Full Fun Day

 Breakfast was served a little after 8:00 am and once done Phil, Ben and Nolan picked up the pontoon boat. David's family arrived as they were gone. Israel grabbed his scooter and joined the others.

Elisabet was getting stuff out of the van while the others were so happy to see her. 

When the guys got back to our dock with the boat the group went tubing and had a ball for hours. 

Below is just a teaser video.

All of the kids got their fill and all went except baby River who stayed back at the house with grandpa and grandma. Sarah took the pictures and also videos which will be added later. They came back here with sore arms from hanging on and hungry for lunch. After lunch we walked down to the bigger pool and our family were the only ones using the pool the entire afternoon.

Phil brought the bags game down so that was played by both the parents and the grandkids.

Mark and I were serving dinner tonight so I hiked back up the hill to get started on the sweet potatoes. David seasoned the steaks perfectly while Nolan and Phil got the grill going and all the guys did the grilling. We were all hungry for supper.

Mark helped set the table. The food was really delicious. Ribeye steak smothered in sautéed onions and mushrooms, baked potatoes with butter and sour cream and sweet potatoes for those who preferred the more nutritious option, salad with the left over breakfast bacon crumbled on top along with shredded cheddar cheese, and sunflower seeds served with poppy seed dressing.

The round table was used for Elisabet, Zion and Eden.

The bigger kids all ate out on the balcony.

We had cake for dessert but that almost didn't happen. The racks in the oven must be replacement parts that don't quite fit and collapsed on top of the sweet potatoes when the cake was put in the oven to bake. Thankfully the cake didn't spill out. The smashed sweet potatoes were rescued, Mark and I found something that kind of worked and the cakes put back in the oven and finished baking just as we finished dinner. That too was well received and both completely finished, even the crumbs.  Then came the big hike to the waterfall.

Below is a short video of the fun.

It is now after 9:00 pm, the youngest 2 are sound asleep but the other 10 are playing games downstairs while the adults are watching shark week on the television. IF you would like to see the rest of the pictures from today click HERE.  It was a full fun day. No news from home but no news is good news. 

Ready to Rest

 Sheena's colt Loxley was not doing well this morning. I got over at 6:00 am and he didn't want to get up and seemed cold. I finally got him up and very slowly he followed Sheena to the tree. He was given 2 cc's of banimine under his tongue then the iv started. When Mike came out we decided he had to call Dr. Hoerr as even with the banimine and iv he would not nurse and didn't pick up. Dr. Hoerr came out, ran blood work and found that his kidneys were not working, he was hypothermic and critical. Mike took him to the clinic and after a few hours Mike sent the picture below.

He was NURSING! Mike called to report he has a good chance now of making it but will have to stay in the hospital stall for a couple days.  Mark and I were on our way to Branson. We packed the truck this morning but got later start than expected so didn't arrive until 5:30 pm. Sarah and Nolan were in charge of dinner tonight and had a very nice dinner and dessert waiting for us. The truck was unloaded and thankfully we found room for all the food. The house is nice. The grandkids were thrilled to show me their rooms.

The downstairs has 2 bunk rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys, a living area and another master bedroom for Ben and Taunya. There are bathrooms off the bunk rooms and Ben and Taunya's room and a laundry with washer and dryer. There is a living area with an ice maker and a small fridge, and a table and chairs for games  There is also a balcony with fun and comfortable furniture off that level.

The rockers swivel and can really twirl fast. On the main level there are two master bedrooms each with a king bed and each has it's own bathroom. The living room is not quite as large as I thought but works as it is open to the kitchen area which seats 26. There is also a washer and  dryer on the main level. The grandkids are loving the parking lot. It is somewhat level with nice cement for scooters, a climbing cliff on the side away from the house with woods and hills for playing cowboys and Indians. Below are just a few pictures of that, 

I took some videos but those will need to be posted once home from vacation as this computer doesn't have a video maker on it. We also have a balcony off the main floor kitchen that over looks one of the pools and we can see the lake from there. Braelyn brought her nail kit and gave manicures out on that balcony.

After supper we rested and visited in the living area on the main floor.

The upstairs level has 2 master suits each with king beds plus a hide-a-bed couch and an attached bathroom. Phil, Ben and Nolan left to find the right dock then the slip for the boat we are picking up tomorrow morning. The walk down to the lake is easy but coming back up the hill is a workout. We will get plenty of exercise this week. I'm thankful to be here and more than ready to rest.

