8 June 2007

Catblogging day!!! This little kitten belongs to a friend of mine. I went over to her place to see a tractor that she has for sale and a whole bunch of cats and kittens descended on me LOL. This is one of them, such a little cutie.

Abraham, the barn swallow is for you. I was happy to discover a barn swallow nest in my large barn above a stable right next to my hay mall so I can get pretty close to it. These are of one of the birds in the nest and one sitting on the rafters watching me. I have far better light here in this barn and can get a lot closer to the nest. I still have four nests in the old barn. This is the first time that they have built a nest in the big barn so I hope they come back every year. I hope to be able to take pictures periodically until the babies leave the nest. I am going to try your mirror on a stick to see if I can see into the nest when the parents are not there.

We went up to see the Surgeon today in Fort Wayne and we have another breakdown but we are, once again, going to try to heal it without surgery. We have never succeeded before but the doctor is going to be away for a few weeks so we wont be able to do anything surgically until the middle of July. Not the news we were wanting but we will just have to live with it and plan accordingly.

It was very hot again, I woke up to temps in the upper 70s or so, it was dreadful. By the time we had got back from the hospital the rain was building but still hot and humid (81) and then we had a nice downpour for about 10 minutes and that was it. Even more humid until the cold front started moving in this evening and it is quite bearable again. Hopefully I will be able to get something achieved in the barn again tomorrow and ride the two fillies. Cayenne is the most amazing horse, she is absolutely beside herself if you dont pay her attention and will demand to come out and work. She is such a busy filly (I think I have said that numerous times LOL) and just wants to have a job. She does everything with enthusiasm. The guys who had her for the two weeks paid us the utmost compliment on her saying that she was an awesome filly and would excell at whatever we planned for her to do. I just hope we can find a nice home for her.

Well guys that's about it. I am gonna try to get an early night tonight. Havent been sleeping so well (night sweats - yuk). Its hell to be getting old LOL. Mike your buddy is being a good boy for a change, I havent had a lot of time for him recently but will be making time for him. He is shedding his baby coat and looks a bit moth eaten at the moment. He loves the fan that I have put in their stall and momma will be out in the field and the little darling will be in the barn standing by the fan LOL. I will try to get a shot of him standing in front of it. The BIG black horse flies started today. They come in swarms, measure about an inch and a half long and bite like hell. They are at their worst in the hottest months. I noticed a few harassing the mares in the pasture today.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Am still steadily trying to catch up with my visits and comments. Thanks to everyone and (((Hugs))))

Lori
xx

7 June 2007

The picture today is of brat baby and momma taken a few weeks ago when they were coming up for their dinner. I hope I havent posted this one before.

Another busy busy day. It was 93F today and we sweltered!!!! I rode Lori first thing this morning but by the time I had finished it was unbearable. A load of hay was delivered and had to be unloaded today because they need the wagon tomorrow to load more hay out of the field. It has been really windy too which hasnt helped. I finished unloading the hay at 9pm this evening. Had to try to fit all the other chores in, in between the heat and regular chores. I am pooped LOL.

Mike I made a half hearted attempt to put a halter on Taxes (Your buddy!!) but he objected strongly and I didnt have the energy to fight with him so I will try again tomorrow hopefully it will be cooler. We have to go to Fort Wayne again to see the doctor so that will be half the day gone before we get back home so I will be running in mad circles again.

MiKael, I know, bad Lori, in fact Larry was saying the same thing yesterday morning. I don't have a pair of good riding boots, guess that will have to be added to the shopping list soon. I normally always ride with a pair of good shoes with a heel. I have heard horror stories of feet slipping through stirrups and people being dragged so I should know better. I also wish you were here to help me with rearing problems LOL, he is a real handful and I also have to get the yearlings halter broke and am just not getting it all done. Hey you don't want to come for a visit do you???? Hehehehe

Still no rain but we are expecting a slight chance of severe thunderstorms tonight and isolated tornados. It has been gusting all day so it is blowing in. The guy we got the hay from said that he only got half of the normal number of bales from the first cutting and that a few of his alfalfa fields which he reseeded last year, he has had to plow in because the late snow and cold killed most of it so they have to start from scratch. He also said that the next cutting, if there is one because if we dont have rain soon it just wont grow obviously, will have a price hike. I dont know what you all with horses pay but we pay $3 a square bale (50-60lbs) for good alfalfa. In past years when we have battled to find hay I have paid as much as $8 a bale. I use 5 bales a day and could really use more but the horses are looking okay so I am happy.

Julie B, Talj, CG and AB and anyone else who I have forgotten thanks for checking in. You are always in my thoughts too, I just wish my life would slow down a bit. Maybe tomorrow. (((Hugs))))))

Lori
xx

6 June 2007

I got a whole bunch accomplished today for a change, it was a lovely coolish day until lunch time when it got pretty hot and then cooled down around 5 again. I rode Cayenne this morning as you can see in the pictures above taken by my better half Larry and then I rode my filly Lori this afternoon. They both did so well I was really pleased with them. Then I lunged Dosie, Blue and Gee. In between all that I cleaned the stables, went over to the other pasture to feed the horses and cut down the thistles growing in the field abd kastky fed the starving masses at home. It was 10 til 9pm when I finally came in!!!! I couldnt believe it was so late. Tomorrow I have to work on getting the yearlings wormed and more halter training for them and try to put a halter on Taxes.

