The Pier

After breakfast the kids all took off for volleyball at grandma's condo while Mark and I walked to the lagoon. The weather is perfect, sunny and hot enough to swim but not so hot that it is uncomfortable to be outside. The waves yesterday were really rough and lots of debris was washed up on the beach.

We all headed for the pier before 3:00pm as Karin told us that is when the tide is coming in. Philip caught the first fish, a huge king Mackerel. It took him over 20 minutes to pull the fish in.

Another man caught one at the same time, his fish was swimming toward the left while Philip's fish was swimming to the right. They were ducking over and under each other during the fight to bring these fish in.

The fish was over 3 feet in length.


These fish have very sharp teeth, when the fish was getting cleaned we found out it was a female full of eggs.


We ended up with some beautiful fillets along with some tenderloin medallions.

The Blues started biting even though they were good sized we threw all of them back.



Another fisherman pulled in this big bonito fish, the man below took off a bite and ate it right in front of us raw.



The fish was still alive when he removed his bite, now that's what is called fresh fish. We fished until after 5:00pm then headed back to the house to start our big Easter dinner.




Mark grilled the steaks, Rachel brought party potatoes Cajun crawdads, shrimp, and dessert while Karin and I cooked the Mackerel tenderloins wrapped in bacon, vegetables, sweet potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and sweet onions. The meal was delicious!
We finished out the evening just visiting with each other. We are tired, a bit sunburned and full. We are thankful for a wonderful day!

HE is Risen INDEED!

Easter, what more do we need to say...The night has turned to day, the morning has come. The tomb is empty, death is defeated...Our Priest and intercessor is now at the right hand of the Father explaining to Him, "I've been there I know how hard it is, I bled and died for them, forgive them for they knew not what they did..My blood covers their sin"...
We had a touching Easter service this morning and I am thankful.
Breakfast was served after the service and plans were then made for the day. Karin is keeping everyone on schedule...volley ball at 10:00am fishing at the pier from 3:00pm to 5:00pm and Easter dinner at 6:00pm. We are enjoying the beautiful weather, the warm gulf waters, the abundant fellowship and this house.
Pictures below are from yesterday.
We pulled in and crashed in mom's condo until daylight. Rachel cooked a big breakfast for all of us new comers and some that had been here a day or 2. Below are the 2 youngest here having breakfast.

The volley ball net was set up and the players started arriving. They had 2 hours of fun playing in the sun.

Between games visiting and re-hydrating.

The kids were loaded up into strollers and walked over to the condo Diane rented where Dan, Susan and kids had been staying for the last week.

That condo is beautiful, 3 bedroom with a big open floor plan and a big balcony.
Dan had been cooking breakfast and when we got a better look at him he had a big black shiner. He actually got it surfing but we all teased him about minding his wife better.

The house we rented had check in time listed at 4:00pm but we had so much stuff in the van that needed to be unloaded before we could do our grocery shopping we sung by after 2:00pm and unloaded the van. The cleaning lady was not happy, we thought she was done but she said she still needed to clean the kitchen sink. We also wanted to check to see what kind of supplies the house came with and what we needed to buy.
Then came the shopping, between Karin, Mark, Rhoda and I we spent over $300.00 buying the necessary things for the next week. We finished up and every started arriving at the house by 4:00pm and were thrilled with the place. It is huge and very beautiful.
Below is looking down from the second stairwell into the kitchen area where some of the kids are enjoying chips and dip before dinner of which David and Stephanie were preparing.



They served the best fajitas we have ever had along with Mexican rice.
Below is the table all set for our family.

and the very roomy living room.

Rachel brought her group over after dinner for our usual nightly worship. We sang out on one of the 3 spacious balconies this house has. We ran into one problem we NEVER have on mom's balcony, mosquitoes. Must be because this house as nice as it is, is not right on the beach, it is on the lagoon side. Oh well if it wasn't for that we might think we were in heaven.
Our dessert of ice cream, peanut butter and decaf coffee was served after worship. Even though we were tired we still stayed visiting and enjoying one another until after 10:00pm. Our bed felt wonderful and we woke to this beautiful Easter morning.

A Raven Son Born

Jill and Dave would like to announce the birth of Maximiliaan out of the purebred Friesian mare Wynne and By RAVEN!






How wonderful for them, they were able to witness the birth of this big black purebred Friesian Raven baby. Congratulations!
Mike sent these pictures of some of the horses at Middle Grove taking a nap in the warm sunshine.


