The Trip Home

Our bred heifers have spent the summer and fall on one rented farm and the winter on another.  Now it's time for them to come back home. 

J is like the Pied Piper of cattle.  Of course is doesn't hurt to be carrying some good tasting hay.  

 Twenty two heifers made for 2 trips.  The Holstein got in from the neighbor's property a couple of weeks ago.  They have yet to get him out and the number J has for them is disconnected.  It's someone that is renting the land and won't work on the fences.  J makes sure to have a hot wire on our side so ours won't get out, but that doesn't keep the ones on the other side from coming in.

 The heifers have really gotten use to loading.  No trouble there. 

 Plus, we had the pleasure of E helping us. 

 Instead of driving through the farm and opening umpteen gates, J decided to drive up the gravel road to the back side of the farm and let them out in the road. 

Then is was just a matter of turning them and driving them through the gate.

Home again, home again jiggity jog.

In Bloom At The 4R's And An Extra

Can you believe I got it to bloom again?  This is such an amazing orchid that my brother gave me for Christmas a few years ago.  Last year it rebloomed and the blooms lasted FIVE MONTHS!

 It just started blooming again this year and is beautiful once again.

 Then while in town last week, I stopped in at Goodwill and found this very classic jewelry box by the Bombay Company.

New ones look like they run in the $80 plus range.  I got a steal at $6.

Good Fences #45

Bulls on one side, 

 with me on the other side, 

I'm glad there is a good fence in between. 

For more Good Fences click HERE.

Sunday Ride

J and I had a nice ride on Brother and Otoelene Sunday afternoon.  It looked like it was going to be the last nice day for awhile.

 We started off in the barn but I said, "let's ride around the gravel road."

 J said we didn't have time because I had to leave for a meeting by 4:00.  I said it was a horse show committee meeting and they would understand if I was late.

 Because who with a horse wouldn't appreciate an almost 50 degree day in the middle of winter.

The horses did great, and I was just a little late.

Wrangler's Art Gallery

I was out of Kit Kat pictures today and it was too cold this morning to go chase him around for a new one so I decided to substitute Wrangler's latest artwork for Kit Kat Sunday. 

I think this is his best work yet.

But I was injured in the process.  He broke another paint brush handle and bit my finger while he was grabbing the brush.  What I go through for a temperamental artist.  

Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me

This was suppose to be a happy, jubilant post about home improvement.

 I had been wanting this product for a couple of years now.  I finally ordered it and it came this week. (I got 2, one for each downstairs bathroom).  I thought I would start in my bathroom first so I would have my technique perfected for the guest bath.

 It was to hid this unsightly plunger and toilet brush.  I had planed and planed, reading reviews and watching youtube installation videos.  I was so ready.  I measured and remeasured.  I picked the perfect wall, no outlets, nothing on the other side of the wall but a short hall, all the plumbing should be behind the toilet..

 Look how excited I was to even take a picture of the product when I took it out of the box.  Then I cut the opening...

 WHAT?!?!  WHY IS THERE A PIPE THERE?  WHAT'S THAT PIPE EVEN FOR?

Now I'm just depressed.  I have a massive hole in the drywall to fix, no where else in the bathroom suitable for it (not like I want to cut another gaping hole in my walls), and I will probably have to repaint the entire room, FOR NOTHING!

Good Fences #44

Beautiful blue sky, trees and a fence, 

 as seen on my latest ride 

with Otoelene. 

For more Good Fences click HERE. 

Bad Horse For Sale Pictures #24

I guess their camera was unable to get the whole horse in the picture in 4 tries.  And surprisingly, no where in the ad did it list that the saddle was included.

Feeding and Painting and Happy 100!

The calves are starting to get the hang of eating grain. 

 They all haven't started coming when J pours it out so he has been having to walk around the entire field, hills and hollers and all, to round them up every morning.

 He has had to treat a couple more for respiratory problems but so far hasn't had to retreat any.

 Emma is making friends as usual.

And Wrangler has completed another painting.  This one is his first on actual watercolor paper.  I've had a couple of interested callers (he is for sale) so I thought I better get a stockpile of art work just in case someone actually buys him.

