Christmas on the Farm

Better late than never...  Thought I'd share some of my Christmas preparations and sights with you.

While digging through some boxes in the basement, I found these old poinsettia and holly sprigs.  Since this grapevine tree gets so much weather, I figured they'd be durable enough to dress it up for Christmas.

 

This love-seat rocker faces the drive, so I decided hanging the wreath on it would brighten this corner of the porch.

We have decided that this tree we planted last year will be our official outdoor Christmas tree.  It's a bit bigger than the one I had lights on before, so new lights are on the list for next year.

Of course, Sadie always has to supervise Mr J's projects, but she's not alone today.

Even the shrubs are dressed up for the holidays!

I love my fiber-optic tree... no ornaments.  I just plug it in and enjoy the colors.  And I can see the outdoor tree through the window.

Mr J's lodge has an annual Christmas party with Santa.  Grands #1 and #2 are too old for this kind of stuff, but #3 and #4 love it!

And they still love camping out in the living room!

The older girls love exploring the woods.  I think they made the mistake of letting Sadie lead the way and came out in a big mess of hedge apple trees... OUCH!

...and no gate!  Luckily Mr J keeps a wide path cut all along the fences.

Even though we didn't have a white Christmas, the days following were spotted with snow showers.  Here's one we drove into taking the grands home.  I took this because it drives Mr J crazy when I pull out the camera in the car!

I agree with Dorothy... There's no place like home.  I love our driveway at night.  I'm always looking for the deer in the headlights.

The snow seems to be getting deeper as we get closer to the creek.  I can tell we're getting close to the house...

I can see the little Christmas tree.  And since we've no place to go...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Another Day on the Farm

I've posted lots of egg pictures recently, but I couldn't resist posting a couple more...

Remember the really HUGE egg?  Well, here is its opposite:

I've seen eggs smaller than this in a robin's nest, but from a chicken?  I'll have to take a picture of it frying to show you later...

Maggie has been doing something strange lately, so I called the vet and arranged a farm call.  Yes, some doctors do still make house calls! 

This is Dr. Brett, Mr J and one very dirty Maggie Mae.  Luckily Dr. Brett had good news for me.  She has a skin fungus (a very simple remedy) and she has old-timer's...   Yes, she's just old and having a few problems that just come with the age.  (eightyish in people years)

Maggie has lost a few teeth, and it is more difficult for her to chew her food.  The strange habit she has developed is just a symptom of her food not being chewed well enough, and getting stuck in her throat.  It is time to make a major change to her diet.  She'll no longer be tossed flakes of hay while corralled with the other horses.  I'll chop grass hay for her.  She will also get soaked alfalfa cubes and more senior feed, perhaps in a mash.  Plus it's time to up the calories to add fat for winter.

Horses, just like people, have different nutritional needs as they age.  It's a bit more work, but it means better health, and perhaps a longer life.  Maggie is definitely worth it!

Another Day with Horses

Aside from it being a life-long dream of mine, there is another reason I so want to be a published author... I own horses. Horses cost money. Authors make money. If I have to work to afford the horses, I'd rather it be doing something I love for a change. I worked all my life at jobs I disliked, or even hated, because they paid well. Now, it would be great if I became a best-selling author and could afford the finest things in life; but all I really need is just enough money to keep my three horses. How much is that, you asked?

Well, if this cartoon where reversed...

it would come close.

I don't know of any horse owner that hasn't laughed at this cartoon, but then said, "Yeah, ain't that the truth!" I shared in a past blog about some of the expenses involved in horse ownership. Today was one of those regularly-scheduled, get-out-the-checkbook days. The farrier came to visit.

It was time for the horses to have their hooves trimmed. Buddy has had some trouble with his feet requiring a little extra attention for awhile. Last summer we had to put shoes on his front feet. I prefer my horses to be barefoot, but sometimes shoes are a necessity. When we had two horses trimmed and shoes on just Buddy's front feet, the bill was $85. Once they improved enough to drop the shoes, it only cost us $60 for the trim. But while we were working on his problem, we scheduled the appointments closer together than the average trim. Today it had been seven weeks since the last trim. Buddy's hooves look pretty good! I'm thrilled that we can wait eight weeks for the next trim, especially since now there are three horses. (That's $90, if you're keeping track.)

