Halloween Snow of 4 Inches

Mark helped move a bale in for Evan early this morning. We went out in the dark and blowing snow to get that job done. He also took the scraper off the tractor and put on the log splitter.  We walked in the driving snow which is more tolerable than the driving rain which we had yesterday.  We also broke all kinds of weather records today; most snowfall ever in October, most snow on Halloween (4 inches), record cold temperature with a high of just 32 degrees. It wasn't just the snow coming down it was also the wind which was driving the snow making for dangerous travel this morning. We stopped at Joan's where the kids were just heading out to go sledding.  That isn't smoke on the right side of the picture that is blowing snow.

Joan had her wood burners going strong as did we. The guests coming in tonight are coming in from Oregon for a funeral and the mother of one of the guests called to arrange a very nice gift. As she is from Kentucky she asked if there was a way to order food for the apartment and was more than willing to pay for it. Yesterday I was going shopping anyway for groceries so I told her it would be better food and more of it for the price if I did the shopping. Below is what was provided.

 There was fruit, 2 pounds of shaved black Forrest Ham, 2 pound of shaved honey roasted turkey, Munster cheese, 2 kinds of chips, crackers, coffee cake, milk, half and half, lettuce for the sandwiches, King Hawaiian rolls, 2 kinds of soup, fresh crunchy veggies of carrots, celery and red, yellow and orange peppers, ranch dip, mayo and of course candy bars. 

The fridge was stocked, the lights turned on, the heat set to 70 and of course lots and lots of snow shoveling in front of the apartment and finally the apartment was ready for guests. 

Mark came home early and got the snow tires on his car and my car is now up on the lift for tomorrow.  We have tires ordered for the van but those will be put on at East Peoria Tire tomorrow if the roads are good. All the yard hydrants needed to make sure the hoses were disconnected as we are going to have a deep freeze tonight.  

We were visited tonight by Super Girl, a gymnast and a My Little Pony. They came exclaiming, "trick or treat" and of course grandpa brought out the treats.

They didn't stay long as they had just started, their next stop was great grandma's and from there they went to Joan's house.  

Snow in October

During the night enough snow fell that when Mark looked outside at 4:00 am the yards were white.  Vera Martin posted the picture below taken this morning.

That snow didn't last though, the temperature rose enough that the snow turned to rain and it rained ALL day. At 9:30 pm it is STILL raining.  That rain is going to turn again into snow around 10:00 pm and we are expecting 3 to 4 inches in our area.  None of us are ready to deal with snow and I can't remember a time when we had a lot of snow on Halloween. Today is Taegan's 7th birthday. Anna posted the picture below.

 At least the roads weren't bad today. I drove first to Kroger and then to Sam's Club. Filling the car with bargains. As soon as I got home 2 big pots of cheeseburger soup was started and by the time that was done I ended up with 2 and a half gallons. Of course we had that for supper tonight.  Mark came home and has also been shopping so together we went through the cupboards and did a clean out of anything we hadn't used in a while.
Rebekah has some adorable F1b medium Goldendoodle puppies.

These puppies are available for adoption but if interested you need to visit her website to fill out an application. Her website address is Joley Aire Designer Dogs if interested in seeing pictures of this litter click HERE. Her puppies are well socialized, have a good start on potty training and are all just plain adorable!
We drove through a cold rain to church tonight. Greg Rumbold had the message then drove through a colder rain to get back home.  The temperature is falling and that rain will soon turn to snow. We should wake up to winter. Sure not ready for that.

Preparing For Winter

We awoke to cold that hung around all day. I think the high was only 37 degrees. It was quite brisk on our walk.  We only did one round as today is Berean day.  IF you would like to read about our time there click HERE. The studies needed to be taken directly to Meisters as Amanda or Crystal take them to their mother who lives in Roanoke and Roanoke AC church took all of this weeks studies to grade. From there I went to Diane's office to 'help' her balance the Horsemeister checkbook.  I say 'help' as she does all the work now, I just have to be there to answer questions. Diane found it goes much fast that way.  Mark Kieser brought a special dessert for the Berean workers that Cathy made and it was so delicious all the left overs were left at Diane's office. I sure didn't want to take them home, Mark and I don't need to be tempted. When I finally arrived home I had about an hour to download pictures from the camera before making dinner. The two below were taken Sunday afternoon.

