It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature

The week of Expo, the Big Fat Lying Weatherman (BFLWM) predicted a humdinger of a snow storm. The headline in our local paper read:

“Potent storm could bring foot of snow to Nebraska”.

It made good press because besides our little expo, the boy's state basketball tournaments were scheduled to start that week, bringing families in from all over the state. Around here, when its a slow news day, the press likes to report on the weather.

Do you know what we got for snow that week?

Nothing.

Nada.

Zip.

Feeling a bit cocky that our Expo went on despite the predictions of doom & gloom weather and I posted the following on Facebook. As you can see from the comments, I was warned.

Yesterday, without much hype or warning from the BFLWM, we woke up to about 4 inches of snow on the ground; the big, wet, sloppy stuff hanging from the tree branches. Having no place I really needed to go and no plans to cancel, I did take a moment to appreciate its beauty, hoping it would go away very quickly. But Nooooo! As if one day wasn’t enough, Mother Nature is giving us some more of it today. Windy is NOT happy. After a couple weeks of consistent riding, she is missing much of her winter coat. I’ll probably go out and blanket her this afternoon. Poor girl.

Yesterday, despite the snow storm, I hooked up the trailer to fetch Windy. She has been with Brenda Messick for two weeks, getting a spring tune-up, specifically working on collection when trotting and loping and lateral moves. I was thrilled with how far she had come last week when I went for a lesson and if I thought a week made a heckuva a difference, two weeks has been incredible.

In her indoor arena, Brenda demonstrated some of what they worked on this past week and then it was my turn to ride. Even as I am typing this, I am not sure I am going to post the video or not. When I rode my mare, it was like driving a new car with super-duper power steering or driving a stick shift for the first time. I can't explain it. It takes only the lightest touch with my hands or legs and Windy responds. I felt like I was learning to ride all over again. Once, on the video, Brenda asks me to post. I seriously did not remember how to even start the rhythm and certainly couldn’t hit the correct diagonal as I was trying so hard not to bump her with my leg or pull out on the reins.

What Windy has gained from these sessions with Brenda is a softness that I have yet to find with my hands. My horse is now light years ahead of me on the learning curve. And I am thrilled! I am looking forward to continuing lessons with Brenda. I still have so much to catch up on; so much to learn.

You can find Brenda's blog at Horses Are Our Lives.

Unseasonable

It is 64 degrees today.

In February.

In Nebraska.

Unseasonable.

Unreal.

You all know what I did today!

Sixty-Four!

A Little Relief

The last few days have been bitter, bitter cold.

One night it was close to -25 wind chill.


Or so I'm told.


I missed it!


I spent the last three days in sunny Florida!


Dinner on the beach last night.


Lunch on the veranda this noon.




Every midwestern girl needs a little Florida


Especially in February.


I love my job!

Snow Day

The "worst storm this winter" was predicted to hit yesterday afternoon and carry its wrath through Wednesday. When I left for work that morning, it had already started. My windshield kept icing over and the first time I went to slow down, I felt ice underneath me and this at 6:30 AM. I have a thirty mile drive to work and knew it would continue to get worse as the day progressed, so I turned around and went home, choosing instead to work from my "home office." I can do pretty much everything I would do in the office from home, but couldn't do it every day. I enjoy the interaction with others. It is nice to have that option, though, on bad road days.

Before they got really wet yesterday, I enlisted John's help in blanketing the herd. I know I have mentioned it before; I blanket for me, more than I do the horses. They made it ten years without a winter blanket. But after last year's winter from hell, I got them blankets; even Baby inherited one this year, so why not used them. They have new round bales in the corral, but I dropped some alfalfa in the barn feeders just because. And they were ready for the storm.

We got a few inches of snow, which combined with the 20 – 40 mph winds, is causing drifting and white out conditions. I stayed home again today. When I went out to check on the horses this morning, I found four of them in the barn out of the wind. Butter was not with them. I was glad to find her in the portable shed, but sad that she was there by herself. Being the lowest in pecking order, she is seldom allowed in the barn, but usually hangs out nearby. She'd obviously had enough of that and found her own shelter. I dropped some more hay in the feeders of the barn and took a bale over to her, as well. I snapped the picture of her (shown at top of blog) with my Blackberry - she looked so brave to be there by herself. Poor Butter-butt.