So if you're dreaming of owning your very own horse, add this to your info file for future reference. Lots of horse owners board their horses, so they don't have to think about the price of hay or grain; it's included in the board. But guess what? Trims are not. Vet bills are not. Supplements are not. There's just no way around it... Open your wallets wide!

Fair Weather Goats

I love the view from my bedroom... I have French doors that open to a balcony that looks out over the goat pasture and woods. I was watching the goats today as Oreo led the others out across the pasture and into the woods. Noticing the black clouds rolling in, I knew it wouldn't be long before they headed back to their house.

Sure enough, I glanced out only minutes later to watch them running like mad back towards their shelter. At first I thought something had scared them or 'Daddy' was home. Then I saw the spots on the deck wood. It had started raining.

I have to laugh at them. My horses love to stand out in the rain... Probably because the flies leave them alone and it's nice and cool. The goats don't seem to see those advantages. If it's too windy, they go inside! They will never stand out in the rain.

I remember the first snow fall we had after the we got the babies. They were born in the spring and had never seen the white stuff. That winter, they awoke one morning to find that someone had taken their pasture and replaced it with something strange.

We had six at the time. They all stood crammed together at the door analyzing the new thing. It took awhile, but finally one of them stuck their foot out to touch it. He jumped back! Wow! His foot went right through! It was cold too.

It probably took them three hours to finally trust the stuff enough to come out. Now they don't mind the snow once it's on the ground... Just don't let it drop on them!

A little side note... Every time I saw my blog's title picture, I felt guilty that my beloved Maggie wasn't in it. So today I spent a few minutes and made a new title pic with all three horses. It's not the greatest pose, but she can't feel jealous now.

Eggs, Heaven and Heirloom Quilts

Remember the two eggs Hubby found the other day in the big hen house? If not click here for the story. Since the chicks are all the same age, logic would say that all the hens will be laying very soon. Do the math... Never mind; I'll do it for you. Fifty new hens plus four older hens equals four and one-half dozen eggs a day! Of course, we'll be eating some of them, but even Hubby and his cholesterol club members can't eat that many!


We plan on donating some to our city's food pantry, and we'll sell the rest. Hubby says that will pay for the cost of having them. Yeah, right. Did I mention our hen house has vinyl flooring? Sure, we bought it from the remnant rack, but it wasn't cheap! We did use recycled wood for most of the house, and the shingles came from everyone's left overs. (The roof is patchwork.) We used free telephone poles for the foundation. The door and windows are all free recycled goods, but the siding is purchased, as well as the floor and roof joists.


On top of the building costs, you'd be surprised how much it cost to feed a bunch of birds! They need laying feed, scratch, grit, special things to put it all in. Don't forget the electricity for the heat lamps while they were young. Oh yeah, the fence... I think you get the point. Already we'd have to sell eggs for the rest of our lives to break even!


Just when you think I've covered the expenses... Now we need something to put all those eggs in. People don'[t want to carry them home in Wal-Mart bags. We only have about two-hundred saved, so last night I went online and researched egg cartons. They hatchery we bought the chicks from sell plain cartons for about 3.3 cents per carton cheaper than the printed ones from another supplier. (Would you believe eggcartons.com?) Hubby liked the printed ones. I don't blame him. They do look nice, don't they?
And for just a few bucks difference, why not. So I clicked on eight-hundred and went to my cart to settle it. At about $186 we could have a good supply of cartons. I enter my shipping information and click. Then comes the total... Add another $75 for shipping! OK, so Hubby's going to have to settle for the plain ones that are only 45 miles away! That is, if we can pick them up...


I knew somewhere there was a window to heaven, but I didn't expect it to be a double-hung. This was our sunset last night. Do you see the center bar of the sash?

I guess God wanted to keep out the flies and humidity.


