Isla

We are no longer offering free shipping but have dropped Isla's price to $5000.00 Isla is a WARLANDER and registered in the WARLANDER Book of the Friesian Heritage Horse registry. Her dam Madiera is 16 hand IALHA registered purebred bay Andalusian mare and her sire is 16.2 hand Valiant. She is also DNA'D with that registry and her papers are in hand.  She is going to be tall and has amazing movement. She is a dark bay but has a good chance of throwing a black foal as her Andalusian grandsire is black. She has a current coggins and is ready to go at any time. Isla is a very sweet filly and tries hard to please. 

The Andalusian/Friesian cross is considered one of the best of the Friesian crosses and you won't find another with her quality, looks, movement and disposition for this price anywhere in the country. Isla was born May 16th, 2018. She will be able to compete in the upper levels of dressage or make her purchase price plus more back with her very first foal if you choose to breed. 

Mike went to Middle Grove to move bales in and check on the automatic waterer, took the two pictures below and emailed them to me. The horses all look fine. They were content to bask in the early morning sunshine on the side of the hill. They tolerate the cold way better than the heat.

He also checked on Sheena's leg and reported it is almost healed. We can't believe how cold it is here for this time of year. Roxanne's filly by Valiant will be 5 months old Dec 8th and needs to be weaned. The pictures below were take a couple weeks ago.  Hopefully the weather will improve soon so we can bring her home and get the weaning started. She can be a companion to Zalena's colt.  Her papers and DNA results came yesterday from Friesian Heritage Horse. Her registered name is Giselle. This purebred Friesian filly is for sale for $8000.00. What an amazing Christmas gift she would make for someone, but we don't mind if she doesn't sell though as she will be tall, has a lot of hair and can be bred to Evan at age 3.  Someone should probably snatch her up before we decide to keep her.

 She has that well set on, long arched neck too. She will be majestic when full grown. 

Valiant and Galena's automatic waterer froze up during the night. Mike is going to make sure the heater is on.  By the time I discovered it both Galena and Valiant were thirsty. I was able to get the water flowing and Galena claimed it. Each time Valiant got close, she would pin her ears and he would back right off. Galena is really showing her pregnancy, no wonder she is crabby. Ayanna, Rosalie and Indy were all laying down in the soft snow under the pavilion. I didn't have my camera with me and the phone doesn't work well in the cold so no pictures. I worked on the apartment washing all the bedding then making up the 3 beds.  Saturday morning once Lily's colt leaves I'll finish that as the guests coming are coming in late afternoon on Saturday.  It is nice to have a bathroom available for transporters. 

3 Granddaughters

Once the stew was simmering in the crock pot I left the farm to drive to Sarah's house. Today I wanted to take a few pictures of her new puppies and Stephanie agreed to meet me there with cookies for our next guests coming in.  Rhoda, Iris, Stephanie, Elisabet had already arrived. Of course when one has 3 granddaughters one just doesn't take puppy pictures. Below is Iris, Rhoda and Lee's 5 month old daughter.

We were laughing at Sarah and Nolan's Christmas tree set up. The ONLY way to keep the tree and presents safe from Zion was to put a puppy cage around it. 

 Elisabet had fun playing with all of Zion's toys. Rhoda put them on the chair for a picture then gave them each an ornament to play with. 

 Baby Iris wasn't too sure Zion should be taking her headband off in the picture below. 

 Elisabet and Zion were having fun playing ring-around-the-rosy. 

Sarah brought the puppies out next for a few group pictures.

 It was hard to keep them facing forward but left to right in both the picture above and the picture below is the biggest male weighing in at 11 ounces, the female and the other male who both weigh just over 10 ounces. 

Sarah's other two dogs, Maddie and Rizzy were let out into the yard and both were having a ball running around playing. Maddie is their new puppy. I think she is around 8 months old. I forgot to ask Sarah how old she is. Maddie is a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. They are an exuberant Irish farm dog, happy, friendly and deeply devoted to their family and what sets them apart from other terriers is that silky, gently waving gold coat. Meet Maddie:

After playing with Maddie and Rizzy we went inside to take a few up close face pictures of Arri's puppies.

 Above and below are the two male puppies. 

 Below is the only female puppy. 