The winds are expected to continue to blow with wind chills dipping down to almost -30* tonight. Although there are fresh round bales in the corral, I'll bundle up once more at dusk to feed the horses inside, keeping them out of the bitter wind. Although I enjoy barn time, horsekeeping in this weather is not fun. But every day is a day closer to spring – one day at a time.

On another subject, I like to change my header picture every month. I took this picture of the herd last week or so - liked that they were all in the same picture looking up this way - but I don't think I like the picture very well on the blog. It is not a "good" picture and photoshopping it didn't really help. So this month, there were two header pictures, though the first short-lived.

First Big Snow

I am afraid by the time I am home in the daylight, the snow is going to be gone or at the least, tromped on by the dogs. The sunset was really pretty tonight as I rushed to get on my coveralls and winter gear and by the time I got outside, it was almost gone. But you get the idea. We probably had close to a foot of snow fall from Sunday until Monday. Then the winds came up Monday night and we got plenty of drifts. The pasture looks like a bunch of moguls.

While not necessarily a good shot, I liked the contrast of colors in these pictures - the warm barn wood against the fading sky.

It's been chilly this week with highs only in the single digits during the day and ten below or so at night. (Gosh, I sound like a weatherman!) I have blanketed Windy and Butter but the others are always the first ones in the barn and stay plenty warm. I am sure Butter and Windy would be fine, too, but I feel better. It's supposed to be back up to 30 tomorrow, so I'll pull the blankets then.

I've been whining the last couple of days. Still black and blue, I expected I'd heal a little quicker than I am. Seems the swelling has moved to my ankles, which is weird because my ankles weren't hurt. I had hoped to start working out by now and start to lose these extra pounds I found over the last few months, but will probably have to wait another week. I know, excuses, excuses. But I am motivated. I don't want to buy new spring clothes! I sure didn't know keeping weight off would be harder than losing it in the first place!

From 55 to 11

Yesterday
It was 55 degrees outside!
Spring-like.
It was cloudy and overcast
But the temps
Made it bearable.
I rode 8 miles.
Ritz ran more.


Now
Its 11 degrees
With wind gusts to 49 mph
“Feels like” -12 degrees.
Ouch.
I ventured to the barn
Where the herd had hunkered down.
It’s back, winter is back.

My old Springer, Maddie
Just had to go out with me.
But she wanted nothin’ doin’
With Ritz
As we hurried back to the house.
Brrr.

So Unpredictable

Tomorrow night is the season finale ride for the North Chapter of the Platte River Riders at Turkey Creek near Newcastle. Making up for lost time due to heat and trailer repairs, Kathy & I planned to join this ride, camp over and ride again on Thursday. Turkey Creek is one of my favorite places and the weather has been just perfect. Well, up until tomorrow that is. The last glance at weather.com promises an 80% chance of rain in Newcastle tomorrow. I just can't catch a break.

But looking at the bright side, if we don't go tomorrow, my trailer is cleaned and ready to go for Cowgirl Weekend the following week. And I don't care what the stinkin' weather is doing then. It's Cowgirl Weekend or bust. If there is rain where we are going, I will Google radar maps all around the Midwest until I find a dry place to ride and I don't care if that is all the way to Oklahoma! I am not giving up my Cowgirl Weekend. So there.


