Regarding Henry. Meeting him face to paw)

We are home form Mexico, and as always it was a wonderful trip, full of laughs and sun.I will tlk more about it in another post but first...

We arrived home late Friday night , the farm was in good hands and the critters were well cared for by our sweet friend Mel.

We were greeted that night by  an overjoyed Winston and Skeeter! I miss then so much while I am away, the homecoming wiggle and whine is always so much fun! 

Saturday extricated Tango form the feeder (a stunt he kindly waited till we were home to perform! so glad he didn't pull that one on Mel) then did laundry unpacking etc. The this morning we headed east! to meet Henry for the first time, face to paw, or puppy breath! 

I think I will let the pictures tell the story ,other than to say it is LOVE!!! He will be coming home  mid April. He is growing well and strong already pretty mobile on 3 legs and using the short leg just to sort of wave as he takes a step(it is too cute to believe! !)

Hoping to get out to see him a couple times between now and when he comes home , middle of April!! cant wait! I will be posting regularly as he grows and  develops, we will see where he fits into our Equine Assisted Personal  Development program here, or maybe look further into some therapeutic activities specifically with him. The sky is the limit when you are his kind of wonderful!

watch for the label "regarding Henry" 

Stay safe friends, the weather is warmed up here so for now I will leave it at that 

Out of a blue clear sky

The title is   from a song by one of my all time favorites George Strait. and of course it is about a love , that comes along when you least expect it . The song like most is about a girl but this story is about a boy.

A blond beautiful boy, who I will be calling Henry.

I wasn't looking for a puppy, I was happy with having my beloved Winston home, and his wonderful little buddy Skeeter. The thought of another golden retriever cruised through my mind from time to time, but not just right now was what I thought. It is winter, we are soon leaving for our holiday and I just wasn't there yet.I thought maybe in the spring.
And then I opened my email and there was a message from my friend Deb saying that the breeder who raised her lovely dog Autumn had a littler with a special little guy who would need a special home. Henry was born with the bottom of one front paw missing.

The breeder suggested he might go  to go to a home when he might do pet therapy. Well I don't currently take my dogs to do pet therapy but they do play a big role in the work I do with the kids and horses.And I am quite open to it, Winston and I did do some work in that area when he was young . I talked to my hubby about it and a couple of veterinarians I know to be sure we would be able to provide the right home for him. Once we were sure  I emailed and said yes I was interested.

I then waited and worried the remainder of the day that maybe he was already spoken for ,or they would think I was not the right person or, or, or...
  Because, you see ,when I fall in love with a critter I fall hard and fast , and he was in my heart from photos alone!

Henry is only 14 days old, I will not be able to see him in person until I return from Mexico. Am I jumping out of my skin? why yes, yes I am !!!!
But thanks to good friends(Deb is planning to maybe go next weekend) and a very talented young lady named Kass who is an aspiring photographer , and a good one at that! I will be kept up to date on Henry`s growth and development , and I will be out so see him as soon as I get home.

This special little boy will be given the best we can give him, Winston as a older pack mate teaching him and protecting , Skeeter for fun and, well I am sure some wisdom. The cat Delilah, and the horses for a balanced  well rounded life,and Martin and I with all the family with  hearts full of love to share.
Many thanks to Dawn and Kass, of Kozy Kountry Golden Retrievers . All photos credit to Kass

Stay safe my friends

Hot and cold, and Fridays for sale on Sunday

I have been asked by a friend to post a couple of her saddles for sale her on the blog. The friend is the young lady who bought Maggie from me, so I can vouch for her honesty, and also that the tack will have  been very well cared for.

 The first saddle is a dark walnut western rawhide with a 15 inch seat full quarter horse bars with a 6 and 3/4" gullet and its just a pleasure saddle($700). And the second saddle is a THSL roping saddle, its hand made in Texas, it has never been roped off of it has about 20 rides on it and it has a 15 inch seat full quarter horse bars with an 8 inch gullet.($900)

If you are interested in either , email me at fernvalleyappaloosas@hotmail.ca and I will put you in touch with Kat

As for the hot and cold, that has been the weather, freezing cold to freezing rain,melting then freezing again, it is pretty slick around here, and I have messed up my ankle, and elbow so I am taking it a bit easy , using the gator to get around for chores more than walking.As you can see , my entourage is also taking it easy.

 Today was a nice warm day so I took advantage and did walk a bit and took some photos

 just your average morning at the funny farm ! lol 

Stay warm and safe my friends!

A different kind of painted pony

I was invited last week to join in a photo challenge with a friend of mine on Facebook. You post 3 art works/photos a day for 5 days. Well I am not an artist but I do take some nice photos so I joined in. One of the photos struck my friend and she asked if I would allow her to do a digital painting . I have long been a fan of Sandra Sherger's photography and artwork, she is a multi talented lady! And I was thrilled at the prospect so obviously said yes!
Below is my original photo

And here is Sandra's interpretation! I love it! (it is currently my screen saver) I have ordered a print and it will soon be proudly displayed on my wall.

 Here are also a few of the photos I submitted during the challenge , it was fun to do and I love looking back through old pics to see them through new eyes!. SO yes some of these you will have seen before but , oh well here you go.

That is a sampling of them. 

I am keeping busy with work and the farm, got back to the pool a few times  as well as having some really good sessions with the kids. I have a new trail cam I have been playing with since Christmas 

I had it set up in Phoenix's pen, ya think he knew it was there?

Rotter! 

Stay safe and warm my friends 

as it should be

I spent this week, pinching myself and thanking my lucky stars that this big yellow ball of love is home.I will never know what prompted his adventure, who had him or why, and I don't need to all I really need to know is he is here! Playing with his little buddy as it should be .

I did do other things this week, like work shovel snow,shiver, work and some more of the same but nothing of note springs to mind.
I hope to have a post of some merit up soon!
Meanwhile stay safe and warm my friends

He is home

I only posted this last night , as a healing and to let folks know about Winston. At 9 am I heard a bark at the door and 3 days after he went missing  he arrived! unscathed, not hurt,hungry or particularly cold. JUST HOME
Prayers are answered!