He Is Risen INDEED

Our Easter Sunday started at the fellowship hall for breakfast, then came worship. Worshiping our Risen Lord and Savior. We were blessed to hear David and Stef sing a beautiful duet the choir sing 3 songs and then Chuck Hemmer finishing up with the message. If it wasn't for the empty tomb we would have no hope. Ruth picked up Nancy for church and she made sure everyone knew it was her birthday today. Why even Dave Obergfel mentioned Nancy's birthday during the prayer. David and Stephanie joined Mark and I for a very relaxed Easter dinner. Anni spent the night last night and was needed. Mom didn't have a good night again. Ruth is staying tonight.
Mike sent the pictures below of the grass coming up at Middle Grove. They were taken Saturday.

 Above and in front left to right  is Bonnie, Jewel, Cor Arianna and Sangria, behind them are the paints Lola and Prissy along with Mytross. Below left to right is Lilypony, Cookie, Missy and Holly. All are looking fat and happy. They are really enjoying the tender spring grass.

Darcy vs Phone

Anni was to stay with mom but I told them I would have the phone by the bed and come if called. The golf cart was parked in the yard just steps from the door, the coat laid out knowing if called I could be there in less than one minute. All of this planning was actually for nothing. Darcy came into our room around 3:30am and started wagging her tail, her tail caught the phone charger, pulling the phone off the bed. This didn't seem so bad until I tried to put the phone back and realized it fell under the headboard. Our bed is a pedestal bed, very heavy and even though I could see the phone it couldn't be reached without major moving. Plan B was if the phone goes off, just GO as there is no way to answer it. Well at 5:30am the  phone went off but only once meaning a text or notification not a call so probably not an emergency but it was time to get moving anyway as we need to leave the house today by 7:00am. After a struggle of around 10 minutes finally rescued the phone along with other treasures that had fallen into the black hole between the headboard and the bed frame only to see a text from Beth Meister asking what time they should come. Beth and John will be  staying with mom today while we are at church. I am so thankful for family!
Below are the pictures of mom and Spark's birthday dinner. Rhonda provided everything but the salmon.

Everything was done perfectly. The huge T-bones and rib-eyes were juicy and medium rare, the asparagus and sweet potatoes a perfect complement to the steak and the salad was loaded with goodies and Rhonda's home made dressing. Let's get a better picture of the steak for all you family suffering down in Gulf Shores where prime Midwest beef can't be found.

Rhonda provided so much this plate is actually the left overs, too bad there wasn't more family around to enjoy them. Rhonda sent 2 big steaks home with us which we will share with David and Stephanie today after church. Below is Spark and Mom's birthday cookie which was served with ice cream.

Cougar Tracks in the Snow

Mom asked me to pick up eggs from the farmer today. He had 10 dozen ready for us. When I arrived he had to show me his new additions.

He purchased 27 chicks. They are so cute at that age, just balls of fluff. He was worried about the cougar in the area getting to them. There were cougar tracks in the snow making a loop around the drive. He had to tell me they were for sure not a dog or wolf tracks, these were huge and there were no claw marks at all.

for reference check the chart out below:

There have been cougar sightings in Peoria county, I just didn't know they were so close to our farm.
Mark pulled out the skid steer this morning to start working on removing as much as possible of the huge stump in the south yard.

We needed to move in a couple of round bales so after Steven arrived to help cover Ayanna with Evan and Lily with Valiant both boys were put in the stalls until Mark was ready to change skid steer attachments from the grapple to the bale spear. Killian was pulled out to see how well he would do today with the laying down on command. We were so impressed with this boy, it took all of one minute. He was given a treat, then was asked to do this 3 more times, each time figuring out quickly what he must do to please. We worked on having him stand slowly with grain (the start of the sit) but each time he would just jump up. Since both Evan and Valiant learned to sit on a hay bale, I decided to bring him in the stall barn and see if we could get at least the start.

