Temporary Reprieve

With Thanksgiving over, I think the wild turkeys are feeling a little more brave.

There were about 40 in the field as I went down the driveway this morning.

They didn’t seem concerned in the least.

Draper Outside

I rode Draper out by herself today.  We started out in the barn, routine walk, trot, canter.

 Then we headed outside.  I stayed in the barn lot, but it is pretty big with lots of steep up and down areas.  I trotted around on the flat spots and took her up and down the steepest areas.  Then it was back in the barn for more walk, trot and canter.  After finishing, I left her tied for about 45 minutes.  She actually stood nicely, no pawing, and was just standing with her leg cocked when I went to unsaddle her.  It was another good day.

First Fall Group Weaned

Joe has been dreading weaning the calves from our rented farm ever since he turned the pairs out in the Spring. 

We built new pens there, but getting in with a trailer is a bit tricky.
 

Plus, there is no chute, so we have to haul in panels for a makeshift one.  My job is to stay on the outside and try to prevent any breakouts.

We first tried all the calves.  But they just wouldn’t step up on the trailer.  And Joe could not put enough pressure on them to make them go without risking a breakout.  Because, as you can imagine, I am not much of a barrier.

Next, we split the group in half.  They loaded much better because now Joe could reach the ones in front that were pointed the right way a buzz them with the hot shot for a little encouragement.  With that half loaded and the cut gate closed, we just repeated for the second half.

Joe dewormed them on the trailer and we hauled them to the house.  First group done.

Sadie Sunday

We brought Sadie home again after church today.  It helps give Virginia and Mike a little break to get some things done like getting groceries.

I was hoping she would take a nap so I let her watch the Bippie horse episode she likes.  It didn’t work. She ran and drug her bouncy horse to the front of the tv to watch.  It’s hard to take a nap in that position.

So we headed to the barn.  There was a little delay to give Kit Kat some attention.

Then she was all business.  She wanted to carry the halter, then called for Otoelene.  We brushed, cleaned feet, saddled, 

And lead around before getting on.  I was by myself, so I just lead her around, but she kept asking to trot.  She is just not ready for trotting without me riding with her, or at least another spotter on the ground.  So it was no to trotting. 

Another fun filled day with a Sadie.

We Were Needing That

With all the Thanksgiving festivities over, Joe and I went on a nice ride around the farm. The weather was beautiful and we just didn’t want to miss out on getting to enjoy it.

This was my first ride on Draper around the farm in over a year.  She is still on good behavior since boot camp, plus we had the calming effect of Hugo. 

Joe, always the gentleman, got all of the gates.  Eight in all. 

There were plenty of obstacles to contend with.   As soon as Joe got back on after the second gate, a squirrel came crashing to the ground landing with a THUD six feet from us.  It righted itself and scurried back into the woods.  Neither horse seemed the least bit bothered.  Hugo didn’t care for the pile of wood, but Draper took the lead there.  

Along the gravel road, the first neighbor’s small dog was out in the yard barking but stayed up at their house. But at the next neighbor, 4 of their Rhodesian Ridgebacks were right at the road, running back and forth barking their heads off at us.  I am surprised that I was able to get a picture with all of the commotion.  Hugo didn’t even like it.  But unexpectedly, Draper was the one that took the lead through it.  Plus, she calmed down right away as soon as we passed and the dogs stopped barking.

We went up and down lots of very steep hills without any drama.  The only problem came trying to get through the field with Jessica and Pep.  They have had fence line contact with Hugo, but we haven’t turned them out together.  Jessica saw us and came running with Pep not too far behind.  Joe was going to get the gate but was too busy fending off Jessica.  I ended up getting off and getting the gate, then helping run Jessica back so Joe could get though with Hugo.  Once again, Draper settled right down and was fine heading back to the barn.

Then there were 3 precious girls waiting for us when we got back.  A very successful ride.  I’m sure the outcome would not have been as positive for me without Hugo being there.  He has been an excellent support horse. 

Thanksgiving 2.0

We continued our visiting and eating at our house today.  Plus we got the addition of Sadie, Allie Mike and Virginia. Yay!

 Sadie was a big help.  She loves getting a chair and helping with the dish and cooking.

After dinner entertainment consisted of a lot of reading to Sadie.  Mitchell was testing out his new book on her.

I think it was a hit.

Allie even got in on some of the reading action.

Sadie loved performing for her audience.

Allie had a different entertaining technique.

Her audience was equally entertained.

Happy Thanksgiving

What a beautiful day.  We were blessed to celebrate with my family.  Virginia, Mike, Sadie, Allie and nephew Matt were not able to join us.  But Virginia and Mike will bring the girls over tomorrow to continue the eating festivities.  I think they are doubly blessed to have Mikes family wanting to spend time with them too.

