Goose Eggs

We have many Canadian geese that live here and hang out around the ponds, and enjoy munching on bugs in the newly mowed pastures. We think there is a raccoon or fox living under the ancient tan house (likely the original home that needs to be demolished), since the goose population has taken a sudden dive and we have found multiple places where there appears to have been a massacre with large spatterings of feathers.  

There were two goose nests at the edge of the pond with multiple eggs in them, which have since been emptied.  The dogs have known about them for weeks, but at my direction of “careful” and “leave it” they have merely inspected the nests and then left them alone.  The creature under the tan house probably helped itself to the easy snacks.

As of yesterday afternoon only very large egg remained in one of the two nests (goose eggs are the size of oblong softballs!) but the others had been broken open and eaten. Because I didn’t correct her since all the others were gone, yesterday Rizzo found that one remaining whole egg and took it.  She carried it very gently around the property for 15 minutes or so while we walked that evening, giving Pascal the stink eye every time he looked at it out asked to play with it.

Rizzo debated about burying the egg for safe keeping, she rolled it around in the grass, she carefully picked it up and set it down, she cautiously rubbed her teeth on it to assess its edibility. Finally she left it in the yard as we headed in for dog dinner, at which point Pascal snatched it.  He had it in his mouth for less than 30 seconds before he accidentally broke it, gigantic yolk and clear goo spreading all over the porch.  

The look Rizzo gave him was one of utter exasperation, “You can’t even hold it for a minute without breaking it?  I was saving that for later!”  Making the best of a frustrating situation, she ended up eating the contents and then Pascal carried around the broken half shell for a while as though to prove he wasn’t entirely clumsy. 

Between the dogs and whatever is living under the tan house we likely won’t have any goslings this spring, but it may be just as well since there are more than a dozen adults here right now and they are plenty loud and messy.

Hacking Around the Property

Today I hacked Raven around the property with the dogs.  I love walking around the ponds, through my little trails in the woods (I'm gradually making more and more trails that I can ride a horse through!) and having my happy dogs join me!

 

Raven was definitely a bit "up" today as we rode around.  She mostly behaved, but was looking for things to spook at.  The dogs like to go crashing around in the woods, as well as go leaping and splashing into the pond after the geese which then go squawking around.  Raven did some hopping and fancy prancing since I haven't ridden her much, but she eventually put her brain back in her head and walked nicely with Rizzo at our side.

 

This photo is of the site for the future water complex.  I'm having some complications with getting ahold of folks to do the arena footing and the excavating work here, but we'll get it taken care of eventually.

When I was a kid growing up in MA, there was a weeping willow tree in our backyard.  I used to sit in the big branches and read books for hours there.  This place feels so much like home to me that we decided to plant a few nostalgic trees.  The weeping willow tree is very small right now, but is supposed to grow quite quickly.  So this is its baby picture for comparing in later years as it gets larger.  

We also planted a pussy willow tree near the pond since I had one of those as well when I was a kid, and an apple tree because we love pie.  So far the apple tree is looking pretty stressed since we didn't get it in the ground right away and it spent a bit of time in a bucket while I rounded up some deer fencing so it wouldn't get eaten its first night out.  Hopefully it will make it!  I don't have a great history with plants, I tell people "if it doesn't have four legs it doesn't have a chance with me", but things grow so much better in this area than in dry Colorado hopefully these trees will have a shot.

Dewey Trailrides at Staunton River State Park

We returned to Staunton River State Park this weekend with Dewey so I could ride and Owen could run/walk.  We did ten miles and I had no pain!  This is definitely the longest ride I've done since surgery just before Christmas, and it's amazing to me to be able to sit truly straight and not have any pain. 

Dewey was pretty tired by the end.  When we got home (just a short 20 min drive) I put him back out in the pasture with his friends.  That evening when I went to bring everyone in for the night Dewey was nowhere to be found.  A little concerned, I began walking out into the pasture to find him, worried he'd done himself some damage as he's so accident prone.  He was in the far corner of the field, asleep standing up.  Completely asleep, I had to shout his name a few times to wake him up.   He kind of jerked awake, then looked at me bleary eyed as if to say, "oh, is it time for dinner already?"  and he began to walk towards me.  I kind of laughed at him and we went to the barn together.  It was a big ride for only having been on short hacks around the property since we arrived!