This was as far as we went with him and were very pleased. He was put back out and the boys were worked with next. Evan was brought out first. Notice Valiant checking out everything Steven is asking of Evan.

Valiant is amazing, he knew exactly what was being asked and immediately sat. He is such a good boy just check out the pictures below of how trusting he is with Steven.

Both boys were brought in and asked to sit together.

Friesians are so much fun to work with, they want to please making them very easy to train.

We are heading to mom's for dinner, Spark and Rhonda are grilling steak for the birthdays. 

Update on Mom

Ruth stayed on Thursday night and mom had a very bad night. She couldn't get comfortable and finally moving to her chair in the living room and only then able to fall asleep. We had a beautiful sunny day Friday, mom was able to sit out on the deck soaking up the sunshine. What was funny about that was on the north side of the house there are snow drifts then on the south side it was warm enough for short sleeves. I relieved Ruth in the morning. But Ruth and Anni came back when the PT therapist came so they could see her reaction to mom's progress, ask questions and learn what we are to do next. Once they all left it was time for therapy and when that was done mom had a nice nap. Rhonda relieved me for the afternoon then Anni relieved Rhonda until I arrived after Good Friday church for the night. I'm pleased to report mom had a much better night than the last 2 nights. She slept until 1:30am took her pills and slept until 4:00am. From 4:00am to 5:30am she just wasn't able to sleep so finally moved to the chair and got comfortable. At that point I headed home to feed Ella (no baby) then pop in for some piping hot coffee of which I FORGOT to prepare last night. It was a good time to update while waiting for the coffee to brew.
Today is mom's 81st and Spark's 61st birthday. Rhonda and Spark will be celebrating the day with mom today.

Cowboy Shooting Clinic

Rhoda came over to help with the vet visit yesterday and mentioned Gitza Peterson wants to have 4-5 of our horses for a mounted cowboy shooting clinic at her barn Gray Horse Farm. At first I was shocked, how can this very talented dressage, showjump trainer want cowboy mounted shooting until I remembered her husband Edwin. Yep it must be Edwin that wants to borrow the horses. I'll need to talk to Gitza to find out when and Mike to see which horses and if he wants to attend. He takes the horses hunting in Colorado, he should know which horses would work out best.

Pregnant

On the walk today Emma found this treasture:

See why she loves going on these walks. This was a deer bone Heidi actually buried on the beach. Darcy dug it up then Emma claimed it.
Dr. Hoerr had an emergency and didn't arrive until after 10:00am but that worked out well, Rhoda was able to come help with the ultrasounds. First up was Killian. He needed his wolf teeth pulled, the sharp edges floated off his teeth and his coggins drawn.

Killian has now dropped and is becoming a stallion instead of just a boy. Although the mares still boss him around. Jenis was next, we wanted to see if she is cycling, it seemed she came in season 20 days ago but only for 1 day. Nope her uterus is still transitional, meaning not ready to start a true cycle. Dr. Hoerr feels she is at least a month away. Bunni and Sally were next. Both were bred last October Bunni to Valiant and Sally to Evan, both settled. Both are due mid September. Sissy bred to Valiant and Star bred to Evan were next and both of them also settled. Sissy is due Jan 13th, 2014 and Star is due Jan 30th, 2014. If all goes well we will end up with some very early foals. Before Dr. Hoerr left he gave Darcy and Emma their shots. Both dogs were due for a 3 year rabies shot plus their yearly dog shots. Steven arrived shortly after Dr. Hoerr left and helped get Lily covered by Valiant and Ayanna covered by Evan. He hooked up the stock trailer and we hauled Sissy and Star out to Middle Grove. We had to hike in quite a ways to find the horses and even then only found 8 of them. I'm sure the rest weren't far away but it was just too wet and muddy to want to hike to find them. Killian will be leaving for Emily's when his coggins comes back and I wanted him to learn to lay down before going. I asked Steven to help with this. It took probably 10-15  minutes the first time Steven asked but only a couple of minutes the second time. He was praised and given a treat to encourage him to stay quietly down until asked to get up. This is something much easier to teach when the horse is young, flexible, and small. Not that Killian is small, he is going to be huge.

