Make me smile Monday

I am not just another pretty face

I work

Moving horses and stuff

without me they would never find their way

but it is hot work , being so handsome AND smart

So I have to cool down where I can

 feels sooo good

Stay safe everyone.

With Love  from Winston

Gonna be a wild Westie & Benadryl Weekend!

And then some !

I am babysitting/dogsitting Mac, my sister and brother in law's West Highland White  terrier  for the weekend . And also the neighbor up the road is away and asked me to  keep an eye on things and  feed her critters. No sweat  right?

(OK Winston , here is the plan ) 

 (we will lay low till she is not looking)

 (Scoping out the  options) 

 (Busted by Skeeter! "Mom, Mac is trying to  make a break for it !!!) 

 ("Who me?? In the white fur coat?")

( "Wouldn't  dream of it ")

Actually Mac has been very good, anyone who knows terrors    I mean terriers, knows they  can have a streak of well defiance. But with the A Team of Winston and Skeeter hanging out and playing Mac is able to be off leash for  quite a while and really run and play . (the pocket full of cookies I am armed with  probably does not hurt)

So that is going OK, on to the other job, I am caring for 23  pot bellied piglets, 2 geese and, well a bunch of chickens. 

It would be wrong to say I hate chickens and pigs , because I don't hate them , but if I am to be truly honest,how do I like  my pork and poultry?? Well done thanks! 

I realize pot bellied pigs are a pet, but you get my point . Anyhow , I did take a picture of the piggies, there were two wrestling , but I missed that shot , they are kind of cute  I guess. 

The chickens, well first of all I am allergic to  feathers and grain dust, so between the birds, and the laying mash , I may be a while before I lose this nasal  tone in my voice . Also when I was in the chicken house , there were several overhead in roosts , and dang ! that creeps me out ! Meanwhile the geese were in the next pen hissing at me !Yeesh! 

But this is the neighbor ,who very often steps in and watches the dogs  for me and the horses, she is sweet and kind , and I would never turn her down , she deserves a break too. 

And for my efforts , any eggs I gather this weekend are mine, and I am allowed to raid the pea  patch!!!!Not sure she has thought this through, or she doesn't know just how much I like fresh garden peas! 

Anyhow , between , my side jobs, and my own stuff, I am gonna be a busy gal this weekend! 

Stay safe everyone! 

So God made a farmer

Nuff said

Hooked on Harley

I can't help it

I 

 just 

 am

 totally 

 hooked 

 on

 this

 little 

 dude

Stay safe everyone, I will start making sense soon. Just standing in the sun all after noon with Harley was exactly what I needed today

Getting my Fix

Well I did not bring him home, but I finally did get to go see him ! 

he is doing well, after a "hillbilly moment or  several when he first got there. 

New place,new handlers  , several other stallions and being stalled conspired to temporarily turn my "fire bird" into a fire breathing dragon. 

But they got hims settled and back to his own sweet self and he is working well.  

Getting lots of  work including turning back cattle for the cutting practices

(Fern Valley Phoenix)

Forgive the quality of photos and the general lack of them , but I did not take the camera just the cell phone .And we know how bad I am at indoor photography! 

Sweet boy  and a lovely dog, but I gotta say , 

Get your own horse  pooch , this one is mine! 

They are keeping him another month , trying a few things to see where his  talents best lie. Then once he comes home in the fall we will decide what the next year or so will bring . 

Meanwhile it was sure nice to see my blue eyed boy! I miss him 

Stay safe everyone 

There ain't no flies on me

 there ain't no flies on me 

 there ain't no flies on me

 there might be flies 

 on some of you guys

 but there ain't no flies on me!!!!!

