Summer!

is finally here, right on track with the astronomical calendar, which said it started a couple of days ago. It's in the low 90's today, but feels like 80s out here on the farm.

Our boarders (Jo and Shawna) have come, and it's so much fun to have them here! We have four horses on the property now, which is a big enough increase to keep mornings interesting. It's so much fun to see them playing in the arena, walking their horses in and out, and having a good time! Yesterday, we had five ride in the arena (a friend came and had her lesson here), and it held up just fine. I dragged it this morning, and Jo and Shawna rode in it today. I believe it's getting a smidge deep at the east end, so I will concentrate on moving some of that footing toward the west over the next couple of days.

Lessons again yesterday, and it's such an enormous pleasure to lean on the fence and watch people ride, and listen to the instructor. I learn almost as much by watching other people's lessons as I do by riding! And there was definitely a moment when I was done riding, and tired and had dried sweat all down my back and in my hair and I was watching Kathy and Io go 'round, and I felt like I could just happily stand there forever, pleasantly tired from a good day's work, watching horses. It's like there's a hole in my eye, and only a horse fits there.

The dogs got into the pasture today, together, and teamed up against T, which was unfair. She's too nice to actually kick them, and they annoyed her into running away, which really got them going. We've ordered a shock collar. The dogs are pretty good about the horses one at a time, but once they both get in there, they start working as a team, and that's unacceptable. They'll learn. I anticipate two days for Smokey to learn not to chase the horses (at least, not to chase the horses when the collar is on!). It will probably take Captain two years. He's the pretty one...

Everyone who's been through the old house has said we should do something about the yard. So we've hired someone to do something about the yard. This usually isn't a problem, but with this year's rain, the grass is about over my head... Keep your fingers crossed that it goes soon, because it's kind of a dead weight in the back of my mind.

Baby steps on another frontier. I spent half an hour talking with a specific person who shall remain unnamed before I took the bait, turned into physics butthead #5 and started arguing. But this time, for the first time, I was completely aware that I was being baited WHILE it was happening. There's no way on god's green earth that one person could bring up that many sensitive subjects in half an hour if they weren't spoiling for an argument. I also realized I fell for the bait, and refused to continue arguing, but then unnamed person wouldn't let me stop arguing (kept arguing against me, even after I changed the subject: #8), so I had to exit the conversation less than gracefully. STILL. It's progress! It's my life's work to figure out how NOT to rise to the bait. J has asked me not to talk to said person anymore. Maybe he's right...

Still, everything is awesome. I've got no complaints. Not really. Except that I'm hungry, and should go eat now... Hope all is well in everyone's neck of the woods. Although it would be too much to ask to hope that all of you are having as much fun as me!

5

We had our first lessons in the new arena last night, and our trainer was suitably impressed with the new barn, new fences, new footing. Hooray! It's always good when the professional approves...

The weather was iffy all day, and about an hour before Trish was to arrive, the wind started to really blow! But I rode anyway, and had a great lesson, considering it was the first in about six months. I always ride better when ther's someone around to yell at me: 'Commit to the trot!'. And today my stomach is sore, in a good way.

Then it was John's turn, and almost as soon as he started, the sky opened up and poured buckets! But we have an all-weather arena, right? So we have to test it, right? And yes, you can ride in it, even in the pouring rain!

So then I'm leaning with my arms on the fence rail, watching my wonderful husband riding his beautiful black and white paint in OUR fantastic new arena, and the rain slacks off. The low sun shining on the mountains set them alight. And a rainbow appeared, framing the mountains beyond the far end of the arena. I had to lean my chin on my arms to close my mouth. Ponies and mountains and rainbows. I drew that in crayons once. When I was about five years old.

