Blue sky

Well, today we got over the hump I've been most worried about with Jetta. I was able to ride her in our 1 acre square pasture and she figured out she had to listen to me even though she really didn't want to. Her pasture buddies were far away and she wanted to get to them and we had a bit of a rodeo and she figured it out. Hooray! Now we can go places. I've been able to ride her 4 times this week because of the fantastic weather and because I've had time. It's been so wonderful and she has progressed so far. If I can do the same for one more week we will be able to go anywhere.

It is so beautiful outside!! After this winter which was so dark and gloomy I just feel like drinking in the sunshine through a straw. It's like taking off layers of clothes you forgot you had on and stretching. Now if we can actually stay healthy we will so enjoy this summer.

I've been working on our two long haired cats - speaking of taking off layers of clothing. Poor things, their fur is so matted up it's amazing they can move at all. So I've been going out with scissors and chopping it off. They look so ugly but they actually mind the process very little, considering it must feel very weird and I do occasionally nick them by accident. I think they have figured out that the overall effect feels good. Cougar, our tom, poor thing, got into a pretty bad fight a few weeks back and is healing slowly. He also has a bad case of ear mites and so every time I come at the other two with scissors I also squirt a bunch of ear cleaner in the general direction of his head. It's helping but he's not too thrilled with that :) Ah spring!

Dan and the kids started on the chicken house in the barn today. We've been hard at work discussing dimensions and where to put the chicken "yard" and the door arrangement and what breeds we'll get. It's also very encouraging. Spring goes with new young animals. We haven't had new chicks here for so many years it will be quite thrilling for all of us. So the current plan is to use the back sixth of one side of the barn (about 10 x 6 feet) and have a people door with a chicken door cut in the bottom. Then we'll roll the "chicken hotel" up to the door. This will be a low pen that is roofed with chicken wire and on wheels so we can drag it all around the pasture and let the chickens peck at a nice salad variety of bugs and weeds.

I still cannot believe we are getting this extra month of perfect weather. It's so nice because it's just warm enough that jeans and a sweater are comfortable (which are great for riding) and yet there are no bugs yet. This morning two geese soared right over my head and backwinged down onto one of our sloughs just about a hundred yards from where I stood, with their gloriously discordant honking. And yesterday an entire flock of what were probably chickadees went swirling by all excited about mating and nests and being back (I would assume).

Happy Easter everyone! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!