C&A River Bottom Stables

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C&A River Bottom Stables

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09/03/2023

Long summer days are coming to an end - the nights are cooler and coming earlier.

A shame, as I can get so much done in summer. But, also a welcome relief that the quiet of winter nights is coming.

P.S. Can you see the stars?!

07/03/2023

Happy 4th Birthday Archie!
He had a solo adventure to the farm with us (a truck ride and a run through the grass), a Dairy Queen pup cup and a pork chop bone with supper.

06/27/2023

A little cow work last night. Getting these girls ready to AI. Using a Hereford bull this year for Fiona, Vanna, and maybe Red.

04/18/2022

Dyeing our farm fresh eggs for Easter!

03/31/2022

There is always that one horse that changes everything.

For me, it happened to be my very first horse.
It was a fluke she ended up being mine in the first place; thanks to deer taking down our fence, a boarded horse escapee, and a grandpa who wasn't going to let an opportunity pass.

The first time I rode her, I stayed on 30 feet or so before she took a sharp turn and I lawn darted.

There have been many more meetings with the ground over the years. Learning different training methods. New tack. A round pen. An outdoor arena. Four horse trailers. One 30 day session at a trainers. Many county fairs. Soooo many dirt road miles. Day trail rides. Countless overnight camping trips. New horses. New friends. A pregnancy (while still riding). And finally a little boy who loves to ride.

I have learned so much on this almost 10 year journey with this girl. Innumerable unforgettable memories. Hopefully so many to go as I learn to share and turn the reins over to a very excited four year old.

My hope is that he will learn and grow with her as I did. We are so very blessed to have such an amazing horse in the family.

If you are an equestrian reading this, I wish that you have or will get to experience such a special bond with your heart horse, as I have with Lady.

03/05/2022

False spring #1 in Minnesota.
When all the snow starts to melt, the frost hasn't come out of the ground yet and the water pools absolutely everywhere.

02/24/2022

Resetting my kitchen cupboard after some recent new additions from Christmas and my birthday! Excited for some new pretty workhorses.
Yes, I currently have potatoes and some overflow sugar on one side and my winter squash on the other. I was attempting to try storage that didn't include my field rock basement that has a few mice visiting it, but I'm teetering on the edge of my produce going bad. 😔 So, need to try another strategy next year.

02/23/2022

Blanketing Bebe tonight. She was shivering with the 40°F temp swing we've had over the past few days. For her second time being blanketed, she sure handled it well.

01/31/2022

Homestead supervisor.
Mouse control.
Cat matriarch.
Head honcho.

Suzie is many things on the farm and very dear to us.
One of four feral kittens I had to lock in the chicken coop to tame when they were young so many years ago. (It didn't take long to win them over.) All of their names started with a S and Suzie is the only one remaining out of that particular litter.
You can bet if you are doing something on the farm, she is somewhere near, making sure all is well.

Anyone else have a beloved farm cat 🐈?

01/30/2022

The essence of Horse Spirit is freedom. It is a noble and resilient force, with limitless energy at its core.” ― Lawren Leo

01/23/2022

Homemade sourdough granola bars.
A great way to use up some sourdough discard with a super yummy result.
These have oats, a banana, our honey, dried cranberries, dried blueberries and sliced almonds in them.
The little guy was pretty happy I let him clean up the empty honey jar.

01/16/2022

Sourdough.
Not always fancy round loaves.
Taking this snowy Saturday to try something new and made sourdough cinnamon rolls.

01/12/2022

Oh my heart ❤️

01/07/2022

How cute is this little girl?!
It's been weather yoyo out there this week going from -15°F to 40°F and back a few times.

Just look at those frosted up wiskers. 🥶

Molly here is not built for the extreme cold, so her and Gracie can commonly be found behind their favorite windbreak. They will also vacuum up any alfalfa I may drop when feeding the cattle. Of course, they also get a bit of extra loving too! ❤️

01/04/2022

Just two days after a high temp of -8°F, we hit a high of 40°F and the horses were just soaking up all the glorious sun.

12/26/2021

Scenes from a great Christmas!
So. Much. Good. Food.
💕Family💞

12/12/2021

What a difference 24 hours make!
The dusting of snow photo was the evening before a snowstorm officially dumped 10.6 ft of snow on us.
It's amazing how much extra work snow can add to a day.
A good chunk of the day was spent cleaning up snow around the homestead. It also makes chores each day take just a bit longer.

11/29/2021

What a perfect sky/sunset to close out the weekend.

11/09/2021

Another BIG project tackled here this past weekend before the ground freezes on us for the winter.
We need water at the two new cattle pens we are building, so it was time to dig a LONG and DEEP trench.
Here in Minnesota, we need to bury water line 6 feet down to prevent freezing (and that always isn't a guarantee on really cold years).
We put in a hydrant in the grove while we were at it and got set up for our new automatic waterer. Had to tee into an existing water line we put in 4 years ago and ran just shy of 200 feet of new water line.
Makes a mess while doing it, but it is sure going to be nice to have this set up done.

