Days Are Sunnier With Horses

I had been moping about and feeling sad about the loss of my herd long enough when I started browsing Facebook posts for horses for sale this summer. I found a dandy paint gelding in Eau Claire only to learn it was a scam. Thankfully I didn't lose money! The seller (aka lying scumbag) played it to the end when I drove to Eau Claire with the trailer and cash. No horse. As Dr. Phil would say, "The most dangerous lie has an element of truth." The truth was the location, and details of the equestrian center where the horse was supposedly located. Also the house number and knowledge of the highway that had construction going on. I let the center know that someone was playing around, too. Disappointing but also unnerving to have had the unpleasant experience.

It gave me pause as to what I wanted my next horse ownership experience to be. I could buy the expensive horse (which didn't exist) but I would also need a buddy horse. One for company for each other but also to be able to have my friend come ride with me. Expensive horse x 2.

My needs: a horse that can take me on a nice quiet walk a couple times a week. What I like to do is to take CARE of horses. The daily stuff. Feeding. Cleaning up after them. Pats and treats. Wanna ride today? No? Ok, we will go another day. A little ground work with handling on the ground. Climb the pedestal, weave through barrels. An easy ride down our safe and easy trails. All the stuff that builds confidence and connection. 

My solution came the next week after the scam. Ryon's Rescue Pen in nearby Cannon Falls, MN, announced on Facebook that they had some nice horses coming in. I checked them out right away and found a "quarter horse" 15.3 hands high and estimated at 25 years old. I saw his little video walking toward the camera and away. That was it. A plain bay gelding. Perfect! I wanted a lady friend for him and found a paint mare, registered, lots of chrome and fancy. In fact her registered name is Fancy Lady Husler. She is 23 years old. Put her in my PayPal shopping cart as well. This is not how horse shopping should be done but that's how it happened!

I took friend Lisa with me to Cannon Falls to pick up these two souls. I learned the mare was being separated from her friend. That made me sad that they should be separated and there was an amount of sad whinnies. In spite of that they loaded up like experienced troopers. We arrived at Catfish Corner just before the rain storm that had followed us home.

Fresh off the trailer and wondering what the heck is going on now. They lit into the grass and just took a deep breath. Being in a horse lot with strangers is daunting enough. Not knowing if you are going to be sent to death or brought to safety was my thought for their standoffish behavior. I would call it being shut down. They didn't know who to trust and they didn't respond to me at all. In fact, avoided me. Treats were refused. No apples or carrots. I could get up to them but there wasn't anything "there". Having a label with a number stuck on the shoulder doesn't inspire confidence in the future. 

This behavior continued for the first couple weeks and with lots of undemanding time they decided I wasn't so bad. It was the bag of fenugreek treats that got them going! Only the best for my beauties. 

The first vet visit was to get them vaccinated since there were no records and an extra vaccination is just cheap insurance. My dear vet, Kristen, confirmed my thoughts. The gelding is a Standardbred. Probably an amish castaway buggy horse. She thought over 25 years old. He has some ribs showing but more groceries can fix that. His hoof problems are being treated. Then I told her about the freeze brand on his neck and she said standardbred registries are very precise as they have a long history in racing. I should look into it. And I did.

The brand came back to a successful trotting horse named "Keep It Real" which had earned over 600K in race winnings! Could it be? Well, it wasn't. Through further research the real "KIR" had a star on his forehead which was confirmed in a photo of his racing days. My guy did not. Even through other interpretations of the brand there was not a reasonable outcome. No worries. I love him anyway. I have named him Silas. It's a good solid name for a horse that looks like he came from solid stock, worked hard for a living and now has won the lottery in his advancing years. He has the home that will see him to his end of days and we will enjoy each of those days in the meantime. 

My pretty paint mare is now called, Rosie. Rosey Posey with the little pink Nosey! The vet and I speculated her past might have included showing in halter as she's so pretty. She might have been a brood mare and had pretty babies showing signs that she carried young ones. I called the former registered owners but didn't get a response from their Iowa stable. Their website looked slim on horses so I'm guessing she aged out of their program or the owners of the stable are retiring. I left word that she is now at her last home in case they were interested. Most who unload horses at auctions could not care less. 

We go for walks after dinner out to the big field taking turns who leads and who runs free. Rosie likes to explore and has offered easy trots and lopes while at liberty. She's just enjoying being a horse who can choose what she wants to do while she has the freedom. 

I lasted eight months without horses so I'm really holding these two close and enjoying where we are and where I hope we can go from here. I won't have the luxury of having them for the 20+ years I had with the originals but I will give them the best end of life care I can provide. They show no signs of slowing down!

Memorial & Labor Day Weekend Catch Up

The little Vali girl has grown so fast! She's nearly as tall as Winnie and has four times the energy of her five year old elder.

