Irish & Rosaleigh

 I left for Casey's to pick up donuts at 6:30 am for the Berean volunteers. When home I ran up to check the mares. Titus was in his shelter enjoying breakfast. 

As I had no phone I stopped in early at mom's to see if she would like to go to Berean. Mom was still sleeping but Karin was willing to ask her then text Diane to let me know. While there I had to stop and smell the roses. Mom has some beautiful knock out roses along with other flowers. 

Joan didn't walk today as she went garage saleing.  When we got to her house Kabur came out from under a camper to join us but we no longer let him come.

Ever since his stroke he struggles to keep up but insists on walking in front of us and weaves back and forth and we try not to run into him. Mark was willing to hold him back while the 3 of us girls got a head start. We cut the walk short. Mom and I didn't get to the Berean office until close to 9:00 am and when we arrived the mail had already been opened. We still found plenty to do to keep us all busy.

We stopped at the Hanna City post office on the way home to drop off the Bibles. Mark had both Mackenson and Berlica weed whacking paddocks with him this afternoon. They got a lot done.

We had just sat down for supper when I got a notice that the campsite rented for tonight through hipcamp. Mark and I ran up to the barn, me to move the motorhome over as we wanted them to drive through the barn and Mark had some diesel fuel he wanted put away. The picnic table was moved inside as we are expecting storms tonight.

Berlica and Mike decided to take Irish and Sally out on the trails. This is the first year Irish has not had a foal by her side in 4 years and she hasn't been ridden for 2 years so it was time to get her going back under saddle. She and Sally were taken over to the cabin field for tacking up.

Below Mika, Dancer and Blueberry stood watching.

Mike decided to get on her first just in case she thought of bucking.

She did better than expected when Berlica mounted up, standing quietly while waiting for Mike to get up on Sally.

Rosaleigh wasn't happy when Irish left the paddock and was waiting at the gate for me to take her over too.

When I didn't she showed her displeasure by running and bucking.

She is a gorgeous mare, I took a few pictures and placed them on the website. Below is just a short part of their trail ride. Since I didn't have the phone I had to carry the heavy camera and it was just too bouncy to hold it very steady.

After the trail ride Berlica and I went back on the trails to find the whip and a lead rope I lost while bouncing around following them. We came across a painted turtle laying her eggs over by where Mark splits the wood.

When I came up the dam hill I saw Joan's, Diane's Rachel's and Karin's vehicles all parked at mom's and that means they were in playing games.  It really is great living out here with extended family. There is always someone around to play with.

They got done with the trails at the very same time our campers arrived. They came in with a HUGE motorhome pulling a jeep. As we have storms predicted tonight I told them they could park inside the indoor and they were glad to do that. They brought along one grandson and 2 yellow labs.

As we are expecting storms tonight they decided to turn their rig around tonight and then park in the indoor ready to pull out in the morning.  I took Berlica home on the golf cart and when I reached the playground saw the 2 geese familes up grazing by the playground. 

There are 11 goslings between the 2 families and they seem to blend well together. All 4 of the parents keep watch over the goslings.

We have been hearing rumbles of thunder this evening and the rain started a few minutes ago. Hope we get a decent amount and then stops as the farmer is coming tomorrow to cut the hay. 

Titus

 The coffee maker worked exactly as promised. A good strong hot cup of coffee was ready as soon as I got up. Sure am thankful for that. The 2 mares were put out in the outdoor arena before 7:00 am. I stopped in at the barn to grab some of the food that was left there yesterday as our fridge here at the house is working well. I'm really thankful for that. David shared a couple pictures of Israel's team win yesterday. They won first place in the silver division.

On the walk we discussed the Thoroughbred mares at Middle Grove and finally made the decision to call Hoerr vet clinic and get an appointment to get those 3 mares sonagrammed. They have been out with Titus since March and we just discovered Titus has been acting like a stallion. If they are pregnant we know Titus did the deed and we will sell him as a stallion. If they are all open we will go ahead with the gelding June 10th. The vet clinic gave us an 8:30 am appointment on Wednesday so right after the walk we left for Middle Grove with the stock trailer to pick up the mares. The horses were not hanging out where they usually do but were up over the next hill. It wasn't hard to halter and load the first two mares but the 3rd mare followed the Friesian mares and took off. Mike walked up to Blueberry  and haltered her. When I took her lead rope to start leading her down to the round pen my phone fell out of my pocket and that quick one of the mares stepped on it. It is damaged so bad that it cannot be opened. I took pictures while out there but no way to get them off. We got the mares home, Blueberry was taken over to the cabin field to hang out with Dancer and Mika while the 3 Thoroughbred mares were put in the paddock next to Valiant. None of them are interested in him at all. I brought the camera out. Below are the 3 mares. 