Number 16

On our way out to bring the horses in, we came across our neighbor, worming and tagging his new steers. He breeds most of his own, but these four he bought at the cattle auction---they are this year's calves, and one of them is completely wild. So we got to watch as he maneuvered them through the chute, gave them their shots, punched holes in their ears for the tags, and then let them out again, onto the knee-high grass. The wild one gave some trouble, but Dale just stood back and looked until he figured out how to get it done. I know the feeling in his head, as he turned the puzzle pieces this way and that, taking his time, until he figured out how to get the wild one by himself in the chute. We've been doing a lot of this kind of physical problem-solving lately. Again and again, we learn that sometimes you just have to step back and think about it until it all clicks, and you see what to do.

Dale had brought one of his older steers in with these young ones, because 'he's a particularly docile and pleasant steer'. This is Number 16. Now, I've had my eye on 16 ever since we moved in, because I thought, 'Now THAT is a good-looking steer'. I have, apparently, learned to judge steers from Bill and Carl, because Dale also thinks he's a particularly good-looking steer. This is all so familiar to me, what he's doing over there. I recognize it. It's comforting to see someone farm the way I remember it from when I was small. I have a level of knowledge about this that goes down into my toes, because I learned it hanging around the barn when I was too small to know better than to eat raw soybeans.

So then, we were leaning over the fence, talking to Dale and Genevieve, and I got my order in for 1/2, possibly a whole beef, come fall butchering time. (A couple of friends have said they want to go in on it with us, so it's not as crazy as it sounds!) Dale raises his beef on pasture, without hormones, all the way to five weeks before butchering. Then he feeds them grain for a short time to tenderize them. Then he has the butcher come, right there, on his property, so the steers don't get scared or dragged or beaten. They never have time to panic or get upset. They just get quickly and efficiently killed and butchered into little packages for the freezer. Our neighbors make an event of it, betting on weights with lots of friends who come around to help or heckle, as the case may be.

This probably sounds weird, but I'm ok with watching my food grow up, then watching it be killed, and watching it be put in freezer packages---I know number 16 is living a good steer life, safe from injury, accident and predators. He is cared for and husbanded. I know Dale knows him personally, as an individual. That matters to me.

And I also know that my hamburger will come from one healthy animal, instead of thousands killed all on the same day in one of America's 17 (!!!!!) slaughterhouses, ground together with meat from Mexico, Argentina and New Zealand. It's a price I'm willing to pay for my food, to watch it grow, to learn to know it, to learn it's habits and it's personality. And in the end, to make it part of me. Oh, yeah, and to help my neighbor live the life he loves, which reminds me so strongly of the life someone I love has led.

It doesn't get any more local than this. I could be vegetarian instead, and I leaned that way for a while, when I first started learning about our 'modern' food system, and felt powerless to make any changes. But I don't think that meat is the problem. Dale and his cattle are not the problem. My flock of laying hens is not the problem. Factory farms are the problem, whether they are growing beef or tomatoes. There are worse things in the world than death, and many of them can be found at feedlots, slaughterhouses and factory farms.

So I'll buy number 16. And every time I have beef, I'll think of his black coat glistening in the sun, and his contented munching on grass up to his belly, and his chasing the labrador, who gets just a little too close sometimes. And I'll be a little thoughtful, but not upset. Because I value the life my neighbor and Bill and Carl choose to live. My time on the farm when I was a kid taught me that there's value in living a good life, and there's value in sacrifice. Sometimes the sacrifice comes in the middle, as it does for most people. And sometimes it comes at the end, as it does for some people, (soldiers especially come to mind), and all of our food animals. Sacrifice comes. And there is worse to make of it than a plate of ribs shared with friends for Derby Day. Or a hamburger cookout with family on the Fourth of July. Or even just a good home-cooked meal after a hard day of putting up fence in the rain and the wind and the cold---fence to protect these steers or their kin.

Number 16. Now THAT's a good-looking steer.

The New Arena...

It's official. We have the nicest arena in all of Utah.

