Monday 11 May 2009 - Goldie's Debut

Well the light was a bit flat today so not the best for shooting the palomino who needs a nice golden light, but here is the brat, she is a year old at the end of this month, and apart from the umbilical hernia which I am not sure how I am going to deal with, I think she is gorgeous!!! Then I am barn blind. What do you think?

(Click on pictures to see larger version)

She still has a little bit of fuzz on her so I will have to wait another week or so until I have it all brushed out, but she is a livewire and a Handful with a capital "H". I don't know how I always end up with these naughty horses!!!!! The only sane one is Blue (who is in the background of the side shot of her). He has healed up really well and I had no problems with his gelding. Hopefully I can get him riding soon and in with the other horses so he can end his solitary life.

It has been a strange day today, I have been trying to visit my friends in Indianapolis for months now and every time we try to arrange it, something comes up and messes it all up!! I wanted to go visit today but I will see them this weekend at the horse show I am shooting I hope!! The problem with going to visit is that it would turn into an all day journey because they are about 60 odd miles away on the outskirts of the city (I think, I am a terrible navigator so it will be a miracle if I even find them LOL).

Praying for one or two more dry days so the farmers can get their crops in, but expecting storms Wednesday again so they better hurry and get those seeds planted who knows when they will get their next opportunity.

Well that is it, I am working furiously at my stock images, work is not an option around here so I have to find an income somehow.

Hope everyone is well, I seem to be coping for now thanks to a couple of very special friends. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori

xxx

Sunday 10 May 2009 - Mother's Day

Hi it is Mothers' Day here in the USA today and I think in the UK too. Hope all you Mom's had a happy Day.

I have been whittling away at all that needs to be done and am feeling better each day. Today's picture is of a little Robin who's nest fell out of one of our trees last night with the wind and it was hiding away in the grass. Momma was keeping it fed and I was just hoping that it would stay safe. So far so good, I daren't disturb it but at least she is feeding it, that is her with a beak full of worms in the picture.

My friend Pepper came over to visit today and I enjoyed her company, we let some of the horses graze on the lush green grass in my garden which needs mowing desperately. I hate it that the fields are just about bare and there is all this grass just on the other side of the fence. So we took a few out and also picked lots more and gave it to the ones that didn't get a chance to be out.

I am hoping to take 3 of the horses over to that pasture I use in the summer this week. That will relieve the load a bit more. Then it is just wait and see when babies arrive. Cat, the black and white mare is huge as usual! Her milk hasn't started coming in and I am expecting new additions any time from the beginning of June. She always goes overdue and has huge foals. The other mare is 19 now and has had many babies and she tends to be early. She is not as big but you can see she is carrying. I feel so badly for her, she is old and tired and I can't wait until I can just let her be a pasture ornament and live out her twilight years in comfort. I have no plans on breeding anything in the future or until the horse market has improved at least. I live foals but I can't bear to think that they are just unwanted and where they will probably end up.

I can then start working with Goldie (I promise I will post pics of her soon, she is gorgeous!! just need someone to hold her that isnt't intimidated by her spirit LOL), Blue and Wiggle and hopefully have two riding the trails this summer.

Well that is about it for now. It gets real lonely sometimes but I am pushing myself through it and trying to be constructive, I need to earn an income and jobs are just not available right now, so I am promoting my photos everywhere I can think of and sending to the agencies and magazines.

(((((Hugs)))))) everyone. Oh and Michael I could never have eaten that fish!!!! I am afraid I would never make a farmer's wife, I love all the animals too much, no I am not vegetarian but at least I am not on face to face terms with what I do eat although it is not much right now LOL.

Lori

xx

Tuesday 5 May 2009

Todays picture is another taken yesterday when I let the horses out to run and stretch their legs for a few hours. This is BB and April, the two fillies that our friends' daughter is showing in 4H this year. Larry and I gave April to her as she is a very dedicated young lady and BB is going to be our showstopper we hope because of her unusual looks and with Kendal being a little thing, BB is huge beside her.

Of course they got to rolling in the mud and we are working on getting them fit and fat for the County show in June/July. I really hope she does well with them both. We are not going to do riding classes this year but depending on how things go this year that will definitely be on the cards for next year.

I have had a truly amazing day today. Larry's son was really worried about a man's ring that had been passed down from generation to generation in the family and that I did not ever remember seeing, and believe me I have packed and been through everything here a few times over the past 8 years. I told him I would keep my eyes open for it because I would be having to go through everything again to tie up all the loose ends and make sure everyone got what belonged to them. A lot of stuff had been stolen over the years by the help coming into the house too, among which was a woman's diamnd ring so I didn't hold out much hope. I hadn't looked in the office which is a bit of a dumping ground, although I have tidied it up on numerous occasions during the past years, and was looking for a cartridge for one of my printers today when there right in front of me was a green velvet box. When I opened it I was amazed to see that it had the ring that he was looking for in it!!!!! Now bear in mind I have been over this same spot hundreds of times and now today all of a sudden it was there right in front of me. It has diamonds in it and is of great sentimental value. I am so amazed that it was there!