Irish was watching the unloading.

Berlica was helping Mark by mowing the breeding shed paddock this afternoon.

I left for Meister's to see if they might have an extra phone there to borrow until I could get a new one but there wasn't. Phil ordered a new phone and that will be here in 2 days. He will also help get all the contacts moved over (I hope). When I got home Mark was home from an estimate. He and Mackenson finished cleaning up the side of the garage. 

After lunch I went over to mom's. Diane, Joan, Rachel and Karin were playing Carbols out on the deck. Mom was visiting with Aunt Jinnie on the phone. Sarah, Stephanie and Anna had brought their families for swimming. The kids were all the way across the lake jumping off Rachel and David's high dive. Below they are swimming across the lake coming back.

Stephanie was giving canoe rides to the little ones. By the time they all got back to the beach they were more than ready for lunch.

I needed to leave then as Berlica came in to say Mark's small Kubota was stuck in the field. I took Mark on the golf cart to go rescue that. As we were pulling up in the golf cart, Anna pulled up to clean the apartment with Kensley and Taegan.

The Kubota was past the outdoor arena but started right up. Mark drove it back to the barn.

Mark wanted to use the skid steer to flatten the hill in the short shelter and needed Titus moved.

Titus was taken into a stall, groomed and given some grain. He really is beautiful.

He was such a good boy for grooming. He was taken out to the outdoor arena so new pictures could be taken for the website as we are going to sell him. Check out that movement below, all 4 hooves off the ground.

This colt has a thick long tail and lots of feather around his hooves.

Check out that mane in the picture below. It really is thick and long for such a young colt. He is only 22 months old.

To see the rest of the pictures click HERE.

He was a good boy leading back to the paddock. I'm using a stallion chain right now and also am carrying a whip to remind him not to walk past me. He is stopping when I stop and backing when I back. 

Mark grilled hamburgers for supper tonight then after supper we moved the 4th camper over to Joan's house. 

Broken Phone

 We went to Middle Grove to pick up 4 Thoroughbred mares and while haltering one my phone slipped out of my pocket and just like that a mare stepped on it. The phone is ringing and sending text messages but will not open so I can answer or read the messages. I've ordered a new phone but it won't be here for 2 days. If you NEED to reach me you can through Facebook messaging, or call Mark 309-208-4956 and he will let me call you back on his phone.

Cousin Company

 I woke up before 4:00 am and would not allow myself to get out of bed as I really wanted to see if the coffee maker would work as programed. Of course the clock was checked at 4:18 am 4:24 am 4:38 am 4:49 and and then I fell asleep and didn't wake until almost 6:00 am. The coffee WAS made and was hot and delicious.  Glad that worked but unfortunately the fridge wasn't cooling. as soon as a couple cups of coffee was downed the fridge and freezer was emptied and turned off. Mark left for a walk and by the time he was home the fridge was cleaned out and being put back together. I had him turn off the breaker to the fridge then take the food over to the barn fridge and freeze. Then it was time to get the 10 pounds of chicken cut up, drizzled with olive oil then covered with parmesan cheese. Mark took that over to the barn fridge while I was cutting up the peppers and onions. Those also were drizzled with olive oil and covered with parmesan and taken over to the barn fridge. After all that was done I had 20 minutes to get ready for church. Kathy and Randy brought Nancy and she was so glad to see us. Joan brought mom. Tim Roecker had the morning message click HERE to listen to that. Gregg Rumbold had the afternoon message, click HERE to watch that.  After church Mark helped take the stock trailer off of the truck and put on the 2 inch drop to pick up the Mini Max from Joan's and bring that over here as we had someone wanting to come see that. About that time Rachel and Dave showed up to get a couple loads of old well composted horse manure. Just then Mike brought Mike and Joyce Meister over on the horses. Berlica was on Sally who was raring to go. Mike Meister rode Dancer, Joyce rode Missy and Mike was on Mika. 

Then went down on the trails after trying the horses out in the outdoor arena. At one point a wild turkey flew up right by Missy, the horses jumped but none of the spooked and took off. That was after they had crossed the creek so no video of that. They all came back safely.

Below is a video of almost the entire ride.