With all the creative bloggers out there showing off their quilts (OK, just Grandma Nina), I thought I'd show off mine. Wish I could take credit for it. My daughter's grandparents made this. They passed away in the 1980's. I've had this in my cedar chest for awhile because it didn't really match my decor. I pulled it out because who cares! It's a work of art. This is it on my queen-sized bed...
It has a unique pattern. They were very serious quilters; they measured their stitches constantly to make sure they weren't spreading apart or cramming them too close. This is the border. (I know - duh!)
Noticed the stitched design in the white area? How about the heart? Here's a close-up... (You might have to enlarge to see the detail. I forgot to correct the exposure before uploading. Stupid camera!)
Every quilt they made was dated upon completion. This one is older than my daughter.
I am so thankful to have this to remember them by. It was such an important part of their lives. They sat together, side-by-side in front of the quilting rack for weeks upon weeks. When the quilt was finally finished, they would put the rack away for a while. Next thing you knew, it was back!

Chick Update...

Some of you have been following the story of our baby chicks since day one. Well, actually it was day two. They ship them as day-old chicks. The hatchery is less than 50 miles from here, so they arrived at our post office the next morning. This picture was taken on April 9 when we first got them...

Hubby was pleasantly surprised today when he went to feed the chicks! He wasn't expecting this for another week or so...
You've come a long way, babies!

My 100th Goat, er,.. I mean post!

Actually, this is my 231st post, if you count all 3 blogs... but who's counting?

I've been meaning to post some pics of the goats for a while now. This morning I saw a cute goat photo on another blog, and it prompted me to grab the camera before the rain came. As usual, the goats were not very cooperative for the camera. They are sweet and loving, but they never stand still for photos!

When I uploaded the pics, I noticed this was my 100th post. So I decided to add a couple of extra photos to the post...

Below is an aerial photo of our farm, taken for county records in 2003. I labeled it so you would have a reference now when you read about the front pasture, etc. The property lines are marked in yellow. We own 2 tracts; one mostly open field, the other woods. The small area in the lower right labeled 'leased' is what I call the side pasture. We lease it for $1 a year. It's a little hard to see, but the red 'X' marks where our house now stands. The V drive now circles around, and in the center of it is the round pen. We built the barn first, then the house. We moved in on Hubby's birthday in December of 2003.

This is the way our farm will look some day... The photo was taken last fall. I embellished it just a tad. The pine trees on the right are much smaller and the front garden isn't finished yet. I erased all the parked stuff and greened up the front lawn. I had to finish 'building' the hen house, as Hubby didn't even have it under roof for this pic. Do you like the added touch of the white 'horse' fence? OK, maybe I'm dreaming there. It will probably remain the white electric rope that stands there now.

So there. My 100th post featured the entire farm. I thought that was appropriate. Now on to my intended post.

Introducing my other herd... the goats. Elvis has left the building, but he's now in my pasture. He had that name when we acquired him. He is much older than the others. Notice the nice beard.
Next is our only girl, Nanny. Real goat people think it's a sin to name a girl goat Nanny. Oh well. She's a real sweetie. Funny thing is, she also has a beard! The other two boys are the same age and they don't! Must be the water...
Mr. Universe... We call him Oreo. When he was a baby he had a big 'O' on his belly. Now it's grown into a 'C'. He has curly hair, and in the summer when it gets its reddish tint, he it absolutely gorgeous! He is also the leader of the herd, and the most brave.
Last, but certainly not least, is Derby. I call him my lover boy. He doesn't know when to stop eating, so he's a little chubby. He loves kisses and affection. Definitely my favorite! I named him Derby because of his white markings. When he was a baby, it looked like he was wearing an English saddle. Now that he's full grown, you'll just have to use your imagination.

We had two other goats that passed away last year. Biscuit was the runt of the litter, and silly Willie was the comic. It broke my heart when Willie died. He had the most comical personality. I miss how he made me laugh.

Our goats are Nubians, a large dairy breed. We don't breed Nanny, so we don't have milk. They work on keeping the woods cleared out, and have well earned their keep! They follow us whenever we take walks through the woods, and come running when I call them. They are not the smartest creatures God put on this earth, but they are certainly among the sweetest!

Horses & Chickens & Kids, Oh my!

Yesterday was wonderful, despite having to deal with the nursing home issues mentioned in my essay's blog. I thank God for the good times that balance out the bad.

