Home sweet home

Man, am I glad to be home.  I've been trying to write a post since I got back, but haven't had much inspiration.  I've just been enjoying the nice weather, my pets and of course the hubby.  Being out in the world a bit more than the norm was interesting/stressful, but it sure makes me feel grateful for what I have at home and being able to be at home.

The first 2 weeks of May were unseasonably cool and this first week home has been unseasonably warm - like almost 30C, which is approx 90F.  Which is pretty nice when you are working from home and can work on getting some chores done in the early mornings.  We got our pool opened and the back pasture is all cleaned up and open for business. 

The first few bits of sweet, sweet grass. LOL

I'm working the horses up to being out on grass full time but I'll need another week maybe before they are ready.  For now they are up to two 1.5 hour stretches.  

I've been working on fixing fences and I, for the first time ever, have all of the fence lines mowed before the grass is knee high!  w00t w00t!!!  LOL  Usually I start the spring with good intentions about keeping the field mowed so the electric fence doesn't short out, but I get lazy/sidetracked with other things. 

I am also alllmmosst done cleaning out the front hay storage area in my barn.  That area is not only for hay, but seems to be my catch-all for all the stuff that doesn't have a permanent home - rain sheets, coolers, and random tack bits that don't fit Fred, etc.   I just need to finish putting away my winter blankets and give the area a thorough sweeping/dusting/de-cobwebbing, etc and it will be ready for this year's hay.    It feels great to get some of these spring cleaning chores done!  

The final stretch

I'm still on my work assignment, but the end is near as I'm heading home Friday afternoon.  It has been an interesting experience and one that I will remember for a long time to come.




We have been able to get out a little bit and see a couple of famous sites and use the fresh sea air to decompress from work.

Beautiful restaurants/shops along the water

It was weird seeing these popular tourist sites almost empty and boarded up.  In both places we visited, we were walking right down the middle of empty streets.   We met a few people also out for walks as the parks have opened up here, but all in all, things were quiet.

rarely photographed without hordes of people

I couldn't help but wonder how these small tourist towns will recover from the shut down - will tourism bounce back a tiny bit this year?  Will some of these business even survive the year? The whole scope of the pandemic just seemed a bit more real being out in the world - ya know?

So pretty...



So goofy.  Couldn't resist this photo op!

My friend that is helping take care of the horses has been sending me a few updates, which is much appreciated.    Copper has been shedding like  crazy since early April.  When will it end?  Is he completely made of hair?  Stay tuned as this story unfolds!  lol

Copper - world's hairiest mini?

She has also been lunging Fred a bit since his abscess is better (yeah!) and since her horses is lame. (apparently he is doing better now too) and she also tested her new horse heart rate monitor on Fred.  

Lunging doesn't make an exciting map, but cool all the same.

I'm sooo looking forward to spending some time in the barn and just being at home in my own bed and not in a hotel eating out of take out containers! 

A little trip East

Thanks for all of the kind comments on my last post. Rereading it again today it seems a bit too raw for the blog, but hey it is real life for me at the moment.

This week got interesting with work. I went from being a non-essential bump on a log to a quasi-essential worker.  On Monday we were asked if anyone was free to travel to Nova Scotia to provide back up for our colleagues there. I put my name in since I really like seeing how our regional colleagues work and it would be nice to do something useful, even for just a couple of weeks.

We got the call Wednesday and myself along with two colleagues were on our way to the airport the next morning. I was a little hesitant about flying during the lockdown but it wasn’t too bad in the end. We were required to wear masks the entire time and it seemed most people and air crew were being careful about keeping some distance.

En route

My friend that boards at my place was willing to take care of Fred for me as my hubby isn’t up on poulticing and feeding the horses grain. He does hay and water though if I’m away so that is good.

I got an update Thursday from the farrier that the abscess burst through the heel bulb and was draining nicely. He didn’t think it needed any more poultice or wrapping so that is a relief!

I will be here for two weeks and it will be interesting living in another city during a shutdown! We went down to the harbour for a walk the first evening we arrived. There were a few people out walking, but normally this part of the city would be packed with people out for drinks and dinner and just having fun.  My last visit to Halifax was 20+ years ago when I was in the military! I lived here for 4 months doing some training at the military base. 

Flags at half-mast, downtown Halifax

It was a bit hard to leave home at the moment as the weather was just getting nice and I was ready to tackle more home/barn projects. Oh well, it will all be there when I get back and since it seems we’ll be working from home until at least the end of May I should have ample time to stay on top of my to do list when I get home.