Rocky Leaves

On our walk I stopped to check out Sheena and Loxley. Mike was a little worried that Sheena is losing weight but I think they look great. 

Loxley is getting tall and is very handsome. He loves scratches from Mike. I loved the early morning lighting in the picture below. Cookie almost glows in the sunshine.

I didn't hear from the shipper early so after the walk left for Sam's Club.  Now for the justification to the coffee hoarding. Below is a picture from today of the same brand, same medium dark, and instead of the 51 ounces (3 pounds 3 ounces) at $9:00 it is now $14.46 for 43.8 ounces (2 pounds 8 ounces)

When my coffee is gone I'll be switching brands to something from Aldi. What a bummer. I picked up a few more groceries and 2 more cases of water for our camping trip coming up in a week. Ruth was with mom and had her use the exercise bike so when I dropped off some groceries I took a short video of mom hard at work for Aunt Jinnie. 

Mom is determined to walk again and this just might help.

I made it home before the shipper called. He finally did call and was just 90 miles away. Rockaway was brought into the indoor and we practiced loading, unloading, leading and backing.

He did very well. We could hear Soul's orphan calling to him so Rosaleigh was taken out and give grain next to his paddock. Below is Tessa, Rosaleigh's filly by Evan.

She was watching her mom eat and not at all worried about being separated from her. Rosaleigh was put back in with the other mares then Rocky loaded and driven to the water tower. The HUGE semi truck and trailer arrived and just dwarfed my little 2 horse.

The opened side door of the trailer is where Rocky was going to be loaded.  We backed my trailer close to that door and the ramp was taken straight from the big trailer to my little trailer.

Below is Rocky waiting in my trailer. He was a little worried about walking down that narrow ramp with the drop off on both sides.

I was very proud of him, he trusted me and followed me in then was backed into the stall. Below the driver/ handler is getting ready to slide the stall door shut then Rocky would be untied.

He has a long trip to North Dakota.  There was another horse on the trailer.  The shipper told me the owners are paying $8000.00 to get him from Florida to his new home in Canada. I was glad Rocky didn't have to be alone. The truck was taken back, the horse trailer unhooked and the Salem FSX hooked up to the truck. Joan is taking that tomorrow camping at Jubilee. I'm so glad the trailers are being used this summer. That is why we purchased them. Since I was back Rosaleigh and her filly were put in with the orphan and the orphan fed milk. I wanted to see if they would stop him from drinking his milk if they were in with him but once they found there was milk and not grain in the bucket both walked away.

The back gate was opened so they can go into the pond pasture to graze if they want.  I couldn't let Rocky out back, Valiant hated him and if he hung around back Valiant would try to rush the fence. Rhoda and Lee had their meeting with the house inspector and walk through. Sarah and I drove up to join them and to check out the house. The inspector was Perry Kieser, Vonnie's son.

He did a wonderful job and I highly recommend him. IF you are wanting to buy a house have him look at it first.  Rhoda and Lee have a decision to make now but they have the information they needed to help with the decision. Mark beat me home but as soon as he finished supper went right back to work here working on his computer. He is swamped with estimates right now. AC central was checked and David's message on Psalm 89 is now up and posted below.

I took the short video below of the orphan colt drinking his milk tonight. He drank a little less than half but this formula is good for 12 hours so when he is hungry he will help himself. He always ends up with quite a milk mustache.

I'm NOT Hoarding

 The coffee helped this morning and I had a leisurely couple hours savoring it while doing devotions. Each morning I have at least 1 cup of coffee and let that kick in before starting my reading for the day.  Without coffee my eyes don't work well and neither does my brain and for that matter my body but with it I can face the day.  I'm not addicted at all and don't lie to myself either.  Gail told me after the pandemic hit that the one shortage people in Brazil really noticed was when coffee wasn't available. That was warning enough for me. When people were out searching for and hoarding toilet paper I was quietly buying coffee, BIG cans of coffee and not telling anyone else about that.

