Monday, April 01, 2013

No time for foolin'

I've got too much to blog about! (In other words, fair warning: long post ahead.)

Our weekend weather was absolute perfection – Spring at her best. Easter festivities in this area are often soggy; not this year!
Tahiti, my favorite daffodil!

We had a busy day at church Sabbath; the Pathfinder youth group presented the service and Brian had several responsibilities which he discharged admirably. That afternoon we played family Frisbee in the pasture, then let the horses out for their first good taste of spring grass. (That presented a great photo op, but my batteries were recharging after all the photos I took at church!) Brian wanted desperately to camp in the woods Saturday night, but was satisfied with a tent pitched on the lawn – as long as we all stayed in it. :-/   (I lasted until 1:30 a.m., then hobbled my way in to my own bed.)

First thing Sunday morning, Brian went to a neighbor's and did some yard work. (He wants to earn money for a sturdier mountain bike, so has started a 'business' towards that end.) He was pleased with the money he earned; Mom was pleased by the neighbor's high praise of the job he did. :-)   After that, Brian's neighborhood buddy came over to hunt for and dye eggs,
This egg was a surprising challenge for the boys
then they went to the other boy's house and did it all over again!

While I helped the boys, Rick got busy with a borrowed splitter. After the boys left I headed to the barn to work on sheep; when I came up at the end of the afternoon, I was amazed at the amount of wood he had split and stacked!

It made the visible results of my labors look paltry in comparison, but I think I was every bit as tired at the end. I decided to finishing rooing Cadbury (appropriate for Easter, no?). His wool didn't pull off any easier than Sarai's – and he was a whole lot less gracious about it.
Cadbury, mid-side, last rib

We had an hours-long wrestling match getting most of his body done;  in the end Rick held him for me while I scissored his hindquarters and belly. (Rick was exasperated enough by the end of that part of the task that asking him to hold Cadbury for an "after" shot would have been pushing my luck!) Again, I had ambitions of rooing more than one sheep; again, reality bit me rather hard.

At the end of the day, I rode my horse (at Rick's instruction, mind you) while Rick mowed the lawn, then Rick ultrasounded Lance's back. Lance's back ends up with a temporary lump every time I've worked him recently, and we're trying to figure out what's going on. Rick has a suspicion after last night's exam, but he wants to shoot some x-rays to know for sure – or as "for sure" as these things can be.

Hope your weekend was hoppy happy!

That's it for today from . . .

6 comments:

Suzan said...

I would think they would stand still knowing that they will feel better without all that wool. Hope the x-rays won't be too bad!

Mary Ann said...

We had a good weekend, Michelle, despite the fact I was still not feeling well... It does my heart good to know that two ll year old boys are still so excited about doing Easter eggs and hunting for them! They're the right sort!

Sorry to hear about Lance's back.

farmlady said...

I love the "hidden"egg photos. It's more work to hide eggs as kids get older.
Those sheep must feel sooo heavy before shearing. You would think it's almost liberating for them to have it gone.

Michelle said...

The x-rays were pretty good, Suzan; I'll post about that when I can on my dressage blog.

Michelle said...

My boy doesn't get much exposure to electronic entertainment, which makes things like Easter egg hunts and dyeing much more appealing. Some of the benefits of homeschooling and country living!

Michelle said...

Their wool may LOOK bulky, farmlady, but it is really not that heavy and I don't think it bothers them at all. This morning, Bart was rubbing against a tree, so getting the wool sheared off doesn't make their hide any less itchy, either!