Happy New Year!

Winter has certainly found us. We have had several days of double-digits below zero temps and it looks like almost the entire US is suffering with this 'cold snap.' I am so happy with our bright yellow and red Ritchie fountain. It is so nice not to have to drag water hoses and to plug in and pay the bill for heating the 100-gallon water tanks in the pastures. However, since there's no water in the barn, we still have to schlep hoses to fill those tanks. This wrong will be rectified in the spring when the barn area and building are renovated. I'm counting my blessings and the dollar savings on our electric bill.

Speaking of the electric bill, well, the heating bill in our new digs actually, I must say this geothermal system is really nice. We have no propane or wood/corn pellets bills (or any of the related work to keep the stove fed) and we are as toasty as can be. Our December bill to run the heat pump was $130 versus to fill our pellet stove and run the propane heater that ran us $600 a month at the Stanchfield farm. True, the two farmhouses are not exactly comparable, but I can count the money staying on our account as well as you can.

The horses are well, but I have some that are ribby and I don’t like that at all. There is a combination of things that cause weight loss in horses; worms, poor nutrition among them. We deworm the herd at set intervals, and sometime this year I’m hoping to have each horse diagnosed as to how often they actually need to be dewormed. There are some that only need to be done four times a year, others need it monthly. The common practice is to deworm monthly or to feed dewormer pellets as a top dress with a horse's daily grain. However, research has shown that worms, like viruses, are becoming resistant to deworming drugs so our regimens are not working as well. This is why each horse should have its own fecal egg count number and be dewormed accordingly. Click here for more info on worms and fecal eggs count.

If a horse is not pregnant (late term), in training or being pleasure ridden regularly, I don’t believe in feeding grain. In the winter, the hay we feed is sufficient, and that coupled with good shelter and 24/7 access to water keeps most horses very happy. There are other factors like disposition, age and bad habits that should also be factored in – some horses are just nervous nellys that do energy sucking things like pace the fence line or stall weave or wind suck and these types are a challenge to keep at a healthy weight and if it drops they need help to recover and maintain, especially when the weather gets cold.

In our herd there are two mares, Eve and Mara, full sisters, who have been brought in from the pasture and are now blanketed and fed the high fat/easily digestible senior equine feed twice daily. Today, our vet, Jennifer, power floated their teeth to restore the needed grinding surface. Florida-based equine vet, Geoff Tucker, has an informative site on Equine Dentistry. Geoff’s site also has a video on the floating process.

I expect with these helps the sisters will now pick up the weight steadily and be in really good form come spring.

On the personal home front, our Christmas Day and New Year’s were as we like them; quiet, uneventful. On Christmas Eve during a break in a three-day snow storm, we went into the Cities and took my Mom to lunch at Mall Of America’s Napa Valley Grille. Mom (age 85) had a series of mini strokes in October and has had to give up living in her own apartment. She is on the list to get a room at the Minneapolis Veteran’s Home and while she waits for that to come open Mom lives at a transitional care facility in Minneapolis. Mom is doing well but has problems with her short term memory. She writes in a journal to help with remembering visits/appointments, medications and people’s names. This works and gives her comfort. Ian and I will empty Mom's Minneapolis apartment this coming weekend and store her belongings here on the farm.

Ian is Ian; happy at work, happy at home. On the weekends we enjoy unpacking more of our stuff and finding places for all of it - hanging the artwork is the most fun.

This week brings us a mid-January thaw with daytime temps in the high 20s and low 30s, however there is still plenty of winter left for us here on the frozen tundra. We smile every time that geothermal system kicks in!

E-I-E-I-O

Happy December

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving Day in our new farmhouse together with my Mom, son Richard and our friends Marcia and Dan. Dan brought scalloped corn, which was so yummy. Marcia brought my favorite bagged salad from Costco. Ian did a magnificent job with the turkey and all the fixings.

The night before Richard and I made three pies - pumpkin, sweet potato and apple. He joined me in the kitchen and used his iPhone connection to find me a sweet potato pie recipe. We settled on a recipe by Food Network’s Alton Brown. It calls for yogurt and I used a one pound can of sweet potatoes packed in water versus all the extra work using raw ones. It is a crowd pleaser.

