Gathering Photos of the cold is tough work: Creekside

With the weather getting colder, barn life adapts with the changes. One of the challenges is collecting photos when it's so cold that you don't even want to go out for fear of freezing. One of the reasons it's taken longer for me to post this post. But through diligence and warm clothing, i finally got a good collection to detail how life changes slightly now that everything is turning colder!


Creekside:

Warm weather or cold, Tank is an avid hunter indoors, and with the weather turning colder, the rodent prey becomes more plentiful

Typical cat, tends to play with his food rather than eat it. Then again, being a barn cat, he does get fed, so hunting is more of a sport then a necessity.

With the weather turning colder, the cats tend to group together, one of their favorite spots, as (from left to right) Spongebob, Twitch, and Sugar have pointed out, that the best spot to curl up is right on top of my camera bag and work jacket.

No matter the climate or weather, cats of all types are known for lounging around in the sun, and Bella, Scarlet, Sno, and Duckie are no different as they curl up in what little sunlight they can find.

The weather just starting to get a nip means Bella still likes going outside, and smaller furry creatures are always an oddity to grab a horse's attention, as it has Tiki's.

The moment the weather dips to a certain temperature, all the horses become adorned with their blankets for the rest of winter. They're not taken off, even if it warms up for a few days, but left on. Captain here has yet to truly dirty up his blanket, but that certainly won't last.

The blankets can take a little getting used to, and more often than not there can arise problems. In this case, Sammy's leg straps have lost some of their elastic and have become stretched out and a little bit entangled. Sammy is shaking off after he got up from a good roll around, and who can blame him?

Blankets are put on clean, and so quickly become dirty. Lucas is demonstrating but one method a blanket can get dirty.

Xena is the biggest of all the horses at Creekside, being half Thoroughbred and half draft-breed. So things on the ground can be a curiosity, as I have become by crouching on the ground to take this photo.

Rebel has yet to dirty her blanket, but that won't last.

Cold weather means tilling the fields before the snows really set in, as can be seen in the background of this photo of Diesel.

Here is another shot of the three cats, somewhat repositioned, Cats are fascinating in how easy it is for them to be comfortable.

Any spot in a barn can become a good place to curl up, as Bella has proved by curling up in this box of fake flowers. The flowers are used to decorate the outdoor jumps, usually.

Blankets are designed to not be a hindrance, but can often get shifted around. It's not easy to see, but Sonny's blanket is skewed slightly by his withers (the horse's shoulders).

Blankets come in different styles, and this one is newer even to me. In general, the front closes together, and a strap or two crisscrosses under the belly, but in this case one large strap wraps under the belly and hooks together high on the side of the horse. 

From this view you can see how the buckles attach at the front of the blanket. Hank's blanket is attached with clips, but just as often they are attached like a normal belt, going through the loop and hitching on a hole at some point when it's tight enough.

An important part of getting ready for the cold weather is to fix any problems. In this case, there are many places of uneven ground in between the pastures, so Tina is using the tractor to drag freshly brought earth to spread it about and even out potholes. Little Rowdy, her daughter's Australian Cattle Dog puppy, is always excited to tag along.

Tina in action, spreading and moving dirt around. It can be noticed to the far left and right of the image shiny areas of mud. Those areas are lower, and tend to get extremely muddy and difficult when it's really wet. One can only imagine the ice that will be created when it all freezes. This will hopefully prevent it.

A rare shot of Nightmare, the most solitary tomcat of the barn, and one i have successfully gained the trust of. He's a good cat, a little skinny, but a good boy. He's found a good warm spot on this pile of old horse blankets.

Before the snow and ice really set in, the arena is getting an overhaul of fresh dirt, to thicken the area and add to the overall padding of the arena floor. Deep dirt acts as extra padding, as well as adds the extra stress of making a horse work a bit harder through the thicker dirt. It's also far gentler a landing in thick dirt rather than packed down flat dirt if a rider gets thrown.

Colder weather means colder water, and the cats for some reason like to drink water that gathers in puddles over the water left in buckets for them. Perhaps Sugar just wanted the bite of cold from the water that's collected on the curve of this overturned barrel.

Winter blankets certainly don't hinder a horse's ability to move about, as Reggie and Sonny prove as they pick at each other.

I am utterly adored by the cats of this barn. They know me especially as someone who gives them treats, so any time i sit down, i tend to get mobbed. Cold weather means they are much closer and quicker to move in if i so much as pause for a moment to itch my nose!

The bathroom is heated, so i often find cats curled up by the door, and Tank has the habit of attempting to sneak in. More than once i have opened the door to find him already inside, having somehow gotten in when someone wasn't look as they opened or closed the door. In this shot, Nightmare (left) and Tank are sharing the warmth by the door.

Again, i don't know why the cats prefer overturned-barrel-water, but they do. Boots certainly has no qualms about it.

Misty has amazingly managed to keep this blanket MOSTLY clean. I can't help but wonder how long that will last....

The front pasture group, the 'Brumbies' as i call them, eat their breakfast hay spread out in different piles around the pasture, but they tend to move around, chase each other away, and make a general mess.