Thanks for your visits again L and Julie B, Ancient Images, MiKael, Mike, CG, Talj, Anna, AB, Abraham I will visit soon (I know I keep saying that but things are just not slowing down - when I do I will have a lot of reading to do LOL). We are probably going to sell Dream (in response to Ancient Images' question) and I am banking on you sending the rain our way LOL.

You are all in my thoughts ((((Hugs)))) and thanks.

Lori
xx

5 June 2007

I just dont seem to be getting ahead but I will keep trying. I managed to get all the stables stripped and replaced each one with 5 barrowloads of sawdust so they are all bedded down nicely. I am going to have to seperate the 3 yearling stud colts and 3 yearling fillies as they are getting a bit too grown up now and I dont want even the chance of a mistake happening LOL. That is going to complicate things a bit more with turning them out as they will have to be rotated in the area they have to run now. I wanted to start riding a few of them today but just ran out of time again!!! Larry is going to get up tomorrow for a short time and help me with their training. He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the horses and is able to tell me exactly what needs to be done.

The picture today is of the yearling stud colt who would have been the full brother to the baby we lost a few weeks ago and his mother obviously was Barbie, the mare that died. He is a lovely looking colt. I did a bit of selective desaturation on this picture so that only he was in color and the rest of the picture was black and white. His name is Dream.

I am pretty tired tonight so I am going to cut this one short. I hope you all had a great Tuesday and have an even better Wednesday. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

4 June 2007

Hi everyone, hope you all had a good Monday. We had a nice heavy downpour this afternoon (thanks Mike for sending it our way LOL) although it was not nearly enough. Hopefully we will have a few more like it soon. It was also much cooler and the next few days will be the same and then a big warm up, 90s. Yuk!!

Mike asked about Taxes yesterday. He was deep in the doo doo I am afraid. I have posted a shot that took of him yesterday and unfortunately he did the same thing to me and struck out with his front hoof which caught me on my forearm!!!! Bad Baby!!!!! When he was little it was cute but now he towers way above me when he rears so it is something that is going to have to stop and the learning process isnt always nice LOL. I still adore him he is such a little stud. He is so happy that the mares are in the field next door again, he was getting so lonely and so was his mother which I find surprising because she is a people horse and not friendly to other horses (the boss mare). Being cooler today they spent most of the day outdoors for a change.

I have nearly got the barn up to date, just have to put sawdust in all the stables which I am unloading straight from the trailer. The wind and rain this afternoon cut that task short so I didnt get finished. Tomorrow is another day. I want to ride Cayenne and Lori in the morning and exercise Gee in the roundpen for a bit. Then I need to carry on working with the yearlings getting them halter broke so that I can do something with them. I have to worm them all and getting the paste into their mouths is not always fun. I got the big horses done yesterday but not the yearlings.

L Taxes was born on 15 April so he is 7 weeks old now. His name came from a suggestion of one of my blog visitors Annette as15 April is Tax day (tax return submission deadline) here in USA.

Well I am going to try to catch up on a few of my fellow bloggers' posts. Hope everyone has a grat Tuesday. (((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

3 June 2007

Yet another hot hot hot day. At least we had one rain shower which lasted all of two mintes and was dry within half an hour!!! I put Lori and Cayenne out in the pasture this afternoon when it had cooled down. I havent had any horses in it since the others went to the pasture down the road so it has had a chance to grow a bit of grass despite the lack of rain. The top shot is of Lori and Cayenne getting tucked into the green stuff and the bottom one is of the very fat and happy mares down the road, Wiggle in the front.

I managed to get most of the stalls stripped and hopefully tomorrow will get them finished and filled up with sawdust and put everyone back where they belong.

My legs are so stiff after riding Cayenne yesterday!!!! Shows how unfit I am, MiKael I dont know how you do it although at the same time I wish I had more motivation to get my horses ridden every day. When Larry is up and about he can at least spend a bit of time out with me and then it is not so bad, I hate being out in the barn on my own.

Well guys, dont give up on me, I will get to you I promise. Mike, Talj, Julie B, CG, AB, Abraham, L, Donna, karen & MiKael you are all in my thoughts constantly. (((((Hugs)))))) to those who need 'em. Hope you all had a great Sunday.

Lori
xx

2 June 2007

I collected Cayenne today and rode her at the trainer's place and then again this afternoon at home. She is doing really well considering she only has 2 weeks riding on her. The young teenagers that started her for me have started two mares for me before and are really great youngsters, they are meticulous in their barn and really good with the horses. The only problem is that it was 90F this afternoon and I overexerted myself riding and suffered a bit of heat exhaustion.

We had a nice storm brewing this evening and I could smell the rain, hear the thunder and see the clouds but we didnt get a drop, it just sailed on by east of us. There is another band moving in tonight, maybe we will get some, it is getting really desperate here at the moment, the crops are starting to shrivel.

I have posted a picture of the barn swallow babies from last year. This is for Abraham, I promise I will visit your blogs again soon so I can see what you have been up to. The other one is of Taxes having one of his energy splurges LOL. He is such a great foal, I will try to get more new shots of him soon.

I am off to bed now. Hope you all had a great Saturday and hope you have a wonderful Sunday. ((((Hugs))))))

Lori
xx