Been a while

Howdy,

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything here. I have a couple of things that I want to pass along. The first is an entry from Matt Hughes' blog labeled "The Essay". Check it out when you get a chance, it is something worth reflecting on.

The second thing I wanted to cover was a book I just finished called "Surprised By Truth 2" by Patrick Madrid. Here is my review of it:

“Surprised by Truth 2” by Patrick Madrid was an enlightening collection of conversion and reaffirmation stories. The common theme that seems to run throughout all of the stories is the power of the Holy Spirit to help those looking for God along their life’s path. None of these conversions happened overnight, all were well researched and soul-searched. Each story is written by the convert, collectively they offer great insight into both the emotional and intellectual struggles that occur during this time of soul searching. In addition to stories of conversion, there are a few narratives of a deepening of love and appreciation for the Catholic faith.

There is something in this book for every Catholic or potential Catholic. For the catholic, there is a wealth of information we can use to help explain Catholicism to our non-catholic friends - scripture and encyclical references as well as some beginning apologetics. As someone who is always looking to deepen my faith, I appreciated that this book also included some Catholics in it, it was a great reminder that we should not be content with what we already know but should strive for a greater understanding of our faith and deeper connection with our Lord. This would be a great book to share with someone who might be inquiring about Catholicism. It is not an “in your face” book about why Catholicism is the best religion but rather lets the facts and Holy Spirit speak the truth.

“Surprised by Truth 2” is a great book to own but don’t expect to keep it on the bookshelf. This is the type of book that should be constantly lent out to both your Catholic friends and those who might be interested in what Catholicism has to offer. In fact, I’d recommend you read it a few times before you lend it out because you might not get it back.

Things are going well at the farm, we have missed most of the snow that's been pummeling the east coast. The horses seem to be happy to see the ground again but are still very fuzzy. I've been watching some John Wayne movies lately so I'd like to leave you with the following quotes.

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them."

- John Bernard Books (The Shootist) -

"Sorry don't get it done, Dude"
- John T. Chance (Rio Bravo) -

MidCoast Maine, Let There Be Western

Well, its been a long while since I've updated the blog - a little bit older and a little bit wiser.

We're expanding the services offered at the farm to include western riding instruction and training. I'm in the process of putting together a press release for next week's local papers to get the word out.

There's not a lot of western instructors and trainers up this way so I'm hoping that will make a little bit of difference and get some business our way. We have a lot to offer here at Diamond G, I just need to find a way to get people to know we're here and what we can offer.

Lessons will be available to riders of all experience levels, from beginner to advanced. I hope that we can reach some of the local trail riders with our lesson program because I think that training in proper horsemanship serves two purposes for them (1) it helps keep them safer and (2) time spent is much more enjoyable when horse and rider are in sync. I know that I can offer a great deal of help to those interested in showing. Our lessons will help riders improve their show placings by focusing on specific areas such as equitation, trail, showmanship/halter, ring management, etc. We will be offering private, semi-private, and group lessons at Diamond G. For those who can't trailer into the farm or would like to work at their own farm, I will also travel to their farm to teach lessons.

I'm real excited about the training package we're putting together. The package will run monthly and will consist of board, 4-6 training sessions per week, and a weekly lesson with the owner riding the horse. Pricing hasn't been set for this quite yet but it will likely be in the $500-$600/mo range. That'll be (on average) 22 hours of training time, 4 hours of lesson time. Base board here is $350 so each hour of training will work out to be only $6-8/hr - a heck of a bargain when you do the math. If people don't want to board out at our farm, I will also offer hourly training rates.

I've had a few calls and emails about taking lessons on schooling horses. At this point we don't have that capability but its also something under consideration.

Check out the Diamond G Farm website, I've made some updates to it over the past few weeks and will continue to update it over the next few with details on the lesson and training programs.

Ran across an interesting horse related video rental program ... sort of like netflix for horse people. It's called BarnSweetBarn - for $10/mo you can have one video out at a time . You add videos to your queue and as soon as you return the one you have, they send out the next one to you - up to five videos per month.

Well I guess that's about all for now. I'll try and be better about writing more frequently. Let me leave you with this thought ...

"The Warrior "stands outside the fire," as it were.
Never part of the group, not unwelcome, but not welcome, either.
He serves as a constant reminder of the evil in the world,
so his presence is most uncomfortable.

The Warrior is never accepted outside of his clan,
and sometimes not even within.
The Warrior faces a world that is unforgiving and unaccepting,
not with anger or bitterness or resentment,
but with the calm powerful knowledge that he is as God made him:
strong, bold, unflinching in the face of danger,
longing for the fight which may never come.