I gave Maggie a few days to settle in, but yesterday I brought out her old saddle. I was going to sell it since it didn't fit my other horses. Maggie has extremely high withers (horsey tech) and I had to shop for the right fit. I kept putting off taking the saddle to the tack shop. It's been three years and the saddle is still here. I guess somewhere deep inside I knew she'd come home.

She's a lot taller than my other horse and I always mounted her from a rock or fender... whatever was handy. I had taught her a cue that swung her around beside whatever object I chose to climb up on. She has since forgotten the cue, but I will refresh her on that later. I walked her over to my sitting rock in the iris bed. I tried cuing her but she didn't understand what I wanted. She ended up swinging around in the other direction, her hind feet stepping into the irises. As graceful as she ever was, she walked back around out of the flower bed without so much as a bump to a blade. She knows where her feet are and steps ever so carefully. I don't know of many horses that could walk through a flower bed without doing at least a little damage. Hubby came to the rescue and coaxed her to sidestep toward the rock. It felt good to sit astride her again. She's got a super easy walk and trot. I have never used a bridle and bit to ride her... Only a halter with reins clipped on. She doesn't need anything more. I've ridden her in traffic, on trails and the bike path that way. She's what horse people would call bomb proof.

Maggie is buddy sour already. This is when horses don't want to leave their pasture mates; They keep turning back to the barn. She refused to go across the creek, so we ended up walking in lots of circles. (It's kinda like a horsey time-out - they hate little circles) We rode around the front and side yards. It felt like coming home. The memories had become so faint, and now here I was... I'll never let her go again!

Ali wanted to ride her. She had never shown much interest in the horses, and since they had busy soccer schedules, hadn't spent a lot of time learning about them. For her, a ride meant being led around by me. I had other plans.

Maggie is extremely easy to handle and I trust her. She is not the kind of horse to take off on you. I kept her lead line attached where I could reach out and grab it if needed. I told Ali to mount up and handed her the reins. It took her a bit to find the gas peddle. You can see a video clip of her ride on her blog. Let her know you've visited...

Well, the chickens got evicted! FIL got tired of waiting for them to go out on their own and tossed every single one out the door. They really loved their day outside and seemed to adapt well. Here is a short clip of them running away from me:


Our four laying hens always return to their coop at dusk. All Hubby has to do is go out and shut the door so the critters can't get to them. In the morning he opens the door for them to come out. They go back in to lay their eggs in the nest.

We've read and now know it's true... You must let a chicken find it's own way out if you expect it to find it's own way back in! So after a really long day that began at the hospital, and was about to conclude with a campfire, here we are crawling around in chicken poop grass with a flashlight gathering over fifty chickens! The people steps going into the house are just stacked cinder blocks. Some of the chickens decided to roost inside them. Luckily my hands are smaller than Hubby's. It's not easy retrieving chickens from cinder blocks!

Hubby's fishing net made the job a lot easier. He could net four or five at a time, since they like to huddle. I would take one at a time from the net and carry it to the door of the house. Surprisingly, they were very calm as I cradled them against me. I expected squawking and flapping. A few of them sat in the doorway letting me pet them before joining the other rescued birds in the corner.

Too bad I don't have an infrared video camera. I'm sure the scene was quite entertaining!

Tonight the hens went into their small coop while all the young chickens were still out. Hubby waited patiently, and soon they started heading in on their own. All except one. Hubby says he was pretty fast too! Good thing he's got the net.

Eviction Notice

FIL is evicting the chicks. Hubby went out to the chicken house this morning to discover FIL had completely disassembled his interior! The corner where the chicks had been isolated from the older birds before they were moved was where Hubby was going to store his feed and supplies. It's gone now. The wood and wire are all thrown outside on the ground! That'll teach Hubby to leave FIL home alone!

FIL decided that everything needed taken out so he could clean the house. So when he gets home later, he is planning on forcing all the chicks out of the house so that he can clean every crack and crevice. Sounds like a photo-op to me!

Horses Making Friends

It's been three years since Maggie has seen Nekoda. I don't know if horses remember each other or not. Buddy had not yet arrived at our farm when Maggie left; We still had crazy Misty! Maggie seemed to remember me and this farm. She's been very lovable, wanting lots of rubs and kisses. She knew right where her old favorite patch of grass was! The stalls are across the aisle from where they were and the run-in shelter is farther from the back of the barn; but it all seemed to be familiar to her.