Into everything! She has done a really great job of tending to my Red, White and Blue planter just in time for the holiday.

Bored? No prob. Just dig holes! Chase the chickens and eat anything you find along the way. I should have turned her out to our forestry project.

We hired TCV Forestry to do some trail and brush clearing this spring. One of the larger cut off areas has presented an opportunity to do a plantation of new pine and spruce trees. The original owner of this property planted a bare prairie with various conifers and sold Christmas trees under the title of "Swamp Angel" which she certainly was. I have dubbed the new plantings as the "Edna Engle Memorial Christmas Tree Farm". 

The saplings are so tiny you can't even see there are 65 young ones out there. The space could hold 500! I have a lot of work ahead. Thank goodness I have help now. 

We have had our former neighbor and all around good guy helping us around here for the past few months. Tom has had his work cut out with us as the last ten years have kind of piled up. With me working all the time, and Don in the state he is in, we have had many maintenance chores growing which he has taken over. I should make a list. Our basement has never looked so great. The barn is organized. Loads of pure junk were taken to an auction and we actually made money at it! Clean and orderly garage. Organized outbuildings free of mice and clutter. Firewood stacks growing nearly weekly with his woodcutting skills. I never have to go to the recycling center!

All the basement walls have been redone and and painted. Then THE FLOORS! 

He takes us to Don's Dr appointments and we have developed our system to get him transported in his vehicle. Emergency room visits? No problem. He's there. Even if we don't get Don back until 1 am and he has another 30 minutes to get himself home. Every bit of this is keeping Don home instead of an assisted living situation. Not easy but it's working so far. Bless you, Tom!

He was mistaken for our son at an ER visit. Yup, I had him when I was 12!

Spring at Catfish Corner. The water is up, the water is down. Eagles are bathing when it's low. The geese pair have a flotilla of young out for swimming the neighborhood. Our bird feeders are full of orioles, numerous woodpeckers, rose breasted grosbeaks and the rare redheaded woodpecker. Plus all the other common ordinaries like us!

The Vali Girl has been, shall I say, a handful. If it's not destroying her bed, my plants, digging holes, it's destroying chickens! Six of my lovelies had been lost. She literally plays with them to death. And she's sneaky about it, too. I need eyes in the back of my head to keep track of her. Good thing she's cute.

 

A New Life Arrives at Catfish Corner

Long before the demise of my horse herd a little soul was conceived. We waited for this new one who arrived on Earth on December 3. Little did she know she had a job upon arrival. Perhaps to rescue me from the grief of loss. She came from Kim and Brian Schlomann who operate Bear Kreek Chesapeaks, at Big Bend, WI, near Milwaukee. The same kennel that produced our precious Phoebe who we lost to theft. 

That was a soul sucking event that I would wish on no one. However, the suspected perpetrator has left this earthly realm so I can rest assured that that event won't happen again. 

Having a new puppy in winter has been different! Lots of getting winter coats and boots on just to get outside for walkies and potties. Thankfully she loves her kennel and, other than the first week in bed with us, she sleeps there all night and has been peaceful until she hears me stir in the morning.

I cherish her at this little stage where I can still lift her (21# now!) and give her a cuddle. But that won't last long which will please Win. At 80# he wants to be on my lap but it just doesn't work!

We got out to the big field before the last little snow came it. She pesters Windsor incessantly and, grumpy as he is, I can see he is taking on the role of a big brother as best he can.

 

Their End of Days

The phone call was made. The event scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 15. It was past time for Cerra. It was in time for Ty. But Chy, the least obviously ill one was the hardest one to say goodbye to. My Honey Horse. My heart was breaking since the decision came and so many tears already shed,  I was strangely somewhat composed when the vet arrived. It wasn't a pretty day like the prior weekend but at least it wasn't raining. Dr. Kristen's kind manner eased the passing of my three best friends to green pastures where there would be no more pain or suffering. 

Later the excavator man came and dug a grave to hold all three. Joe is a longtime horseman and I almost hesitated to call him because I knew it would be hard on him as well. He skillfully placed each horse to be facing east in a running position toward the light. Ty, then Cheyenne, with Cerra leading the herd. He brought apples along which he put in place for each of them to enjoy on the journey. I knew I picked the right man for the job.

Then it was over. 

Really?

I was feeling better on Friday when I planted three cheery pink bunches of my flower box impatients on the site. I decided to take the tractor out to smooth the excavator ruts and was headed back to the gate when smoke started coming out of the hood! I immediately stopped and tried to shut off the motor, but it wouldn't stop. I ran to the nearby barn to retrieve the water hose. It barely reached but there was enough stream to put water on the hood. I'm shaking so bad I can hardly dial 911.  Smoke and flames were now rising to a serious level. I just kept running water while waiting, thinking "This week just keeps getting better and better".

