Meike & Wanda

Above is as we were taking them to the cabin field. Pretty cool Picture!
I love the picture below of Ylse, look at her mane!

Rachel Sauder of www.momentscapturedbyrachel took these pictures today. She gave me a cd and I posted most of them on my website. I have to tell you how I got the sitting. Rachel is extremely busy and today she was not taking any booking for sittings, today she was going to clean out her fridge. I offered to clean it out if she would just come. WHAT a GREAT TRADE! Rachel got her fridge cleaned and I got new photo's of the fillies.
The first is Ylse and her filly Meike. I am still amazed that we have Ylse and her filly is exquisite.

The picture below shows the classic Friesian movement. This is still of Meike.

Now we are on Wanda, Sanna's filly born July 24th, 2009. She is just as spectacular!

Wanda also enjoys showing off. We had a hard time getting her to TROT.

Isn't she adorable?

Rhoda's Ticket

What was she thinking.? Rhoda, last night coming home from a wedding in Princeville got stopped on Jubilee Princeville road going 90 miles an hour. WHY? She wasn't even in a hurry, just wanted to get home to change before meeting the owner of the last house sitting job she had to get paid. She now has a $110.00 ticket and must go to court. She thought it was ok though, she brought home a $220.00 from her last house sitting job. We can't seem to get through how dangerous it is to travel at such a high rate of speed on a 2 lane road. At least she can take the class, it was in Peoria County and she has not had a ticket for over a year. She said, "really it is the car maker's fault, why do they make cars that go so fast." By the way, she is NOT blond!:o)
Last night Mark bought one of the 3 Thanksgiving turkeys for the big dinner. Mom is cooking one and Diane is cooking the other. Mark came home with a 25 pounder. Trying to cover it with cold water in a roaster was impossible, it is too big to fit into the roaster. I'll have to figure out another way. We have 86 people coming for Thanksgiving and that doesn't include 2 families. Dan's family is down in Gulf Shores, AL and Joan's family is back in Haiti. Good thing we have the Old School Center reserved. Thank Goodness Spark and Dan had the foresight to buy it.

Raven, our Friesian Stallion and Izadora

Izadora is still in season and Mike got her covered tonight by Raven. Good to know we didn't miss her by heading up to Chicago. Mike was told about the Lowes gelding Hendrik. It is so weird, most of my competitors have either died, been sold or gelded. Who would have thought that after 7 years we would still be going strong. We MUST remember to count our blessings and most important remember that All or our horses belong to God, He just lends them to us and we GET to care for them.

Other Friesian stallions vs RAVEN

We had an easy trip home, stopping only once for a meal. Last night's meal was not very impressive. We ate at a grill, had reservations, but still the place was packed and we didn't get seated for about a half hour, then once seated not waited on. When our food did come it was overpriced and not very good. The meal came with 2 kinds of meat, bbq chicken and a choice of beef brisket, ribs, or meatloaf. The chicken was the smallest chicken leg I've ever seen and the beef brisket was dry and tough. One of the other customers ordered the ribs and he was very disappointed, they too were tough. The meal came with a very small portion of baked beans and a minuscule portion of cole slaw. I usually like baked beans and cole slaw but this had spices in it to burn the mouth. Good thing it was such a tiny amount, I don't like to waste food and would have if it was more than a couple of bits. After the meal we walked along Michigan Avenue to see the store windows but the crowds from the Disney parade was still so huge we gave up and headed back.
Once home from Chicago, the foals were fed and their water tank cleaned and filled. Mike was called to check on Izadora and get her covered if she is still in. The weather is beautiful, sunshine and almost 60 degrees. I tried to get Rhoda, then Rebekah to come ride so I could take videos but they are both busy. The day is so nice and no one is available. I've booked Rachel for Wednesday but I just heard on the radio it is suppose to rain and snow that day.
It is GOOD to be home!
I just got a call from a lady wanting to book Raven for 2010. She actually checked into breeding to a Friesian stallion in Illinois on a bunch of websites. She told me she LOVED the look of RAVEN, that Hendrik is now a gelding and She didn't like the looks of Sanderson she thought he was too baroque. AND that was all she could find in Illinois. I sure thought there were a couple of other ones around the area so I started looking, checked out 5 different websites for horse breeding and guess what, she was RIGHT! Raven is by Far the best!

