Random Horse Blogging (deal with it).

April 28, 2009

So I bought this tiny shell from a coughing man who wouldn’t stop telling me about his recent trip to Mexico.

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Best random quote from my Mom of late: “And it sucked the pet hairs out of that sofa like you wouldn’t believe.”

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Who’s the bastard who flipped the summer switch too early?

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While ignoring you, dear readers, I’ve been melting in the sun with the team of Belgians at Cedar Circle Farm in Thetford, Vermont. Buddy & Jerry, to be precise, the over-weight fellas who are now being asked to come out of their winter slumber and get to work. The farm’s teamster, Dean, hurt his back a few weeks ago and hasn’t been able to get them ready for a summer and fall season of farm work and wagon rides. And so they called me in to play substitute teamster for a couple of weeks. Lucky me, indeed.

It’s quite a place, with 50-acres of organic production along the Connecticut River. And, better yet, it’s an “experimental” and educational farm so it’s on the front lines of a number of great innovations to farm more thoughtfully with regards to the environment, the community and the producers and consumers alike. For Cedar Circle, that’s meant – among many, many other things — extensive research in green manures and cover cropping, no-till production, sunflower crops to produce oil and fuel and even a battery-powered tractor used for cultivating. Here’s how the farm’s co-manager, Will Allen, described it to me as he whipped around in it: “It’s better than cultivating with horses because it doesn’t fart on you.” Checkmate.

The first day of work for Buddy & Jerry was rough – for them. They’re a great team that has obviously been well cared for and well worked by Dean. But, unfortunately, they don’t do much – if any – winter work. So they huffed and puffed and lathered up within a half-hour of simply warming up last week when we commenced their new exercise routine.

But yesterday I brought my trusty assistant: Our daughter, Bel. Her eyes were lighting up last week when I told her about Buddy & Jerry and the extreme beauty and satisfaction of working a team of horses in a 50-acre field. And then Sunday night came and she launched into full-lobbying mode to “skip school” and work Buddy & Jerry. She won.

And she helped; a lot, mostly with the harnessing and the prep work but most importantly by holding the team still in the field as I hooked them to the harrow. Priceless.

It was a great day.

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Wait until you see the new horse-drawn cultivator I just restored. I can feel your excitement.

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Last weekend, Big Jim and I harrowed a quarter-acre for what we call the “expansion garden,” a plot connected to our existing garden that we want to spill over to in order to give the old plot a break. Mission: Accomplished. But Big Jim was about as happy with the 80-plus-degree “spring” farm work as I was. Lather, foam, curse…repeat.

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But I won’t tell you about the horse ride I went on with my neighbors on Sunday. Because that would be one-too-many horse stories and you miserable fucks without the gentle beasts would start feeling left out.

It was a great ride, though. Sorry you won’t hear about it.

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I want my spring. The season, that is.

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Daily mantra: Get it.

Posted by M. Colby | Filed Under blog

Comments

2 Responses to “Random Horse Blogging (deal with it).”

Peter Buknatski on April 29th, 2009 1:37 pm

Boy, you lead a good life, with a good family and friends. They’re gonna Tea Party you soon: “COLBYISM IS SOCIALISM FOR THE LIBERAL-FUCKS!”

Headline:

“Michael Colby Joins Democratic Party”–AP

Vermont radical-fuck activist Michael Colby announced from horseback today that he will join the Democratic Party and run for Governor of Vermont on what he called “the homespun liberal-fuck black-is-white nobody cares grassroots movement that is sweeping the nation.”

“I don’t give a shit anymore,” Colby said. “I just want a job where I don’t have to do anything or argue with anyone about doing anything. Governor of Vermont fits that ideal. As far as becoming a Democrat, hey, everybody’s doing it. At least I beat Pollina to it, and that ought to stand for something.”

Asked what his policies would be if elected, Colby smiled and stated: “Collecting a paycheck and using my office to acquire more wealth and power so I’ll be all set to keynote the 2012 Democratic Convention.”

Colby explained that he has no ambitions as of yet to seek higher office in the future, but hopes that President Obama will consider appointing him the first Lord of Vermont, and give him enough horses for a private household cavalry he can use to suppress radical elements in Vermont who he said want to turn the state into “one big commie Woodstock festival of peace, love and used toilet paper. That’ll fuck up my property values. Not in my backyard!”

No word yet from the Vermont Democratic Party or its leading candidates for Governor next year, but Colby isn’t worried about that. “They’ll come around,” he said, “when they figure out I’ve got the ‘I don’t give a shit’ vote. They’ll have to recognize that my ‘irrelevancy margin’ is greater than all of theirs combined. The people of Vermont want CHANGE, not issues.”

Although it is unconfirmed at this point, and we really don’t really care about confirming it, supposedly a high paid assistant to an assistant aide to the Janitor-In-Chief of Governor Douglas’ offices said, and we sort of quote here: “Jim’s worried. He’s called an emergency meeting with his staff to consider moving from irrelevancy to mentally challenged–that’s total retard, I mean–but that’s off the record til his next press conference. Be there. You’ll see a new Jim Douglas, sort of like the New Nixon from ’68. You thought you’ve seen everything, but our Governor can be 10, hell 20 times stupider than anything you’ve seen so far. The voters will relate to that.”

Also, it is “likely,” a White House source said, that President Obama will comment on the Colby as Democrat story tonight at his prime time press conference. Rumors are that the President will announce that Colby joining the Democratic Party was the major aim of his first 100 days in office, superseding issues such as the economy, war, global warming, energy, health care, gay marriage, and the Al Franken/Arlen Specter race for Comedian of the Year.

For more on this story, go to our new site: dumbeddownforAmerica.duh.
jack on May 1st, 2009 7:36 am

Hey Mikey
Mind if I use this here forum to remind your other three readers to attend the big socialized medicine rally? You do? Oh, sorry…

http://www.workerscenter.org/

Happy hour today?