Only in a rural area would you get not one, but two fire departments to respond to such a small event. First a sheriff deputy arrived, then a quick response vehicle and young man who put a couple extinguishers on the blaze. The Pepin rig arrived and was followed by the Lund department. I had so many firefighters here it was an embarrassment. As I was apologizing for sounding the alarm one replied, "Don't worry about it. We hardly get called to do anything so we are happy to have the chance to get out!" That they did in full firefighter regalia. They stayed until the heat was gone and then started pulling off the plastic hood and side panels to find the fire source......a mouse nest next to the exhaust pipe. 

This Photo Sums Up The Last Two Months

Since my last post it feels as though the world has been thrown off its axis. Hideous actions by maniacs, bruising the country, states and worked its way down to my little piece of heaven. My world revolves around taking care of Don - first priority. Second is taking care of the four-leggeds. Three of which have now been diagnosed with Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. Horses, Cerra, Cheyenne and Ty have been increasingly non mobile in July. The vet tests confirmed all three have the illness. Who knows for how long, but long enough to cause a cascade of problems. Ty developed thrush. Chy is lame as well with an abscess. Poor Cerra is full-body lame. Barely able to move. Scary lame. The kind that makes one think of having a hole dug before winter sets in. Then she developed an eye infection called urvitis or commonly called "moon blindness". Her eye is watering profusely, clouded over and large spots of infection and drainage. I won't embarrass her by including a photo. All three have had a month of doxycycline and Cerra continues to have it. Three times a day she gets THREE eye potions so nine times a day she patiently lets me poke her sore eye with drops and ointments. Some days we just hold on to each other and have a long hug while I tell her to keep going. Fight, fight, fight. I'm sure she has wondered "what on earth is happening to me".

Pink Lady Update

 

The Pink Lady apple seedlings got new larger homes and they are really coming along. Our hot and humid weather has put growth into high gear. I have seven healthy starts and they are getting lots of TLC.

My orchid collection of two has been spending summer outdoors under the patio porch roof. Lots of air movement and the welcome humidity has them singing a happy tune as well. The white orchid is so delirious it has sent out a large second flower stem. I have new pots for them as well but will probably wait until the blooming season is over. That stem of white flowers has been going since mid-February so who knows when that will be! I just ordered four baby orchids to expand my horticultural pursuits. It is said if you are lucky to live long enough you will learn how to care for orchids. I didn't get a very early start so I'm grateful for the bit of success I have had so far. 

Easily Distracted by Flowers

And CATS!

 

Bucky Badger at Work

 I took my tractor out to mow the trails a couple weeks ago and found a huge hole in the way! A large amount of sand dug out and it was right in my way. I have found many of these huge dugouts in the horse pasture from time to time, but always figured it was coyotes digging for rodents. This one was much larger although there was no sign of any recent activity of which I thought might be a badger. 

Winnie included for perspective. I decided to just go around the hole as far as I could to the right. Which worked fine until the front wheels of the John Deer fell into the excavation that went far into the opposite direction of the hole! OK. Now I'm thinking "How am I going to explain this one?" However, I have been a regular viewer of the shows that have heavy equipment in situations such as this. After having a think about it, I set the bucket firmly down, which lifted the front tires enough to let the back tires move us out of the pit. I'm free!

Later I went out to refill the holes and tamped down the huge cavity so I don't fall into it the next time I ride Cheyenne out there.

Run, Bambi, Run!

 I took the horses out to their pasture one morning recently and noticed a doe at the NE corner of the enclosure effortlessly bound over the 4' fence. Thinking.....I wonder if..... And sure enough I found a tiny fawn tucked into the corner of the fencing. The horses were already out there, so I couldn't just leave it sitting there for hours until they came home, so I made the executive decision to take the little one to the other side of the fence to reunite with momma. 

The little one was barely the weight of my largest fatty cat. She bleated her disapproval right away when I picked her up! All legs but not struggling to escape. We made our way back to the gate and then back to nearly the corner of the fence. I released the fawn with all my best wishes for her and her momma. She scampered off and I was hoping she found her way to a reunion. My wishes were granted when in the early morning hours a couple days later I saw a doe with her little fawn relaxing in the water of our creek. 

My Grow Operation

 I have had time to get more organized with my meager plant collection. I used to have scores of plants but as other responsibilities took over, they languished and aged out of the system. My renewed interest happened with an apple!

The morning menu usually features an apple sliced and peeled. Imagine my surprise to find seeds inside the Pink Lady apple sprouted with tiny beginnings of leaves. I couldn't just throw them so I got my little sterile Petri dish fitted with a damp paper towel and set the tiny beings on my shelf. They really wouldn't grow, would they?

They did indeed and are under the plastic in the photo. And then.....

They grew and were moved to larger pots and now moved to the great outdoors. I have seven hearty seedlings and two little stragglers I haven't given up on yet. 

