Fall is fading and we're still plugging along. The barn has morphed along quite well, its now 3/4 barn red and has 5 box stalls. The boys and girls are doing well, the boys have been taking over the majority of the work these days doing trail rides. Now that the bugs are pretty much gone and haying is done its time to enjoy! Tonight we cleared enough out of the way on the old road out back so we can ride a small loop on our 3 acre piece between 2 of the neighbors. The boys enjoyed their woodsy adventure so much we had to do it twice. The deer have returned, only 4 so far but they are hanging out behind the paddocks and we get to see them every couple of days or so. The garden is just about finished, still have a bunch of carrots and beets to pull up but the horses are taking care of making sure they don't make it in the house. Big frost this morning, winter is on its way. Too bad fall couldn't squeeze out another month or so of nice weather but oh well... that's Maine.

Out and about

Today the girls got to do some real farm work. They spent the day at Wild Root Farm doing some disc harrowing and spreading compost for the vegetable beds. It was a gorgeous Saturday and they settled right into their farm chores like they've been doing it for years. What an incredible team, they were a hit. They had plenty of company including 4 other teams who were also helping out plowing and getting things ready for planting season!

Busy weekend

Well it was a productive and warm weekend at Ruff Cut Farm. Friday night all 4 got a thorough pre-Spring cleanup and trim. Molly even looks like a girl again and the birds should have plenty of nesting material, needless to say we made quite a mess of the barn. Saturday I dusted off Sarge's saddle and my brain bucket and went for a short ride. For 2+ months of no riding he did a great job, although I think the slush helped expend some of his extra energy. Then we harnessed up the girls and hauled them down to the public works in Arundel to do wagon rides for a sliding party for a couple of hours. They did a great job, although they are definitely not a big fan of purple sleds and they were a bit concerned about the strange people sliding down the hill on those scary looking contraptions. They went strong for 2 hours and were very excited to get some exercise.
Sunday was another gorgeous 50+ degree day so we hauled out Sarge's harness and he had his first ground drive in a long time. He was a bit nervous about the blinders and turns a bit quick so it'll be a while before he gets hooked to a buggy but otherwise he was fabulous and will definitely be a fun one to drive. Then it was time to hit the trail. Well actually the trail is still under snow so we headed off down the dirt road with Jackson, Sarge and Nick riding their big Belgian David. Considering it was the first time David had been off the property in a long time and Nick had only ridden him in the round pen he was spectacular! Gotta love those calm draft temperaments! Sarge and David managed to make it home without even breaking a sweat, Jackson was of course soaked, but they all seemed to be happy to get out and stretch their legs. Here is hoping for some more spring weather!

Another day at the farm - we unexpectedly got another 5 inches of snow last night so now that we're done working for the day its time to start all over! A yard full of snow to plow and a barn full of manure and hungry horses! The girls were busy this past weekend, giving sleigh rides at Abenaki and "marking" a few trees on the trail. We may have to fix a board or 2 but it was worth it. It was great to get out and they were so happy to work, even if they were accused of stealing Santa's sleigh!
Sarge has been busy nannying CJ while he recovers, but he does get out a for a bit everyday to kick up his heels with Jack. He managed to rip the calendar off the wall last week and dump it in his water bucket... my guess is he's as fed up with winter and being stuck indoors as we are! Besides that we just keep the wood stove full (keep the cats happy basically) and pray for spring to come quickly. It's about time to start planning the garden!