Beautiful Weather Busy Saturday

 As Tatiana's filly is in a stall she was taken care of early this morning. She was glad to see me but distressed when I walked out of view and started calling and banging again on the door.  The monitor is on so I went back to make breakfast while keeping an eye on her on the monitor. We had milk go sour so pancakes were made for breakfast. After breakfast Isaiah arrived and went in to work with the filly. She is leading very well now. Isaiah took her out of the stall and into the indoor arena where she followed him with a loose lead rope everywhere. Below are a few pictures of him working with her

 

She walked nicely back to the stall.

Karin was busy watering the arena while Magda and Kayla got Valiant out. Valiant was round penned in the indoor. Below is Magda working with him.

Karin tacked him up and rode him first.

He is such a fun ride. Karin was all smiles riding him.

Magda got on next.

Kayla was working on her rising trot with him.

Then had a fun canter.

She also had a big smile when finished.

Valiant is such a fun ride.

Isaiah took Ripper into the round pen outside to work with him.

Meanwhile Magda put Valiant away and brought out Evan. She and Kayla worked with Evan in the indoor.

Of course he had to do his show-off airs above ground.

Mark was working on cleaning up one of the skid steer attachments. This one is a stump grapple. He is no longer needing it so was cleaning it up to sell. Evan was a little distracted by that.

Kayla put Evan away while Magda brought out Irish. 

She is such a hairy Gypsy with a double sided thick long mane and a huge tail.

While they were busy working with Irish and Ripper Mark and I moved two round bales into the middle paddock for them and one round bale into the weanling paddock. After everyone left we went in for lunch and defrosted left over turkey and stuffing. Mark had a sandwich of that with cranberry on top while I just had mine in a bowl. He left to get more diesel fuel. When he came back we loaded the tractor on the flat bed trailer so Mark could take it in for repair. Below he is taking the bale spear off.

We hooked the skid steer up to the flat bed trailer then Mark drove the tractor up on it. The trailer is really handy as it will slope down to the ground for loading.

After we got it on though we noticed one of the tires bulging. We decided the tractor was just a little too heavy to be hauled by this trailer so the tractor was backed back off of the trailer. Tonight for dinner we had angel hair pasta smothered with chili and spaghetti sauce with cottage cheese on the side. It was delicious and the sauce was just pulled out of the freezer. Sarah had Ben and Taunya's kids over to help make cookies for our dessert for our Sunday meal. She sent the picture below.

I would say they had a lot of fun decorating! We are going to head to bed soon even though it is not yet 8:00 pm. It was such nice weather today we worked outside most of the day which is exhausting for us old folks. 

Lots Of Driving

 Right after our walk Tatiana's stall was cleaned then at 8:30 am the bank was called to set up an appointment to get the van title out of the safety deposit box. From there I had to drive back home to get the bill of sale then drove to Meisters to meet the man who was buying the van. The van is now on its way to its new home in the upper peninsula of Michigan with a family expecting their 7th child. Mark needed to be driven home to get his car and while he was here he helped load Tatiana and her filly for the trip to the vet clinic. The filly stood perfectly for Dr. Pallen to draw her blood and even posed for the pictures needed. From there is was back to the farm to unload the horses, put the filly in a stall and load Tatiana back up and head to Middle Grove. She was more than ready to wean her filly and very happy to get back out there. I drove into the big field where the horses were spread out grazing. They all came running up and when Ripper arrived he was haltered and loaded.

Irish also came up to check out the trailer so she too was haltered and then just tied so the rest of the horses could be checked out.

At first I thought maybe Oksana lost her foal. She is due the end of April and just didn't look as big as I expected. Below is a picture of her from behind.

But when she was facing me she does look pregnant. She is just such a wide mare and has such a wide behind I think she hides the pregnancy well.

Sheena was bred to Valiant and is suppose to be due Aug 15th but looks HUGE.

I may have the date wrong, she is much to big to be due that late. She was covered on July 6th but at her ultrasound on the 21st she was declared to be open. IF she did settle she would be due June 16th instead of Aug 15th but it doesn't make sense that she accepted Valiant Sept 5th. Galena is the first mare due in 2021. She was bred to Valiant and is due March 23rd.

I was pleased to see the horses are all doing well. IF you would like to see the rest of the pictures from today click HERE. Irish was loaded and she and Ripper were taken back to the Hanna City farm and put in the middle paddock. Tomorrow I'll need to move a new bale in for them but there was still enough left for today. Tatiana's filly was checked on, she is eating hay and drinking but calling for her mom every once in a while. I have her on the monitor and am pleased at how well she is doing. Mark came home a little early from work and got the snow tires on my car and the oil changed. We are getting ready for winter around here. I did lots of driving today, around 138 miles going north first then south, then east then west farther east then west and farther west and finally back east to home.

