Ice rink

Yet another storm is on the way so the girls and I made a trip out to the barn this afternoon. We hacked away at frozen poop piles, replenished grain supplies and moved hay bales on the sled, knowing that it might be quite a while before we can come out again.

Both horses were happy to see us and made nuisances of themselves while we tried to finish our chores. The poor boys are bored and restless; Quinn (yup, we've settled on a name!) has even broken one of the rails in his run.

The girls discovered that "Lake Curly" has become an ice skating rink. They twirled and slid around until their toes were frozen in their boots. (I'll post pics as soon as I have a camera cable around - hubby M took ours on his trip to sunny, warm FLORIDA. I'm so jealous!)

1/10 addendum:
Here are the promised pics --

It was so cold outside! Curly's tail had so much frost on it that it looked like it had been dipped in a paint can.

R had a grand time on the ice.

Best laid plans

Today was supposed to be a day of major cleaning and brushing. Both E and I hoped to get the stalls and runs thoroughly mucked out and then we planned to spend some time combing out manes and tails - both horses need this done desperately.

But when I woke up this morning, it was snowing. ARGGGHHH! I was so happy to finally be able to drive on clear, dry roads yesterday and here it is, only 8:30 in the morning and at least 3 inches of new snow has fallen. I no longer think this is fun.....

Still searching for a name...

We made plans to go out to the barn again yesterday, but quickly discovered that our wimpy 2-wheel drive truck isn't able to get get down our alley yet. Just as we all settled back into the house, the phone rings and friend T offers to come get us and take us out - what luck!

As we drove out of town I could see that the area right around our house appears to have the largest snow accumulation still...which currently translates to more slush and ice as well. I am so ready for this to all go away!

The horse barn is pretty yucky at the moment; mud is everywhere. There is still a bit of snow and slush on the path out to the poop pile so we are all making individual piles in our horses' areas until we are able to move it all out. I have to admit to being a bit lazy yesterday - I left the mess in the horses' runs alone, to be cleaned up another day.

E and I tried the new name, Jake, out but decided that it isn't quite perfect either. So the great name search is still on. We visited with him for a bit, petting and just generally checking him over. He's a little cow-hocked in the back and narrow in the front. I don't know how much that will affect his movement; we still haven't been able to get him out to ride. And his hooves are in sad shape. They look like they haven't been trimmed in ages and are splitting pretty badly. We'll get our farrier out ASAP.

Personality-wise, he appears to be great. He was happy to see us but not too pushy either. The wind was howling through the barn yesterday and while this did spook him a bit (all the horses were jumpy) he didn't go crazy either. E brought Curly over to his stall, to introduce the two. They sniffed each other and said hello. The new guy squealed a bit when Curly tried to nibble on him, but nothing aggressive happened, which is good to see. If we do end up keeping this guy I sincerely hope the two will be friends.

A horse with no name...

Our name-less friend

Actually, he does have a name - Slick, sometimes called Red - but we don't really like either one. So E and I have spent the last couple of days trying to come up with an appropriate name for the big guy. Naming a horse is just about as hard as trying to name a baby!

Our first thought was Moe - as in Curly, Moe and Larry of the 3 Stooges. Of course, that means that eventually we would have to get a third horse! (I can hear hubby M groaning as he reads this!)

Not satisfied with that, however, we then moved on to Quin, named after Joaquin Miller, a 19th century American poet who also happened to be a horse thief and a Pony Express rider. Quin stuck around for a bit, but still didn't feel perfect.

Last night, as we were sitting on the couch I suddenly yelled out "Jake!" And we both liked it. So today our nameless horse is named Jake. Now if only I can find some obscure literary connection to make it perfect.....

E and.....Jake???

Friend A gave E and I the perfect Christmas present. She chauffeured us out to the barn on Christmas day so that we could spend some time with our equine friends. The snow and ice have kept us pretty much at home, so I have had to rely on others to get me anywhere that was too far to walk. We had a wonderful time, did some chores and just soaked up the peace and beauty of the horse barn.

Merry Christmas, Curly!

Snowy barn day

I couldn't stand it anymore - I just had to see Curly. So I called up Grandpa J and begged a ride out to the barn. He has a snow-worthy truck that was able to get through the snow and ice with no mishaps.

The next storm front is beginning to make its presence felt, so the snow was falling as we drove down the semi-plowed roads. This also made me hurry to do my chores once we arrived; I definitely didn't want to be stuck out there in the middle of a blizzard!

E, the snow princess

Curly was happy to see us...or maybe it was the treats that we gave him and the extra handful of hay I dropped into his feeder. I scooped as much of the accumulated poop out of his stall as I could; some of it has frozen fast to the floor and won't be moved until the temps go up a little. (It was warmer today but still only 14.)

Curly, looking good in his winter coat.

And then we moved a couple of bales of hay over to a stall in the main barn for the horse we are trying out. Yup, you read that right. We will be evaluating a new horse soon. I'm so excited! He's an 8 year old sorrel QH, about 15.3 hands, with a wide back and big ol' butt. And he was super friendly when we first saw him - maybe even too friendly! Because of the snow and ice, we haven't been able to do much more than take a quick look at him out in a pasture. His owner is hoping to move him to our facility today (hah! There's no way I'd drive a trailer in this mess!) and we will be given an opportunity to check him out more thoroughly. I'll post a pic of him once he gets settled. Soooo....in preparation for his arrival, I had to make sure there was some feed up in the stall area he'll be in. Because of the deep snow, wheelbarrows were out...but sleds work just dandy in this weather!

And it just keeps falling....

I think we are up to about 15" of snow here in town now. And it is still snowing heavily. School has been canceled for the second day and we have a house-full of little girls all playing happily.

I am totally itching to go out to the barn today, but icy roads are keeping me home. I desperately want to visit with Curly! Our barn manager sent a quick note earlier, reassuring me that he was doing fine. He has icicles hanging from his mane and tail and appears to be enjoying himself. She plans to move Curly and his pasture buddy Andy into stalls today, however. Too many invisible pot-holes out in the fields for them to be completely safe. I feel better knowing that he'll have shelter for the next few days as well.

It's still snowing...

Our snow-covered palace...

It began snowing sometime early yesterday morning and continued for almost the whole day. By evening, there was at least 3 inches on the ground, maybe more. And then another inch or two fell last night! The skies have been clear most of today, but I just saw a few flakes beginning to come down again.

Six inches on the ground - and more in the forecast!

The kids have had a fantastic time sledding and throwing snowballs. This sort of snow accumulation is pretty unusual for us and it's nice for them to experience a winter wonderland like this. I love seeing them laugh and play until they're rosy cheeked and shivering. It's like watching a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

Living on a side street in town has one big disadvantage during weather like this - the snow plows almost never come our way. Our vehicles aren't very snow-and-ice-worthy so consequently, I've been stuck at home (not that that's much of a hardship!). Our barn owner has called a couple of times, though, to reassure me that Curly is doing well. He had gotten damp earlier in the day so she even went out to check on him in the middle of the night to be sure that he had dried out and wasn't too cold. How's that for great service! She said that he was so cozy warm in his blanket that she just wanted to crawl up under it and snuggle in.