That iPhone is a cool thing. I love everything Apple, but I don’t like that its linked to AT&T. Of course, we just renewed a two year-contract with Verizon Wireless. Besides, Ian and I are rather old school using laptops for our Internet connection and cell phones for calling people. Ian never texts and it is rare when I send one. I don’t know that we would use an iPhone, its droid cousin or even a Blackberry as they’re intended.

The November weather was unseasonably mild and only today have temperatures dipped to near December normal. We don’t have snow yet, but I have been getting bids from locals who do residential snowplowing. Ian and I kicked around the idea of getting our own snowblower but these cost in the neighborhood of $1500 and having someone plow the driveway and area in front of the barn will cost $35 a time. Even if we have a winter with record snowfalls we won’t come near needing to be plowed out 40 times! Besides, it’s nice to have someone else out in the subzero temps moving the snow around.

I am determined that this winter season we are going to do some kind of winter sport! The candidates are cross country skiing or snowshoeing. We’ve got plenty of our own acreage to explore and as long as it’s not double digits below zero being outside in the Minnesota winter (properly dressed) can be exhilarating.

We continue to unpack and organize the house and while the weather cooperates we are able to complete major projects outdoors too. Having the Ritchie waterer up and working will be such a blessing. Ian spent last Saturday with a rented trenching machine digging a 100-yard long trench (for its electrical supply) from the house to the pasture where the Ritchie will be mounted. Yesterday, Don came first with a backhoe, followed by a dump truck load of sand and later a skidsteer to prepare the insulated water line and placement area. Once its concrete pad cures, the bright yellow and red waterer will be placed -- we're looking at this Saturday. The Ritchie is located on a fence line where horses in both pastures can drink from it, giving the herd 24/7 access to pasture, water and shelter.

The Christmas tree has been placed in the living room and when I locate the boxes of ornamants it will be decorated.

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Thankful on Wildwood Road

Where does the time go? I guess I have a bit of an excuse as Ian and I have been busy buying a new 80-acre farm, packing up the old one, turning over its keys and then moving lock, stock and barrel – all since I last posted!

Ian and I began moving ourselves from the 10-acre Stanchfield farm using a rented U-Haul truck and stock trailer on Friday morning, November 6. We handed over its keys on Saturday afternoon, November 14. The first night we spent here in the Wildwood farmhouse was November 7. We are still settling in trying to find the best place for all the bits of our stuff. The weather has been unseasonably warm, sunny and completely cooperative.

All of the animals moved very well. We only had a moment’s nonsense from our Saddlebred mare and she was quickly apologetic. Even this year’s foal crop of four loaded and traveled well. I wondered if we would survive loading the Pilgrim geese, but Ian’s a clever lad and all four were on the trailer snuggled safely amongst things before they knew what hit them. They are very pleased with the new digs as Wildwood Road has a pond not far from the house and they spend more time floating than patrolling.

Ian has this week off from his consulting gig and we’re making the most of it. Yesterday, we went into Minneapolis to visit my 85-year-old Mom, who returned to a nursing home again as she copes with panic attacks, some disorientation and short term memory loss following her mid-October stroke. Mom is getting excellent nursing care and therapy while we wait to see how her circuits rewire. We all hope Mom’s fog will lift and that she will be able to return to life in her beloved 17th-floor apartment overlooking downtown Minneapolis. We children stand by to help Mom with decisions about where the safest living situation may be given whatever her circumstances dictate. Time will tell. Mom will spend Thanksgiving Day with us on the farm, along with my son Richard and two dear friends.

After our visit, we did our Thanksgiving Day grocery shopping, which filled the fridge to near capacity. We bought a 14-pound turkey that is defrosting slowing atop a shelf in the garage. I’m keeping an eye on it so that we don’t die of some dreaded disease. Martha Stewart says as long as it doesn’t thaw out to warmer than 40 degrees, we’re good. I had contemplated buying one of her birds, until I detected shock in Ian’s voice when I told him the smaller of the two offered was 'only' $69.99 plus $20 shipping & handling. Evidently, at that price point it was not a good thing. LOL Our young turkey from Wal-Mart as $9.36.