Horses establish a pecking order within their herd. Any additions to the herd can rearrange the whole line-up. The bottom horse can quickly become 2nd in command with a different leader! I had a feeling Buddy would have to give up a little rank...

It's important to introduce them slowly. You don't just open the gate and shove the new one in. They can be violent and hurt each other. And since Maggie is a senior citizen in horse years, I wanted to make sure that she didn't get injured by the younger ones. Since we got home late last night, Maggie didn't get to meet her pasture mates until today. Maggie spent the night inside Buddy's stall. Our horses only go inside to eat or if there is ice or some other weather that threatens their well-being. So Maggie had the barn to herself. (If Maggie had been boarded at a large facility or around lots of other horses, she would have been quarantined for a while before she got around the other two.)


While I was at church, Hubby moved Maggie to the round pen so she could roam around and eat grass. When I got home I opened the stalls and brought the young ones in. With Nekoda and Buddy safely locked in their stalls, I brought Maggie in on a lead. It went very well. Horses will sniff each other's breath... (Much nicer than the doggie version of greetings.) Maggie and Nekoda stayed nostril-to-nostril at the bars for a while, inhaling deeply. There was no stomping or kicking. After a bit she moved on over to Buddy's stall door. There were a couple of loud neighs & squeals, but nothing really aggressive. Neither attempted to nip between the bars. (Sorry there's no video, but working a camera at a time like this is a bad idea.)

After they satisfied themselves with exhaled horsey air, I turned Maggie out to the back pasture. She headed for that sweet spot and was out of sight of the barn door. I then took Buddy out of the paddock to the round pen. I figure I'd let him meet her later...

I put a line on Nekoda and led her to the opening to the pasture where Maggie was grazing. They both raised their heads up and eyed each other. Nekoda is not the least aggressive and I wasn't really worried about the two mares being turned loose together. I walked her part way down the pasture, then, with a quick warning to behave, turned her loose. She took off for Maggie. They sniffed each other's breath again and dropped their heads to graze. I exhaled. One down, one to go...

I left the girls in the pasture for awhile to bond. Buddy was happily munching on the overgrown grass in the center of the round pen. (It's not had a lot of use while I've been sick, so it looks more like a pasture than a work-out ring.) Occasionally, Nekoda would run back to the barn gate to yell over to Buddy. They don't like being separated! But then she would return to the grassy end with Maggie.

After a while I decided it was time to introduce Maggie and Buddy. I brought Nekoda back into her stall. She protested loudly! With Maggie at the other end of the pasture, I walked Buddy toward her. Buddy is pretty laid-back, but I wasn't about to take him up to Maggie on a lead. That could be dangerous. I would be just close enough to split them up if needed. Buddy was very attentive to Maggie, but seemed pretty calm as we got closer. I finally reached the end of my comfort zone and removed Buddy's halter. He trotted over to her and they sniffed... He smelled her neck... She squealed at him... He backed off... They started grazing! Wow, that was easy! I watched them closely for awhile. They stuck together, but respected each other's area.

By now, Nekoda had had just about enough of being shut in the stall. I opened the door and let her out. She took off for the grassy end of the pasture and I went for my camera. And again, things are as they should be...

As it should be...

Hubby was too tired from putting up hay yesterday to make the trip... So I told him I would just go by myself... So here we are, driving up together to bring Maggie Mae home.

She was the proverbial sight for sore eyes! You have no idea how much I missed this girl! She looked even more beautiful than I remembered...

Hubby was as anxious to see her as I was. I can't believe how much everyone was cheering for me to have her back! In all the little towns we went through, people were lining up on the sidewalks and waving! They gathered around grills and ball fields, and any vacant lot in town. The police were out in some areas directing us through. They even set off fireworks the whole route home! I wish our country could show that kind of solidarity on other matters...

Thank you everyone for making my special day even more special.

July 4th, 2009 11:00pm

Tucked in and ready for bed.

Goodnight my beloved Maggie Mae...

