Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Shavings for Lucy

All of the horses have been happy in the barn this week.  Of course, with nine inches of rain in the course of four days and howling winds, the barn was a much nicer place to be than the pastures.  In the pasture, you have to dodge falling trees and streams criss-crossing every-which way, not to mention thunder, lightening and bobcats.  (the bobcat doesn't seem to concern the horses, but it bothers me).
This is the view from Lucy's stall door to her run-out.  Can you see Tuffy's head poking out of the donkey pasture shelter?  And the dressage court way off in the top left hand corner.  Nice view, for the horses, of the misty hills.
In the barn, there is room service -- three times a day.  Plus snacks.  Last night, Brett forgot to turn off the radio that he plays when working in the barn, so there was country music for them all night long.  I'm not actually sure that they think that's a good thing.  The best part for Lucy is shavings.  Yesterday, Brett brought a bag of shavings into her stall to replace the dirty ones he had removed.  She walked over to help; grabbing the top of the bag in her teeth and ripping it open.  Brett couldn't dump the bag fast enough for her; she stood next to him, pawing at the pile of shavings he shook from the bag.  When he left her stall to throw away the bag, she promptly rolled.  And rolled and rolled and rolled.  Shavings: they are the best.  (when you are Lucy, anyway)
Lucy always has some shavings on her back and in her tail when she's in the barn.

Tex is in the stall to the left of Lucy.  He is a very nosy horse.  Whenever we go into her stall, he wants to know what we're up to.  You know that feeling of having someone watching you intently?

He's more cautious about the aisle.  Lucy, Flash and Pistol all hang their heads out, into the aisle, to make sure that you notice they are famished and in need of a snack.

Tex will touch the window with his nose, but he won't hang his head all the way out.  Just a whisker.  On a good day.

Meanwhile, the streams did an excellent job of carrying all that rain off of our property.  Many properties were flooded, with streams cresting their banks and flowing into vineyards, orchards, fields, houses and roads.  Further up the highway, there were rock slides and avalanches.  The highway was closed at the top of the Sierra.  This morning our county was declared to be in a state of emergency. We consider ourselves fortunate.  I was afraid that the fallen tree would inhibit the flow of our largest stream, but the water just carved a path around it and  kept on going.


The tree is massive.  Well, we knew that.  Standing on the grass next to the trunk, I can't see over the top.  This is the view from my eye level -- and I'm a tall girl (5'8" and some change).

Yesterday, Brett ordered a massive chain saw.  The small one he uses on projects around the property isn't going to work with this tree.

7 comments:

  1. I've been thinking about you with all that rain. Sue's place is soaked too. Today and tomorrow....50 degrees here and the snow is all gone for the moment. We are getting rain later tonight. Yes indeedy, that tree looks ginormous! Brett has my sympathies!

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  2. An American in TokyoJanuary 11, 2017 at 4:45 PM

    Glad to hear everyone seems pretty happy about being inside, especially with the extra snacks! ha ha!
    Any plans to make anything with that old tree? I would think that a nice bench or something would be great since the trunk is so large!

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  3. Beautiful is like Tex. She also has an intense look like that and is always, always watching. Today, she was belly up to the fence watching me ride Cowboy. The other horses were nose deep in Timothy. What does that say about them, I wonder.

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  4. The tree is huge! I'm sure something could be done with it or maybe just a lot of firewood.

    Glad they're all doing well in the barn. Of course, snacks are always welcome with a little night music too. Our horses all love their shavings and Blue especially likes to take his naps all stretched out. Hope your weather lets up soon.

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  5. I am sorry about your tree, and your chickens. It isn't silly to cry. They feel like family, and you know their stories and how they love each other. We put so much on ourselves to protect them. It is amazing to read the story of this well loved tree, knowing so many are lost in the recent weather upheaval. It is sad, but at least you will get the firewood. Best wishes going forward in 2017!

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  6. That's a lot of rain, but that is normal for us. Makes for a lot of mud...but this winter is all about snow and cold. We've just had our 4th snow storm of this season and this one came fast! With a couple hours, we went from bare ground to upwards of 18" in places. At our house, we got maybe 4-5" and it's so beautiful! The mud is frozen and the world looks like a Christmas card. Today is all sunshine and the roads are cleared, and they say we should be back to rain by Monday...no more winter wonderland, just rain. Glad you're handling all that water and hope it's filling your reservoirs, lakes and rivers and such. Gotta take those blessings even if they're in abundance. In our hills and mountains, there are lots of landslides too. They are worrisome. And yes, that tree is massive! Firewood for many, many years to come. Sorry to hear about the loss of some of your chickens. We are missing our rooster, and I'm afraid to think of what might have happened to him.

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  7. With a trunk that big, I bet that Brett comes up with some creatives ideas... round tables, crazy paving and more! Plus of course all that firewood.
    I'm glad your drought is over!

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Thanks so much for commenting!