Karin had him bowing pretty much on command but I wasn't sure about the next step. He did so well Steven  will ask him again on Saturday when he comes back to help cover the 2 mares in season.
Ella seems about the same. She was left out all day today and just now brought in to the stall.
Each evening Mark sits down by the chair and Emma climbs on his lap. Today I just had to take a picture of the big lap dogs and Mark surround by them.

Beth Meister relieved me this morning and Ruth relieved Beth this afternoon. She will spend the night with mom. Sure hope mom has a better night and gets some healing rest.

A Change In Plans

Mom had another bad night, we girls thought after the first week perhaps no one would need to stay all night with her but now we realize "not so."
Ella hasn't delivered her foal yet, with most of us suppose to travel down to Gulf Shores, AL tonight, plans just had to be changed. Philip is now going in our place. Mark and I will take a trip together later when the foals are all safely born and mom is ready to be on her own.
Dr. Hoerr is coming this morning to ultrasound 6 or 7 mares, pull Killian's coggins and his wolf teeth. Beth Meister relieved me early so I could enjoy a couple cups of hot strong coffee before horses need to be brought in. Thank you BETH, the coffee should help get rid of the caffeine withdrawal headache.
The van load of travelers that left last night made it down to the gulf with no problem this morning. There are 2 more van loads heading down tonight and more on Friday. We have a lot of praying to do.

Clear Glass

The cracked window on the Toyota Matrix was replaced today. It is amazing how clear everything looks when one is looking out of unblemished glass. All the errands were finished today by 1:30pm just in time to relieve Karin. Spark and Rhonda are now home from their trip to Florida and joined us for dinner. Ruth came over this evening to help mom with her shower. Ruth is so impressed with mom's balance and movement. She hadn't seen her for a couple of days and was amazed at mom's progress.
Karin brought Sally and Bunni over from the cabin field and once they were both worked put them in the weanling paddock. It will help to have all the mares that need to be sonagrammed tomorrow near by.
Mark is staying the night with me here at mom's, hope we have a quiet uneventful night. I'm tired!

Garbage Collector

Check out the garbage under the table in the picture below:

Eva Jean was opening envelopes and peeling labels today so fast she filled the waste basket until it overflowed onto the floor and stacked up almost as high as the table. We had so much mail we were only able to process the studies, leaving the letters for later.
Ella is not progressing in her labor. Karin was able to get a little bit of colostrum out but it was clear, no sign of calcium build up. We leave the state Thursday night, if she doesn't deliver by the time we take off she will have to have this foal out in a paddock instead of a stall.
Mom had a set back today with pain management, her knee is looking better, the swelling is going down but where they put in the nerve block was very painful. She was able to do most of her therapy anyway but needed a lot of pain medication. Karin stayed with her last night, Diane brought over supper, stayed to clean up the kitchen and balance mom's check book. Karin is staying the night again, then I'll relieve her tomorrow by 3:00pm as she leaves for Gulf Shores, AL with Beth Herman, Sarah, and 2 of Rachel's kids.
We had a really good practice tonight at choir. The singing was absolutely beautiful.

Play Time

Lily and Rosalie were allowed to play a bit in the outdoor arena. Lily had a ball.

Between her takeoff and landing she did a huge buck. She thought she could fly but she really didn't get that high in the air, too much weight.

Jenis, Zalena and Marika were all standing together just hoping they would be brought out next.