And through it all, he STANDS."
Steve Collins

Me and Professional Shops Don't Mix

So some of you may know that my tractor was in need of repair. It has a four speed transmission with high and low gear ranges for a total of 8 forward and reverse gears. The high and low range shifter was working fine but I could not shift between the left and right sides of the H shift pattern. I suspect that a shifter fork is out of whack or something like that. It wasn't much of an issue while moving snow this winter, 2nd gear was just fine and dandy. However now that we're into spring and bush hogging season, I really could use 3rd and 4th. 2nd is a bit slow and 5th is too high. So about three weeks ago, I called Union Farm Equipment (the local kubota dealer) to get an appointment to bring it in to get the tranny repaired. Since it's spring and they're running a good special, I also wanted the annual service done on it. The front tires are pretty chewed up so I figured I'd get them looked at while it was in there too. As you may also recall, I don't have a trailer for the tractor so I had to rely on them to come and pick it up.

So I place the call and they tell me they'll give me a call just before they come to get it. Good enough. A week and a half goes by and I don't hear anything from them so I give them a call and inquire about picking up my tractor. We'll get to it next Thursday. Well OK at least I have a date. Sure enough they come the following Thursday to pick up the tractor. That Saturday I had to go into the parts department cuz last time I used the tractor before they took it I broke the PTO shaft that connects the tractor to the mower. Much to my dismay, I noticed my tractor was still outside in the parking lot. So a week goes by and I don't hear anything so I give them another call and find out that they've not taken it in yet and in fact there are 5 tractors in front of mine in the rotation, all needing clutch repairs. For those not in the know with tractors, clutch repair is a major undertaking. Basically the clutch sits between the transmission and the motor. You have to take the trasmission away from the motor to get to the clutch - this is referred to as splitting the tractor. At that point most tractors go into two pieces. Long story short - major backlog. So yeah, that's what I was thinking too ... "If you have such a backlog why pick up my tractor so soon????" No good answer but since I can't fix it myself I can't complain. They told me to figure on another week or so before it gets into the shop.

So over a week passes and I don't hear anything from them. By now it's this past Wednesday (and the grass is getting awfully tall). I call (again) and this time find out that they have, in fact, fixed the transmission. This is good. Then he tells me that they figure I need new front tires too. No suprise there. While doing the transmission stuff, the technician found some other things. Ugh - ok give me the list

1. You need new tubes for the back tires - they're leaking.
2. The front left tie rod is loose.
3. The tach does not work.
4. The starter needs a new solenoid.
5. There might be a charging problem.

So we talk about these
1. This is a no-brainer. My tractor tires are filled with calcium chloride to add weight. If the fluid leaks, it can cause rusting of the rims. Gotta fix that.
2. I talked to the shop man about this and he asked me if I drove it down the road in high gear. "Nope." Then we decided it wasn't worth fixing.
3. This wasn't a big issue to me but since it was only gonna be $35 to fix it I decided to do it.
4. Need a price on this one. There is a trick for the starter so I can start it but if it might break in the future better to fix it. Told him to get me a price on this. Turns out you can't get a solenoid
so I'd need a whole new starter. For the $700 decided to pass.
5. I told him that the battery always seems to work but that the past owner had cross jumped the battery so that's likely caused the idiot light to come on.

This is my problem whenever I have a vehicle taken into a factory shop. Remember the last time I took my truck into the shop for an inspection sticker and a cam-sensor recall I ended up with a new oil pan, brake lines, shocks, etc. Bad ju ju

Could have been a lot worse I guess so I figured that I was doing OK. Then about a half hour later I get a call back. "Umm - we were looking a bit closer at the rear rims and I noticed that your tube is actually sticking out of one rim and the other is pretty rusted." Sort of how the call went when the truck was in the shop too but what can you do? Rims are important.

So after giving them the go ahead for rims (I got 10% off of those) they told me the tractor should be ready sometime late next week.

As Stacy put it "see, you're a real farmer"

New Equipment Addition to the Farm

I've been wanting a trailer for a while. Spent a bunch of time debating - stock or normal - gooseneck or bumper pull - 2 horse or 4, etc.

The first question was pretty easy, since the BLM requires a stock trailer when dealing with mustangs that seemed like a logical fit - plus at some point in the future I'd like to have some cows so there just seems to be more versitility with a stock trailer. For those who don't know the difference, stock trailers are open inside them with no partitions to seperate the animals, no troughs for feed, etc. If you gut the inside of a horse trailer you've got a stock trailer. Then I found out about stock/combo trailers which are basically stock trailers with a removable center divider so that you can have the best of both worlds. Since both of my girls have been delivered in stock trailers, I didn't anticipate any issues with one.

