30 June 2007

This is gonna be short again, woke up with a migraine again this morning and spent the day wanting to die and running back and forth to the bathroom to be ill Yuk!! What a waste because we had a glorious day and I had so much planned. I have no idea why I am starting to get these, two in three weeks or so, they have never been a problem before. I could only start looking at the computer screen at about 9.30 this evening without my head wanting to explode. Oh well here's hoping tomorrow will be just as nice because the heat is moving in again.

Thanks Mike for the explanation about the growths on that creeper. It is covered with these beetles at the moment (excuse the risque pic LOL). They are eating the leaves so that they look like lace, I will try to get a shot of those tomorrow. Will be an interesting series to have.


The pic below is a caterpillar that I found in the garden yesterday. I thought it was pretty colorful so he had his own photoshoot.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Will take some horsy pics tomorrow I promise. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori

xx

29 June 2007

No horse images today, I spent the day cleaning stalls. We had a beautiful cool non humid day and I made the most of it. My first picture is from the storm we had a few days ago. This was the cloud front that came over us as the weather moved east. I really thought it looked a bit tornadic and watched it for quite a while. It was swirling a bit but obviously not enough to turn into a tornado, scary none the less.

The second picture is of a leaf on a vine that grows in the field and it has these strange deformities on it. I would be interested to know what causes them, they look like growths of some kind, really weird.

Can you believe tomorrow we are half way through the year already!! I am pretty proud of myself, I havent missed one day of my blog since the 1st of January, that is a milestone for me. I have met so many great people through this blog and have seen and shared lots of great photos.

The stallion that we gelded six weeks ago is nearly ready to start being introduced to the mares again and the pastures so I started by taking him for a walk around the pasture this evening so he can get used to where the fences are. I am going to tie fluorescent tape onto the fence tomorrow so it is more visible. That is my biggest fear, a horse running through a fence and cutting his/her legs up. I use a rather thin wire and electrify it because I would rather it broke easily if one of them runs into it than for it to get wrapped around their legs and cutting them up badly. They learn about the electricity and stay away from it. I would love those white rail fences or even the white electric tape fences which are more visible. I will do this with him every day for the next two weeks and hopefully he will be familiar enough with the layout that we will avoid him being stupid. He is another horse that we really need to find a great home for. He is a great horse and rides really well, he cold have done so much more if I had the time or if we could have found him someone who would work with him. He is 9 years old now but is still a great horse. He is the father of Lori, Eb, Cookie, Cayenne and Blue among others who have been sold I dont talk about much.

Oh well I am waffling. Hope you all had a great Friday. I know I forgot catblogging Friday, I do have a photo, I will post it tomorrow. It is getting really late so I will say G'nite, see y'all tomorrow. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

28 June 2007

We started with a really nice cool day but it soon got humid, although not as hot as the past few days. It rained this afternoon, a nice downpour again that soaked into the ground as fast as it came down and then pooled a bit on top for a short while after the rain stopped. Still very humid now but they say that we will have a very nice day tomorrow in the 70s with low humidity.

The baby birds are sooo cute, I will try to get shots of the other nest tomorrow. I also have shots of a baby robin that I found on the ground the other morning surrounded by my cats with its parents swooping and screaching. I picked it up as it was obviously trying to learn to fly. I put it up in the pine tree on one of the lower branches and mom and dad kept a close eye on it as there was also one of those black/blue birds hovering around waiting to pounce. They were chasing it away constantly. The baby eventually hopped up onto higher branches with more cover and I couldnt see them anymore so I hope that it survivied. I will try to post some of those tomorrow.

My pictures today are of the six yearlings which I desperately need to sell. The large group has all six but Dream is hidden behind the others so I posted a picture of him and Blaze as well. It is hard to take photos of them because they all follow me around in a long line, looks like the pied piper LOL.