I currently ONLY have 4 full cans left of my hoarding and not really willing to share as the price has increased and the 51 ounce cans have shrunk.  Yep I guess I really am selfish but I justify that with, "Sure I have extra toilet paper to share". Not fun to be convicted on addictions. The colt was given his gallon of milk then I headed to the dumpster for our walk.  Just Diane, Joan and I walked but we quit just before 8:00 am as it was my turn to be with mom and Anna was dropping Taegan and Kensley off a little after 8:00. The morning was so beautiful that after breakfast we went out on the deck. Mom enjoyed watching Taegan and Kensley while listening to the birds sing.

Below are a few pictures of our morning.

We came in when it started heating up outside. Taegan had to try out mom's new exercise machine.

While Kensely tried out the lift chair. Great grandma has fun tools at her house.

Anna picked the girls up before lunch. At 1:00 pm Rachel relieved me and I drove home first to feed the colt a gallon of milk then to the Aldi in Pekin to get LOTS of groceries.  Karin gave me a list, Joan needed a few things and we needed food.  It was disappointing to see prices were even higher than last week. When will this inflation slow down. Today I spent over $160.00 at ALDI and didn't even have that much to carry in.  I was also shocked to find out they are taxing lunch meat at 9%  how do mom's with kids feed their family and why is lunch meat taxed at that rate?  Rocky was supposed to leave tonight for his new home. I sent a text and left a voice mail for the driver asking for an eta as I wanted to be able to go to church tonight but didn't hear back all afternoon.  I finally decided I just wasn't going to be able to go when the phone call came just before 6:00 pm that they would not be coming tonight but would try to be here in the morning.  I quickly got ready for church and made it with 15 minutes to spare.  David had the message tonight on Psalm 89. The message isn't up yet on AC Central. Once it is posted I will post it here.  I got home before dark and ran up 2 more gallons of milk for the colt. One interesting thing happened today. Earl called and has a 19 year old 14.1 hand quarter horse kid broke gelding he would like to bring out to be evaluated.  I called Joan and asked if her kids would be willing to ride him and try him out. Earl is going to be bringing him out next week some time. Once we see how well trained he is and if there are any bad habits I will know better how to price him and market him. At 19 he sounds perfect for younger children to learn on and show.  

Did You VOTE?

 Up early enough to get everything done and even join the walk.  Yesterday I told the walkers I would not be joining them as there was a lot I had to do before leaving at 7:40 am for the post office. Everything that needed doing got done including the voting. I ran up to feed the colt, saw Oksana was up from the back field, pulled her out without her colt and got her covered, then finished feeding the orphan, ran down changed and was in the car waiting for Mark at 6:15 am to head in to Hanna  City to vote.  We were the only voters at that time but still had to wait a few minutes while a man was there fixing the tally machines. Today's voting was all done by paper, no corrupt machines were used. We made it home in time for me to unhook the horse trailer from the truck and drive the truck down to the house. Stephanie wanted me to bring Rizzy to the Berean office along with her food and water so that was loaded into the car then I headed to the meeting place.  Joan was back from Bluffton where they spent the weekend at family camp and told us how much everyone enjoyed it. I put Rizzy in the car and took off for the Peoria post office right on time, picked up the mail then stopped at Sam's to pick up a couple pies for the dessert today. They had fresh peach and cherry pies. I made it there by 8:30 am and Skip was already there with the computers on and the coffee made.  IF you would like to read about our morning there click HERE. I left a little early and dropped off the Bibles around 11:00 am then headed home as Mark and I were leaving for a small town near Terre Haute, IN to pick up a piece of equipment. A gallon of milk was mixed up for the orphan and as I was carrying it up to the paddocks I heard something running down our drive.  A small spotted fawn came running right down the middle of the drive.  There was no time to grab my phone for a picture. He ran into the side yard then ran into the field toward the new barn. I think he was frantically looking for mom as nothing was chasing him. My next job was to make a batch of chicken salad to pack for our lunch along with chips, crackers, carrots and watermelon, and two chilled bottles of water.  Two ice packs were put in the insulated bag then Mark was sent a text asking his eta.  He arrived home around 11:40 am and since everything was packed and ready we took off. The gps took us the shortest difference but not the easiest. We were on county roads that had hairpin turns and only room for 1 car at a time. Mark was determined to find another way home even it it took longer.  Ruth sent the picture below.