As for bumper pull versus gooseneck, originally I wanted a gooseneck. From what I've read, they handle better and have more natural backing characteristics. However, the F-250 is a shortbed which can cause issues with some gooseneck trailers. I've also got a toolbox in the bed that I've gotten used to and would hate to have to take it out. Since I'm not planning any cross country trips the bumper-pull wins this category.

Size of the trailer wasn't as much of an issue, I figured anything 16' and under would be fine, I don't anticipate needing to haul any more than 2 horses or a handful of dexter cattle.

So we put the word out to anyone we could that we were looking for a used trailer, read Uncle Henry's religiously every Saturday, scouted the newspapers, etc. Then one day we got a call from Mona (remember her, she's the woman we adopted Grace from) and she knew of someone in Saco selling a 2 horse bumper pull stock/combo trailer - just what we were looking for. I went to see it a few days later and bought it at the end of that week.

Once we had a trailer, I had to get a hitch put on the truck. The trailer GVCW is 7000 lbs so I figured I needed a hitch of that capacity. Seems logical, right? Well let me tell you, I had quite a time talking the hitch installer into selling me a class IV hitch that would tow it. He wanted to sell me a class III which was only rated for 5000 lbs. Now I don't anticpate putting 4500 pounds in the trailer but I figure if the trailer can support it then the hitch should as well. After some hemming and hawing I got a DrawTite Class IV hitch installed on the truck with a reese brake controller.

I finally had a chance to get out to Saco yesterday to pick her up. Let me tell you, after hauling a 31' travel trailer, she tows like a dream. Don't even need extended mirrors to see the back of it. The truck doesn't seem to mind it being back there - its about 2700 pounds empty.



























































She's a 2002 Valley 2 horse bumper pull stock/combo trailer 6' wide by 14' long. It is the heavy duty steel model, not the lighter aluminum. Its got a front changing room with saddle racks, etc. All the tires are in good shape, floor is in good condition and has mats. Currently the center divider is out - I'll likely keep it that way unless I need it for some reason.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Ronald Reagan's death so as a tribute I would like to offer the following.

"I hope we have once again reminded people
that man is not free unless government is limited.
There's a clear cause and effect here that is as
neat and predictable as a law of physics:
as government expands,liberty contracts."
Ronald Reagan

Welcome to the Playground

The farrier was scheduled to come on Thursday. Since the weather was nice and the front paddock was partly melted I decided to let Grace out to play. Figured if we were gonna try and get her hoofs done it might help if she was tired. So I put her in the stall next to Cleo and opened the door. After about 5 minutes of just looking out, she got super brave and put her front hooves out on the ground - of course she managed to lean backwards so that only her feet were visible outside the door. Finally about 10 minutes later she decided to take the plunge and fully step out the door. Once out the door she found some ledge. It took her quite a while to figure out that rocks aren't really all that good to eat - snow on the other hand is. Anytime a car would go by or something would happen she'd bolt back into the stall. Here she is on her maiden voyage.















Later on, Rick showed up to shoe Cleo - no problems there. Then we decided we'd try Grace and see what happens. I've been working with her on picking out her hoofs. She's been really good about her front hoofs and her back left but for some reason when I try to pick her back right hoof she puts all her weight on that foot. That makes it really hard to get it done. So I was mentioning that to Rick and he told me that horses can be the horse equivalent of right or left handed and that was probably the reason. So we decided to trim her hoofs in her stall figuring that's where she'd be most comfortable. We weren't going to worry about doing a really good job, rather we were treating this like a child's first haircut - get in and out and make it a pleasant experience for her. Front hoofs - no problem. Back left hoof - no problem. Back right hoof, well after one false start she got it together and stood very quietly. Chalk one up for Grace, she was really good.

Today it was super nice out (about 45 degrees) so I decided I'd let Grace out for a while and then bring her in and turn Cleo out. Stacy suggested rather than swap I just let Cleo out with Grace. What's the worst thing that could happen? Well lets not go there. So I turned Cleo out and of course she goes right out and Grace comes trotting over all happy like. Bing - alpha mare alert! Cleo spins on a dime, pins the ears back and launches a few kicks into Grace's general direction. Grace was smart enough to give her a bit of space but also kept coming back for more. Once it became apparent that Grace was starting to know her place in the pecking order, kicking turned to nipping. After about a half hour of that, everyone knew their place and the two of them were chumming around. Wherever Cleo would go Grace would be sure to follow.
















Later on this afternoon I look out and see Cleo laying down and Grace resting her head on Cleo's body. I wasn't able to get that on camera but here's another from about the same time.
















Late this afternoon when I was going to clean stalls I noticed ....

















