Joyous June

Finally, our 2011 Legacys Renoir foal has arrived. Not That Innocent (Inno) delivered her handsome, bay stud colt Saturday morning, June 4. Inno's due date was May 31, but I've been waiting since mid-May - actually, more like 11 months! He surely is worth the wait. This is Renoir's first bay-colored foal, the rest are either chestnut or grey. We haven't settled on a name yet. I will post photos of both the colt and Mona's late-April filly, Windy, in a week or so. The arrival of Inno's colt marks the end of our foaling season. Windy is coming along nicely – like her other Half Arabian siblings, she is tall and muscular.

The Minnesota weather has finally turned warmer with days of glorious sunshine. The spring has been cold, wet and windy, but if we get more days like today, in the 80s with a mild wind and low humidity, I will forgive Mother Nature. Soon the farmers will be cutting the first crop of hay and our stores will begin to refresh. The blooms have left the fruit trees and I'm curious to see what the apple tree provides. The row of lilac bushes that did not bloom last year are fragrant and abundant in dark purple, pale lilac and creamy white this year. I've filled vases several times with cuttings and love how the house is perfumed. The peonies and shrub roses are getting ready to bloom too. I will spend time weeding the gardens, which is fun to do, especially when I get so much love from the dogs, who enjoy having me down at their eye level!

This looks to be the year that we will actually fence in the back 30 acres and get the herd out on grass. It is so very lush and there is so much of it! We need to run a quarter mile of posts and high-tensile electric wire, and Ian's begun to mark off the east/west running line, so that's a start. Getting the herd on pasture allows us not only to segment more paddocks near the barn, but also to do effective pasture management; letting grass areas rest and replenish. Of course, we'll still need to buy hay regularly, but not for immediate consumption. We can be like the ant in Aesop's Fable and build up our winter stores.

There are other changes in the wind too and I'll write about those as they come to pass. Thank goodness, Ian and I know how to go with the flow, to be grateful for all that we have and trust that everything is part of the larger process and know that we are continually blessed.

E-I-E-I-O