John's cow, Agnes, had her calf last weekend. It was two months overdue. Well, technically not, but it was almost 2 months later than we thought it should be. Her cow-friend, Coco, had hers while we were in Wyoming in July, so we figured Ag would be having hers shortly thereafter. When almost 1 ½ months went by, we wondered if perhaps she had it and it was lost when the creek flooded. Or coyotes dragged it off. Agnes hasn't had a good track record with calves. Being a bottle calf herself, we think her maternal instincts might be a bit out of whack. Last year, she dropped her calf in the pond and if it weren't for Case being in the right place at the right time, it would probably have drowned. And she'd liked to have killed her firstborn. If you've been following Horsetrailriders.com, you might remember this story. If not, it is new to you:

05/08/07 Beef, It's What's for Dinner

Who remembers camping with us at Rock Creek three years ago? Okay, probably not. But do you remember camping with a family who brought along a bottle calf? Ah, that you remember. Okay, well, that was us. (You must be a redneck if you go camping with your bottle calf!) Fast-forward to this spring and said bottle calf is now a heifer expecting her first calf. Oh, and we have two heifers because John didn't think we should have just one. (Never mind that I think we should have none!)

Well, cows aren't the smartest animal in the feedlot. The fact that they are in the feedlot proves that, doesn't it? Coco's calf was born last week during the April cold spell. And both cows kind of claimed the calf. So when the second calf, Agnes', was born yesterday, neither of the cows knew what to do with it, so they did nothing! I discovered it shortly before the kids had to go to school. John is out of town... Yep, it's a dirty job and I have to do it. It's up to me to bond this calf with its mom.

Okay, easier said than done. Especially when one of the cows turns into a Mad Cow. I was horrified as I watched the mama cow head-butt the calf.

I realize this is now a rescue.

It's time to get the calf out of the pen.

Too heavy to lift.

Tried loading it in wheelbarrow & that didn't work either.

So I finally push it out of the pen by its tail.

I called John, but a bad cell phone connection leads me to believe I was on my own on this one.

No doubt I'll be late for work. Just one time I think my boss would like to get a normal phone call from me stating I have a headache or the flu. But every time I have to call in to work, it is never a simple excuse. Once the horses were on the highway; another time I broke my ankle while we were riding the day before. And now I couldn't come in because of an orphan calf!?

After consulting with my good friend and animal science major, Sam, I headed to town to get milk supplement, colostrums supplement and a bottle. Seventy three dollars and 42 cents later (which would of gone a long way at a tack store or bought me a half a tank of diesel fuel), I am back home trying to feed this thing.

Now had this been a foal, I would have been sitting in the manure laden barn with its head on my lap with a team of vets on standby! But this animal is a different story. I have its head pinned between my knees forcing the little beast's mouth open; but it would not take the bottle. (Did you know calves have teeth?)

About 2 hours into the process, John came home. Hallelujah! His cow, his calf. I'm off duty now. I showered for the second time that day and went to work. Twenty-four hours later, the cow is starting to take the calf, provided her head is tied to the post in the barn. Like I said, not the smartest animal on the ark.

This April there is no resemblance of spring. My lilac buds are frozen; the small green leaves starting to appear on our trees are now brown again. The horses haven't shed and are quite unhappy they have to stand in the rain while the calves get their stalls. There is not a foal in sight.

"Beef, it's what's for dinner."

This & That

This past winter, I mentioned in a post that it is hard to write a theme related blog when I am doing nothing related to that theme; horses that is. Depending on what town crier you listen to or newspaper you read, the heat index has been 105 – 115 degrees. No one even talks about the "real" temperature anymore because there is nothing real about it.

Heat index is to summer what wind chill is to winter.

They are both awful gauges of unpleasantness to give the Big Fat Lying Weatherman more doom and gloom to report.

"More sultry days ahead!" they report with glee.

Although the shade of the barn is always an option, my horses have headed out to pasture. There is a creek running through it and they loaf under the trees. Each were equipped yesterday with a fly mask to ward off the "eye flies" that seem to be out in full force, adding to already miserable conditions.

When I drove by the pasture on the way home tonight, I noticed Baby's fly mask was gone and Windy's had become quite disheveled, one ear in one ear out and hanging below one eye. (You really had to be there.) So I stopped the Durango and in sandals and dress clothes, picked my way through the ditch and under the fence to fix her fly mask. While messing with her, Ginger came up to me and showed me that she had laid in a cow pie and had cow manure spread over the side of her fly mask and was not in the least bit pleased about that! So I fixed Windy's mask and removed Ginger's. I glanced around to see if Baby's was near, but couldn't find it. So there you have it; today's horse story.

