Haying time

It's haying time here, and not a moment too soon. I am personally tired of tromping through three feet of grass to get anywhere on our neighbors farm. (that's where I walk). It also makes it difficult to run away from the cows and donkeys. Our farm isn't going to be cut for two weeks. We are kind of at the mercy of the hay cutters, we get got to when they can get to us! So, at least I can walk somewhere!

A NEW LOOK!

In an effort to personalize my blog and make it prettier, I've changed a few things! I'm still "horse light"!

Retraction

Carrie heads for the road

Well, the new dog has something to say about her "Lady"name. She doesn't like it. Especially when she's trotting out into the road. She prefers the nice smooth road to the tall grass in the hay field, the pollen gets in her throat and makes her choke. In order to be as safe as possible, as soon as possible, she remains Carrie. So much for letting her loose now, too. She will remain on leash for a while while she's close to the road.
One other caviat about her name...it was my grandmother's first name. She hated it, and always went by her middle name-Florence. She was a very dignified person....never granny, nanna, even grandma, but must always be addressed as Grandmother. It's who she was. So, when I asked why she never went by Carrie(which I liked better) she said in a huff, "uhhh!I hate it!" So names are very personal, and sometimes are chosen by the addressee. So be it. "Carrie".

Already thinking the name change is maybe not going to work. On our little walk to see what Bud was doing on the tractor today, she ran into the road

New Name

Lady hiding in grass


Lady "gone" in grass


Lady enjoying her walk/run


Lady comes when called. She acts like she knows her name.

Name change! I think I'm going to call her by a great old standby; old fashioned farm dog name-"Lady". It suits her. She is fastidiously well mannered, looks hopeful when I carry food to where I'm going to eat, but lays down away from the table, doesn't hover panting into my plate. She will walk to the door and look at me, doesn't whine. Oh, she barked at Bud when he drove up in the truck. Two woofs, YES! One reason I wanted her was that she would hopefully bark when someone drives up. I don't know why, maybe the wind blows sounds away from me , but I sometimes don't know someone is here until they walk around the corner and scare the shadow off of me. So she's my little doorbell.
We took a walk to almost the top of the hill. I thought I'd not chance it with the donkeys up there. They are coyote chasing donkeys, I've seen them do it, but I haven't seen them catch one. I didn't want to take a chance that they'd try to run her down. She had a blast, running into the tall grass and playing hide and sek.

Sweet Roses and baths

A couple days ago, I finally had enough dry weather to turn the two mares out together. They run and chase so much, I was afraid to leave them out if one got hurt. It did them good, now they are used to the other in their field. This was taken after their bath. Ellie hogged the hose, when I turned it on her Mom, she walked in front of it to get more cold water on herself, over and over. Then the required dirt bath.


The iris (and daylily) garden in full bloom in spite of lack of complete weeding.


This is a really good representation of the 7 rose bushes I put out last week! Aren't they pretty?


As you can see, the deer love everything, including sweet roses. These have been trimmed by sweet gentle lips of the deer that walk across our property often. Are daffodils really the only flower they won't eat?

Settling In

Our new precious pup, aka Carrie Underwood, (name change may be forthcoming) finds the backyard very interesting, as I cringe while she explores the wildflowers. Read tromp, tromp in a very delicate way.



She finds the liriope. Oh, no!


Oh, yes!


Yes, yes, yes!

Precious pup

Carrie Underwood has come to live with us! Finally! She was allowed to dry up from the litter of pups she weaned, and then was spayed. She is just the dog I thought she would be. Sweet, quiet, easy on the eyes, and a good traveler. I sure hope the cats will accept her. We need to cut kittie claws before we introduce them. I observed her with the foster home's cats and she didn't pay any attention to them. All of her pups found homes, and they were just as quiet and sweet as she is. Now comes tomorrows test, when she meets the barn cat and the horses. When I think of a farm dog, it's always an old time collie I think of. They don't run off like hunting dogs, they give a good bark for stranger warnings, and they don't chase and kill cats, like JRTs. All in all, loyal, and good companions.

Unrepentant

The Culprit-Leader of the Rebellion


The follower-unrepentant and an innocent bystander.

Everyone is back to the farm, if not in the pasture with the broken fence. The lush, beautiful pasture with knee high grass. What if anything, compelled them to escape this utopia to an uncertain future? The evidence points to the gray, his legs scratched from hock to fetlock as the test pilot. The one who went through first, he is now relegated to the stall, bandaged from top to bottom. Bear, however, has no more scratches than he did yesterday, obtained from a good roll on lush but sneaky rocky soil. He looks at me with no regret, rolling around in his mind the wonderful adventure of the night before. He's not telling.

Precious Lord

It's the start of a brand new day, beautiful, full of sunshine, clean air, and prayer. My trainer called to say that Bear and a buddy got out of their field last night and were found this morning at another farm. They are both ok, pending a final check, but no scrapes on mine, and he's walking sound. I guess he'll have a tale to tell his buddies when he gets back. I was just thinking Saturday he'd benefit from some short trailer rides. Be careful what you think! So, actually, it may be one of those benefits that God arranges. Thank You, Lord, for everything!
More news tonight.

The Kingbird

A handsome fellow, the kingbird, dressed formally.


He poses for a profile.
Our neighbor doesn't like the kingbird, calls them bee-catchers. They're called the kingbird because they rule the sky.You can see them chasing other big birds around. We see them often around here.

The Watchers

No matter what time of day, the watchers know when we put hay out, and they line up on the fence to observe the action. I don't dare reward them with any, or they may decide to jump the fence and get their own! Oh, yes, they can really jump, and have gotten into our fields before. The donkeys are really funny, there are two of them, and one will be grazing some distance away, when he'll let out bray after bray, after bray and run as fast as he can to the other. I wonder what that is about, it seems to be a game! I've never caught him on camera doing it.

First Day

"Doc"
Today I split my blogs from the art I create to the farm I run, and all of the little things that happen. I admit it is not a lot, but there are lessons that God teaches in the little things of life. Number one lesson, don't look up as you hang up the muck fork! And number two, certainly don't have your mouth open as you do it!!!! I try to have my camera with me always, but since it is clumsy, I can't carry it always. It still is fun to tell of them.
Doc, my ex-barrel-racing quarter horse is getting his one hour a day dose of tall grass. He "can't handle the truth!" that his system won't let him eat all of the grass he wants. He grass foundered a couple years ago, so he is on a diet to keep him healthy. Still, he looks a little fat, doesn't he?