The Agony And The Ectasy

This is the northwest corner of my lawn, with two clumps of Lilacs and two apple trees in bloom. A cedar tree and the neighbors' barn show on the left. Views like this are part of the ecstasy of farm life in the north country:

The pink Prairie Rose flowering crab still had only buds, but it is glorious when in bloom:

The agony would be jobs such as cleaning the barn. The tractor is not good at scooping up the urine soaked, poopy bedding hay, so I have to fork it into the bucket by hand:

Then I have to haul it off to the manure/compost pile:

This year's compost pile is on the left. 2017's compost pile was where that brown spot now is. I've used it all up on plantings:


Last year's compost pile is already being used, and I scooped more of it up to use for planting when I was finished with cleaning the barn:

The red flowering crab buds opened fully and the Golden Delicious apple tree with which it is intertwined bloomed also:

A spectacular display, another one of the ecstasies:

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And then to my surprise, the newly planted Bleeding Hearts began to bloom:

Hardy, easy to grow, tolerant of shade and beautiful. It's no wonder that generations of gardeners have loved this plant:

I found a Lilac seedling growing by my back door when I moved here, so I dug it up and planted it at the end of the barn. Then I realized that would not be a good place and moved it again the next year. Now it's doing well and blooming nicely:

To my surprise, it is a different color, more blue than any of the other Lilacs on the property:

Remy And Blue In Winter

I don't often use the horse stall anymore, but there were several extra cold nights when I put the two little horsey boys in their stall:

 They used to quibble over hay, but they've mellowed with age and now just seem to want affection all the time. I pet them, turn off the light for the night and go back indoors:

 But they do have access to the barn almost all the time. When I clean it and put down fresh bedding hay, they are eager to eat as much as possible - even as they begin pooping and peeing all over it:

 Outdoors, they seem even more immune to the cold than the cattle:

 And they are more adventurous, venturing out into the deep snow, apparently just for fun. I've seen them far out in the field, running through the snow at top speed, their tails flowing out behind them:

 They share the bale feeder with the cows:

 And then come back into the barn for more hay and, I'm sorry to say, to poop:

 Blue developed a slight limp in his left front leg but I found nothing in his hoof and no warmth which might indicate a problem. I suspect he got a bit too wild while romping with Remy out in the field:

 Remy usually waits for an opening at the bale feeder. Those cows are just too big to push aside:

 And they like to hang around the back door to the barn, near the base of a former silo. I have to be sure that white door is kept closed and latched, less they jump up through it into the barn where I keep my tools, etc:

 Blue was digging for hidden treasures:

 And then heard something interesting. They love it when an Amish buggy goes by:

Little Horses Of Winter

Remy likes to hang out inside the barn when the weather is cold and windy:

 And Blue follows wherever Remy goes:

 Remy at the barn door. Notice the frost on the end of his nose:

 Blue and Remy at the bale feeder with Jasmine. I don't remember where the other cows were at the time:

 I put the horses in their stall for the three coldest nights this winter, but that meant I had a lot of messy bedding and frozen poop to clean up. I have to fork it into the bin and then carry the bin out through the door to the tractor bucket:

 Of course I also had to clean the main barn floor where the cattle had spent the night. Then I put down new bedding hay. Remy and Blue thought I'd prepared a banquet table for them:


 Both little horses love to paw through the snow for any plant material to eat, even if it's plants they usually won't touch or if it's dead and brown. I suppose it's instinct to do so, an instinct which keeps wild horses alive during the winter:

 They each have a small stall for eating their grain, a place where they can't fight and the big cows can't bother them:

 And as soon as they're done eating, they begin making a racket by banging their metal pans on the concrete floor. They seem to think it's great fun, maybe even making music:


 Blue's snowy snout showed they he'd been digging in the snow for edible treasures:

 Like the cows, the horse's backs collect snow without melting it. They are quite well insulated:

 What is this, you may well ask. I took this photo from up in the hay loft, where I was tossing down hay for the horses below. They don't mind it falling on them and, in fact, seem to enjoy it:

Remy And Blue, Horses Of Winter

I keep the sliding barn door chained at just the right gap so the little horses can come and go at will, but the cows cannot. Without the chain, the cows can push the door open with their powerful necks. Blue, being shy, likes to stand inside but stick his head out to watch what's going on:

I was bringing out a new hay bale but had to stop the tractor, jump off and run back to close the gate behind me, Remy would love to run out the open gate and lead me on a merry (to him) chase:

The winter began with frost - lots of frost:

Both Blue and Remy, not to mention the pasture grass, were covered with frost. Of course we've since had lots of snow which has covered everything:

Both little guys now feel right at home with the big cows, and are not afraid to eat hay at the feeder. They are smart enough, however, to avoid getting accidentally crushed by those big red cows:

Blue and Remy had been spending a lot of time inside the barn, leaving a lot of manure which had then frozen hard. It was time to clean the barn floor and put down new bedding:

It doesn't show well in this photo, but the whole floor was full of frozen poop and urine. It was difficult to walk on and I figured it would also be difficult to clean up because it had probably frozen to the concrete floor. Alas, I was right:

The first job was to use a snow shovel and push it toward the center so the tractor could scrape it back. Then I'd fork it into the bucket. Remy came in to "help:"

And then Blue, usually shy and standoffish, also came in. In his case, he seemed to want attention:

He also wanted to be kissed on his head, something Remy has enjoyed for a long time but was new for Blue. Horses nuzzle those they love, so it seems natural that they should crave kisses:

But then I had to get all that frozen manure, urine and bedding into the tractor bucket and dumped on the compost pile. This is where it becomes dangerous to have the little horses around as I don't want to hit them. They've learned that I get very angry if they don't vamoose when I holler "Get Out!" Yet still I have to be very careful:

I got the old bedding out in four bucket loads, then spread a bale of clean hay over the floor. Remy and Blue came back in to eat some of it and poop on the rest of it. It doesn't take long for it to need cleaning again:

The Herd

As the snow melted, leaving puddles all over the pasture, Jasmine decided to save herself a walk to the stock tank. It's so much easier to drink from the puddles:

 Life is good when the weather cooperates:

 The cows have spent the winter huddled together on the east side of the barn. Every bit of spring weather now inspires them to venture out into the rest of the field:

 Remy ventures out in almost any weather. He considers himself a wild stallion:

 Blue would rather stay where the hay is, but he can be persuaded to play with Remy, and the two of them run back and forth across the field:

 But they also like to hang out inside the barn:

 I can relate to Blue, up to his belly in hay. I can imagine myself standing in a deep pile of donuts and pizza:

 Blue is mild mannered and shy - except where food is concerned. Remy is normally the dominant one, but he has learned to stay clear of Blue when they're eating:

 A couple of barn bums, rolling around in bedding hay:

 The girls at the salad bar:

 The cows were skinny and hungry when they arrived four years ago, in no mood to share their food with each other. They're fat and contented now, so don't mind sharing:

 The two small stalls I made for Blue and Remy when they first arrived were not adequate as stalls, but they did prove enormously handy at feeding time. The little horses can't fight over their food, and the cows can't push them away and steal it: