Tuesday’s Outing With Hugo

I decided to make more of an effort to go riding Tuesday morning before it got too hot.  It seems that if I don’t make an effort it doesn’t really get done.   Hugo has gotten less difficult to catch but he he still has a ways to go before I would call him easy.  I think he has moved from difficult to tricky.

After warming up riding in the barn, we headed for the gravel road.  I was a little worried when I saw this sign.  First, that he might be scared of the sign (he was not). And second, being surprised by a mower coming around a bend.  I newer saw a mower but the sign did help to slow down the couple of cars I met. 
 

We made it to the next gate back onto the farm without incident.

Riding through the gouge I saw yet another tree across the fence.  This one fell over from the neighbor’s side.  At least it didn’t mash the fence down. 

As we were riding through the cows the flies started getting bad.  That is a hatful deerfly on his right ear.  If I can reach it before he shakes his head I can usually kill them.  And so far Hugo has not objected to me swatting him to get them off.  He was a little more forward heading toward the barn than I liked.  So once we got back I worked him a little harder so he won’t get the idea that getting to the barn means he is done.  He also has started to act like he is enjoying being hosed off afterwards and not flinching at the water hitting him.  Progress is being made.

Sadie Sunday

Mike and Virginia brought Sadie and Allie over Sunday after we got back from the Biltmore.  While Virginia was getting Allie to take a nap Sadie wanted to ride the horse. 

She still loves her purple helmet and always wants to use the purple halter. 

She is great help in the garden picking tomatoes.  But I still have to remind her not to pick the green ones. 

She found a shower caddy in the barn and wanted to use it to collect flowers and tomatoes.  When they were getting ready to leave Sadie said she wanted to spend the night.  Why not?  We were heading to a potluck, I told her we were going to a party.  She wanted to wear her dress.  Virginia said she is very into dresses now.

The only problem was that the potluck was at a farm and it was raining.  I managed to keep her clean until after she ate, then I gave up.  Farm water runoff was too much fun.  As soon as it got dark she crawled into my lap and fell asleep.  She woke up long enough to take a bath then get in bed.  It was a big day. 

I got her ready for daycare the next morning and she let me braid her hair.  It was very cute.  Any ideas for next weekend? 

Where In The World Were Joe And Kay

 

Joe and I had a weekend getaway.  A drug company was rewarding their premier clients and the two full time vets at the clinic couldn’t go.  I raised my hand and volunteered.  Joe even consented to go once he found out where we were staying. 

Since it was a vet meeting I had to get a picture of a dog. 

Here is another hint, we went on a self paced audio tour.

The view from the house was amazing.

And the entrance hall was stunning. 

I loved the art over the fire place in the tapestry room.

Even the basement was interesting.

I could have spent hours in the greenhouse.

I cannot imagine how long it takes to water all of that.

Ok, in case you haven’t guessed, we were at the Biltmore in Asheville, NC.

A very nice weekend getaway.

Stories In Black And White

 Would you believe no pictures today.  The two best things I saw yesterday I had no camera with me. 

First,  Joe wanted me to help him sort the first calf heifers out of the fall calving cows and move them closer to the pens in case they have any trouble.  Then he wanted to move the rest of the cows to a field away from the creek.  There is a big chance things can go wrong with cows calving near the creek and the calves falling in.  The sorting all went great.  Then when we were moving the cows, Joe came up one short in his count.  After he thought about it, he said there was one cow he had not seen.  That was one out of 73 animals he had not noticed.  I asked what it looked like and he described a black/white face where half the face was black and half white. We drove along the creek and found her.  She had just calved right next to the creek but thankfully the calf had not fallen in.  Looks like fall calving has started 10 days early.

Next, while feeding the dogs in the evening, I almost stepped on a young skunk.  It was the size of a fluffy softball.  It was just digging around in the grass and could not have cared less that I almost stepped on it.  It was very cute but I was not about to find out if it was old enough to spray.  I haven’t noticed the dogs smelling like skunk.  Maybe they will continue to stay away.

So there you go, two stories in black and white.

Sadie and Allie Sunday

We had good company again on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day to try out the pool. (Dollar General clearance purchase from last year, $1.50)

They had a ball.

Lots of laughing. 

Lots of squealing.

I think it was a hit. 
 

Trip Planning

Joe’s passport came!

 Now we can start planning our trip to Ecuador!!! 

Forest Floor

Yet another tree had fallen on the fence. 

While Joe was working on cutting the tree, I entertained myself taking pictures of different mushrooms and fungi.  
 

There is a huge variety once you start looking.   Some even looked like they belonged more on the ocean floor instead for the forest.   You just never know what you will see when you fix a fence. 

Guest Photographer

Emily is not at a location where she can communicate very often.  But she did send some pictures the other day.  There are no descriptions as usual, so you will have to make up your own commentary.  There is currently a group staying at the refuge that are doing some banding.  That is why some of the birds are being held. 

  And no picture of Emily, but say hi to Keiran.

Pretty Good Ride

I took off on Hugo for a ride around the farm yesterday morning.

We had a pretty good ride.  He has been very unreactive around the cattle so far.

And I cannot believe there is already a tree changing color.  It is only the middle of August!

I did find out that Hugo is not a fan of a giant horsefly on his butt.  I ended up having to get off and swat it away.

He has gotten a lot better with being hosed off.  It helps to be pretty sweaty to start with.

But being clean didn’t last long.