We came home to find our farmhouse and yard bathed in light coming from the dusk-to-dawn light the local electric company had installed on a pole. We had one of these in Stanchfield and ordered one for this farm as soon as we closed. Being away from city lights certainly is nice for stargazing, but it is no fun when doing evening chores!

Tomorrow, Don will come from Pine City to install a Ritchie Omni 2 in the pasture to provide warmed water to the horses year round. I am ecstatic at the thought of not having to lug a hose from the house to fill 100-gallon water tanks installed with electric heaters to keep the water from freezing. In fact, there will be no more tank filling at all -- just the occasional clean out. Woo-hoo! The Omni 2 has the capacity to water 40 horses and we will place it so that it will handle two pastures this winter. In the spring we will fence so that it waters four pastures.

Since I last posted we bought a 1997 Ford F-150 white/tan extended cab pick up truck. This sure makes hauling hay (and anything else) easy. We’re going for 30 square bales later today and its bed and load capacity works great for fetching one large round bale at a time for the herd pastured outdoors. I will admit this does get old and I expect we’ll buy our winter supply of large rounds soon.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print from the Auld Macdonald Farm.

E-I-E-I-O

Wildwood Road in the snow!

These photographs were taken last winter. I don't want you to think we have snow in Minnesota yet!

















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Mom returns home!

Yesterday, after a 9-day stay at Benedictine Health Center, I returned Mom to her south Minneapolis apartment. She seems to have recovered nicely from her October 13 stroke and is well enough to return to living on her own once again. Her 17th floor apartment has a million dollar view of downtown Minneapolis and she really loves her life there.

Mom has dinner and visits with other residents in the building's dining room six nights a week and there are many services available to her should she need them. Mom has someone to clean her apartment and do her laundry weekly and thankfully my younger brother Matthew and his wife Connie live within five minutes drive.

This afternoon Mom has an appointment with her main care doctor and a follow up appointment scheduled with a neurologist next week. The hospital care at HCMC and the intensive physical and occupational therapy she received at Benedictine really helped Mom get back on track.

All good news.

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Wildwood Road

During the first weekend in November we will be moving from Stanchfield to our new home; a larger farm in Brook Park, Minnesota, which is 25 miles further to the northeast. Pictured is the 1918 two-story, 3-bedroom, remodeled farmhouse that sits on 55+ acres. There is a barn, a chicken coop, a large outdoor run-in shed and plenty of pasture for the horses.

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Doctor JET

PICTURED: Connie, Mom holding Tucker, and Matthew.

My 85-year-old mother, Joyce E. Tiffany (known as Dr. JET to many), is in ICU at the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), the regional trauma center. Mom was found unconscious on the floor lobby just outside of her 17th floor apartment in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. My brother Matthew, who lives in Minneapolis with his wife Connie, called me on Tuesday morning and they remained with Mom throughout the day.

I visited Mom at HCMC on Wednesday morning. She was not sedated and sleepily looked at me and then her eyes brightened with recognition. A breathing tube was in, so she could not speak. Mom is breathing on her own, the tube is just for fresh air and the plan is to have it taken out as soon as all the tests that requires her to be physically still are completed (hopefully today).

When I talked with Mom, squeezed her hand and patted her shoulder she nodded or shook her head in reply to my questions. She was not in any pain, she was warm and comfortable. How precious the words I love you are.

Yesterday’s MRI revealed that Mom has had two small strokes; one that triggered Tuesday’s events and one some time in the past.

Today, the docs have ordered a brain MRA scan, which is used to specifically evaluate the vessels of the brain for aneurysms, stroke and AVMs (vascular malformation)

Because Mom will not need to be sedated once the tube is out, she will be able to talk and we hope to learn more about how the strokes may have affected her. When I was there yesterday I saw none of the signs I usually associate with people who have had strokes.

I am going back to HCMC tomorrow (Friday). Matthew and his wife Connie visit Mom daily and the docs call Matthew with updates that he passes along to friends and family.

Mom is receiving excellent care. We are taking this day by day. It is scary and at times overwhelming – this is my mother – but I tend to click into my intellectual, problem solver mindset, which I am sure is the best way forward to help her. My brothers (Mark & Matthew) are ever loving and supportive, as are my husband, Ian, and son Richard.

