Alligator

Ruth, Fedi, Mark, me and 5 dogs went on the walk today. We had a good visit. After the walk Irish and her filly were let out in the big field for a few pictures as the filly is now 1 day old. This was the first time she was outside and she loved using those long legs of hers.

She really is adorable with her long eyelashes and fuzzy mustache.

 Below Rosalie and Ayanna were  very curious and were watching Irish and her new filly. 

 Pictured below is Zalena who was coming up to the gate to also see the filly.

 The two boys meanwhile were too busy playing to even notice there was a new filly on the place.

I left for Peoria to take Bible studies to people for grading. There are still about 50 left to grade if anyone wants to help out with that program. When I got back Karin was here working with Rosalie.

As soon as she finished with her we took her over to Evan for teasing and she showed AND stood well today. She was successfully covered and was marked down. Joan sent a couple pictures of a huge alligator swimming in the same lagoon they were swimming in.

IT crawled out of the water, crossed the path and went into the brush.

 The alligator is just to the right of Faith heading into the swamp area. 

A couple weeks ago when Phil and Anna were there someone told them they saw a big alligator swimming around but no one really believed them.The alligator is at least 6 foot long and obviously feeding well in that lagoon. We didn't realize they even liked salt water but this one is not just surviving but thriving.  Spark was at Middle Grove today and the pheasant below was right in his path and was not in a hurry to leave.

 This evening Sarah and Nolan decided to have a campfire. Below Nolan, Braelyn and Zion are all fishing.

 Zion came up to have her mom fix her fishing pole. She reeled the line all the way up.

 Eden was content to sit in the stroller and just watch.

 Nolan caught a nice crappie then bunch more bass and crappie. 

 He took the next two pictures himself and sent them to me as he was out in the canoe.

I took the grandchildren over to see Irish and her new filly. I was so impressed with how quiet the filly is and how she let the children pet her all over. She didn't care that she was surrounded.

 Above and Below they are petting Irish while the filly nurses.

 When the filly finished her meal she stood next to her mom and everyone got to pet her.

 Back at the campfire Braelyn and Kensley were watching all the action up on top of the golf cart.

 Mark is fishing below.

 The climbing tree is just perfect for this age and all enjoyed climbing, even Zion.

 On the next golf cart ride we stopped to take a picture of Valiant in front of the Redbud tree. That sure is pretty right now.

Mark put the finish mower on the small Kubota and got the yards mowed.

 We had pizza for supper from Caseys then made somemores for dessert around the campfire. It was a fun evening and a good day.

Irish's Filly is Sold

We had a nasty day today, rain all day and the high of the day was in the morning during our walk. It was 52 degrees but felt really chilly. Irish's filly is doing great. I checked on her during that short night from 2:00 am to 6:00 am just a couple times but both times I got up to check she was up and nursing. At 6:00 am when I went out to feed she was up and full of energy. Her umbilical cord was checked and that seemed nice and dry. She is peeing, pooping and nursing well. Irish is being a good mother. The pictures below were taken for the website. Check out that mustache in the last picture.

After the walk I drove to the Aldi in Pekin for groceries and ended up spending $88.00. That is a lot of groceries. They had fresh chicken breasts, a 10 pound bag for $10.00 so chicken stir fry is what we will have for church lunch and Sunday dinner.  Aldi also had all the vegetables that go with the stir fry.  This afternoon I slept.
This evening Irish's filly sold. She will be going to Iowa when weaned. The buyer sent the deposit by paypal. Now she has to come up with a name for the registration papers. That is a job I don't do well with so I'm always thrilled when these foals sell before I try to name them.
I have to head up to the barn one more time tonight to feed and fill water buckets and of course handle and play with the filly. She really is adorable.
Mom and Joan made it to Gulf Shores just a little after 11:00 pm last night but mom reported she was up at 6:00 am thrilled to be there. They are having rain today but the next 8 days bright sunshine and warm weather are predicted. So much nicer than here. Our week next week is going to be another below average temperatures all week. Perfect grass growing weather. Yesterday the sun was shining so nice and the Redbud tree is now blooming so I took the picture below but forgot to post it.

I only remembered when coming back from the barn in the rain but it is SO beautiful I wanted to share here. 

Just got a notice that our Peoria church is already live on Facebook for tonight so this post will end and after church I'm heading straight to bed.

Irish Has A FILLY

At 11:50 pm I checked the monitor and saw that Irish was getting ready to lay down. At that point I grabbed my sweat shirt and phone, jumped on the golf cart and headed to the barn. By the time I got there she was in active labor. Those legs sticking out were huge.

 The camera was put down and I started helping with each contraction. As soon as the rib cage cleared and the foal was breathing I quit but the hips and back legs are still inside. 

 I thought she may be able to finish the delivery herself but she was just too tuckered out. I was shocked at how hard it was to get those hips and back legs out but one last big contraction and one last big pull the filly popped out. She was born at 12:15 am April 29th, 2020.

 Irish just rested for a while until the filly started moving around then was curious enough to reach over to see.

 The filly kept moving towards her mother's head while still attached to the cord. 

 The cord was stretched quite far.

 One last kick out and the cord snapped and the filly was free.

 Irish took that opportunity to start cleaning the filly up

 The filly kept trying to get up and was moving around but Irish still didn't try to stand.

 At 12:44 am the filly made it to her feet. She balanced for a bit then went crashing down.

 Irish as concerned enough that she finally stood up. The filly's second try went better and it wasn't long before she was stumbling around her mother looking for the milk bar.

The placenta dropped just before 1:00 am, iodine was applied to her cord,  the stall was cleaned up, new hay and water were put in and then I just watched until the filly latched on finally around 1:15 am.  I'm back up at the house watching on the monitor and the filly is nursing well. Irish is being a good mother, holding still  while the filly nurses. She had a hard labor but what a wonderful outcome.