, family, church. I had no appreciation for it at the time but there was not a house that I couldn't go to if I needed help. When I lost my boot in a nearby garden because I wanted to pick a fresh cucumber, the owner knew exactly where to return them. Heck, he probably watched me through a window. Life circumstances required my mother to move us to a 2 bedroom apartment in the city. I missed the sense of community but I was six at the time and didn't know what I was missing until I was much older. I only knew that there was something missing.

my brother and I back in the day

When we moved to our farm we were new comers. I'm sure that the neighbours were curious about who this couple were and what we were doing to the property. We were strangers who bought a house that had belonged to one family for a few generations. Ed joined the Volunteer Fire Department and I joined the Auxiliary. Slowly we got to know people in our community.

so much has changed since we bought this place. Now there's
a barn, a garage and fields. 

 I remember the first summer we went to a plant nursery and I chose a bunch of flowers. This nursery only took cash and I didn't have enough. I asked if I could put my flowers to one side and go get some money. The woman working the register said 'sure'. There was another woman and she asked where we lived. I told her and she said 'oh I know you- I drive by your house all the time. I love what you're doing there. Take the flowers and drop the money off when you have a chance'.  

The last few days has been bitter- there's been a strong north wind that is physically painful to be outside in.  The night before I knew that my water tap was frozen but I decided to deal with it in the morning. I figured that I would re-fill the water trough outside at the same time. So in the morning, with Guinness and d'Arcy in tow I was in the barn boiling water in the kennel while I fed and picked out the stalls. Irish had pooped in his water bucket again. Really horse? I had to unplug it and take it out to dump it. It was about 6 a.m. and -22 with the windchill.

When the kettle boiled I poured the water over the tap- finally I heard it let go and water began to come out. After 1/4 of a bucket it stopped. The pump kept running but no water.

Damn.

I went in to get water from the sink. No water and the pump was running and running and running.

Shit. 

 Something was wrong. I turned off the pump and grabbed some buckets. I headed into the house and began to fill them in the kitchen sink. Muttering and cold I stomped back and forth filling the water trough. I then let the horses out.
Irish: It's about time! 

Ed went out to see if the pump needed priming but nope that wasn't it. We were going to need a plumber, which meant waiting until Monday. I put a complaining post on FB and began to drink my coffee. I received a text. It was from a neighbour asking what was wrong. I said I didn't know but she said that her husband was familiar with wells and pumps and they would be over around 10. I then got another text from Cynthia offering her husband to come and help. I put them on standby and prepared the coffee.

Derrick and Julia arrived just after 10 and he began to inspect everything while Julia provided what she called 'moral support'.  We finally determined that the top water in my well had frozen.

iceberg from NFLD looking like a sea monster

I was surprised- this had never happened before. The well for the barn is an old dug well about 20 feet deep with a cement top. There's a crack in the lid and the relentless arctic wind had been entering the well and froze the top of the water. Normally it would be sheltered by the snow. I began to pour hot buckets of water into the well to get it thawed. Derrick fixed the pump and got it all primed. I piled some old horse blankets on top of the well to block the wind. That will do until we get a more permanent solution in place.

After we had a hot cup of coffee and chatted about family and other things. I thanked them for taking time on their day off to help us. 'That's what neighbours do'  was all that was said. Julia and Derrick drove off and I waved good bye feeling much better. 

Not just because I now had running water (although what a relief that was), but because I felt part of a community.