It seems ridiculous to argue over hay that is spread out in piles, but that doesn't stop Hank (left) and Blaze from showing their preference over which flake of hay they want.

With the change in weather comes a change in feeding too. Rather than using the 4-wheeler to throw flakes out around the pasture, to the 3 largest pastures giant hay bales are rolled out. They can last about a week or more, depending on how quickly the horses mow them down. Diesel, Ace, and Cletus are chowing down on this one.

In the 'Boys' pasture, 3 giant hay rolls are turned out. Shooter, Berry, and Bailey are working down this one.

Puck has a roll all to himself, though this particular hay roll has been out for a day or more, so the destruction done to it was not done all by him.

another change with the weather was Ozzy. Usually off in his own small pasture (because he doesn't get along well with any of the other horses) he's been moved tot he round training pen due to the fact he broke out of his pasture, resulting in a damaged fence and broken post, so it's very likely he'll be stuck here for the rest of winter.  And despite being on his own, he's managed to break off one of the clips on his blanket. One of the first major broken-blankets. The hook can be sewn back on, though who will do that i don't know. 

Tiki munches on her breakfast bale as Xena moves off to get a drink. The sun rises a bit later in the morning now, and can throw a beautiful glow over the pastures. 

As with any group eating, there's going to be discontent. In the 'Girls' pasture there are currently two large hay rolls, which is certainly enough for 5 mares. Doesn't mean they have to always get along though.

with only 4 of them present, the 'Oldies' still get flakes thrown to them in the morning. They also tend to be far more civil with each other. Lady and Captain are getting along quite nicely as they munch on flakes together, while i have briefly distracted Sammy from his meal with my presence.

Shooter and Berry (our two Arabians) have a tendency to pick at each other, so this is a rare moment of them getting along and eating peacefully.

Sapphire is among the youngest horses at Creekside. She's only truly begun her training and is getting a reputation as being extremely ornery, so it's no surprise she stirs up discontent at breakfast. Fancy is less apt to put up with Sapphire and is giving her a slight warning with her ears flattened to her head.

Sunlight is a major source of warmth, and the cats gravitate to it. I saw Spongebob and Sno curled up as close to the light as possible and thought this was just a magical moment with the light highlighting them.

Sugar joined Spongebob and Sno as the light got stronger through the window, and no cat will turn down an extra body giving warmth.

I am very happy to see Oscylot again. A feral cat who i can only assume barn hops, has mostly made Creekside his home. I haven't seen him in weeks, so the morning i opened the barn doors and saw him amongst the mob of cats waiting to be fed i was relieved and happy. He's by far the skinniest of all the cats, and i can only wonder how much he's gotten to eat, but he's hanging out in the barn now that the weather is turned cold, and looks at me with as much adoration as the others when i pull the cat treats out. In this instance, he's using my bags and jacket to stay warm. He still tends to dash off if approached, but he's getting better. 

Body Language Part 2: Harris Farm

It's taken me a bit longer to gather photos of the horses at my second job, mostly because I've been busy, and the pasture is rather large and hilly, so the horses are not always in view for me to observe while I clean stalls. But now and then there's something going on that I observe and watching is always fun.

Though not exactly 'body language', still, everyone loves a good scratch, and lacking fingers, horses find other ways to get the itch. In this case Nelly is using the shed to scratch her neck.

everyone loves to play, and horses are no different, although their version of play is more to the end of running around and chasing each other.

all horses get that giddy playfulness, and it's always fun to watch them run around without a care

part of play is to go up to your buddy and bump heads, but that's rather normal in all creatures. When you have long necks, it's easy to toss your head around

no one likes a hog, and in this case Montana is showing his feelings of having to wait while the other licking the salt block his expressing their irritation at being disturbed.

sometimes, we all just feel irritated with someone, whether because they stand in our way, or because they exist. In this case, Montana seems to just not like that fact that Freckles is standing there.

Chrome is the youngest of all the horses, so is the most active and playful

it's always fun to watch Freckles kicking up his heels. He's so small, but just because he's small doesn't change how fast he moves.

this was interesting to watch. From what i can deduce, Freckles and Pokey are sharing a moment of messing about, picking at each other, like any roommate will do. Harmony isn't permanent in any group setting, eventually you're gonna pick at someone, and today Freckles is picking at the oldest guy of the herd.

I love the expression on Freckles's face as Pokey nips at his ears. He may be old but he can give as good as he gets.

For some reason, Freckles decided it'd be a good idea for him to go for the legs, and proceeded to nip at the backs of Pokey's legs, while Pokey expressed his irritation by nipping back.

sometimes to get the point of being an irriatant across, you gotta give yourself some height

a moment before, Pokey apparently had had enough of Freckles nipping at him and snapped at the donkey, causing him to take off, and yet Pokey is following him, probably to make sure the pest goes away.

Freckles tends to ge a lot of flack for being a donkey, but than again Montana seems to think Freckles shouldn't be within feet of him most of the time, most likely because in this pecking order Montana is higher.