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August August

This is certainly one of my favorite months. In Minnesota, August is absolutely summer; warm, green, bountiful and established. July was the third coolest in Minnesota history, a month that saw no readings of 90 degrees or higher anywhere in the state, which lead to slowly ripening crops, but fewer mosquitoes and certainly better sleeping. True to itself, August has brought back the warmer temperatures, more rain and our need for the oscillating fan.

The foals are all growing well. I was surprised that Mara’s colt, Marrakech, born a chestnut like the others, is beginning to turn grey. There is an entire genetic science that I don’t confess to understand, devoted to equine coat colors. The following explanation comes from the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine site:

“The Gray gene causes progressive depigmentation of the hair, often resulting in a coat color that is almost completely white by the age of 6-8 years. Horses that inherit progressive Gray can be born any color, then begin gradually to show white hairs mixed with the colored throughout the body. Usually the first signs of gray hair can be found on the head, particularly around the eyes. Gray is dominant; therefore a single copy of this gene will cause a horse to turn gray."

Mara and her full sister Eve (both are grey colored) had Renoir colts this year, yet, Eve’s colt, Memphis, remains his sire’s deep chestnut. As I said, I don’t begin to understand, but I’m happy to have the diversity.

Something else I noticed is my “grey” versus “gray.” I am positive I grew up spelling this color with an ‘e’, but apparently, gray is a color and grey is a colour. Who knew? I’m chalking it up to osmosis, which like equine coat genetics I barely understand.

Ian and I share many passions; horses, love of travel, writing, and food! We eat well, and like many residents on this continent ways too much, but that is subject for a completely different blog. However, there are times when we get into foodie ruts; serving up salmon, shrimp, chicken, pasta, homemade pizza or salad in enough varieties to publish our own cookbook. Last week, we freed ourselves and made delicious wontons stuffed with a mixture of crabmeat, cream cheese, minced water chestnuts and Chinese chili sauce. Ian put together the mixture and handled the pan frying.

I did the wonton stuffing and folding, which took a few tries to find the correct amount that did not seep out the water-slicked edges or burst the delicate wonton pasta square when I folded it into a triangle pocket. I am glad the end product was tasty, because assembling them went from adventurous to tedious with amazing quickness. At one point, as Ian was patiently waiting for me, I remarked that I wouldn’t like to be trying this at speed with someone like Chef Gordon Ramsay of TV’s Hell’s Kitchen yelling at me. We tossed a salad and dipped these bronzed beauties in a mixture of sweet duck sauce and Chinese mustard. Delightful! For brunch, I spread the remaining mixture on open-faced hot dog buns and put them under the broiler. Nice, and much easier than stuffing wonton squares!

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Meet Macaroon

It turns out our prize Arabian broodmare, Khatalina Bey, is not pregnant. She had been confirmed pregnant last fall, but things can happen. So, only four foals this season.



As I mentioned in my last post, (VG Antazia) "Taza" was due on the 21st with her first foal. Well, she decided to give us a firecracker of a surprise by delivering on the morning of Fourth of July in the pasture! I was walking toward to barn to do morning chores when I noticed a tiny horse making its way around the pasture. I had turned Khat out with the herd, rather than sequestering her in the foaling stall, and I thought it was hers. Then I saw Khat eating in the back pasture and Taza came into view guarding her foal. I ran to the house, where Ian was still in bed with his morning coffee and hollered for his help. Ian joined me in the pasture in the same quizzical state of mind, “Taza?” I haltered Taza while Ian picked up the foal and we ushered both into the foaling stall.

Taza blessed us with a beautiful filly with no premature characteristics. She has face markings very similar to Renoir's and his same dark chestnut color and the four white socks must come from mommy. We have named her Macaroon.





Yesterday, we went to the annual Isanti County Rodeo. We watched bull riding, steer wrestling, bareback riding, tie down roping, saddle bronc riding, team roping and barrel racing. The working partnership between cowboy and horse is always amazing to see. There were cowboys from France and Australia on the circuit, as well as Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Mississippi and our five-state area; Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. The rodeo emcee noted this tour began in Wyoming in June and his comedic foil, the rodeo clown, quipped, “No wonder, the rodeo and divorce go hand-in-hand.”

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