We went to Flat Top Grill for lunch before each of us headed for our homes.  Mark came home a little early and discovered the heat was not on at church. It was programmed to come on but for some reason the boiler didn't fire up.  He made some phone calls, someone went personally and turned it on. Church was cool but tolerable tonight. After church I still needed to clean stalls and feed. It is still cold outside, we never made it above freezing and started the morning with 10 degrees. Galesburg started their morning with 1 degree but they had 11 inches of snow on the ground and we only have 4.  We were told that warmer weather is on the way but it is going to arrive with more rain. 

PUPPIES More Adorable PUPPIES!

We had a day of lots of small irritations at the Berean office this morning. So many that by the time lunch came around and the last one revealed itself we all burst into laughter.  If you would like to read about our irritating morning there click HERE.
That meant I didn't get home until later afternoon today and since we got another half inch of snow during the night bringing us to 9:8 inches for the month of November AND the thermometer was in the teens,  I just didn't want to work outside. Although just because I didn't want to go outside and could put it off for at least a little while there were horses waiting to be fed.  Stalls were cleaned and horses cared for but not until 5:00 pm. Maybe tomorrow it will be a little warmer.
Since it was warm in the house with the wood burner burning brightly I was looking at old pictures on the computer and this picture of Darcy popped up.

This is one of the last pictures we have of her. She was a legend around here, even now the grand children bring up her name. I found a video of her taken when she was just 3 years old in 2008. Each morning her job was to bring in the newspaper. Sometimes she even brought it up all intact but sometimes a lot of it was scattered in the yard giving us lots of extra pleasure piecing stories together. She also loved playing with garbage cans and did that until just before she died. We couldn't leave a garbage can out in the yard without her dragging it around. Below she and Cheyenne were having a ball bringing in the trash.

Cheyenne was a rescue, we only kept her around a month before finding her a home. We went from this HUGE Mastiff breed (Darcy weighed in at 189 pounds) to little puppies and....
I am THRILLED to announce Arrie's puppies. Sarah and Nolan's dog Arrie had 3 beautiful puppies Thanksgiving morning. These are Cava Maltipoos! Their mother is an apricot Maltipoo and their father is a blenheim King Charles Cavalier. Both parents weigh 13 pounds. This unique breed offers the ideal family pet. They have hypo-allergenic qualities and are mild mannered. This breed is extremely teachable, trainable and 100% lovable.  We start puppies out right with tons of attention and time with children. They receive added protection against parvovirus and are on a consistent de-worming schedule. We feed a healthy diet and offer plenty of socialization, which prepares your puppy for a great future.  our daily routine sets the foundation for successful crate and potty training.  The puppies have had their first vet check on 11/27 (TODAY) and dew claws have been removed. These very special puppies are for sale for $1800.00 Please contact Sarah directly at 309-208-1589 for more information.  Below is the only female we are calling Santa Maria

 The next puppy is a male we are calling Pinta

The last puppy in this litter is a male and we are calling him Niña

By the way shipping one of these puppies is $350.00 extra. 

These puppies will be posted on the Horsemeister website and pictures will be updated once their eyes are opened. Arrie's puppies are always fat and adorable. Check out the website for her past puppies www.horsemeister.com 

After the Storm

We awoke to blowing wind and 4 inches of heavy wet snow. Mark had the snow plow already on the tractor ready to pull out and actually started plowing while it was still dark. Below he is getting prepared to go outside in his plowing attire.

 He wanted to get a head start and since the tractor has lights felt he could at least get the drive to mom's and her area done before heading across the dam to Rachel's house. 

 We had a big limb come down across the drive going to the house. 

 With the wind gusts hitting 43 miles an hour last night that wasn't the only branch that came down. A big tree came down going into Valiant's field, hit another tree and broke a big branch off that one too.

We will leave that for another day as Valiant and Galena are locked off the field for a while. Below is the table on our patio with a 5 gallon bucket.

 The evergreen tree below was weighed down with that heavy snow.

 It was such a pretty picture looking over to the pond that I took a few of them before getting to work. 

 When Mark finished with the plowing around Meisterville, he headed back to do ours and pushed the big branch into the yard as he plowed that drive. 

 I moved the chair to get a better picture to show a full 4 inches had piled up on the chair and table. Later we heard Peoria got 4 to 5 inches but we missed the worst, the Galesburg area got 11 inches. We are amazed at this November storm. In my 63 years of life I can never remember this much snow in November. With this storm and the other snow coming earlier we are already over 8 inches for the month. 