Pic 1 : from left to right, Dee, Dawn, Dudette, Blaze and Eb
Pic 2: L-R Dream and Blaze

They are all going through a height spurt especially Dream. Three of them are already as tall as a lot of our older horses. They are going to be big compared although two of them's Daddy was the stallion that our friend lost recently and he was huge.

A big congratulations to Annette, Tanya and Morgan (I posted pictures last month of Annette and Morgan at a recent show that I shot). They got a World Champion and Two Reserve World Champion awards at the Pinto World Show last week and Morgan got some great placings in large fields in the children's classes.

Well that is it for today. Thanks all for your visits ((((Hugs)))). "See" y'all tomorrow.

Lori
xx

27 June 2007

I just had to post these ones of the baby birds. It was extremely hot today and under the aluminum roof these little guys were so hot they were hanging their little heads over the side of the nest with their beaks open and looked as if they were panting. Every time my flash fired they popped up with their mouths open. At about 5pm we had a nice storm, quite a hard downpour for 15 - 20 minutes which was immediately absorbed into the ground and looked as if it hadnt rained!!!! Anyway that cooled things down a bit for the little guys. I am going to try to get photos of the other nest of babies tomorrow.

I didnt get much done today, when I went out to feed at 7.15 it was already getting hot and humid. We were in the upper 80s again but the humidity was dreadful. It cooled down while it rained late afternoon but then got hot and humid again. We really need this rain so I am happy about that.

The heat is really getting to me this year (maybe I am having hot flushes LOL I am due to go through that) and has made me feel quite ill and headachy.

Hope you are all well (((((Hugs))))) to everyone.

Lori

xx

26 June 2007

We started with a hot humid day again and at about 4.30 it started to cool down and looked promising for rain but unfortunately other than a few spots we didnt get anything, but at least it was cooler.

This is a picture I took a few days back of The Brat Taxes using his mommas tail as a fly swatter and to hide from the flies behind. Clever baby LOL. He is growing like a weed and is turning into a little chunk. I like him more and more every day. I played with him a bit this evening, he would come running down the hill from their barn and around the corner and I would be waiting for him and jump up spreading my arms, his reaction is to leap all fours off the ground and swing around in the opposite direction and go flying back up the hill only to turn around check me out and do it all again LOL.

Hope you are all well, (((((Hugs)))))) to all that need them.

Lori
xx

25 June 2007

I am going to post some more barn swallow pictures today. I really want to start posting on my new blog but just havent found time. That will be devoted to these animal pictures and stories.

In the first two pictures if you cloick on them to see larger versions you may be able to see the worms in her beak and in the last one her crop is all swollen (around her throat and cheek area) with the insects and worms she/he has found to feed the babies. He/she was waiting until I moved a bit further away before feeding the babies.

I am still trying to catch up and making slow headway. It was very hot and humid today so not pleasant to be outside. Needless to say the barn work got behind too.

Well tomorrow is another day so I am going to call it a day and get some sleep. I hope you are all well. (((((Hugs))))))

Lori
xx

24 June 2007

I have posted pictures of my racoon visitor that I had to trap a few days ago. I hated to do it but he was tearing the barn up and scattering feed all over the place. They can be very destructive. When I released him he shot out of the trap so fast that this was all that I got LOL, gives you a good sense of speed.

We had a bit more rain this morning, the water was starting to pool a bit but by the time it had stopped all of the water had soaked into the ground. We had 1.2 inches which still isnt nearly enough but we are grateful for every drop at the moment. Next year I will probably be moaning about the mud and too much rain!!!

I took it easy today, should have taken advantage of the cooler weather because the 90s are on their way again but I just couldnt bring myself to shovel poop all day. I hate leaving the stables dirty.

