31 July 2007

I have been editing photos and getting them ready for Larry to put on my website. They are all up now but I had to share these shots with you. These classes were the last ones of the show on Sunday evening. They were the children's in hand trail class and Pet pony class. The one judge in the grey jacket was exceptional with all of the children, she was quite a character and kept us laughing all weekend. She walked through the course with the children as can be seen in the first shot, but she was jogging when they needed to trot and really made it fun for them all. The second judge is at the back.

This little guy was determined to do it because each child got a "prize" at the end of the course. His father was going to help him but he wanted nothing of it. The judge kept a close eye on him and guided the pony when it needed to be without letting on that the boy wasnt doing it all himself. He is so tiny and he did a great job.

This was his choice of prize at the end, complete joy and happiness LOL. These children are our future and it was so nice to see someone take the time to talk to the children in all of their classes, giving them advice and reasons for the decisions she made so that they could learn from it.
Taxes is doing really well, I managed to change his dressing today without too much drama, he is settling right down. It was dreadfully hot, in the 90s by 6pm this evening. I am still editing photos, will carry on tomorrow. I will also try to let Taxes have a bit of exercise tomorrow after I put all the horses in, I don't want a repeat performance so it is better to take the distractions away then he will have no reason to go through the fence.

Well my blogging buddies, I am off to bed, tomorrow is another day. We are expecting temps in the 90s for the next 5 days at least and everything is so dry. The pasture down the road is keeping the mares fat but unless we have more rain it will be turning into a dust bowl soon. The grass is very short now.

(((Hugs)))) Will catch up on a few more blogs and then turn in.

Lori
xx

30 July 2007

I havent shot jumping for years. A lot of my horse photography in South Africa consisted of show jumping, cross country and low level dressage. It was really nice to be able to photograph it again even if the fences were pretty low. So here is one of the smaller riders negotiating one of the jumps in fine style!!

I managed to get all the photos sorted and Larry is busy putting them onto my website tonight. It was a good weekend as far as sales goes which is great because all of my other shows are on the decline as far as photo sales goes. I love this club and they have been very good to me over the past four years that I have been shooting for them. I have also shot some of my best show photos here as well. It is a nice venue (despite the lack of shade) and I can get some decent backgrounds while shooting in the arena (usually cars, people, trailers, wires and general chaos).

I was really tired when I got in last night but had a reasonable nights sleep. I got Taxes leg redressed without too much trouble on my own this afternoon. It is not looking too bad as far as infection goes so it was a good thing that I got the dressing on so soon after it happened and he didnt chew it. I have a feeling that he is going to have a large scar though, time will tell. I would post a picture but I am not sure everyone would want to see it. It is about 5 inches long and two inches wide at the widest part.

Now I need to get the prints all prepared and mailed off and catch up on the barn work again.

I have posted a picture in yesterday's blog so am up to date with that.

((((Hugs))))

Lori

29 July 2007

I am cheating tonight as it is 11.15 pm and I have only just got in from the show. I still have to unpack etc. so I dont have any new pics to post as I am on Larry's puter so I will post a pic in the morning.

((((Hugs))))

Lori

30th July:

I am still trying to edit and sort photos, I shot 1400 pictures!!!! This one is a picture shot on Sunday morning at the show. It is a picture of a welsh pony mare and her foal who belong to one of my clients. We got in early and shot these quickly before everything started. I liked this shot despite the shadows, so hope you enjoy it too.

Lori

xx

28 July 2007

Just a quickie, we have internet access at the Motel and I didnt bring my laptop so am using Joyce's and unfortunately she has no card reader to upload one of my pics to her computer so I am posting a shot that she took today which I think is awesome (I taught her well LOL, no really she has a great eye for people, has never been around horses so this was new to her). I am glad I got to post because I didn't want to miss a day.

Things are going pretty well, very very hot and humid but at least good weather for an outdoor show.