After a quick supper we went outside in the cold to start preparing for winter. Mike came to plug in all the automatic waterers as it is supposed to be 32 degrees tomorrow morning. Mark worked on winterizing the camper. I moved a bale into the middle paddock for Ayanna and Hadassah then grained all the horses for the evening feed.  Tomorrow Evan's paddock will need a bale. He was begging for attention tonight.

Valiant was way out back grazing near the playground and didn't come running while we were up working. Ayanna came up though hoping for a treat.

She is not bagged up yet but isn't due until Nov 26th. By the time we came inside we were cold and tired. To tired to build a fire so the electric heater was turned on. Mark is already in bed and I will be heading there as soon as this is finished.

The Killing Fields

Rhoda sent the picture below.  She took it yesterday when Iris walked up to grandpa and asked to sit on his lap.  We've had a breakthrough. She also let me hold her quite a bit during the evening. Iris is feeling much more comfortable around us now.

This morning after the walk I went straight up to the apartment to start cleaning from our guests over the weekend and the apartment was left in terrible shape.  The guests had 4 children and they left the door wide open for hours as they played on the trampoline. There must have been over a hundred flies swarming around. I started killing flies, so many that I ended up breaking a fly swatter and went down to the house to get another. After about an hour of swatting flies the floors looked like the fly killing fields. We had all the cold rain on Saturday then beautiful weather on Sunday and all the flies in the area decided to move inside. That wasn't the worst though. What I didn't realize was they used the apartment shower to dye that little girl with purple hair. The shower was stained purple, there was purple stain on the couch, pillow cases, blankets and bed coverings. Towels and wash cloths were also stained purple so it looked like they tried to clean it up some. There was food spilled everywhere and some kind of juice all over the floor causing that to be very sticky. They must have fried up bacon because the grease was covering the stove. Most of the time after we have guests, the apartment is left so clean the only thing needed is to change the bedding but not this time, this time it took hours. At least they didn't pop the airbed and no permanent damage was done.
An update came from the lady that bought Missy's filly by Evan she named Amelia: Megan writes, "she’s just so beautiful!"

She is also the sweetest filly, who not only loves all the people she meets, but she gets along so well with other horses too! I know that, without a doubt, she is my equine soulmate 💛

We didn't breed Missy back as she is in too much of a demand as one of our special riding horses, but we are amazed at how beautiful her filly turned out.  We love Missy but safe to say, it isn't for her amazing beauty.

She sure had a lovely filly though.

Mark worked on the driveways as soon as he got home from work today filling in pot holes and using the grader until it got too dark to see.  

Indian Summer Sunday

What a beautiful day after our 2 inches of rain on Saturday, we were thrilled with sunshine and warmth today.  Church was great, Matt Feucht was our visitor for the morning service and we learned about bold and meek. Mike Rieker had the afternooon message.
After church we stopped at Aldi to buy a few groceries as the kids were coming for dinner tonight.  The grandchildren went right out to the barn where Karin was working with Valiant and all of them came in very excited. Braelyn, Taegan and Israel got to CANTER Valiant and Kensley rode Valiant with no one leading him and when he turned him he didn't slow down but did exactly as she asked.  No pictures though as I didn't know Karin was up at the barn.
Right after supper everyone headed over to the playground for volley ball and a nice big camp fire. David and Israel brought somemore supplies. We all enjoyed sitting around the fire visiting while the volley ball players played under the lights. This is probably the last Sunday for outdoor volley ball. They move inside at the Hanna City gym in November. Thankful for our beautiful weather for our last outdoor Sunday volley ball of the 2019 year.

Broken Manure Spreader

We didn't have rain for the early hours so Mark decided to keep spreading manure except there was hay stuck in the manure which jammed it up. He took it apart and will have to order a pretty expensive part to get it fixed. Meanwhile the loader is full and is now parked in the indoor arena. UGH double UGH.
The 2 little girls staying with their parents in the apartment were first out to meet the horses.