Brat baby is looking very flea bitten and really needs a buddy to play with. I wont take pictures of him while he is looking like this, he should shead out in a few weeks. He has 3 weeks until he can be weaned (3 months old). In answer to a question in my comments, I think it was Donna?, I find that by 3 months the mares have had enough of the little devils and are needing to get some rest and put on weight again which they wont do until the babies are weaned. Also if I have bred them back for next year they need to have a break. All of the babies are given grain from the day they start picking at it in their momma's feed pan. I usually have a creep feeder that only they can get into, so they are more than ready to go out on their own. I have had one as young as 6 days old who would stick his head through the bars to get to the pan hanging outside the gate even before I started putting grain in there so I put some in to see what he would do and he got stuck straight into it!!! Also they suckle very seldom once they get to 3 months, the mares tend to push them away.

Well it is late again, look forward to reading some more blogs tonight and checking in with some of you. ((((Hugs))))

Lori
xx

23 June 2007

Hi all

My photos today are of me riding Cayenne yesterday (MiKael dont yell at me I am wearing those dreadful shoes again, I promise I will get some proper boots soon), the girls in their pasture taken today in the rain and the last one is of Wiggle taken yesterday with her fly mask on!!!! Looks like an alien LOL. She is so good about it and her eyes are looking much better today. Yes you did hear "rain" it has been raining steadily since mid morning, a light drizzle which is soaking in as fast as it is coming down. We are very relieved. It has been so cool as well.

I didnt get much done today have been feeling tired and a bit down, struggling a bit but hopefully that will pass soon. I am going to get an early night because I have to wake at 3.30am to give Larry an IV antibiotic. The levels are a bit high so we have to give it to him every 28 hours until it comes down a bit and last night it was 11.30pm. Takes about an hour to run. I am not a morning person and am dreadful if I am wakened at night!!! So this is going to be short.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. ((((Huge Hugs)))))

Lori

xx

22 June 2007

I am pooped once again. I had a pretty hectic day, tried to get some photos of me on Cayenne again with little success, poor Tiffany had a crash course on the Canon and pulled off one or two shots. I havent had time to process much. I also caught the Racoon that was tearing up my barn and spreading horse feed far and wide. I took him about 5 miles down the road and released him into a forested section surrounded by fields of corn and soy beans. I took a picture of him in the trap, he was so scared. I can't kill animals and even though they are dangerous to horses (they carry diseases) I had to release him.

My barn swallows in the big barn have hatched their babies. It looks as if there are 4, they were sticking up their heads with their mouths open LOL. I snapped a few shots some of which I posted here. I also took pictures of Wiggle in her fly mask, she looks like an alien LOL, but her eyes are 100% better now that the flies arent bothering her, I will post one of those tomorrow, and of course it is catblogging day so there is a picture of Sylvester laying in his favorite place, on my truck, doing contortions trying to clean himself!!!

Have a great weekend everyone. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori

xx

21 June 2007

Another very hot day. We didnt manage to get the photos of me riding, we will eventually LOL. It was too hot to be outside much so I am posting some flower shots I took while walking down to the mail box yesterday. These are all wild flowers, the yellow and white daisies and the yellow cluster of flowers are about the size of my thumb nail, tiny. The bee is on a milkweed plant flower. The milkweek is the staple diet of the Monarch Butterfly caterpillars. It is quite interesting how it all works. I am starting another blog for my creepy crawlies and critters so that I can get identities on plants and animals and share stories of what I find around here.

I will try to get up real early tomorrow to get some riding in and work with the babies. This is the only thing that I hate about summer temps. From today the days start getting shorter again, that always depresses me too because I know we are on our way towards winter, perish the thought.

Wiggle is suffering with her eyes. Because she has so much white under which is always pink skin and her one eyes are mainly surrounded by pink skin she is very sensitive to the sun and her one eye is really running and looking sore around it to the point that is wants to break open and bleed. I have put a fly mask on her because the flies just aggravate it, lets hope she keeps it on!!! I will take a picture of her tomorrow wearing it. If it doesnt improve I will have to bring her home to treat it properly. Holding thumbs that this works. I bathed it too with warm water and boric acid diluted into it.