Then I was taking some papers to Larry's sister this evening to sign and as I was driving down the drive saw something splashing around in the few inches of water left in the field from the rain. I got out of the truck and found a carp about 12 inches long struggling in a few inches of water. It always dries up so I knew that I had to move it or it would die as the water dried up. I think it is what you call a carp. No I didn't have my camera!!!!! and it was getting dark. I couldnt get a hold of it so after getting myself all muddy and wet, drove on to get the papers done and when I came back looked for it again only to see another one further down the field, this one about 16 inches long also struggling in the shallow water. The first one had got into slightly deeper water and swum back up the pipe that runs under the road from the property over the road where there is still a pool of water. I must have looked a sight because I ended up soaked and muddy but I managed to get a hold of the fish eventually by the gills, trudged out of the muddy field and zoomed off in my truck to a lake just down the road where I released him. I will be looking out for the other one for sure as the water dries up because it will only be a matter of days before it does and these were pretty big fish!!!

Who says miracles don't happen and that people don't watch over us? I am not a religious person but not an athiest either and I have finished the day with a very good feeling. I just wonder is Larry had anything to do with the finding of that ring or the fish LOL?

That's it for today, it is late and I still havent eaten dinner so am off to cook. (((((Hugs))))) everyone.

Lori

Sunday 3 May 2009

Okay so once every two days might be a good place to start LOL.

I have had the horses all in for weeks now because of the constant rain and mud but today it had dried up enough for them to be able to go out although it is still very wet. As you can see from this photo the grazing is nowhere near established, and of course Piglette did the first thing she always does when she sees a pool of water (even in the middle of winter) lay down and rolled in it!!!!

It has been a lonely weekend, Michelle and her daughter, Kendal, came over today to work with the horses that Kendal is going to show in 4H this year. I was working on photos and stock on the computer inside while they were here so didn't see a lot of them. It was a beautiful sunny day so it was pretty much wasted spending it inside.

Goldie has nearly lost all her little tangles of hair so it will be photo debut time soon. Her sides look as if they have dreadlocks on them, all matted, just waiting to fall off LOL. She is so naughty, I am going to have to send her to filly charm school I think because I dont know if I am going to be able to give her the direction she is going to need and she could turn into a little brat as she has a very strong will.

Nothing much else to report. I miss Larry terribly and never thought I would miss the constant stream of different Home Health Aides coming through the house!!

Hope you all had a good weekend, and those who had the lousy weather to deal with hope you all came through that okay too. ((((Hugs))))

Lori

xx

Friday 1st May 2009 - New Beginnings

Today's picture is of the little B&W colt that I bred three years ago and was bought by my friends Stan (who is riding him) and Val, His name is Eb (DBD EBONY WONDERBAR). I went trail riding on Sunday as I just felt I needed a day away and snapped a few shots while I was out there.

Okay you guys I know I have said it before but I really am going to try to get this blog up and running again and keep it going. I am still a bit numb and there is still an element of disbelief that Larry is not with me anymore, it gets lonely here on my own and I find myself looking for him or thinking about him often.

Thank you so much EVERYONE who sent me messages of support, good vibes, positive thoughts and Hugs while I went through this ordeal, they were all greatly appreciated during a really difficult time.

There is so much to arrange and ends to tie up and without your support and the support of my friends Tiffany, Pepper, Michelle and Lisa along with my sister-in-law Rita and my "grandkids" I don't know how I would have got through it. The arrangements for a funeral here in USA are so different from what I am used to where I come from and seeing Larry for the first time at the viewing and then the last time before going to the cemetary were definitely the hardest part.

I still find myself wandering around the house aimlessly not knowing where to start but somehow everything is getting done (I hope).

The first and most important thing is that I need to find a constant source of income so may have to find a day job because there was no will and no insurance as Larry's insurances had been depleted when he first had his accident. So basically all the debt, taxes etc. fall on my shoulders, and you don't want to know what a funeral costs here either! They did a wonderful job though and at least I have good memories and pictures in my mind of Larry as I last saw him.

We have just had one of the 7 wettest Aprils ever recorded in Indiana and May is normally our wettest month of the year, so everything is just mud and puddles. The poor farmers havent been able to plant their corn and beans because the fields haven't dried enough for them to get them done with one day hot three days freezing and raining repeatedly. No relief in sight from the rain for the next 5 days so here's hoping that it stops for long enough before the middle of May so they can get their crops in or it will start getting too late to sew, and grow enough to get it harvested before winter. That of course will make the grain prices crazy again and they are still high enough now.

I am making plans to get all the horses that are saleable broke to ride and safe and then sold (or given away if necessary) to good homes for whatever we can get for them and believe me you can buy a horse for $100 at a sale these days so they are not bringing much, but at least I feel that I am giving them a better chance at finding good homes and being safe to ride this way, rather than ending up in a slaughter house. Drew is a great trainer and he, Annette and Tanya have already found possible buyers for 2 of them but they have horse flu in their barn at the moment and need to get that cured before they can take horses in or out of the barn as it is highly contagious. Drew, Annette and Tanya have been a godsend to me with this dilemma and I can never thank them enough or repay them for their help with this.

I made my first sale on Etsy.com last week!!!!! Three sets of trading cards, I mailed them yesterday so I hope that the buyer will be happy with them. I am going to start listing more stuff there today and start preparing stock images again for the photo agency and magazine because I have a feeling that this will be how I earn an income with the job market being so bad at the moment.

Well that is about it for today, I am sure there will be more trials and tribulations over the months to come so hold onto your seats.