Farm update

All's well that ends well. Isn't that what they say?

The farrier made it over today, so both horse have pretty feet. Buddy's cracks aren't too bad. His front hooves are excellent! Hopefully, he will remain barefoot this summer. So, not much damage done by waiting an extra week. Plus the extra length gave Sadie a little extra snack! It's her favorite treat. Yep, she eats the hoof trimmings! No wonder she's overweight.

The hay was bailed today. Seemed to be plenty dry. Hubby ended up buying another parcel too, so he and his son put up 240 bales tonight. With a second cut, we will have plenty of extra hay... Enough for Maggie, too! The goats don't eat much and we've still got plenty left from last year to do the summer and fall. We'll probably end up selling some. This is an old picture, but that's about 100 bales... just to give you an idea.

If Hubby's not aching too bad tomorrow, we'll go get Maggie! I'm so anxious to see her. I'll have to remember to record the introductions when she meets Buddy. I'm sure that Maggie will be her usual Alpha mare! I remember when we temporarily housed my daughter's gelding... He couldn't blink unless Maggie told him it was OK! I love watching their societal roles evolve.

I was fortunate to miss the hay tonight! Probably would have been tough on my breathing anyway. But it was the BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY! Gracie's 5th, complete with fireworks and a very special cake! If I don't make the trip tomorrow, you'll be reading about it on my essay's blog. Everyone had a great time.

Ali is staying home with her family for the long weekend and won't be back until Monday evening. I'm going to take advantage of the time and hopefully ride, plant and write! I may have a whole week's worth of posts!

Oh yeah... the chickens are still inside!

This week on the farm...

We've had some fun and some not so fun days. Ali's 5-yr-old sister Grace came home with us Monday night. One minute they are so loving and kind to one another; the next, I want to shoot them! Fortunately, they've both had more fun than grief. They had planned on swimming non-stop, but the unseasonably cool weather dropped the bomb on that.

We did make it down the bike path today. It was Gracie's first time. Usually, that's an activity we save for the older girls. It's hard for the toddler bikes to crank out the necessary RPMs. Plus we have to go out on the highway to get to it because there is no bridge over the creek that cuts the woods in half between the house and the bike path. It's almost a half-mile trek round trip to get to the road and back down our gravel lane. They found a creature (dead butterfly) to take back and show Papaw.

Our big discovery this week is that the big sitting rock in the iris bed makes a perfect stage for impromptu performances! All you need is a push broom to amplify your voice and a sister with a couple of garden stakes to keep the rhythm.

Mommy came and got Ali tonight to give her a hand preparing for tomorrow. They are having a BBQ to celebrate Gracie's birthday (officially last Sunday) and the 4th.

Last week we had so much hot, dry weather. It was great for the farmers trying to get in their hay. Not so for us. We buy most of our hay from a neighbor two parcels over. He had arranged for the same guy to cut it that cuts the field beside us. Apparently, there was a communication problem because they only cut the field beside us. The guy finally returned our neighbors call and said he would cut & bail this week depending on the weather. I think he meant, "If it's too bad to do anything else... "

The weatherman forecasted rain. He didn't use the words slight, scattered, spotty, chance... He said there would be rain. So the guy comes and cuts the hay. Now the hay is raked into wet piles on the ground. This is not good. For you that are not country folk, would you leave your wet laundry in a heap? It molds.

It sprinkled some this morning, but I think we may be in luck. The guy turned it over to let it dry some more, and they may be able to bail it Saturday. I'm hoping they didn't ruin the hay. We won't buy wet or moldy hay. Barn fires are serious business and horses can't eat moldy hay. But even if they salvage the crop, it's still a bummer for me... Saturday, I was going to go pick up Maggie!

Even though I'm sad for my friend having to give her up, I am getting excited to have her back. Since neither my friend nor I had anything planned for the 4th, Hubby and I were going to drive up that morning to pick her up. If they bail the hay Saturday, we have to stay home and get it in the barn. I could take the trailer myself, (they probably wouldn't miss me in the barn) but hubby will probably need his truck to pull a hay wagon. So everything's up in the air!

