Thank You and We're Sorry

Rabi and the Cart

This past weekend Matthew went out with me to see Rabi and we drove Rabi in the cart. Matthew took a few photos and videos and then became my first passenger! The next day I took Rabi to a nearby park to ride. It was his first trip in my new trailer. Here are a few photos and a video of driving plus a photo of Rabi in the trailer.

Matthew and Skittles

Skittles was not too sure about Matthew when I first moved her down to GA, but she is starting to warm up to him. The other day they were even snuggling on the couch together! She has started coming out from under the bed when I am not home so that Matthew can pet her too.

Garden Update

This year I am way ahead in my garden. I just pulled up the fall broccoli crop (which fed us for quite a while) and have planted almost all of the spring crops. The spring broccoli already has heads and we have been enjoying fresh lettuce too. Yesterday I added cucumber and squash seeds as well as green pepper seedlings. The green beans are just starting to come up and I have eggplant seedlings growing in the house. This time the raised bed is so full that I ran out of room and had to plant the basil in a pot on the deck! Matthew also buried a hose under the deck and across the yard to the garden so that my soaker hose is safe from the mower. Now we just have to wait for all of the goodies! I hope this year's crop will be even tastier due to the large amounts of rabbit manure I have been adding to the soil.

Driving Rabi

After all of our hard work fixing up the cart and training Rabi, I was finally able to ride in the cart last weekend! It has only been 10 years since I started this project, haha. Rabi was pretty nervous but he did very well. We just went around the arena a few times before calling it a success. Next time I drive him he should be even better and we can go farther. I hope to eventually be able to drive him around some of the trails and roads near the farm. I might even be able to take passengers with me at some point!

Here we are on our maiden voyage! I know that Rabi looks half asleep at this point, but we were standing by the gate and he knew we were done.

My New Trailer

I recently decided that I wanted to purchase a new horse trailer. My current one is very small and uncomfortable for my horse to ride in and is about to need new tires. I searched and searched for a small 2 horse aluminum slant load (the horses are at an angle in the trailer, much more comfortable for them than being in-line with the vehicle) that my Envoy would be able to pull. I finally found some in Florida near where my grandfather lives, so my mom and I went trailer shopping when we went to visit my grandpa. We ended up buying a Shadow trailer that only weighs 200lbs more than my old trailer, but has way more storage space and allows my horse to travel at a slant and put his head down to rest. I was really impressed that at how well it hauls even though, as you can see, it is quite a bit larger than my first trailer.

My first horse trailer, bought when I graduated college.
















Me at the Shadow dealer with my brand new, 2011 trailer!
















There is plenty of room in the front for all of my tack.





















When the partitions are opened up, the trailer is one large room that my newly refurbished cart can fit in so that is stays out of the weather. (there is no barn at this farm, my trailer is my only storage space)





















A side-view of my trailer in its new home. Matthew is checking out the features of the camper door. You can also vaguely see my little blue trailer next to the new one.















The other side. Now all I need to do is sell my old trailer!

Lindsay's Mom's Visit

My mom came to visit for almost 2 weeks at the end of February. As always, we were very busy and the time flew by. She came with me to work each day and worked on her water coloring painting skills out on the beach. We also went wedding dress shopping and made the final decisions on my dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and my mom's dress (no photos for obvious reasons!). We found time to go bird watching with the Audubon club as well as riding on the beach. The last part of her stay we drove down to Tampa, Florida where my Grandfather spends the winter. We did a lot of bird watching there too and saw many new species that we can add to our life lists. Here are a few of the many photographs we took during our adventures.

My mom with all her painting gear. She loved being a bum on the beach all week.

Me hard at work while Mom was being a bum and painting. I am completely re-doing our 500 gallon tank including installing all new plumbing and buffing the scratches from the acrylic viewing panels. Here is a photo of me working on the acrylic.

The Valentine's Ball was the first weekend of my mom's visit. She stayed home while we went out dancing.

We were fortunate enough to borrow a horse from the place where my horse is at so that my mom and I could both ride out on the beach together. This was my mom's first time riding on the beach and she rode my horse. It was a nice day but a little chilly.

Here we are in Florida with my Grandpa and Grandma. My Aunt Sandy was also there, she took the photo.

One of the parks we went bird watching at.

Some roseate spoonbills in Florida. A new species for my mom.

A glossy ibis, new species for me.

A mottled duck, new for both of us.

A not-so-common common ground dove, a new species for me.

And, lastly, a pretty flower near the beach in FL.