Makin' a Scarecrow!

Now that we have our garden planted, we need to protect our precious fruits and veggies from the evil little critters that exist to steal them away from us! We decided a Scarecrow may be in order, so I set out to gather all the necessities....here we have some straw, overalls, a long sleeved shirt, a straw hat, twine, lumber, screwdriver and nails...time to build us a Scarecrow!


First, I screwed a 1x4 board (measured to be the width of the long sleeved shirt elbow to elbow) to a 2x4 about 6 inches from the top...this will be our Scarecrows backbone! He needs to stand tall and strong against all foe!

Then, I put the shirt on....

Followed by the overalls, with a little help from the Little Brat...

Then we took to stuffing the big guy with straw...I tied off the legs and arms with twine to help keep the straw inside....
Finally, I had to call in the big gunz to dig us a hole and secure the 2x4 post in it with cement....we get some mighty strong storms thru here, and we don't want him blowin' away! I think we're all set now....

There he is in all his glory....I hope he has a good work ethic, there's a whole slew of undesireables eyballing our lettuce!

Next, we'll be putting up some fencing.....it's due any day now....stay tuned!

Happy Trails!

Leah

Nekked Kitty!

It's that time of year again....the sun is out, the flowers are blooming, the trees are filling out with leaves....


And our old man of the house, Spooky, is due for his annual shave down....here he is in all his winter fluff...
And here he is, only half the kitty he used to be...

You can cut the bitterness in the air with a knife....or claw....he's a very angry kitty.....he's so vain....the vet technicians commented about his grumpiness.....he scratched JR when he tried to remove him from the kennel at the vet to come home....you'd be angry too if you were kidnapped, stripped, shaved down, and tossed in a cold metal cage...he forgives us after a few hours back in his casa tho....after he realizes how much more comfortable he is!

Of course, laughing at his big hairy head can't be helping his self-esteem any....

Happy Trails!

Leah

Randi shows solo!

The Little Brat competed this past Sunday in her very first solo ride. She was entered in the Walk Division at one of our local horse shows....She had three classes: Pleasure (judged on the horse), Equitation (judged on the rider), and Trail (judged over obstacles)...

Here's the Little brat now getting warmed up before her first class, Pleasure....she took ole Bo around to get the lay of the land...
Her big debut....there she goes! All by her lonesome! I don't dare offer my assistance either....she's a big girl ya know....just ask her!

I just stood there in the center and kept quiet....I positioned myself right be hind the judge, and the Little Brat held her own!

She even passed others in the class with control and confidence....that's my girl! Notice the other riders were all about twice her age....she'll only be 4 next month, but she wants NO part of being led around like a baby!

After her 'rail' classes, she tackled Trail. She had some pretty tight turns to navigate on the first obstacle, and needed a tiny bit of unwelcome assistance to get straighted out, but the rest of the course she nailed! Here she is walking thru these tight poles!

Then, she had to walk a serpentine around 5 cones....check out her steering...just like driving her JD...kinda...


Then it was into the box....making sure to stop INSIDE....and she did! Bo second guessed her and so she had to give him the old heave WHOA! It was very loud....the judge was in tears! But she got him turned around and back outa that there box just like she was supposed to!

Next, the chute lay ahead....she walked between the poles and over one as well...she liked that part...she said it was like 'jumping'....lol

And finally, over the flower bordered bridge! No sweat!

I don't think I could have hoped for a better first solo go of it for her.....we have a little bit of whine factor to contend with in the future, tho....she likes to do it more when I'm around, so I need to make myself more scarce I guess.....maybe I'll position myself just out of view....we'll see how that works....

After her rides, she found some new friends to hang with....she gravitates to boys....the run and holler and cause all sorts of mischief together....today was no different. She commandeered their DVD player....

Poor ole sleepy Bo taking a nap in the shade....

Here are some videos of the exciting day...Enjoy!

The Little Brat in her Walk Pleasure Class.





The Little Brat walking her Walk Trail course.





The Little Brat in her Walk Trail Class




Happy Trails,

Leah

Mud Puddles...

We ran the sprinkler in the indoor arena on Saturday.....maybe a little too long....


Oh to be young (and flexible).....


We topped out at 98 degrees this day!!! Craziness.....

Happy Trails!
Leah

My little Champion.....