Talk tomorrow night when I get home. (((((Hugs)))))

Lori

xx

27 July 2007

I started the day off very badly this morning. Taxes got through the fence to go and play with the mares, I managed to turn the electricity off and lift the wires enough for him to go under and back to his side but he promptly walked back through, I didnt see him do it as I had my back turned to him putting the fence back in its holders, so can only assume that he stepped over the wires and because the electric was off they didnt zap him. He and the two fillies raced up and down and the next moment he veered off towards the fence at full speed and tried to jump it. He got his back leg caught in the wire and now has a really bad wound, the whole front of his lower leg has almost been skinned, about six inches long and three inches wide. I got the vet over and he said it would be pointless to stitch it as he already had sawdust in the wound when he ran back into his stable and it is in a really bad place to stitch. I have managed to dress it temporarily and the neighbor who is feeding them for me this weekend (who has had to tend a similar wound to one of the horses before I met Larry) is going to be keeping up with the cleaning and dressing of it until I get back on Sunday. I am praying that he is going to be one of those horses that doesnt chew bandages. He hasnt touched it yet. So these pictures of him from yesterday will be the last for a while as he has to be confined to his stable until it heals and that could take months.

This is a picture of my filly Lori yesterday when I let Dosie (her daddy) out with them......
..... and this is Dosie enjoying his first taste of freedom!!
I am making this short as I am packing to go to the show and wanted to post before packing the computer up to take it with. If I am unable to post tomorrow from the motel with my laptop it will be the first day that I have missed since starting this blog on 1st January this year.

I just hope the weekend goes better, I feel sick knowing that I have to leave Taxes for two days but the neighbor is very good with the horses and loves them just about as much as I do I think, so they are in good hands. My poor little boy.

I will be back on Sunday evening, take care everyone ((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

26 July 2007

Well Mike here is your little buddy. I took these today while he was playing with his Jolly Ball. He is a real little tyrant!!!! I have said it before and I will say it again, this is the first baby that I have had that is this full of himself. He just wants to bite everything, jump on everything, kick everything and generally be a total brat!! Strong willed is an understatement LOL. I hid behind the gate because he wanted to get me in between getting the ball. I tried to lure him out down the field but he wanted to hang around the barn, so please excuse the eyesore, the mares chewed all the walls the one winter and we have just not had a chance to get some siding up on it.

(click pic to enlarge)

He had a ball (pun) with this and I kept coming towards me so I battled to get full shots but the few I did get were so funny (despite the ugly background). He must be at least 18 inches off the ground in the pic above.

(Click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

Well angelic would be the way to describe him in this one but we all know that he is anything but an angel.

(click pic to enlarge)

I tried to get caught up on a bit more today. In between the trip to the doctor tomorrow and leaving for the horse show hopefully I can get caught up on some more.

I turned Dosie (the stud we gelded two months ago) out with the two mares today and it went very well. There wasnt too much fighting and I hope that he is going to be a lot happier being able to be out in the field with other horses. I will have to find a fourth horse to turn out because they tend to pair off and My filly Lori and Cayenne are a pair so he has no-one, just need to decide who would be best.

Karen thanks for your visit, dont worry I very rarely get to comment on all my blogging buddies' blogs these days and I feel so bad too, but sometime soon we will all slow down (when the summer is over maybe and we spend more time indoors) and we will be able to catch up with everyone's news and pictures.

(((((Hugs)))))) to you all.

Lori

xx

25 July 2007

I am starting to give up hope that I am going to catch up with you all. Carmi it was so nice to hear from you, I have been a bad blogger too I am afraid, just not enough hours in the day. I find a bit of time early in the morning when I go out to feed the horses. I take my camera with me and just snap what I see. The neighbors and people driving down the road are used to seeing me crouched down or laying down in the field taking pics. It is nice and cool then. It is amazing how many flowering plants you can find in the wild. This one is probably about the size of the end joint of my thumb. After mowing the field I have found all sorts of plants at ground level.

We had a bit of rain this evening, not a whole bunch but better than nothing and enough to wet the ground and give the grass a bit of moisture, yaaay.

We have to go to Fort Wayne on Friday again and there is a chance that Larry will need another minor surgery. There is just one small spot that wont heal and now it is starting to grow bigger so we need to address it immediately.

Tomorrow I have to get all the stalls in order, do some shopping, have the tyre fixed on my bus that I use at the shows and the list gets longer because I will have to leave for Rochester (where the show is) Indiana, about 89 miles north of us, by about 5pm or so. I dont like driving at night so want to make sure I am there with plenty of time to spare.

Another day my blogging friends, thanks to you all, you are all always in my thoughts. ((((HUGE HUGS))))

Lori
xx

24 July 2007

Very very late tonight, thank heavens this site is behind in time because it is after midnight. Just posting a pic, will do some more text tomorrow, busy day. Another puppy pic not a particularly good onem they moved like lightening, havent been able to get back to shoot more.