Steven called to report all was well except Lily and her filly were out of the cabin field and loose over by the barn field. He put them in a paddock then walked the fenceline at the cabin to find where they escaped but all was well. When Mike showed up he told Steven he didn't know there were horses in the cabin and left the side gate open during the day as he was driving in and out. He just didn't see Lily leave.
The house we are staying at here in Gulf Shores is lovely, the nicest vacation home we have ever stayed in. Pictures will be taken and uploaded as soon as the battery is charged.

Traveling

We left for Gulf Shores at 4:20pm yesterday deciding to try a different route than our usual 57 to 24 to 65. Instead we headed straight down 55. It may be shorter but we have decided when it is time to leave we will return the old way. Going down all the way to 10 takes us too far south and the roads cutting over are just not that good. Right now we are traveling around Mobile Bay and have about an hour until we reach our destination. Rachel texted last night that they will fix us breakfast. That's wonderful except we forgot to ask where and. It's way to early to call. We will head straight to mom's she always gets up early and can give us directions if breakfast isn't at her place. Our estimated time of arrival was 6:00am and we are right on target. So far we have only stopped twice for gas. Funny or not so funny but gas has been about 30 cents a gallon cheaper than home in Illinois. Why is that? Wouldn't be our corrupt law makers taxing unfairly would it? We haven't heard how the other carload is doing. Ben, Taunya, Rhoda, Addyson, and Jack left yesterday also.

Gulf Shores

The first carload traveling last night made it down to mom's condo before 5:00am. David, Stephanie and Sarah must not have hit much traffic. The second carload (the Sauders) made it down a bit later joining Mom, Diane Karin, Dan & Susan along with their 3 kids, Sophie, Abrahm and Levi who have been there this past week. Mom and Diane had everyone over for breakfast. Right now there are 16 of the family members all enjoying themselves in warm, sunny Gulf Shores, Alabama. Two carloads of Sceggels will be taking off this evening to join them by morning.
Yesterday Dan took his boat into the bay and a dolphin jumped out of the water at least 6 feet into the air right in front of them. They were all startled, jumped and gave just a small scream. Karin said the dolphin's eye was staring right at her it was that close and no one had a camera on them.
Today when I called Diane and Karin were just getting ready to go para-sailing over the Gulf of Mexico. Rachel has her camera, hopefully she gets a few pictures of them. One year we were watching the para-sailing and the rope snapped. The lady in the air started drifting over land. People started running and grabbing the dragging rope to bring her down, it took over 30 people to do this. It makes one wonder what would have happened if the winds that day had been from the north. She would have been blown out over the gulf.

Emma's Pups at 8 Months old

Nice to receive updates today from 2 different owners of Emma's pups.
Below is Amanda's baby.

Below is Frank and Bonnie's puppy along with their HUGE Rottweiler.

There is now a waiting list for puppies by Emma. It looks like we will need to be searching for an AKC OFA certified BIG male as Emma passed her OFA certification. As nice as Bruno was we would really like to find one in the 200-230 pound range. Anyone out there know of a quality AKC registered English Mastiff stud dog in the central Illinois area?
It's COLD outside and inside today. With a temperature hovering in the 30s now and a predicted high of just 62 degrees we are thrilled to be going south this afternoon. Just look at how these poor freezing dogs need to cuddle up to keep warm.

Bow is loose this morning. Steven helped move her over into the breeding shed paddock yesterday evening. She knocked a board down and is wandering around the yard waiting for someone to rescue her. She does not like to be in a paddock by herself but that is the only way to see that she gets the grain she needs to build big strong bones. We usually keep weanling babies together but Bow is the only weanling left. All the rest were sold and picked up. She doesn't get picked up until the end of this month.

Ciera Said No

Today is the 19th day from Ciera's last cover by Evan, today she was taken over to the boys and said NO very emphatically. This means more than likely she is in foal but we will need to tease her for a few more days. If I wasn't such a cheapskate I would spring for an ultrasound. Lily also said no to Raven today, we can start counting from yesterday for her.
Today is house cleaning and all must be done before 4:00pm as that's when our house sitter will be arriving for her instructions, good thing this apartment is small. Anni Davidovics is willing to stay here and take care of our high maintenance dogs. Mike will be in charge of the horses. We will move Bow into the breeding shed and stuff that feeder with 6 square bales tomorrow. That should hold her off until we get back. Raven will need a new round bale before we leave and the boys will need one in about 4-5 days. Mike will need to keep an eye on them. Lily will either need a new bale or be moved over to the cabin in a few days. The rest of the horses should be fine. We leave for sunny warm Gulf Shores, Alabama on Friday for the annual Sceggel family vacation, at least there are no babies due for the week we will be gone.

