Past Perfect Pony

 Our big news was the insulators showed up this morning. Just after I got home from the walk they pulled in. Mark went to talk with them and it didn't take long for the trucks to start running making the foam.

I needed some idea of what to make for Sunday dinner so went through the freezer and pulled out two big packages of chicken breast. Now to just figure out what to make with them and may just decide to make chicken stir fry as we have plenty of egg rolls. That meant I needed to go to Aldi for the fresh vegetables.  Check out the pictures below of my cart when finished.

I hardly filled the cart at all but was actually SHOCKED when it came time to pay. I did NOT buy eggs, or any meat.  Just one gallon of milk, two bottles of ketchup as Mark wants me to make cocktail sauce for the shrimp he bought for the New Years Eve party. One small jar of crunchy peanut butter, 1 pound of asparagus, celery, one loaf of bread, a bag of spinach, broccoli, a small head of cauliflower, one small container of mushrooms, a 3 pack of peppers, a jar of peanuts, crackers, 1 small bag of sugarsnap pea pods, 3 frozen bags of green beans, 4 boxes of wild rice, a couple bags of salad mix, 3 different kinds of chips and a few other items I can't remember off hand. Any guesses on how much this cost?

$106.10  

How is it that the news is reporting that inflation is moderating?  Each week food prices raise and each week we buy less. Amy called to tell me about Duke. Mike bought Duke as a very young pony when his first grand daughter Willow was born 19 years ago.  Duke was a wonderful pony for us. He was trained mostly by Rhoda but lots of the cousins helped. Duke was wonderful for the pony races, camping with the horses, trail rides and pony rides. 

Below is my oldest grand daughter Addyson. Duke was standing by the mounting block and she was determined to climb on. I didn't help just stood back and took pictures as she did it all by herself.

As wonderful as Duke was we had a problem with him. There was no keeping him in any of our fences. He consistently found his way out of what ever fencing we had. Out here in the country our neighbors grow corn and beans. We were very concerned that Duke would get into a corn field and gorge himself then founder so finally ended up selling him to a family at Bridlewood. Amy told me they love him and best of all he is content and doesn't try to escape!

I love hearing good updates on our past perfect ponies.

Herd Checkup

 No walk again, Ruth had not yet made it back from Georgia and I needed to leave by 7:30 am for the trip to Middle Grove. The big thaw was on the way and the longer I waited the more mud I would need to walk through. After I turned on Middle Rd I saw 3 white birds high in the air flying. They were lit up by the morning sun and glowed. At first I thought they might be white pelicans but when they circled around and landed in a corn field next to the far drive of the pasture I saw they were swans. They joined about 10 others already on the ground. I stop and just took a picture from the car.

I thought about getting out and walking closer but it really was more important to check the herd before the big thaw. I could see them in the big field from the far drive so pulled in and parked. 

Mike wanted to know if there was still plenty of hay out. There was! Below is just two of the bales, there were 6 more spread about. 

I started hiking and the mud wasn't terrible yet. The ground was still pretty frozen even though it was already 45 degrees. Missy was the first to see me.

When she started walking toward me they all came.

In the back ground you can hear the swans honking. More were flying in as I was with the herd. Each mare was checked. Below the far right is big Rosalie, next to her is Oksana, then Rosaleigh and finally Tatiana. 

I wanted to take some updated pictures of Indy's colt. He needs to be named and registered and then placed for sale. 

Check out Indy's tail in the picture below.

This colt has inherited both Indy and Evan's mega hair gene and really will be someone's dream come true. We have him priced at $8500.00. He is almost 5 months old and will be brought in to wean soon.

I took plenty of pictures if interested in the rest of them from this trip click HERE. As I was leaving Missy dropped for a good roll.

By the time I started hiking back it was 54 degrees and the field was fine for walking but where the car was parked was not. My walking stick was collecting clay making it heavy.

I had to keep trying to knock the clay off.

Then I would use the stick to knock the clay off my shoes. See that lighter color around the shoe. All  of that is heavy thick clay

Before getting in the car I used snow and rocks to try to clean them off. By the time I drove out there were hundreds of swans gathered in the fields. They were spread out in about 5 different groups. 

I parked the car and walked a little closer trying to get some better pictures without scaring them. 

I watched 3 of the groups take off. The wind was blowing hard so the video is noisy. When I got back to the house I drove to the dumpster and threw away my good shoes.

When I say good, these were sketchers and only lasted about 5 years. I told mom I threw them away and she said, "about time!"  I'm going to have to bite the bullet and order another pair.  Phil had a crew working on the barn today. There is a big push as the insulators called, they are coming tomorrow!

This evening after supper Mark and I drove over to take a look at some of the work.

Almost looks like stalls.

Going to the Dogs

 It was my turn to be at mom's today so drove over about 7:55 am. Karin and mom were waiting for breakfast. They were cooked bacon, eggs and toast. Karin left for the day. After breakfast mom was ready for a nap so I think she was up pretty early this morning. While mom was napping I got the downstairs cleaned up, the birds fed and Molly bathed.  Mom wanted the last of the prime rib for lunch and a slice of apple pie.  After Karin came home I left to load up the prizes for the New Year's Eve party and hauled those to Joan's house. The kids will wrap them for her.  The weather warmed up nicely this afternoon and the kids went sledding.  Phil was working on the barn this afternoon.  The horses at Middle Grove all survived the storm with no problem at all. The pictures below were taken earlier and are of  Sheena behind Sheena Jewel and Mika.

