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Ann, I never knew you, but I did.
Pete explained you to me – in so many words.
He said, “Ann can’t stand hypocrisy”
or words to that effect.
I have to quote him right,
for your editing spirit
will hold me to account.
Maybe I should paraphrase:
Pete said something to this effect —
That you couldn’t stomach hypocrites:
you precisely punctuated their beings;
you put commas to those
who had a chance to change,
periods to those who couldn’t,
exclamations to those who wouldn’t,
and question marks to none.
Or with your beloved horses
you would run them over
or plow them under to lie dormant
and await your spring to sprout
into beings worthy of your care.
Ann, I never knew you but I did.
Pete lovingly explained you to me.
Goodbye – for now.

Curtis L. Williams

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Yes, they are Brabants.

TWENTY YEARS of Fair Winds Gatherings celebrated… thanks to Jay & Janet / Mum & Dad for getting this great tradition started and leading the way. And thanks to Carl & Lisa for kicking it up a notch or two, and for, well, um, giving us all a chance to meet other great people who share our passion for draft animals & draft power. 😉

Thanks, EVERYONE for all your help. We are slowly trying to recover and finish getting tents taken down & things put back to normal. It sure was great to see all those videos so I could see what everyone was up to all weekend! What a great event and what a great group of people. So glad that so many could make it and look forward to next year.

Thanks again to all who helped out in ways big and small.
-Bekah

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Oh dear. Try http://www.nealperryfarm.com I’ll put you on the list – see you soon!

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Postmark your pre-registration for the Annual Gathering by TODAY for discounted meals… deadline extended!
It really helps us plan and makes check-in quicker if you send your registration in ahead of time. Please take a moment now to get yours in. Click here [URL=”http://http://www.nealperryfarm.com/2012%20Gathering%20reg%20form.pdf”]http://http://www.nealperryfarm.com/2012%20Gathering%20reg%20form.pdf[/URL] for the registration form and get it in the mail today.

We are expecting 8-10 teams and a strong turnout for demonstrations & workshops. Come join the fun! Don’t miss the tour of Fred Websters Farm Machinery Collection. Have you seen an Adriance mower in person? Was it sitting next to a Daine, a New Ideal and a stones’ throw from the mower that Sears Roebuck sold? And of course there is a McD#9 and a JD#4 too, about 20mowers in all, each representing a different time period, different gearing & different ideas about how it should work. There are barns and barns and barns full of fascinating stuff to see – don’t miss it! There will be kids activities going on at the Farm, please plan to leave kids there. We’ll leave the Perry Farm at 12:30 on Friday to carpool & caravan over to Freds, about 7 miles away.

Looking forward to a great weekend – hope you can join us!

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The fun is stacking up! Lots of momentum building for the Gathering – calling one and all to take advantage of the newly extended pre-registration deadline: send your registration form by September 10 for reduced rates… Here is a link to the form: Gathering registration form here.

See you all soon!

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Come and check it out! We are so excited about our newest farm tractor – an Alice Chalmers WD45 with ground-speed PTO that Neal pulled out of the woods behind his Aunt’s house and dragged home (literally – one wheel was missing), complete with 4″ maple growing up through the middle of it.

Thanks to the help of his inventor & welder friend, Phil Beaudry, it is now a super-slick PTO forecart that is pulled easily with two or three horses to run our 18′ gyro tedder and soon a haybine and bailer. One of the neatest features is that the transmission allows 4 different forward speeds for the PTO, allowing us to use the tedder to rake hay into two windrows or to spread/fluff it. And revers means that it is easy to unplug without backing the horses. A hydrolic pump & battery are mounted on the back so we’ll be able to lift equipment as well.

I’ve attached a photo to whet your appetite, but come and check it out in action! And bring photos & stories of similar experiments to share.

This photo is from the first day we used it. It has since gotten a bunch more grease and some additional weight removed so it is pulling easier. Our Brabant paired with a large Morgan tedded & raked several acres with no problem last weekend. There are no doubt still some bugs to work out but overall we are so delighted with how it runs, and less than $2,000 in to it.

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Anyone out there willing to do some videoing? We don’t have any equipment or expertise, but if others do, that’s great. -Bekah

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until September 10
In light of the recent hurricane and related upheaval, we have extended the preregistration deadline for the FWF Gathering until September 10. Get a discount on meals and registration by sending your form in early! We really rely on your preregistration to know how much food, how many chairs, etc. It will be a weekend of working animals, learning by doing, asking, watching and listening with lots of experienced teamsters on hand to share their knowledge and experience. Come join us!

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Great to hear about their progress – what a rewarding project! Aren’t rubber curries the best?

The most challenging one may be the most rewarding in the end…Good luck and keep us updated!

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Go for it, Jennifer… the farther we spread the good words, the more good they do! Looking forward to hearing updates on those ponies.

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Best of luck to you, Maxwell. Sounds like you are following my favorite piece of training advice… “when in doubt, just pretend that you are making progress”. Go slow and stay safe.

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Hi Donn and all,

I’m so glad that you have Connie – she is a great mare. She and her team mate were here when they first came from Wisconsin, stayed here for a month or so of training. I think that the woman you bought her from got them as a broke team, though they had not worked together much. We filled in a couple of gaps, but they were going nicely when they left here. Thanks for sharing the pictures, and thank the photographer – they are really great.

As to the question of ground driving first or after, I’m always going for the safest option. I’m not a cat – only have one life, as far as I can tell. I start every horse just as Donn shows in the pics – one piece at a time, slow as can be, just add one new thing at a time. Once they understand that the noise behind them stops when they stop, and the stick against their leg isn’t a threat, then I hook them, first to something dragging, then to a pole.

Enjoy!

-Bekah Murchison
Fair Winds Farm

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