Lots of updates!

I am back from my week in Texas. I was able to observe some desert farming in New Mexico. They grow pecans, chilis, and cotton. It was my first time seeing a cotton field. Honestly, I don't know how anyone has a back left after watching people bent over picking the cotton and chilis. The plants are so low to the ground! We drove through the largest US pecan orchard, Stahmanns. For three miles along route 28 the trees provide a canopy over the road and it is one of the most beautiful drives ever. We were grateful for the shade with 103 degree days and some fairly high humidity for that area. As strange as it sounds, I love to look at crops. I love driving through the green hills of PA looking at the corn growing, or field grass. One of my favorite parts of Italy were the olive groves and vineyards. There is something about a field of crops growing that strangely appeals to me. Maybe it is the uniformity, I don't know.

While I was down South, Bob and Melanie went to Denver (PA, that is) to look at camp horses. There are summer camp programs that need people to care for their horses in the off season. You get the horse and all the tack for free and are responsible for caring for the horse until next summer when they return to camp. the benefit is you can ride the horse all you like while you have it and if the horse doesn't work out you can send them back and get a different one. Melanie settled on a Thoroughbred/Quarterhorse mix named Sarge. He is an older horse and well trained. He is providing us with another riding horse and a pasture buddy for the other two horses. Although, we thought if we had three, it would solve the problem with the horse getting upset when they are separated. Melanie was riding Sarge yesteday afternoon and the other two horses were making a ruckus.

Star came home on Sunday. The family who has been working with her said she is a good jumper. The girls had her jumping 2 foot fences! She really needs an experienced rider with a dominant personality. So we now have to decide what we would like to do. We can keep her and hope Melanie gets the courage to ride her or we can sell her. I missed her terribly while she was gone, although I have the painful lump in my leg to remind me of her, LOL.

A co-worker was kind enough to bring me 4 barn cats last week. They are still kittens and come from good barn cat stock. They are keeping close to the barn right now and we hope they will take care of our mouse problem. I saw a field mouse in the chicken coop last night and could not believe how large they have gotten eating all our feed. Now I just have to work out the problem of the cats getting to the mice when the coop is locked at night. I have thought about putting a cat in there with the chickens, but I am not comfortable doing that until I am certain the cat will not attack the chickens. Normally, the chickens can take care of themselves, but at night they are relaxed or asleep and easy to approach. Oh, and we are naming them after famous assassins such as Carlos the Jackal, Nikita, Bourne, and Mai Ling (house of the flying daggers).

The farmer leasing the land adjacent to my property came and cut the corn down yesterday. I was so sad. It was like our barrier from the world. Melanie is delighted because she got permission to ride her horse in the fields now that the corn is down. He said she can go anywhere there are no crops. I figure she will have about 60-70 acres to ride in now and it will take her away from the main road and out of the pasture, which pleases me.

I am happy to report that all the rain we got last week has helped with the pasture. The grass is growing great right now and we hope it can keep the horses fed for another couple of months. We had 200 bales of hay delivered last week. I want to make it last as long as possible.