Forrest

Heidi was very proud of herself this morning running up for the morning walk with her still twitching treasure. The raccoon must have put up quite a fight, Heidi was bleeding from her nose.

Mike helped load the ponies after the first round of the walk. I pulled out just a few minutes after 8:00am and made it to Emily's just before 10:00am. The ponies settled in just fine.

Then it was time to see the menagerie. The goats were first, the twins were waiting to be let out, so cute as they hung over the stall wall bleating.

Emily then took the mama goat out to the pasture with her triplets.


The kids were so cute hopping straight into the air with all 4 feet off the ground. Of course we had to call the cows over for some attention. Below is her young heifer.

Last I was taken into the mudroom to see the newly hatched goslings. The parents weren't good about sitting on the eggs, so Emily used an incubator to hatch them out.

laundry waited so home I drove. The horses were fed, Bow and Lilypony played with and then it was time to get to work. The day was spent reading a couple of Francine Rivers books while waiting for the machines to finish washing and drying the much needed clean clothes.
Rhoda came over for a short visit, sat down and Darcy promptly sits in her lap.

Poor Rhoda, her legs were getting smashed, she was able to grin and bear it until the picture was snapped.

LilyPony

Today Lilypony turns 2 years old. We have brought her in from Middle Grove to put a little training on her. She is actually a pretty pony, chestnut with flaxen mane and tail and should end up around 13.2 or 13.3 hands when full grown. Steven haltered her yesterday and tied her up, she stood quietly, nice to know she respects that. She also stood well for fly spraying. We will get pictures of her soon and post her on the website. She would be a great project pony and is for sale now before training for $650.00.
Bonnie and Mindy are heading to Emily's for training today. Their life is going to change drastically. They have been enjoying their freedom at Middle Grove for almost a year.
Ciera can be teased today, hopefully she will not show. She was bred to Evan 18 days ago and we are pretty certain she is in foal but will tease her for the next 5 days. If she does not come back in she can head out to Middle Grove. Karin and Rhoda have orders to start trail riding her once she is back there. We may as well tease her mother, Lily also, not to get her covered but just to know if she is still in. We like to know the last day the mare shows, then an ultrasound can be scheduled 16 days later if desired.
We had more rain during the night and a cold front moved in, instead of 80 degrees it will only reach 65 today and tonight down into the 30s.

Productive Tuesday

Eva Jean and I flew through the studies today finishing by 11:00am. It helped that all the letters were processed last week. After our usual lunch at Denny's it was time to visit Sam's for black Angus, prime rib-eye steaks for our Easter dinner down in Gulf Shores. Frozen chicken breast, 6 pounds of bacon, coffee, almonds, cuties, and dog food needed to be purchased also, the people food to take down south, the dog food for Anni Davidovics as she has been hired to stay here and take care of Darcy and Emma. The library was the next stop, 10 books taken back and 9 checked out.
Back home, Steven Marchal arrived to hook up the truck and trailer and backed it into the big barn. I helped him fill the back of the trailer with square bales and the pony cart. The harness was loaded into the truck and both the truck and trailer were left in the arena as rain was predicted. Tomorrow Bonnie and Mindy the 2 small ponies will be hauled to Forrest, IL for Emily Ricketts, she is going to train them as riding ponies. They both already drive well.
Bow was wormed and she was so good, standing quietly, not moving at all as it was squirted in. We used Ivermectin and only gave her a 250 pound dose. In 2 weeks she will receive another dose, then her new owners should use Panacure a month later. Lily was brought out and covered, hopefully she will be out tomorrow but if not we will check her again on Thursday.
Spark and Rhonda picked us up for choir during a rain storm. Hopefully we get lots of rain tonight. Choir was well attended and wonderful. The music just sounds so beautiful when there are many voices joining in. The men were awesome sounding tonight. Karl Weyeneth and Bill Chaffer served lunch. A very tantalizing aroma started floated up the fellowship hall before the last song. We were sure Bill must be cooking something wonderful as he is a wonderful chef but instead it was KARL! Karl served his special recipe. We all dived in, ate, then had to have seconds, it was that good.

Will and Jenni Moser's Raven Babies

Will and Jenni Moser had Rachel Sauder of momentscapturedbyrachel.com out to take family pictures and had to show her their 2 Raven babies. These are FULL brother and sister out of their Trakehner mare Salina. Rachel was kind enough to email these.

