Saturday 22 August 2009

Wow yep it is probably gonna rain or something (hope not though because Stan is cutting hay for us today) but I am here again.

Was editing some pictures I took about a month ago when I went to the farm where I buy my horse feed from. This little mini foal was 3 weeks old at the time and I fell in love with him.

Busy busy as usual so will cut it short and get on with some work and hopefully pay the bills.

Dont forget, if you like my photos, I am offering a very inexpensive way to have a small copy (trading card size) of them as collectors items which I am doing using my Etsy site or if you are looking for inexpensive gifts for you or family or friends please visit my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6874447 here you will find all sorts of goodies from my photo trading cards to crocheted dish wash cloths (which I highly recommend as once you have used these woollen ones you wont use anything else).

Have a great weekend all ((((Hugs))))

Lori
xx

7 October 2007

It was a very long day today and extremely hot. Indianapolis has set record highs the last two days with temps in the upper 80s when they are normally in the low 70s. We set out at 8.30am after feeding the horses and getting Larry up and about. The first shoot went fairly well but as said before very hot. The young stallion was very co-operative bless his heart. I posted the first shot of him, just a portrait, I have others but we only got back ater 7pm and after unpacking etc. it was after 8pm so I am exhausted.

I browsed briefly through my pics and picked a few but I can't say I am blown away by any of them. Not really ideal conditions or the right time of day to shoot these types of shots but I hope the owners are happy. The second shoot was a lady who I have photographed at some of the Pinto shows, Cheryl, she is a lovely energetic lady and we had fun despite the heat. The one with the white stallion is of her and the stallion an Arabian is now 27 years old. He looks good for his age but she really wanted some shots of him before he starts going downhill. The next one is a yearling that she has just sold to a young girl who she is giving lessons and instruction on his care and eventual riding, he was a bit of a handful so we just got some of him running, this trot one I liked, looks like he is floating. The next one is of one of the geldings that board with her, he is a Pacer and bless him he had quite a thick coat already from the cold spell we had and was sweating quite badly but I liked this portrait of him. The last one is of a mini pony foal!!!! It is soooo cute, tiny little thing, only about 20 inches high and very spunky. Cheryl is like me, she cant send any of her horses to a sale and she has quite a few that she originally bred many years ago who are now living out their twilight years with her after being returned to her on her farm, fat, sassy and healthy. She also has over 20 horses at the moment, four are minis the rest are paints and pintos of various ages (5 stallions!!!). She is a soft touch like me, and loves her horses LOL. I hope when it cools down some I can get another chance to go there again and get more shots when it is not so unpleasant to spend time outside. Maybe some snow ones!!!!

Well I must get some shuteye, Larry has arranged for a young lad to come and help me tomorrow to get the post holes filled with clay and tamped down well to make them sturdy and secure, help clean stables, mow grass and finish the fence. It is going to be another hot one but then it will cool down quickly in the next two days and we will be more at our normal temps.

Gee is only going to the track on Wednesday now, I really hope the trainer comes to fetch her I will be very happy when she is doing what she is bred for and I am sure she will be too.

Hope you had a great weekend all, ((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

3 October 2007

I had a pretty lazy day today, not intentionally. I laid down this afternoon after doing a bit of computer work this morning and the next thing I knew it was 10 after 5!!!! I still had to go down the road to feed the mares and get all the other chores done too so I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off for the next three hours. So no more fence got built but it sure will tomorrow.

I have posted some of the pictures I have been working on, making post cards and getting them printed. This is a few of them so far and also shows what the back looks like. This is another item I intend to put on my website along with the calendars which I am working on and hope to get done soon so they are out earlier this year than last year.

Still working on the editing of the pictures that still need doing for new backgrounds, it is slow tedious work if you want to do it properly and have it look good. When I am finished with them I will post a few before and afters.

Well that is about it for today, still hoping I will slow down soon. One positive thing is that Larry has asked our friend if he will keep our three mares there in Iowa for the winter, we will pay for their feed but he has them running out with his mares so we are hoping it wont be too much of a problem and he will agree, which will relieve the load I have here a lot. Also it looks like a trainer will come and fetch Gee the thoroughbred we board on Sunday (she was meant to fetch her in April but something happened and she never got here). If she feels she can work with her, she was her trainer previously, two years ago, then she will take her for the rest of the season here which ends in November and then probably take her to Florida for the winter to carry on racing there, if she amounts to anything that is. She did really well as a 2 year old with this trainer but when the present owner bought her he made the mistake of putting her with a very unscrupulous trainer and when she came back to us for the winter she was starved and depressed so badly it took weeks to get her back to normal. She has a fabulous mind for a thoroughbred and is very easy to keep as far as keeping stable clean and handling her so I really hope she will do well. Of course I have fallen in love with her, she is so sweet. If that happens then that will mean 16 horses for the winter as opposed to 20. I should be able to stable that many converting the bottom of the big barn into stalls.

That's it for now, hope you are all well and ((((Huge Hugs))))

Lori

xx

22 September 2007

I got brat baby out today into the sunshine and roundpen for the first time since his accident. He was very happy to be out there, was a bit of a handful to get there but we managed eventually LOL.

I needed to take a few shots of him to show the friend who owned the stallion that sired him.

Larry wanted to go to a horse sale in New Castle today (same place as a lot of the shows that I shoot at). We had a friend who was taking two horses and he was interested to see what prices horses were bringing. My only experience of a horse sale since arriving here was horrendous hence my adamant refusal to send any of my horses to one, but that is a whole nother story. It sure was an eye opener. Weanlings, the same age as Taxes (of course Taxes looked far better LOL) were bringing anything from 100 - 250 dollars. Well broke riding horses were bringing 400 - 600 and while we were there one mare brought 1100 but nothing else came even close to that. I was so depressed after going there, to see these beautiful horses devalued so badly.

