A nice ride and neighbors

I took a nice ride on Baasha yesterday and it was completely different cuz I wasn't in a hurry. I did put a bit in his mouth, cuz I am starting to wonder if he is entertaining the thought of running away with me lately. It felt really good, really familiar, to have that little extra connection that a bit provides. False security for sure, he can take me for a ride bit or no...

I think it's a good idea to start acclimating him to grass, cuz when he comes home, there's gonna be a good deal in the sacrifice area alone. I hung out for one hour with him in a green field, and unknowingly the sun was burning my face the whole time, oops. But the grass in some spots was so green it was glowing in the sunlight. I couldn't resist letting him stop again for more.

It feels so good to just watch him enjoy Spring grass: )





I stopped to take his picture but every time I took one, he pulled his ears back and looked stupid. I was like "Look cute! You just were!" but he wouldn't oblige. *sigh*

I even tried to take a "shadow shot" like so many of you have done lately, but that didn't work. I'll have to practice that.

Just a second ago you were looking so cute. Now you've got that inward, "What is that behind us?" look. Gah!

I just took 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies to our new next door neighbor cuz they took in so many packages for us when we weren't here. She showed me pics of her horses - an Oldenburg gelding and a Rheinlander filly. Jumping and dressage. She also gave me the number of her vet, and hay provider. That's good, cuz we really need those things here. Also, get this...she offered to go get Baasha when it's time to move him, cuz she has a trailer. Wonderful! He'll be less likely to run home again if he doesn't know the way: )

It was fun to see her kid Nils, who is always shouting HALLO at me on the street, steal another chocolate chip cookie off the table. You know it was his first experience with American chocolate chip cookies. Fresh from the oven, still warm: ) I'm delighted to share the experience.

These same neighbors have all the trout ponds next to ours, but they have a man who comes every day to take care of them. His name is Gay-org. I'm not sure how you spell it but that's how you say it! He's the gruff old man I met long ago. He showed me his fish the other day. They follow him along the banks! So cute! They even followed me! He told me they're so tame cuz he feeds them every day. He suggested I feed ours every day too. OK, we will: )

He came over to our area next, and saw something he did not like. He took his big net and scooped out hundreds of gelatinous frog eggs, and threw them onto the banks. He said they destroy the banks, and they're not the nice singing frogs I was thinking of. Still, after he was gone, I went down and scooped out some and put them in a bucket, to see if they turn to tadpoles. Curious!

Daffodils are blooming on our yard, and my left hand is stinging from running into a baby stinging nettle while plantine more cypress babies for a hedge. I'm so sensitive to stinging nettle, it really hurts me all day after I get stung, not just a couple hours like most people.

I planted tomatoes and beets today, they're in the bathroom where they'll stay warm cuz outside it still freezes. Our greenhouse got up to 35 during the day, and guess what, our peas sprouted! Woo! Go peas! And please, carrots too,,...someday soon?

It's good to be here. It's good to walk out of my house and smell the faint smell of newly-fertilized fields (cow manure). The sheep have now moved on...hey, wait. I think they may actually have moved on to MY field! Oh well, it's probably good for my field. I was just there yesterday, getting rid of some of the last strands of barbed wire, and it's green now! Surprise, spring is here, my field has changed into this lovely deep green! I also saw hoofprints ..someone's been riding in my field, haha, good for her, I do the same when a field doesn't have a fence.

Vet note: In case you're wondering, Baasha's hematocrit was low, but that can be a symptom of many things. Not necessarily tapeworms, for example. But to be safe, the vet left me a tube of tapeworm medicine and for the bloodwork, a bottle of liquid vitamins. Hrm....That's probably not really gonna help, but I'll give it to him anyway. I'm convinced, after looking at pictures from August and comparing them to now, that he simply got a higher protein food in quarantine (cuz he was equally thin in July when I visited him before quarantine). He got alfalfa and Equine Senior in quarantine. Since there's no Equine Senior here, I'll be making my own. There may be alfalfa pellets, I'll be lookin into that. Beet pulp is another tool at my side. It will be fun to try this when he gets here and see if it helps. And slowly wean him onto a way-too-big pasture. We'll actually try to harvest hay first, and then let him on it gradually.