11/02/2021

Fall weekends are usually pretty busy around here as we tackle the projects we didn't get done during the summer before winter hits.

We've had this idea for a year, but are finally doing it.

The feeder calves are getting a new pen (a 60x60) and the cows are getting a new winter lot besides them. (We've had a temporary pen up with free standing panels in the area for a few years now - time to make it permanent.)

There will be a new Ritchie automatic waterer splitting the fence line when we are done.

The first step was accomplished this weekend as we augered 27 holes and set 27 chopped up telephone poles. The fence panels and gates will be attached to these.

We also had to work on moving some of the old cars we still have lying around the pasture, as they were in the way of where we want to build the fence lines. Some of them were rearranged to become wind breaks for the animals (yay frugal solutions to problems) and some of them are on their way to be sold.

Of course, it rained for 2 solid days last week, so we worked in sloppy muck for many of the poles. Thankfully, all three of us have boots that are a lifesaver in situations like these. Our bobcat was a workhorse that we utilized almost every step of the way.

10/30/2021

Wow! They have come so far! When we first introduced Jackson (right) to the herd, our palomino boy Bud (left) was not too accommodating and ended up in a time out pen by himself for a few weeks. A week out of time out, and although things aren't perfect yet, at least these two can be side by side now.
The herd interactions of horses never cease to intrigue me. Their social order is complex and always in flux.
Additionally, how cool is it to see the difference in palomino shades side by side? Golden and light.

10/24/2021

Checked a major project before winter off of our list.
These pine trees behind our house were all dead - from pine beetles.
They needed to come down before they fell on our house.... Actually, when Chris got in there working, he realized one had recently fallen and we were lucky it wasn't on the house!
He used a combination of the chainsaw, bobcat and backhoe to take all the trees down. (A grapple bucket is key for projects like these!)
I mostly took care of dumping the dump trailer in what has become a hugely massive burn pile, as well as picking up smaller sticks and cutting the old fence out of the trees.
There are a few stumps that need to come out yet and a load or two of logs and sticks that need to go to the burn pile.
Unfortunately, we are really going to miss this tree line this winter, as it was on the northwest side of our house.

10/18/2021

What a beautiful October evening for a ride here in southwestern Minnesota!
Enjoyed the beautiful light from the sun getting lower in the sky.
Also, it had been a month since riding Bebe and she acted like it was no big deal. 🙌

10/15/2021

Aren't they gorgeous?
Attempting to save any part of summer that I can as fall comes rolling in.
These babies are in the - three varieties: plain, Italian and Greek.
Mmmmm, oh so good!

10/11/2021

Wood splitting 2021 has commenced.

It can be a lot of work cutting the wood, bringing it home, splitting it, stacking it, hauling it, and maintaining a fire.

But that wood heat in the middle of a cold January day?

Priceless.

09/23/2021

The it's the first day of fall, but look at how crazy my garden is still producing even though I'm in zone 4b post. Seriously though, look at all that deliciousness.

09/10/2021

Last Sunday, Vanna FINALLY had her baby. Oliver has named her Taffy. Isn't she cute?

09/07/2021

I think it's overdue for this gals introduction. This is my new girl Bebe.
We went on our first trail ride together this weekend. We put on 6.7 miles and encountered hills, mud, rocks, water crossings, a bridge, a downed tree, a dog, people and other horses.
Welcome to the family Bebe!

08/05/2021

And we have found the stickers. I dislike this season.

07/25/2021

Today's colorful harvest.

I've got yellow squash, golden zucchini, Boston pickling cucs, national pickling cucs, calima bush beans, jade bush beans, Iroquois skunk pole beans, carminant purple filet pole beans, royal burgundy bush beans, dragon tongue bush beans, jalafuego jalapeno peppers and an Anaheim pepper.

Address

13
Windom, MN
56101

Website

https://candariverbottom.wixsite.com/website

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Videos

Found this sitting in my drafts. Puddles are always fun. . . . #candariverbottomstables #farmlife #farmkid

Blanketing Bebe tonight. She was shivering with the 40°F temp swing we've had over the past few days. For her second time being blanketed, she sure handled it well. . . . #candariverbottomstables #horse #horses #hobbyfarm #homestead #horsesofinstagram #minnesota #minnesotaweather #freezingcold

Gorgeous evening to do a little riding. . . . #CandARiverBottomStables #horse #horsesofinstagram #farm #farmlife #bayhorse #DannyBoy

Peepers has found the horse water. . . . #CandARiverBottomStables #homestead #homesteadliving #farm #farmlife #duck #muscovyduck

A quick little ride today in the gorgeous weather! Happy Easter! . . . #CandARiverBottomStables #horse #horsesofinstagram #baytobiano #mustang #painthorse #PaintedLadyGlitterSparkles #horsebackriding