WE have finally moved into the FUN season at Cold Moon Farm– SUMMER is officially here! Though spring was slow in coming, we are back into full swing.
First, we are excited to welcome our two summer working students, Sydney S. and Eileen M. These equestrians have been helping with the training and groundwork education of our youngsters, DRF Isabela (Izzy) and Spring Hollow Or Noir (Nori), as well as learning from the wisdom and experience of our two veterans, Liatris (Lee) and Spring Hollow Marquesa (Queso). Keep an eye out for their “Meet the Intern” intros on our Facebook page in the next few weeks! In addition, Amber M. and Sophia F. have been helping keep the girls in regular work. Sadly for us, Amber will be leaving in about a week to begin her studies at the vet school at UC Davis– we will miss her!
JEF Anna Rose returned from her winter at High Knoll Equestrian Center in late March, and almost immediately Mother Nature thought more snow and ice was just the thing; combined with tons of mud and a slow melt, Anna enjoyed several light weeks before we were able to get back into the swing of things. We enjoy working with Jessica Freiman as often as we can and hope to move forward after a disappointing start to the show season. Such is the way it is with horses though, and as always at the end of the day I am most grateful for healthy, sound animals. Scores and placings are not what is most important, really!
In exciting management news, I was awarded a grant from the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture to fund the construction of a proper three bin compost unit. I am hoping to have the site work and foundation poured by the end of the month, which will leave August and September to build the frame. This generous grant will help our farm take the next steps to better manage our soil nutrients and protect groundwater from run off. The composted manure will be used as fertilizer here on the farm, but we anticipate that we will also have quantities available for sale to gardeners, perhaps as soon as next spring.
Otherwise, we are enjoying the generous sunlight of the recent solstice, puttering away at new skills and hacking on local trails. Plans for summer include a first time visit to Bear Brook State Park, mapping trails at two local equestrian facilities, fine tuning our musical freestyle and getting Izzy off the farm a few times.
Summer is short! Enjoy the ride.
~~Christina~~