Day 2 of Chicago

We are on the 31st floor, corner unit and the lights of the city last night were spectacular. The Marriot seems to be in the heart of the city tall buildings all around. The famous Michigan Avenue is on one side, the Rush street entrance is where we entered. We left the curtians open when we fell asleep but Mark got up during the night to shut them as the light was keeping him awake.
Tonight is the Disney parade on Michigan Avenue so we will just walk out the door to watch.
Mom was called this morning to see how she fared with Darcy. Tara called her at 5:00am to tell her that Abby her lab was having puppies and the first one was breach. Jay, Tara's husband had to pull the pup but all is well, it is a strong healthy yellow lab. It is now over 5 hours and she has not delivered a second pup. Her water broke a couple of times but no pups. They can feel them so they know there are more but still to far up.
Mom left to go home for breakfast and couldn't find Darcy again and there she was in the second bedroom UP ON THE BED.
Ruth came over to see the pups, picked up Darcy and took her home with her so mom doesn't have to worry.
We got up early, walked around the city, had breakfast at a grill, and now I'm back up in the room. I've hooked the laptop up to the hotel internet at $14.95 for TODAY only so I can work from here today.Maybe I can take that charge off my taxes.

Chicago

Made it to the farm before 7:00am, got Izadora covered, all the horses checked and grained and went on the walk with mom and Diane. We met Rachel's two youngest boys walking to the bus. I asked Logan why he wasn't driving the golf cart and he replied, "you know it's huntin season and all and we were too busy to plug it in." Today was the opening day of shotgun season and Mike left at 3:30am to meet Andrew for deer hunting. Rachel's older boys are probably also hunting but I don't know that for sure as Rachel was not home and didn't come on the walk. I left Darcy with mom as the girls are spending the night with Ben and Taunya.
Mark and I left around 10:00am for Chicago, had an easy trip here with no real traffic jams or problems. We are staying in the Marriot. We went to Maggionos for dinner with 3 other couples. Dinner was good but too much food. Ralph called while we were at dinner that Darcy was in the big barn all scared. Mom had gone shopping and Darcy went over to the farm to find my car. She felt she had been at the lake long enough. I called mom and she drove to the farm on her way home and picked her up but when she got to her house, Darcy wouldn't get out of the car. It was not HER house and she wanted to go HOME. Mom had me talk to her on the phone but that didn't work, finally she got an umbrella and got her out with that by poking at her. Hope the rest of the night goes ok.

A Haitian Welcome

Joan called this morning to tell us that a large group of Haitians were at the airport waiting for them and as soon as they got off the plane they started singing What a Friend We Have In Jesus. Talk about touching!
Joan and Tim could not call anyone yesterday when they made it to Haiti, their phone had been cut off for not paying the bill last month and the internet was not working. No one remembered to pay the bill with everything else that was going on.

Raven, our Friesian Stallion's Work Schedule

Raven is going to be busy this week and the week next. Izadora is in season, she did not take on her foal heat. It is 19 days since she was last bred. She was neighing this morning so after our walk, Raven was taken over and sure enough she is IN. She will need to be covered again tomorrow as Raven has not been used for 19 days.
Cindy, (Ruth's mare) will be coming over after Thanksgiving and Sangria still needs to be covered. I just haven't got around to even teasing her but the later in the year is better for us. We would like to leave Sangria in with Raven for the winter but must catch her in season to do so. We like to give him a mare for a companion.
Once home from the farm a round bale was moved in for the foals. I found one of the missing halters but not the one I was hoping to find. The ground is so saturated that the foals shelter flooded. Talk about a mess, I know it won't dry up before I need to leave for Chicago so hopefully once home we will have some dry weather to clean up the mud and manure.
I've booked Rachel Sauder of MomentscapturedbyRachel for Wednesday to get pictures of the Friesian foals at the farm. I would love to get her to Bridlewood to get pictures the 5 foals here if the ground ever dries up. I love her horse pictures, she seems to capture each foals disposition. Last year she took Sanna's filly's pictures and that filly was such a goofball. The pictures were PERFECT, showing her running around with a leaf in her mouth, yep, she's a goofball. There are some new horses at Bridlewood so perhaps some of those owners would like to share the sitting fee with me and get some good quality pictures to keep as a remembrance. I know Rachel is not looking for more work but if enough customers from one place want her, just maybe I could get her booked.