 Karin came and helped get the side door to the arena and stall barn open. We put Zalena's colt in a stall and will leave him there until tomorrow afternoon once it warms up a bit. I have him on the monitor and he is happily munching away at his hay. The other horses were all smart enough to stay in their shelters during the snow.  The other weanlings were having fun rolling in the snow. I didn't have my camera or there would have been lots of pictures of that. They were dropping one at a time and thoroughly enjoying their roll. When they would get up they would be white until they shook.  Mike and Diane made it back from Gulf Shores this morning. Diane went right to the office and Mike went right out to Middle Grove to check on the horses there.  He reported they still had 2 bales out that had not been touched and the lakes are still open for water. The bad news out there was the power line was down. Mike needs to be able to plug his tractor in plus that line is also used for the heater on the automatic waterer. Hopefully the power company can get that repaired quickly we are expecting a deep freeze tonight. Mike drove all the way back to get a generator. 
I did lot of shoveling today and will be ready for a good nights sleep tonight.

Blizzard Warning

We left for church today knowing the forecast was for rain starting at 2:00 pm with snow following at 6:00 pm and that was exactly what happened. 

The wind is howling against the house and the snow is coming down. Karin, mom and I worked on a new puzzle until Karin had to leave for volleyball. Sarah and Ruth arrived so we pulled the Mexican Train game out and spent the evening playing.  We finished up around 6:30 pm and all of us had to rush home as the snow was now covering the roads.  I had taken the golf cart over to mom's and parked it in her garage and the snow was blowing so hard against my face that I almost went off the road into the woods. We are expecting it to keep snowing until after 2:00 am and are in the 3 to 6 inch range. It is the 40 to 50 mile an hour winds that are blowing the snow around causing white out conditions. I'm thankful we are home with plenty of good dry wood inside the house and two wood burners to keep us toasty warm.

Mike and Diane did not make it home from Gulf Shores. They heard about the blizzard warnings and stopped in Springfield, IL at a Drury Inn for the night. Joan was driving home from a wedding in Indiana and did make it home but told Mike and Diane the drive was harrowing. Below are a few of the warning that have been posted. 

The winter storm named Bruce arrived in the Hanna City area around 6:00 pm tonight as a full blown blizzard.
   This was posted from the Illinois storm trackers: BLIZZARD MOVING TOWARDS ILLINOIS. Here are the scenes of the blizzard as it moves through the plains into Missouri-Iowa. Interstates are shut down and accidents are occurring all over the place. Do not travel once the snow falls! Video via TrooperTodKHP Twitter.

#ALERT: BLIZZARD WARNINGS ISSUED. PREPARE NOW.ONCE SNOW STARTS, STAY HOME! ROADS WILL BE IMPASSABLE AND VISIBILITY WILL BE NEAR ZERO.BE PREPARED FOR POTENTIAL POWER OUTAGES DUE TO HIGH WINDS AND HEAVY WET SNOW.EXPECT POSSIBLE CLOSURES TOMORROW DUE TO THE STORM SLOWING DOWN.SNOWFALL RATES OF 2" AN HOUR EXPECTED; THUNDERS NOW.Snow will begin before noon north of I-80, 6PM along the Illinois River and 9PM along I-55.We are using very strong wording because this is truly a massive snowstorm for November. We expect 6-15" of wind driven snow. This is the real deal, be prepared.With such a heavy wet snow and strong winds, power outages are a growing concern. Be prepared for possible power surges and outages during the storm.

Manger Scene Sing

Ben and Taunya pulled out about 2:30 am for their long trip home to Dallas Texas. We are sure going to miss them.  I have to tell you a story about Addyson this summer.  On their first week back to school they were asked what they did over the summer and one little girl in Addyson's class said, "My grandma took me to Paris!"  Addyson chimed in, "well MY grandma has a golf cart AND lets ME DRIVE IT!" Yep, Addyson wins. This last week while they were here the weather just wasn't nice for taking golf cart rides and my golf cart needs new batteries but I don't want to buy them until spring.  We had a beautiful sunny 54 degree day, perfect for getting all that outside work done before the storm hits. The weather is predicted to turn to rain tomorrow morning then snow and then of course bitterly cold after the wet heavy snow arrives. We are in the 3 to 5 inch range for this storm now named Bruce.
The first job on my list today was to move in bales while it was still nice. Valiant and Galena were let out in the field and their paddock locked off so I could move the bale in without them interfering. They both chose a muddy spot and rolled. They grazed a bit then rolled some more until both sides were filthy.  Karin arrived and helped tease Rosalie. She kind of showed but then did not want to stand so we will mark her out.  The next job was to move a bale in for the weanlings. At that point we quit and came in for lunch. Karin took off for Ruth's house. Ruth was hosting the Davidovic Christmas today so Karin stopped in to say hello to everyone and take them some of her special spinach dip and crackers.  When she got back to the barn some of Spark's grandchildren were there so she gave Eden and Dafna (Molly and Gabe's daughters) rides on the horses once she was done working them. No pictures I was in the house cooking.
Mark split wood for a while then put in a new outlet at the barn by the people door and lined all the trucks, tractors and skid steer up putting trickle chargers on everything. Even Karin's 4 wheeler has a trickle charger on it.
I made a huge pot of turkey soup which was put in give-away-containers and refrigerated. A dozen eggs were hard boiled to make deviled eggs for Rachel's manger scene party tonight.
We took Mark's golf cart over to mom's to give her, Karin and Sarah a ride over to Rachel's on the golf cart. Mine would have been more comfortable and would probably make it to Rachel's but for sure wouldn't make it back.  Braelyn and Taegan arrived just before we did and were admiring all of Rachel's decorations.

