Dancing and More

This weekend we went to a Valentine's Day ballroom dance.

 

We also did some work at the house.  Saturday we worked on the landscaping around the front of the house.  Matthew installed a piece of edging to connect the side and front flower beds. The beds just need a little more mulch now.

 

And I picked up rocks, lots and lots of rocks!  There are still a few left though...

 

On Sunday we had a visit from some friends and then I went for a ride.  Afterwards we worked a little bit on the miniature horse pen.  We installed a gate and one section of permanent fencing under their shed.  We can't do the rest of the fencing until the stumps are cleared from the back two acres but it will be nice to have a real gate into their pen!
























































And finally, a couple more silly photos of Mow playing with a stick.

 

The Rest of the Weekend

Over the past couple of weeks Matthew and I have been building shelves with lights for starting my garden plants.  (They aren't that complicated, but we haven't had much time to work on them!)  Here is Matthew putting together the frame.

I finally cut the chains this weekend in order to hang the lights at just the right height.  Now my seedlings should flourish!  We put the shelves in the foyer for now.  After I am done using them this spring I will do some finishing touches like painting the frame black.

 

On Sunday we had beautiful weather (of course!) so while I cleaned all of my tack and gear from the endurance ride Matthew cut up a few more logs from our back two acres.  I think we'll have enough firewood for a while!

 

Matthew's birthday gift of chainsaw chaps came in handy for this job.

 

And finally, an update on bunny production.  We have had a population explosion recently (as a result of our new buck) and currently have 22 rabbits on the farm.  These ten babies are about seven weeks old.

 

These seven babies are four and a half weeks old.

Mow's First Endurance Ride

This weekend I took Mow to a nearby park and we competed in our first endurance ride!  My goal for the year is to compete in at least two different rides so I am already halfway there.  We arrived Friday afternoon, checked in, and set up camp for the night.  Mow was checked by the vet and then I took him on a short ride to help him settle in to the new location as this was his first time camping without Rabi.

 

Mow's accommodations.

 

At about 5:00 in the morning on Saturday it started raining.  It ended up raining most of the day and the temperatures only reached the mid fifties, so much for a forecast of sunny and 60s!  My event, a 25 mile limited distance (LD) ride, started at 10:00 am.  I waited for the rest of the competitors to head out before Mow and I started so that we avoided most of the excitement of a shot gun start.  A few other riders had the same idea and invited me to join their group.  I rode the first 15 mile loop with four other riders and we all got soaked and muddy together!  My camera was foggy for most of the day so the photos didn't turn out too well, but you get the idea.

 

The trails were pretty sloppy but not too slippery so we were able to move out quite a bit.

 

After the 15 mile loop we came back to camp for a 50 minute hold and another vet check.  Mow enjoyed taking a break for some hay and I enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa.  It was still cold out so we had to blanket the horses to keep them warm while we were standing still.

 

The second loop was about 10 miles long and I rode it with one of the riders from the first loop.  Her horse, however, started limping about halfway through so Mow and I ended up finishing the last five miles by ourselves.  Here we are after our final vet check (which Mow passed quite well).  We sure are a soggy pair!

 

Here's what my boots looked like when we were done, I had to hose them off!  I also had about an inch of mud in my stirrups that Mow kicked up on me during the ride.  Despite the conditions I had a great time and am really proud of Mow.  This was a big test for him and he stood up to the challenge.  We placed 19th out of 24 and finished the ride in about 4:45.  I can't wait until it warms up a bit for our next race!

Blizzard of 2014

Last week our "winter storm" brought us a little bit of ice and snow.  Although we were under a winter storm watch for about four days and school delays and closures were announced three days in advance, not much happened here on the coast.  We woke up Wednesday morning to this view outside our bedroom window--it's actually mostly ice but I did spy a few snow flakes floating around.  Matthew stayed home for the day and there were a few accidents on icy bridges in Savannah.

 

The animals weren't bothered by the cold temperatures or the snow and the miniature horses even had icicles hanging from their long fur coats.

Matthew's Birthday

We celebrated Matthew's birthday yesterday with eggplant parmesan lasagna (a gluten free version) and chocolate mousse desserts.  I used Margaret's recipe for the dessert but instead of using a pie crust we just had goblets of dessert!

 

There was only room for one candle on these treats!

 

Then we moved on to opening presents.

 

And finally, Matthew tested out his new hockey gloves and chainsaw chaps against cat claws.

Less Work, More Fun

The Lazy G Ranch has been living up to its name for the past week.  We haven't done much work around the house but we did have a little fun! Here is a photo from last week that I forgot I took with my phone.  Matthew and I went to a bar downtown for a friend's birthday and he played in the ping pong tournament.

 

This past weekend I was out of town for Friday and part of Saturday.  We went to a ballroom dance Saturday night (no photos) and then had a game night on Sunday, my birthday.  It was a great turnout with 14 people and we had a lot of fun.  Here we are playing telephone Pictionary.

 

And a game of clue.

 

Bagheera even decided to join in the fun.

 

To keep with tradition I made a lemon merengue pie!

 

And after all of the games and festivities I opened a few presents from my parents.

Outside Work

 This weekend we were able to work outside for a bit in the beautiful weather.  We ran the water line to the garden several weeks ago but finally attached a faucet and four-way connector this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew also removed some roots and stumps from the yard for me with his ax skills.  I couldn't mow over the roots and stumps because they stuck up too high.  Mowing will be a lot easier now (when it is warm enough for the grass to start growing again...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We added more pavers to the steps around the screen room to make this area easier to mow as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And added some pavers to the cement blocks that my dad installed by the man door on the barn. Apparently these pavers missed the power washing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our other project for the weekend was to install another raised bed in the garden.  Matthew assembled the rails from parts from work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I dug the trenches for the rails.  We ran out of time to finish this bed so we still need to bolt the corners together, level the rails, fill in the dirt, and add compost.  Then repeat another 18 times in the garden!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't believe it is already that time again, but I have started planting things in my other raised bed.  I planted snap peas, carrots, onions, and spinach this weekend next to the asparagus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And indoors I have broccoli and lettuce started under a makeshift light.  Growing lights and shelves might be next weekend's project...