Cactus here , modelling his new fly mask that arrived with 2 others , all the way from ARIZONA!! from my dear friend CutnJump  for the blogs , The Well Groomed Horse and Show in Style 

She made one for Cactus, one for Phoenix (the one with the beautiful sun on it ), and a spare . Phoenix is,as you know out for training , so I did not get his modeled, and I am thinking I might get Johnnie to try on the froggy one, after all he is already a prince! They are beautiful ,well made and  fit well, even Mr  jowly jowls Cactus  is comfortable in his! Thanks so much CNJ! I love them. And if anyone wondered where the Fridays for sale posts went, well this is  kind of one , look forward to more news in the future  about  custom masks, and...

Winston Wednesday

When your  pizza delivery guy is this good looking...

 It's hard

 to get mad

 if he forgets 

to bring the pizza

 into the house!

Actually an empty box, but he was so proud carrying it around I kinda had to  take his picture 

Stay safe everyone! 

Heating up

 Monday already! Wow , the weekends are flying by!

And it was a hot one ! Friday was hubbies birthday as I said, we did not go out that night though as he was in the midst of a , well we will call it a power struggle , with the local  beaver population. The have dammed  and blocked the culvert on the road out to  the cows so badly  that  with  the added rain last week the road became impassable . Not good, Yes you could get out there on a horse , or maybe a quad, but  salt blocks don't fit so well on a horse and the quad? well I am not sure it would not have gotten stuck eventually too. 

Martin was struggling away trying to unblock the culvert , and I talked with dad who reminded me that it is on a County road allowance . I called  the county office , with not much success,  then our  councilman (who is also a farmer)  and  uttered the  magic words "we cannot get to  our stock" Next thing we know we had a back hoe out to dig a trench to  get the water moving and  a whole lot of help ! Its not all fixed up yet , but certainly on the way . 

Saturday was spent,among other things , trying to stay cool. the temps soared to 30C and above  for the last 3 days peaking today at 34-feels like  37C ,which before you southern folks laugh at us  is 98 Fahrenheit and keep in mind we get to -40  here in the winter (-40C is -40 F) so fir us that IS STINKING HOT!

So we did  the only logical thing ...

We hauled out old faithful , our 300 gallon stock tank , scrubbed it out and filled it to make our  "Redneck  Dipping pool "

It was  snappy cold that first day in the water m,but dang! did it feel good !
I did move  Comet and Quinn out to some grass, the plan had been to geld them this weekend , but with the heat and a shortage of some supplies ,it has been postponed  to later this week .
Out for  supper with Martin Saturday night , then Sunday was a check cows,treat bull,make deviled eggs and punch,attend bridal shower and return to pool day ! A chilly 32 C yesterday !
Again today it was  in the 30's and because of all the  rain last week, not really a "dry heat" .I got home from work and went straight to the pool again !
Where I was met  by my "pool boy! lol
Serving the latest  of local wine maker Marc's  White Zinfandel

Why yes,I am a pampered princess! I thought about not posting this pic, but then I thought ,Oh what the heck,its not like you all haven't seen pics of me in Mexico in a swimsuit, and I hardly think anyone was  deluded into believing I  had the body of a supermodel under my chubby farm girl suit! Besides, look at the view from my pool! 

In case you were wondering , the ponies all have shade to get into , and the dogs? Well Winston has his own dipping pool that he uses , I just can't catch a picture of him in it ,and Skeeter, refuses to go into water , we tried and he  was totally offended!! "There is water in there and it GOT ON ME!!! " I swear he is more like a cat!

anyhow, that's where things are at here . Hope everyone  had a great weekend , stay safe ! 

Happy Birthday !

So today is my husband Martins birthday , also my honorary niece Cara. Now Cara  is 21  today , Martin?? is not  LOL . Add to that , Yesterday , my wonderful  nephew Brendan turned 19!
SO join me  would you in a rousing internet  chorus of HAPPY BIRTHDAY  TO YOU !!! I am always so happy to celebrate the birth of those folks I love so dearly!

You don't very often see Martin this relaxed , but when he does , he really does it right! 

