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Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...

Photo Challenge - Day Four

Today was a typical autumn Sunday, where I try to get as many winter chores done as possible. My husband has been off hunting with his buddies since Friday, which is nice but I do sort of miss him too! LOL! ;-) I like that he has gone hunting for the last three weekends, as it gives him insight into how to be/have a supportive spouse. He has not been supportive of my horse shows in the past, but he has lately been starting to understand that his hunting is like my horse showing. It's nice! :D Maybe he will be a good horsey husband after all......it has only been EIGHT years! tee hee!

So to start my photo challenge today, here is the story of my life.....

And one of the projects for today was to figure out just how in the heck I was going to make nesting boxes for my chickens. They have started to lay in the last day or two, and with my husband gone, I really wanted to figure it out myself. (Besides which, my husband has NO time lately to help construct anything. He is a workaholic!) Of course, the easy way out would have been to ask my carpenter father to help me. He helps me out in my life in many ways, and I truly appreciate his help. BUT....I would have felt bad because my dad is the kind of guy who would have built chicken mansions, not plain ole chicken nesting BOXES. He would have gotten all serious and fancy about it. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I would have just felt bad. LOL! So, I decided to muster all the Yankee ingenuity I could and came up with this:

The 5 gallon buckets are screwed into the wall. Yeah, they will probably be the biggest FAIL ever, but maybe, just maybe, they will work! ROFLMAO! We have five chickens, so there are five pails.

Of course, I completely cleaned out the coop, cleaned their feed and water thingys, and swept out the dustwebs.

And again, the story of my life. This time, instead of horse manure, it is chicken manure! :P


So we shall see. Maybe I am a really smart chicken farmer. :D Or maybe the chickens will lay their damn eggs all over the floor and I will be a complete idiot. Whatever. LOL! It would not be the first time one of my brilliant brainstorms did not work out.

Also took a trip to the feed store again. I seriously go there almost every day, sometimes even twice a day! LOL! This time I picked up the first ten bags of Dengie for the winter. SIGH! When Dreamy's soaked hay starts turning into hay ice cubes, I know it is time. For the last week, her hay has had a little bit of ice around the edges, but nothing serious. This morning, it was pretty darn frozen. She still eats it happily, but I knew it was time. My luck, now it will be above freezing all week. LOL! Whatever. It is in my barn now, so I am prepared.


I weigh it out for a few days, just to get used to it again. She gets 10 pounds of it a day, so a bag lasts me four days. During the really super cold days, she will get more as needed. She did great on it last year, so I suspect this year to be fine as well. Here is my super old kichen scale that I found in my barn. It works great! LOL! And I use a large rubber tub for the Dengie. I have two, one for her stall and one for outside.

And here are the last two photos of the day.....the BEST FIND at Equine Affaire in 2007!!!! I love these little handmade signs! I wish I had written down the name of the woman who made them. Better yet, I wish I were talented enough to make something like this myself.......nope!


Have a great week everyone! :) I know I will, as I only have to teach for TWO DAYS! LOL! Then lots of fun things planned for the Thanksgiving break. :D

Comments

  1. Great post Liz! I hope your chickens are happy in their new roost. I totally can see your Dad making a Hen Mansion! With dental work, crown molding and a door bell... Have an awesome week yourself. I look forward to more of your posts!

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  2. Um (showing ignorance), what is Dengie, as an alternative to soaked hay?

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  3. I think the buckets are brilliant...the first nestbox I ever "made" was an old rural mailbox (the big kind). In winter, I put a styrofoam cooler over the top for insulation. Worked great for two years until the raccoons got hungry enough to grab Maid Marian and all that was left was a puddle of feathers!

    "Dengie" is new to me, though. Alfalfa? And what else? I'm curious.

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