More Wax

No walk this morning, too much rain. We are having lots of rain today and the ground is saturated. We had a very good day at the Berean office. To read about that click HERE. When I got home I headed straight to the barn. The horses needed to be fed, the indoor cleaned up and a stall prepared for Tara and Jay's puppies.  They arrived just as I was finishing with the horse stalls.  Tara and Jay are heading up to Chicago to take one of the puppies to her new owner. The other 5 are staying the night in one of the horse stalls.

 These puppies are adorable. Chewy is their papa. Chewy is Anni's Moyen Poodle (not a miniature and not a standard but a mix of both) and their mama is a purebred Brittany Spaniel.

Tara and Jay have 7 children and these puppies are VERY well socialized. I think there are a few still for sale so if interested call Tara direct 309-258-3650.  As soon as everything was done at the barn I headed out to check Jewel and we have wax.

Not a lot and it is still clear but with this COLD 40 degree rain and mud everywhere Jewel is going to spend the night in the stall.  The two mom's with the new foals have the indoor arena and Jewel was not happy by herself so Isla, Madiera's filly was brought inside also.  I've been watching them on the monitor and all is quiet.  Tim and Phil worked on the living room ceiling. Quite a change from yesterday.

It needs another coat or two of mud before the painting but already the house seems brighter. 

After supper 4 QuestsPlus de-wormers were taken up to the barn. The 3 weanlings from last year are now old enough and were each given one,  Isla, Giselle and Ivan and the 4th went to Rosaleigh. 

Big Repairs

We had a thunderstorm during the night that dropped a decent amount of rain but it stopped just before we were to walk.  Except just as we started walking the rain started back up. We walked in the rain over to Joan's to say good-by to Bethany and Bill and their 3 children then each of us home.  As it was so wet and cold I spent the morning doing house work, cleaning up the place while listening to AC Central.  Around 1:00 pm the rain stopped so the outside chores started. 5 mares were teased today with only one showing. Galena is still in and was covered by Valiant.  Indy, Oksana, Irish and Lola were not at all interested.  I may need to schedule a sonagram. Irish has never shown. Oksana was covered 20 days ago, Indy was covered 22 days ago and Lola was covered 18 days ago so they may be pregnant.
Later I ran to Kroger to pick up a few groceries.  Phil and Anna arrived this evening to help with the big repairs. All of the furniture was moved out of the living room as tomorrow we start on the ceiling. Phil brought in all of the drywall by himself. Each one weighs 65 pounds and is 12 feet long.

 Anna went up to the apartment to work on the washer. Anna needed Phil for that though, they had to take the dryer off of the top of the washer then take the washer apart. There were two error codes on that, one was a plugged drain but the other is a $300.00 part. 

 Phil is going to order the part and hopefully install it. Good thing we don't have any renters moving in for 10 days. I will block out the next week so I don't have to worry about anyone coming in unexpectedly.

 Anna took the girls home but Phil came back inside to help move the lights.

While they were working on the washer I got a bale moved in for Indy, Oksana and Irish then fed Rosaleigh and Soul. Both of their foals are doing great. They are both enjoying attention from people and growing well.  It is a blessing to have 4 healthy foals.  Jewel is due in 11 days but usually goes early but her udder is not full yet. I check her twice a day just in case. I sure don't want her to deliver out in this mud. We got over an inch of rain today and are expecting a LOT more rain the next 3 days. Heavy rain is predicted every day for the next 3 days.  I had to lock Lola and Galena off the pond pasture. It is just too soggy and they will tear it up.

Jessica's Wedding

We had a cold morning but the sun was shining bright for Jessica and Clayton's wedding day. The chores were done and then we were on our way to church with mom.  It was wonderful to see so many people. Spark had to come a little late as he was at the jail in the morning and when he arrived there were no parking places left. He had to park out on the streets.  Almost the entire Sceggel family was there. For some reason the Texas family didn't make 12 hour trip up but I totally understand that as they are coming for the month of July.  We had such a wonderful day in church and after the morning service Tim announced another engagement. Mike and Rosie announced the engagement of their daughter Tiffany to Trent from the Washington church. As we had lots of visitors from Washington (Clayton is from Washington) Tim Funk said, "you Washington people need to keep your boys home."  Almost everyone broke out laughing. 

We really do wish them God's blessings even if they end up attending Washington instead of Peoria. 

We came straight home to let the dogs out then headed to the fellowship hall for the reception. By the time we got there the place was packed.

Mark and I needed to start on dishes right away so didn't go through the line right away. Rachel posted the 2 pictures below of the happy couple.

Below Mark is helping out, he is not dumpster diving even though he is standing in the dumpster. He was needed to crush the garbage down so we could get more bags in. Rachel had a lot of disposables for this wedding reception which really cut down on the dishes but made for a lot of garbage. 

