Summer Update

Well hello strangers!

Seems like it's been forever since I did anything noteworthy for the blog.  I figured I owed it to those who follow me to give an update on how things are and what I've been up to.

Summer is winding down ...  YAY!  With the summer heat we get, it seems all I can do it retreat inside to the air conditioning.  This means that I don't work the horses, and since my shop isn't air conditioned either, I haven't been working on my mower either.  This week the temps are pulling down into the 80s and it's been quite nice.  Definitely time to get out and do some work outside.

Another thing that has taken up more of my time than normal is my job.  I received a promotion a few months ago, and my 40 hour weeks are now more like 50 hour weeks.  I do enjoy my job, so it's not a bad thing necessarily, it just means I have less hours when I get home to do anything.  Add the 100+ degree temps outside, and it's a bad combination for nothing getting done.

I found a new home for Whinnie.  I had to do an evaluation on my time, and I realized that I didn't have the time to train her the way she needed.  I also didn't have the money to pay someone else to do it, so I thought it was in her best interest to find another home.  I'd rather be the guy to sell a 2 year old philly with lots of potential, than an untrained 5 year old pasture ornament.  Whinnie is currently back with her previous owner and seems to be getting along just fine.

All the other horses are fine.  They spend their days in the trees.  Not only to the tree's provide shade from the hot sun, but they are also good to use to itch your sides from all the pesky flies.  They come up to the house every night for feeding time.

I have done a wagon ride or two at the house as family and friends have been over to visit.  I always do this using Rachael, as she is my easy "pull out of the pasture and go" horse.

That's about it.  Now that temps are cooling down, I expect to get out and do the following:

• continue sanding down and painting my mower parts.  
• It's also the time of year to stock up on hay, so I'll be doing that in the next few weeks to.  My wife is staying at home now, and she offered to feed the horses everyday.  This is great because it means I can feed square bales instead of round bales.  With square bales you can monitor the horses intake and give them just the amount they need.  This is a huge money saver.  With round bales, the Belgians just sit around it and eat all day and night.  They go quick when you have 4 of them doing that.
• I'm going to start the first stage of my barn.  Step one is one 16x16 stall, and 4 feeding stalls and to have it all covered.  I'm looking into plans now and hope to begin building it soon.  I'll be doing it myself, so I'll post updates as I get them.
• work the horses.  I had Pat get me a triple tree while he was up in amish country this summer.  I am going to work Rachael, Pam, and Nellie 3 abreast.  I plan on using the forecart for this and dragging stuff behind them to add some weight to the pull.  I'm really excited about using the 3 abreast hitch and I'm sure I'll write all about it as it happens.

Hope everyone has had a good summer and enjoyed themselves.  Thanks for checking up on me to make sure I'm still alive and kicking.  :)