Cold

5:00 A.M. comes offlley early around here, but I woke up at 4:00 A.M. guess my body never got the memo about the time change months ago. I read something a while back on my Sister Kayla's Blog http://rupplife.blogspot.com/ about having things you look forward to, and having 5 mins a day to yourself. That has been on my mind lately.

The other Saturday morning I stopped out to Mom and Dads. Mom offered me a cup of coffee and I went and sat in the old rocking chair, looked out the sliding door as cars barrelled down Perry st recounting the morning of cold, snow, and horses. I really enjoyed myself. That Monday I stopped by a used furniture store and bought and rocking chair. Everyone at the barn has had fun with my new toy, telling me I am getting old and calling me Grandpa. I just laugh because I know "I can still jump higher, dive deeper and come up dryer". That last comment is for the Skinner's, you know where in the hell I got that from. Yesterday after I got done with chores and while the football games where on I cleaned up the coffee machine and set the timer for 5:00 A.M. I am really looking forward to the summer months when the sun rises early and I can sit in the rocker, sip coffee and watch the sun rise over the east pastures, before I head out to feed. Then the other day I got online and ordered Paul Overstreet's Greatest Hits C.D. Now this is Country and it don't get any better than this.

Yea, it has been cold and it is wearing on everyone. Glad we have five mares in the barn that we need to get ready for show season. Gives you something to look forward to and work on. Timeless looked great the other day and Devin and Keyeena are gelling. Pippie is getting back in shape. Marry my little project a.k.a speed demon is getting conditioned. The tractor is back from getting a new fuel pump put in. Not having the tractor for almost two weeks has made it difficult, because the paths to the pastures where full of snow. After working at the Critter Barn all day Sat, I got home to a note on the white board that the furnace wasn't working correctly in the main barn and a electric heater by the water spicket. After helping Devin finish up chores and working Marry, a little persistent and a whole lot of luck. I got the furnace to kick out some heat. Then at 6:30 I went out to start the tractor to put it inside the barn and it didn't want to start. Before I totally killed the battery, a.k.a panic/pissed off. I put the battery charger on it. Went to the mail box, found the Paul Overstreet C.D. I had ordered, went inside, started downloading it to the computer. Then Kris call's to see about the furnace, didn't tell her about the tractor that I was praying would start tonight. Because I didn't want to worry her, my night was about wrecked and I didn't want to wreck her's. Dam you have got to love the cold. After I listened to most of the C.D. I said a quick prayer and went back outside. The tractor fired right up.

It was 8:00 P.M. the barn was holding at 45 degrees and the tractor and me where both inside.The next morning we had temps in the negatives and I left the horses inside. Got everyone fed then headed to town to do laundry. Kris texted me to see if I was listening to the "Rise up show. uhttp://www.rise-up.com/p show." She said the show is up lifting, I thought I had done something wrong. Lol. Terry called to see about the furnace and mentioned it was warmer outside in Arizona then it was inside the barn. And yea when I finished cleaning stalls, I emptied the spreader and put the tractor in the barn. Got chores done and was in from the barn in time for the second half of the A.F.C. Championship football game.

Now it is 6:00 a.m. Monday morning, bell full of mud/go go juice and like the guys and me use to say, I better go do something even if it is wrong.
Have a good one everyone.
Gotta love this

Broken manure spreader

Last weekend got off to a rough start. Friday morning a link on the manure spreader apron broke. I caught it right away and thought only one link was broke. I quick called Kris before I went to work and told her not to worry. I would pick up the new part after work and would have a little project for the weekend. Kris hates it when things break and to me it is the next big challenge. It hasn't always been that way, but as my skills have increased I tend to be more willing to tear something apart in order to save a buck. Not to mention it was pointed out to me the other day that when it comes to work I am territorial.

What ended up happening??? I drove out to Forest Grove Equipment on a snowy day to have Kris call me when I got there and say that after she got a better look at the spreader a couple more links where broke on the apron and that we should get a price on a new apron instead of buying the parts to fix the old apron. After getting the price the battle of wills started. Kris wanted to have Forest Grove put the new apron on and I wanted to put the apron on ourselves. We battled. Kris and I take turns of one being the realist and the other being the optimist. This time Kris was the smart one and I was the dare devil. Even though I new she was probably right pretty quick into our conversation, I gave her a good fight so that she didn't think I was scared of putting the new apron on. Yup a little territorial.