Jenni writes: Judy,
> Good morning! Hope all is well with you and your family.
> We are doing very well. I wanted to update you on our "babies". We
> contacted B&BReinebach to see about having them train Palmer and if
> all goes well with his training, then have them train Bella next
> spring as well. Both horses are doing wonderfully. We are so proud
> of them both. They are always waiting for us at the gate to be loved
> on. They are so fantastic with the kids. I think having them around
> Tristan so early on has really prepped them well. They are gentle,
> patient and exceptionally calm with kids running around them. Raven
> is a remarkable stallion that has THE BEST babies!
Thank you so much Jenni for the update. We love hearing from people that own a Raven baby and you own TWO!

The Dentist

Both Ylse and Zalena needed their teeth floated and today was the day. Both mares were very good, standing almost quietly without any sedation. We really like the way this dentist works. He is quiet, takes his time, goes about it calmly and get's results. By the time he was done both of the mare's teeth were much better.

He will be back in the fall if anyone is interested in having him look at their horses.
The big job today was to catch and load 4 ponies and one weanling. We made arrangements to meet after work at the Middle Grove farm. Steven actually arrived first and had Bow and Ella haltered before Mike arrived. Mike brought his 4 wheeler down, tied those 2 to it and started up the hill. Bow slammed on the brakes not wanting to move forward, Mike got off the 4 wheeler walked around to gently persuade her with his boot to move forward when she threw herself backward and flipped the 4 wheeler making it roll over and over down the hill. By that action Bow did not endear herself to him. Steven was able to unhook Bow and loaded her and Ella into the trailer. The 4 wheeler was stuck in reverse and out of commission, that meant a good hike down to where the herd was grazing. Thankfully Bonnie and Mindy didn't even think of running and Lilypony followed them up to the trailer. The lake there is in heavy use, while we were haltering ponies, the horses were taking turns walking down to the lake and jumping in.
Steven and I headed to BEE's where we were meeting Rhoda for dinner. Before we even arrived Mike called to report the 4 wheeler was now running fine, not even bent up from the 4 complete revolutions it made while rolling down the hill. We arrived back at the Hanna City farm as the sun was going down, fixed 2 boards and put those 5 in a paddock. Thank goodness that job is done!

Middle Grove Work

Mike spent the weekend working on fences at Middle Grove. He snapped this picture of some of the horses grazing beneath the trees. It is easy to identify Mika the only chestnut and Sangria the only gray and I can see Ella behind Sangria's head but the rest there is no way to know who is who. Tonight we are hauling some home. After work Mike, Rhoda, Steven Marchal and I will head out to load up hopefully, Ella, Mindy, Bonnie, Lilypony and Bow. The ponies need to come in to start their training and Bow needs to be here the next time a vet is out for her travel papers. The curry comb and camera will be taken out with us.
Steven stopped by on his way to work to check out Lily, she is still in and covered. The equine dentist is coming today for Ylse and Zalena.
The car needs to be dropped off at Frenches around 2:00pm to have the snow tires taken off finally. This could have been done over a month ago this year but in years past we needed snow tires in April.

After Church

After church the usual bunch showed up to play volleyball.

The 2 pictures below are 2 of Amy Beth's daughters.


Fede pulled up on his motorcycle bringing Rebekah while Ruth came in her car with Rebekah's fiance Brian's parents.

It was fun to meet them, they fit right in with the rest of this crazy family.
Fede and Dan are 2 peas in a pod both have a funny as in dry sense of humor.

As long as we were all over at the playground a few more flower pictures were snapped.





We had a nice visit until Ruth remembered she had company coming.
Fede gave Brian's mom a ride back on the motorcycle.

Once all the players loaded up to leave Mark and I headed back to the apartment.
The picture below was taken yesterday but wasn't posted. It needs to be posted. This is Rhoda with her lap dog Darcy and Emma.

Zalena was checked and she is for sure now out of season. She and Ylse were put in the pasture behind the boys. They are the 2 that need a bit of fattening up. It makes it easier to grain them now that they are by themselves. The good rich spring grass will also help with that.

Rain!

We had a wonderful storm last night and this time it wasn't all show, we actually had a good drenching rain that helped quench the thirst of this dry land. I was so glad Steven brought Lily and her filly over, with the rain came hail. The bright flash of lightning was what woke us and then came the huge crash of thunder. Even when the storm moved off we could hear the continues growl of thunder in the distance. Heres hoping Middle Grove got drenched too.
We have communion to share today and won't be home until later today from church. The Apostolic Christian churches of North America only celebrate this holy act once a year making it a very special time. Our Peoria church holds it on Palm Sunday each year. We are to examine our hearts and must be at peace with God and man as the Bible gives very clear warnings, "Examine yourself and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup" We do this in remembrance of the sacrifice Christ made for us giving up His life so we could have eternal life.
The day is suppose to be warm in the 80s with bright sunshine. What a wonderful day!