Enjoyed the Day

 We had another super Sunday.  I was up at 4:00 am to check on Soul's colt. He seemed bright this morning so it must have been nothing.  Our airbnb guests left pretty early for their trip to their new home in Ohio. They were moving from Spokane, Washington and brought 3 vehicles plus a trailer, 4 parrots, 3 big dogs and some cats.  I ran up to check the apartment and it looked fine. They either kept all the animals in the trailer over night of cleaned everything up.  I stripped the beds and started a load of laundry. Mark and I left at 9:15 am for church. Joan brought mom and beat us there. Tim Roecker had the first service and Mike Kaisner had the second service. We got home just before 2:00 pm.  Kay was here to pick up Skye. Sure am praying she conceived. Lily, her filly, Soul and her colt were turned out as soon as Skye was loaded.  The colt really does seem ok.  The indoor arena needed cleaning up and a full wheelbarrow load of manure was removed. Wow do these mares have HUGE piles. Mike took Sally, Dancer and Cookie over to the cabin for a trail ride. Berlica rode Missy and Mike rode Sally ponying Dancer.

I headed back to the house.  After washing up well dinner preparations were made. The potatoes were wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in the oven, the cake batter prepared and put in the oven. The Bavarian cream was whipped up along with a chocolate mousse to be used as topping for the cake.  Next 10 eggs were boiled and deviled eggs made along with a big salad. The green beans were put to soak in chicken broth then boiled a bit later. The grand kids came running in with a bucket.

They caught a garter snake and wanted to show it to us.

They played with it for a while before letting it go in the garden. The decaf coffee was started at 4:00 pm and Mark started grilling the pork chops just before 4:00 pm.  The meal was delicious. After supper we all headed over to the playground were volley ball was going on.  The kids went for the tramps.

Elisabet found a big stick and Eden came with her to show it to me.

Below they are going back to the tree fort to find a stick for Eden.

The games were good.

Below is a short video.

Mark and I went in to mom's to visit with the group in there. Joan was working with mom on a match game. This is to help mom process things quicker.

We left when the kids came running in all excited. Israel caught a nice big bass.

Taegan took it back down to the lake to let it go to grow even bigger. After the big kids quit volleyball Phil and Anna worked with the next generation.

Elisabet found a treasure (the shell of a cicada) and had to point out where the eyes were and how when she squeezed it the claws would move.

Since Eden was too young to play she came with me to put the horses in for the night.  We drove right up to Soul and Eden was so pleased when Soul's colt looked right at her.

When we got back everyone was leaving for home.  There was a carbol game going on at mom's so I stayed and watched.  It is a fun game to watch. Lots of strategy and of course lots of groaning when things go bad. We really enjoyed the day.

 

Little Worried

 We had a very busy day. I went out early to feed the cat and take care of the horses as I was due at mom's as soon as she woke up. Soul and her colt were standing at the gate waiting to be let out and all seemed well except the colt was not running and bucking like yesterday. He was standing, nursing well but just didn't seem quite right. I felt him, he didn't seem to have a fever, these was no sign of diarrhea and his umbilical cord was dry so as soon as both mares and foals were out in the field I just stood and watched. He just seemed a little depressed. These foals crash so quickly that if I could see anything I was going to text Dr. Hoerr. I finally left for mom's around 8:00 am thinking maybe I'm just imagining something.  My airbnb guests sent a text that they checked out about 8:30 am and it was still before Karin had left for the day so I asked her to stay with mom while I got the laundry started there and the colt seemed ok at that time. Mom and I had a quiet morning. The wind started blowing hard slamming doors as we had the windows open. For the first time in a long time it was really warm.  When Ruth arrived I ran home and the colt was still up and nursing.  Rosalie was teased and today she stood well for Evan. Ruth was walking over to the farm with mom on her scooter to see the foals as I was putting Evan away.  After admiring them we were walking to the new barn and met Faith and Berlica. They had been gathering flowers and making hair decorations. 

They were also dressed alike, they almost look like twins. On the walk Miss Molly found the perfect mud puddle to lay down in, too bad I didn't take the picture soon enough to get that. 

We made it into the barn and mom got lots of practice with her scooter chasing the girls. 

After all that fun it was time for me to get busy.  The apartment needed to be cleaned and made ready for the guests coming in today. Mark was needed for the next few jobs.  There were two paddocks needing bales. We put one in for Sally, Dancer and Rocky's paddock and one bale in the middle paddock for Cookie, Irish and Rosalie.

Rosalie was behind Irish so had to take another picture.

Next we hooked the skid steer to the Wolf Pup camper and drove that over to Joan's. That camper is leaving May 2nd for the first rental and Joan wanted it over to get all the dust off. Once that one was dropped off Mark took the skid steer over to the wood pile, scooped up a load of logs and dropped them at our wood shed for splitting at a later date then headed back into the barn to get the next trailer.  We did this until 3 trailers were at Joan's.

