This 'n That

[SandyG]

Jim and Jane C. were at The Fall Gala and called shortly after. Could we use some hay?

Well, Jim came up this morning with two large square bales of hay that I tentatively unloaded with the skidloader. Oh, I did not want to damage his pickup!!!

And there are mouths devouring that hay like they've never seen hay before! It is new hay. Different taste. Nice and green. Oh! My! What happy kids there are in the pastures today! Many thanks to Jane and Jim for their generous gift of hay!

MA and PA Kettle (Spirit and Dudely) are content in the corral. They stand in the door of the building and look out. Just like two peas in a pod. Good for both of them. And the socializing is great for Dudely.

[SandyG]

Robin......Robin.......Oh, Robin!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Young Lady!!! ;D

[SandyG]

I'll have the final numbers by the end of the week, but my intuitions tell me that this was our best breakfast ever!!!!

We had 102 people through the door which is a great turnout! There were several people who came in, donated, and departed. And some came to pick up their cheesecakes, grab some bake sale items, and depart.

The bake sale! Colleen B.'s idea about the Feed Bags was a hit! For $15 of baked goods you received a cloth tote bag (hand made by Colleen) and then she told you that your bag of feed just purchased a bag of feed for the horses. Cool, eh? And a hit with our supporters!!!

We had a total of 20 volunteers today, including me, and you did a remarkable job! Smiles everywhere and great service! I am so darn proud of all of you! Great cooperation and good service.

Winners! Everyone of you! Thank you from those whose lives we will save with these earnings!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Gloria W. Hoping your life is happy and your Mom is doing well. Think of you often, Gloria. Special hugs from your little Unit!

[SandyG]

I was just telling Bridget that it must be nice to be a horse. You don't know the forecast so you don't know to worry about the cold weather that's on the way! Today, it would be nice to be a horse!

The end of this week looks brutal. September weather in November and January weather in December. Where's Al Gore when you need him?

[SandyG]

Colleen B. was here for a second time to rescue little kittens abandoned by their mama in the old barn. She got two of them last Wednesday. Cuties, for sure! Cold and hungry and shaking but so grateful for the food she gave them - even if it was in a carrier!

Then this morning I spotted another little one. Even a bit smaller than the other two and just as cold and hungry and shakey. Took a little bit of chasing, but the little one was soon in Colleen's carrier and in a warm vehicle on his way to his siblings.

Way to go, Colleen! And way to go, Pam, who caught the little guy as he attempted to scoot away!

After Colleen left with her precious cargo, Pam W. "womaned" the gates and we moved ten round bales out to the herds in anticipation of the weather that is approaching. Her help cut the process in half, at least!

Putting a round bale in the corral meant outsmarting Spirit. Of which Pam did, no problem. But it was Dude who slipped by her and grabbed a few mouthfuls of frozen lawn grass! It is good to see him moving so well! And so full of mischief!!!

Thanks, Pam, for the help today. Saved me tons of time and effort galore!!

[Shar]

Hey Sandy-
The dealer guy turned down the offer... not sure what he was expecting to pay, but we said about $75/horse and he said that was way more than he was planning on paying but didn't counter offer... something just isn't right about him. I did ask him about the face cream thing and PMU and he seemed to have no idea about it- that was way before the whole price thing. He said he was going to use the mares as broodmares or send them out west to be surrogate mothers... but why would he buy mares that are already bred? He couldn't breed them until over a year!
Regardless, he didn't take them. So we're starting over. I listed the broke ones on equine hits, put them all up on eau claire craigslist... geez, if I didn't have 10 horses of my own out there... you know I would be all about getting some of these. My mom even said she wanted to go out there and pick out some! lol =) I figure that I am crazy to get any of them, because they do somehow have the money to feed them, and I can always train them in the spring and help her sell them, which is our plan as of right now. She's had decent interest still... so who knows. If we could just get down 10- we would be doing good. So still trucking away at it. Sounds like your breakfast went wonderful! Congrats!
Hope the snow doesn't hit too hard!

[SandyG]

Holey Moley! It's windy out there! The snow is little ice crystals more than snow flakes and it hurts the face! I can't imagine being out in this wind very long without experiencing damage!

Everyone is inside in the big barn. I have the Helen Keller crew inside with a round bale in their side of the barn. Their stock tank is filled and they are calm. Settling in after dinner and not yet interested in tearing into the round bale. Give it a little while!