And welcome to Desert Survivor for being my 100th follower.  It only took 7 years, but who's counting?

Just Kit Sunday # 78

Please excuse the poor focus, but these expressions were just too good to not use.  Can you tell Kit was wanting in?

 "Please, please, please,  let me in."

 "You better be opening that door if you know what's good for you."

'OK, really? Enough with the pictures and open the door."

Rounding Up and Sorting

Today we rounded up our weaned calves to sort out the replacement heifers and hold back some of the smaller steers and heifers.  There were also a few that we needed to treat for a respiratory bug that is going through the group we moved in. 

 It seemed to go pretty smoothly to start with.

 And the weather was cooperating, blue skies and somewhat mild temperatures.

 There was only one problem.  J couldn't find one of the ones he knew needed to be treated.

 So another trip out to the field yielded 2 more.

 We marked their faces so it will be easier for J to keep a check on them when he's feeding.

Then the heifers got turned out to be on pasture and hay for the winter while the steers and cull heifers will get started on grain in preparation for their trip out west.

Good Fences # 43

First, some background information.  V and E had a trampoline once. 

 We get a lot of wind where we are.  One day we came home and the trampoline had been blown onto the fence.  It took out the satellite dish on the way across the yard and that's when we switched to Direct TV because Dish wouldn't fix it.  Anyway, the trampoline was still usable for a few more months, until.....

 it blew completely over the fence and down the hill and wrapped around a tree.  That was in 2009.  E asked for a trampoline for her birthday this year.  J said it wasn't staying in the yard (no pun intended) because he was not going to have to mow around it all the time.

 So me and E spent a day last month setting it up at the barn.  (Otoelene helped)

It was a lot of work. 

 But worth it to see the joy on E's face.  Now for the fence. 

Because it is at the barn and the horses are sometime loose in this area and we didn't want it chewed on, we had to fence it in with corral panels.   E even went to the extreme to tie it to the hitching post - just in case.

For more Good Fences click HERE.

Bad Horse For Sale Pictures #23

This one is so bad it's beyond pitiful.  It really makes me angry and sad that people like this are even allowed to have a horse.  Horses are such a privilege to own yet some people treat them like this. 

For sale or trade $600 11 yr old registered palomino mare kid broke follows you through the field hate to sell but have to downsize her leg is scarred a little because she got in the fence

 There was then some conversation in the comments that included this
 How long ago was she injured?
bout a week and a half
 Is she sound on it?
When ur ridin but when shes in the field she does when its cold
 What kind of fence did she get caught in?
barbwire but it was lose and i didnt know

This horse needs to be rescued not sold.

New Riders

 Yesterday was a busy day here at the barn.  V brought her new boyfriend Matt to ride.  He's never even touched a horse before.

 So Hank the Wonder Horse was called into action.

 Matt did really well getting on and steering.  Maybe next time he'll be ready to try and trot.  We had a nice visit getting to know him and they even stayed for supper.

At the same time a colleague and her 7 year old daughter Haley came to ride too.  (I had given the camera to V so I could concentrate on helping Haley.  The pictures are very heavy on Matt and only these 2 of Haley. I should have known better.)  Haley had taken some riding lessons back in the summer and fall with some ancient horses and she has a pony of her own but no real bridle or saddle yet that fits her.  She was so enthusiastic, hugged me, hugged all the horses, wanted to stay until midnight.  I started her out on Otoelene because I was pretty sure Otoelene wouldn't run off with her.    

It wasn't long before I saw the problem.  Haley wants to go fast.  She wasn't satisfied with a western pleasure jog, she wanted to go, go, go.  Otoelene finally figured out what Haley was wanting and turned out looking like a nice hunter pony.  But then Haley wanted to canter.  Otoelene had had enough by this time.  After an hour of fast trotting she bucked a little when we asked to canter and Haley then switched to Hank. She trotted and cantered Hank for another hour until her mother, who had been brave enough to be riding Jessica (sorry, no picture), made her stop.   Haley wanted to buy Hank and take him home.  I had to explain how special Hank is and that his forever home is right here.   I'm sure our horses won her over and she'll be back again soon.