Why Write About the Escapees

Amy from Tremont, IL wanted to know why I was writing about the escapees on the Friesian blog. The answer is that one of them had been counseled by one of our Berean counselors, Marvin Hodel for months, in fact he was almost chosen to speak at the Berean banquet. Marvin told Spark there is just something not right so Spark had him taken off the speaker list. My brother Spark is the chaplain at the Peoria County Jail. The other reason is that sometimes the guards bring down inmates from the jail down to the food warehouse to help with loading the trucks. That was why we were called twice about making sure it was locked.
So NOW I will get back to the horse business. It looks like Classy is sold. I have the deposit check which will be deposited after Thanksgiving. I'll mark him sold on the website once the check is in the bank. His new owners are going to love him.
The weather has not co-operated as far as new pictures of Piper's feathers. It rained most of the day yesterday on top of the 3 inches over the last 3 days. The ground is soggy and muddy. I need to move in a new round bale TODAY or bring some squares from the farm. I just hate to drive the tractor in the yard when it is this wet so maybe I'll bring the truck to the walk this morning and load up a couple of squares. We are suppose to get a break from the rain this afternoon and then dry weather for the weekend.
Meike's owner would like new pictures and I told her hopefully by Saturday we would have dry weather but I forgot we will be in Chicago for the school board convention. We leave Friday morning and won't be home until Sunday afternoon and Monday more rain is predicted. BOTHER!

Peoria's Jailbreakers Now Caught

We just got the call that the inmates that escaped from the Peoria County Jail yesterday are now both in custody. I know there are a lot of Peoria Ladies that will breath just a little easier tonight.
This was taken off the news website: The Peoria County Sheriff says both inmates who escaped from the Peoria County Jail are back in custody.
Sheriff Mike McCoy says 44-year-old James Fuller, the last inmate on the loose, was found at 2114 N. North Street in Peoria around 1:30 Wednesday.
Fuller and 28-year-old Aaron Cook were last accounted for around 8 p.m. Monday and discovered missing during breakfast at the jail around 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Cook was captured around 2:40 Tuesday afternoon at 620 Spitznagel Street. Police say he was found under a pile of boxes wearing sweats, not his jail issued uniform.
On Tuesday afternoon, Fuller is believed to have broken into a home, tied up a man and locked him in a bathroom before stealing an SUV from the home in the North Valley. The vehicle later was located in the parking lot of Woodruff High School about a mile from where it was stolen.
Later, authorities viewed a District 150 security video showing Fuller get out of the SUV in the Woodruff parking lot Tuesday afternoon.
K-9 units tracked Fuller’s scent to the edge of Woodruff’s baseball field, and homes — many vacant — and garages were searched, McCoy said.
McCoy was not sure how the men got to the North Valley neighborhood where Cook was found and where Fuller allegedly stole the SUV, but it is more than 10 miles from the jail. He would not say how they are believed to have covered that distance, or how both men got street clothes to replace their prison garb with black and white stripes.
James E. Fuller, 44, was taken into custody by police about 1:35 p.m. Wednesday.
This is more on how they escaped:
After Cook was apprehended, he told detectives that he and Fuller tied a rope made of bedsheets to a drain pipe on the jail roof but decided it wouldn’t hold them. They instead jumped from the roof onto the ground and fled, McCoy said.
“He said it wasn’t strong enough, so they jumped from the roof,” the sheriff said.
McCoy said Cook was expected to be interviewed again Wednesday to check his Tuesday explanations of the escape for consistency.
“The way they escaped and kept (the hole they dug into the roof) hid, it was pretty ingenious,” McCoy said. “But once they got off that wall (of the jail), their plan hit a snag.”
McCoy said interviews with Cook revealed that Fuller had been working for more than a year on an escape route through the ceiling and roof above his cell. Cook admitted to being involved for about the past four months, McCoy said.
Somehow, Fuller accessed metal pieces to help him dig, which McCoy said were not smuggled into the jail. McCoy said they were taken from items within the cell, although he declined to identify what they were pulled from or how it was done.
Using the metal pieces, Fuller cut a hole through the ceiling to gain access to concrete blocks leading to the roof. Gradually, Fuller used the metal pieces to pick away at the concrete. When not working, he apparently placed the cut-away piece of ceiling back in its place.
Cook somehow hid in Fuller’s cell when the jail was locked down for the night at 8 p.m. Monday. McCoy did not say how that was accomplished.

