Day of Rest

I’m told Sundays are supposed to be a day of rest. I’m not sure how that works when living on a farm, having livestock and working from home. Day of rest? That normally happens when I get sick. Thankfully, I haven’t had any “day of rest” sicknesses in a while. (knock on wood) With spring finally happening, there is far too much to do for resting!

Last night, Hubby and I bottled our black cherry wine, plus got our hard pink lemonade stabilized and clearing (bottle in 2 weeks….yummy!!).
That was after a day at the stable, feeding the Girls, making supper (hooray for crock pots doing 85% of the work), and cleaning the kitchen.

I was also going to do tomato and pepper seeds….oh, did I mention how I had started the seeds back on Spring Break? And how I forgot to water them, being busy and them being in the basement bathroom, and everything died? And how I have to re-start everything?!?
No?
Okay, well, I just did.
*sigh*

No rest for today either, because we’re working on the pig yard. Yup, we’re getting piglets. Just moments ago, I confirmed our request for 4 piggies. 🙂 Pick up is supposed to be next Saturday, so we have some work to do! Mmmmmmm, a summer of raising piggies, and in the fall, they’ll go to Freezer Camp.
Oh, my smoker is going to be busy! 😀
I’m looking forward to it.

And now, onto some pictures…
Friday’s Hunt this week had the prompts, Starts with Q, Week’s Favorite, and At Rest.

Q is a tough letter…until I realized I had 3, probably 4 “q” in my pasture…
Quarter horses!
Most obvious is Astrid…she’s a grade quarter horse (meaning not registered with the American Quarter Horse Association) from Saskatchewan. How she ended up at auction in Manitoba and ultimately picked up by Rescue I don’t know.
Actually, I don’t care.
It put her on the road to us, so the how’s and why’s don’t much matter.
We’re happy to have Little Red here. 🙂

“Oh, hello. Got any treats for me?”

Playing in the mud…

Little Girl makes a low, quick turn and pours on the gas to chase Cookie…

She sure does love muddin’!

She’s also a great big sweetie at times too…

Kisses and snuggles with a friend. 🙂

This week’s favorite are a few. No surprise there!

This one…

Later Cookie.
Enjoy your nap.
❤

And this one…

“I’m so tired, Mom…”

Yeah, can’t help but love those. 🙂
And then there were these two…

Oh Ruby!!
Should I just call you Mud-a-Roo?

Cookie wasn’t quite as bad as Ruby…but then, this is after I took the huge clumps of mud off her eyelashes.
Dork. ❤

And then there’s this one…

Biiiiig yawns!

Not from last week, but still a favorite. I figured since I shared pictures of everyone else, I couldn’t leave Sable out. And, since the pictures of the others weren’t terribly flattering, it’s only fair to give you a yawning horse face for Sable’s picture. 😉

Thursday, I looked out the front window to see this…

Erik the Viking at rest.

I’ll be honest, when I tapped the window and he didn’t so much as flick an ear, I got a little bit worried. I thought maybe he’d died. I grabbed the camera and Daphne, and out we headed to check on him.
Turns out, he was just having a good nap…

Still at rest, but kinda grumpy we woke him.

That face! Hahaha!! Just a little pissed at me for waking him up. I told him he was lucky I cared enough to make sure he was still alive. He didn’t care. 😛

Then there’s this guy…

Something about napping beside my garden boxes appeals to the cats.

We’ve named him Toby.

Sharing with Friday’s Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.

After the Rains

Came the sunshine.
Thank goodness! We’re feeling very sunlight deprived right now, so yesterday’s light made everyone feel good…well, except for The Kid. She’s been down with a cold since Thursday. Poor girlie…we’re on day 5 of being sick, day 3 of missed school. 😦

But, sunshine!! lol
The Kid did get out for a bit yesterday, just for some fresh air and sunlight. The light does tired bodies good, even if it doesn’t feel like it right away.
Just ask Cookie…

Enjoying the sunshine…

Yeah, stepped outside to give the cats some milk, and that’s what I saw ^^^ Of course, I grabbed the camera and wandered down to the pasture.

