simply enjoying

  I was pleasantly surprised when I got up this morning, this isn't what they predicted?! At dawn, some stars still twinkle in the northern sky. A golden glow appears just above the trees. What a relief, after all those gray bleak days. After I get dressed and got outside, the sun just peeks out over the edge of the trees. The long white plumes of smoke dissolve into the blue sky. This looks like it's going to be a beautiful day! wonderful!

After quickly working my way through my daily chores, I'm soon with the spade in the vegetable garden. I've been looking forward to this. Finally back to work in the garden. Dig after dig I turn the soil. The ground is still a bit frozen here and there, but after a few stabs I can get it loose. Pfff, it's warm too, in the sun! My coat and scarf can be taken off. While I am busy, the cats also peek around the corner, they are also happy that it is not so cold longer.

It started snowing from December 1st and until a week ago it was almost constantly white. In the beginning we had snow dunes up to 50 cm! and also quite cold. In itself it is quite nice, but cycling to the city takes a bit longer. By the way, did you know that you have studded tires for under the bicycle? That's so handy! Even with sleet you can just cycle.

In general, I can conclude that it is usually about 10 degrees warmer in the house (the living room) in the morning than outside. Usually we have about 6/7 degrees, but with heavy night frost it is then 0 or 1 degree. Funny enough it doesn't really feel that cold after all... And luckily we heated the room again in no time. Let's not talk about the kitchen and the bedroom.... Frost occurs regularly.... I have no problem sleeping until minus 10 degrees, colder than that, a bit annoying... But that came luckily only in the first year, now we have a second heater for when it's so cold, but that has not been necessary until now....

After a while of hard work, a garden bed has been completely turned over, still 19 to go...

By the time we get the ponies in before dark, the grass is already crunching under my shoes. I call the ponies and what's lurking behind Bella (the old welsh pony) and Brommy (the work shetland pony)? That's Pluis! A 2.5 year old shetlander who currently looks like or he still has to grow in his fur, hihi. It's more hair than pony.

He is our new worker on the homestead. Together with Brommy, he can help us with the farmwork, wood transport and the hay harvest. But first he can grow and play a little more.

Stormy weather

 My skirt puffs up completely in the wind and the rain hits my face. The storm, named Laura, rages across the landscape. One of the trees along our path has snapped. In his fall he took another tree and the fence with him. The barn door is almost ripped out of my hands but I hold it and boom!, I close it behind me and put the hook on it. Pfff, out of the wind. The ponies doze in their stables and the cats have not gone out today either.

With the basket in my hands I climb up the steep ladder to the hayloft. I put the sweet scented hay in the basket to feed the ponies. It's been worth it, to make all the hay. We are already March and we still have almost half of the hay left. Long coarse stalks of grass, interspersed with all kinds of herbs and even some favorite of the ponies, thistles. Auts, my hands don't like those thistles! Carefully I remove the thorn from my finger, that something so small can feel so annoying! With the basket filled to the brim, I go down the ladder again. As soon as the ponies see me coming, they already stand on their feeding spot. . I lower myself onto a beam and listen to the ponies begin to nibble on their hay. Soon there are also 2 cats on our lap and we all enjoy the peace in the barn. With the next gust of wind, the windows ring in their frames and at the same time the light goes out. Yet another power outage this winter! I better get back inside soon before the weather gets even worse! Now! Before the next windpush! I quickly open the door and slip out. Sander has also waited until this moment and also rushes over with a basket of firewood. Fighting the wind, we make our way to the house.

The rest of the day we will stay inside. At the sewing machine, I lower myself into a chair and continue with the project I was working on. The sewing machine ticks away. Row after row, I sew the cords between the fabric. Life here takes its mundane way, no power outage can affect us. It's almost time to prepare dinner. From the stock I get some potatoes, carrots and onions. The last jar of pickles goes along and a jar of stewed pears. That will be great feast tonight!

Longing for summer and a stable tour

Mmm, freshly baked cupcakes and a cup of tea, that´s what I need to write my post

When I would use my camara some days ago I found some movies of last summers hay harvest. It gave me a lot of happiness to see everyting so green. I long to the springtime and long to work in the garden again. But now is everything covered with snow and the ground still frozen. So I spend some time with planning my garden instead. I think it´s good to have something to look forward to. It gives a lot of pleasure. Sometimes is longing to even better then that you were looking forward to.
I hope this little silly movies will you make happy to.. please enjoy.

The last weeks my husband is working in the barn. We have 2 ponies on one side of the stable and our horse stands on the otherside in a large box. She can see the other two but not make contact them and now we have sold one pony we have one box empty on the ponyside. This will be her new box. Only the railing was to low. She is 150cm high instead of 95cm. I think she could just step over it. So that is what we needed to change and she needed also a larger door. This is done by now and the last step will be to cover all electricity cables.

 Vera´s new stable/box, on the left jou see a bit of the pony boxes

the pony stables just next to her. 