This coming weekend, CT Horse Sales is having their August horse and tack sale. Although I'm not able to go to the sale (because I will be hanging with horse trainer, Colleen Hamer, who will be working with my horses and that pesky trailer ramp), I took the opportunity to go through my tack room (trailer, garage, car and every other nook and cranny) and identified tack that I am no longer using and most likely never will again. I cleaned it up and made a quick inventory of items before I boxed it up. I came up with sixty-one items! 61! Sixty-one pieces of tack that has been in a drawer or hanging on a hook, gathering dust! Oh my gosh, if there are 61 pieces that I have no intention of using again, just how many pieces of tack did I keep and more importantly, might not use but can't muster up the courage to part with just yet! So if you need tack, get to that sale! I know of 61 things you can't live without!

Our Trail Challenge & Scavenger Hunt event is over half-way full! Entries will be taken up to September 1. If you are waiting to send in your entry, don't wait much longer. The ride is limited to 50 entrants. More information on this event can be found on the Nebraska Horse Council's website.

(Thanks to Christine S's husband for taking the picture shown above of Christine & me at last week's Platte River Ride. Since I am usually the one taking the picture, I so seldom see any of Windy & me. I especially enjoyed him capturing a moment with a friend.)

Putting it in Perspective

Over the next few days, it is suppose to be close to 100 degrees. That alone is a killer. But combine the humidity with it and words like “unbearable” and “not fit for man or beast” come to mind. The newspapers are all running stories about why it’s so humid. Some blame it on heavy spring rains and others on the increase in cornfields. I don’t really care what brings it on. I just want it to go away.

On days like this, it is time to put it all in perspective. I can easily get that by going through my picture files.


This picture was taken October 10, following our first snowstorm last fall. The trees had just started to change color. For the record, that is way too early for snow in these parts (in my opinion). Usually we expect to see something right around Thanksgiving. We never really got our autumn back after this storm. It was the start of the longest winter that I can remember.

December 8, 2009. Another storm rolled in. This one was cold. Very cold. High winds, thus record windchill temperatures. I have never blanketed my horses in the winter, but all that was going to change.

Christmas Eve. Another storm was coming though. We went to early Mass and then to John's sister's house with the family. By about 10:00, we were concerned about our 12 mile drive home. The storm had just started.

December 26: Our driveway was completely snowed in. We are only 1/4 mile off the highway, so we rode out to our county road to see if it was open. It would be several days before the snowplow would open that quarter mile.

Shortly after the first of the year, another storm blew in and left us snowed in for another few days. It was time to hunker down. It was going to be a long winter.

It took several months for the snow from those holiday storms to thaw. And we never got much of a break from the cold temperatures until almost springtime.

After such extreme cold weather, I am disappointed but not surprised that we have seen the extremes this summer. We have had some really mild summers and mild winters the last few years. I guess our time was coming.


.

Flashbacks

I am having flashbacks of winter.

You remember; the cold, the wind chills,

The snow that would never go away.

My depression.

Only this time, it is the heat, the humidity, the stagnant air.

Looking for relief when the sun sets

And finding none.

The bugs are what you would imagine in Jurassic Park.

My bra sticks to me just going to the car.

One week ago we returned from Wyoming

on the hottest day of the year.

And it hasn't let up.

Wyoming was paradise.

Any place without humidity is paradise.

Heck, North Platte was paradise!

Eastern Nebraska is hell.

The Rain

Over five inches in 24 hours;

over 10 inches in 7

or 10 days...

I don't know...

I've lost count.

We've had just about enough now.....

thank you very much.

Barnyard Shots

It's the shortest day of the year! It's all uphill from here on out!

Our holidays begin this weekend with my family coming up. Prime rib is primed, two different soups are in the crock pot. McCain has a recital this afternoon. There won't be much time to post until things quiet down.

Here are some pictures I took over the last week. The snow still lingers, but it has warmed up to the 20's. As miserable as the weather feels, it makes for nice pictures.