Sorry Mike no pictures of your "no longer little" buddy Taxes. They spend most of the daylight hours in front of the fan in the barn. I will be thinking of weaning him in about 3 weeks or so. He could quite happily be weaned now, I hardly ever see him suckling anymore, but I never do it before 3 months. Then I can put him momma out in the pasture with the other mares down the road.

Well thats all for today, we are expecting rain over the next few days. I am not holding my breath as they have been saying that for the last 2 months and we are still waiting for anything significant.

Hope everyone is well ((((Hugs))))) to you all, you are always in my thoughts.

Lori
xx

20 June 2007

Something a bit different today. Last night I went out into the field just before the light completely went to see if the brat would run and I could maybe get some motion blur shots, no such luck but I came up with these two which I thought were quite cool. Here momma is shaking her head and because of the slow shutter speed I got this cool effect LOL

This is the brat under one of his trees, I used a new processing technique on it which I rather like. It is very grainy because of the low light but also has its own charm I think.
Larry got home today and we are trying to get back to normality, whatever that is. It has been another long day so I am going to have to cut short once again. Thank you thank you to all my regular visitors, you are going above and beyond keeping up with me when I have been neglecting you all so badly. Just know that you are all always in my thoughts. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

19 June 2007

Another day over. It rained a few times today, nothing much, just enough to wet the ground and a slightly heaveier shower that soaked into the soil so quick it didnt look as if we had had any at all. It was much cooler today too than the pst 6 days. We are expecting more rain to move in for Thursday.

Larry is coming home tomorow, I am so relieved.

I spent the afternoon with a friend, we have been trying to get together for months and every time we have something planned it gets cancelled for one reason or the other!!! I got my shopping done and we are going to do photos of me riding the horses tomorrow morning before Larry gets home.

Photos today are of some of the flowers at the place where our 4 horses are out in pasture. The owner grows some lovely flowers and I have been meaning to take photos for ages.

No horsy shots today. I am off to catch up on my sleep, have been on the go since 5am.

Oh and we went past the Elk farm today to take photos and there are no more Elk!!!! I was so dissappointed but they have apparantly got rid of them all :-(

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

Lori

xx

18 June 2007

I took a few shots at the pasture today where the 4 mares are. They are still looking great despite the fact that the grass is going brown because of the lack of rain. We are supposed to have state wide rains tonight from midnight onwards, about half an inch so we will see, we sure do need it. The top shot is of Wiggle, she is doing great and is back to normal I think now. They came running for their food tonight, normally they saunter over or are waiting by the gate for me already LOL.

We have a cool off for which I am grateful, it has been in the mid 90s again today. Not much to report so I am going to end off and get a reasonably early night. Hope everyone is well and ((((Hugs)))) to those that need them.

Lori

17 June 2007

We had a superhot day today, topped out at 93 again but with very high humidity. We had a small shower last night which helped the plants but set us up for a humid hot day. I went out at 7am to give the horses their hay and water and when I went out to the field to give Taxes and his Momma their hay I was greeted by two deer. This is the closest that I have ever seen them here, so I crept inside and grabbed my camera and shot a few off, they were a bit far for the lens and not all of them were sharp as the sun had not risen over the horizon yet and it was a bit dull but these two were okay. I had to crop them a bit too. They sauntered along the fence line along the railway track then hopped over the fence and climbed the embankment and when they heard the train approaching they trotted over the track and down the other side. It gave me such a sense of calm to see them. It was already very hot even that early so I went and checked the fence as I didnt see them jump and was worried that the fence was down. It was okay.

Taxes did his buzzing bit, cantering full blast past me trying to line me up LOL so I shot a few frames. By that time the sun was coming up a bit. He is such a brat!!!!