Mark set the thermostat back to 65 and the house was chilly when I got home and I was just plain cold. A fire was started just to warm up.

We didn't bring any extra wood in today as both of us were gone most of today but enough was left from the storm it warmed up the room nicely.  Nolan posted a picture of one of Willow's Cavapoo pups. Willow had 5 puppies on Nov 21st, 2022.

 This male pup is 5 weeks old and should be ready for his new home in 3 weeks. He is adorable and available!

Hazel who is owned by Rhoda and Lee had 2 Cavapoo puppies on December 9th, 2022. These puppies already have their forever home.

Ivy who is owned by Sarah and Nolan had her 3 Cavapoo puppies on December 18th, 2022. All 3 of these puppies already have their forever home.

This horse blog is going to the dogs quickly. Well usually horses don't have their foals in the winter so no cute foal pictures but we can sure post cute puppy pictures. 

Rhoda's Treat

 No walk today, it was only 5 degrees outside. I was the one who called it off, I had overslept and was pushing to get everything done before needing to leave for Berean.  I left at 7:50 am and drove straight to Sam's club to pick up a pie for the dessert but on the way to the pies stopped at the clearance aisle and picked up some prizes for the New Years Eve party which is at Joan's house this year.  Skip had already arrived and was opening mail when I got there.  Shirley was next to arrive then Marvin and Chuck. We had a small group of volunteers but also not a lot of mail. We had more Bible requests than studies come in and I didn't think to take any pictures of our work there.  Skip loaded the Bibles into my car when it was time to leave. He also took the Berean post office key as he will pick up the mail next week. The Bibles were dropped off at the Hanna City post office. Once home the weanlings were fed and the waterers checked. I thought today was supposed to warm up but it was pretty cold all day with a high of only 22 degrees. The good news is the temperature is to rise tonight and we should be above freezing for the first time in days tomorrow. Rhoda and Sarah brought back the chairs and tables this evening, They left Zeke and River with their dads. 

Rhoda took us out to eat at Gils for supper. That was such a nice break. We ordered salads and they were HUGE. We started with a full order of onion rings. Mark ordered a cob salad, Sarah ordered a Hawaiian salad, I ordered the fried chicken salad and Rhoda ordered the chicken parmesan. Gils threw in corn fritters. All of these dishes were delicious. 

Mark decided he liked this restaurant. We all had enough for lunch the next day and took home boxes of food. Gils was packed the entire time we were there. We only needed to wait about 10 minutes before getting a table but the crowds that came in right after us filled the waiting area to overflowing. Ruth just sent a text that she can't be with mom tomorrow, she has to drive to Georgia to pick up Fedi. 

Barn Work Day

 Phil started the work day really early. We were having our second cup of coffee and realized the barn lights were on. With the insulators supposed to show up this week it was pretty important to get the wall built and today with David, Ben, Lee and Nolan's help Phil and Anna accomplished it.  The picture below was taken at 7:15 am while waiting for Ruth to arrive for our walk.  Not sure if you can tell in the pictures but the lights were on so I knew someone was working. 

After the walk I stopped in Phil and Anna were unloading building supplies and tools then Anna was heading to Lowes for more.  I picked up Braelyn, Taegan and Kensley and brought them to our house. When the airbnb guests left Braelyn and I went up to the apartment to start cleaning it for the next guest coming in. The laundry was taken down to our house while Braelyn stayed up to clean.  The work crew had all arrived and work was progressing well. Phil called for our heater as the barn was pretty cold. The heater was packed away with our fair stuff stored in the feed stall. That was loaded into the car. I took the propane tank out of the 5th wheel as that has the big tanks and they were just filled and brought both into the barn. I thought the progress was amazing.

Anna warmed up before going back to using the saw.

Kensley came in to see the work and also warmed up. The little heater really helped.

Phil is using the nail gun to finish up a section. 

At 12:30 pm they were all ready for a lunch break. I had just enough left over rib roast for everyone to have a slice but also served bbq wings, wild rice, baked sweet potatoes, cheesy vegetables and hot biscuits. 

After lunch the rest went back to work in the barn but the girls and I stayed inside and played games while the apartment laundry, sheets and towels, finished washing and drying. Braelyn and I went back up to the apartment to make the beds. By this time it was after 4:00 pm and the workers were starting to leave so we drove over to the barn. WOW they finished the entire wall.

Phil and Anna were still in working finishing up a few things. Braelyn told Anna what she got done with the apartment.

I picked up Taegan and Kensley then took all 3 girls home. It was just 4:35 pm but the sun was already setting. The picture below was taken from their driveway. We got about 2 inches of light fluffy snow today.

Below is a video of some of the work as it was getting done.

I am VERY thankful for these kids of mine. All 10 of my kids (I claim the spouses as mine too) are amazing people, willing to labor, work hard in 20 degree weather and do it joyfully.