I left then to get supper started over at the barn. Mark did the grilling while I made the salad and set the table. Dinner was delicious and well received. Not much was left after everyone ate.

Poor Zeke was crying because he wanted ice cream before he ate his chicken and his mom said NO.

He didn't cry very long, ate his chicken and enjoyed the ice cream and crumb cake for dessert. We all left for the beach then. Taegan's first cast she caught a bass but it got off and the next cast she pulled in this nice big bass. 

We took a video of her letting it go. That will be posted later. Below are a few pictures of fun on the beach.

Brian and Rebekah's brought their family as did Anni and Matt so there were a lot of kids playing in the water. Brian took Jordan fishing while Lee took Zeke for a boat ride.

The sun was bright and the water perfect. The beach got crowded and I needed to get out of the sun so took the golf cart up to watch the volley ball players for a while. They were finishing up with the games. The ladies were enjoying visiting.

Dexter climbed up on the golf cart and wanted to drive.

I took him for a ride before heading to the barn to bring back some of the leftovers from tonight. Hopefully the videos taken at the beach can be rendered tomorrow but if you would like to see the rest of the pictures from today click HERE. Mark is wanting to buy a new fridge but I asked him to give this one at least a week. It seems to be cooling well now so we will see if that continues. 

Anticipation

 At 7:00 am the mares were put out then Titus walked to the round pen for pictures and a short video. He did very well leading and really didn't do anything wrong both leading to the round pen then hours later leading back to the paddock. Below are a few pictures of him. He is 22 months old and really is beautiful, tall and has good movement. His mane is thick and long. He should end up with a mane like his sire Evan.

From there I was going to clean the bullet proof windows at the barn when Ruth arrived so instead went for a walk with her.  We just did one round. I really did have a lot to do this morning before going over to mom's. The bird feeder was busy at mom's today, lots of finches, gold finches and house finches were enjoying the black oil sunflower seeds. 

Aunt Jinnie called to read to mom so I ran over to the barn then and washed those 2 windows.  When Karin got home the horses were put away. I had just finished bringing lunch over when Braelyn arrived. The rest of  her family were in Bloomington at a basketball tournament so Braelyn walked over from her house to ours. We were glad to see her. I needed Mark's help to move 2 round bales into the middle paddock. Someone had to keep the horses from running out while the bale is being moved in.

As soon as the second bale was put in, Lily's colt came up first to start eating it.

Missy was taken over to the cabin field to be with Dancer and Mika as the 3 of them are going out on a trail ride tomorrow.  At 2:00 pm I met the lady who rented the barn for June 20th-22nd for a girls retreat. The lady in charge brought her family with her and they all loved the barn. The family would like to be here for the retreat so I gave them all a golf cart ride over to see the other airbnbs. They loved the cowboy cabin and decided to book that but when she tried to book it found out those dates were not available. Diane already had that rented. Instead she booked the foaling apartment. They were also shown the trails and they were pretty excited about those too. One thing they would like to do is have the girls do a service project for someone in need and asked if I knew of anyone or anything that needs to be done. There are 15 girls coming plus counselors, cooks and helpers.

At 4:30 Braelyn, Mark and I left for the Bartonville diner. When we pulled up there was a fancy purple car in the parking lot.

I was surprised that who ever owns that car would eat here in Bartonville, why they should be able to afford a real fancy place like Gils Supper club in Hanna City.
Mark and I shared a senior dinner while Braelyn chose to order a breakfast. Below is after all the plates are completely empty. It was so good we ate it all. 

The bill came to $20.00 for the 3 of us IF we were paying with cash or $21.04 if paying with a credit cart. Next time I'll bring cash. Braelyn was dropped off at home as her family had made it home. This evening the Keurig coffee machine was finally replaced. It never really worked right. From the very beginning we could not get a full pot of coffee so I bought the reusable k-cups and sometimes that works and sometimes it will over fill the cup so bad we have to keep a second cup ready to put under. We can manage that but every time we lose electricity we would need to reset it and that is so confusing that I would need to watch a youtube video each time. Tonight I gave up and brought a coffee maker over from the barn. I had purchased 2 brand new ones for the barn but had only ever used the 1. If I end up needing 2 there I can always bring this one from home. It is now loaded and programed to have a hot pot of good strong coffee ready for us by 5:00 am. Almost makes me want to go to bed now so morning comes quickly. The anticipation already has my mind humming. I'm not addicted, nope not at ALL.