I spent the day at the hospital, after putting up fans for all the horses. It gets extra hot in the barn because there is no breeze blowing through it even though it is open at both ends so when it gets into the 90s I usually put fans up on each stable. Spoilt horses I know, but that is me and I like my horses to be happy. Larry is doing really well and the doctor is talking about letting him come home on Wednesday if things continue the way they are. I will have to continue giving him the Antibiotic IVs for about 3 weeks. The doctor says that this is the best that the tissue around his seat area has looked for as long as he remembers so we are very pleased. I will probably go through again tomorrow and then on Tuesday my friend Tiffany and I are going shopping in Muncie (about 19 miles south of us) to get some things for the barn and groceries which I can't get here. We will go past the elk farm and see if there is anything to photograph there and then if it is cool enough she will try to get some shots of me riding Cayenne and Lori, the ones of Cayenne so we can advertise her. She is an awesome filly.

Well that's it. I am feeling much better although I still have a terrible stiffness in my neck and am having trouble turning my head to the left.

I will catch up on a few more of my friends' blogs tonight and then keep whittling away until I get some semblance of order again (if that is possible!!!)

((((((Hugs))))))) and hope you all had a great weekend.

Lori
xx

16 June 2007

Thanks so much everyone, gez I feel like a hypochondriac!!!! I am feeling a lot better today, my neck is terribly stiff, could have been the cause of the migraine but I can't turn my head to the left. Oh well, need a good massage and that should sort me out. At least the nausea has stopped, felt like I was gonna die LOL.

I have posted two pictures of a flowering tree which is at the place where I have the 4 mares down the road. Thought it was really pretty. The last one is a snap shot to show how much the brat has grown. It has been terribly hot again today, 91 F and expecting 93 tomorrow. I am going to try to get stuff done early tomorrow, I have been waking earlier recently, while it is cool then will go to the hospital to spend Father's Day with Larry. He is doing really well and the doctor is already talking about him coming home before the end of next week which will be great.

Well gonna get my beauty sleep. Still working on getting caught up. ((((Hugs)))) to you all.

Lori
xx

15 June 2007

It has been a bad day, have been sick as a dog, 24 hour bug??? All I know is I am tired of seeing the bathroom and I have a headache that is causing it. Had to get a entry in for the day. This is Cayenne, the filly I have just started riding, she was a day old.

Lori

14 June 2007

It has been a long day. Larry's surgery went off very well, even better than last time, thank heavens they all learned from our last bad experience. The anaesthesiologist was very nice and of course the plastic surgeon has been doing Larry's surgeries for the past 25 years. He looked in much better shape when I eventually got to see him. His sister Rita came with me and we sat and kept each other company during the 5 hour wait which was great. They normally have computers there that the people can use to surf the net but today for some reason they were not there, oh well. I am pooped so gonna get my beauty sleep.

The pictures today were shot at the Pinto show a few weeks ago. I love shooting stirrup an spur shots and this young lady always has lovely outfits, boots, spurs and stirrups so I shot this one and a lot more LOL. The little doggy also was dressed in Pink. Her name is Dosie (the same as our one stallion who we just had gelded!)

Sleep tight everyone, talk to you all in the morning, ((((Hugs)))))

Lori

xx

13 June 2007

This is going to be another quickie. Larry has been scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 11am and we have to be there by 9am so it is going to be an early morning and a looooong day.

The photo I have posted today is one I took a while back but it was entered into a challenge on DP Challenge so I didnt want to post it until now as the challenge is now over. Mike this is your little buddy being a total brat yet again LOL. He is definitely heading for I70 en-route for your house with a road map if he doesnt behave himself LOL.

I will keep you posted, need to get some sleep. (((((Hugs))))) everyone.

Lori

12 June 2007

Hi everyone. Mike as promised I took these shots of your Little Buddy, Taxes, today just for you. He was laying down while his momma was eating her hay this morning and trying to sleep.
The top one was him using one of the dead trees as a scratching post. He is shedding his baby coat so it must be itching something terrible. He is such a little stud. When I put Lori and Cayenne out this evening he strutted up to the fence nickering and being a real little man LOL. So cute.

AncientImages, thank you so much for you diligent posts. I will be visiting yours tonight. I am trying to work through all my blog buddies alphabetically so bear with me everyone. I miss looking at all of your pictures and reading your stories.