Their hopes were dashed when I walked right by and into the house. It wasn't very pleasant outside sloshing through 8 inches of wet snow. After a quick dinner of tacos, Mark moved a wheel barrow of hay in for Ella as I cleaned her stall. She seemed more restless tonight. Could be because she has been locked up since Saturday night or maybe she is getting ready to foal. The foaling predictor kits were ordered today from Chemetrics. This year we need 3 of them. Dr. Hoerr is scheduled for ultrasounds Thursday morning. Bunni and Sally were bred last year in October and never checked, Star and Sissy were bred in Feb, while Lily and Ayanna were bred 16 days ago. If they all settled they can go back out to Middle Grove.

A Thief in the Night

Yesterday and all during the night, this thief sneakily slipped in our area quietly stealing. We were all shocked at the snow when we stepped out of church at 2:00pm. There was a white-out  trying to drive home still...this is spring it will all melt right? What was stolen wasn't apparent until morning. All night long the snow kept falling. The roads out here are not passable without 4 wheel drive. Below is a picture taken of our drive this morning, and this is after Mark cleared it last night:

The tree in our south yard that looks as if it is bending under the weight of this heavy burden:

We could decorate this evergreen with Christmas lights if it was near that time of the winter:

But this is not winter it is spring, it is just 6 days until Easter and 1 day after Psalm Sunday. Below is a picture of mom's bird feeder, taken by Jessica:

 The thief has stolen precious time away from my grand children, stolen the seed for the birds,  the productivity at work as snow removal is now taking precedent over installing equipment and most of all it has stolen the few bright spots of green that were just starting to arrive.
Mom had a pretty decent night, awaking just after midnight for pain medication and again at 5:30am. Rachel took my place at 7:30am so I could rush home, take care of poor stalled Ella (who is still heavy in foal) the dogs and be all ready to greet Braelyn and Taegan at 8:00am who are now not coming because of the snow. Mark drove my car in as that is the only car that still has it's snow tires on so I'm stuck here for the day with no grand children. This could be a good time to work on re-installing the contacts on my phone as I accidentally deleted every single one while trying to learn how to use this very difficult piece of equipment!

Greedy Girl

No baby yet, Ella was standing quietly in her stall just waiting for someone to put her out but that won't happen today. There is about an inch of snow on the ground and more coming down. We are only suppose to get between 2 to 4 inches total. Rhoda bought the dogs 2 big flavored rawhide rolls and sent them home with us last night. Today they were both given one, Darcy settles down to chew on hers while Emma sits with hers in her mouth staring at Darcy's calculating how she can end up with both. Emma is such a greedy girl. She finally gets up, walks over to the desk and hides hers under the desk, then lies down next to Darcy just waiting for Darcy to let go and get up. When this didn't happen, Emma ran to the door and started barking. Just as soon as Darcy joined her in barking at a nonexistent bad guy, Emma quickly left the window, grabbed Darcy's rawhide and quietly went sneaking out of the room. (don't worry Rhoda, I didn't let her get away with it) Emma's rawhide was given to Darcy and right now they are both chewing away happily, the proof is pictured below.

Mark and I are heading to Wild Berries for breakfast before church. Cathy, the lady sending up the half Friesian mare from Kentucky on April 7th, has made the decision on which boy she would like to use for her. Below is her email sent this morning: We have picked Evan!  After carefully looking at all your blogs and website, even though they look so much alike, Evan is the one.
Cathy
A very nice letter came in yesterday's mail pictured below:

Just in case it can't be read this is what the letter says: Dear Mrs. Sceggel. Do you give lessons on your Friesians? I would like to have lessons on them. I was at the IL horse fair on  Saturday. I love Friesians! Steven put me on Zalena. I have ridden 5 different horses so far. I am 8 years old. I have been riding horses since I was 2 years old. Audra
Well Audra, We don't really give lessons on the Friesians but have your mom contact me. We would love to have you come help us one day before Zalena gives birth to her expected baby. Zalena needs someone to groom her and ride her around a bit. Expected mothers need to keep exercising and you seem like just the person to help with this.