Packing

 I was a minute late this morning to help Mike give Loxley the banimine and another 2.5 liters of fluid.  Mike already had them out of the pasture and tied.  About 10 minutes after giving him the banimine he started wanting to eat so was given grain and he chowed that down almost the entire time the IV was flowing. Once he was unhooked he went right over to Sheena and nursed well.  I left then to go feed the orphan colt and make Mark breakfast. Ruth, Diane and I walked this morning, Joan had already left. After the walk it was time to head to Sam's Club for the big vacation grocery shopping. I had a bit over $320.00 of food in the cart, unloaded it all then as it was scanned loaded it all in the cart and wouldn't you know the keypad to take my money wasn't working. Another lady came, and without talking to me cancelled the order and told us to take the cart over to one of the other check out lanes. I was annoyed and offered to pay by check but the order was already cancelled so over to the other check out lane we went and this time the lady that cancelled the order told me she would unload the cart so I only had to load it. It was a little too late by that time to head to Aldi so instead I headed home, unloaded, pulled out 6 pounds of hamburger to defrost, checked to see if I had plenty of the other meat then left for the vet clinic in Morton to pick up another 2 bags of the 5 liter fluids plus a shot of Exceed (long lasting antibiotic) for Loxley. On the way home stopped at Walmart to buy what I would have purchased at Aldi. I decided on Walmart as they would have grape jam instead of grape jelly (Aldi does not carry grape jam) and then promptly forgot to buy the grape jam but spent another $100.00. Oh well I have a half of a jar left from the camping trip so that will have to do until we get to a store in Branson. After the groceries were unloaded more packing was done. The truck was unhooked from the horse trailer and brought down to the house and the back swept out. Most everything can fit well in the back of that truck. I'm thankful for the 8 foot bed.  The hamburger was browned then seasoned with taco seasoning and simmered for 30 minutes then cooled. Once cool that was put in quart freezer bags and put in the freezer. That will be used for one of the meals in Branson. The peaches needed to be carefully wrapped and put back in the box now that they are getting ripe. Joan bought a couple boxes and took them to mom's There were 47 or 48 in the box and the box cost $45.00 and since Joan paid for it a note was put on the box that they were $1.00 each.  Someone left a $5.00 and wrote on the box. Below is a picture.

When Joan was a little girl she bought the ingredients to make fudge for $3.00 then charged by the piece until she made the $3.00 back then enjoyed the fudge she ate for free. At 6:30 pm Loxley was due for more fluids and another dose of banimine. He is still not feeling well. By the time I arrived Mike already had the fluids flowing well. 

He didn't even want to eat any grain until about 12 minutes after his banimine. Then he started chowing away and nursed a bit after. He is still having diarrhea so Mike got warm soapy water and cleaned him up. 

The IV was done a little after 7:00 pm and he was put back in the pasture and went right over to the waterer and drank. Sure hope and pray he pulls through. The laundry was finished so we have clothes we can pack for the trip.  Mark helped load the truck. The bed cover of the truck was rolled down and were pleased to fine it works. I have never used the cover.  I will be very happy to head to bed tonight. 

Is It Time

 Right after feeding the colt this morning I headed over to the cabin field to check on Loxley. He was standing quietly by Sheena but it was obvious he still had bad diarrhea. His tail was wet with it and it was all over his back end.  Mike flushed his iv last night around 11:00 pm and again this morning. We went on our walk then I went straight to mom's for the morning.  Joan and Faith were needed to sing at the funeral. Berlica came over to mom's to stay with us  and gave Molly a bath.

Below she is drying her off.

When her piano teacher arrived she took the canoe back to her house. 

At 10:00 am we turned on Facebook live on mom's laptop so we could watch Cleve Klopfenstein's funeral.  Mom really wanted to be there.

Our prayers have been going out to Kathleen, Crystal and Aaron.  Cleve really was a special man. Berlica was needed back here at mom's right at 11:00 am as Joan had a trailer going out and I needed to drive over to get the paper work gone over and signed as this rental was from RV Share. It took about 20 minutes before everything was done and they were ready to leave with the trailer.

Karin arrived and made us all wonderful fresh cucumber sandwiches for lunch. 

These were delicious but we added vine ripened tomato slices from mom's garden on top to make them even better. 

