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.....

Thursday thoughts...

Many of you know that my mother is terminally ill. Although I am infrequent in my blogging, hardly a day goes by that I don't think about it, but other things come up...and my priorities are rearranged. Life seems very fragile, emotional and somedays it is hard to think of putting a smile on my face......somedays I cry a lot. It is hard when someone asks how my mom is....awkward and hard for people to see my tears well up. Dying is a hard business for the patient, the family and the friends. Nothing comes easy, nobody wants to give up...it is easy to try and deny reality...but there are things you have to do, things you must say and breaths you must take. I am a "fixer"....and this is something I can't fix, can't mend, can't change......I hate it. There is nothing I wouldn't do to take it all away. The horse rescue business goes on.......horses are still taken care of, although my volunteers have taken on extra responsibilities and given me a lot of precious time with my mom. I thank them for their generosity and kindness and patience. I have days I am cranky, days I am tearful....and days I just don't want to talk....they take it all in stride...my volunteers, my friends. It has been so long since I wrote.....We have two new horses......Joey, a Quarterhorse gelding from the Enumclaw Auction kill yard and Derby (Kitty) from the Emerald Downs sale. Derby is currently residing at the Jones Farm until my life settles down. Joey has a pending adoption...he is a nice little horse who deserves a great life on a nice farm. We like him a lot. Derby (Kitty) is a big three year old TB filly......very beautiful and built like a tank. We were fortunate enough to have folks fundraise for us and Iris got her paddock filled with sand ...plus she got a full set of boots to protect her feet. So far she loves the sand and it drains nicely. Sand is very expensive but in this case so worth it. We are preparing for winter at the farms.......weekend chores keep us busy for a full day and then some. We moved the ever growing manure pile, spread sand, built bridges across our bio swale ditch, we are in the process of cementing the bridge ends so the timbers will stay in place, we cleaned the large paddocks, picked rocks, groomed all horses (bridle paths, banged tails, washed tails)....we cut some alder trees down from around the barn, patched some roof holes....still need to spread some gravel (does it ever end?)....still need some stall mats, still need to clean gutters on both barns, we changed all light bulbs to fluorescents to cut energy consumption down...we cleaned and re-designed the cat room (really nice job), broomed the cobwebs down.....in the midst of ordering hay....and we will order more sand for the short paddocks, plus put away some stall pellets....so we are busy as usual and always making a chore list. Thank God for the tractor...our best piece of equipment in the whole world! We have horses ready for adoption.......Lizzie is going nicely under saddle......thanks to her training by Cam Reeves and the courtesy lessons of Beth Anderson Ness and the courtesy riding of Sarah B....Sarah is riding and housing Lizzie to give her a lot of experience. Sarah reports Lizzie as bold on the trail and wanting to be the lead horse. Lizzie is a big girl of 16.2H....ready for you to ride dressage or trail...good manners, easy to handle....nice looking! Lizzie's teeth have been done, she is healthy and sound. No buck, no rear. We also have Baybee...a handsome Appy/Tb gelding, tall, well built......nice sport horse prospect! Raise him your way...healthy and sound, good weight, easy keeper! Call us or email us if you have interest or send someone our way..... Come and join us for our Wine and Dine Fundraiser on October 22nd, Gig Harbor Golf and County Club in Gig Harbor, WA at 6pm. Tickets are 28 dollars each or 50 dollars for two......prepaid in advance via paypal or check. Paypal to Rosemary@ponyuprescue.com or mail checks to PO BOX 1023, Olalla,WA 98359. Lots of great auction items.......yummy dinner and good folks! Come and join us. Pony Up fortune for today.......... Say it outloud or no one knows you said it at all.

Thursday thoughts

Many of you know that my mother is terminally ill. Although I am infrequent in my blogging, hardly a day goes by that I don't think about it, but other things come up...and my priorities are rearranged. Life seems very fragile, emotional and somedays it is hard to think of putting a smile on my face......somedays I cry a lot. It is hard when someone asks how my mom is....awkward and hard for people to see my tears well up. Dying is a hard business for the patient, the family and the friends. Nothing comes easy, nobody wants to give up...it is easy to try and deny reality...but there are things you have to do, things you must say and breaths you must take. I am a "fixer"....and this is something I can't fix, can't mend, can't change......I hate it. There is nothing I wouldn't do to take it all away.

The horse rescue business goes on.......horses are still taken care of, although my volunteers have taken on extra responsibilities and given me a lot of precious time with my mom. I thank them for their generosity and kindness and patience. I have days I am cranky, days I am tearful....and days I just don't want to talk....they take it all in stride...my volunteers, my friends.

It has been so long since I wrote.....We have two new horses......Joey, a Quarterhorse gelding from the Enumclaw Auction kill yard and Derby (Kitty) from the Emerald Downs sale. Derby is currently residing at the Jones Farm until my life settles down. Joey has a pending adoption...he is a nice little horse who deserves a great life on a nice farm. We like him a lot. Derby (Kitty) is a big three year old TB filly......very beautiful and built like a tank.

We were fortunate enough to have folks fundraise for us and Iris got her paddock filled with sand ...plus she got a full set of boots to protect her feet. So far she loves the sand and it drains nicely. Sand is very expensive but in this case so worth it.

We are preparing for winter at the farms.......weekend chores keep us busy for a full day and then some. We moved the ever growing manure pile, spread sand, built bridges across our bio swale ditch, we are in the process of cementing the bridge ends so the timbers will stay in place, we cleaned the large paddocks, picked rocks, groomed all horses (bridle paths, banged tails, washed tails)....we cut some alder trees down from around the barn, patched some roof holes....still need to spread some gravel (does it ever end?)....still need some stall mats, still need to clean gutters on both barns, we changed all light bulbs to fluorescents to cut energy consumption down...we cleaned and re-designed the cat room (really nice job), broomed the cobwebs down.....in the midst of ordering hay....and we will order more sand for the short paddocks, plus put away some stall pellets....so we are busy as usual and always making a chore list. Thank God for the tractor...our best piece of equipment in the whole world!

We have horses ready for adoption.......Lizzie is going nicely under saddle......thanks to her training by Cam Reeves and the courtesy lessons of Beth Anderson Ness and the courtesy riding of Sarah B....Sarah is riding and housing Lizzie to give her a lot of experience. Sarah reports Lizzie as bold on the trail and wanting to be the lead horse. Lizzie is a big girl of 16.2H....ready for you to ride dressage or trail...good manners, easy to handle....nice looking! Lizzie's teeth have been done, she is healthy and sound. No buck, no rear.
We also have Baybee...a handsome Appy/Tb gelding, tall, well built......nice sport horse prospect! Raise him your way...healthy and sound, good weight, easy keeper!
Call us or email us if you have interest or send someone our way.....

Come and join us for our Wine and Dine Fundraiser on October 22nd, Gig Harbor Golf and County Club in Gig Harbor, WA at 6pm. Tickets are 28 dollars each or 50 dollars for two......prepaid in advance via paypal or check. Paypal to Rosemary@ponyuprescue.com or mail checks to PO BOX 1023, Olalla,WA 98359. Lots of great auction items.......yummy dinner and good folks! Come and join us.


Pony Up fortune for today..........
Say it outloud or no one knows you said it at all.