Braelyn's 2nd Birthday

We had a beautiful day, the sun was shining the wind wasn't blowing and the temps were rising into the 40s. Needless to say we spent a good part of today outside working. Lily's paddock and the middle paddock each got a new round bale,Mark took the skid steer and started working on the road then the manure pile from the stalls.

Ella was checked, her udder is definitely filling up.  The picture below is from the back. Her tail was picked up and the picture snapped.

Of course I had to bend down and look from the side. Surely she can't hold on much longer. There is still no way to test her, she lets us pull on her teats but will not let any and I mean not even a drop of colostrum out. Sure hope she will be a good mother and let down her milk for a foal. We are expecting a snowstorm late tonight and tomorrow, perhaps that will help her move things along.

 This afternoon we headed over to Phil and Anna's for Braelyn's second birthday party. Below she is getting ready to blow out her candle: The kids all enjoyed her gifts. I forgot my camera and had to use the phone.

 Karin spent the night last night with mom, when she was asked how the night went, the first words out of her mouth were, "I heard the bell!" We wouldn't quit teasing her about the night before. Diane is spending tonight with mom, Beth will be there tomorrow during the day then I'll take the night with Rachel relieving me on Monday morning. Mom is making progress by leaps and bounds. That was metaphorically, there is no leaping and bounding yet with her new knee.
Cortney sent an email update on Helen:
Hi Judy,  Helen is settling in well. I walked her around and showed her where the water tank is and the shed. She is adjusting well. I am amazed at how calm she is. I have been out numerous times to scratch and love on her and she comes right up to me. I feel so blessed and I am looking forward to the relationship we develop.  Thanks again for letting us come and stay there. Have a wonderful spring!  Blessings!! Cortney

Trail Riding with Deer

Mom had a good night although after ringing the bell Ruth gave her 5 times to get Karin up and Karin not responding, mom got wise and called her on the phone. Karin was just in the next bedroom, she heard the phone but not the bell. Ruth arrived to give Karin a break and Karin took advantage of the sunny windless day and took Rebekah and Jessica to Middle Grove to put riding time on Missy and Cookie. Jessica rode Sally, Karin rode Missy and Rebekah had to ride Cookie without a saddle. They brought 3 saddles but only 2 girths. No problem, Rebekah is a good rider. They had the experience of a lifetime. They were riding along at a gallop and a huge herd of over 50 deer came running up alongside them, surrounding them. Rebekah said she could reach out her arm and touch them they were that close. The girls thought at one point when the horses started to slow the deer were going to start jumping over them. Rebekah made the comment, "I'm never going to forget this experience!" Karin told us, "you just had to be there, it was like nothing we've ever experienced." Later they came upon some scattered old bones, big bones, too big to be human, unless there are giants that roam the land. Below is Karin on Missy and Jessica on Sally.

Below is Rebekah on Cookie holding Missy (Karin's ride) and Jessica on Sally

 Jessica and Rebekah heading over to the lake:

 The herd following Jessica and Sally:

 One of the many creek crossings:

All three horses were great, Karin reported that Missy was her new favorite horse, her canter is like flying!

Helen Leaves

Helen's new family arrived yesterday afternoon, They were settled in the apartment then I headed over to mom's to meet with Diane, Ruth and Karin. The strategy for the next few days of mom's care was gone over while she was deep in sleep. The move home was exhausting for her. Ruth decided she needed to wake her up by 5:30pm for dinner. Diane brought over fresh fruit and vegetables while Ruth heated up a bowl of home made chicken soup.

It is good to have her home! Ruth stayed the evening, Karin is spending the night and Ruth is coming back today. They are both physical terrorists or is that physical therapists and will teach the rest of us what we need to encourage mom to do.
Mike helped move a bale in for Jenis' paddock last night and the skid steer is coming home today which will really cut my work load. No more hauling wheelbarrows of hay to the paddocks.
Helen's family wanted to leave for Colorado around 6:00am. We waited to load her until they were ready to go. She loaded without drama and is now on her way to the mountains of Colorado.