Emily made us a charcuterie board.  She made one last year and wasn’t happy that we didn’t eat it all fast enough.  She warned us that this would be her last attempt  if we didn’t eat enough.  I’m pretty sure we managed to clear enough for her to continue.  It was quite the treat.
 

I am thankful for a wonderful day with the family that could come.

I took this picture of Sadie last week when she was here.  I can imagine that is how most of us looked after such a wonderful meal.

The Start Of Christmas Crafting

It is never too early to start crafting.  But it can definitely be too late. 

I saw these on Pinterest recently and thought it the perfect project for some interesting cans I had saved.
 They were advertised for $151 each.

Here is my interpretation.

I started with a plastic template I cut out of a lid.

I then cut open the cans to get flat sheets of aluminum.  Most of the cans were from Emily’s wine advent calendar that she shared with me last year.  You can check that out HERE

Then it was just a matter of cutting out enough leaves.

I was very disappointed to find out that the cans with the most interesting pictures, were just plastic sleeves over a plain aluminum can.  So those were unusable.

Next came pinning the leaves onto a foam cone and making a star.

I think I “nailed it.”  Now I have another meaningful addition to my Christmas tree collection.

All Went Well

It was a beautiful morning.  I went to get Little Girl to bring her to the barn, but she was laying down.  She didn’t seem to want to get up.  I gave her a couple of apples and tried to encourage her to get up to no avail.  I was worried that I had waited too long and she wasn’t able to get up.  

 Pep, the horse she likes the most, came over.  I left and went back a little later.  After I put the halter on her she finally decided to get up.  I had let Hank, who always got in the yard, into the yard to graze.  Once Dr Boyd arrived, she said I was doing the right thing.  Everything went very smoothly with both horses.  I was very thankful to have someone else actually give the injections so I could just concentrate on saying goodbye.

Difficult Decision

It has been a long time since I have taken pictures of Hank and Little Girl.  They both have not looked good for some time now. 

We think Hank is around 28 years old.  We got him in 2010.  He has never been an easy keeper, never getting fat when all the other horses did.  But since midsummer what weight he had has been melting off.  

 Little Girl, now 30 years old, has gotten pretty thin too.  Plus, she has had a riding career ending stifle injury that happened 20 years ago.  She is pretty arthritic in that joint and now both knees for the last couple of years.

I have come to the difficult decision to euthanize them both.  I don’t have any trouble telling clients when it is time to euthanize their pets, but I have always said that I am irrational with my own animals.  I just don’t want to see them get down and struggle and not be able to get back up.  With winter coming, they will suffer with the cold having no fat reserves.  It is time.  Tomorrow my equine vet friend is coming to help me.  I have also decided to have them cremated.  I worry about the guard dogs getting to the bodies and getting a secondary poisoning.

Tomorrow will be a difficult day.

You can type Hank into the google search bar to see all of the wonderful times we have had with him.  Little Girl’s story can be found under the Horses tab at the top of the page.

Sadie Sunday

I was coughing too much to go to church today.  Virginia said Sadie asked for me when they got there.  But they did come here after church for lunch.  Apparently, Virginia got Sadie ready in a very cute thanksgiving outfit but forgot to even get Allie out of her pajamas.   Then to add insult to injury, I once again got no pictures of her.  Even though she is sitting up on her own and pushing herself around in the walker!

 Anyway, Sadie was ready to go feed Hank as usual.

Then we let Otoelene and Draper out to graze some.  I decided to turn over our buckets, sit down and just watch the horses with Sadie for a few minutes. 

The horses are getting use to a little person around.  Plus, Sadie seemed to enjoy to time too. 

Goat Sale Day

Friday we walked a mile rounding up all the goats to have near the barn for Saturday morning. 

Saturday morning they were out of the lot and getting ready to wander off again.  

Luckily, they were not any more trouble to corral.

We started off with them in the large room of the barn, letting out the nannies we were keeping.

Maggie was trying to keep an eye on things, but the dogs were soon banished to the outside for being in the way. 

After the group got smaller, we headed them into the chute and small pen.  From there we could pick out the doelings that we were keeping.  Once all the nannies and doelings were selected and turned out, we had to catch each one we were selling and ear tag them.  There is a USDA scrapie eradication program that requires sheep and goats to be tagged when arriving at the market.  The market can tag them but they charge $1 per head.  I already have the tags and tagger, so we just did it ourselves and saved $69. 

The herd looks really good now without the old or thin or limping nannies. 

Then, the sale barn live streamed the sale on Facebook.  This is a screen shot of 45 kids averaging 53 pound each.  I think they looked pretty good.  In all, we sold 51 kids and 18 cull nannies.  That left us with   68 to expose to the two billies.  April 18 is the estimated kidding date.  I just hope things go better than this year (referring to all the deformities and still births).  Oh, and we were happy with the price, 15 cents per pound more than last year.  At last, inflation (albeit minor) on something we are selling and not buying.