 At 1:00 pm I left to check on Loxley and he wasn't doing very well at all. He was given 2 cc's of banimine then the IV fluids were set up as Mike was driving in. I hung the 5 liter bag in the tree, Sheena and Loxley were tied up and the IV tubing flushed and the fluids started. Below he is getting 2 and a half liters of IV fluids.

After about 15 minutes he started acting hungry. He was given a scoop of grain and he spent the rest of the time munching away as the fluids were flowing. When half of the bag was gone the bag was unhooked a new bandage put on top of the tubing and the lead rope taken off. He went right over to Sheena to nurse.

He was even a little rough banging those teats to get Sheena to let her milk down quicker. Sheena got a little angry and moved away but he was determined and just followed her nursing as she moved. 

We were thrilled to see him nursing. Mike will flush the IV again this evening and if he isn't acting better in the morning he will be given another 2 cc's of banimine and more IV fluids. Hopefully the diarrhea will stop tonight. Joan arrived home from the funeral and took over mom's care.  David brought out Israel, Elisabet, Jasper and Marin. Anna brought Braelyn, Taegan and Kensely and they all went swimming at the lake. I drove to the back of the barn, turned on the electricity to the 5th wheel and set up the umbrella and outdoor mat for the airbnb pictures. 

This is now posted on airbnb but the ad won't be live for 24 hours. I think airbnb wants to review the ad to make sure it is legit before posting it. The rental on this is $50.00 a night with a one time cleaning fee of $20.00. I still need to get the fire pit done.

The lady that bought Ribbon's last colt and then Lily's 2021 filly posted some beautiful pictures of them and gave me permission to share them here. Below is Titan and Brandee. 

Below is Titan (Ribbon's 2016 colt by Valiant), Brandee's son Wyatt and his girlfriend and Onyx (Lily's filly by Valiant)

Below is Titan and Wyatt.

Thanks so much Brandee for these awesome pictures. She also wrote: I cannot say thank you enough for these 2 wonderful horses.  They have the most incredible mindset, personalities and quick learners.  I can't wait to see Onyx when she's mature.  The boys are already arguing about who's going to show her next year at the fair. 

Yesterday was so hard that today Mike was a little discouraged and wondered if maybe we should retire from breeding horses and then I get an email like the one above.  We really do help make dreams come true. I'm not sure, IS it time to retire? Yes we have had a hard summer but we also have some beautiful healthy foals and still have 2 mares to foal.

Long Hard Day

 At 6:15 am I noticed Oksana up by Valiant and went running out to see if maybe she was in season. She wasn't in but most concerning was her foal was not with her. I checked her udder and it was not at all full so the foal must have nursed not too long ago.  I started searching the pond pasture hoping he was just out of sight. Oksana came with me but stopped at the corner of the pond so I searched the woods in that area. Around 6:30 am I called Mike and Diane to come help. Mike brought his 4 wheeler so he could cover more ground but still nothing. Only after search all the area did I think maybe he could be in the pond and started searching that. We found his body not too far from shore. He must have fallen in and drowned. Mike got the yanmar to pull him out of the pond. 

We have been putting mares and foals in this pasture for 20 years and this was a FIRST time we have EVER lost a foal by drowning in this pond. It had to be a freak accident. 

After getting him buried Mike took the last load of riding horses out to Middle Grove and went to check on Jewel's filly and Sheena's colt. He found Sheena's colt covered in diarrhea and lethargic. He brought Sheena and Loxley home. I was with mom for the morning so as soon as Anna arrived drove over to the cabin, checked on him and it was obvious he was not feeling well. He was given 1 cc of banimine under his tongue and the vet clinic called to see if he could be brought in today. They had an opening around 2:30 so as soon as Rachel arrived to take my place with mom I drove up to the barn, cleaned out the trailer took that to the cabin field, cleaned up Loxley and sprayed both horses down with fly spray before loading them into the trailer and leaving for Morton. Peaches were being delivered at the Farm n Fleet at Morton starting at 2:00 pm Joan was in line so when I arrived there Joan had a box for me which she loaded into the truck and from there drove the last few miles to the vet clinic. Dr. Hoerr was not yet back from another call so Sheena and Loxley were put in the airconditioned stall to wait. While we were waiting Chris and Emma had me help update the Horsemeister files. We had 159 horses on their file. Of course most were foals that needed coggins and health papers before leaving the farm so a lot of them were marked inactive.  A calf arrived needing attention while we were waiting.

When Dr. Hoerr arrived he went right in to work on Loxley.

