It's spring!

[altivo]

Robins are all over the place now trying to outsing the cardinals and chickadees. Woodpeckers are drumming on tree branches.

More significant, though: We planted snow peas today. May not sprout because the seeds were old, and I have new ones coming in the mail soon, but we wanted to try to get the earliest possible start. Tomorrow: lettuce and perhaps turnips. Spinach is already coming up in the hot frame.

Horses aren't shedding out much yet, so I wonder if they know something I don't.

Comments

[quoting-mungo.livejournal.com]

Mmh. Fuzzy horses are lovely.

I just wish he'd wait until it was warm enough he doesn't have to go inside at night. Would be much nicer for him, I imagine.


-Alexandra

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Ours go inside at night all year. Always have unless the weather gets really hot and sweltering. I wouldn't always do it that way, but my mate insists. He acquired that style of management from the boarding stable where we had our first two for a while when we were rebuilding the barns and fences here.

It's more work, but it does have some benefits. Mosquito-born disease is a big issue with horses here, and keeping them indoors when it's dark reduces the exposure somewhat, for instance.

[quoting-mungo.livejournal.com]

My horse came with some health issues and bad habits, so I don't like keeping him indoors - he gets a rather nasty cough from dust and in his old stable he would swallow air when bored. He did drop that habit, but instead developed one to eat the walls, which I don't really like, either.

We've been building a new stable for a while, which is going to let the horses go in and out as they want to, which will be nice once it's done, probably some time this coming summer. Since Albert will gladly go inside on his own, but gets bored after a couple of hours, this seems like something that will keep him relatively happy.


-Alexandra

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Good reasons for leaving him out if he likes it.

Oh, and Tess has started shedding. Not so noticeable by looking at her as it was when cleaning up her pen this afternoon. Strands of hair lying all over. She evidently loosened them by rolling.