 We were able to greet the bride and groom, grab something quick to eat then went right back into the kitchen until it was time for the wedding couple to leave. Instead of rice they were passing out bubbles but some of Clayton's friends had 50 pounds of bird seed on the roof ready to dump on Clayton.

Rachel asked them to wait to dump it until Jessica was safe in the getaway car.

Mom was kind of in the way and ended up with a lot of bird seed in her hair.  Clean up went well with lots of help. We made it home by 5:45 pm and volley ball was just getting started. I had 5 grandchildren there and took pictures but it is too late so those will be downloaded tomorrow.  After volleyball Rhonda, Joan, mom, Braelyn and I played Mexican Train. Rhonda smeared us all. 

Gideon Sold

I had so much to get done this morning that I headed up to the barn at 6:00 am telling Mark I would be back down by 6:30 to make breakfast. The indoor arena and stalls needed to be cleaned and the apartment floor done. That all took longer than expected and I didn't get back down to the house until 6:45 am but Mark had gone back to bed. He had a bad night and was up coughing. That gave me time to go back up to feed the horses and bring Gideon in and give him a good grooming. Julie and her daughter were coming from Ohio this morning to look at him. Gideon was left in the indoor arena to keep him out of the mud while breakfast was made. After breakfast I was walking up to the barn when Julie arrived.  It didn't take them long to decide to buy Gideon. He was following around Julie's daughter and giving kisses.  Julie took the picture below.

 He loaded up quietly and stood quietly not even calling as they were pulling out. Isla on the other hand was calling. She saw him load and was distraught.  Ivan and Giselle were put in with her so she isn't alone but she is really missing her buddy. Julie sent the message below: We made it home about 730. Got him settled in. He's eating and drinking, seems calm. The trailer ride was completely uneventful! Thanks again!

That is exactly what we like to hear.  Our guests arrived around 1:00 pm and the rain had just stopped.  They were thrilled to meet each foal. Evan was taken into the indoor to show them some of his fancy moves and then once Galena was covered by Valiant helped me move the mares and foals back into their paddock from the breeding shed.  

Ruth called tonight concerned about Anna's dad.  The lady from the bank was driving by and saw Dennis backing a lawn mower off his truck, it tipped and he ended up under it but was able to push it off. The bank lady stopped but Dennis said he was fine. A couple hours later the bank lady drove back to check on him, knocked on their door but no one answered. She then drove to Ruth's house, Ruth called me, I called Anna, Anna drove over and got the scoop. Dennis was fine, they just didn't hear anyone knocking.  

Mark went mushroom hunting this afternoon and came home with a dozen of those delicious morsels of morels. 

They were soaked in an egg milk salt mixture and fried up later this evening. What a treat! The weather this evening has been pretty awful with falling temperatures and lots of wind. At least the rain quit. We are expecting below freezing temperatures by morning with the real feel into the twenties. Oh well at least we aren't getting the snow Chicago is getting and this is going to help kill flies. 

Tonight is the rehearsal dinner for Jessica and Clayton and tomorrow is their wedding day. We are expecting a lot of guests in Peoria.

Tied To the Tracks

This morning 3 bales were moved in, one for the far paddock, one for the weanling paddock and one for Evan's paddock. The washer in the apartment went on lock down. I tried for over an hour to open the door, even turning off all the power to the apartment for a half an hour but when the power was turned back on the door was still locked. About that time LuEllen arrived to take more pictures of the foals. 

 This is easier said than done. The fillies want to 'help' with the camera.

We got a few of Rosaleigh and her filly and Soul and her colt.

After LuEllen left I went back into the apartment but the washer was still locked. I stopped on the way down to the house to snap the pictures below of the redbud tree. It is almost full bloom and the pink color against the bright blue sky was just beautiful.

By this time it was almost 1:00 pm which was the time I was suppose to pick mom up for the trip to ICC to watch the homeschool co-op play Tied To the Tracks. Faith, Joan's daughter had a pretty big part in this play.

 The play was hilarious drawing lots of laughs from the packed house. 

They put this on twice today with a 2:00 pm performance and a 7:00 pm performance. If you would like to see the rest of the pictures from the play click HERE. When we got home from ICC I had to go straight out to work to move Galena and her filly into the breeding shed. She is now in season and was covered today by Valiant. Lola and her filly were also moved there as these two mares want to be together.  Jewel's udder was checked and it is not full yet, we have some time. Indy, Oksana and Irish broke a board in the short shelter paddock. They were moved into the middle paddock with Jewel. That board will need to be replaced tomorrow.  Evan was turned out into the pasture today. He just had to show off for the girls in the next field over.

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures from around the farm today click HERE. Phil was sent a text about the washer so I ran up to the apartment to get the model number but had to open the door to get that and only as I was writing down the number realized the door OPENED!  I didn't need the model number. The towels were taken down to my washer to spin out. About then Dan stopped by to help with the washer and so did Anna.  It's been a long day.

