last year is gone and a new year begins.

Last year ended with only ONE emergency vet call for the year!  This was a record sense the day I got Navarre, who has always required emergency attention due to his tying up, colic tendencies, and foundering problems!

The year starts with the mud ankle deep, and the horses getting tired of all the mess!
I got only 30 bails of hay yesterday to get me through till it dries out enough that I can get it up to the barn, IF the rain lets up!  (it is suppose to rain again tomorrow.)
Year ended with over 70 inches of rain for the year putting us over 27 inches the average year.  A hard time for horses with long hair and on a mud lot. 

This one starts with hay in the trailer, truck in the drive of the estate but both are stuck!

Not a loss! I just see it as a temporary set back... as my mimosas have kicked in, the bubbly has gone to my head.

I have no REAL goals for the year other than to add more food to the place for years to come.
Yes I planted my dragon orange tree and a single paw paw not to forget the raspberries I added near the fence last year.   While I planted four of the raspberries;  I believe only two have survived, so planting more is a necessary this year!

Now the task of narrowing down what ONE food I add to the property this year that will not take away from the horses but will add to MY advantage in the future.   All the rain helped EVERYTHING survive from last year... but typical summer here is very dry and labor intensive for watering so I have to narrow it down to ONE place and few plants to baby! 

I have several things I want to add, but not all can be done so easily!

Grapes! behind the raspberries would be perfect! Growing along the fence line and shading the horses water in the hot sun but cutting them back in fall or winter allowing the sun to  heat their water container in the winter.  It is after all just an idea I am throwing out on this blank slate of a new year!

More paw paw trees for cross pollination... (although one neighbor has one we have no idea if they are different or not... and like the four apple trees I planted to support the lonely apple tree in the garden area of the estate; several types are needed for  BEST pollination)

My only cherry tree I had planted two years ago died this year due to all the rain.  So building up that spot and picking a better tree for the spot will be necessary in the future.  This spot has turned out to be my issue of all issues as far as food growth and sun!   I need to cut down more trees, but I do NOT want to cut down more trees I hope to only use the area for more of a wooded lot garden ... but these are proving not to be my easiest things to plot out on paper and principals.  ? who knows..   I had planted my Cherry tree in this place as it is the farthest point from the horses!  I am trying to keep the poisonous things on the other side of the estate... but this may not work with all the natural trees we have on site. 

I want a plum tree        
I want a fig tree
I want some cherry trees
I want Pear trees!
I want Peach Trees!
I want ...
I want ...
I want..

We all want so much but my idea is to make my life easier as I age by having much of the food I love so close at hand and easily sold to neighbors or food markets!  Just a crazy idea for the year!

As far as the horses; I'm planning out my budget for the year.
What to expect of the hay, Should I get the first cutting like I did last year or should I wait for a second (which never happened this year).

What to expect of the supplement prices for the year.
I get most of my supplements from SmartPak ... the company... no I do not normally purchase the pre packaged foo foo deals (although I do keep one month of them a year in stock so I have some for ... emergencies or VACATIONS which we did not have last year)

Plan for all the vet visits regular schedules of
feet
teeth
vets and
the dreaded emergencies!   hoping we do not have any this year! but keeping my fingers crossed does nothing! So planning will be necessary! $$$

Next week I re-stock my emergency barn kit ... I generally use all the basic human stuff to make it cheaper.
Then the next we re-stock my trailer emergency kit...  I use smaller sample sizes here
Then our next thing is to rotate the feed in the trailer! ...  I rotate my feed once a month but keep some in the trailer for emergency situations, just in case.
Then we empty and clean all the feed containers in the barn...   I try to let my feed bins get low to use all my feed, but they need a good cleaning twice a year.
Then we clean and empty the barn shelving!   I tend to shove things in the shelves and they need to be gone through twice a year if not more to make sure all is well and all that is trash is thrown out.

Thus ... I have my next month and 1/2 full of keeping things fresh in the barn so come spring all my brushes, blades for spring shavings,  and all my tack is perfect for going off and staying gone for a while! ha ha ha...   My favorite bridle stays in the house to be a little more safe than the barn.   But it too deserves a good condition out of a standard cleaning.

Yes of course little to nothing ever goes as planned BUT if I do not plan.. .it does not get done. So better to have a plan and a back up plan than no plan at all!

May your day be great or better!
AegF