My Nightmare

Early this morning (in my sleep) I got to the farm, went to grain Raven and saw he was out of hay, his shelter was completely empty. I went into the big barn to start the skid steer and that barn was also empty, not a round bale in sight. I thought, "why didn't Mike tell me we were running low", Then, wait a minute, even Ralph and Jamie's bales are gone, I think someone stole all of our hay! Even the part bales in the shelters were gone. I woke up very disturbed and so when I drove to the farm this morning for real, I drove straight into the arena to check our hay supply. Thank goodness it was just a nightmare. while I was there I did a quick count and we still have over 110 good quality round bales so I think we will be OK. We did a rough estimate on usage and can count on 5 bales a week. The worst part about that nightmare was the helpless feeling of seeing hungry horses and not being able to feed them. I think this dream is because I am still upset about the mare Erin found walking down their road.
This makes me realize I MUST try to reduce our herd! Please if you are thinking of buying a great, fantastic, wonderful, sweet, beautiful, quality, family horse take a look at what we have to offer on our for sale page or our new addition page www.horsemeister.com
There is NOTHING out there EVEN close to what we produce for the price we ask. We KNOW we have the best, now I just need to get the word out.

Jail Break at Peoria County Jail

This morning on the way to the farm, I see the Kickapoo Creek has been up to the bank and over in places. It is not raining this morning but looks like it could any minute and more rain is predicted until Thursday night. The paper came out today and stated this is one of the wettest years in our history. The Journal Star also showed pictures of pumpkin fields underwater and how the pumpkins will have to be plowed under if it doesn't dry out soon. They state that a lot of pumpkin fields do not have paved roads near them. This is what we have been dealing with at Middle Grove. There are no paved roads going back to the fenced 80 acres. We usually can camp all summer and the trails there are wonderful on that land so we have a lot of our groups just come to Middle Grove where we leave the riding horses but this year has been so wet, it is almost impossible to get back into the camping area even WITH 4wheel drive. We finally gave up and brought all the horses home and now we are dealing with the mud and manure 30 horses make just walking around. The only ones that are thrilled with the weather and having the horses gone from Middle Grove are the hunters. The deer are fat, happy, and plentiful. There is still corn in the fields, plenty of good grasses and water for the deer. Having the horses gone allows the hunters the easy access to the abundance of wildlife there.
Yesterday there was a jail breakout of 2 inmates. One has been caught, the other is still at large. This was like a movie script. They augured through the ceiling onto the roof, tied strips of sheets together and rappelled down a 2 story brick wall. They were both bad but unfortunately the one that is still at large is the REALLY bad guy. He was in jail for multiple home invasions and rape. We were called to tell us to lock our doors and if they are seen do not approach as they are dangerous. This really gives us a lot of confidence, this was not a spur of the moment escape, this was weeks or months of work and no, they didn't use a poster to cover up the hole, they were able to use a ceiling tile. Then another lady called me to say, we know you have faith but God also gave you a brain and he expects you to use it so please lock up! Eva Jean and I obediently locked all the doors going into the warehouse, then started work. After we were done we realized we had not searched the warehouse nor even looked in the bathroom. Eva Jean looks at the bathroom door, hesitates, then says, "if someone is in there, I'm going to faint!" We very gingerly cracked the door open and thank goodness it was empty.