 Cara, with Moms dog Autumn, Cara is a province away so we have to sing very loud , and let her know we miss her 

 Brendan last year at his graduation

 A shot of Brendan putting together one of those wonderful  dressers you buy,you know the ones ,where every single piece is separate and they say"some assembly required"  

So glad this guy has such skills ,puts them together in no time at all  

So without further ado....

So ,about that happy post ...

Well,of course this little  darlin never fails to make me smile

The last few days I have been working  with Comet and Quinn each day, haltering , leading , today we worked on grooming and , standing tied . They were a bit rusty after a long time of just growing up, and the winter, but overall not too much drama. Both took the grooming very well, Quinn looking quite elegant afterwards and Comet? well he has a little bit of a roguish look with his ,soft, fluffy white mane.

 Standing patiently,well sort of but standing and not pulling or fussing when he met the tension on the rope. Though Comet did  make an effort to untie himself 

 Mostly Comet seems to be wanting to please ,very good with pressure and release 

and he really doesn't seem to get rattled at all 

 Relaxing and deciding it isn't so bad 

 Elegant? I see I missed a spot , but gosh he is a pretty boy all cleaned up 

 Quinn is a big boy , but very peaceful, overall doesn't try me much,  seems very willing to please as well 

 Both boys were very good today , and last evening with all the noise and drama. I am extremely pleased with them so far 

We had a couple of big storms blow through , thunder ,lightening,pelting rain and hail, and then , a day late we got , my kind of Canada day light show !

I guess the song is true, "if you ever want to see a rainbow, you've got to stand a little rain 

Stay safe 

If stupid was illegal...

Warning, this is a bit of a rant, because, well I AM SEVERELY P*SSED!

As I said in me earlier post this is a holiday weekend , and along with the great folks that come out and holiday, there are, well the others, the thoughtless careless, jerks who  feel among other things that their ownership of a  tiny piece of lakefront ,or familial tries to a local, entitles them to free reign over the county . racing up and down on quads on the gravel road, not only at high speed , but  zig zagging as well which makes the road rough and dusty , grabbing their buddies, some guns and (I hope target shooting ) right alongside other folks livestock!

This (according to the RCMP) is legal in this county if done on their own property and X# of meters from roads and houses, but there seems to be no provision for proximity to livestock.

So these fools were tearing all over on their quad or ATV of some breed last evening shooting right alongside the mares. Real freakin heroes!!! Tough guys on their Manly man kick. Hey boys, wanna feel like a hero??? How about stand your ground and face down 7 panicked 100lb + mares that are running straight at you in a fear? Now that will start your heart! 

My girls normally don't react to this type of thing ,so I have to assume that something  came too close for comfort , and I thank my lucky stars that every horse I own knows what a hand up and a firm WHOA means ,else I might not have come through it as  well as I did . Got the girls settled into a  different pen then went back to what I was doing , which by the way was , working with Comet and Quinn,(who are a testament to the kind of  quiet horses I raise, they were totally unfazed by the excitement , both responsive and attentive to me )

Then came into the house to settle myself down and read on another blog that Lisa of Laughing Orca Ranch was dealing with a similar group of genius!

Seriously? I know I was raised to have respect for others and be mindful of my actions the consequences, as were most folks I know. Where do these selfish, careless rotters come from? And in light of the terrible events south of here where my friends horse was shot, and several cows, can you imagine how much sleep I got last night?

I commented yesterday that "you can't fix stupid" , and it made me smile as I remembered my old trainer Ernie, leaned up against the barn wall chewing a straw and looking every bit the cowboy saying one day "nope , you can't  fix stupid, You can fix ugly, but not stupid"

Not really related to this, but the memory gave me a smile, which I really needed about then!

So I guess, not only can we not fix it, we also can't make it illegal. The advice I got from the RCMP was this, "if they are on their own property and not in proximity to  houses or roads , we cannot do anything , however if I  find any spent shells or projectiles of any kind on my property I am to report it immediately and they will be charges with careless discharge of a firearm ."

Think I am going to go for a little walk

Stay safe my friends and I promise a happier post soon