It has poured rain for days...DAYS!!!! And there's not a single puddle, soft spot or hole in the entire 14,000 square feet. We've ridden in it, in the rain, even, and it's just lovely. The footing is hard enough that the horses feel confident to push and to lift their backs. And it's springy enough that they are more 'up' than they've ever been. And they pure unadulterated joy of being able to make a circle and know that no one will be doing a sliding stop right on your line is... Well... Priceless.

I built a drag, and it works fabulously, if I do say so myself. It's so wonderful to know that not only did you do it right, but you have the right tools to keep it that way. Mostly, we just have fun, riding, and then dragging and making it absolutely perfect again.

In other news, our four 'new' chickens, which a generous friend gave us, are growing back all their feathers. Their dreadful condition has us thinking maybe we don't want a rooster. There are few things more horrible looking than a hen that's been tormented by roosters. Apparently, the problem is that the old owners had too many roosters. But I think maybe we just don't need one. That sounds kind of sexist maybe, but you should see these hens! They don't even look like the same species as our fat, healthy, happy 'ladies'! They have all raw, red skin all over their backs, and where our chickens have fluffy (and somehow hysterical) skirts, they are bedraggled and pathetic. And they run from EVERYthing. But they are gradually figuring out that they've stumbled into the good life!

Our boarders have been helping with the fence work, and I've been teaching them to use a drill, and a pneumatic hammer. They are definitely out of their comfort zone, but want to bring their horses this week, so they are learning to be a little brave. Jo and Shaunna are both much older, and this whole idea that they can be handy is new to them. It was cute to see Shaunna grin with pride and cheer today when she overcame her fear and used the pneumatic hammer. You go, girl!

My Apologies!

For being so long between posts, but you will understand when I sum up...

We went to London, which was totally awesome and amazing. We saw a play in the West End (War Horse---life size horse puppets, which are amazing simply for their engineering!). We ate a lot of really amazing food---I don't know why people complain. We went to the Royal Windsor Horse Show, and the Queen (OF ENGLAND!!!!!!) was there, and so was Prince Phillip, and so was every tack store in the British Isles. I only think I hate to shop... ;) We saw the Domesday Book at the National Archives. We saw artifacts from Hatshepsut's reign. We went to Kew Gardens, and learned about their efforts to save seeds of plants that are becoming extinct. We walked from Kew to Hammersmith, along the Thames. We minded the gap. Unfortunately, we were not delayed by the volcano, so we...

Came home. We finished two stalls in one day, and brought the horses home. I wrote and then re-wrote 4 chapters of my book. We finished two more stalls. I caught up with my staff, who are amazing and I adore them. I wrote an annual report, spent 8+ hours with accounting figuring out what the previous Center Director must have done. We listed the old house. We moved mountains of dirt and trash. The contractor finished the arena, and dug us 126 fence post holes. We sunk 126 fence posts, and tamped them in. We stretched 1100 feet of wire fence and stapled it on. The top rails arrived today. We'll put those on tomorrow. I wrote chapter 5. And started Chapter 6. I am not going to send them to my editor until I see my contract and the first portion of my advance. John launched the balloon, and the truck broke down, and we spent at least four days going back and forth in various recovery efforts. The truck is still in Roosevelt, and it will cost us another day to go and get it. But at least it's worth going to get, and we don't need to get a new truck. In order to help John out, I have expressly forbidden him from taking MY truck out on University business again. ;). Fortunately, a friend has loaned us her truck for as long as we need it. But it's not the same as having your own truck.

Today, it rained all day, and we still rode in our arena, which drains like you wouldn't believe. We have puddles everywhere BUT the arena, and our old boarding place down the road is under water, and unride-able. Our two boarders are coming soon---probably this weekend, since they can't ride where they are!

John's carpal tunnel is keeping him up at night, but we are so close 'done' that we will finish tomorrow or Sunday, and then break from home improvement for a couple of weeks to enjoy what we've built. Then we probably need to pay some attention to the house... ;)