Thawed but still precipitating

Above Freezing

We're having a small respite from snow here in NRW. That means today was the first day I could go out on my land without the fear of slipping on ice and breaking a hip. (I say respite cuz we're supposed to have more snow soon.)










Since our land was covered in frozen clumps of snow that turned to ice, it was too dangerous to expect Baasha to get out much. He didn't want to slip either. I did take him to pasture a few times, and he nibbled around a while before coming back to his stall. He basically spends his days of cabin fever eating hay by the bale and sleeping. I'd like to take him out, but the weather has been horrible: rain whipping sideways onto heaped up snow and ice. Unpleasant and dangerous.


Manure Sauna in Rain

But today since the ice melted (we have 8 degrees here!), I had to go work on the manure box, which was overflowing. I couldn't clean another stall, it was desperate. So in the rain, I shovelled about 10 wheelbarrows out onto our hang, digging out the fully composted stuff underneath the mound. For some reason I did this AFTER my shower. So I stood in a manure steam bath for hours, and although I wore a jacket with hood to try to preserve my good hair day, soon the sweat was running in streams down my face, into my eyes and mouth, and I had to go jacketless. So I was wearing a thin silk tshirt, and my good hair day was all over from the rain.

But I got it done. I spread the compost all over, and turned the recent manure. My man called me from the window, telling me I'm gonna need another shower. No, I don't shower twice in one day.

I came in and changed into dry clothes and washed my hands and still kept noticing this smell somehow. My man kissed me and said I smell like manure pile. Great, the neighbors are having us over for New Years tonight!

New clothes and perfume, I'm good. Drying the hair helped too.

I had such a mess out there today. I couldn't clean up poop that I couldn't find under snow, and I saw crows out there tearing into it, looking for grain. I knew it would be hard, when the snow melted. It was hard. Tiny bits of manure were scattered everywhere by the crows, and the rain was just melting them into the ground. I am afraid to say I couldn't get it all. Mean crows.

Enough poo talk.

Old horse with good feet

While geocaching this week, we came across an old horse in a field of sheep and chickens. He looked so old, so pathetic, standing there on his paved sacrifice area, munching on his hay in the rain. (I would never make Baasha eat his hay in freezing rain, unless he had a blanket.) I gave him a candy (probably shouldn't have, but he looked so sad).






Even my man said he looked sad. Just, really old, I think. I did notice he had great feet. They looked recently trimmed, and that is rare here. It seems like most old horses I see, their owners have let their feet go. Not this guy.








I like how his barn was tidy and open to him, as well as that little bit of pasture. I think it's funny there is a NO HORSES sign right on his barn, because the trail goes right by here.







In My City

This Sunday I'll be sharing a very Swiss experience in my blog - something the Germans have embraced as tradition too, lucky for me! Something I first experienced in Switzerland on New Years Eve, but this year we had for Christmas.