The Gelding's Side isn't quite as calm. Josephina (now on this side so she can be inside) is a bit nervous and so she makes everyone else nervous. Everyone except Handsome, Unit, and Miss April. The round bale in the center of their floor was more interesting to them than a goofy blonde mare snorting and doing laps! Cole is doing his best to herd Miss Bette into a corner but she nips at him every once in a while to re-establish that she is the boss. Not him! Lanna is quiet in a corner until everyone else calms down. Then I'm sure they all will meander over to the big bale in the center of the floor.

The Old Barn Crew (Beauty, Babee Joy, Jeri-Ann, and Spirit) are healthy and so they can come and go in their barn as they want. I have spread small square bales of hay inside in case they need to come in out of the wind. I know these girls and they like to eat!

So we are set for the night. I will go out around 10pm or so to insure all is calm and safe for the night. Then I will enjoy a night of slumber with this routine that I finally figured out last winter. It sure beats having to water everyone every 2 hours!!!

Pray for the creatures that are hungry and weak tonight. Pray that they tire quickly and lie down to rest and then they slip away quickly. Quickly, please! Many will die tonight. I pray that they move on to their next lives with speed and as little pain as possible. Pray for them tonight.

[tracy1]

It's an amazingly windy night - supposed to be 8 below 'real feel' in spite of temps in the teens. And snow all night! I dried everyone off at 4 p.m. and have a fresh round bale out and the stock tank full - those guys were tearing into the hay with the shelter of the barn, quonset and the bale itself to break the wind from various directions. Windsor's got his own salad bar inside, with soaked cubes to eat. Sterling's trying on his new blanket, we'll see if that stays. And the cat bed is plugged in so Boots and Midnight are cozy.

The Fleet Farm sale on Safe Choice is through Saturday - less than $10 per bag, if anyone wants to stock up . . .

[SandyG]

Yikes....I just wandered out to the barn to check and make sure all is well. Not much snow but with the winds you go from walking on bare gravel to walking through knee deep drifts. Icy crystals of snow still coming at you horizontally. Strong winds but the temps aren't so bad yet so The Posse is out playing in the drifts! Oh, to be young and carefree again!!!!!

Everyone in the barn is calm and yes, we all have found the round bales. Had to put a new tank heater in the big stock tank. Instead of freezing water we had warm water - a sure sign that the heater's thermostat was burned out and the heater was running at full throttle continuously.

Why did I even bother to check it? My first clue was Miss April. She approached the tank with curled lips. A sure sign that something is amiss in the water!

Appears that the plows aren't even working the roads. Smart, I suppose. Since it would be almost impossible to keep anything open in these winds. Budget cuts make us more practical, it seems.

So, a hot shower, some medicine to reduce the headache from this "thing" that has invaded my system, and then off to a warm bed after a bowl of homemade chicken soup. Thank you, Linda. Pure medicine is what that soup is!

Good night, everyone. Please be careful out there!

[SandyG]

They say we are having gusts of wind. It seems more like sustained winds, to me! The drifts in places are over my waist and in other places there is bare gravel. The snow is making its way through the tiniest of cracks. Laddee's feeder was filled with snow this morning!

But the good news is that I shoveled the snow up against the doors to stop the drafts. That was inside the barns, people. Inside the barns!

Everyone was calm this morning and ready for the diversion of feed. They will stay tied for an hour or so just for the opp to relax and then I'll let them roam their respective sides of the barns again for today. I'll put heavier blankets on PONY! and Gracie this afternoon when the temps start to drop. And I think I'll blanket Appaloosa Mare.

I keep looking at her. She's starting to protect herself. And her tummy is bigger on one side than the other. She chills easily.... Oh, I pray she isn't carrying a little set of hooves inside of her.....

The only way to express what I feel is gratitude. I have feed to give them. Electricity to keep their water open. I have hay to put in front of them. Blankets to keep them warm. And shelters to break the wind.

And I have all of this to keep them safe because we sell cheesecakes and bulbs and have garage sales and we have canisters everywhere and we do breakfasts at Applebee's. Everything we do helps out during a storm like this. Thank you to all of you who have helped so that I can do the simple things like feed and shelter and blanket.

In the optimism of the Gala, the corral shelter was built. And today I am in tears over the thrill of having it! With a tank of heated water in it, lights to turn on, and enough room to put a round bale in the corner this little building means protection during a storm like this. What a gift that is for the rescues!!!

Okay. Today is the day for paperwork. I'm not plowing the driveway until the wind stops. I will check on them every few hours. I have Laddee's trach to do yet this morning but other than that, once I untie everyone, they are set for the day. So - watch out piles and piles of paper on my desk! I'm coming at you today!