Our horses were due for their farrier visit last week. Hubby's gelding has drier hoofs than my mare's, and we've had trouble in the past with them cracking. It was a long battle to get ahead of the problem, but finally his feet were looking terrific. Then our farrier got hurt. He called last week, the day of the appointment, to tell me that he would call back later. His back went out and he was headed to a chiropractor. Well, that was last week. We've heard he's working, but he hasn't returned our calls. And now Buddy's hooves are looking ugly. So far it's just chips and surface cracks, but if we don't get something done soon, we'll have to start all over.

That about sums up the week... Oh, except for the chick report: Nothing to report. The big green yonder is still far too threatening to venture out from the coop. Maybe tomorrow...

One down...

Tomorrow perhaps there will be a new video showing tons of little chickens scurrying around the grass... or maybe not!

I got home tonight right before dusk and there was one chicken outside of the house! One. It probably fell or got pushed. I don't know what the record is for longest time to step out into the real world. Maybe I'll google it!

Chick Update Part II

I'm having some problems uploading video, so I had to go back and make this one a two-parter.

Today was graduation day for the chicks. Hubby decided they were now big enough to venture into the big outside world. Problem is, chickens get used to one thing and don't want to change. Hubby opened up their access door and they all took turns looking out! One rooster sat with his feet on the edge of the door, but that's as far as he dared escape! Maybe tomorrow...

Chick Update

Well, I waited for Hubby to do the filming and it didn't happen... So today I donned my mask and venture inside the coop for a quick shot of the babies before they were turned out. (sorry about the shaky video... meds) They've really grown since you last saw them! The older hens that are laying have been moved to the small hen house so the babies could have the entire coop for themselves. It's a 10' x 20' house. Hubby recycled old playset ladders for the roosts.

Back by popular demand...

So many of you have asked to see more pictures of my beloved Maggie Mae; How can I resist? Here she is in front, Alpha mare of the herd. Behind her is Hubby's old Buckskin Molly. (His big regret is letting her go too.) My Nekoda in the center rear and to the right is the crazy mare Misty. She literally was crazy! The last time I got on her I ended up beat against the bars of the round pen... Buddy replaced her! Fuzzy horsey kisses are the best!

My favorite time to ride. No sweat, no flies!

I wish I had a picture of video of her in her prime.

To watch her run is a true picture of grace and elegance.

Handy Five
Foaled June 4, 1981 in Virginia

yr age starts 1st 2nd 3rd

1983 2 6 0 0 1

1984 3 8 0 2 1

1985 4 21 2 2 0

1986 5 13 0 1 2

1987 6 1 0 0 0

1988 7 2 0 0 0

TOTALS 51 2 5 4

USA$ 20,934

Dreams of Maggie

My Beloved Maggie Mae

Winter 2005-06 Some people hate a fuzzy horse. I don't get it. I love burying my face in their thick winter coat.
Donning a scarf, hat, and mittens, I would throw on her bareback pad and go play in the snow. Maggie is coming home very soon. This winter I will have many more pictures like this one!

Coming home...

A while back I introduced you to my first love Maggie Mae... well, my first equine love. The story continues...

If you follow my essays blog, yesterday's post was about a friend losing her home because of being laid off from GM. Her plant is closing soon and they have been evicted because the landlord was worried about her income. They were renting a farm in hopes of buying it. They relocated to Mansfield after our plant announced it was closing. So now, here she goes again. But she has no where to take her horses. She sold her mare Vanity yesterday and the lady is picking her up Tuesday. She is heartbroken about it.

Her little boy loves my Maggie Mae! Here is a video of his favorite pastime with her. It is a great testament of how sweet and gentle she is, to be trusted to run with a small child.

I gave Maggie to her when I retired because I wanted to make sure she had a great home. Now that she can no longer keep her, I am getting her back. I promised her that if her situation turned around quickly she could have her back. But I can't afford to keep three horses forever. So I may be faced with a big decision... I don't think I can bear to part with Maggie again, unless it's to give her back to Teresa.

It's bittersweet for me to have a glimmer of sunshine from someone else's misfortune. I feel so badly for my friend. But I can't wait to throw my arms around my Maggie Mae and ride her down the bike trail again...

Sadie's Wordless Wednesday