Family Affair

Just a fuzzy picture just before it was too dark to take one with the evening light. We have a family of raccoons who have been raiding the backyard feeder. We have another family at the front yard feeder by the barn. The mom and dad were in a night or two ago with no less than SIX babies! Eekks! How are we going to feed that many! That must be what they are thinking so they bring them up to ma and pa anderson's to have a free meal--or so. They have been pretty pesky lately--last night I had to go chase them out of the hen house at midnight. They chatter, bark and squeal all night long fighting with each other and carrying on. It gets tiring. We like for everyone to have their space and place--but the Havahart trap might have to relocate a few of these guys if the don't move on soon.

Fran's New Horse

Fran's on her way to Kansas City for the next Parelli event and because of that I know she won't have time to post her own update. I had the opportunity to visit her new 12 year old TB gelding yesterday. As you can see HE IS HUGE! About 17.3h but she hasn't put a tape on him yet. He is absolutely magnificent and I got to see her put her first ride on him and he moves huge, too. A slow canter to die for!!! He is definitely the LARGE FANCY VARIETY! His new name is Hart and he will be trained to move on to another home that will appreciate his potential for hunter/jumper or dressage work. He is so gorgeous it could be hard to pass him along to someone else, but hence the name, Hart---Fran hopes to earn enough through the transaction to get a truck and/or a Hart trailer.

Merroww!

He seldom talks except in his squeeky little chirp when the Friskies can is opened in the morning.

Meew.......MEEW! (Mommy! I have something for you!) "Timber?! What's the matter Timby?" It's 2 a.m. I'm asleep. Or, I WAS.

"Meeoow! Grrrrr....... (Ooops! I had a mouse for you, but I guess I forgot he was still alive!)

BANG! Clatter--scuffle. The rest of the cats are all helping now! Mouse at large---hey this is fun!

I love living in the country--really I do.

Daisy Faces

I got these Shasta Daisy plants from Betty. They have never been prettier! She would be happy to know how well they are doing.

Blue String!

Only my Parelli buddies will give a whoop about this, but what it means is that I passed my Level 2 On Line and Freestyle that I auditioned for WEEKS ago. It was shortly after my first lesson with Farrah and by Fran's encouragement that I decided to submit a video of the compulsories. I thought it was just too much hoopla to go through it--and for what point? I was enjoying my horses and who cares if I got an official "Levels" designation? I think I wrote about earlier, this idea changed after I became involved with Farrah's professional instruction. My lesson with her last week involved having instruction in Level 3 tasks and to me that spells progress!

This week has been a blast since I got some new direction to take with Cerra and it's working beautifully. We are getting along better than ever and I think we have made some positive changes in our way of being.

This all translates over to Cheyenne, too. She is so much more compliant and easy going that I don't need deal with her in the same way that I do with Cerra. Her main problem is her refusal to trailer load. We have worked on this for about two years now and now that I have some new techniques to use I am hoping we can accomplish this task soon.

Pony Weekend Coming Up!

I'm still waiting to hear the outcome of my Level 2 audition on line and Freestyle. Was rather hoping to be confirmed before this weekend when Farrah Green will be here for another two days of individual lessons. Everyone is judged by the video and my spots are so boring compared to the stuff Fran is doing--bridless and bareback at that!

Black Cap Season

Tis the season for the lovely wild black raspberries - aka Black Caps. Our lanes are lined with these delicious beauties. If you arrive at our house and no one is here to greet you, you might find us out foraging and filling our faces! With such tasty distractions, it can take many minutes more to get out to the greenhouse and garden.

Wisconsin Gardenia

Welcome to the greenhouse -- this morning I was greeted with the wonderful scent of gardenias. I have been waiting for these blooms to pop for a long time. I got the plant last year as one of those little 2" pots from a garden catalog. It was pretty tiny so it has made some headway--especially since it got to move back to the greenhouse this spring. It did not like living in the house over winter but maybe it will make a better transition this year.

Flowers Flourish

I love this little colorful corner of my flower bed mainly because it is the only spot that is really full of blooms. I think I need some lime on this bed next year. The foliage on most of the perennials is overwhelming and the flowers are sparse.  Soon the phlox will start blooming and it will look like something is happening.

Looks Like Potato Salad

I have been stealing little red potatoes by digging my hands in around the bushes and finding these little gems without destroying the whole plant. Fried in butter for breakfast--can't be beat they are so creamy and delicious. 

My potato patch has four varieties this year and all are doing well. The reds were all tipped over today--it's getting dry again so they will probably be going dormant soon. Then I can clear out the area and get the rutabages going!