Kris new our time this week was better spent working on something else. Maybe she was already planing on moving hay to her sheds, like we did today. Or maybe she agreed with me that January and February are critical to getting the horses in condition, thus having a very good show season. Either way we put up hay this afternoon, then afterwards she left to get the spreader, while I got home in time to help Devin finish working horses and the week is off to a good start with working the horses.

We are holding our own this winter, the weather hasn't been that bad and besides a few minor hang ups we are doing great. I would dare say we are a month or two ahead from were we where last year at this time with the horses.

New Years

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. Christmas Eve, afternoon was at Mom's with her side of the family, then after I did chores at home with help from Kris on stalls, I was back at Mom's for a bit then off to see my Sister M.J.'s. New Years was pretty calm, dinner with a few friends, a movie and in bed by 11:45, because I had chores to do the next morning, getting up early seven days a week with do that to you.

Kris had Cheyeene come in for me the Sunday after Christmas. I fought Kris on it, but Kris seems to know when I am about shot and could use a break. I spent the day getting caught up on stuff. Changed the oil in the pickup at Chris's. Watched a little football and did some cleaning inside.

While at Chris's in between changing a oil filter and checking the score of the football game. Chris said to me. "I am not a big fan of New Years resolutions, but I am making a small one to be a better person this year." I was suprised and told him I thought he was a pretty good person. He just felt that he had room for improvement. I think Chris is right on. We all have room for improvement in our lives and if we keep it simple, focus on ourselvs instead of others. Then we all can do our part in making this world we live in a little better. Chris has been like a brother to me and has never let me down, but we have also had those heart to heart conversations about what is tearing him up. During one of those conversations some wiley, good o'l boy made a comment to him about fixing what he could fix first. I hope this works for him and his family.

Now did I make one??? Nope!! Well, kinda. Personally I think making New Years resolutions is stupid as hell. It is like telling everyone you quit smoking. Better make dam sure you have stopped for good, before you start shooting you mouth off about quitting. What I have decided to do is make better use of my time. Make every second count. Do a better job of preperation of the coming days and weeks. I have tendency to get a lot on my plate and start selling myself short. Some of that comes from working with Terry and Kris all these years and they tend to try to cram ten pounds of crap into a five pound bag. I think if I have a more of a open mind and think more like they do, then the rest of fluffy, feel good, stuff I want to happend in 2011 will happend.

And Yes Mom it does start with a clean, organized home first.

Happy New Year everyone

Kody

Family and Crises

Hey Gang!!!
Sorry being "missing in action" for so long. Last Wed morning I was going to write a post latter that night about the snow storm and how the snow changes things on the farm. Then at 2:30 while I was in Kris's hay loft getting ready to move hay to her sheds near her pastures I got a ph call from my Mom that would change my life and my Mom's side of the familie's life forever. I have waited over a week and still tonight I don't think I will get this post right. How do I get the message accross of love and hurt without sounding like a old country music song and depress the readers of this blog and still give the story justice???

Bear with me, here I go.
Mom's ph call was that my Cousin Ryan's seven year old son Karter had been killed in a car accident near Delton MI that day. After I got those 90 bales put away, I walked out of the barn, caught the eye of a old mare standig near the fence line, fought back tears and let her nuzzle me for a minuite. Jumped in my old Ford pickup to head home then heard my Mom over a hundred times saying "be carefull" then thought about the terrible news she was delivering to my Grandma in person.

Latter that night I was on my way back to the Critter Barn to feed and while on the road that I had been on earlier that day, I thought about how much life had changed since he last time I was on that same road. Stopped at the Moble for some caffine, saw a little boy in a suburban and instantley thought of Karter. Thursday and Friday are a blur. I don't remember much, except feeling so much hurt for my Aunt, Uncle and cousins.

