Thank God for the Break!

It's been awesome having time off. From school at least, if not the barn!

Shane's hair is beyond shaggy. I'd love to cut it, but he wants to grow a 'man-bun.' There's a cartoon character who's a volleyball player with one and Carrie joked about me getting one, but it stuck with him!

Not that I can throw stones. My own pandemic hair is probably the longest it's ever been. Carrie attacked my hair one morning and then told me not to move for a picture.

I've trimmed the beard since then. I got tired of my mustache curling into my mouth!

No school takes some of the urgency out of barn chores. There's no planning or class lurking if we take too long. Carrie's been feeling better, so we've been going out as a family. That's let us tackle some of the odd jobs that can be overlooked for a while, but elevate the operation when done.

Like poopbusting.

I don't remember the last time we dragged the dry lots. Shane got a kick out of riding around with Mom.

Maddy has been her usual itchy self. Carrie tried switching to a different allergy medicine to see if it helped to no avail. 

Maddy will walk over and ask for scratches when we're around. She's got her favorites and we've learned a number of them.

She's very expressive!

The barn is a source of community and we hope a blessing to everyone who's part of it. Laura had a bit of heartache when she was walking Ernie. He spooked and stepped on her ankle. I found out when Carrie bolted inside to get ice. Laura found out she had a fracture on Sunday.

Barbara showed up while Amy and Carrie tended to Laura.

There was a riding party in the works. Carrie was on Eowyn.

Barbara was on Maddie.

And Gay was on a mule for the first time in her life!

"The ears are a hoot!"

Pockets hadn't been worked in a while and was reluctant to earn his keep, but Gay got him moving!

It was Carrie's chance to introduce Gay to Eowyn, too. The point of buying Eowyn was to ride, so I'm glad that Carrie's been active! 

Barbara tried out Maddy's new saddle and declared it a success. Maddy's been feeling good lately. A couple rides back, Barbara asked for a canter on the trail and Maddy offered to gallop....and gallop she did! We hadn't realized she was a speed demon and Eowyn couldn't keep up!

I took a few pictures to chronicle the fun before going inside to be with Shane.

The windows were up to get fresh air and I heard my name on the wind later. Abby was beside herself. All of her girl buddies were saddled up and she was all alone! The anxiety made her make a fool of herself.

Carrie asked me to stall here and close the curtain door.

I brought in Eddy to give her a buddy. He happily went to eating the remains of Pockets' hay while she marginally chilled out.

I went back to playing Legos with Shane. I was thrilled he showed an interest, so we made a concourse for his airport, a bridge, some mansions, and a bank, etc.

I went outside again when I heard horses squabbling through the window. 

The ladies stabled Pockets on the boy's side since Eddy was in his stall. They hadn't closed the curtain door and Magic and Pockets were acquainting themselves with each other!

Horses were a big part of the break, but we finally had board game time! Carrie and I finished Pandemic Legacy Season 0! It was worth the preorder. We played 5 Minute Marvel as a family several times, and Shane and I played a round of Horrified.

Shane spent a couple of hours looking at some of my Battletech stuff and asking questions, so we ended up playing a mission. One of my sourcebooks was for the animated series (that's canon as an animated series in the universe!). Shane was curious, so we looked it up on Youtube and watched some episodes. It's no masterpiece, but it was a shared moment.

The days blurred together, but Sunday rolled around. We saw highs of 70s early in the week and ticks became active again. The prediction for Sunday morning was mid to upper 30s, but it dropped into the 20s instead.

Laura was shambling around, so we did the majority of the barn chores. Carrie gave her 'das boot' to help and walked Ernie for her. Shane helped by playing announcer with Amy.

The sun warmed the air and it turned into a pleasant day with a high just over 60° F. Scott, Mark, and Hazel came over to grill and hang out!

We opened up a bunch of windows and the adults played 5-Minute Dungeon and The Crew while the kids curled up with tablets on the couch. 

And I didn't take any pictures. Can you believe that?

The one picture I have is from when we played The Crew. Carrie had a crazy hand and wanted to show us after the round.

I realized I didn't have any good kid pics as we were saying goodbye, but it was too late!

Landie came over an hour later. Shane 'babysat' her. They played hide-and-seek, Legos, and Shane read part of a Dogman book to her. There was a My Little Pony break in the middle, but Landie isn't the type to stay zoned out forever.

Carrie got jumped on by both kids multiple times! 

Shane got in a little trouble after his shoulder nailed her in the chest! "You're not that small anymore!"

It would've been nice if we could've had another playdate somewhere in the break, but double visits on Sunday was a strong finale. 

Have I mentioned I've enjoyed the break? Cause I did. I was productive, too. I wrote 22 blog posts over the span of 5 days! I didn't do any grading, but my students didn't do much over the break either. I'm as ready as I'll ever by for Virtual School on Monday and I hope they're in the same boat. There are three weeks to go until winter break. We've got to cover polygons, quadrilaterals, and basic circles before taking a couple of weeks off to forget it all!

Thanksgiving 2020

Cole started it.

Shane was happy to send a goofy picture back!

I texted many people a "Happy Thanksgiving" and that picture!

Our day was a quiet one. Shane wanted to build a city out of Legos to get hit by natural disasters. Whether he was trying to play survival or destroy it is anyone's guess!

He had a radio tower to start, so I started building some townhouses, quads, apartment buildings, and a gas station as seen from an airplane. That led to Shane building an airport and some airplanes to fly overhead.

Carrie joined us after a shower.