Our chickens are also waiting on warmer weather. When it is snowing they don´t like to be outside... I hope now the daylight is become longer again that I might have our first eggs soon!

 little Betsy is waiting to go inside again, she follows me everywhere😺.

how to build a Scandinavian haystack

  The day's are become shortening again. At 9 Pm we really need to lighten our lamps, and a view day's ago, when it was a really rainy day, we needed light far more early. The weather is a bit wet lately, a view days dry alternate with a couple of days really wet. It's not the best weather for hay making but we will make it do.

  A week ago, we decide to bring some hay into the barn. It was not a very bright day, but the sun was shining and only a view clouds where hanging on the horizon. So we prepared everything and went to get the horse, Vera. She likes to work and always she comes first at the gate, but not this day! We called but she would not come, Sander decide to go and get her, but when he almost could get her, she ran away. What is this, I thought! Is she playing with us? After 10min we get her and take her with us. I looked up to the sky and realized it was not so bright anymore, the view clouds hanging on the horizon, has grown fast and now almost covered the hole sky. Maybe the horse tried to tell us something, maybe we go to have rain.
"I remembered a day for more than ten years ago. Almost the same weather and I would go out and ride for a while. Vera had no sense to come and after I had saddled her she was really slowly and annoying. I decided then it was better to ride homewards and before I was home, it was a hail and thunderstorm. Then I knew she tried to tell me, it was not save to ride out, and I praised her when we were home again".
 I told to Sander were I was thinking about and give Vera the benefit of doubt, and brought her back on the field. You will believe it or not but just after 15 min it was raining! She knew it and lucky for us we listened!

With this rainy weather I'm happy that we have a methode of haymaking that has been proved since the middle ages. Always have and had farmers problems to get the hay from the fields. Before the tractors it was very labor intensive. The small farmer needed a methode to spread out the haymaking season. Not being so dependent on the weather. In almost every country they invented a type of haystack. The hay now needed a shorter time to dry on the fields and lay save till the day you would bring it into the barn.
We use the same type of haystack as they did in the time of 'Carl von Linné'. I made some pictures of it and describe how we're doing it.

 The grass mowed we the day for and the same day we're building the haystack. It was not nice weather so it is still very wet. Also is the grass very short what makes it not so easy to build. The best haystack you build with very long grass. On the picture above, Sander is digging the first hole for the first pole.

 We use always 10 poles to one stack. Around 1m metre apart the first two lean a bit outside, like \\, the six in the middle stand in zig saw and the last two lean out to the other side //. so it will look like \ \ | | | | | / /.

 Here I'm laying the first layer of hay/grass. We strung a wire about a 40-50cm from the ground. This is were the grass is hanging upon. Just fill it up with a 10 a 15 cm grass when it is wet, like it was this time. If the grass should have been more dry, I would lay maybe twice that much on it.

 First layer done. You can see that there is a opening on the front, as well on the back. It allows the wind to go trough, and will dry the hay.

 Making the next layer. A second wire is strung 10 to 15 cm above the grass layer. Fill it up like the first one. Make sure it is evenly spread and hangs in the right balance.

 Here I'm making the 4th layer, you can see how the wire twisted on the pole.

 Higher and higher!

And done! 5 layers of hay, will now dry 3 weeks on the field. Protected from rain and sunshine. The hay is drying without becoming brown. A nice green hay, rich of  nutrition. The animals will love it.  

Breaking in the young horse into the harness

Since I was very young I was in love with everything about horses and ponies, and still I love them very much. I was 4 years old when I first ride on a little Shetland pony, Ronny, was his name. He was owned of friends of my parents. When I grew up I cycled 6 days a week to care for him and ride on him. He was a really old fashioned Shetland pony. About a 1m tall, large head and strong legs. He was so sweet but also frolicsome, just like a shetty should be.

Ronny a year before he died

When we get married we get him of them, and we also take him (and the other horses) with us when we moved to Sweden. But in September 2014 my little friend died 35years old…

Our welsh pony became very lonely when he died, so after a while we decided to look for some new Shetland ponies, not only for I fell in love with that breed but also are they just exactly what we need on the homestead. They are strong enough to pull a little hay wagon or a little plough but they don’t eat so much and they are easy to handle.

So came these two little fellows to our homestead in 2015. Brommy, the youngest one was only 8 months old and Berry 1 ½  years old. Our welsh fell in love with Brommy on the first sight! So lovely!

Brommy and Berry, just arrived

The last years they have been on the meadow just to grow, but every day we get them in the stable on the evening and lead them out every morning. So we checked them every day and every day they learned a little better to being lead on the head collar. This year is Berry celebrate his 4^th birthday and Brommy his 3 ^th . Last year I learned Berry the commands I use. Like, walk on, stand, back etc. etc. and also lunging him a view times. But now he is old enough for the real job!

Yesterday it was nice weather and a perfect day to get started. The first thing I want to learn him is to wear the back band with the girth and the crupper beneath his tail. Just after a view times get it on and off he was really relax, so I fasten the girth and the crupper and we just go for a walk. He was so relax and he did it very fine, like he have done it for a live time! I’m so proud of him! Now we do this for a lot more days before we move on to the next step!

Maybe you have noticed on the pictures that I don’t use a bit. I have a some reasons for it, I find there mounth to little for fitting in such a large bit, they understand a bitless bridle much better and I don’t need it J