It looks as if Larry is going to have to go back into hospital for another surgery. We are very worried about it especially after the last experience. We are just waiting for the surgeon to give us a date. It never ends.

I am off to bed, it has been a long hot day again. AB, CG, Julie B, MiKael (hey I hope your weather improves soon too and that you get everything done for your open house, great news about the pending sale!!!!), Talj, Anna, Mike, Abraham, L, Karen, Kathy C and everyone I may have forgotten (it comes with old age, the memory starts faltereing LOL) (((((Hugs))))) for all of you, you are always in my thoughts.

Lori
xx

11 June 2007

It is quarter after 11 again, I am just getting this in on time. I tried to make an inroad on my visits and comments this evening and didnt get very far but I am trying LOL. Mike you are gonna be mad at me again, no Little Buddy pics today again :-(, I promise I will get something special of him tomorrow for you.

It has been a long day. No rain and nothing predicted in the forecast for the next 7 days so we are getting more and more worried.

The pics above are of the barn swallows in the old barn (one of the families). I was interested to see that one was more white and one brownish on the breast. I dont know if this is how you tell which sex they are, Abraham maybe you will know that. In the one with the two they were singing, they have an amazing singing voice, sound a bit like a canary. The other is of one of them in their nest which they built above the light fitting so I am hesitatant to use the light as I am scared they will get shocked or the light will be too hot. I havent had any horses in these stalls for a few months so they obviously thought it was a nice quiet place to nest. The third one is just a closeup of one of them. Such dainty little birds.

I rode Cayenne again this morning and wanted to do some more work with the other horses but it got so hot, upper 80s again. She did so well, she is such a beautiful filly, she amazes me every time I work with her, praying that I will find a good home for her.

Onward and upward, hopefully tomorrow will bring some more progress. ((((Hugs))))) to you all, you are all always in my thoughts.

Lori

10 June 2007

Hi everyone, it is 10.37, cant believe what the time is.

Mike I am duly contrite and went out specially to shoot this for you today. Your little buddy Taxes sleeping in front of the fan with his momma LOL. He doesnt like the bugs big time!!!! He is such a character. I havent had a chance to spend time trying to get him haltered but will in the next few days. He really does need a friend.

The second picture is one that was not taken by me. This is a picture of Susan riding Cookie, a filly that she and her husband purchased from us last December. She is a three year old and greenbroke. Susan has been very patient finding the right place to stable her and her husband's horse Bella, and getting someone to start her so that Susan who is also a novice rider can ride her and learn the finer art of horsemanship herself. This was their first ride which happened today and was taken by her husband or daughter. I am so thrilled, she has been so good with keeping me up to date with Cookie's progress and I know she visits my blog regularly, so Great Job Susan, and here's to many more hours of enjoyment from this filly. Thank you.

That is another day gone, at least I achieved a lot today. I got all the stables up to date and unloaded the sawdust in the process. That is such a relief. Now we just need some rain. The pastures are shrivelling up. Tomorrow I plan to ride both Lori and Cayenne and hopefully Dosie (the horse we had gelded recently). We had a lovely day today, not too hot and they have predicted a few more days like it. Rain is supposed to move in on Thursday, lets hope it does.

Will catch up some more tomorrow. ((((Hugs))))) to everyone, Talj, MiKael, Julie B, CG, AB, AncientImages, Abraham, Anna, Mike and everyone else who I might have forgotten, thanks for your visits once again. You are all always in my thoughts.

Lori
xxx

9 June 2007

This shot was inspired by one of my blogging buddies Anna (AB). She is amazing with her studio shots and has a wealth of ideas. I love looking at her new shots. I am dying to try out her reflection technique with the use of perspex, just havent had the time.

No horse photos today I am afraid, sorry Mike. It is very late again, I dont know where the time goes. This is going to be very shot, had a busy day and I am really tired, promise I will write at more length tomorrow.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

((((Hugs))))

Lori