Thursday and we definitely have fall

Busy times for all of us...preparing for our Pony UP Wine and Dine fall fundraiser dinner and auction. I am fortunate to have some very good gals who have organized and put our event together. My life has been too hectic and I needed help...and they stepped up. I love our volunteers....big hearts...huge smiles and the enthusiasm to jump right in. For all of you who will be attending, I think you will be delighted when you join us on Saturday night.....great auction items, great food and LOTS of Pony Up friends and sponsors! Dress up like a cowboy to follow the evening's theme!

We have been busy trying to get ready for winter like we always do...and it always seems we are never quite done! We got sand spread, our bridges cemented, fencing put up...mats moved..water tanks moved....we are more ready than not ready at this point, but as I always say..the list never stops. Horses are a lot of work...and maintenance....plus did I mention the propensity to be destructive? chewing, kicking, digging, rubbing, ...I have put an electric strand of fencing up two to three times this week.....and now we have a community horse fence post whereby they meet and do some mutual chewing, pushing......the post is gnawed and loose....who knew there was such cheap entertainment to be had in the pasture?

We have some bigger projects to work on still....cementing the aisleway in the barn...it gets wet, slippery and is uneven because the barn rats made tunnels under it and pushed it up in areas....darn rats. Where do they come from? Just out of the woodwork and voila......we have a large rat population. Oh and did I mention the barn cats are simply not interested in a rat? Nope...squirrels..yes....rats NO. We must feed them too well.

My mother sends her love and thanks to the Pony Up Volunteers..your kindness and generosity is so appreciated by us.

I am at home....sick today......cold/flu/temperature....but on the bright side, it gave me time to update the blog.

Kitty comes home to the farm soon...our newest resident.,.her picture above.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Often times too good to be true....

It's Sunday, fall has come

I think I can officially say fall has fallen. October and we have cool nights..and today the added bonus of RAIN. I can't say I was ready for the rain. I told someone today that I have worked all summer to prepare for fall....and now it is here and oh gosh, I am still not ready. It is supposed to rain all week. I guess the up side to that is that I will see how most of our anti-water projects will work...or what else we need to do to discourage water and mud.

Saturday we finished cemented the bridges into place, we cleaned the large paddocks, scrubbed water tubs, cleaned the chicken coop, moved mats back into place in the short paddocks, moved some hogsfuel onto semi muddy trails.....some horses got hoof trims, we had to fix a flat on the tractor and we moved hay from the storage shed into the main barn. So much work and that list that I keep talking about...well, it is always growing. Horses are a lot of work....and them moment you dont' keep up, you are behind....way behind.....so we work like dogs on the weekend.

Iris had a friend (Jaime) who bought her a new blanket for winter and she said she got it so cheap that she bought one for Baybee too. We are lucky to have such friends.....This is our first winter of keeping Iris and Baybee...so we didn't have existing blankets for them. The rest of the herd will get hand me downs..and we will begin the sorting process soon.

We have a potential adoptive home for Joey..a very nice lady who has come twice to visit him. She brought treats and groomed him, loved on him and she will be a fine home. We are merely waiting on an assessment ride to see how experienced a rider Joey needs or doesn't need. Keep your fingers crossed.

Our upcoming fundraiser/auction dinner is going to be so fun! If you haven't bought tickets yet.....do it now, before there aren't any! There are so many GREAT auction items...and I do mean great!...airplane flight for two to the San Juans with lunch at a harborside restaurant.....hot air balloon ride, original art, jewelry, veterinary certificates, riding lessons.......someone for the horse lover to the non horse lover (ok..there aren't any of those, are there?) If you want to buy tickets....paypal to Rosemary@ponyuprescue.com or snail mail to PO BOX 1023, Olalla, WA 98359

Our want/need list for winter is long.....
hay..we feed local hay to pony, timothy/orchard to the rest, or alf/grass mix
sand for paddocks/arena (arena is used for turn out)We need 8 dumptruck loads
sand clear (large buckets...we feed one week per month now)
cement (we need to cement barn aisleway...mats are slippery and uneven)
Senior grain
vitamins
hoof supplement
gravel for driveway and access areas
lumber/tin/4x4 posts for paddock roof (and strong workpersons to help put it up)
training ( upcoming for Okalani, Baybee)
dentals (Okalani, Joey, Church, Iris)

We feel very fortunate for the support we receive.....we are thankful to Traumhof (www.traumhofdressage.com), Dr Mike Alberts, Dr. Julie Page, Dr. Maci Paden, my volunteers, Cenex, Strohs, Jim Ward, The Jones Farm, Cam and Carrie Reeves (training), Beth Anderson Ness (http://starrvalleyfarm.com) (lessons for Lizzie), Meghan Markham (http://www.mmdressage.com)(lessons and showing Max). We cannot do what we do without supporters, donations, volunteers.....thank you all.

Life is interesting...curves, straight shots, switchbacks.....you learn many things along the way...patience, tolerance, backbone, courage, ..sometimes you have to think about what it is that you have learned...sometimes it hits you smack in the forehead....our most important lesson is loving each other......

Kiss like you mean it, hug hard, say it often, say it softly.......say it loudly....

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

It is not where you thought you left it.....