Sweetgrass Ranch Exclusive -- Order Your Horse Hair Bracelet

Are you like me? I've always wanted to take my horses everywhere, but doing so hasn't always been practical. Until now... I'm incorporating horse tail hair into artisan quality bracelets, custom wearable art for the horse lover. If you would like me to make a bracelet for you, please contact me using the phone number or e-mail address in this photo.

Heirloom Tomato Pin-Up -- It's a Beauty!

Last spring, I planted four amazing varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Each one has been a top producer, but a paticular plant is churning out huge, hand-sized beauties; zesty, wonderful pin-up quality fruits. Tonight, I paired this one with home-made chicken tacos, avacado slices, garden fresh salsa, and sweet black grapes. YUM!

"Seeing" and Autumn Light

Different wavelengths of light affect me. I'm particularly taken with the warm glow of autumn light. There's something about the frequency that makes me feel good, that helps me "see" things differently.

Late afternoon always offers up a visual feast and this past week, the morning light was generous as well. I snapped this photo of Lorenzo taking Jetblue to pasture and I think it speaks volumes about the duo.

Fruit of the Gods, Asian Apple Pears

My initial taste of Asian Apple Pear was love at first bite. Every since then, the crunchy, juicy, sweet fruit has ranked among my favorites. This year, we're harvesting a bumper crop of four varieties of Asian Apple Pears. When we're picking, we usually stop for a taste break and after one bite, Lorenzo always proclaims, "Fruit of the Gods!" I have to agree.

Good Night, Sweetgrass Ranch... and, Thank You!

 

Goodnight, Sweetgrass Ranch... and, thank you for this day. A day filled with plucking the soon-to-be salsa or sauce heirloom tomatoes from a garden that just keeps on giving.

 

Thank you, Sweetgrass Ranch, for the simple joy of recycling spent corn stalks, leggy Swiss Chard, and downed Asian Apple Pears to cattle who could hardly believe their good fortune.

 

Bless you, Sweetgrass Ranch, for yet another great day of work with the coming three filly, Jetblue. For Jetblue's calm, quiet nature and her love of work.

 

Goodnight, Sweetgrass Ranch. Rest well so we can do it all again tomorrow.

'Tis the Season for Horse Camping and Trail Riding!

Hands down, fall is my favorite season for trail riding and horse camping. I love the crisp cool air at the early a.m. feeding, the camraderie of the fire pit, the leaves as they abandon their chlorphyll in favor of autumn reds and yellows.

We're lucky. Here in Oregon, we have lots of options for camping with our horses. One of our favorites is just thirty-minutes down the road. Stub Stewart State Park offers deluxe horse camping, complete with full RV hook ups and hot showers. Life just doesn't get any better, folks.

Last Friday, we took three of our horses -- Drifty, Irish, and Venus -- to Stub Stewart's horse camp site #10, a double site with both 4 and 2 horse corrals and generous parking. Here's a snapshot of our camp spot, a site nestled beneath the towering Douglas Firs.

 

Part of the fun of camping is enjoying a cup of coffee around the early morning campfire. Nick, Chelsea, and Rosie did just that. You can see Stub Stewart's awesome horse corrals in the background.

 

 

Since I have three really great saddles that fit the horses backs well, we brought just three horses and took turns exploring the vast network of trails at Stub Stewart. I stayed in camp for the second ride so I could play cards with my hubby, Don. For the record, I handily outscored him during a rousing game of Rummy. I wish I could say it was skill, but I'm more inclined to believe it was luck.

 

Before Rosie, Chelsea and Nick headed out, I snapped this photo of the trio. Back home, I was thrilled to see a wonderful image of the kids and the horses. It isn't often that you get a great shot of everyone!

 

My favorite hack was the last ride of the day. I loved the feel of Irish as he and I wove through the trees at a fast pace, our centers shifting in concert to neatly corner every switchback and curve. There was the thrill of a fast gallop up a steep grade, the way Irish's body lengthened as he surged to keep pace with Venus and Drifty.

 

Most of all, it was a day to be proud. Irish has been my project horse since he was four months old. Saturday, he safely and sensibly carried both Chelsea and Nick on long rides.

To see a short video clip of our ride, complete with hikers, their dog, and some lovely Vine Maples, click here.

Everyday Masterpieces, Tomatoes on the Window Sill

There are lots of everyday masterpieces in my life. Often, I'll be working around the ranch and come upon something so stunningly beautiful that it totally blows me away. If I'm lucky, my camera is close at hand and I manage to make a good exposure or two.