((((Hugs)))) everyone.

Lori

23 July 2007

My friend Tiffany's husband trains hunting dogs and his black lab had six puppies six weeks ago. Most of them go to the guide dog association to be trained as seeing eye dogs. The last litter found wonderful homes and they have sent pictures of each dog with their new blind owners. They are going soon so I had to make an effort to get photos of them today. It was a bit later in the day than I would like to shoot these types of shots especially with them being black. I got a few nice pics, still wading through them all, I may try to go earlier tomorrow and get better softer light. The little boy was visiting. These puppies are unholy terrors!!!! We call them the alligators, they just want to bite everything. I eventually had to take my shoes off because they were destroying the laces and I was scared I would step on one. I have some pics of them with the shoes but havent got to those yet. They carried them all around the place playing tug-of-war.


So it is puppy pics today guys, still trying to get all of yesterday's sorted out from the family shoot and my hard drive has got so full that it is starting to freeze up so I spent hours resizing files to archive and burning DVDs to free up some space.

I mowed the other side of the pasture today and should have known better and worn a hat because I got too much sun. I have had heat stroke before and now I have to be really careful because it hits you much more easily after you have had it once. I am going to get an early night. ((((HUGS)))) to you all and take care, you are all always in my thoughts.

Lori
xx

22 July 2007

I only got home at 5pm from the shoot today and then had to go and feed the other horses down the road and start the chores at home so it has been a long day. We had gorgeous weather again, temps in the 70s, started in the upper 40s.

This is a flower in the garden at the place the horses are pastured. There were four or five different colors. I havent had much time to edit so only got this one and the following one of a varigated leafed plant which is really pretty. I promise I will try to get horsy ones tomorrow.


My cable for my flash was giving me trouble today so I really struggled with the flash only firing once every 5 or 6 shots!!! So frustrating as it is a new cable. I am going to get a few more and have them in reserve in case this happens again. The inside of the cable breaks and then the contact is intermittent. I have to quit winding it around the flash unit as this could be what is causing it to break. Anyway I got a few good shots of each group and a lot that I may be able to fix on the computer.

Well it is very late once again. Boy there sure arent enough hours in the day. ((((Hugs))))) to you all.

Lori
xx

21 July 2007

When I went to feed the horses down the road a few days ago this guy was flitting around the water tank area. It was raining lightly and I crouched down against the barn wall and waited for it to settle. Got this and a few other shots. It is a Tiger Swallowtail, so pretty. I have seen it or one like it a few times and never had my camera with me.

(click on pic to enlarge)

I finally got a decent picture of the Northern Mockingbird who is still screeching all day LOL. I had to crop this quite a bit because I cant zoom in far enough even with my 400mm lens and he moves so quickly so I have to leave a bit of room in the frame so he doesnt fly out of it!!! You can see his beak wide open making a dreadful noise. Here he is coming in for his landing after doing his flashing bit.

(Click pic to enlarge)

We had another beautiful day today, mid to upper 70s and blue skies.

I am going to shoot some family portraits for a friend tomorrow at lunch time so will be out for a few hours. I am not crazy about these kinds of shoots but they pay the bills. I also have a Welsh Pony show next weekend that I am photographing. I will have to spend two nights in a motel because it is too far to drive back and forth each day. Larry's niece Joyce (the one who has also taken up photography and I have done a bit of mentoring for) is going to come with me to do the computer side of things and try her hand at shooting horses and ponies. These are great people and they always make me so welcome at their shows, it one of the shows I really enjoy going to. Last year it was 96 F both days though so lets hope it is better this year!!!

Well it is late once again, 20 after 11 so I must turn in. ((((Hugs)))) to those that need them. See y'all tomorrow.

Lori

20 July 2007

We started off today really cool, 55F and warmed up to the upper 70s which made for a beautiful comfortable day. The rain is gone for now. I didnt do a whole lot outside in the barn today, just enjoyed the weather and hunted for stuff to shoot. I put the three stud colts out this afternoon again and they loved their romp. I can't wait until I can put the three fillies out too (not with the colts though), they are really needing to get some exercise.


Catblogging day today so here is Sylvester again in his favorite place on the roof of my pickup preening himself.