Mom Day 3

After dozing off numerous times during the day yesterday and then falling asleep before 8:00pm mom woke up around 1:30am ready to start the day. I however wasn't. She settled down with her book until 2:40am then decided she better have a pain pill. We both fell sound asleep around 5:00am and slept hard until 6:45am when the lady came in to take mom's breakfast order. Mark called just as the doctor walked in the door so the phone was just shut off until later. The doctor is pleased with how her knee looks and will be sending her home this afternoon. YEAH!! no more nights in the hospital. Mark was called back after Dr. Mauer left and he reported the 5 horses in the middle paddock escaped sometime during the night. He was hiking the fields trying to find them. I sent Rachel a text to see if she could help. By the time she responded with a yes and Mark was called to tell him help was on the way, the horses had come back. He locked them up in the outdoor arena, fed the 2 stalled horses and left for work. Rachel moved them back into the middle paddock and tied the gates shut.
Ruth arrived to take over mom's care just as we were getting her off the bed and into the chair. Mom is a little discouraged as to how painful her knee is when trying to bend and move her leg.
It is a very cold 14 degrees this morning but sunny and best of all the wind has died down. Once home Helen and Ella were let out of the stalls. The horses all in the middle paddock were laying down soaking up the rare sunshine. Ribbon looks like a beached whale. They were all pretty exhausted from their night out on the town. Jenis' paddock is now out of hay. The skid steer will be returned tomorrow but they must be fed somehow until we get that invaluable machine back. I'll just have to haul wheel barrows of hay over for them. Onyx is leaving this afternoon.

Day 2 after Surgery

Mom had a rough start to her morning. The first time up, not able to keep breakfast down. But progress is being made. She was able to walk today with assistance.

And of course we need a picture of her knee all stapled up.

After therapy she took a good 3 hour nap and was able to keep down a pain pill. 
Helen's owners are arriving tomorrow afternoon. The apartment was given a good cleaning, the sheets washed and the bed's remade. Helen and Ella were put outside while their stalls were stripped and aired out before adding bedding. They would have loved to be left out but the wind is fierce and it is still just in the 20's. I'm down to 2 bags of bedding and will need to make a trip in to TSC soon.

Shadow

The picture above is Airiah's filly by Raven born May 13th, 2012 named Shadow. Isn't she gorgeous! She is owned by Will and Jenni Moser. They bred Airiah back to Raven last year and are expecting her full sibling soon. Will and Jenni also own 2 other Raven offspring, a 4 year old gelding named Palmer and a 3 year old filly named Isabella's Song, both out of a Trakehner mare named Salina. Check out their beautiful horses on their website www.hbfriesians.com
Diane relieved Karin at the hospital with mom until Rachel could arrive, then Diane went to Morton to attend Nancy's meeting. After the meeting Diane took Nancy shopping buying her the outfits and shoes needed for the year. Rachel is spending the night with mom. I'll relieve her early in the morning and Beth will relieve me. I am so thankful we have plenty of sisters, enough that we have round the clock care. Mom is not having a very good day, the therapy was extremely painful. Mom is very nauseated and vomiting. Rachel reported they are starting her on anti-nausea medicine to help. Karin found the missing hearing aid which was hiding in the bed.
Eva Jean and I had a frustrating day at work, the new printer had a label peeled off the wrong way sticking itself to the roller causing a major jam. It had to be taken apart pretty much down to the bare bones to remove the jam. Thankfully there was a book to show us how step by step. After lunch I headed to Hoerr Vet clinic to pick up Helen's travel health certificate then home to let the dogs out and feed. The horses in the middle paddock had knocked down a gate and escaped but all came when they were called. They were locked in the indoor until the gate was fixed then taken back one at a time. I think Indy is in season but didn't take the time to check. Spring is suppose to arrive tomorrow with a temperature when we get up of 15 degrees. People are starting to threaten Gerty the ground hog for lying.
And finally an email came from Kres, a lady that shipped semen from Raven for her horse Belle and ended up with a beautiful Raven daughter. Here it is posted below:

 

I wanted to make 2 comments about your blog, where you asked for opinions. Sorry it's in an e-mail--I couldn't figure out how to comment on the site--but this works.