Braelyn's Spring Concert

Rosaleigh and her filly were checked at 5:30 am. Rosaleigh had not yet delivered her placenta and I wasn't sure if the filly had nursed as Rosaleigh's udder was still tight.  Rosaleigh was given 1 cc of Oxytocin at 6:00 am. By 6:15 am the filly was nursing and after the walk I went right to the house to draw up another cc of Oxytocin but by the time I got to the barn the placenta had been delivered. Anna picked me up this morning at 8:55 and drove Gerty and I to Farmington school for Braelyn's 2nd grade Spring concert. This year they did dances from all over the world starting with the Congo line and Braelyn led the class into the auditorium.

The video below shows most of the dances.

As soon as I got home Soul and her colt were put outside. It was sunny but cool. Soul right away decided to roll and her colt took that chance to run around.

He really is something! As the weather was so nice Rosaleigh and her filly were also taken outside but just for a short time and just to get some pictures for the website. It was funny watching her learn to use those long legs. 

Rebekah was here working with the Gypsy filly, the filly is doing very well. Rebekah bought a new training halter for her.  Once the stall was cleaned with fresh hay and water they were brought back inside.  I was walking back to the house and noticed Galena hanging around Evan. She is now in season and will need to be covered tomorrow.  Her filly saw me and came right up to the fence for attention and when I backed up to get the picture she stuck her head through the fence.

 Lola's filly came up too. Both girls were given lots of good scratches.

They sure do love attention. I happened to look down and saw a mushroom and that meant I HAD to go mushroom hunting.  This delicacy is only found and served in the spring.  Below is all I found but they made a nice treat for Mark when he came home.

They really were delicious.  The next job today was to run to Diane's office, do some bookwork and make a deposit for Horsemeister.  Valiant was turned out into the field this afternoon but instead of grazing he kept running the fenceline threatening Gideon who was in the breeding shed paddock. Gideon and Isla had to be moved anyway because I will need the breeding shed for mares and foals tomorrow so put them in Ribbon's old paddock. Valiant finally settled down and started grazing. Soul and her colt were brought back inside as more rain is predicted this evening.  Mike took the truck and 2 horse trailer out to Middle Grove to drop off Marika and bring back Jewel and Sky.   Jewel is due May 10th but usually delivers 2 weeks early so we need her home now. Sky is here for training. She turns 2 years old this year. We left for Skyline where communion was being served at 7:00 pm. We drove over to pick Ruth up and saw Sarah and Zion. Their Wheaten Terrier, Maddie, was there to be bred to Chewy.  This will be Maddie's first litter. Yesterday Rizzy was bred to a King Charles Cavalier stud dog in Indiana and Saturday Sarah and Nolan are taking Arietta to Indiana to be bred also.  They could end up with 3 litters of puppies all at the same time!  They have a wonderful set up for them if it happens.  

It's a very good thing the foals were brought inside today we are getting a lot of rain.  Everything is going to be muddy again but thankful the grass is growing well. 

Rosaleigh's Filly

We had a beautiful sunrise this morning only living in this house we can't actually see the sun rise. We can see the after affects of the colors tinting the clouds. Below is looking South, those are not mountains  just above the tree line, those are clouds.

 Below is looking East. That is as close as we can come to see the sunrise.

 Below is looking West. Even the west was showing beautiful colors this morning.

After our walk Soul and her colt were put out in the field. He is just 1 day old but strong and wanting to stretch those long legs of his.

If you would like to see the rest of his pictures taken this morning click HERE. The rain moved in right after that so they were put back in the stall.  Rosaleigh was waxing heavily this morning.

I was pretty sure she would be delivering today or tonight. She was also stalled. Mom went to Skylines to visit Aunt Bernie and Ilene.

She had a nice visit with them then had lunch with Evie, Ilene, and Virginia. Aunt Bernie wasn't feeling well so went back to her room. Mom said the lunch was good and they all enjoyed being together. These ladies have been friends for as long as I have been alive. 

 After church tonight we had a surprise birthday party for Sarah at Culvers.  As a joke everyone brought presents and almost all of the presents had in it a pair of high heel shoes for her.

 She had to try them on and walk around the restaurant wearing her beautiful shoes. It was pretty funny as all the kids at the party followed her around the restaurant.

To see the rest of the pictures from the party click HERE.  We got home at 10:30 pm. I ran right up to the barn and just as I walked into the stall Rosaleigh's water broke. LuEllen Schafer was planning on spending the night to see the birth and was pleased we didn't have to stay up all night. The filly was born at 10:45 pm and was an uneventful birth. Exactly what I was praying for.

By 11:30 pm the filly was rooting around in the right spot.

LuEllen took some pictures of Soul's colt while we were waiting for the filly to stand.

Once I was reasonable sure the filly was going to be nursing we both left. LuEllen for home and me for the house to write the blog. Watching on the monitor it is obvious she is nursing well.