Wine on Wednesday

Home for a bit after a long day.. still more chores to do tonight prior to dark....emails to answer, dogs to feed, clothes to wash...the list never stops...and this is not even the farm list.

I am thankful for my volunteers who have lightened my load this week as my mom had surgery today. It is a relief to have extra hands...thank you! My mom came through the surgery, got out of the recovery room and is resting...pretty comfortable and pain free right now due to a strong cocktail of painkillers.

A while today to reflect on what we do and why we do it...... somedays everything is so worth it and somedays we think we are hardly making a difference..somedays are tiring and trying.....somedays everything is easy. I always try to remind myself that what we do is worth it to every horse that comes through our door......can we help every horse? No...and that itself is a sad fact...but we help who we can, when we can to the best of our ability and lots of horses are the better for it. My volunteers can pat themselves on the back for the horses that are in new loving homes and perhaps competing in local competitions....or some are just pasture pets in beautiful scenic pastures enjoying a great life beyond what they had. and that is what makes it worthwhile.

Hmm...so far we have had 87 hours (according to the news) of summer here....and today is a testimony to it......gray, overcast, drizzle......hey..knock it off...we want dust and flies and brown grass!

Okalani has settled in, had her feet trimmed, been preg checked (she is NOT pregnant) and we like her a lot. She is very pretty, well built, good disposition and so far no trouble....no mare drama either! I love a mare with no drama. She will rest a little, finish her quarantine and then get back to work. She should be a beautiful dressage horse or hunter.... We have taken to calling her Lilly...

We still have a chore list a mile long....gravel to get...more fencing to put in..*how does that work? we are ALWAYS doing fencing......well, we are always improving it or moving it. We got hay put in the new shed and we realized we had not given the hay truck enough room to make a good turn...so out comes a post and we move a small stretch of fence. Not a big deal. We have ROCKS to pick...a bumper crop this year. The horses are using their new bridges and we actually widened a couple of them ...let's just say that Cyrus likes to go over his bridge at about 90 mph...and I was worried..so we widened them.

Iris, it seems, has her own fan club on Facebook.......but also recently seemed to pick up someone who made some threats towards her. WTH you say? We agree........who threatens a blind horse? Anyway, we have made some security changes to ensure Iris' safety...and Iris is currently safe and sound...although on a diet! Iris likes to eat...and she will just keep eating and eating.

Our Pony Up list of needs for the next few months....

Grass hay
gravel (pea gravel for ingress/egress of bridges)
a blanket small enough for Iris...about a 75/76
rice bran
salt licks
two stall mats (for outside of Iris' stall to prevent mud)
joint supplement for Jones and Yukon
4x4 top rails for fencing
fly predators
Iris dental funds
Okalani dental funds

We also would like to sell our horse trailer or maybe trade up for a three horse...must be tall 7'6" at least, extra wide, prefer goose neck, but will consider bumper pull. Our trailer is in good shape, slant load, 7'6" tall, extra wide, 2 horse, Thurobuilt, 2006, tack room in front. email if interested in trade or sale?

Enjoy your week.....

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

If change is what you wish, be the change you wish for.

Silence on Sunday

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us....we have been working! We got our swale done, our bridges built and the cross fencing put in.......let the water come! Only one small injury when I dropped a railroad tie on my foot and squashed it.....my foot is still swollen but I am walking and working.

I am happy to announce that Blue has been adopted by a wonderful family near Edmonds....Sabrina and girls! We are very happy for Blue...he has been a horse who is often overlooked. This is a fabulous home with very nice people!

The weasel is still living in the barn. I love him and his little face! He is a voracious hunter of rats, birds, mice and ...mmm......rabbits! I had no idea they ate rabbits..but apparently he does because he was chasing one down in the pasture....we diverted him for the sake of the rabbit...but I don't know what happened after we left. I guess weasels have to eat too...I just don't want to see it.