Larry bought a tractor with a bush hog (mower, heavy duty one for the pastures) which we got yesterday. It is pretty old but these things run forever so I tried my hand at driving it and mowing all the weeds in the one pasture, lots of levers to use LOL. I will post a pic of it tomorrow. I must say it was fun!!! I am so glad to be able to flatten all the weeds and burrs that get into the horses' manes and tails. We are hoping to get a scoop for it too which will allow me to move the manure pile, and also a manure spreader so that I can spread the manure in the field which helps the grass. We want to reseed the pasture and try to manage it in such a way that we will have some quality grazing in it if we rotate the horses and keep them out of it when it is muddy.

Well it is late yet again, I want to catch up on a few more blogging friends so I am signing off for the night. ((((HUGS))))) and take care.

Lori
xx

19 July 2007

Hey Mike here is your buddy!! He is absolutely rotten!!!! I have to say as much as I love him I have never had such a naughty stud colt. He is so desperate for someone to play with. Here he is scratching an itch and checking me out at the same time LOL, taken this evening.

We had lovely rain last night and this morning. I dont know how much but it just soaked into the ground like a sponge. Hardly any puddles and we had at least an inch or more, a heavy storm during the night and other than that nice light soaking rain. Expecting a few cooler days with less humidity, Yaaay.

I am getting caught up on my chores, a bit at a time and now need to catch up on my blogging, I have been a bad blogging friend to so many of you :-(

Maybe now I will be able to get the post holes dug for the fence as the ground may be a bit softer (for the first 6 inches then concrete for 2 and a half feet LOL).

Well I am still only getting done after 11pm every evening and my list hasnt got any shorter so I will keep plugging away. (((((Hugs))))))) to you all.

Lori
xx

18 July 2007

We woke up to rain wet ground again this morning although again it had not been a whole lot, not even pools of water, every drop is soaking straight into the ground. I shot this a few days ago at a little lake down the road from us. Have no idea what it is but it is pink and that is my favorite color so had to snap a shot or two. It has quite a few Japanese Beetles on it, we have had a plague of them this year. The shot above is one of me a few weeks ago with BB at the pasture down the road. I have very few pictures of me with my horses so my friend Tiffany shot this one and another with Wiggle for me.

This is BB with her momma Cat. You can see how dry the grass is but they are all staying fat, battling the flies but seem to be coping okay.
It is late late again, after 11pm. I will see you all tomorrow, thanks for your visits ((((Hugs)))))

Lori

xx

17 July 2007

Another busy day today, I am starting to struggle to keep up with the physical side of caring for all of my babies but I think that I may have found someone who will be reliable and able to help me a few days a week to do the heavy stuff, I hope it pans out.

Yesterday we went by ambulance to Fort Wayne to see Larry's surgeon and on the way home I took these shots through the back window. I have been wanting to take pictures of these forever and never seem to get the time to go out on an excursion to do them all, I really need to make the time. The one barn is really on its last legs as you can see and I would like to get a better shot of it.


We had some welcome rain today, not much again but probably about half an inch. It disappeared into the ground faster than it came down but we are expecting more over the next two days which will be more widely spread and not scattered as they have been of late which usually miss us. They are talking 1 - 3 inches for our area. Again I wont count my chickens before they hatch LOL but here's hoping.

The horses are all doing well and my brat baby Taxes is getting naughtier by the day if that is possible. He really needs a buddy to play with, Mike I am seriously thinking of sending him to you after all we do call him "your little buddy". I am sure your neighbors will love him too!!

It is late again, I am making a habit of this. Hope you all have a great day tomorrow. (((Hugs)))

Lori
xx

16 July 2007

Bird pictures again today I am afraid, no time for horsy ones. Mike you are quite right, this is a Northern Mockingbird. It was in the treetops all day again today, at least for the time that I was around. I tried to get some shots of it with the wings open and this was the best I could come up with because it moves really quickly, jumps up from where its perched, spreads its wings and then returns to its perch. The call it flashing. I got one shot from the front with its wings spread but it was out of focus because it is so quick and my other lens is very slow with its focusing so I had to try to prefocus on a point and then shoot as it took off. I will try tomorrow because I really want one from that angle. Hope it is still there tomorrow.