For a week or so, I've been plucking four varieties of heirloom tomatoes from the garden and lining my kitchen window sills with them. Those of you who garden know that tomatoes never disappoint.

So, here's the view that makes me stop dead in my tracks and say, "Oh, my GOSH. That's really lovely."

A Sweet Harvest

All shapes and sizes of tomatoes in various stages of ripe line my kitchen sink window sills. I can't wait to photograph them -- mostly so I can share the excitement and wonder of this Sweetgrass Ranch harvest season.

Yesterday, Lorenzo and I nearly filled a five gallon bucket with our first crop of table grapes. There are lots of big, beautiful bunches still on the vine, a bumper harvest for our relatively new, three year-old vines.

 

That's not all... The Asian Apple Pear trees are full-on with four distinct and flavorful varieties. Thankfully, this fruit keeps well, especially once the cooler temperatures arrive. We should have pears to snack on well into the winter.

Fruits and vegetables are not our only crops. Raising a good saddle horse is an intense and rewarding project that spans many years. One of the most exciting times is when a colt or filly is started under sadlle.

For the past two days, Lorenzo and I have saddled my two year-old filly, Jetblue, and after a brief lunging session and some work to help Jetblue learn the subtle cues of the bosal and mecate, we've taken turns swinging into the saddle and sitting as "ground" handler leads Jetblue around the arena.

Yesterday was pure gold with a couple of huge milestones thrown in for good measure. From the saddle, with the mecate rein in hand and Lorenzo on the ground lightly holding the lead, I taught Jetblue to walk and whoa using my seat and legs. We switched places and it was my turn to lead Jetblue and Lorenzo over the bridge, Jetblue's first "under saddle" obstacle!

There are some exciting things happening with our cattle, too. Dr. Megan Jurasek came by this morning to artificially inseminate our Charolais cow, Daisy. In the next few weeks, Dr. Megan will return to A/I the Black Angus heifers, Libbey and Tove. This year's bull calf, Tip, continues to grow and mature. He's cutting a fine form and we hope to use him as our 2013 herd sire.

So much of life here at Sweetgrass is about sowing and reaping. Nothing is fast and everything requires patience and care. Yet for all the work and worry that accompanies rural life, there is an immense satisfaction in the production and harvest of vegetables, fruits, calves, and good saddle horses.

I'll be sure to post a photo of those gorgeous tomatoes tomorrow. There are four different heirloom varieties in the Sweetgrass garden this year.

Grapes at Sweetgrass! Asian Apple Pears and Tomatoes, Too!

One of my greatest joys is producing enough food help feed my family and friends' families.

So far this year, we've had a record Blueberry crop, wonderful radishes, onions, peas, beans, and Swiss Chard. 2012 was our first attempt at growing corn, so the crop yield was a bit low -- the few ears we harvested were sweet and tasty.

Right now, four varieties of heirloom tomatoes are coming on strong. We're picking loads of Asian Apple Pears, and -- after three long years in the making -- we nearly have a bumper crop of grapes. Life is good.

The first crop of Sweetgrass Ranch grapes are close to harvest.

It seems that people across the country are in some small way trying to return to their rural roots. Backyard chickens and ducks, raising pigs, and farming a small plot in a community garden all come to mind.

When you grow your food, you know what you are getting. There's no guesswork and every part of your harvest will be at peak ripeness and freshness.

 

Garden or farm on, world, and while you are doing so, enjoy connecting with your rural heritage.

“You know, farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Starting Jetblue Under Saddle

I'm lucky. I get to watch miracles unfold every day. Two-and-a-half years ago, our mare, Drifty, delivered a gorgeous blue roan filly before our eyes.  For me, witnessing a live birth is one of the most profound experiences in life. Watching Drifty give birth to "Jetblue" was an enormous gift.

Jetblue entered the world on her own terms, with attitude plus. From the start, the filly pinned her ears at anyone who dared to get close to her or her mama; she kicked the farrier. Lorenzo sized her up in a heartbeat: "She's an alpha." Clearly, we had our work cut out for us, but we were also up to the challenge.

This is one of my favorite snapshots of Jetblue the day after she was born -- it's easy to see all that attitude!

Every step, from teaching Jetblue to lead to lunging to haunch turns and obstacle work, from trailering and clipping and hoof-cleaning and trimming and bathing, from saddling and biting up, has been a joy. We've managed to successfully channel Jetblue's strengths while making good use of her wonderful work ethic. The results are impressive. Jetblue already has a big stack of blue ribbons, a testament to her try.