Good by to the Reinhards

This morning, Joan, Tim and the girls, Sarah, Bethany, Hannah and Faith are leaving to go back to Haiti. The sky has opened and the rain is drenching the earth to try to keep up with the mourning here in Peoria. We will not see them again until next June, Lord willing. It is important for them to go back to Haiti but sure is hard to see them leave. Joan was given another paper from Mike Reiker with the total so far of funds coming in to help pay medical expenses and Joan and Tim's door fund for Haiti now exceeding $34,000.00. The Reinhards are very thankful for the support. Joan said Mike was hand copying the addresses off the checks before he would deposit them for thank you notes but finally got wise and just started using the copy machine to copy the checks. I was thinking of the money this morning when I remembered Amy Koch gave me 2 checks, one from her and one from Cathie Trent, to give to Joan that are STILL in my purse! I will run them out this morning to them even though we will not be walking in the rain. Nothing like leaving it until the last minute, at least I can get them to her before they leave this morning. They are traveling by bus to O'Hare around 9:30am, will get up to Chicago around 2:30pm and their plane doesn't leave until 6:40pm. Diane has offered to take them so they don't have to wait so long at the airport but Joan said the kids were really looking forward to the bus ride.

Feathers

I had a man call today about Piper and he asked about his feathers. Of course the boy has feathers so I went back into my website to see if any of the pictures show them and guess what? they don't! The day we were taking the pictures and the day of the video it had stopped raining but was muddy, I think his feathers are plastered down. So I check Sally's pictures and hers aren't showing either. The only picture I have of her feathers is this dirty picture. BOTHER, I'll have to make a special trip out to the farm with rags and a bucket to try to clean her up enough to show her CLEAN feathers. At least Piper is here at Bridlewood, I can clean him up as soon as it stops raining in THREE DAYS!. It has been raining pretty steady Saturday, yesterday, last night and all day today. The weather man said we are expected to get another 2 to 3 inches before this system moves out 3 days from now. I've given up trying to clean the paddock for a while. The manure will just have to stack up until it starts drying out again. What a wet year we have had!

Faith Reinhard

In the first video Faith is practicing her A B C's.
Faith was learning the alphabet right along with her big brother Gabriel. Joan did not realize that Faith was listening until she started saying it also. In the second video Faith is playing Skunk in the graveyard with her parents.

Faith is my niece and Joan & Tim's youngest daughter. She is very bright and reminds me of her mom, Joan when she was 2 years old. I can still remember Joan singing the alphabet song, then telling us, "now want to see me sing it backwards?" of course when we said yes she would turn her back to us and sing it again.

Fun On a Friesian

This was from last February when we FINALLY had a break in the weather but it reminded me of a very funny story. One day Mike was bored. He took Jenis out for some riding when he thought, mmm I wonder if the neighbors want to go on the trails with me. He rode over to the neighbors place, not too far from the farm and saw 2 people riding in the arena. He asked them if they wanted to ride over to the farm and go trail riding. They said yes and off the 3 horses went. He started galloping and Jenis crow hopped a little, the back girth was too tight, so Mike jumped off and loosened it, then jumped back on. They got to the cabin trail, Ylse saw them, wanted to go with them, jumped the fence and fell in behind Jenis. This really made the neighbors nervous but Mike told them, Oh, she is fine, she will just follow along. They asked again if Mike should stop and put Ylse away but he told them she's fine, we treat them all the same whether they are imported from the Netherlands or a $600.00 horse. He thought she looked beautiful cantering along with her mane flying. They got to the first creek to cross and Mike really thought Ylse would decide that was far enough and head home but instead she crossed the creek and continued with the group. Both of the other riders were pretty worried by this time, after all it is the 'DEATH TRAIL'. The man got his horse across but the lady needed help. Anyway they all made it back fine. Mike called to tell me the story. He told me, they really don't know how to ride very well, they were scared of the creeks and of Ylse following. Not until later did I learn the neighbor's view of the story. The man came over to visit one day, while I was working with Jenis. He told me about the ride and then said pointing to Jenis, "that mare is a really good mare, she totally took care of Mike. It was obvious he doesn't know how to ride, he didn't even know enough to put a loose horse away."
I thought it was pretty funny hearing both sides.
Now to correct some of the different views, Mike knows how to ride very well and so do they. They just happen to be arena riders, NEVER would they think it was safe to ride a rough trail with a loose horse and of course they had never made their horses cross creeks and run up and down hills.