She took mom to vote and mom takes voting very serious. She was determined and got the job done. If my 90 year old mama can make it to vote so can YOU.  We stopped at Taco Johns when we got close to home and each of us ordered a taco salad. When we got off of 474 on airport exit we were stuck behind a convoy of army gasoline trucks.  

Are they hoarding gas?  Would our government do such a thing? Do they know something we don't? So many questions. As soon as we pulled in and unloaded 2 gallons of milk was mixed up and taken to the colt. His companion leaves tomorrow and I will need to figure out who would be best for him.

Starved Rock

 Today was our big trip to Starved Rock.  Ruth planned it, took mom for a trial run to make sure the chair would work, got Spark and Dan to hook up an inverter for the electricity and even researched the best options for mom. We all started arriving at mom's just before 8:00 am to get everything packed in the wheel chair van. Rachel, Diane, Ruth, mom and I fit just fine. The wheel chair and the commode was put in the far back.  The van was on empty so we had to stop for gas at the station on Airport road and took guesses on how much it would take to fill it. Diane won as it only took $115.00. The tank wasn't as big as we thought. We started down the road when Diane's door swung open. The van is older and the latch stuck. She needed to roll down the window and pull the latch from outside to get the door to shut.  Of course I as the driver didn't bother slowing down, Diane likes to live dangerously. We had an easy trip and arrived before 10:00 am.  Below Rachel was showing mom the bear in the lodge. 

Since we had time to kill we walked around and enjoyed the beautiful morning. The sun was out and there were tables set up outside on the top of some pretty steep cliffs. There were plenty of signs warning people to stay on the trails and no climbing over the guard rails. We found a big carved bench and a man was gracious enough to take our picture.

That was next to the gift shop so of course we went in to check out the over priced merchandise. 

We were ushered into the dining room at 11:00 am and given menus.

Just then Diane got another rental for her Gulf Shores condo from a repeat customer and this time it was for a week in October. She was busy answering while the rest of us looked at the menus. 

The package Ruth found cost $55.00 and included lunch from the menu plus a soft drink/coffee/tea, a trolley tour and a boat tour and lasted 4 hours.  Lunch was really good. Mom and I both ordered the cod dinner with fresh green beans and potatoes.

Ruth ordered the chicken fried steak also served with potatoes and green beans.

Rachel ordered the pot roast.

and Diane ordered the chicken salad croissant with home baked chips.

Lunch was scheduled for an hour so by noon we had to line up for the trolley to take us to the boat. In the picture below we are loaded on the trolley and had the back of it to ourselves. BTW both Diane and I were trying to take a selfi and we decided we must not be very good at that. 

Our tour guide told us lots of information about Starved Rock on our way to the river. Below we are getting loaded on the boat for our river tour.

We saw lots of beautiful scenery and some of the Asian carp as those jumped out of the water close to the boat. After the boat ride we were back on the trolley and taken to a park to see some bison. 

The next stop was the lock and dam. That was very interesting.

The building was like a museum with a lot of the birds of the area mounted on the walls. While we were there a pontoon boat was brought into the locks. Ruth took that opportunity to have mom stand a couple times at the railing.  Below is a short video of some of our trip.

We arrived back at the lodge at 3:00 pm and made our way back to the wheel chair van for the ride home.  The recliner worked perfectly for mom, she was comfortable on the ride there and on the ride home. 

Diane took that picture. Mom could have the chair all the way reclined and sleep if she wanted. We decided this was the way to travel and the trip was good fun.  IF you would like to see the pictures from today click HERE.