Rachel started the singing pretty close to 6:30 pm and everyone joined in singing praises to the new born King. Singing around the manger scene is a tradition Rachel has continued from when we were children living at Pleasant Home. This is the start of Christmas for us.  After the singing of course there are lots of good treats to share and lots of fun. Below are a few videos. Ryan tried to teach Braelyn a trick. Watch poor Lily Pug get splattered with cool whip when Braelyn tries.
 And the next video is Taegan trying the same trick and getting cool whip on Rachel's floor.

Rachel took her revenge though on the dog and floor getting splattered with cool whip by feeding it to Sarah and Nolan's daughter Zion.

The sad news today was the tiny puppy died. It just wasn't developed enough to live.  Sarah and Nolan got up every 2 hours to feed her but couldn't get her to latch on or keep her body temperature up.  They are thankful for 3 big fat healthy puppies and Arrie is a very good mom.  I had another airbnb booking come in for December and this one is pretty special. It is our very first REPEAT! That means they believe staying here IS a good value. We all had a good time tonight after a beautiful day.

Black Friday

We walkers got stuck with traffic on the dam. Rachel was coming back from Black Friday shopping at our ONLY local store, Dollar General. She went right after they opened around 7:00 am and was the only customer there and for some reason Dollar General didn't have any bargains but they did have aluminum foal which is what she actually went for. We are thankful Hanna City has a store. Jace helped me this morning with hauling the heavy stuff upstairs. He is a strong grandson.

Karin, mom, Anni, Jessica and Rachel drove out to Carlock this morning to visit Rebekah and Brian at their new house.  Karin drove mom's car and we stopped in Morton to pick up Nancy so she too could see the house and their kids.  When we arrived Riley and Jordan were helping their dad with the dishes.

 Below mom is holding one of her great grand daughters. 

 While Karin is holding one of Rebekah's new puppies. 

 Anni was having fun with Riley and Jordan, letting them fall onto the couch. Those kids were waiting in line for Anni to do this over and over. 

 Below is Rebekah with her Golden Doodle Raegan. 

 Nancy wasn't happy this morning until Rebekah gave her a cookie. That made all the difference. 

 On the way home from Rebekah's we stopped at Dan and Susan's house. Below Levi is showing us her moves on one of their 3 trampolines. 

 We went in for pie and coffee. Abram, Dan and Susan's son helped serve. 

 Dan showed us a few of Diesel's tricks. Below he is very gently taking a cracker from Dan's mouth. 

 Molly was watching Diesel do the next trick, balancing a treat on his nose until given the command to catch it. 

 Diesel's favorite toy is a deer shed. 

 He enjoys jumping on the trampolines just like the other boys in his family. 

 Abram showed Karin and I how to use the rope swing. This swings way out over a huge cliff. 

I asked Abram to show us some tricks on the tramp and then how the zip line works. 

Those boys have the best toys.  Dan gave us a tour of the lake and campground before we took off to take Nancy home. We stayed a little too long so stopped at Culvers to get Nancy a hamburger before taking home since she missed lunch at her house.
Sarah and Nolan's dog Arri, had 4 puppies yesterday morning. 3 are normal size and she had 1 runt. They have been working with that little puppy all day trying to get it to nurse and bottle feeding it every hour. When I got home they had Arri and her puppies at our house so I too helped with that but I don't think this little puppy is going to make it.  We had our last all family meal tonight at mom's house as Ben and Taunya are leaving for home early morning.