Fall Leaves

The problem with having planted so many trees in the years, is that now there are so many leaves in the yard.

I use to rake them onto a tarp and dump them in the field to blow away.  Then I started putting them on the garden.  But it would take them too long to rot down.

Then I got a leaf blower/vacuum and started mulching the leaves to put on the garden. 

Joe said he still didn’t like the leaves on the garden, but I think it was because I put them on too thick.  I like the leaves, because it cuts down on the  winter and spring weeds.  So I decided to go ahead and put them on the garden again this fall.   While I was working on this, company came…..

And found a whole new use for the leaves.

Allie was definitely curious about the leaves.

Sadie had so much fun.  I hate that they won’t last.

Sadie Horse Sunday

Sadie is in a routine when she comes here after church on Sundays.  And the routine is horse, horse, horse.    

She wants to go see the horses, watch the horses, pet the horses and ride the horses.

Today we added brushing to the list.  She also has added “trot” to her vocabulary.  More trot, more trot, every time I stopped trotting on Otoelene.  We introduced Hugo but I forgot to take a picture.  Sadie won’t say Hugo, she just calls him black horse so far.

 

Gone Again

Zipper is missing again.  We last saw her Friday night when we fed the big dogs.  She had been hanging out with the big dogs at night and laying around the yard all day.  Last week a neighbor called and said she was on their front porch.  So Joe started tying her up at night.  But Friday, we let her stay out with the big dogs again.  She didn’t come back for breakfast Saturday.  We drove up and down the roads,  called some neighbors, messaged others on Facebook, nothing. I had the clinic post it on their Facebook page.  It has been shared 30 times.  

The not knowing is the hardest part.  I don’t understand why she doesn’t stay in the dog heaven we have here. 
 

Hair Elastics and Cats Don’t Mix

I had a young cat come in today that had been vomiting for a couple of days.  When I palpated her abdomen, the stomach didn’t feel right.  It felt thickened and gritty.  Radiographs revealed a twisted mass foreign body in the stomach.

 The owner OK’ed an exploratory surgery. 

I didn’t count how many but it was a bunch.

Big Playday

We kept Sadie for one more day.  Since I had to work the last two, she has been at daycare and we haven't been able to spend much time with her.  So I kept her here today instead of sending her back to daycare.  She had a great day.

She petted a goat and played at the barn. 

Got carried by Pop Pop. 

Found Kit Kat at the new barn and got him back to the house so he could eat. 

Got Emily's old tricycle out and started learning how to ride.  Sitting is all she is doing so far.  Her leg weren't long enough to peddle.  

Then the farrier came to shoe Draper and Otoelene.  She was an angel while I had to hold the horses.  

I think she even wanted to help.  

And she played with Zipper.  Then back home to start bonding with her new sister. 

First Sprouts

I managed to get some lettuce and onions planted.

The lettuce is just now sprouting. 

And the onions are coming up, at least the ones Zipper has left in the ground.  I have had to stick some back in 2 or 3 times so far where she has been digging them up.   This is what she was doing when I was trying to work up the soil.  

Who need a tiller with Zipper around. 

Quiet Book Complete

I finally finished Baby S's Quiet Book.

A shoe tying page with a zipper pocket. 

magnet sticks with a magnet rope.

A button maze. 

And my favorite, flip sequins.  Plus, the button string art and the buckles.  

I wasn't quite done when S was trying it out here.  But I think she likes it. 

Cuteness Overload

Just a little something to brighten your day.  A set of triplets playing with mom.

 Kid Count - 75

Kidding-Up Close And Personal

I have been checking the goats at least 3 times a day.

 During a recent afternoon check, I found this brand new baby.

 It wasn't long before she went down to have another one.

 Well, Hello there.

 She had a nice set of twins and is taking care of both of them.

That evening, she had moved them to the riding arena.  It was raining, surprise, surprise, and cold, another surprise.  (sarcasm in case you didn't notice)  J moved a barrel over to them so they were sheltered for the night.

Then, my mother sent a link to a video of a baby goat climbing over a dog.  So I had to do one better.

Kid Count - 105 (plus 3 bottle babies given away)

Saddle Fail

The day after Christmas I came home from work to find this...

