A lazy day, The must fun you can have at low speed, and an unpleasant surprise

4/25/08 

It seemed by all accounts that today was going to be a lazy day. I woke up late and was in the house eating breakfast at 7:35 rather then 7 sharp. David left to teach Friday school (there are only 4 regular days of school here M-Th) around 8. Not sure of what to do or perhaps preferring our slow pace Lisa and I mused about reading and working at the computer. Deborah came up around 8:30 or 9 and gave us some helpful ideas and set to getting her self ready to give a organic gardening talk to a group of Mormons in town. All of our heel dragging now completed Lisa and I walked down the hill to work on the wagon. We had brought with us a drill bit we figured and hope would be the right size. It was not. We both knew now that we had only a few options left and the one that we universally didn't want to do was fix fence. That decided Lisa head back to the garden to planting out some onion starts and I set to work mulching garlic in the flat field. Two long rows of garlic later Lisa joined me at the flat field and we finish a row more each. About this time we were both hungry and head up for lunch and more musing. No sooner had we entered the door then I spotted a drill bit of the right size. As our lunch came to a close Deborah came home and we all agreed that we best plant out more onions and put the wagon off for a bit. Lisa and set for the garden with two trays of onions, Red Star and Walla Walla. Working together we quickly and easily planted and watered them in. Finished it was back to the wagon as Deborah set off to pick up David in town. Once again the wagon presented problems as it seemed a drill bit was either just long enough or more likely to short. We decided to press on anyhow but soon found or selves short of a much need second clamp. No sooner had we become frustrated then the car pulled up and David came out and help get us back on track and moving. We were making good progress when we both became distracted by Deborah working with Stella (horse) in the round pin. We moseyed over and got a lesson in equine behavior, common birthing problems, and training technique. With sun now sinking it was time to feed and David called me to the manger. "Step in to the reins" he said, much to my surprise today it seem was to be my first day at driving the team. At first I was decidedly nervous but took a deep breath and follow Davids directions. At first things were difficult as the way a team is driven varies from a single a far bit, but as we progress up the hill I gained a little confidant. David and I switched driving for backing into the barn which might be described as several magnitude harder than your first three point turn in drivers ed. We loaded hay and I drove us back down the hill the reins became easier to manage and the horses seems comfortable with my driving. I felt in that moment as we started to around the bend for he finally downhill a great sense of exhilaration, this was a lot of fun! The must fun I'd ever had at low speeds. As we headed down the final hill it was clear that ever horse in the herd had escaped into a neighboring pasture. We went in a dropped food all the same but less as usual, "there will be hungry horses here tomorrow". We head back to the manger to unharness the and feed in the dry pin. As Lisa and I feed in the dry pin we heard Deborah yell "Flat field" and turned to  discover that the herd had moved out of pasture and towards the many rows of garlic. We bolted for the field to head off the herd leaving the feed behind. Turning the herd and shooing them back to the feeding pasture was exciting and distracting, it was simply amazing to watch 20 some huge horses run in a herd. The move completed I walked the fence with Lisa to find where they had gotten. A wide open gate seemed the must obvious. I then walked the remaining line of the gate to check for breaks and finished the feeding on my walk back to the house. Waiting for us was a warm dinner of ravioli, salad, and pumpkin and coconut soup that Francis and Minden had prepared. It was the perfect way to way to end a lazy and exciting day.