Today was another milestone for Jetblue and for us. We introduced the bosal and did some ground training before putting weight in Jetblue's stirrup and laying across her back. It was going so well that we decided to swing into the saddle and sit for fifteen seconds. Did I mention it was fifteen seconds of pure bliss?

I didn't know what to expect, but I placed my trust in Jetblue. As I settled in the saddle, my filly sighed and relaxed her body. We're off to an amazing start.

Weaning Tip

Daisy's Charolais/Black Angus bull calf, Tip, is fast approaching six months. For the past two months, he's been courting the ladies, a pint-sized version of a bovine Romeo. For now, Tip is all try. Next year, he'll fill the role of our herd sire.

Yesterday, I observed Tip butting heads with the large Charolais steer, Tad. One of the Black Angus heifers, Libbey, is cycling and the two boys -- mighty and mini -- were competing for her attention. Tad easily deflected each of Tip's advances and he was fairly good natured about it. Still, it's time.

So this afternoon, Lorenzo separated the bull calf from the rest of the herd. For his entire life, Tip has been in the care of his mama, Daisy, and Uncle Tad. The duo looked on nervously as Lorenzo talked to Tip and stroked his back.

 

Never one to miss a traning opportunity, Lorenzo spent time leading the calf away from the herd. Tip remembered his earlier lessons and was a model citizen for this part of the program.

 

 

Walking back toward the rest of the cattle was a bigger challenge. Tip bolted past Lorenzo in an attempt to pull free and rejoin his mom and the others. It was amazing to see Lorenzo anchor his weight as he delivered a series of sharp tugs on Tip's lead rope. In the end, Lorenzo prevailed.

 

 

For the next couple of weeks, Tip will spend the night in the cattle pen and the rest of the herd will no doubt bed down in the adjacent pasture.

 

 

Tomorrow, we'll turn Tip out with Tad and the duo will graze in a pasture next to the girls.

Weaning is tough, but necessary. We'll do everything possible to make it low stress. Off to check on Tip...

Read These Prehensile Lips: Meadow Grass Hay is Sweetgrass Ranch Horse Tested and Approved

Ed Stabb at Crump Ranch told me that Meadow Grass Hay is a lot like spinich for horses. With its low carbohydrates and starches, Meadow Grass is not all that sweet. It's certainly nothing like the sugary Orchard Grass Hay we've been feeding our herd.

So, when we began to integrate the Meadow Grass Hay into the horses diet yesterday, I wasn't quite sure what would happen. It seems the horses like their spinich just fine, Ed.

Here's a snapshot of Jetblue in the foreground and Gin in the back -- both horses are HOOVER-ing up their Meadow Grass Hay.

 

Speaking of HOOVER-ing, did you know that horses have prehensile lips? The word "prehensile" is derived from the latin term prehendere, meaning "to grasp." It's used to indicate an appendage -- like feet, tail, tongue, nose, or lips -- or organ that is adapted for grasping or holding.

 

Interestingly, Lake Sturgeon, orangutans, rhinos, and horses all have prehensile lips. The Florida Manatee has a prehensile upper lip. Talk about a diverse crowd!

If only I could read the following photo of Jetblue's lips, it might well say, "The new Meadow Grass Hay is Sweetgrass Ranch horse tested and approved!"

Meadow Grass Hay at Sweetgrass

Twelve tons of Crump Ranch Meadow Grass Hay arrived on the big G & G Hay truck this morning. Seeing that huge load of hay pull in was a little like coming home with lots of bags of groceries. I'm feeling a lot more ready for winter now...

For the most part, the Meadow Grass Hay is beautiful and aromatic, too. Here's a snapshot of the truck being unloaded.

Unfortunately, there are around thirty bales -- you can see them in the lower level at the back of the truck -- that look as if they may have been the bottoms on the hay storage stacks. Several of these bales appeared moldy on at least one side. The degree of the problem is unclear and I won't know what I'm dealing with until I crack the problem bales open and take a look.

Moldy hay definitely isn't what I paid for, so I alerted Crump Ranch owner Ed Stabb to the problem and let him know that I may be asking for a credit. I've never met a hay farmer who wasn't honorable and I fully expect Ed to make any loss right.

All of the horses approve of the new hay, even though the protein, carbohydrate, and starch levels are significantly lower. Our Orchard Grass Hay runs about 18% protein and the Meadow Grass Hay is 8%, which means we'll have to supplement the horses with either alfalfa or soybean meal in order to meet their nutritional requirements. On the plus side, the Adel Meadow Grass is significantly lower carbohydrates, the suspected cause of our filly, Jetblue's, colics.

Will keep you posted.