Trip To Middle Grove

 I got an email from the lady that bought Tatiana's filly last night that they will be picking her up December 10th. This filly has not yet been weaned and doesn't have her Coggins test yet. As soon as we finished the walk I left for Middle Grove to pick her up. The herd was all spread out grazing when I arrived.

The loading didn't go well. Tatiana loaded right up but the filly decided it was much more fun to run back to the herd.  She is a pretty filly and had fun galloping around showing off. 

I decided to take Tatiana home, work for a few hours then head back. Tatiana was unloaded and put in the stall, given grain, hay and water then I headed into the house to make some phone calls to insurance companies. I have not been happy with our carrier for the two trucks and motor home. I called our farm insurance carrier and they are going to give us a quote tomorrow. What is funny about this is that Mark also called the same company asking for a quote. We shall see what happens. At 1:30 pm Tatiana was loaded back up and out I went to Middle Grove again. This time the filly saw us coming and came galloping up to the trailer. 

She was more than happy to jump in the trailer. The horse below is Rosalie but when I saw her I thought she was her mama Lily. They really look alike. Rosalie was bred to Evan and is very heavy in foal and due April 15th, 2021.

All of the mares are starting to show their pregnancies. Irish is pictured below. We will be bringing Irish in for training and I'll probably do that tomorrow when I take Tatiana back out to Middle Grove.

I will bring Ripper in with her. Tatiana and her filly were taken home, put in a stall and a halter put on the filly. She was tied up and handled all over and got a small leading lesson. I only have 7 days to teach her to lead and load without a fuss and can't work her the next 2 days as she will be weaned. Hoerr Vet clinic was called and I have a 9:00 am appointment tomorrow at the clinic to get her blood drawn. I was hoping to get Dr. Hoerr out here but he is just too busy. They have been swamped at the clinic.  Tonight for dinner I cooked the cow tongue Rhonda gave us when they ordered a half of beef. Mark really liked the meal. It was cooked medium rare and once the thick outer layer was removed the part we ate was tender and delicious. Emma got the gristly outer layer and she thought that was fine dining.

Hopefully Fired

 18 degrees this morning, we all wore winter coats and some of us walkers had on snow pants. I went in to Meisters to pay the first of the month bills for the last time. I will be fired from this job in 2021 or at least that is the plan. The rest of my day was spent cleaning the house. It REALLY needed to be done.  We went to mom's for church tonight. Bill Schick was the speaker telling of his time in Mexico and here. When he was done we just said,  "wow"! If you missed it tonight you should be able to hear the talk on AC Central tomorrow. 

Sale Pending

Ruth was a little late for the walk this morning. There was a big owl sitting on the post of our mailboxes. She got a picture of it and sent it by text to my phone but when I tried to retrieve the picture it was too small to share here. I took the picture below after were turned and were coming back from Joan's house. The morning sun was making our shadows very long.

If one was just looking at our shadows one would think we were a family of giants. Mom and I left for Berean right after the walk. If you would like to read about our morning there click HERE. We stayed there until noon. On the way home we stopped at Walmart so mom could get a new watch. She had shattered her watch on that last fall and really needed another. While she was shopping at Walmart I ran to the Aldi next door and bought ingredients to make more creamy chicken and wild rice soup.  From there we stopped at McDonalds for a fish sandwich, fries and a drink then went to the Bartonville post office to drop off the Bibles then stopped at the little park on the way home to eat our lunch.

It was really too cold to eat outside but we spent a few minutes enjoying the meal before heading home. Mom was dropped off at her house. I ran home to put away a few groceries then picked mom back up and drove to Zane's to pick up the van. It passed the mechanical check with flying colors and the man interested mailed a check today to buy it.

As soon as that check comes the van will be marked sold. He is going to pick it up after his upcoming hunting trip.  I made a big pot soup, we had that for supper and I froze 8 quarts for later. We lived on soup and frozen meals when we were quarantined so long from Covid and I needed to restock the freezer. Mike checked on the horses at Middle Grove. He put hay in over the weekend and they had finished one bale and made quite a dent in the other two bales. The picture below was from our camping trip at Jubilee. Rhoda took this picture. Addyson our oldest grand daughter is riding Missy, Taegan is riding Jenis, Kensley is riding Cookie and Braelyn is riding Sangria. Rhoda, not pictured, was riding Mika.

I'm so glad they got the opportunity to go horse camping. Everyone had such a good time on that trip. 

Thankful For Heat

 We had a good walk today with all 5 of us attending and used the time to rehash the wedding. After the walk the 2 horse trailer was unhooked from the 2015 truck, the 2003 truck moved away from the 2006 horse trailer and the 2015 truck hooked up to that trailer. The trailer was taken to East Peoria Tire and Vulcanizing where 4 new tires were installed.  I'm so thankful for that business, they really know their tires and each time I take a trailer there I'm pleased. Not just with the new tires also the price. For such a big business, they are very reasonable. I placed an ad on Facebook market place selling the 2006 Exiss horse trailer now that it has 4 brand new tires and within an hour had someone asking for more information. This trailer has been so handy for us but we just don't need so many horse trailers any more so this one is now for sale. 