“I’m so tired, Mom…” (Sweetest face ever! Is it any wonder I love kissing her?)

“I just need to rest a little, ‘kay?”

“This sunshine…feels so good…”

” I just…I can’t…Zzzzzzzz”

Later Cookie.
Enjoy your nap.
❤

Once I was done taking her picture (and, unfortunately, getting her up on her feet, to be sure she wasn’t stuck), I noticed this fellow on one of the straw bales beside the auto waterer…

Hello Handsome!

That’s not Felix.
But, based on size, looks, and temperament, it’s safe to say he’s a brother.
After I took his picture, he let me pet him, and later on, after we fed the Girls, Hubby easily picked him up. He purred and cooed and snuggled.
All the while Felix hollered at me for even *looking* at another b/w cat!
Felix is a pretty big Mama Suck (surprise!) so yeah, I had to snuggle him afterwards and give him a little treat to let him know I still love him. 😛

Water, Water Every Where!!

Remember I said Lake Midnight had receded?
Torrential downpours since Thursday evening have brought the Lake back. So much so that we have ducks swimming in the pasture (starts with p)…

Ducks in Lake Midnight

At the top of the picture you’ll see 2 arrows…those are pointing to my fence posts. Just in case you didn’t believe me that those ducks were in my pasture. 😉

One of my favorite pictures from this past week (week’s favorite) comes from before the rains.
You saw this one in a previous post…

Astrid ~ “Mom’s here! Maybe she has treats!”
Ruby ~ “Nope. She’s got the beepy thing.”
Cookie ~ “Zzzzzzzzzz…..”

My favorite part is this…

❤

I love that tummy! When she’s flat-out like that, if I talk quietly, and don’t sneak, I can come up on her back side (never, ever hoof side!) and sit beside her. When I do that, I love lying over her side and rubbing that tummy. She just sighs and goes on sleeping.
It just goes to show how far her and I have come together…when she first came home, approaching her while lying down was impossible. Now, no biggie and I can be hands on with her too. ❤

With the rains, our internet was down yesterday, so I finished the preliminary run through on the Schooling Show images. From 1378 down to 238…sounds crazy, I know, but action is fast and furious, so I shoot the same and edit later. Now for a secondary edit, then fine tuning and finally, uploading to share.

I also had a chance to pick a few more shots of Astrid and Ruby playing in the previous incarnation of Lake Midnight…perfect in motion shots…

Astrid…testing the waters.

Ruby gets things started…

Splashing together…

Astrid, getting up from trying to roll…she was so frustrated that she couldn’t roll!

Ruby tries to have a drink from the splashes…

Astrid licks Ruby, while Ruby blows bubbles.

They’re like toddlers in a wading pool! 😀

Sharing with Friday’s Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.

Day of Pink

Not P!nk, though, I did have her one the stereo last night.
No, I’m talking about the Red Cross’ Day of Pink anti bullying campaign.
The Kid’s school participates in the day’s activities, sells the shirts, and is really quite good at handling any bullying incidents.
Every year, we buy shirts, because, well, t-shirts for $5. And, yes, I like the cause. Around the farm, we always need t-shirts. I don’t care that they’re pink. In fact, I buy myself a couple, so I have 1 for wearing out-it goes in the “good clothes” pile and the previous year’s ones go into the “around the farm” clothes pile.

This year, The Kid and I wanted to do something to include the animals in the Day of Pink. Just for fun.
But we can’t put a t-shirt on a horse, and the cats were not thrilled about the idea, so we used pink flowers clips.
Okay, it was just an excuse to put flowers on the animals.
I’ll admit it. 😛

It started with Nancy…

The lace clips are supposed to be “cat ears” as part of a costume. Well, they’re Nancy ears…

Weasie was not impressed…remember that look…you’ll see it later!

Or, in Daisy Mae’s case, they were wings.