Here are some of my one Barn Swallow family. They perch on the telephone wire outside the big barn along with some of the other families around, sometimes I have twenty of them there. The brood in the other barn (the ones that I saved the one baby from drowning in the water bucket) did really well so my reintroducing them didnt seem to do any harm. They all took to the skies about a week ago too.

I have been told that they dont use the same nest twice in the same season but my pair in the big barn are already preparing the old nest for the next batch of babies so I will get more swallows to photograph!! This little guy is coming in for a landing.

Went to Fort Wayne to the doctor and which took half the day, then the hay was delivered, I wanted 300 bales but only got 180 because they only got 360 from the whole field (they usually get 700) and had to meet part of their other two regular customers orders too. This is worrying because unless we get some rain soon there will be no more and I will be in trouble. He has livestock himself (beef cattle) and is already starting to feed hay because the pastures are bare. I have to say that it is beautiful pure alfalfa, the horses are going to love it. I will have to find some grass hay to subsidise with. We eventually finished feeding and unloading at 9.30 this evening.

I am pooped so I am gonna turn in for the night. (((Hugs)))) for everyone who needs them, see y'all tomorrow.

Lori

15 July 2007

This bird sat at the top of the Douglas Pine today the whole day and squawked and sang and made a terrible noise the whole day!! I tried to get a photo of it flying, it has white stripeson the underside of its wings. Does anyone know what kind of bird it is? It isnt small, it is quite a big bird, about the size of a starling maybe a bit bigger.

I found this flowering weed today so had to take a photo of it. Pink is my favorite color. It is so terribly dry here, we are 5 inches under our normal rainfall total at this time of the year (that is according to Indianapolis and they have had far more rain than we have further north). The grass has all died and the weeds are flourishing!! I have never seen so much poison ivy before, it is everywhere. I give it a wide berth. Well that is another weekend over. Donna convince your husband that you absolutely have to have Dream, I will make you a really good deal on him LOL, hey I should be able to put the three fillies out soon and then I will post pics of them too, they are also really pretty, the one especially.

We have a doctors appointment in Fort Wayne tomorrow which I forgot about and the hay is going to be delivered (300 bales) tomorrow straight out of the field because they are baling tomorrow. I have to unload it straight away because they need their wagon for the other loads. I dont know what time it is coming so I am now in a quandry, I cant be in two places at the same time.

((((Hugs))))) everyone, hope you all had a great weekend.

Lori

14 July 2007

I decided to put the three yearling stud colts out into the big field today. I had put orange tape on most of the fence and knew that it would be visible. Eb (the Black and white) and Blaze (brown) know the field well because they spent all their time in it when they were born with their mothers and Blaze spent two months with the other two mares and their babies after he was weaned because his momma was going to a new home. Dream the brown/black/white colt is from the babies that were born in Iowa (his momma, brother and daddy were the horses we lost a little while back in a five day period). He had a ball as did the other two as well. It was a bit hot so I only left them out for a few hours. You can see how dry it is here, all of that green isn't grass, it is weeds. Amazing how they flourish and the grass dies with no rain. I left their halters on because this was the first time that they had been out of the front end of the barn and I was a bit worried that I would be able to catch them when it came time to come in. They were very good and considering they have had very little lead training (except Blaze who I trained well when he was weaned so that I could put him out without his mother to follow).



Nothing much else to report. I am getting worried that we are not going to get some of the horses sold before winter, I just dont have enough space for 20 horses!!! The next cutting of hay which I am going to start getting on Monday has gone up in price again to $5 a bale (from $3 to $5 is quite a hike when you are going through 4 or 5 bales a day). I am going to have to cut their hay back and start feeding shredded beet pulp which is high in calories and fibre. The only problem is that horses are browsers and they like to forage all day. When they have nothing to chew on then they get bored and develop bad habits in their stables, like cribbing and wood chewing or weaving. I will explain those if anyone would like to know what they are.

Hope you all had a great Saturday. (((((Hugs)))) to you all.