It was exactly what we needed for the past 6 years as we could haul not just horses but the golf cart and 4 wheelers. That ramp and collapsible tack makes this trailer very versatile. It is not perfect but is safe. It is for sale for $9900.00 and the title is in hand. As soon as I got it home and parked I took the car down to the Peoria post office to pick up the Berean mail. There is quite a bit so we will be busy tomorrow at the Berean office. Mark came home a little early and he drove the 2014 van to Zanes while I followed him so we can leave that there overnight.

That is also for sale and is priced at $12,500.00. Zanes is going to check it over mechanically to make sure all is well. That also has new tires from last year and has had regular oil changes. We are trying to downsize around here although if both sell I will be looking for another truck or SUV, something strong enough to pull the camping trailers.  It was really chilly today, on the walk in the 20s, as I was driving to East Peoria it was spitting snow and 34 degrees when I left to come home it had dropped to 33 degrees and is suppose to get down to 19 tonight. This will be our first really hard freeze. Not too bad for the last day of November.  We have had the fire going all day in the wood burner. I'm so thankful for our big wood pile and very thankful for the heat it produces when burned. Mark filled the wood boxes on the front porch this weekend making it easy to haul wood inside. 

De Mask Us

 We had a VERY good morning at church. It was wonderful to see everyone before the service. Tim Roecker had the message and no one was in a hurry to leave after the service.  What a blessing it is to be able to worship our Lord Jesus together in person. We are thankful for AC Central and Facebook live but it just isn't the same as actually being in church. After church we played games at mom's. As it was just Mark and I for supper we had lobster bisque and grilled cheese for our meal and that was delicious. Maybe by next week will be back to our normal Sunday dinners but today was really relaxing. Amy called to see if the artist that is working with Bella can come out to get a picture on one of the Friesians. He has been out in the past and had a turn on Jenis but now Jenis is at her new home. We will probably need to use Valiant for these pictures. The artist wants to hire Rachel to take the pictures Amy posted the picture below of her Andalusian mare Bella during a sculpture session:

This is Bella, she is modeling for an artist in our area for a sculpture of Teddy Roosevelt as a rough rider. The over life size sculpture will be put on Grandview Drive in Peoria IL.  It is clay now but will be finished in bronze.    I realized this morning since quarantine is over that a mask is no longer required for those of us that have had Covid and survived. We cannot spread this virus and can't catch it from anyone (at least for 3 more months but probably longer) and should be issued some kind of badge or sign we can wear in place of a mask. There are a LOT of us survivors around, enough that we need our own section in church or perhaps special shopping hours for people that no longer require masks. This would help so much when walking around in public. As soon as someone starts glaring at us we could whip out that sign. We are NOT a risk to the public so why not start flaunting that. 

Hannah's Wedding Day

 What a beautiful day for a wedding. We had sunshine AND 50 degrees today. That is amazing for the 28th, day of November.  This morning the weanlings were moved into the far paddock. That had a bale and that paddock wasn't muddy. Jewel's filly let me walk right up to her and put the short lead rope on.  They were given grain then it was time to head inside and make breakfast for Mark and I. After breakfast and after a shower I picked up mom, Faith, Mackenson and Berlica and drove to the church. We needed to be there by 9:30 to be inside and in the alcove before the wedding guests arrived. It has been a week since Joan was diagnosed with Covid. As mother of the bride it was very important for her to come to the wedding. When there is a will there will always be a way and in this family we are sure to find that way. Check out the picture of Joan with her new son-in-law Jacob and her daughter Hannah on Hannah's wedding day.

Everyone stayed safe even without the suit as both Hannah and Jacob already had Covid.  I used the phone to snap the two pictures below of Hannah walking up the aisle and the wedding party heading into the bench. 

Craig Stickling began the service. Mom will need to listen to this on AC Central. The sound wasn't good in the alcove.  Hannah had us all chuckling when it was her time to answer the main question. She said very loudly and with emphasis, "YES I DO!" After the wedding we went out the furnace room door and straight into the car then were given fresh baked scones and a cup of hot chocolate or hot flavored coffee.  The reception was just a drive through reception where each guests was served those treats.  We had to be at the fellowship hall for family pictures. All of those were taken outside. Jacob's jeep was decorated and then little bags of rice crispies were handed out to throw at Jacob and Hannah as they left on their honeymoon.  Joshua thought that was a waste of good cereal and promptly ate his. Thanks Kathy for sending the picture below. 

It was a beautiful day for their wedding and we wish them God's blessings on their marriage.