Allie Sunday

It was Allie’s turn to stay with us today.

We started with a two hour nap after lunch.  We sang, played blocks and read. 

Then we headed outside for a walk.  Joe did all of the heavy lifting.

The weather was a little nippy but the sun was shining and the view was beautiful.

Allie still does not care for any of the animals.  Joe couldn’t get her to touch a goat.

Or the horse. 

She enjoyed looking around the yard.

At least until Kit Kat showed up.

She said ball and grabbed up my glass gazing ball.  I did manage to get to her before it broke.

Mike, and Virginia showed up with Sadie shortly afterwards and the undivided attention was over with.
 

Some Sort Of Record

I am STILL getting zucchinis out of my garden. 

This has got to be a record, for me anyway.

Normally, by now, my plants are long gone because of the squash vine bore.  But since I learned about it and treated for it this year, the plants are still going strong.

We still haven’t had a hard frost yet either, so there could still be more to come. 

Another Disappointment

A couple of months ago I made the decision to breed Draper.  I am still not comfortable riding her so instead of worrying about riding I thought I might just breed her and at least she would be doing something.  Next came trying to find a stallion.  I wanted to breed her to a paint since she is a registered solid paint and I didn’t want to have to deal with shipped semen.  So that meant something not too far away.  

And look what I found just 5 minutes away.  My farrier that drives right past this farm every day didn’t even know there was a stallion there.   I liked that he has such a calm laidback temperament.  Draper spent a month there. 

 I just has her ultrasounded Friday.

I’m sure you can’t tell anything from the picture but it was in the title, disappointment, not pregnant.  Looks like I will have to get an earlier start next year.

Three For Hugo

I managed three rides on Hugo this week.

Then weather has been nice - sunny, dry and warm.  The flies haven’t been bad.  And the leaves are starting to change.

There are still some pretty wildflowers blooming.   Hugo did fairly well, no bolting or balking.  He still needs lots more miles but he is not hard to ride.  He is probably getting better but it is very gradual.

 

I was pretty proud of him making it past these 8 Rhodesian Ridgebacks that were barking their heads off, running back and forth and jumping up on the fence.  It worries me what might happen if they ever get out while I am passing by.   There is always something to worry about while on a horse. 

Allie and Sadie Saturday, Sadie Sunday

Sadie and Allie came to visit Saturday.  When it was time to leave Sadie wanted to spend the night.  How could I say no to that. 

 We ended up taking another trip to Dollar General, it is only a mile down the road.  I found her a little horse toy and a pair of purple shoes.  She was very excited to see everything in the store. At every new aisle she would say, “wow, look at all of this stuff.”  She was very good at spotting baby dolls but agreed she already had too many and was content to just look at them. 

We also picked flowers.  She wanted to put them in a vase and on the table so everyone could enjoy them.

She helped water the pots outside. We rolled in the grass down the hill several times and played in the hammock.

And we can’t forget the horses.  After church we went to the barn for a ride.

I was trying to get Sadie to lead Otoelene by herself but she kept stopping and asking for help.  This skill may take some more work.

We rode around in the barn singing several rounds of the Horse and Buggy song.

Otoelene knows exactly where treats come from, Sadie the treat machine. 

I did lose her attention for a bit while she played in the sand. 

She fell asleep watching The Aristocats.  She calls it The Kitties.  We ended up having to wake her up to take her back home.  It was a good weekend.

Catching Up

There has been a lot going on this week.  I am planning a big trip and it seems all of my extra computer time is spent looking for places to stay and tours to take.  Here is a brief post to catch up for the week.

Matt came up from Florida for a visit.  I think he has a new favorite game, Catan.  

He wanted to go on a hike while here so Linda went with us for a tour around the farm.

There were lots of views to enjoy.

I also kept Sadie one night while Virginia was away in training for her new job.  
 I think the goats are becoming her favorite thing.  She has had a lot of practice keeping things from Allie.  It comes in handy when dealing with the goats.

The county tire collection was this week.  This is our third time hauling tires out.  One of the farms we bought the owner used tires to set round bales on.  

It is a slow process.  This make over 200 that we have hauled out. 

And of course I can forget the Dollar General clearance event this weekend.  I haven’t added everything up, but I’m pretty sure it was under $10.

Third Annual Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.) Sheep & Goat Festival

Today we attended the third annual Sheep and Goat festival.   Last year it was voted most outstanding one day event of the year by Southwest Virginia Tourism.  If this year was anything like last year it should win again.  This was Joe’s and mine first time attending, but we met up with Mike, Virginia, Sadie and Allie who had all gone last year.

Even with the overcast weather and little rainy morning there was a good crowd. 

There were lots of different breeds of sheep and goats on display.

A coworker was there with some of her sheep and her daughter had an angora rabbit.  Neither Sadie nor Allie would touch it though. 

Sadie was more interested in running up and down the hill.

Allie joined in on this too until they got tired and wanted lunch.

Mutton burgers were on the menu.  I thought they were tasty.  Joe said he would rather have a hamburger.

Allie on the other hand, enjoyed the cheese puffs.

After some cleaning up, we watched a bit of the sheep dog trials.  We didn’t stay long because the girls really were not that interested in sitting still to watch.

There were a couple of buildings with educational exhibits, an art contest and craft vendors.  

Sadie’s let me take her picture as a sheep.

They had painted pumpkins before we got there and we went to pick them up after they had dried. 

I think Allie really liked hers.  She was ready to go home and take a nap.

There were also starter flocks of several breeds for sale.

More educational exhibits, this one with the internal organs painted on the wool.

And this one with preserved rumens and stomachs. 

There was a prize wheel to spin.  First I picked a pair of socks.  But after seeing the vendors I went back and traded the socks for a $10 coupon for any vendor.  I know, I should have picked the coupon first, what was I thinking.  Anyway, I bought this adorable needle felted sheep.  There were three to choose from and it was a tough decision. 

Joe won a pick off the toy table and selected the horse finger puppet for Sadie.  I also got a couple of goat key chains.  And all of this for free admission!  What a fun day.