 Well, I always find Kit Kat, but the saddle was something new.  J had talked about buying me a saddle for Christmas and we had looked at some.  He brought this one home for me to try out.  I wanted a wide saddle for Otoelene.  None of my current ones are wide enough for her fat self, and put too much pressure over her shoulders. (as is evident from the dry spots there after I ride.  A dry spot means there was too much pressure to allow the skin to sweat.)

 This was a used Circle Y., Martha Jose barrel saddle. 

 It was very comfortable.

And I thought it looked pretty nice on Otoelene. 

 The rigging was a little different than what I am use to, but I figured it out. 

J looked pretty good in it too.  But the problem was, it wasn't a wide tree saddle.  I have seen saddles rock on other people's horses but never had one of mine do it until this one. 

You can sort of see how the back of the saddle pops up.  It was even worse at the canter.  When I rode her, the trot was ok, but I could feel my seat being lifted up more and coming down harder on her back at the lope.  Then, after I got her sweaty, there was a huge dry spot (meaning too much pressure) all along the tree.  So, back to the store it went.  When I told the salesperson the problem, he said I probably didn't need a wide tree then.  But then he remeasured the saddle and said, "well, this isn't a wide tree after all."  So now it is back to the drawing board.  Nothing seems to workout for me the first time it seems.

Paralaphostrongylus tenius Strikes Again

J is very good at his job.  The other day he spotted one of the goats walking funny, dragging a rear leg.  

 This time it was Socks, one of our pet goats.  You can read about her start Here.

We got her to the barn, I dewormed her twice with 2 different products and gave her a short acting steroid for a few days.  After a week she is doing much better.  As soon as the other goats work themselves back near the barn I think we will turn her back out.  I think it helped that she was a pet so she hasn't been stressed staying in the barn and being worked with. 

I didn't take a video the first day.  This is yesterday, it still shows some neurological deficits.

Three Things

And the three things are.... 

Draper's seroma came back the next day.  I have given her 3 weeks off.  Now the seroma is just a hard knot of scar tissue.  I hope it continues to resolve and remodel back to a normal shape.  But because she wasn't ever favoring it and it was getting smaller, I decided to do a little light riding with her last night. 

I thought she did super.

 Then today, J suggested a trail ride.  Well, I'm all in on that.

 I was surprised to see this wild lily.  After this one I did see a couple more.

 There were some strange rock formations.

 We also tried a couple of new trails we had never been on.  It was an adventure not knowing where they would end up.  We didn't get lost, but we ended up riding for 5 hours.  It was a beautiful day with mild temperatures and low humidity.   Plus, the horses were very well behaved.

 Then I had this awesome purchase at the Surplus Store yesterday.  I had been looking for a wide brim hat but everything around here was just cheap and ill fitting.

I was in the Surplus Store and decided to check out the hats while I was there, and found this beauty.  The website (HERE) says it is handwoven palm and sells for $39.99.  I got it for $3.  The tag said $5 but I had only taken $3 in with me.  When the cashier asked if I was ready to check out I said I needed to go the the car and get more money unless she would take $3 for it.  Sure, no problem.  Loving my new purchase.

Dr. Pimple Popper, Veterinarian Edition

I know several of you have watched the show, Dr. Pimple Popper.  For those of you that haven't, the name is pretty self explanatory.   Well, J brought me a patient for a veterinary version of the show. 

 This is a 600 pound bull calf that developed a swelling on his right hip that was getting bigger and bigger.  Once the cattle got rotated to a field closer to the barn, J sorted him and his mother out to the barn lot.  It is so nice that he does all the prep work and I just have to show up with the equipment.  First, I clipped the hair.  It is best to have that all out of the way.

 That's a nice size pimple, or abscess as we like to refer to them in the medical world.

 A little prep of the skin with some betadine and then lanced.  I like to make an X for the opening.  It is less likely to seal up too quickly then.

 That is all the pus that came out.  Makes me think of a song we sang when we were little,
"Cans and cans of greasy grimy gopher guts,
mutilated monkey meat,
little dirty birdy feet,
tons and tons of all purpose porpoise pus,
that's what the school feeds us."
(I don't know why our parents didn't put a stop to us singing that in the car.)

Then we are left with a deflated balloon.  I flushed it well with dilute betadine and sprayed the area with fly spray.  Who's ready for the video?