 The first is about your question of a detached garage vs. an attached garage. I can see merits and problems with both choices. What about a detached garage but connecting it to the house with a covered or enclosed (like a porch) walkway. That way, the garage, with it's fumes and fire danger isn't right up against the house, but you can still have access to it without having to go out into the weather. I don't know if the terrain will work for that idea or not-- it is just a suggestion :)

 The second comment is in answer to whether or not to post photos of the last year of Raven babies. My opinion is absolutely!!. First of all, we would all want to see them, especially those of us who are lucky enough to have "siblings". Secondly, they have value for your site because they can speak to Raven's line which you are continuing with Valiant, which is important information. I don't know the best place to put them on the site, though-- wherever people need to see the latest info for decision making, I suppose. But, please put them somewhere-- I for one would like to see them :)

 One more thing, there is a good article in the latest issue of the "Mane Program" magazine, put out by Purina, about Jerry Diaz and his Friesian Adentro. He is a Charro who has a production that he is bringing to Nebraska in April. There is a photo of him standing on his horse twirling a rope, and of course Adentro is posing in the classic, beautiful Friesian stance. If you don't get this magazine in the mail and want to see this article, let me know and I'll send you a copy.

 I'm glad all your horses are on the mend and OK, and I hope your Mom is healing well also.

 Take care,  Kres

 

21 and Falling

Outdoor temperature 21 degrees, wind speed 30 miles an hour equals frozen fingers, nose, cheeks and toes.  At first each time a gust of wind would slam into the house the dogs would bark but by morning either they got use to the noise or their hearing is going. The horses are going through huge amounts of hay trying to keep warm. And this is March 19th!
Yesterday Mika got out at Middle Grove. Poor Mika was  walking up and down the fenceline trying to get back in with the others but the people that showed up were kind of afraid of such a big horse and called the police. When Mike arrived he told the bystanders, this is the best horse out  here, took off his belt, looped it around Mika's neck and walked him through the gate. Turns out a lady from the area was coming each day to feed the horses treats, one of the fence posts had rotted and fell as Mika was reaching over. He stepped over the knee high wire but couldn't figure out how to step back in. Mike temporarily fixed the fence and will head out there today for a more permanent fix. He moved 4 bales in and a salt block WAY a way from the fence.
Mom and Karin's night wasn't very relaxing. Mom's IV machine wasn't working properly and the alarm kept sounding waking them numerous times. One doesn't go to the hospital to catch up on sleep.  Her hearing aid has vanished off of the stand. Hope Karin can find it.

Mrs America

Mom was the very last knee surgery of the day finally getting to her room around 5:30pm. Surgery went great, they were not able to give her a spinal so just blocked a nerve in the front of the knee, used a lot of local for the back of the knee and sedated her. She came back to the room feeling well, no nausea, no pain, and well rested.

As she is all snug in her bed the nurses waiting on her hand and foot, a bunch of her daughters hovering around asking if she needed anything she asks, "why are they treating me like royalty?" then happened to look over at her board.
Notice her preferred name:

Her first response was, "alright, who wrote that?" We could honestly say none of us wrote it. Although Rachel never would admit to who told the nurse what mom's preferred name was.
Karin, Rachel and I left for home while Ruth and Diane are staying the evening. Karin is driving back to spend the night at the hospital. Diane and Rachel are covering tomorrow, Beth has Wednesday and from there we will see.
Ella was moved inside tonight, the wind is strong and the temps are suppose to drop into the low 20s. Olympia is now at her new home. Dee reported she walked right into the trailer.