Swallows and taxes

This is the second year in a row the swallows are back on 15 April. Tax Day!

15 April 2013
Two years ago it was 20 April.

I'm going to have to clean tack soon. I'm not going to wait until the 4th of July this year!

Shedding Day!

Now it's *really* Spring.

L sheds in one day. Oh she loses a few stray hairs here and there throughout the season but then, one day, all that winter hair comes off. I should really keep better track of that day.

Shedding Day 2013 - 13 April

Only a test

I read about this recently. Potato chips made in a microwave. I don't even recall where I read it. I think it was here. Of course I *love* potato chips and..no, I'm not supposed to eat them. Well. Not by the 7 ounce bag full. Did you know that regular potato chips are 37% fat?! Even reduced fat chips are 21% fat.

So I decided I'd check this out and test the technique.

You thin cut potatoes on a mandolin, thread them on to some wooden skewers with some space in between, hang them on a microwave safe bowl, like this:

Microwave them on high for 6 or 8 minutes and...you get...potato chips!

And well I'll be darned!

They actually came out pretty good!
My chips took 11 minutes in the microwave. I think a single potato makes a modest serving. I used a Yukon Gold potato. Next time I'll salt the potatoes first before I microwave them. No way salt will stick to the finished chip. If you enjoy Champagne with your chips you have to have salt!

Season of loss

The barn lost two of its seniors this month.

1983 - 27 March 2013
S was a very sweet boy. Countless people have learned horseback riding with S over the years. We'll miss him a lot.

17 March 1981 - 16 March 2013
E retired to our barn a couple of years ago. Another old lesson pony with hundreds of hours in the show ring. She's had all kinds of trouble with her feet but always managed a nicker when the treat bag crinkled.

You expect these things when you have seniors around and you prepare. But it doesn't help much. And nothing will make you miss them any less.

And then there's the sweetest cat there ever was.

2002 - 16 January 2013
May they all rest in peace. Enough sadness for this year I think.

Well blow me down

It might sound like Spring but it sure doesn't feel like it. It's been cold and I swear the wind has been blowing around here for 3 months.

Is the wind ever going to stop blowing?!
Friday I saw the first sign of daffodils coming up. Just green bumps in the soil but it's a hopeful sign!

Sounds like Spring

Spring is just a few days away now. Last Wednesday the Red Winged Blackbirds were back!

Trust me. Those are Red Winged Blackbirds. 13 March.
"..[their] tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring". All of the birds have a lot to say this time of year. The sound of Spring is very distinct.

But before we get our hopes up there's a wintry storm in the forecast for tonight. We'll likely have 6 inches of snow on the ground by morning. Winter and Spring it's mostly about the weather. We can still have blizzards blow through here for another 3 weeks. At least it won't go below 0 again this season. I'm always happy to put the polar clothes away!

And I'm pretty sure the sap has been running in Vermont for a week now.

Snoozing in the sun

This time of year the sun feels nice even when the weather is relatively miserable.

Snoozing. Saturday 9 March

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And the weather has been...*really* miserable. February was an ordeal! Here I think this says it all right here. There on the left. The snow devil out there whipping by the barn. That field was full of them for days.

17 February
And..I'm *hugely* embarrassed to have been...stuck! Yes. Stuck! The first time I've been stuck since 1988! At least then my truck had fallen through the ice into a pond. It's not like I was stuck in a snow bank or something.

Sunday 10 February. Stuck!
No, they don't make them like they used to. I had to get a tractor to drag me out of there.

OMG this is *so* embarrassing
March didn't give us any relief.

Friday 8 March. Driving home from work.

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It got so bad...I ..well...I made scones!


Most shocking! You see, I don't bake. This might be the first thing I ever baked from scratch! Bread and pancakes don't count. I followed this recipe and I used Saco powdered buttermilk. I keep that on hand mostly for making dressings. I thought they came out excellent. I had some homemade blueberry jam with my scone and I was quite tickled.

We're really looking forward to Spring around here! I hope I remember how to ride my horse!

Edit 17 March: Yes, I remembered how to ride my horse. Saturday was actually a very nice day around here.