The funeral was on Sat. I got up that morning like I do every morning to go feed horses. But that day was different and I new it as I passed a newley dry cleaned white dress shirt and sport jacket with med startch on my way out the door to the barn that morning. Once in the barn and I started to feed. the emotions of the week's events and what that day was all about over took me. I cried the whole time  I fed that morning. Which was the begining of me fighting back tears every morning for a while

When we walked into the church that afternoon you couldn't hear a thing. Never in my life have I been in a room with so many people  and no noise. As our family gathered we just started hugging each other. No words just hugs. Cousins who noramaly would shake hands, where embracing each other. Grown men became Grandma's little boys again. Uncle Randy flew in from New Mexico, Cousnin Jason flew in from NYC and would later tell me he would have walked here if he had to. Our family had gathered that day to share in the pain of a little boy taken way to early from us and to help heal by loveing one another.


The shock and pain for our liove ones from loosing Karter will lessen in do time, but the love that was shared that day. I will never forget, thus never forgeting Karter. Please pray for the family and for those who are in a support roles, like my Mom, Uncle Randy, Grandma and us cousins.

Back Yard Horses

"Back Yard Horses" that is the term we use for horses that the people who own them don't have much land or funding for the big pastures, or whos barns don't have wash racks and there wash rack is a garden hose and a hitching post on there front lawn or who have indoor arean's, the barns are mearly glorified sheds sitting on 2 acres of land with a few horses.

Nothing wrong with it. In fact my nautrual Dad use to tell me some of the best horses ever to go to the Kentucky Derby came out of a little rat hole for a barn and did just fine. He said that alot while I was getting his old red Mare back in shape the summer of 1996 so my Sister M.J. could use the mare for her high school equistrain team. I think what he was saying was it didn't matter what was on the outside of the barn, but rather what mattered was what was on the inside of the horses heart and the hearts of the people the horse was surrounded by that was going to deturmind  how good the horse would do.

Having been around this thing for a while now, I see what Dad was saying. Some of my favorite places to dump shavings or make a horse run with either Terry or Kris are those back yard places. Where the owner barn manger and stall cleaner are the same person. These are the people doing it for the "love of the game." Not a tax write off, or something to show there friends. Nothing wrong with those people either, the horse industry needs those people as well. Just I can relate with the back yard people better and apreciate what they are trying to do.

Last winter Kris and I finished up a horse hauling run for Terry. One of the horses he hauled was a white little Arabain mare from Arazona that was probably in her late teens. Sue bought the horse from the Gene who had fouled the mare, then Sue moved to Arazona years ago. It was the last foul from Gene's  horse Lovely who has since passed on, Sue always said if she ever got rid of the horse she wanted Gene to have it, since it was Lovely's last baby. Well what ended up happening was Sue became terminally ill with cancer and said  if Gene would pay for the hauling expense back to Michigan Gene could have the mare.

So there Kris and I are in the big truck and trailer with the coolest Sheltie ever riding in the sleeper, cruzing along a country highway with this pretty all white Arabian mare, looking for Gene's place. The house was so small and I know the barn was bigger then the house. There wasn't a big fancy driveway to pull into. We ended up pulling off to the shoulder of the road and unloading the mare there. As we where slowing down three kids covered in dirt started running towards the road as Gene followed closely behind them.

The first thing Gene did was pull out her checkbook and starting writting us a check for hauling the horse. As I  was heading for the truck with the check. Kris started opening up the trailer. During this I noticed a little girl probably seven or eight  years old who reminded me a lot of my Sister M.J. at that age. She had on a dirty pink winter coat with a camo stocking hat and a toothless grin. Kris said to her "she's pretty isn't she." That's when the little girl said with her hocky player smile said "Yea, she's mine" All I could do was smile and I said to myself "this is a pretty good business." As Kris and I along with her dog Yogie started to pull away, this is what I saw in the side mear of the truck. Gene leading the mare down that gravel driveway with three kids at Gene's and the mares heals. Even in that big deisle truck on that cold winter day, you could feel the love and energy as we drove away.

No that mare won't ever be bathed with hot water, have a chriopactor work on her, get the latest supplements in her feed, have a heated barn in the winter or be hauled in fancy horse trailers to shows. She probably won't see the big show ring again or have to stand for hours while they groom her for a show...... But I know dam well that for the rest of that horses life it will be loved and appreciated by a little o'l country family just off the main drage. In the end I think that is what Sue wanted and that is why she sent the horse back to Michigan.

