Quiet Days Of Fall-horses,training,daily routines in the forest

It's been a bit of a gloomy week around here with cold fronts, high winds, and even our first snow. It's all a reminder of the winter that's soon to come. I find myself enjoying the chill air, although the windy days I can really do without. That's just not a fun time. Anyways, the animals have all been great. I started making a course on training and how I connect with weavers, so I'm really excited about that, but don't tell anyone. It's going to be a little while before it's finished. We finished building Rook and Riddle's little area. It is just a temporary spot for the winter, and then we're going to move the pen and their little house to the back of the barn. The animals are all fattening up for the season and getting some hay on these cold days. Feeding is one of my favorite chores. I love seeing everybody munching and cozy under the barn. The wind is absolutely insane. Trees are leaning so hard. I'm like, oh, crap. The horses can have the day off. I'm going to take this opportunity to catch up on some chores, and then I'm just going to go inside and get out of this wind because it's freaking nuts. The goats are now freely roaming the property and doing their job at eating weeds and brush. Duchess is tapping into her Pyrenees instincts and is always watching over them. Although I wish the weather was a bit better today, it is nice to have an excuse to catch up on chores. So it's mid-October and we're getting our very first snowfall. It didn't last for very long, but it was still pretty fun to experience it. I'm working with Weaver on getting her more comfortable with her back legs being handled. She's still pretty tense when I trim her back feet. So I'm just revisiting that foundation work and getting her more confident. I saw that trout was taking a nap, so of course I had to go and snuggle with him for a few minutes. As soon as you sit down, he'll put his head on your lap and it's just, oh, it's so cute. It'll melt your heart. Getting back to work with Weaver, I'm teaching her a new trick and having her spin in a circle. It's her first day at it, so we're taking it slow. By moving my body, I'm able to give her direction and tell her where to go. Eventually I won't have to move very much to give her a cue, and then her circles are going to be smaller and faster. We've also started some Liberty canter work. She isn't in the best shape, so this will be really good for her. The connection tends to get lost when you introduce more speed, so we'll keep working at it. Trout has started helping himself into the goat pen. Today is much nicer than the last several have been. The wind has died down and the sun is out. Si is so cute waiting for his grain. Looks like Little Miss has figured out where the treats are. Her circles are already much better today. She seems to be gaining a bit of an understanding of it. I was happy to see her pick up a canter and maintain a connection with me. She's obviously not maintaining the canter, but she's giving it a good try. And if she's trying, that's what matters. It's a brick by brick process. Si was due for a trim, and then I took him for a little ride in the square