Lori
xx

13 July 2007

I put Dosie, the stud that we had gelded two months back, out into the field for the first time today. I had all the other horses inside because I am still not sure how he is going to be around the mares and wanted him to get the lay of the land and fences before I put any of them together. I know there will be a fracas for a short while as they get the pecking order sorted out and he realises that he is not a stud anymore, at least I hope he will. He is 9 years old so it may take a while as he has bred a lot of mares. This is not the prettiest picture of him but he had a nice run around, nothing frantic and crazy, just checked everything out. I walked around the field a few times and he followed me around like a puppy dog. Poor boy, it will be worth it though because now he can be a horse and have a life instead of the life of solitude that most studs have that are stabled. Our friend in Iowa has lots of horses and a few studs and he puts the mares in a 100 acre pasture with the stud he wants them bred to and they live there 365 days of the year. That is a more natural way of life but we just dont have the space and we dont always want to breed all of our mares to the same stud. Hopefully we will achieve this with little or no problems. I dont normally leave my horses with halters on either in the field or in their stables but did today in case I needed to get a hold of him in a hurry.

I have missed catblogging Friday the past two weeks but here is one for today. This is huggy cat, he followed me down the drive to the mailboxes and back again. I turned around to see that he was following and captured this shot. I thought it was quite cute. Reminded me of the movie "The Incredible Journey" LOL.

Well it has been a long day. I am going to try to get my beauty sleep, I need it. See y'all tomorrow. ((((HUGS)))))

Lori
xx

12 July 2007

Mike I have finally got another picture of your little buddy Taxes. He is growing so much and is still as rotten as ever LOL. Gotta love him though! I took this shot early this morning when they were coming down to get their breakfast.

I finally got the third yearling filly into a stable on her own, so now have all three fillies separated from the stud colts. I worked with them all on their halter and leading lessons and they all did well. The filly that I separated out today has never had a halter on and she did really well, I was pleasantly surprised because I thought she was going to be a problem. She was the most difficult of all the 9 babies that we had last year, to get near to when they first arrived. They had been running on 100 acres and had no human contact at all until they were loaded up and brought over to us from Iowa. Hopefully it will just be a matter of a few days and I will be able to get them out to the big pasture, they will be so happy to get out again.

I am still trying to find someone with a post hole digger (mechanical one) as I have more than 30 to dig at least 3 feet deep because the freeze line here is about 3 foot. When I get that arranged I can start on building the fence. I hate being reliant on others for so much. The ground is so hard because of the lack of rain. The clay is like concrete when it is dry, otherwise I would try to get them dug by hand. If I had started a week ago when i first planned to build it I would probably have a good few dug by now.

It got quite hot this afternoon and they say we may have a few showers tonight but I have just watched the weather and it looks as if it will sail by a few miles north of us again.

Well guys that is all for now. ((((Hugs))))) to everyone, thanks for your visits and messages they make my day. I am whittling away at my backlog but just never seem to get ahead.

Lori
xx

11 July 2007

Another creepy crawly type shot for today. This is a Monarch butterfly. I rather liked the colors, seem to give off a nice warm glow. I have one monarch caterpillar on my one milkweed plant, I had two but the one has dissappeared. I was hoping that I would be able to follow their progress and at last get a shot of the crysallis but either it is well hidden or it is no longer around, so hopefully the other one will oblige LOL. I didnt check on him today so hopefully I will still find him tomorrow. They have an interesting story. I wont go into it right now. I started my other blog and just havent got back to it. I want to devote that to the stuff I find out about all these creatures around us. My photography has made me look deeper into certain birds, plants and insects and some of the information I have found out is really interesting.

Abraham the 75-300 IS Canon is a lens, sorry I should have said 75-300 IS Canon lens LOL. I think it has just been bumped around too much because it used to take perfect shots right up to the long end with or without the IS (Image Stabilizer for those of you who are wondering what IS means). I have had it for 4 years now and my equipment gets well used in the summer at the horse shows, with lots of dust and sun and heat to contend with.

I spent some time with the one yearling filly today and after three lessons at leading she is walking up and down the barn with me like she has been doing it forever. Her name is Dee. I will get some new shots of the three fillies soon I hope. Once I have all three leading safely I will be taking them to the large field and seeing how they get on out there. It will take a few more days to achieve that though. I have left this for far too long, they should be leading and doing all those things by the time they leave their momma at 3 months old. It is harder to teach them when they are bigger but I am lucky that all of my babies are quick studies.

Well it is another 11.30pm evening. I am off to bed. We had a beautiful cooler day today and probably will tomorrow and then the heat will start creeping in again. We didnt even get enough rain last night to settle the dust, they say we have more on the way tonight again, I will believe it when I see it. ((((Hugs)))) to you all. John it was good to see you here again, I will visit you soon I promise (The tongue in the photo was a cow not a horse LOL).