When they walked right by Daria, she stuck her head way out for attention. 

And it worked Daria and Lyra both got the attention they were hoping for. 

 They next met Isla and learned how to give her grass off of their hands. 

Their big sister came out to meet the horses too.

 Karin, Magda and Kayla and Studly had taken Ayanna, Hadassah and Jenis out on the trails.

 They stopped to let her pet Jenis.

 They made their way back up to the barn.

 We stayed back to give Valiant some attention.

 Emma came running up too for attention. 

 Joan took down a dead tree to use for firewood and it dropped across the barn drive. 

 Joan and Heather were busy cutting it up for firewood for their wood burners.  It is amazing how much wood it takes to heat the homes around here and how much wood is available. Always just enough!

Mark and I worked on the manure spreader until it started raining. He moved it indoors and just parked it.  The rain started by 11:00 am and it is still raining at 8:30. At 5:00 pm we picked up mom and drove to the fellowship hall for the Skyline Benefit. That place was packed. As we were getting lots of rain all the farmers from Peoria, Princeville and Bradford couldn't be out in the fields and came for the food, fellowship, and both silent and live auction fun. We spent our wad and left while the live auction was still going on. 

Kesli Skye

Kesli Skye was born at 3:18 am. Happy parents are Kristin and Benji Hodel.  Technically Kesli Skye isn't related to me but she IS Stephanie's brand new niece so that makes her part of the family.

We rejoice with Kristin and Benji at the safe birth of this beautiful 7 pound 10 ounce bundle of joy.  Her sisters Jasper, Marinn and Eliana are thrilled to welcome their new little sister home. 

For the last 2 mornings we had gorgeous pink, orange and gold sunrises but today the cloud cover was too heavy to let any gleam of brightness through. Abby was moved into the paddock next to Evan so Jenis could be moved into the paddock Abby had been staying in with Cinnamon.  Ayanna and Hadassah have joined up and were picking on Jenis.  It is funny how exchanging Oksana for Ayanna made me have to move horses. Oksana gets along with everyone and would never dream of being a bully. Ayanna is Lily's daughter who just happens to be the boss mare of EVERYONE.

Rhoda trained Ayanna to bow and lay down while being ridden. She is a beautiful mare but so very bossy.

Both of Lily's daughters, Ayanna and Rosalie are the thugs of the herd. The only horse they back down from is their mama Lily.  Ayanna needs to be here as she is the last mare due in 2019. She isn't due for a month but I feel better having her here to keep an eye on her.  

She has the most gorgeous foals by Evan.

The apartment was finished and ready for the new guests coming in by 10:00 am but I forgot to turn the heat on and didn't remember that until 3:00 pm. It was down to 60 degrees when I remembered. I'm not sure when the guests arrived, but they turned the heat down to 68 degrees instead of 72 so I know they are here. My nephew Tom fixed a leak at Bridlewood and Amy snapped the picture below  and sent it with the title Tom in a hole.

Sure am thankful to have plumbers in the family.  We actually have a lot of these talented skilled workers. Tom is one of 3 brothers from John's family and all three are plumbers as was John.  Rachel's husband owns his own plumbing business. Rachel's oldest son is a plumber as is her only son-in-law. Of course with our big extended family we probably have every occupation needed covered.

Surprise Visit

Sarah came for a visit today surprising me arriving just after we finished our walk AND she brought Eden and Zion with her.  She came to help me clean but she did the cleaning while I played with the babies.

 Right after she took those adorable grand daughters home I left for Sam's club where lots of groceries were bought. As soon as I got home the pots and pans were taken out and those groceries were put to use making first a big pan full of creamy chicken and wild rice soup for supper and a big loaded pizza for our lunch.  While the soup was simmering on the stove Ellie and Faith came over to help make a video of Isla. We had 4 different people asking to see her move.  She was taken to the outdoor arena. Below Faith and Ellie are giving her a quick brushing down to remove any noticeable mud.

Isla was very well behaved and it really only took a few minutes to make the video below. She just naturally shows off.