Crossing Bridges

It's time to lightly start my two year-old filly, Jetblue. All of Jetblue's training-to-date will help streamline this process and, to get ready, we've been ponying Jetblue with her saddle on.

This afternoon, we had a chance to ride a few of the trails at Stewart Stub State Park. While there, we crossed two small bridges, both perilous for a green horse.

Neither bridge has guard rails and both have significant drops off either side -- big enough for a frightened horse to step off and potentially break a leg. So, we took extra care and time when teaching Jetblue to navigate each bridge.

Indulging Gin's Drinking Habit

Drinking like a fish can be a good thing, especially if you weigh close to twelve-hundred pounds and have a primitive and extremely sensitive digestive system.

Somewhere in the not-too-distant past, my son, Nick, taught his gelding, Gin, to drink water from plastic water bottles. It was the type of parlor trick that thrilled and delighted other kids.

Over the years, we've continued in the same vein, encouraging, indulging, and growing Gin's "drinking habit" repertoire to include guzzling directly from the water hose.

Yesterday, our good friend, Chelsea Ibarra, came to ride Gin and afterwards, as she rinsed away the sweat and dirt, Gin did what Gin does best -- he took a very big gulp of water!

Meadow Grass Hay Delivery Delayed Until Saturday Morning

Meadow Grass Hay Coming to Sweetgrass!

Twelve tons of Crump Ranch Meadow Grass hay is on the way to Sweetgrass Ranch and should arrive early tomorrow afternoon, courtesy of G & G Hay Supply.

Unlike a lot of grasses grown for hay here in the West, Meadow Grass is a native high elevation grass which is a low carbohydrate, low starch alternative for insulin resistant horses.

Why is this imporant? My two year-old filly, Jetblue, experienced many small colics leading up to a major life-threatening episode this past January. Jetblue had to be rushed to Oregon State University for emergency surgery. There were three subsequent colics, too. Putting Jetblue on a low carb, low starch diet appears to be working for now -- we've had three colic-free months.

Last month, while in Central Oregon for a horse show, I picked up a bale of Crump Ranch Meadow Grass hay. Since that time, Jetblue has been feasting on one flake every evening as a supplement to her soaked Orchard Grass hay (soaking in cold water for one hour reduces the carbohydrate level of hay by about a third).

Laying in a good supply of hay before winter is an important and time-honored task, a slice of rural life shared by all those raising livestock or keeping horses. Finding our 2012 supply was a bit more challenging, given Jetblue's needs, but not impossible.

There's nothing quite like a packed hay storage to generate some pretty strong feelings -- imagine stocking a bare pantry. I'm feeling more settled already! Photos of the Meadow Grass hay arrival coming tomorrow...

Sprite's Laughing Dog Shadow

My thirteen pound Miniature Pinscher/Rat Terrier cross pup, Sprite, is a joy. Her sunny personality, speed, and playful antics are always entertaining.  A wonderful companion, Sprite is a great little bed warmer, snuggler, and a darn good farm dog. She's almost always in motion, making it difficult to snap a good photo.

Late this afternoon, as I was working on braiding the first of the 2012 sweetgrass crop, Sprite posed for the camera and even seemed to be laughing. Not surprisingly, Sprite's shadow laughed, too.

WSSH Clinic: As Plutarch Would Say, "The Mind is Not a Vessel to be Filled but a Fire to be Kindled"

I'm all fired up and eager to apply what I learned at the Western States Stock Horse clinic held today and yesterday in Albany, Oregon.

Robert Hartley of Hartley Performance Horses, showed me how to get my horses to consistently soften and give at the poll. Like any great clinician, he gently pointed out riders' bad habits, offering exercises and advice. With Robert's guidance, I realized instant improvement.

With Jenny Stephen's help, I learned how to train a Reining spin and a roll back, moves that come in handy when working cattle, too.

JoLinn and Mitch Hoover of MJ Rising H Ranch reinforced good horsemanship, planning, and the importance of geometry in Trail course competition. Mitch did an awesome job with the Novice group of riders in the Working Cowhorse portion of the clinic. Thanks to him, my gelding and I can now "box" a cow.

There were two additional clinicians, too. Both were very helpful, but their names evade me at this hour and state of exhaustion.

Stacy Jo Hartley did a superb job of organizing and running the clinic. Through tomorrow, Stacy Jo is coordinating the WSSH show held in conjunction with the clinic.

WSSH is an exciting and relatively new association, one with a lot of positive energy. The clinic/show format is well-suited to anyone looking to improve their horsemanship and performance. I hope to take horses and compete at WSSH shows in 2013.