Shane's radio tower became an air traffic control tower and Carrie built a radio tower that Shane later souped up to be a power plant.

With all the  natural disasters Shane was ready to inflict (including a blanket sized tsunami) it seemed prudent to give the town a hospital.

We managed to play without electronics for the entire first half of the day!

Carrie went non-traditional for our Thanksgiving meal. She mean a soup involving bacon, potatoes, and pumpkin. 

For our evening entertainment: American Ninja Warrior! We watched some The Floor is Lava the other night, so we were on an obstacle course kick. 

Shane was willing to bounce on the couches, but he had no interest in building our own course and getting some exercise!

It was a much quieter Thanksgiving than years prior. Grandma and Grandpa opted to go to NOVA rather than host, because Rachel and Chris had some concerns about Shane coming back from SC without much time in between. Sophia was just in the hospital from a ruptured appendix, so germs and health were in the forefront of their minds.

On one hand, we would have liked to have seen them. On the other, it was really nice to have a day with no expectations. I've been enjoying the break from work and time with family immensely. 

Thanksgiving 2020 was the holiday we needed. We can have a busier Thanksgiving with more people next year. 

Happy 4th!

The 4th of July is one of Carrie's least favorite holidays. She hates fireworks. 

It can be tough on her, because Shane and I love explosions, bright lights, and loud noises.

This year Carrie was dreading the 4th more than usual, because horses. She didn't know how the animals would react. I figured they hear gunshots and other loud noises so they'd be okay, but we wouldn't know until it was show time.

The morning started with most of our boarders showing up to ride around. 

I said it was tradition to grill and Carrie put her own twist on the burgers (Asian style: Teriyaki marinade and an Asian-slaw on top!). Carrie thought that Thor would be the most child-friendly of the Marvel movies and we watched while we ate dinner.

We held off evening chores until the light was waning. Carrie wanted everyone in and happily eating when the first round of fireworks went off.

We heard some activity, but saw little. The horses startled once or twice, but only a little. They seemed fine.

Shane and I wanted to see some action, so we went to find a vantage point.

There was not much.

We saw some fireworks to the south and east. We heard far more than we saw and sometimes we'd see a flash only to hear the boom later. Every now and then lightning would flash to the southeast and put all fireworks to shame. Despite Carrie's wishes, it never rained.

The house animals weren't bothered. Loki barked a couple of times, but went on being Loki. Bucket was probably the most terrified, but since she's perpetually terrified it was status quo. She hunkered down and slept.

Shane stayed up late and we went outside again when it was dark, but there was nothing to see; Only to hear.

He went to bed and then Carrie fell asleep next. That left me to tend to things. Sam was a little on edge when I checked on him, but once he had some extra hay his stomach took over.

It was a memorable 4th in it was a 1st: Our 1st 4th on the farm (during our 1st pandemic). Nothing bad happened to leave a sour memory, but my burger was awesome. I want Carrie to make those again!

Next year, I'll take Shane somewhere to see fireworks. I have to balance out his explosive exuberance with being around to tamp down Carrie's anxiety to meet everyone's needs, but I'm sure God will make it happen somehow. 

Happy 4th to all!

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Memorial Day Delivery

Today was the first day I wasn't sure what to do with myself. 

It didn't last long.

Carrie asked me to fill in the rut in the unused stall.

It's amazing what mice can do.

I found a mound of excavated soil between the barn and stall walls.

It wasn't a hard job. I got a wheelbarrow full of dirt, filled, tamped, and repeated.

The trick was to finish before Carrie came home with a special delivery.

Meet Pippin. She's been sitting on a back lot at Sonya's for a couple of years and has gone straight to "chonk."

"Chonk" is a technical term used by horse women and (as far as I can tell) it means Pippin's fat.

Fat and happy thanks to her disposition. Pippin hadn't been in a barn for a couple of years and was uncomfortable, but showed it by freezing rather than causing a ruckus.

She passed gas, too. "She's a farter!" Amy laughed. "She's my type!"

Yes, a new horse is a reason for horses and boarders alike to congregate. Everyone wants to meet the new barn member.

Especially, Lorelai. She stood guard outside Pippin's stall and kept looking in however she could.

Maddy didn't bother for long. There was fresh grass.

Carrie brought the girls in for some hay and hellos eventually.

The plan I was told was to let Pippin into the field Tuesday. I guess Carrie got impatient, because she and Ellie turned the girls out for a show while I was cooking dinner!

The girls bonded quickly. It looks like Pippin is going to be the new alpha mare.

Carrie waited until the next day to give her a dieter's muzzle!

We do not own Pippin. She's on a free lease. The hope is to create a win-win scenario.

Win for Sonya - There's one less horse to take care of.

Win for us - Carrie finds someone who wants to lease and ride Pippin and pays for her board.

Carrie already has someone interested. She'd charge less than usual with a lease-to-own option, but Pippin would have to stay at our farm until there was a final sign off from Carrie and Sonya.

To that end, Carrie wanted to start handling Pippin to see where her mind was. The first lungework session was revealing.

Pippin kept halting and turning to face Carrie which was a problem (if a horse were to charge, they run the way they face!). She required a much heavier hand to respond to than Carrie likes. 

Carrie called Sonya and she said she suspected the person who worked with Pippin two years ago used a training method called 'move their feet.' Neither woman was fan. To sum it up: You whack at the horses feet.

The good news is Pippin was much better the second day Carrie took her out. She's adapting quickly and with the right training Carrie hopes to introduce her to the prospective rider in early June.