I have one more trailer to bring over but that one needs to be picked up at the trailer repair place first. Below is Mark taking the skid steer from the trailers over to the wood pile.

We filled the bucket with big logs for splitting. Below is Mark dumping the last load of the day.

The skid steer was put away then the two mares with their 3 day old foals were put back in the indoor arena for the night.  Soul's colt is still a little off but I'm not sure why. I didn't call the vet today, he is not showing any clear symptoms, no cough, fever, wet cord, no belly ache that I can tell, he just seems a little depressed. I guess I'll see how he is in the morning. Before heading to the house to make supper I stopped in at the apartment and turned on the air conditioner. For yesterday's guest I needed the furnace turned on but today it was over 80 outside and the apartment was warming up.  The guests are arriving around 9:00 pm tonight. Supper tonight was a chicken salad sandwich on toast, chips and a bowl of soup. Mark thought it was delicious. He needed a hair cut before heading to bed. It has been a busy day. Sure am praying Soul's colt is fine in the morning. Now for an update from the lady that bought of Zalena. We sold Zalena during the height of the pandemic and the lady that bought her asked her to be bred to Evan before picking her up. She sent this picture: 

This is Zalena's filly by Evan. Isn't she gorgeous! This is what she wrote. Here was Marra today, in the wind and alert to something that was moving around! She's a very opinionated brat-hahaha!!

 

Sally Stays

 We had another morning of rain with some heavy downpours. The mares with the foals had to stay inside all day.  They were checked on in the morning and the indoor cleaned up. The foals were having fun inside, the mares would have preferred to be outside. 

When we had a short break in the rain Rosalie was taken out and teased. She showed to Valiant, showed to Evan but when he approached she kicked out. She must just be coming into season. I'll have to try again tomorrow.  At 1:00 pm I was due to be at mom's to relieve Rachel. They were just sitting down to a late lunch but after lunch it was nice enough to sit out on the deck for a bit. Molly went running down to chase the geese away.

When we went back inside I was reading mom some of the emails that had come in and we ended up talking about the painting. Mom wanted to thank the painter whose name is Kres so I took the video below and will send it to her.

This evening Mark took Braelyn, Taegan, Kensley and me out to Ming's for dinner.  Those girls enjoy that restaurant and so did I. Below is Taegan enjoying her Mongolian bbq meal.

Last night after I had gone to bed the apartment booked for today.  The guests were sent directions and instructions for check in this morning. They had not yet arrived by the time we left. Tomorrow we have more guests coming in and I am at mom's for the first shift so I hope today's guests leave the apartment reasonably clean and will be out by 1:00 pm. I'll only have 2 hours to get it ready before the check in time of 3:00 pm for the next guests.

Mike went to Middle Grove and checked on the mares. He really does not want to sell Sally so she stays. He said Sally is his 2nd favorite riding horse and he trusts her. He wants to do a lot of riding this summer with his grand children.

A Beautiful Day

 We had a beautiful day, warm and 58 degrees.  Early this morning both mares and their foals were taken out of the stalls and put in the indoor arena. The mares were careful to keep their little ones close. I was watching them and had to video Soul's colt. He threw a temper tantrum when Soul didn't let her milk down fast enough and I just happened to catch it on video.

I really had to laugh. They were so entertaining to watch that it was hard to head back down to the house for some house work. I did a few loads of laundry then left for Sam's club to pick up a few items for mom's house and some groceries for our Sunday dinner. While at Sam's I saw the perfect tool for the new barn. It drives itself, washes and dries the floor. Like a huge Roomba. I've got to find out who sells these.

I stopped at mom's to drop off their items and they were all enjoying lunch out on the deck. 

Once home Lily and Soul along with their foals were put in the big field to enjoy this beautiful day. Sally, Dancer and Rocky were let out in the back pasture where they had fun rolling, running and bucking.

The foals are both just 1 day old but doing very well. 

Right about then the buyer of Irish's colt arrived, paid the deposit then headed back but not after admiring the new foals.  I took the deposit right to the bank then drove to Diane's office to pay a bill that was waiting.  At 2:00 pm I walked up to check on Lily and Soul and found Berlica and Faith picking grass and feeding Sally, Dancer and Rocky. 

I took the girls on the beast (the black utility golf cart) to find the mares and foals.  Below are a few pictures of the girls interacting with those adorable babies.

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures from today click HERE. At 2:00 pm we had a family come to look at Sally. They are very interested in her. Sally has an ultrasound scheduled on May 12th in the afternoon and if she is in foal will also get her coggins drawn. Depending on if she is pregnant she will end up in Kickapoo with a very nice family.  I'm pretty sure she is pregnant but want it confirmed. She would be due Dec 8th, 2022.