Lori
xx

10 July 2007

I was wandering around the property today, I am really finding it hard to be creative and motivated. This was a litle flower on a grass believe it or not and it was about a quarter of an inch in diameter, tiny! Pink is my favorite color and even though the wind was blowing I managed to get one shot of it that was in focus.

I have been trying to capture a shot of these little birds forever but they are very elusive and quick. While I was walking down the drive to get the mail this morning this little guy was on the side of the drive in the grasses. I snuk up on him as close as I could but I still had to do some severe cropping on this to get him to fill the frame. I am so dissappointed with my 75-300 IS Canon at the moment I am not getting sharp photos with it at the longer end and if I use the IS everything is soft. It probably needs a service. I wish I could afford some really good glass.

I am making a habit of the late hour. It is 25 before midnight and I am just getting my blog done. Have to be up 6.30 so I am off to bed. It was dreadfully hot again today but there is rain moving in, not much a quarter of an inch if we are lucky so lets hope we get some of it. Then there is a cold front moving in which will keep us in the upper 70s low 80s until after the weekend, yaaaay, I can hopefully get something done outside.

((((Hugs))))) to all and thank you to all who have visited recently. You are all in my thoughts, I appreciate your visits more than you could know.

Lori
xx

9 July 2007

I took these when I went to feed the girls this evening. You can see how dry it is, the grass is mostly brown but there are some green shoots from the last little bit of rain we had last week. We are supposed to be getting some rain over the next two days, I hope it happens, we still need a whole lot more than we have had.

Wiggle just wanted to play with me, unfortunately she is a bit big so I have to put a cap on it quickly before she gets too rough. She is one of the few horses I have that actually loves me back, probably because I hand raised her. She looks so cute with her fly mask. She and BB are fine with them and their eyes are looking a whole bunch better.
I went to fetch hay again today and they have cattle there so I took my camera to try to get some shots of them. They are in a barn with a small area fenced outside so it was difficult to get good shots because of the black background and most of them are black. This was one of the odd ones out, cute little face.
Boy you gotta see it to believe it LOL. Their tongues sure get all over the place!!!
We had another day in the low 90s and tomorrow will be the same then expecting it to cool down to the upper 70s low 80s. Thank heavens. I still havent got the lumber for the fence as they didnt get their delivery last night. I phoned before I went fortunately. I will check with them tomorrow again and as soon as they have them in I will go over and collect them.

I am really wanting to ride but it is unbearable from 7.30 in the morning until 9pm at night. I suppose I will have to be patient and wait for this heat to pass.

Well that is about it. The barn swallows are all flying around along with various other families from other nests and the ones that I was worried about in the other barn seem to be fine. I have seen the parents in and out and going up to the nest and they are doing their thing trying to entice them to fly.

((((Hugs))))) for everyone.

Lori
xx

8 July 2007

Today's picture is of Taxes and momma. I very rarely see him nursing now and in fact her bag has really reduced in size which tells me that she is keeping him from nursing and is ready for him to be weaned. Poor boy, this is gonna be fun. I will wait until next weekend I think, he will be three months old on the 15th.

It has been very very hot today, 94 degrees F. I spent as much time inside as possible. I didnt get to but the lumber today either as Tiffany was delayed and when I phoned the store to find out if the price was still valid tomorrow he told me that he had run out of them anyway and would be getting more in tonight!!! Just as well, I would have been really miffed if we had gone all that way for nothing.

Four of the baby barn swallows flew outside today with their parents, just one lagging behind. I am sure it will follow soon. I was interested to see when I looked online that they have two lots of babies every summer. They dont use the same nest for the second lot of babies, they make a different nest, but when they return next year they will reuse the nests. This because of lice and mites which have gone by the following year. They also say that the second lot of babies are quite often fed by the fledglings from the first group along with the parents. I nearly lost one of the babies from the other nest in the old barn. I found it floating on the top of the water bucket when I went in to feed tonight. I dont know what made me look in there because the stable is empty at the moment, but there was the poor little thing looking helpless floating there. It obviously hadnt been there long because it would have got soaked and drowned if it had. I took it out and got a ladder and put it back in the nest. I hope they are going to be okay because after this I read that you can very rarely reintroduce a baby back into the nest because the others will jump out when you get close. I just held my hands over the sides until they had settled down and when I looked this evening they all seemed to be there and okay. I will see if they are still being fed by their mother and father tomorrow. I will be really upset if I have messed it up.