Today was a pretty exciting day for Woodie and I! Just to give you the short story, my time has been very limited since Woodie came into my life as a yearling (1 yr old)....I started him under saddle and have basically trained him, but I can bet you that in the last 2 years since I first started him, I probably have less than 90 rides on him, the majority of which were more than a year ago...I thought last year was going to be our turning point....I started budgeting more time for riding, and had high hopes of hauling him to some local shows, putting some more miles on him under saddle, and polishing him up for higher levels of competition....it didn't quite work out that way tho....we went to a small show nearby, and another a couple weeks after that....he competed at both on the flat and did very well....I was starting to get pretty excited! After that second show though, he got hurt....he got his shoe hung up in the fence....a struggle ensued and he ended up pulling his shoe, along with about half his hoof off with it....he also damaged something internal to his foot in the process and was lame for 5 months...I put him in a private paddock for an additional month just to be sure he was in the clear....then, it was winter...I am a fair weather rider and can't brave the cold like I used to...it really gets to me, so then he had even more time off! This last 2 months I have put him back to work...riding him about twice a week at first to be sure he was 100% healthy...he did well, so in the last month or so I've put about 3-4 rides on him per week....I even started him over fences a couple weeks back and I am really excited about his potential! He seems like a natural and really likes to fly! Here's a shot of him trotting his course today...

So, today was his first show after a whole year off....I did not have high expectations, but he surprised me! We did better than expected overall...of course I have a lot of homework too....we HAVE to get our canter transitions down better....they are too rough and he gets anxious in the process....there's always something to work on! The Oldest Brat came along and got some great video of the Woodster over a couple jumps too...see for yourself!

We ended up with two 3rds and a 4th in our jumping division....we also won two 1sts and a 2nd in our hunter pleasure (flat) division, for a Division Championship! Way to go Woodie!

I was in really good company today!...besides the Oldest Brat tagging along, there was a whole gaggle of my former 4H'ers there riding too! What fun to hang and ride with this wild and crazy crew!
Here's a shot of one of my favorite young ladies, on her Woodie look-alike! Can you tell us apart? She's the skinny one without a drivers license!!! hehe

Here she is again on her pony...what an adorable pair!

This was also their first show jumping and they did great!!!!

This is another sweet girl, and one of my favorite young ladies best friends....this was also HER first show jumping too!!!! Her horse was all about it too...she is going to be doing some great things this year!

This horse has a trot to die for....If only Woodie had that stride.....sigh

She got a little extra coaching from the resident trainer before her classes....Marty is the owner of Amber Hill Farm and sponsors this show series....she is also a 4-H Leader, which is how I met her! Great lady!

Aren't they the purtiest pair?!

After my classes I got a chance to sit back and hang with all the show moms....what a fun bunch of nags....hehe.....hey, I can say that, I'm included!

Before we left, I wanted to get a few shots of Ashley, one of our boarders, showing her horse Allie....here she is with her super polished show mom taking care of business before her class!

And there they go! This is Allies second year showing and she is jumping 2 ft courses...

Such a pretty duo...and great form too!

SO, the plan is to stick with the Amber Hill Show series this year, and the Baby Green jumping division in particular....we are about a year behind where we wanted to be at this point, but better late than never! Stay tuned for updates each month!

Happy Horse Shows,

Leah

PS...Congrats to all the girls on all their 'first-times' and personal bests today!

PPS...Yes, those are my new boots! Yeah!

Garden Update! Seeds are in....

Gma Kathy, JR, Little Brat and Middle Brat were busy bodies in the garden and around the farm today! The weather was a mild 70 degrees, with a slight cloud cover, making it the perfect day to enjoy the outdoors!!! The pots were looking so drab after the long winter and a little boost of color is exactly what we needed to feel the full-on spring fever! The Little Brat did most of this planting herself...

In addition to the beautiful flowers that can now be found around the place, the family got many fruits and veggies planted as well! Here's a row of soon-to-be watermelon...yum!

You can see some baby lettuce closest to the camera in the below shot, and soon-to-be broccoli in the distance too! There are even a few rows of corn to the far right of this shot....they were just seeds, so you should seem some stalks sprouting in future updates....

I am super excited about our future Pumpkin patch...I am hoping we yield enough pumpkins for each of our farm family members to chose one of their own this fall...

Five of the six raised beds are not home to lettuce, tomatoes, squash, carrots, peas, and cucumbers! I am hoping that strawberries appear in that last bed...my favorites!!!!

I got home just in time to see our master gardeners watering down their work for the day....lookin' good! We even have a few showers in the forecast that should really kick the garden into high gear over the next couple weeks....