Odhinn was happy to wear the pink flower…

Nothing bothers Odhinn…ever. He’s cool with whatever I do to him. 🙂

Surprisingly, when it came to the horses, we didn’t start with Sable.
Nope.
This time, we started with Cookie…who, in coming to the gate, volunteered to be first. In my opinion.

“Oh Mother…why must you do these things to me?”

She prefers blue. lol
When I put the blue flowers in her forelock and on her halter, she prances and dances and arches that pretty neck…pink flowers, I get this ^^^ Funny Girl!

“Hahahaha!! You thought you were safe when they started with me, didn’t ya, Blondie?!!?” ~Cookie

Holy grumpy ears!

Yeah, that was because she didn’t go first. Really, this mare **likes** this stuff, so if she’s not first, she’s a big crabby pants about it. Of course, the ears could be because Cookie was in her face too. 😉

Taking the flowers out of her forelock…

“Got you too, eh Red?
Hahahahaha!!!”
~Cookie

Cookie can be a bit of a jerk sometimes. 😛
But, I love that she sniffed the flowers in both Sable and Astrid’s forelocks.

Awww! She looks so cute!

See? I told you to remember that look Weasie had…Ruby’s wearing it too!!

Finally, we had a couple of the barn cats on the deck and gave them the flower treatment too…

Storm, waiting so happily for her next flower. 🙂

Felix

He sure is pretty in pink. ❤

What a Difference 10 Days Makes…

10 days since my last post and so much has gone on here…

First, Lake Midnight has receded. YAY!!!
Now we’re deep into Mud Season. Which y’all saw some of in my “Dance!” post. Yeah, it’s a little muddier out there now. Soon, though…with sunshine and warmer winds, the standing water will soak into the ground and the grass will begin to grow.
Here, see some of the fun Ruby and Astrid were having in the Lake…

Astrid told me she’d had a bath, and was no longer a stinky little horse…

Yeah, I begged to differ! She was as stinky as before…if not more so!

Silly girl, was sure she could roll in the water…this is the moment she learned she can’t breath underwater. 😛

And then, Ms Cookie decided to show them how splashing is really done…

“Oh, you bitches are so cute with your teeny splashes…let me show you how this is done!”

Photo ops with water playing horses are awesome! ❤

And then, there was Parker…
Unfortunately, Sir Parker could not stay with us. 😦
Parker is a great dog…he’s calm, quiet, well-behaved, and listens well. He likes to run and play with the jolly ball, and in the house he loves when someone sits on the floor with him. Lying in a lap is one of his favorite places.
I was easily in love with him…
So, why couldn’t he stay with us?

He bit Sable’s muzzle.

That was April 5th.
He was playing outside with Daphne, and when the Girls had the heads over the fence, he jumped at both Astrid and Ruby. While I was reprimanding him for that, and in the midst of hooking up his leash again, Sable popped her head over the fence, Parker pulled loose and lunged, catching her muzzle, and drawing blood.
*sigh*
Not so bad that I had to have the vet out, but still…
That led to a chain of events that saw, after a false start on Friday, him being loaded onto an airplane and being sent back to the West Coast.

At one point, on the Friday, I really began thinking we were making a mistake, sending him back. We were driving into the airport and he was lying on the seat beside me, head in my lap, snoring…he was the sweetest dog ever. And my heart was breaking at the though of giving him up.
But then, we got a text saying the flight had been cancelled and we had to keep him ’til Monday and send him out then.
Back home we went, where, when we pulled in Astrid was standing by the garage, head over the fence…
Understand here, my horses are very people friendly. They love pets and scratches and hands on time with people. For them to greet us when coming home is a normal thing. So Astrid (or any of the Girls) waiting for me to get out of the truck to get some love is the norm around here…

So imagine my surprise when Parker comes flying out of the truck and hits the end of the leash, damn near dragging me off my feet! And what was he after?? Yeah, he was lunging at Astrid’s face.

