Another hot and very muggy day. The only good news....my body is handling it better than it was before.
This morning we put the three horses together again.
It did not take very long for them to leave the front paddock and go to the pasture.
This time Janet and I took turns babysitting, and when they got back in the front paddock one of us sat in a Director's chair in the shade while the other worked on stall cleaning.
Rebel was using some body language.
It's going to take awhile for him to accept Ronin.
There is no way I would just turn them out together without going through this process. Hopefully it won't take too long.
He spent around 10 minutes in the indoor.
I moved a hay net over near the entrance so he could eat in peace.
Just before I went back to the house I dropped my camera and Rebel stepped right on it! Fortunately I could save the photos above by uploading them on an old camera.
Jenny and Scott arrived at 10am and we prepared everything we needed to make dill pickles. Of course she had to take photos with her phone, and I don't have them yet. I managed to get a few on mine....but they are not that great.
Randy and Gary have been making pickles for years. He got here a little after 11 and by then the brine was hot, the jars were filled with dill, garlic, peppercorns and cucumbers....and they were able to get them ready to go in the canner. Gary has a two burner propane stove so the brine and canner were kept outside while we stayed cool in the kitchen.
They made 32 quart jars.
We had a pizza/salad lunch break and then
they finished the last 12 jars. Perfect! 32 jars. 3 pecks of cucumbers. It started to rain.
Of course by the time everyone left we were ready for a nap. First we cleaned up the side porch and reorganized it. While Gary was putting the stove in the barn, a monsoon moved through the area and he got trapped there for quite awhile. He finally relaxed with a beer.
It was still sprinkling when I went out for evening chores and it felt good to get wet.
We let Ronin hang out with Rebel and Seamus for a little while, then they were tucked in for dinner.
By then the light was beautiful.
Haven't seen a puddle for quite awhile!
Night all.
Just showing who thinks he rules the roost or paddock!!! I hope it all gets easier very soon. Pickles, that hard hot work will be just a memory as you have tasty treats later on.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a while to establish a pecking order. I know my gals are always changing as to who is boss.
ReplyDeletePickles. Yum.
That's a lot of pickles! Glad you got rain. In three days we got barely measurable rain. Probably a tenth of an inch overall. Not enough to do much good but the lawns appreciated it
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent idea to use propane heated pots outside. My daughter and I will be making jam this week (about 130 jars) but here on the coast of California it's never too hot to do it in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteThe boys are doing well, it shouldn't be long now. I made 7 qts, you made 32! I made pesto after lunch.
ReplyDelete