AHHHHHH....ENJOY.....

Good evening! Yep, today I posted things in reverse. This is going to be a short one. The post below shows the shots I took this morning.... this post fills in just a little bit more.

Do any of you have winter Crocs? My shoe of choice for the season...warm and comfortable. This morning the sun was spotlighting them in the kitchen.


The pups and I went out to do chores...no coats for them and I did not wear as much either.
Stalls were cleaned in no time....below is an example of one. For over 25 years it has belonged to Masterpiece. When we divided this basement barn up, we built our stalls according to the support beams...so they are all different sizes. This one is about 14' x 16'. The one next to it is about 16' x 16'. Winnie has a studio apartment, about 12' x 30' (gigantic). Berlin's is about 11' x '14' and Pony's is 11' x 12'. Dream has another studio apartment. It consists of a 16' x 16' stall in the back of the barn as well as the run in section (L shaped) 18' x 20'. Cows used to live here.
For bedding, I prefer sawdust as it works well and is reasonably priced ($35 for a trailer load). This winter I have been mixing in shavings and pellets. Last summer I invested in rubber matting so all the stalls (except for where Dream is) have at least three in the front where I put their hay etc. Fortunately we have a hydrant in the barn, which we put there after we moved in.
We used to have to carry water across the paddock...way too much work. Upstairs we have a huge loft and what used to be a grainery...then there is a third floor that would hold another thousand bales. We could store about 3000 bales....of course I don't need anywhere near that with only 6 horses. Right now there are a couple of carts up there and our lawn tractor for the winter. It's such a beautiful space. Over 100 years old.

The ponies sure enjoyed their day minus the blankets.





I was a bum most of the afternoon...very relaxing.

Went out to do chores at 5.

Put all those blankets back on as the barn was colder than it was outside.

Gucci stuck it out with me so she could smell like horse manure, and Phoebe went in early...always the lady.

I was in the mood for some sweet potato salad. Did you ever make it?
I peeled and boiled 1 pot with white potatoes and a couple eggs, and a 2nd pot with sweet potatoes. Drained them and put them in a bowl. Covered them with a little Good Seasons Italian dressing (balsamic vinegar) and tossed.... let them cool. Added the chopped eggs, some minced onion and a few frozen peas. Salt, Pepper, Celery Salt and dill weed....finished up with some mayo and mustard. Try it. When you mix in the mayo, the sweet potatoes get slightly mashed. Big yum!

We had it as a side with turkey burgers and Gary's homemade dill pickles. Very simple supper.

Now I am going to put on the tea pot. Night all.