Well that was pretty much the whole day taken up and it was nearly 5pm by the time we got home so had to start the rounds of feeding etc.

Donna, I will probably sell the calendars off of my website. I am also doing post cards which I am really pleased with. I will be posting those there too. A friend of ours who I often post photos of (Annette whose granddaughter is Morgan) is going to the Quarter Horse Congress which runs for most of the month of October in Ohio. She has a tack store called Golden Royal which is near Indianapolis and she takes a stand there every year. She is taking some of my matted photos and the postcards with her so we will see if they attract any interest. I really should do a calendar too to go there.

That is my lot for today. Thanks Abraham for the plant photo leads. The one that looks like a efern with the white clusters of flowers isnt hemlock, I am pretty sure it is Cow Parsley because the leaves are more fern like, very fine leaves, whereas the hemlock has broader leaves. Still looking into the other ones.

MiKael, I think a calendar of your arabians would be fantastic, we will get together to do one of those if you want. It will save you a lot of time learning the set up and Publisher (mine is the 2000 version) does a pretty good job.

I wanted to get around to answering questions that had been asked in the last few days, but I really need to get more of my photo orders finished so will try to do that tomorrow.

I will answer more questions soon I promise, need to get more print orders done. ((((Hugs))))

Lori
xx

19 September 2007

I was having Taxes withdrawals so thought I would try to shoot some of the brat inside the barn. His leg is healing beautifully and the scar is nowhere near as big as I thought it was going to be. This little guy is looking like a tank and filling out. Not the greatest pictures but hope they satisfy the Taxes itch. I told him all day that MiKael had called him a Land Shark, I just love that analogy LOL. MiKael, thanks yes I did get the e-mail about the camera. I promise we will get together soon on that. I am sorry about your blog content, if there is any way I can help on that let me know I have become quite good at tracking people down on the internet. Give me a link to the stolen text and I will give it a go.

Our temps were in the low 60s this morning and by this evening it was 86 again with the next week expected to be in the upper 80s. I only got one more post set but I did get the stables finished in the main barn and the load of sawdust unloaded. Still working on the orders from the shows, we are starting to get online orders which is great.

That's it for today. More jobs piling up, I need to get some calendars made for next year to sell off the website and a thousand other things.

Hope you are all having a great week, great to see some of my old visitors popping in again!!!! I will get organised one day I hope :-(

(((Hugs)))

Lori

6 August 2007

It just gets hotter and hotter every day, I hope it cools down like they expect for the weekend because I have another horse show this weekend. So far they are predicting mid to upper 90s going into the end of the work week and then supposedly upper 80s for the weekend. Man I am gonna roast!!

As promised here is a pic of the Brat (Mike's little Buddy) Taxes using his creep feeder. I have devised these in the stall walls or in the sliding doors for the stalls that have sliding doors. He is a little big for it but is still managing to use it nicely. They would normally be able to use it from the time they are born but the stall that he and momma were in didnt have one of these so I was a bit apprehensive and didnt know if he would be willing to put his head through. He is eating like a little piglette!!! Look at that little face, butter wouldnt melt in that mouth the little darling. He is really being good with his dressing changes and so far has not done any chewing of bandages.

This is a shot without his head in it so you can see it a bit more clearly.
It was dreadfully hot today, heat index in the low hundreds, very very humid. The three girls are doing well outside too and I put the Lori and Cayenne and Dosie out in the field next to them tonight so I think all is working well so far. I love looking out of the kitchen window and seeing them all out there, good for my soul!!

Well an early night again today for me, the heat is really getting to me. I am still waiting for the printer paper to be delivered, should be here tomorrow or Wednesday so I can get the orders from the show out to the competitors.

((((Hugs))))) to everyone. Carmi thanks so much for your visit, it was great to see you again, I know the feeling with getting behind on my blogging visits. Hopefully things will slow down again and we can get caught up, I miss the interaction everyone used to have when things were slower LOL.

Lori
xx

1 August 2007

Two pictures today, one of "brat baby" Taxes with his bandage on. It has actually slipped down a bit, it is a very difficult place to try to keep a bandage on. I let him outside for a bit today and he was very well behaved and didnt run like a mad thing, just nibbled on the weeds and grass and got a bit of fresh air. He also has his little green halter on. I have had to leave it on him because I want him to get used to it so that when I do take it off he wont mind me putting it back on.

The second picture is of Blue who I have started putting out in the roundpen while the shade is over it and for the nights. It has been so hot and I am sure he enjoys the cool outside air. That is Blaze, his son, in the background looking on. Dosie has settled in with the two mares out in the field which I am grateful for, so now Blue can have his area and get some exercise. I would love to geld him too so that he is not such a liability and can also have a life. He is the most loving colt I have, he will find something to amuse himself no matter what. I would love to be riding him.
Very very hot again and for the foreseeable future too. I dont get much done outside because by 7.30am it is already dreadful and only starts to cool after 9pm and then it is still muggy and hot.

I am nearly finished preparing my print orders, then I just have to print them and get them in the mail. If anyone is interested the proofs are on my website, the Welsh Pony show. http://prophotobylori.net/

I can't believe we are into August already. I am going to turn in after checking a few of my blogging buddies' blogs. (((Hugs)))) to you all

Lori
xx

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

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

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