Wrangler Can Paint Watercolor Series #8,9,10 and 11!

Wrangler had a great week painting.  Someone asked what was I going to do with his paintings?  Well, family members have spoken for several and there is a request for one to go to a silent auction fund raiser.  I am thinking of  offering some for sale but I don't really know what the market would be.  I have started a facebook page for Wrangler here, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wrangler-Can-Paint/1564066673842790 

 He did this one on Monday.  I mixed the brown and green ahead of time and E said it looked like camouflage.  So, when Wangler was painting, I had him finish with a couple of swipes of red.  I might name this one "The Hunt".

 Then I splurged and bought Wrangler some new paint brushes.

 I had just be using some brushes I had in the garage.  I wrap socks around the handles then duct tape.

 Yesterday he did the first painting so fast that I had him do another.

 My sister is wanting Wrangler to donate one to a fundraiser she is in charge of at a botanical garden.  I thought these colors looked like flowers.  Maybe it will be a hit.

 I liked the colors so much I had him do a second one.

Then E came to the barn and she suggested college colors,   Wrangler was still in the mood so I tried to mix orange and maroon, GO HOKIES!  The orange is easy but I think I might have missed the mark a little on the maroon.

I no longer worry about him eating the brush.  He has gotten very good at spitting it out after he does a few swipes.   And since I have taken more time with the colors I think his artwork is really coming along nicely.

P.S. Someone is coming to look at him today about buying.  I knew that would happen as soon as I taught him something cool.

Snow and Trees

It's hard not to love pictures of trees in the snow.

 This walnut is one of my favorites. 

 Maybe because I see it everyday as I go down the driveway.

Even the when faced with having to drive through this I still like the look of the trees in the snow.

Good Fences #49

This was last week but we woke up to 5 more inches of snow this morning.

You've got to have a good fence around the bale lot.  Those hay bales really start disappearing in this weather.

This is a fence tightener on the top wire which is electric.  The hay is well guarded and doled out daily to 347 bovines by my dedicated farmer husband.

For more Good Fences click HERE.

Goats and Snow Don't Mix

Our goats have never been fans of wet weather, 

 particularly if that wetness is in the form of snow. 

 The dogs on the other hand seem to thrive in it.

 Frosty is a bottle goat from a couple of years ago that was born during a blizzard (hence the name Frosty) The billy goat had gotten out early and bred a few nannies that kidded in February instead of April like we were wanting.  This is one of the reasons we now sell the billy goat after the nannies kid instead of trying to keep him for another year.  I hate having to get the bottle ones back into the herd, but when it works it is nice walking through them and having some you can pet.

During this cold snowy spell the goats have even resorted to eating some hay.  This is pretty unusual for them as they like to roam and browse everywhere.

Just Kit Sunday #79

I finally caught Kit Kat outside in the snow for a photo shoot. 

 He much prefers his different beds around the garage during this cold weather.

 Maybe the cold dry air has given him an itch.

Hope you are staying warm and keeping your feet dry.

Wrangler's Watercolor Series #7

Well, it warmed up enough yesterday for Wrangler to do a new painting.  I had to take a jug of hot water down to the barn to rinse his brush and J had brought the paints to the house earlier in the week so they weren't frozen.

Wrangler, the painting horse

 A little late for Valentine's Day but I like pink year round anyway.

 This one took a little longer than usual.  Even though he might have been distracted by the tractor parked near his easel, I think his usual quality is still there.

 And he obviously has never heard the line from Steve Martins famous SNL skit, "Don't put your lips on it."

here's the clip if anyone is interested in 1970's comedy.

Wrangler was ready to head back to the herd (or the hay) after completing his 7th masterpiece.
And Wrangler today can only mean one thing for tomorrow.  Kit Kat fans stay tuned.

Winter Feeding and Warning...Creepy Picture

J has been saving the center of a round bale and rolling out for the horses until the weather got bitterly cold.

Then he set a whole round bale out for them a couple of days ago.  For some reason he likes to send me out with a pitch fork to spread it around after they have made a mess of it.