We also brought home a new mare from the kill pen....picked her up Saturday. A Thoroughbred mare, seven years old, bay of course.....very pretty *aren't they all?..she looks a little pregnant to me, so we will have her checked......maybe not but maybe so.....but anything is possible. Her name is Okalani.......we are working on a barn name for her.

We are ready to buy hay again.....gosh we go through a lot of hay. Ready to buy gravel again.....but not ready for this fall weather we are having...enough is enough...we have mud again after this week. I hate it.

The farm looks lovely with everything in bloom.....we have currants, raspberries and lots of flowers..
The eagle has given us a reprieve and we have not lost any chickens for a week...perhaps the salmon runs are starting to come in and he will leave us alone for a long time.

I wanted to commend everyone for the great work on saving the remaining kill pen horses this week. It was looking very dismal and through Facebook friends...we got them all saved...some very generous donors and generous home offers ...what a great bunch of folks.

There are about 15 horses/ponies being held by Pierce County.......they need to get adopted quickly....if you can spread the word..or adopt, please do so quickly........things have turned from bad to worse and these horses and ponies need homes....lots of ponies! Here is the link.....remember they need to get adopted quickly! http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/​abtus/ourorg/aud/animalservice​s.htm

Enjoy your week.....thank you for all of your support and kind words! We can't do it without our friends!

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

You will finally know.

Working on Wednesday

Finally......July 4th is over. I hate July 4th.....animals lost, confused, dazed, people's houses burned down, kids injured......it makes no sense. Trying to watch two barns during the "festivities" about made me crazy......thank God for Ace (not for me, lol)...I am almost six feet tall but no match for a 1500 lb Thoroughbred who is having major anxiety. He alternately wants to be with you or be running the fence....and you must be quick to get out of his way. Anyway, we survived again...and I can only hope that fireworks are outlawed in this county next year. Too many people who don't know when to say when (two days before, three days after...up until three in the morning) or who have to have the illegal reservation fireworks...talking 1/4 sticks of dynamite.Funny because no one wants you to drink and drive, but apparently it is okay to drink and set off fireworks....in dry, hot weather, in residential neighborhoods....go figure....not to mention the folks who neglect to lock up their dogs or cats and then wonder why they ran off. IQ testing ...seriously.,,,you mean your dog was upset over 1/4 sticks of dynamite going off?

Last weekend, we got a lot of things done around the farms....weed eating, fence building, ditch digging, bridge building, paddock cleaning...we are making a bio swale to deal with our drainage problems at the Pony Up barn, complete with crossing bridges for the horses to use in order to get down to the lower pastures. On Sunday, I dropped a railroad tie on my foot.....and squashed it....very swollen, purple and sore.
We built a fence between Iris and Blue..worked just great until Blue knocked it over with his big fat butt.....a convenient scratching post that he cannot resist. We don't have hot wire on it because of Iris....but I may have to put some on HIS side, although it defeats the purpose of them being able to touch and groom each other other the top......back to the drawing board.

We have a weasel in the barn.......I love weasels. I watched him for a long while as he was investigating rat holes in the barn..he was very curious about me and not very afraid. This is the "borrowed" barn and there are no chickens.....so Mr. Weasel is welcome.

Thank you Debi C. for your recent donation...your money is used for putting shoes on Lizzy. Lizzy was getting a big crack in her front hoof and shoes were necessary. Her feet look great!

The weather is suddenly hot and gorgeous......I am loving it! The garden loves it too and finally everything is blooming.

Iris had three young girls come and groom her this last weekend.....they braided her mane, brushed the bird poop off of her and then worked on Jones...who also appreciated the attention.

This weekend we will work on finishing the swale, spread some dirt around, groom the arena, release the fly predators, plan some activities for fund raising and find more hay. We got hay last weekend but it wasn't enough...we need more....we are feeding a small army and when the weather changes again, we will resume feeding the pony down the road....who is fat and sassy right now on his grass paddock...but anyway it will be an extra mouth to feed.

Thankful as always to my group of volunteers....Brenda, Rebecca, Susy, Jen, Ryan and Sarah....

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Forgiveness is over rated in this matter.......