Here is the map from the app on Owen's phone.

 

First Trails on Property

I spent a couple mornings this week cutting trails into the woods at the front of the property. Today Daisy and I tried them out!  So much more to do but very fun to have some areas clear enough to ride through.

Staunton River State Park

Went exploring yesterday at Staunton River State Park with Owen and the dogs. A fun walk in the woods, lots of trails that were super well maintained, and nearly all of them also available for horses! Not busy at all despite the gorgeous weather on a Saturday morning. We’ll definitely be going back.

I was really pleased I could do the 5-6 mile hike yesterday. Since the head injury I haven’t been able to do much hiking because of vertigo, and needing my balance on uneven terrain.  But I didn’t have any trouble here, whether it’s from lower altitude or less brightness i don’t know, but I’ll take it!

Pascal Plays Alligator

The dogs have resumed off leash training here at the new place, which they are loving  because they get to run as fast and hard as they can! To cool off Pascal has discovered playing alligator in the pond, sinking deep into the mud must feel satisfying to his hot dog body!

Raven and Kim Give A Tour

 Here’s a video tour from my ride with Raven yesterday- enjoy the views of the new place!

Barn Dogs Go to Work at The Office

Rizzo and Pascal are enjoying helping with unpacking the office in the barn.  This packing material was great fun to shred, though they made funny faces as the thin paper began to dissolve in their mouths!

Rizzo thinks my green office chair is fabulous. She likes to run up it, pause momentarily to look out the window at the horses, then she flips around and slides headfirst down the chair.  

 

She squirrels around to find the best positions as well. 

We go for walks so the dogs can learn the perimeter of the property, sometimes visiting with the horses along the fence lines.

 And occasionally the dogs even run out of gas and take naps.

Plumbing and Barn setup

Today went well, despite the cumulative cost of repairing plumbing in the barn. When we first arrived and turned on the water to the barn I discovered a leak between my office and the tack room that was literally pouring water into the wall. It flooded out the first stall, my office, and my tack room (thank you to my mother in law for sweeping buckets and buckets of water out of there with a dustpan!)  That stall is still wet even a week later, but at least it is drying out slowly and we no longer have standing water or water gushing in the wall.

The other leak was a busted pipe underground in the pasture near a water spigot. It was a little sketchy because it created a serious body of standing water, with a power outlet and wires attached to a wood post going into the ground right in the middle of the water. So neither plumbing issue was of the type that I could postpone safely.  Thankfully they are all repaired now and the plumber was not zapped when he severed the wire in the puddle. But there’s nothing quite like hemorrhaging money when you move to a new place!

This is the view from my chair at the computer in my office in the barn, now dry but in need of a thorough mopping. It will be nice to have my office in the barn for printing forms, doing all the Bit of Honey Training business things right there.

This pavilion is just a very short walk from the barn, and is where we’ll do the unmounted portion of teaching once I start hosting clinics.  Shade, running water, and power, all overlooking the pond and the barn will make for a really peaceful clinic setting!

This is the long row of dog kennels spanning the length of the barn. I only use the first two for Rizzo and Pascal, and most of the time they are together anyway. I snapped this photo of them because it felt like a miracle they had finally settled down and were napping in the sun.

The row of kennels does however make for decent storage for the many many tubs and trunks of gear I brought with me from Colorado. Fortunately everything is labeled! I still have some organizing to do but it’s getting there now and at least I can get to my stuff to ride some of the horses.

I was able to get on Dewey today and hack around the property. He has gotten quite round on the pasture!  I’ve almost stopped giving him mash, just a little to get his supplements into him now.  I try to tell the others if they would spend a little more time eating and a little less time running around they too could be as round as super Dew!