Winter is a cruel mistress

[KikiDee]

Having been smug after securing two pallets of MVF haylage the same day they put it up in price, I am now in the position of every fecking delivery happening at the same time. The haylage I was expecting last week, but everyone has started ordering online it seems, so it's coming tomorrow - the only day in probably the last 5 years that our road is closed due to a telegraph pole being replaced. I don't have a choice in delivery date, so will have to deal with probably a peed off artic driver and I don't know where exactly the closure will be. The map says metres away from our house, so we may not be able to turn the artic in the usual road as they'll need to swing out to reverse into said road. They're using some sort of automated messaging service, so I don't know if I can contact the driver and forewarn them - I am hoping I can!!!

Arrghhhh! Naturally, feed delivery (to yard, not home) is clashing but they're being fabulous and told me to just let them know once I get my 2 hour window for haylage delivery. By tomorrow evening I will have most certainly earned a glass of wine! Oh, did I mention I'm supposed to be working tomorrow, too? I will probably have to take all the feed (4 bags) across by hand due to wetness of field. That's why I'm getting haylage delivered at home - sod getting 80 bales of that across a field in February!!

I also have to carry all my feed by hand across a 2 acre field to my stables from October-April due to ground being too wet to drive on so I feel your pain! Especially when elderly horse gets through 4 bags of Fibre Beet/Grass Nuts and a bag of conditioning feed every week I try to split it up across the week so I only have to carry one bag a day

 

[Little bit old-fashioned]

is a real, actual, likely future event, rather than a memory which only occurred once, far away in an alternate universe...

I was right with you on this until 20 mins ago when the black clouds rolled in and my phone pinged with another rain warning for 4.30

Arrghhhh! Naturally, feed delivery (to yard, not home) is clashing but they're being fabulous and told me to just let them know once I get my 2 hour window for haylage delivery. By tomorrow evening I will have most certainly earned a glass of wine! Oh, did I mention I'm supposed to be working tomorrow, too? I will probably have to take all the feed (4 bags) across by hand due to wetness of field. That's why I'm getting haylage delivered at home - sod getting 80 bales of that across a field in February!!

Good luck with it! Hopefully all parties will be understanding and you will absolutely have earned the wine.

The 80 bales across field had my jaw dropping. Absolutely retreat from that one! We can't get an empty wheelbarrow across ours right now so can't imagine that.

I've started storing hayledge bales in our undecorated living room that is waiting for a plaster touch up because I've run out of storage areas that aren't blocked off by wet fields and floods. Caused some raised eyebrows from my other half but by this point of winter he's learned not to ask questions.

 

[PurpleSpots]

I've started storing hayledge bales in our undecorated living room

CLASSIC!!!

Such a nicer smell than an undecorated room though, surely?!

 

[dorsetladette]

Managed to do the animals without getting wet at both ends of the day today!!!

Heavy rain overnight has made sure the mud won't dehydrate though.

I've also managed to twang a muscle in my upper back lifting water containers last night. I've been using 25litre containers out of the horsebox instead of buckets to save trips through the mud, but with all my waterproofs on I clearly didn't bend and lift correctly last night. It's not to bad as long as I don't carry or lift anything, cough or sneeze. Guess I'll be going back to using buckets for a while.

I love my horses, I love my horses, I love my horses!!!

 

[Gloi]

Just to depress everyone

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[KikiDee]

Well in todays episode of "am I losing my mind, the adventures of an exhausted horse owner". Got down to the old boys about 9pm last night after ferrying the ridden one to and from the water treadmill after work. Pouring with rain, head torch battery decides to die so I'm fumbling around in the dark, open new bale of haylage which is lovely thank god. Wrestle with new bale, drag haylage up the hill to the feeders, clear 2 barrows of old slimy haylage out the feeders as I do every 2-3 days. Clear up feed buckets and open the yard gate, give old boy a handful of fibre nuggets which he gobbles up and then rudely buggers off back up the field - ok thanks, nice to see you too, glad to be of service Anyway... make feeds up for the next morning, get ready to leave and put my hand in my pocket to get my phone and check the time - no phone So now I'm considering all my above activities and where I could have dropped my phone. Dig out a crappy hand torch and start scouring the field for 25 minutes. Eventually decide my phone has fallen out my pocket and likely succumbed to the knee deep mud and will never be seen again. Have a little cry. Give up and head back to car. What is sat on my passenger seat? Oh yes - my phone!

Torn between grateful I did in fact not lose my phone in the quagmire and also just thinking WHAT IS MY LIFE.