Isla is such a quality Warlander, just check out that movement. She happens to be for sale for $5000.00, at least for now, we keep talking about maybe keeping this one as she really IS that special. She reminds us so much of Athena who was appraised by Liz Searle as a 2 year old for $25,000.00.  We also brought out Josiah, Jewel's colt by Evan but didn't get a video of him. That will need to be done at a later time. He did get a leading, tying lesson and did very well with that. He is a big colt. He was born May 7th, 2019 and is 75% Friesian 25% Thoroughbred. He is registered with Friesian Heritage Horse International and has a brand new coggins.

Anna dropped off the girls so she could go to parent teacher conferences. Philip picked them up just before I was heading over to mom's for games.  Spark, Rhonda, Joan, Heather, mom and I played but I really needed to quit early as I have guests coming in tomorrow for the apartment and the bedding still had to be washed and the apartment cleaned.  I have a load of towels in the apartment washer while the sheets are now in the house dryer and will be heading back up to finish the bathroom and kitchen.  I still haven't heard what time they are coming in but I may not be around much in the morning so it must be cleaned today. 

Drop Off Pick UP

On the walk today I asked Joan if she would help get a mare covered as the mare didn't want to stand well. She and Heather were willing to help with that. After the walk today I decided to take Oksana out to Middle Grove and pick up Ayanna who is due to foal Nov 26th. She usually goes a little early and I wanted her here at least a month before she delivers.  The trip out went well except when I got there Anna called to remind me that I was suppose to get Kensley in 5 minutes off the bus. Thankfully Joan was home and answered her phone quickly drove over and made it before the bus arrived.  I MUST remember to look at the calendar before leaving each day!  Oksana was glad to be back out there.

As soon as she was out of the trailer she took off to find the herd. That gave me a good idea which way to go and saved me walking up the hill then back down. Instead I was able to drive the truck and trailer to the big field.

The herd was spread out grazing which meant a hike but also gave me time to check each horse over.  Skye was the first one to see me and come.

 She is looking more and more beautiful and it will be exciting to see what she produces when bred to Evan. Jewel and Sangria had been down by the lake and when they came walking up they both had birds on their backs. 

Ayanna was across the dam, she is obviously still pregnant so she was haltered and we started the long hike back to the trailer.

 I had to stop and take a picture of Tatiana and her filly heading down to drink.

 Below is Madiera and her double mane. Madiera is the mother of Isla and Joshua. 

Isla is gorgeous and inherited that beautiful mega mane.

She is also very tall for her age, just over a year old and already 15 hands. Isla is still for sale for $5000.00 but...as I was telling someone today we are not willing to take less for her, we can keep her and breed her to Evan and each day that looks better and better. If you were thinking of buying her don't wait until we change our mind on selling her, she really is as beautiful inside and she is on the outside. Her brother Joshua also has the mega mane and tail. He is also black which is much desired in a Warlander. He is for sale for $5000.00 and will surely be a superstar with his black shiny coat, his thick long hair and his big movement. 

As I was taking Ayanna to the trailer, Indy came up to see where her buddy was going.  She and Ayanna grew up together, are half sisters born the same year and we call them the fatties. 

 If interested in seeing the rest of the pictures from the trip to Middle Grove click HERE.  When I got back Ayanna was put in with Jenis and Hadassah, the trailer backed up where it belongs then Lotus and Cinnamon brought into a stall and given a good groom. Both had rolled in the mud. It had just started to rain so I was glad I brought them in before the rain hit. The stalls were bedded with fresh pellets, they were both given hay, grain and fresh water then I headed back to the house for a late lunch.  Martha, the owner of Lotus and Cinnamon arrived at 3:00 pm. With Martha's help we got Lotus covered by Evan then loaded her. Cinnamon was next to load. After they were on the way the stalls were cleaned one ,more time and I headed in to make supper. Tonight we had cheeseburger soup. That had been frozen earlier and just needed to be defrosted and heated up. While we were waiting for that Mark had some tuna salad on crackers.  Tonight was church. Tim Funk had the message on Isaiah 40 and then Revelation 21, both favorites.