We dropped Diane off at her office before heading to mom's. Once the van was unloaded and mom and her chair safely back in the house I left for home. I finally got the information on Rocky's transportation. He is supposed to be picked up on Wednesday BUT they are bringing a semi truck and trailer which means I will need to haul him to the water tower.  The owner is going to get me the driver's name and number so we can get that arranged. The Yucca plant right outside our door is in full bloom. This picture was taken yesterday but I forgot to post it. 

The white flowers behind are hydrangea. Funny that both produce white flowers. Mark had no idea what color they would produce when he planted them. 

Oksana was teased and is still in but not covered. I'll need to check her in the morning and get that done if she is still in there. The colt was taken up 2 gallons of milk and now I'm getting ready to hit the sack. It wasn't a hard physical day but for some reason I'm tired. 

 

New Dwelling

 The storms during the night brought another half inch of rain so altogether we got a little over 2 inches. We are all thankful even if the horses and foals are now muddy. Those babies think it is fun to play in the mud.  I over slept this morning so didn't have time to tease any mares. The colt was fed and supper started and a little cleaning done before heading to church.  Gregg Rumbold had the first service and the memorandum was read by Craig and Tim for the second service.  After church I had time to feed the colt and tease the mares. Jewel is now out but Oksana was in and stood well for Evan. She was marked down.  Hope this cover produces another just as nice as her colt this year. He is pictured at 4 days old and already shows amazing uphill movement. This colt is going to be a super star when he grows up.

The volleyball tournament scheduled for Saturday and cancelled because of the storms was rescheduled this afternoon which meant Ben, Sarah and Nolan's family and Phil and Anna's family came late for dinner.  Rhoda and Lee's family arrived early the news that they put in an offer on a house in Deer Creek which is about 30 minutes closer to us than their old house. We had to wait for a few hours to find out if their offer was accepted and that didn't happen before or during dinner.  Taunya brought Addyson, Jack, Jace and Abe as Ben was still playing volleyball. We enjoyed a not crowded dinner and finished by the time the volley ball players arrived to eat. After dinner everyone headed to the playground for more volleyball and of course swimming. The grands had a lot of fun.

They got tired of swimming and headed up to play on the playground equipment.

Caleb and Emily were here with their Brian who is about 2 weeks older than Zeke. Not that we are comparing but we thought these cousins should get to know each other. They were not quite sure what was socially acceptable.

When Brian reached over to grab that squeezable cheek on Zeke, Zeke was a little shocked. Check out  Zeke's expression in the picture below. 

Rachel told us Brian is just like his daddy Caleb, always teasing the others.  Below is a short video of some of the fun today.

We were all sitting around visiting when Rhoda got the news that their offer was more than likely accepted and by the time they got home they found out YES they are buying a new house. This is located 2.4 miles from Ben and Taunya's house and very close to Emily and Mitch's house.  

Below is the back of the house.

The front of the house is pictured below.

Iris and Zeke will have plenty of concrete to learn to ride bikes and big yards to play in, plus there is a creek for exploring on the back side of the property. Their dogs Hazel and Ruby will love living here. Congratulations Lee and Rhoda on your new dwelling place. They will be selling their charming house in Bloomington which has a 2 stall garage, 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a nice privacy fenced yard with a dog door  (for Ruby and Hazel their tiny Poodles) and best of all a neighborhood club house that would fit our entire family for meals with a stocked kitchen. It also has a work out room and an indoor pool. We are really going to miss that place but are so excited for them to move closer to family.

An Inch and a Half

We had almost a half an inch in our rain guage this morning and I had no idea it had rained during the night.  This was a wonderful surprise. The fields were very dry and now that the hay is safely put up in the barn we were praying for rain. Well that was only the beginning of the rain.  I was due at mom's at 8:00 am and scheduled until 1:00 pm except Fedi called to report Ruth, who was supposed to relieve me was in the ER at Methodist Hospital with extreme abdominal pain. That turned out to be a kidney stone and Ruth said it was worse than childbirth.  A big storm came rolling through around 10:00 am with two very close lightning strikes. The first one was on the North side of mom's house and the second one we thought might have hit Rachel's house. It didn't but it hit a tree next to her house and blew the bark off part of it. 