Sally has been a wonderful mare for us.  This evening Mark was working on the drives. I brought the mares and foals back into the indoor arena for the night. We are expecting rain this evening and tomorrow. Rocky will be leaving next week for his new home and Skye will be heading back to her home on Sunday. It will be good to have a few gone as I need to bring in Tatiana and Jury. Jury is due May 11th and Tatiana is due May 16th. Jury does not usually deliver early but Tatiana does.

Rainy Day

 It was hard to get much done in the house today as every few minutes I wanted to run up to the barn. Both foals are doing great. I spent at least an hour on Lily and Soul's manes. Both were quite tangled from the wind at Middle Grove.  Both foals were handled and both are very strong.  I'm thankful. The pictures below were taken after breakfast.

Lily's filly is curious, when I was working on Lily's mane she would walk between me and Lily expecting me to move.  She already likes to be scratched.

Soul's colt really inherited the hair gene. His forlocke is thick and bushy and his tail is probably the thickest tail on a newborn I've ever seen.

Soul didn't want me touching him and when the colt came over to me, she would immediately get between us. It rained most of the day and was a cold rain as the temps were only in the 40s. Most of the horses here were glad to stay in their shelters. Skye was teased, she winked but squealed and struck out so I'm pretty sure she will be out all the way tomorrow. I made a big omelet for supper tonight as we have plenty of fresh eggs, vegetables, spinach and cheese.  We left for church a little early. Craig Stickling had the message on Thomas and by the time he finished I think we were all glad for Thomas. As soon as we got home I changed, ran to the barn to fill water buckets and give them more hay.  It is still pouring down rain so I'm very thankful for warm thickly bedded stalls.

Not One but TWO

 Surprise on me, I really thought Soul was not going to deliver and yet around 3:30 am she delivered a HUGE dark bay colt. As soon as the colt was up and nursing I was moving them into a stall when Lily went down to start delivering.  By the time Soul and her colt were safely stalled, Lily's filly was born. 

I took the short video below but will get better pictures later once the colt is completely dry.

I grabbed fresh towels and started drying her off. Thankfully it was 47 degrees and wasn't freezing cold like the last two mornings.

She is a nice big filly although I left the barn before she was standing. Lily was doing a great job of cleaning her off and she was trying to stand when I left to make the announcement.

Better pictures will be taken later today once both foals are completely dry.

I went back out at 7:00 am to make sure Lily's filly was up and was shocked to see not only was she up and nursing she was trying to run around her mom. This filly is just over 2 hours old in the video below.

Irish's Colt Sold & Rockaway Sold

 No walk this morning, it was only 30 degrees outside when I walked  up to let Soul out of the barn and this morning for the first time there was waxing.  We should have a foal within a couple days. I left for the Berean office a few minutes later than usual as I was watching Soul to make sure she would settle down and graze. When I arrived at the Berean office at 8:50 am almost everyone was already there waiting for the mail. If interested in reading about our morning there click HERE.  While at Berean's a phone call came in from someone wanting to look at Irish's colt. We made arrangements for them to come once I was home.  After leaving the office I drove first to the Hanna City post office to drop off the Bibles then sent a text that I would be home but would need to leave in an hour to pick up Lily. They arrived within 10 minutes after that text. They not only bought Irish's colt but are taking Rockaway also and will bring the deposit tomorrow for Irish's colt. He will be picked up at weaning.

I'll be delivering Rockaway as their trailer is in the shop but it is only 10 minutes away.  As soon as they left I took the truck and trailer to Middle Grove. It was dry enough to drive all the way back to Lily. 

She was loaded up quickly. I didn't check any of the other mares but took a few pictures.

Above is Mika and Sheena below is Jury who was sad to see Lily load up.

It was sunny but still cold. 

The horses love this weather, there are no flies!  Lily was put in the big field with Soul as soon as we were back and both settled right down to graze.

The baby bump on Soul is impressive.

Lily is also huge but part of that is from her colic surgery years ago.

I filled up the truck in Farmington as gas was 12 cents a gallon cheaper than Hanna City. Thankfully it was just under half a tank. I can't imagine how much it would cost to fill it.

The stalls were bedded thickly, the water buckets cleaned and filled and fresh hay left in the stalls for tonight.  By then it was time to get supper started for mom's house.  Tonight was my night to stay.  After supper mom wanted a hot tub. While she was relaxing in that warm bubbling water Karin noticed the Sauder's were burning the dam. 

The reflection of the flame in the water was beautiful. When I left for home I put Lily and Soul in the indoor arena for the night instead of the stalls.  There was no wax on Soul's udder this evening and she for sure didn't want to stay in the stall. Both were perfectly content in the indoor.  I'll get up early to check on them but do not believe she will have her foal tonight.