The fruit was developed in Australia and released for commercial production in 1989. Pink Lady® apple trees are a cross between Lady Williams and Golden Delicious, giving the fruit good storage characteristics and a sweet, crisp flavor. The Pink Lady Apple tree is characterized as a spur-bearing variety, producing fruit on short, compact branches known as spurs.

Not to count my apples before they are ripe! It will take 2 to 5 years for a Pink Lady to bear fruit. We have several other trees in our orchard so they will be in good company if they can make it that long. One other tree we were gifted this year has a fine start. It's already about 3 years old and is a new variety called "Triumph". Which I have chosen to call my TRUMP apple tree. 

The grow operation has now extended to the basement where I was able to start tomato seeds and assorted plants of honest reputation. 

Fiery Winter Sunset

 

Until recently this was the amount of snow we had. Now it's all white but it probably won't be for long. 

October through January was probably the busiest stretch of orders I've had in a long time. Relentless work over the holidays is the norm. It has been since my Studio Works days of retailing. I'm enjoying a welcomed break now. With luck it will last a long time!

The Innocence

 I recently changed my Facebook header to this photo of my herd. It had comments about the beauty and the peacefulness.

They were peaceful, indeed, after being total brats! Most days I walk the herd out to their 3 acre fenced in pasture. However, on this particular day, the brat in the center, Ms. Cerra Elizabeth, took off toward the big 40 ac hayfield! Ty, who was already in the 3 acre went nuts because she didn't follow him. Cheyenne followed Cerra and then the threesome were off on their merry escape to magnificent knee high alfalfa!

It was a long walk out to get them and they are all ok with me getting a halter on the leader, Mr. Ty. 

Home, sweet home back on the Three, and no, the grass isn't as thick here, but there is plenty for all. 

Cowabunga Floribunda!

Our glorious summer blooms are coming to a close but I took a lot of photos to carry their memory through the winter months ahead of us.

Casa Blanca

                      

Business on the Etsy shop has been very manageable this summer. Orders still trickle in to keep me busy during most of the week, but I've had many three day weekends! It's a super treat to get projects done. The outbuildings were repaired and painted. 

I painted all the interior rooms in the house! Now I've moved on to pressure washing. I started with the horse trailer which was an obscenely filthy mess. Years of being parked out on the pasture the algae and lichens did a good job of trying to claim it.

It took six hours but I got it done inside and out. Clean and fresh and ready to take Ty up to the vet to have his teeth checked out. Next is to check out the lights and tire pressure. I haven't taken a road trip with precious equine cargo for a long time. 

High Water

 It just keeps raining! Which has put every green leaf on overdrive. Lots of grass to cut, weeds to pull and one of my newer projects.....harvesting hay off the horse pasture!

It grew so fast and so high, the horses didn't even have a chance to keep it down. Nor would I want them to. Too much sweetness for Ms Cerra with her tender feet. She has to have a grazing muzzle on to keep her consumption down and to keep her weight in check. 

My JD tractor has a 60" belly mower that can cut a big swath which I run a couple of lengths of the pasture. I then mow back the other way to put the clippings into a row that is easy to pick up. Just like a pioneer (kinda) out there scying grass by hand! Great for the waistline. 

UPDATE ON THE BIRD NEST... It was not bluebirds, it was the Purple Finch which has tried nesting now two times under our porch roof. Each nest had five eggs and they were all drilled into by some predator. Most likely predator bees. 

The Poppa Cardinal has been presenting the three fledglings to the bird feeder. They are now taking on color and are pretty active in their movements.  He is showing them where the food is, how to get it and how to crack seeds open. They are having none of it! Daddy! Daddy! Feed me! Me first! Peep peep peep and lots of activity with that enterprise. Mommy is off constructing her new nest and probably enjoying having a quiet place to settle into for a bit of rest before the next batch arrives. 

Thank you, God! I love nature!

Can't Believe It!

 I no sooner said adios to the cardinals when I saw a bird flying out of my aged fern that was hanging near the cardinals nest.

It's been flying away before when I left the house and I always thought it was just the lady cardinal, but Noooooo! It's a lady BLUEBIRD. Now mind you. We have 30 bluebird houses that Don constructed and installed in areas near and far. They are cleaned out every spring by yours truly. So why on earth is this bluebird lady taking over an old straggly Boston fern? No idea, but she is welcome and it will give me lots of entertainment keeping track of this new brood. Five tiny blue eggs. Lots more spying to do! I've done more posting in the past few days that the past few months.

Lots of wildlife activity going on these days. Down by the creek we have been watching deer set up in beds along the edge. Today the spyglasses were put on them and they are young bucks! The velvety antlers are about the same length of their ears. These two have been resting along side the creek in canary grass that is almost taller than their heads. They plop down and take turns popping out every once in a while seemingly just to see what is going on around them.