As for Sue, which by the way isn't her real name. (I didn't know her name and made it up so it would be easer to read.) I don't know what ever happend to her. But I do know that in a world full of coal, if you endure enough dust you will see the dimonds that come of it.

Life

What do I write about?? things have been a blur lately. It seems like every night I am working late. Last week I didn't make it in before 10:00 on all of the nights except one.

The subject of not having a life has come up a couple of times in the past week. Kris and I joked about it a couple of Sundays ago and then I heard it from someone the other day. So you sit back and ponder. Trust me you do get tired and at times you forget why you are doing what you are doing.

So here is a attempt to give you a glimps of wha it is all about. Last winter on a snowy, stormy night. I loaded up the shavings truck in Zeeland and headed for Pullman about an hour south of Zeeland for a shaving delivery. When I got to Eddie's place I was late and tired and Eddie let me know how late I was. Eddie is and gentlman in his seventies who is a horse trainer and sulky horse owner. Eddie lives on a horse faciltie that he has own for fifty years where he trains horses and bitches about being old. I have always enjoyed listening to Edie as I dump the shavings, he has some stories about horses.

On that night, Edie inveted me into the lounge in the barn. I sat there looking at all the former geat winners and prizes on the walls. As Edie wrote out the check for the shavings he contiued on his thoughts of horses and the modern feee world that we live in. I stayed a good hour there sipping cofee and listening to him. Over time if I have a problem horse at home, I ask eddie what his thoughts are. The snow was coimng down and I new I should get on the road. As I was heading for the door, Eddie mentioned to me to be carefull going home and with a scowell on his face told me to next time not be late, then cracked a smile and waved good by.

I littlery used the rumble strips on M40 to make my way home that night. All because I couldn't resist the oppurtinty to listen to an old horseman. It is people like Eddie that make life worth living for us younger guys, but I would datr say that it is the youngsters coming around that make it worth living for the old guys. And it is in those moments that I realize what kind of "life" I have.

Want too feed something

This post is about a good friend of mine and his 4 year old son and moving on from tragedy

8 years ago when I moved onto the farm I met Al and Chris who's houses where near the farm and we would later coin ourselves as the three amingos. Al and Chris where ten years older then me. Al married and with two kids and Chris who planned to Marry Missy. Then me, the snott nose kid with the big truck and the attitude that went with working construction. Chris was the brains and Al had the drive for work and zest for life, together we in Al's words "built some shit." Looking back those three years where a amazing time full of hard work heavy conversation about life and barly pops. Because in June of 05 we lost Al to a boating accident and the three of us and those around the farm would no longer be the same.

Chris was the one who called me about Al's accident. It was Chris and I who told neighbor Bob about the accident. Right away Chris and I started hanging out and helping each other more and having those deeper conversations while forming a brother like bond, that would take us through making sure Al's widow and kids where o.k. to my own career path strugles and to the birth of Chris's first son Jacob Allan in Oct of 06.

I remember Chris and I during the summer of 06 on Friday nights, with beer in hand, standing in his garage talking about his future son. How he was going to be tough, no candy ass, love cars and how we where going to show him all these cool things when he got older. The first time I saw Jake he was laying on the counter in a blakect and Chris leans down to him and says "this is the kodman, get to know him, he is going to be around for a while."

Times have changed. Jacob has a almost year old brother and it keeps Chris and Missy prety bussy, which makes garage time harder to come by. I have taken on personal and proffesional challlenges which makes being around tougher. Like all the kids coming up. I have never forced the horses or the barn on them, just vowed to give them the chance to reject it. If they don't like it, that is o.k. with me, at least they had the oppurtunity. Jake has supprised me how much he wants to be at the barn and how into the animals that he is.  Last Sunday I was finishing up dragging the indoor areana and I noticed this little four year old pop his head around the corner. It was Jake, he ran up to the tractor and we spun a few laps around the indoor areana. Then when we put the tractor up, Jake said " I want to feed something." Then we went and fed the swaans and the cats. The third amego.

It was great to see Chris, Jake and Collen and it made slow up enough to enjoy life. Honestly something I wasn't sure five years ago I would be able to do again. Jake wasn't just feeding animales that Sunday, he was letting me know how simple life is.  We did it!!! We have moved on and we are doing pretty dam good.