 

[Fransurrey]

I've started storing hayledge bales in our undecorated living room that is waiting for a plaster touch up because I've run out of storage areas that aren't blocked off by wet fields and floods. Caused some raised eyebrows from my other half but by this point of winter he's learned not to ask questions.

OH has 'donated' one of the transits he's doing up to store some of it. The rest will remain in shrinkwrap until the ground dries up enough to get a tipper across the field, or my truck (10 at a time). Haylage delivery was fine in the end, bar one pallet load falling back against OH's tractor, which has pierced two bales - we have silage tape, though, so I can deal with that. It came in a 10 tonner, not an artic, so plenty of room and the guy had sense to phone from his last stop, so I was able to guide him in the correct way around the closure.

I'm still debating with myself whether to chance driving down the grass track to get the feed down there, today. It's 4 bags, so could do two trips with a wheelbarrow. At least after today i can sit back and relax for a couple of months on the feed score.

Have accidentally arranged swim training for this evening, so no wine for me. Not if I don't want to drown.

 

[Little bit old-fashioned]

I love my horses, I love my horses, I love my horses!!!

"am I losing my mind, the adventures of an exhausted horse owner".

This is a great title for a blog or podcast.

I'm just glad you found the phone. I think losing it in the mud would have been crushing to say the least.

OH has 'donated' one of the transits he's doing up to store some of it

What my OH would give for something like that to push my horse overflow into. Our house is a yard storage extension. Just also had to move open feedbags into front room as my car went into the garage this morning.

Dreading the diagnosis of that one!

However, despite the fact that I 1. Can't kick this bug cold and had it for 2 weeks and knackered. 2. Car probably about to be diagnosed with bad steering issue and 3. Back has gone and everything is painful and poulticing is hell on earth, the sun is shining this morning and it feels spring like.

Skipped out the hard standing in a jumper and can hear all the birds singing so all is momentarily forgiven and it feels very hopeful. First morning in what feels like forever when I actually 'enjoyed' doing the horses and could have pottered around down there all day. I was possible to imagine that it will soon feel (at least somewhat closer to being) the fun hobby it is meant to be.

Just ignoring the forecast rain this afternoon followed by freezing overnight.

 

[Little bit old-fashioned]

Managed to do the animals without getting wet at both ends of the day today!!!

Heavy rain overnight has made sure the mud won't dehydrate though.

I've also managed to twang a muscle in my upper back lifting water containers last night. I've been using 25litre containers out of the horsebox instead of buckets to save trips through the mud, but with all my waterproofs on I clearly didn't bend and lift correctly last night. It's not to bad as long as I don't carry or lift anything, cough or sneeze. Guess I'll be going back to using buckets for a while.

I love my horses, I love my horses, I love my horses!!!

How is your back doing?

I actually had to call in help yesterday because I physically couldnt face poulticing.

Try and give yourself a rest if you can!

 

[dorsetladette]

How is your back doing?

I actually had to call in help yesterday because I physically couldnt face poulticing.

Try and give yourself a rest if you can!

Thank you for asking. It's not to bad a long as I keep the Ibuprofen topped up. Sitting still is worse than moving about. I just need to rest it I think. And maybe stop lifting 25 litre containers above waist height . The joys of having youngsters that want to play with or in everything means the water trough is waist height and boxed in to stop feet going in it, hence the lifting.

Draft in help where ever you can!! Sometimes needs must! Hopefully you won't need to poultice for to much longer.

I have the farrier this afternoon and after a relatively dry morning it's just started raining!!

 

[dorsetladette]

Back has gone and everything is painful and poulticing is hell on earth,

Sorry just seen this!

As you said to me - rest if you can!

 

[Honey08]

It’s trying to snow here today, wet sleety stuff.

This is our entrance hall, which is unfinished. I brought our elderly bunny inside in October because her companion died and she looked frail and lonely. Then I got lent another elderly bunny as a companion, and finally managed to catch the third, which I think had been dumped and had been hanging around my outdoor cafe all summer. So suddenly the house is full of rabbits! And I’m having to cribbox the stairs as they’d started chewing them! Fortunately they need changing anyway.

 

[rabatsa]

For those who are moaning, be pleased that you do not keep sheep and are going through lambing time as well. I do not do well on 2 hours of sleep a night. Fortunately all bar one done and she is not due until the 23rd.

There are sacks of lamb milk in the kitchen and bottles, jugs and whisks, taking over the work surfaces, along with a goodly bedding of hay and straw on the floor. Not sure which will blow a fuse first, me, the cleaner or the vacuum cleaner.