Rachel and David were sitting out on her porch when it happened and the sound wave of the thunder smashed into them and made their chests hurt. With this storm came a downpour of rain and that gave us another inch of rain.  I took the picture below, the rain was coming down so hard it wasn't easy to see across the lake.

As it was raining Diane came home instead of staying the night at Middle Grove and joined Karin and I at mom's for dinner then Rachel arrived so we had enough to play games for a bit. At 7:10 pm I headed home to feed the colt and tease mares. Oksana is now in her foal heat but not yet ready to be bred. I'll try her again in the morning.  The new guests coming in to the apartment tonight need an airbed as there are 5 of them. Anna's games were cancelled so she cleaned the apartment after the last night's renter and then got an airbed out for tonight's. Another booking came in for July 2nd-4th.  We have another storm coming through right now.  I walked down to check on the mares and got dumped on trying to get back to the house. The fields are not muddy so we they could use more rain and I'm thankful. Mom called this the million dollar rain. It will make a big difference on whether we get a good second cutting and the beans and corn growth will be amazing. 

Foal Pictures

 We had a bit cooler weather but only because it was cloudy most of the day with a high in the upper 80s. Jewel was teased and covered successfully this morning before the walk.  After the walk I drove in to Peoria but on the way noticed the lone turkey by the water tower.

We have seen this turkey hanging around in the same area for more than a week so today I got out to make sure it was not hurt. The hen saw me walking toward her and instead of flying off just went into a crouch to hide. 

I'm wondering if someone raised her then turned her loose. She was a little nervous but let me get quite close as I was speaking softly to her. She seems to be fine so I left her alone and will check the next time out that way. When I got back Oksana and her 4 day old colt were taken out. First Oksana was teased and she is not yet in. They were taken to the outdoor arena for some updated pictures for the website. He already is showing amazing movement but then he IS an Evan son.

This colt is available for $8500.00 and can be held with a deposit of $1000.00 with the balance due at weaning and pick up.  He will be tall and more on the baroque style with lots of hair.

I had a hard time deciding on what pictures should be posted on the website. They were all pretty good. If you would like to see them click HERE. Both were fly sprayed before putting back. The next out was Jewel and her 5 day old filly by Evan. They were fly sprayed down before taking to the outdoor arena.  This filly will also have the extreme movement and mega hair. She won't be quite as baroque but will be built like a warmblood. 

This filly is 75% Friesian 25% Thoroughbred and is for sale $6000.00 her deposit is also $1000.00 with balance due at weaning and pick up.  She should end up taller than 16 hands and will be registered with FHHI as soon as she is named. To see the rest of the pictures of this filly click HERE. They were put back and Rosleigh and her filly brought out. Rosaleigh loses weight while nursing and the other two do not so it is easier to give her the extra feed by bringing her out. They were both fly sprayed. Her filly was very interested in the scoop and tried to pick it up.

She was also curious about Rizzy and kept following Rizzy around while Rosaleigh ate.

Poor Rizzy couldn't figure out why she was being followed and ran under the fence into the paddock. 

I needed to relieve Rachel at mom's house at 1:00 pm. We read the Reader's Digest out on mom's deck until she became sleepy.  Mark brought us a Lebanese dinner tonight. We decided it wasn't our favorite. It was ok but some of the sauces were so hot they burned our mouth. Mom was pretty tired today and by 7:20 pm was ready to go to bed. The colt wasn't fed until 9:00 tonight but his afternoon feeding was also a little late. Zion had a lemonade stand at their house today and got lots of customers. 

 All money raised is going to a SMI family for adoption! I still need to post the new pictures of the foals on the website before heading to bed.