Yup, thats both of them in Cleo's stall. Since the water bucket was empty I figured I'd fill it up for them. As soon as Cleo started drinking from the 5 gallon bucket, Grace tried to wedge her nose into the bucket too. She did get it part way in before Cleo gave her a nip on the neck for her trouble. Then they took turns drinking from the bucket (after Cleo had her fill - its good to be alpha). Since I wanted to clean Cleo's stall, I kicked them both back outside and when I came back into the barn, they were in the stall next to Cleo and one of them (most likely Grace since she does this sometime) closed the door. Neither seemed to mind so I guess they're now officially buddies.

I came across the following on the Matt Hughes blog the other day and thought it was worth sharing. (No credit was given for the author)

STONE

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING
THROUGH THE DESERT.
DURING SOME POINT OF THE
JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN
ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND
SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE
IN THE FACE

THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT
SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND,

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH .

THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN
SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE
MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM
THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:

“TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE”

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED
AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM, “AFTER I HURT YOU,
YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,
YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?”

THE FRIEND REPLIED
“WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US
WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN
IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF
FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.

BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES
SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE
WHERE NO WIND
CAN EVER ERASE IT”

LEARN TO WRITE
YOUR HURTS IN
THE SAND AND TO
CARVE YOUR
BENEFITS IN STONE.

In with the new (not out with the old tho)

Well, good things can sometimes come in the "beeg brown twuck". Early this afternoon the UPS guy showed up with my new boots. Why new boots you ask?
















I've had these boots since 1995. They've been resoled twice, reheeled more times than I can remember (usually 2x yearly). They got wore most days. Lots of snow and ice might cause me to break out the workboots but in general they were wore about 75% of the time. Cleaned often and reblacked as needed.

As I might have mentioned earlier, I got them from Bowman's Wilson Boots in Livingston, MT. I had them custom made since I have one foot a bit bigger than the other. So when you order them, you trace your feet out on a piece of paper and send that in with some answers to other foot related questions. Not long after I placed my order, my friend Scott asked the question "What happens if you screw up?" Not the best question to be asking after the order was already in. So with great joy and a touch of worry, I slipped them on. Hats off to the Wilson guys, they fit perfect! Not quite as broke in as my old ones but after just a few hours of wear they are well on their way. So what do they look like?
















For those of you who have seen me, they look like my original pair.





















Here's what they'll look like in another 12 years. Old vs New.
















If you haven't had the chance to check out the website for the newest horse boarding stable farm facility located in beautiful mid-coast Edgecomb, Maine, go over and check out the official Diamond G Farm website. (Yes this is a shameless plug for the search engines to find so please ignore all the extra search tags I've inserted in that gramatically ugly sentance. I've registered the site with google and dogpile but it's not been crawled as of yet.)

Mona has a nice article up on her website about Grace coming to the farm. You can check that out here. Scroll down to the Amazing Grace section at the bottom.

Well that's about all for tonight. Hope all y'all are doing well.

"Peace is not the absence of warfare or conflict.
Peace is the absence of desire.
So long as there is an unfulfilled desire in your life,
you will not have peace.
For the believer, peace on earth is death to self,
and total trust and reliance on God.
The more you know how little you know,
the more you trust God and rely on Him."
- Unknown

Up and Running

Well, after a lengthy delay and too many people asking "Do you have a website?" I finally got around to registering a domain name and creating our official website. You can find the official Diamond G Farm website by clicking here.

It is a work in progress so expect changes there as we find additional things to add. My first critic has already mentioned that the white background is "too plain" and needs more color or maybe even a picture. And no, it wasn't her, it was the other (smaller) her. :-)

Got more snow over the weekend so once again the ground is covered. Days are getting longer and this weekend we set the clocks ahead - that'll sure be nice.

Grace is still shedding bunches - she had decided that she really likes the shedding blade but isn't really sure what to make of all that hair on the ground. Apparently it doesn't taste all that good. We've been working on two things with her lately. (1) Getting her to stand still while being held by her halter or on a leadrope. This is something completely foreign to her so it's been a bit of a struggle but we're making progress. (2) Picking all four feet. The two front hooves are going nicely but for some reason we're stuck on the back ones. She lets me lift both back feet off the ground but feels the need to throw all her weight on the leg that's being held.

Cleo is Cleo and doesn't change all that much. She still likes to go out and roll around in the snow. She's not shedding nearly as much as Grace but she didn't get as heavy a winter coat either.

And then we have Laredo. Some days its really hard to be the head CattleDog in charge of no cattle - you have to make due with what you have.

"As for God, His way is perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true.
He is a shield to all who look to Him for protection."
- 2 Samuel 22:31