More of the Same

I have not had my butt in the saddle since November 27th. In case you are counting, that is seventeen days. With only 10 hours of daylight, 8 ½ of which is spent at work and an hour commuting, even if the temperatures made it out of the single digits, I doubt I’d find myself skipping out to the barn to saddle up when it’s dark before 5:00 PM! Surely it couldn’t have been this bad last year. So I checked the archives on my blog. The following is an excerpt from my post of December 13, 2008.

“The temps neared 50 degrees today. The winds were blowing, but it was definitely a ride day. After Case’s basketball game, I went to the corral to fetch my best horse. She didn’t seem to mind me interrupting her meal. She knew today was special.”

I don’t know about you, but that made me want to puke. Not the fact that it was 50 degrees a year ago, but that I really wrote something so cornballish. “My best horse”, “today was special”. Who in the heck was I trying to impress? Trust me; I don’t really don’t talk that way.


Kacy from All Horse Stuff recently wrote about her winter riding gear. All of it very cute, fashionable and warm for her cold Oregon temperatures. If I were to ride today (laughing uncontrollably at the thought), the paragraph would read something like this:

“With a ‘feels like’ temperature of -5 F, I slipped into my long underwear and pulled on my winter riding pants. Next the too tight Under Armour cold weather gear followed by a fleece sweatshirt and jacket. Then I stepped into my TSC brand bib coveralls and finally put on my fleece lined barn coat. My head was covered in an ear band and a balaclava, topped with the hood of my jacket. I wore 2 pair of socks with my fake Ugg boots and pulled on my heavy fleece gloves."

If I were to step on the scale, no doubt I would top off 25 pounds heavier. And before I could get to the barn, my nose would be dripping and my cheeks burning. And none of the horses would want their meal interrupted for this!



And if this picture is not bad enough, imagine how it would look when mounting! Do these coveralls make my butt look fat?

The Morning After

The storm rolled in as expected. (How come the weatherman is never wrong when it comes to the nasty weather, but they can't predict just one sunny day!) I heard the worst of the wind around midnight, banging hard against the house. All of our canines and felines were in the house, but couldn't help but think about those equines and yes, the bovines, too. I hate when animals suffer. But I knew they all had shelter out of the wind and hoped they were smart enough to use it. At the break of dawn, I bundled up and went out to check on the herds.

The drifting was spotty. In some places, it had blown off almost completely, where at other times it was over my knees. My usual route to the barn was completely blocked - it would have been waist deep or more.

One barrel in my arena was still standing. The cones were almost completely covered in drifts.

A dead tree by the corral was blown over. You can see Windy back by the portable watching me. I was surprised to find all the horses in the portable shelter.

The sun was starting to come up. Look at the sun dog over to the right of the picture. There was one on the other side of the sun, as well. The sky was very pretty this morning.

The horses followed me back to the barn for breakfast. Although they were in the portable, all of them were snow and ice covered. None were shivering or appeared to be terribly uncomfortable.

The roosters are unaccustomed to such activity this early in the morning and started their crowing. Not sure if it was just that time or they were voicing their displeasure with their roosting interrupted.

The sun began to shine into the barn making it appear a lot warmer than it really was. The temps at this time were about 3 degree Fahrenheit with a windchill of -19.

In case you are wondering, I don't typically blanket my horses in the winter. This is our winter climate and they have adequate shelter and a wind break. I would guess most horses that are kept on a farm in our area aren't blanketed - many which don't even have shelter. I see more blankets at boarding stables where the horses don't have pasture, trees and other natural shelter to protect them in inclement weather. I have blankets I use when camping, especially late in the season when the nights are crisp. At camp, the horses can't move around a lot and I feel the blankets give them some added warmth which helps keep their bodies warm after a long day ride. Just my way of pampering them because they worked hard for me.

Our driveway was snowed in this morning. John will get the tractor and open it up when the wind dies down some. My office was closed today as well as the school, so none of us have to be anywhere.

The forecast says the snow has ended, but the wind and bitter cold temperatures continue through the day. Winter has officially started. I hope this isn't a sign of how it will be in the months to come.