So that just confirmed that we had made the right decision.
Thank freakin’ goodness I had the smarts to hang onto the leash when getting out of the truck, or goodness only knows what he’d have done to Astrid.
Monday, we got him to the airline (after a quick trip to a nearby pet store and a 2nd new crate purchase, because he was too big for the first one), checked him in and walked away. And I sat in the truck and cried.

I am not one to give up on an animal.
And it’s not like I don’t have 20 years experience with German Shepherds…
But, let’s face it…what do I do with a dog the size of a wolf, who’s prey drive is so strong that he’s willing to repeatedly go after horses?
I mean, the Girls were here first. They have seniority! I can’t take the chance of putting their safety at risk, for the love of a dog.
Oh, and I loved him.
And don’t think I didn’t try to make it work.
Trust me, it breaks my heart that I couldn’t make it work…for us, for Parker…he was so happy here, with the space to run, his jolly ball, Daphne to play with…Daphne loved having a pal to run with!
One day…
One day, we’ll try again to add a second dog.
Just not right now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, in the midst of all this going on with Parker, the West Wind Family lost a gelding named Jack.

Jack enjoying his grain…

He was a sweet spirited horse, who so many of the riders loved. He was one of those baby sitter type boys, where you could put absolute beginners on him, and he was one of the therapy horses for MRDA.
For a big guy, he was amazingly gentle.
He was also a great horse for the more experienced riders.
My Girlie enjoyed when she got to work with him.

The memorial for Jack in his stall… ❤

Brazzle wonders what the heck I’m doing.

I love that the folks who run the stable do the stall memorials. It’s so much better than coming in to see an empty stall…or, even worse, a whole new horse in the stall, like the one who crossed the Bridge was so easily forgotten. This gives us all a chance to say goodbye and shed a few tears…which makes taking pictures hard. Just so you all know. 😥 ❤
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the end of it all, I did what I do best…wandered around with my camera and took pictures. Edited some old ones, and I’m still working through the shots from the March Schooling Show.
Photography is therapy, as I’m sure many of you know.
It soothes the heart and spirit.
It gives us something else to hold onto for a while.
The capturing (or creating) of an image that offers a little escape, and yet reminds us of what we were feeling at the same time.

My escape this week was muddy, sleepy horses. What else? lol

Astrid ~ “Mom’s here! Maybe she has treats!”
Ruby ~ “Nope. She’s got the beepy thing.”
Cookie ~ “Zzzzzzzzzz…..”

Ruby ~ “Mom and that darn beepy thing again…”
Sable ~ “Zzzzzzz….”
Cookie ~ “….I’m gone…”

Who could ask for anything more?

Introducing Parker

Parker is a pure bred German Shepherd youngster who has joined us on the Farm.

“This is my toy!”

He is our new farm dog (n is for new).
He comes from the West Coast of Canada, where he was much-loved by his Boy, but, life happened. As it sometimes does. And, Sir Parker needed a soft place to land.
80 acres, a friend in Daphne, cats, horses, a jolly ball…all new stuff for him. And a few adjustment pains…

What’s left of Midnight’s driver seat.

My (vintage) truck got a bit of a remodel…thanks to Parker.

Right down to the frame!

Oh my!

But, sometimes, when life happens, a Pup has anxiety about his life changing. Sometimes that manifests in the destruction of a truck seat.

Oh, that face, though!

I couldn’t give him trouble…he knew I was upset, but it was human (Mine. All mine) error that put him in the position to be able to eat Midnight in the first place. So, when he came out of Midnight, he already was feeling the anxiety of knowing he’d done something wrong, fighting with the joy of people returning to him.
Best thing to do was give him a simple-to-do command, and praise him for doing it. Redirect the anxiety to “Oh! I can do that!!”
🙂

Swans!

Happy to see the swans return. (week’s favorite)
Though, I daresay, they are not likely terribly happy for the latest blast of winter weather we’re getting. I know we humans (horses, dogs, cats) are not.
*sigh*
Can’t we just have Spring already?

The Girls…huddled up beside the shelter.

We’ll all be happy when Spring finally settles in.

Sharing with Friday’s Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.