My new favorite quote

"riding is the art of keeping the horse between you and the ground."

Today I am off to a Wisconsin Percheron farm to observe them hitching and working their horses. This a family run farm that spends much of the summer traveling the country and showing their percherons in 6 & 8
team hitches. Wow, I can only think what a chore that is to hitch that many tall horses! Looking forward to learning what I can today.

My little red wagon

Woohoo, now all I need is a collar for 'Thomas" the percheron and we will be driving to town in style in the little red wagon.

Weather has finally warmed up!! Phew, humid for minnesota as well. I have been busy taking down fences that led to nowhere and were always in the way. It's nice to see how our work is paying off in lush grass pastures.

Bee's seem to be doing very well, everywhere I go there is a constant sound of their busy buzzing. I'm anxious to see if or how much honey there will be to harvest this year.

Sugar shortage

phew, if the hummingbirds keep this up there will be a sugar shortage. I am filling the quart container three times a day. This feeder is still the favorite of the hummingbirds.

Orioles are back or perhaps they never left, they are once again active on the one hummingbird feeder.

We do have our QH gelding for sale, we are moving into the drafts and draft crosses.

Home Sweet Home

Well, it happened I fell even more in love with Thomas, the percheron. He now has a permanent home here at DreamRiver. You can see from the first picture that he is also a fellow with a great sense of humor! He is truly a gentleman, even when around some very excited mares...wink...wink. Time will tell if our Thoroughbred mare has settled (pregnant) If all goes well we anticipate a fabulous colt from Thomas & Kasino.

Where's Waldo?

yes, where is that darn waldo? Waldo is the name of our newest calf on the farm. A black bull calf that has appeared and disappeared for varying lengths of time, including yesterday where we weren't able to find him for over 12 hours!!! I must admit that it was great exercise walking up and down the hills in search of the little guy, but a little frustrating as his mom didnt' seem to know where he was either. It's very common for most of the newborns out here to be 'missing' for a few hours, but typically mom is relaxed and calm. Waldo's mom was anything but calm and relaxed.

Thomas-Percheron Stallion

Woohoo, Thomas the incredible Percheron with hair like Fabio's will be coming to stay with us for awhile. This stallion has an incredible temperament, rides, drives, has logged and will do all this even while next to mares. Thomas will remain at DreamRiver until sold or I fall even more in love with this horse and refuse to let him go. He is for sale at this time. Email for details

Cliff Notes

Well, it appears that the cliff swallows have FINALLY resigned themselves to building nest on the barn. It has always looked like there were multiple nests there but they appeared to have been powerwashed off. It is very nice to having them building nests on the barn instead of the front of the house.

I purchased a new hummingbird feeder the "Tejas" model. This feeder is constantly full of hummies, with the remaining two feeders still in use. The Tejas is apparently quite the favorite and requires refills daily.

Orioles-0, Hummingbirds....lots!

Well the Orioles have come through and left on their way to the nesting areas. Many more hummingbirds this year, than in years previous. Two feeders are continuously used and fought over. I was able to see the hummingbird courtship, it consist of the male flying a semi-circle in front of the female. It is almost a perfect mathematic 1/2 circle. The female makes her choice based on her impression of the circle. The males are quite vocal during this display.

The bee's are being extremely productive and we may be able to harvest honey this year. It often takes a year to harvest in order to leave enough honey for the bees to survive the winter. We have sampled some honey and boy is it good!! Pastures are coming along nicely this year. Each year we have more and more grass that is replacing the weeds. It's amazing how keeping the pastures mowed will decrease the weed population dramatically. I will tell you that I am looking forward to not having to mow but it is nice to see all the grass coming in. The cool spring has allowed the cool weather grasses to come to seed, something they have not done since I have been here.

Looks like we might have a few more calves this spring also.

I have given up on keeping the border collie from chasing the horses, as you can see by the picture the horses activelly seek out this pastime! I think that often the horses enjoy chasing the dog as much as she likes to chase them!