Well it is very late again, after 11pm. I am really battling with the heat, maybe that will mean that the hot flushes will keep me warm this winter LOL. Oh well. (((((HUGS)))))) to all.

Lori
xx

7 July 2007

I am running very late tonight, just half an hour to get this posted before midnight!! I havent missed one day since January 1st Yaay.

My friend Tiffany came over to visit this evening which made a nice change to the normal watching TV til we fall asleep. She and her husband have black labrador puppies which I hope to photograph tomorrow and we are going to Muncie with her 2 ton truck tomorrow to collect the wood posts that I need for the fence. I have the old one dismantled completely.

Another very hot humid day today probably reached upper 80s low 90s. I also caught up on the barn work and worked with the two yearling fillies, they are smart and catching on fast. I can't wait to get the new fence up so that the babies can go out and run again, they have never been cooped up this long and are getting antsy.

I have posted wha will probably be my last Swallow picture as all five babies have been flying around the rafters of the barn all day with mom and pop encouraging them and showing them how it is done. Here is one stretching its wings. Every time I took my camera out to try to catch them actually flying they didnt fly, when I put my camera down they started flying LOL!!!!

I will see y'all tomorrow, ((((Hugs))))) to everyone.

Lori

xx

6 July 2007

Hi guys, hot hot hot today. Started off really nice but by this afternoon it was around 90F. The one saving grace was that it wasnt so humid and tomorrow will be as hot but again the humidity will be lower.

This is a "flower" (not sure what it is we get a lot of flowering weeds here which made great colorful subjects) along the side of our drive between the lane and the field fence. It looks like a sputnik LOL. If anyone can shed any light on it I would be grateful.

I took this shot of the baby birds yesterday. The first two had ventured out onto the cross beams. Later they both returned to the nest. Today all but one were out and later this afternoon I could only see 4 so I dont know if one took his maiden flight and then they leave the nest immediately? I need to research that a bit to find out . The parents fuss around them singing and chirping and swooping to show them and they are still feeding them of course.

I got most of the old fence taken down today, now I just have to pull the metal posts out, go to Muncie to buy the timber I need and start digging holes to put the posts in and cement to set them well. I am hoping to find someone with an auger because this clay is rock hard at the moment. I will be relieved when it is built because the babies are getting a bit cranky being cooped up and I cant put Gee out in the bottom of the barn because the yearlings are there and I cant let them out. I worked a bit with two of the yearlings today, they did really well, I dont think it will take them long to learn what I need to teach them in order to be able to take them out to the bigger field.

Brat baby, Taxes (Mike's little buddy) is doing really well, he is growing daily. I am going to have to think about weaning him after the next week or so. His momma really needs the break but I dont have any company for him so that worries me and I dont want to wait until end September when our mare with the baby will come back from Iowa to wean. I think his momma might be fed up by then LOL.

It has been another long day but at least I achieved a bit today, will carry on catching up tomorrow. Hope you all have a great weekend. (((((Hugs))))) to all that need them. You are all always in my thoughts.

Lori

xx

5 July 2007

I am running really late again. I have chosen a picture from my archives today. This is Blaze (one of the yearlings) when he was a few days old last year. The mares on the other side of the fence were very interested in the new baby LOL. I thought it was quite cute.

I spent quite a lot of time today trying to work out how I was going to build a new fence that is visible and does not include wire and metal T posts, and getting quotes on the lumber and materials. I plan to use treated boards and landscape posts, but I have to be able to afford it too!!!! I was stunned when I got a quote for the white vinyl fencing which looks so nice. For the little area I want to do right now it will cost $2 500 !!!!!!!! The wooden version with 2 rails and one hot wire on the bottom will only be in the region of $400. MiKael is right when she says that once the little devils find out that they can get out without too much pain when they are working in a herd, it is hard to keep them in with the hotwire and they will just keep escaping.

We had a nice strong downpour this afternoon. Soaked right up but it was a nice heavy rain and much needed. The only problem is that the sun came out straight afterwards and it was soooooo humid again.

Will see y'all tomorrow again, still trudging on and trying to get to a few of my blogging friends every day, slow progress LOL. I miss all the news and beautiful pictures. (((((Hugs))))))

Lori
xx