The Formal Dinner

Well it started as soon as I got home from church. The setting of the table was first, then the food preparation. As soon as our special dinner guests opened the door at 5:30pm they were greeted and asked to come into the dining room. the chairs was pulled out and each girl was seated, then offered red or white sparkling grape juice. Mark had the prayer and prayed for each one individually. Our special guests today were Sarah, Rebekah, Anni, Jessica, Bethany, Hannah, and Sophie. Below is after the drink and prayer but before the soup.
The diners started with a chicken & wild rice with noodle soup.
We only dished out a small bowl for each. Once the soup was finished the bowl was removed and they were given a palate cleanser of lime sherbet. Once that was removed the salad and bread was dished out which we gave them a few minutes to enjoy before coming in and removing the salad plates. We served another palate cleanser before bringing in the main meal.
A chicken breast stuffed with cranberries, apples, brie,and mozzarella and topped with a sweet cranberry sauce was served with wild rice, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and sweet potato casserole. Once that plate was removed, we served hot chocolate made with 3 squares of Hershey chocolate in the bottom of the cup, then the hot chocolate poured into the cup with a dollop of whipped cream on top. while they were drinking the chocolate we took orders for dessert. We offered 3 kinds of cheese cake, apple pie or chocolate cake. After dessert each was presented with a red rose.
They were so excited after the meal, they posed for some pictures, then played games.
A special thank you to my servers, Mark, Rhoda, Taunya, Ben and Ruth!
Sophia posing with her rose.

Karin & Rebekah

Karin called this morning the people that hired her gave her an extra $100.00. Karin saw it on the way home, emailed them to ask if they made a mistake and should she send them a check and they told her, "no we wanted to give you more." How nice for Karin and Rebekah.
Dan and Susan served lunch today so Mark, Sarah, mom and I went early to help. It went smoothly and even though church was pretty crowded, Dan and Susan had plenty. David took my place waiting tables. The funny thing is that I signed up for a women's table. He didn't care, just went right to work. I wish more of the younger brothers would help at lunch.
We are having a formal dinner tonight. I'm going to have to take pictures, the table is set so beautifully.

Bow Hunting at Middle Grove

This is my nephew Andrew Honegger hunting with his bow. I think it is amazing that not only was he able to call the buck in, get his arrow perfect, he was able to video tape the entire performance. Andrew is an amazing hunter. BTW he was having a lot of fun with this video. He placed this on youtube in 2008 and over 122,000 people have viewed it.
This is one of the reasons ALL the horses are now moved from the Middle Grove farm.
Now just for all the animal lovers out there, we EAT deer meat. It is protein rich and a very good supplement for expensive beef.
When my sister Diane, Andrew's mom, was a young mother she used to just pray she would hit a deer with her car so they could have meat for the winter. I wonder what that says about her car in those days.

Another Saturday

Our potluck was good, the food all turned out just about perfect, moist, flavorful and not overcooked, everything was delicious. We had a great group, lots of funny stories, lots of laughter.
Karin and Rebekah drove to Madison, WI for a vaulting clinic. They left yesterday after work and spent the night, then will teach pretty much all day. They will be home late tonight. I don't remember what Karin charges for this, I think it is $400.00 for the day and she and Rebekah will share it. It is a bargain for Pony Clubs or new vaulting teams. The vaulters get individual lessons, Kur ideas, and horse time. Sometimes the Pony Club will pay for the entire clinic and sometimes the clubs have who ever is attending to pick up the cost. Karin and Rebekah were also put up for the night in one of their houses and fed.
I won't be driving out to the farm today, others are doing the chores for me. I still need to buy the food for tomorrows formal dinner and finish laundry. Nice that the house is clean and ready for company. Mark and I need to leave by 5:00pm as we are working at the Skyline benefit dinner. We really hope it is a good turnout. Tomorrow morning we need to be at church by 8:00am to help Dan and Susan give lunch.