While the green thumbs do what they do best over the coming week, I am going to work on putting together a scarecrow, lining up some fencing, and bringing home a garden tiller.....it's coming together!

Happy Gardening!

Leah

Mommy needs a new pair of boots!!!!

So it goes like this....

I'm sitting there in my room, thinking to myself "Well, if I'm going to show this weekend, after a year out of the show pen, I guess I better check to see all my show clothes still fit me!"

(dramatic musical interlude, as heard in every old movie just before the damsel finds herself in distress!)

The next thing I do is perhaps the most unfortunate decision I have made in a very long time....and will be hard to beat in the near future....I TRIED ON MY ENGLISH TALL BOOTS! *GASP* For those of you unfamiliar with tall boots, look HERE.

Well, More like I attempted to squeeze 10 lbs of sausage into a 5lb bag....but I got those puppies on! Yes sir'ee I did! Surely these boots would find a way to stretch out and give my poor little fatty calves some room to BREATHE! Surely they would! But as the blood stopped circulating to my feet, shooting pains ran up the backs of my thighs, and the burn of a million hot branding irons pressed upon my hiney, I started to have doubts....

Still, I made my way outside and to the horse trailer to find my spurs....I had every intention of riding my horse to be sure I could still function in full show tack and attire and all....I really did!

Next thing I know, the burning in my legs and toosh turn into a pulsating heat thru the rest of my my body and I start to sweat like a mare in heat!

Now I'm getting light headed! Lordsy Mercy, what's come over me! I decide it's best to go ahead and try to make it back into the house where I can use my fancy boot pulling contraption to remove these medieval torture devices from my body...problem, stairs! Lots of stairs...stairs into the house, stairs to my room....my legs won't bend, and the pain! he pain is making my head spin! I make it into the house and holler up the stairs to my mom to meet me in my room to help with the impending leg extraction....I hobble up and start the pulling process....but I can't stand on one foot anymore...and I can see the light! Mom! Help! She thinks I am joking....and perhaps my hysterics and tears could be mistaken for a hearty laugh on any other day, but not this one....I think I was about to check out when mom and I together got the boots off and I collapsed on my bed to regain my composure...do you think I over reacted? I don't know, it was touch and go for a while there....

It was awful....terrible....and I have wasted no time in attempting to re-home those evil leather contraptions! They have no place in my happy home!

Now, to get me a new pair, preferably with a zipper up the back, for emergency exits!

Happy Trails,

Leah

Happy Easter....& A Garden Update!

The Easter Bunny was good to the Little Brat this year...the little squeal she expelled as she rolled out of bed and saw what he left for her was priceless! It's a TOTAL coincidence the goodies the Easter Bunny left behind are not only HER favorites, but OURS too! Way to go Easter Bunny! Sugar overload for ALL!!!

It's a beautiful day out, so we wanted to get some work done in our soon-to-be-veggie-mecca! I convinced my dear husband that raised beds were the way to go for organizing all our smaller plants....not only do the beds provide for easy access and organized planting, but the spaces between the beds can be covered in straw which helps cut down on the 'dirtiness' of gardening! It's hard enough keeping the house clean now just with the barn funk that we all bring in the house with us, so I'm just trying to plan ahead! We are starting with 6 raised beds, but may add a couple more of necessary....the remainder of the garden below the beds will be utilized for planting a pumpkin patch and corn! Flowers will be planted all around the edges, and a fence will be added shortly!

First things first, we needed some lumber to get the raised beds started....we chose 2x8x10 pressure treated boards...we cut 6 of them in half so our beds ended up being 5' x 10'.

Next, I measured for square (or something pretty close, I'm not real good with exact numbers....) and butted the boards together...

I used L brackets and nails to secure the corners of each box frame....I was having a little difficulty keeping the boards lined up tho....

There we go! My very best helper was on hand and ready jump in and help...

After all the corners were braced, JR and Gma Kathy started filling the box frame with the soil to be planted....

Once filled, JR grabbed his hoe (insert inappropriate smart-alec comment here) and leveled it all out....there's that little helper again! She's a slave driver!

Repeat times SIX and here's what we have.....6 raised planting beds waiting for fertilizer! That is on Gma Kathy's to-do list next week...that, and getting us some seeds from my Uncle Ray (Organic Gardener Extraordinaire!) so we can get started with some planting!

Hope you have a just as enjoyable, but maybe slightly more restful, Easter!

Happy Trails!

Leah