He was dehydrated and not at all feeling well. Dr. Hoerr drew blood, ran the blood work and it came back a bacterial infection. He was put on IV's and given antibiotics. Below is the video of getting the iv put in. What was most impressive was all of this was done with NO sedation. 

He really IS a special well behaved colt.

No video of the fluids going in as I was helping with that part.  We finished and I was back on the road for home by 4:45 pm. As soon as I got home they were unloaded and put in the indoor then it was time to get supper going. Tonight we had left over pizza from Sunday. It was really delicious as I added cheese, sausage, onion and black olives. Mark ate 2 and I at the last piece then ran over to mom's to pick up some egg cartons for Marli who had 4 dozen eggs for me but no egg cartons to put them in. From mom's to Marli's to pick up the eggs and once the eggs were in my fridge over to Diane and Mike's to show Mike how to flush Loxley's IV. He took Sheena and Loxley over to the cabin field and will be flushing the iv tonight and tomorrow morning. On the way home I noticed the barn lights still on and drove up to turn those off but Mark was busy working in there on the electric outlet for the 5th wheel. He needed a little bit of help to finish that but that is now up and running. If I have any time tomorrow will set it up, get pictures and then get it advertised. The last job of the day which didn't get done until 8:30 pm was to get the orphan colt fed. What a long hard day but I am thankful we caught Loxley's sickness early.

Clean Feet

I had a tough time rolling out of bed at 5:30 am and was thankful the coffee was ready and hot. After chugging two large coffee mugs it was time to get working. The colt was fed then Sheena brought over to Valiant and teased. She is for sure out so Mike was sent a text that today I would like to take her and Loxley to Middle Grove for 2 or 3 weeks. Beth was called just before our walk to see if she would take mom as I needed to leave early for Berean to pick up some donuts. Instead she offered to pick up the donuts then she, mom and I could go together. I was very glad to take her up on that. We stopped at Joan's to admire her hibiscus plant.  This plant has so many buds coming on ready to bloom.

I left the walk a little early so I could be at mom's by 8:00 am. We were on our way to the Berean office by 8:15 am. IF you would like to read about our morning there click HERE. We dropped off the Bibles at the Hanna City post office and when we backed into the handicapped parking spot (mom was with us) Rachel at the post office came running out to open the door for us. We were glad to get in and out quickly. Mom really wanted to get home. She asked us to call Diane and have her meet us at the post office with a bottle of water but Beth found another bottle just then. Once at her house Beth quick made us some lunch and gave me mine to go. I was thankful as the next job on the list was to get the truck hooked up to the horse trailer to start hauling to Middle Grove. Mike decided he wanted Jewel, her filly, Sheena, her colt and the 4 riding horses at the 76 acres where their cabin is. He and Diane will be staying at the cabin and this way it will be much easier to care for the horses. The horses were pleased to be out there. 

The truck needed gas and Casey's in Hanna City dropped their price from $4.89 a gallon to $4.55 a gallon.  It cost $120.00 to fill it. Oh for some mean tweets about now. I needed to be home and my feet cleaned up before 2:30 pm as Anna was picking me up then. Today was the dreaded pedicure day. Last time I had that done, probably 8-10 years ago, they used power tools on my toes and feet but not today. Today BEFORE we left for the pedicure my feet were soaked, scrubbed and sprayed with some kind of air freshener before putting on brand new socks and my new shoes.  Anna and I walked in and they immediately sat us down and stuck our clean feet in warm water. Rhoda and Taunya were a few minutes late but when they arrived they were put next to us. 

It really did help doing all that stuff earlier. The lady trimming my nails didn't need the power tools and even mentioned she could tell my feet were well scrubbed first. To be honest I really did enjoy it today. My legs and feet were massaged and while that was happening my back was getting massaged by the chair and just sitting and not working was nice. Below is the finished project.

That white stuff they put on the tips will hide any dirt or manure that gets stuck under the toe nails. This was a gift today and a special thank you to the person who paid. Since I was due at 5:00 pm at mom's with dinner I picked up fried chicken from the deli at Walmart along with some creamy soup, coleslaw, potato salad, and potato wedges. I brought cake and Bavarian cream for our dessert. After dinner Mark left to work on the electrical on the barn but wasn't able to finish that. I left mom's once she was in bed and settled. The colt was fed his last feeding of the day. The black UV light Mark bought to help catch tomato worms came so I went out to try to find some but either the light doesn't work right or we don't have any tomato worms. I couldn't find any.