 While I was down there I rebroke the ice on the water tank and Wangler came running.

 He had his fill then ran back to the hay bale.   It's been too cold for him to paint and I'm sure he is bored.  

 After I spread the hay out into piles the horses still seem to prefer the middle.  With the ground frozen so hard they are not as likely to make as big of a mess as if the ground were soft and they just stomped the hay into the mud.

 And pretty much every day when J comes in from feeding the cattle he comments that he is glad we aren't calving now.  A neighbor has already lost 5 calves to this brutal weather.  Minus 3 last night (-20 wind chill)

And now for the warning...Creepy picture ahead.....

I told E that I was changing my facebook picture.  Her comment, "Don't put that picture anywhere near the internet!"  I think I'm safe with the blog aren't I?

Good Fences #48

Otherwise know as "The Deep Freeze"

 I'm sure others are colder with deeper snow

 but minus 2 is pretty cold for us.

Glad this doesn't happen every year.
For more Good Fences click HERE.

Emergency Wood Pile

J has little jags of wood all over the farm.  Most of them are in hard to get to areas so J has an emergency pile out by the red barn.  

 This is along the driveway/road out by the hay lot so he can always get to it.

With snow and temperatures predicted to get to  -11 (not including windchill) by Thursday, I think that constitutes an emergency.

Wrangler's Watercolor Series #6

Between the weather and the judging contest Wrangler only got one painting done this week.

Painting by a horse

I'm not sure you can make anything out of this one.

Good Fences #47

When I went out Saturday afternoon to feed the dogs the sun was shining off of the high tensile fence making it glow. 

 I thought it looked like it was made of florescent lights.

 Amazing how the angle of the sun can make an ordinary object look extraordinary.

For more Good Fences click HERE.

Bad Horse For Sale Pictures #25

Roughly 15.2hh 16-17 year old Saddlebred mare for sale.

 Prefers to be turned out but will stay in a stall

Q: is she registered? ever foaled?

A: She is, but I have misplaced her papers and cannot remember her registered name, and to my knowledge no she has never foaled

 Q: More pics out of stall?

A:  I have tried to send you video of her, but am unable to

Facebook has been a constant source of entertainment.

4-H Judging Practice

We had our last 4-H horse judging practice before our scheduled contest next week.  I have a team of 4 juniors (3 eleven year olds and one 9) and one senior that have stuck with it since our first practice in November.  

 None of these kids have judged before but there is a strong love of horses and even some enthusiasm.

 All of the previous practices have just been inside with pictures.  This time I brought them to my barn for some live horse practice.  First we had a halter class where they took notes and placed the class.  Then we talked about pattern classes and made sure everyone knew what leads were and how to tell if the horse was on the correct lead.  Then we did a horsemanship pattern.  J rode Brother,  E (who is my co-coach) was on Otoelene, I rode Wrangler and one of the girls grandfather did a great job with Hank.

 The kids all did great paying attention and taking notes.

I then had them write out their reasons on the halter class and present them to me like at a contest.  They are doing great for their first time but I'm a little worried that the contest will be overwhelming.  I've told them how proud I am that they have stuck with it and as far as I'm concerned just finishing the contest will be winning.  If they stay interested I think they could be pretty competitive by the time they are seniors!

Wrangler's Watercolor Series #4 and #5

Wrangler's paintings are getting better and better. 

Painting by a horse

 He was very prolific this week and completed 2 paintings.

 I might have to start coming up with some titles for these.

He even managed to not snort or put his lips on them so there is no "foreign"  material on the paintings. 

He has 3 techniques; take the brush and make a bold vertical stroke before dropping it, take the brush from me standing on his left and swing he's head away from me to the right and drop it, and this last one where he holds the brush for a long time chewing on it and pushing it against the paper.

Here's a short clip of the third technique.  Now I have to come up with a price for these masterpieces.

Good Fences #46

I really like the strong shadow of this fence the day we hauled the heifers back to the house. 

For more Good Fences click HERE.