Be safe, people. Stay home if you can.

[SandyG]

Isn't it sad when we say its nice outside because the 30 mph sustained winds have died down to a mere 20 mph??

The drifts are so hard I can walk on them. The ground is bare or buried deep in the snow. But it feels better outside. The air has dried out and you can feel the arctic-ness in your nostrils. Time to change blankets on the weaker ones.

I put a blanket on Appaloosa Mare tonight. She licked her lips and nudged me to say "Thank you". Not wanting to show her weakness, she is grateful that someone noticed and supported her. The opposite of PONY! who hollers and pushes at you with his head until you get the idea of what he wants.

All is quiet in the barn. Cole is a bit nervous with so many around his girls. Or should I say all of his girls in such close proximity! Should he stand by Miss Bette? Miss April? Lanna? Oh, my! What to do when they all stand together?

I need to hear a current weather report, but isn't tonight the worst of it? Doesn't it moderate a bit - wind and temps - after tonight? I'm ready, that's for sure.

Had the TV on today while I worked at the desk. Now I remember why I like to work outside during the day....

Be warm and safe tonight. And pray that the weak ones are already down after the winds of last night. They are warm and content now, on the other side.

[SandyG]

Oh, tomorrow will be a grand day when I can open the barn doors and let the kids frolic and move about!

The one who is taking it all in stride is Handsome. Stand and eat some hay. Stand and sleep a bit. Walk over and get a drink of water. Stand and eat some hay. How cool is that! He is one gentle, easy going, take-it-all-in-stride guy!

When I just checked, it was so quiet in the barn you could hear the snow and ice hitting the building in the wind. Gracie was asleep in the hay. PONY! was standing guard over her. Appaloosa Mare was sleeping next to PONY! Lanna was sleeping while standing in a corner. Ole' Man Cole was sound asleep standing between Miss Bette and Miss April (smart man!). And Handsome was standing in the center of the barn next to Unit eating hay.

The Possee girls are outside eating the better part of a round bale but will eagerly come into the barn for attention and perhaps a treat from that little bundled up Human who appears every once in a while.

Good Night, everyone!

[SandyG]

BBBBBBBBBBBB RRRRRRRRRRRRR rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SandyG]

It has been one of those nights......

Unhooking The Posse in the old barn and something spooked Babee Joy just as I was stretching over my head to unhook her halter. She bolted forward before she turned to the right and took off. That pushed me into the stall walls and then twisted me around as she turned to leave.

In the bulky winter clothes, I kind of bounced a bit and then fell over backward. Into Spirit. Thank God she doesn't kick anymore! But I surprised her so she spun her butt over to the left toward Jeri-Ann which left the spot on the ground open for me to fall back on.

Thank God I had just put out a couple of bales of hay on the floor for them to munch on during the night tonight. So I fell on the hay and not the frozen, hard ground. And thank God I fell back into Spirit with her tiny little legs and feet - could have been Jeri-Ann with those huge legs, those huge feet, and those big shoes on those huge feet!

So, got my bearings and realized my bell was a bit rung but went down to the other barn and changed Laddee's trach, cleaned her face, and generally enjoyed my close time with her. Even in the cold we enjoy our time together.

I blanketed those that needed blankets, checked on those with blankets on, and unhooked everyone. Gathered up my tools and the cooler with the hot water in it, shut off the lights, and headed out the door.

Took two steps - literally - and in the dark my feet hit a clump of snow I missed when I had plowed today. Cooler flew, baggie of tools/tape/gauze flew, and I was on the ground again. Skidded for a while and came to a stop in the snow bank I had created just a few hours ago during plowing.

Got up, found my tools and cooler, checked for my bearings and headed into the house. Bell was ringing a little louder now.

The pellet stove in the house needed pellets for the night so while I still had my heavier clothes on I slipped on my bedroom slippers and headed out into the garage to get two bags of pellets. There was snow on the floor of the workshop and my first step off of the steps was right on that snow on the painted cement floor. Needless to say, my feet did not stay under me. Once again, I was on the surface with my body that my feet were intended to be. Huh. Bell is clanging by now!

So. I'm going to take a hot shower, some muscle relaxers, and go lay flat - intentionally. I think tonight would be a good night to go to bed early rather than see if I can tumble one more time tonight!!!

[SandyG]

Well, tonight went significantly better!

Everyone came into the barns in an orderly fashion to eat. No one flew away after being unhooked, and Laddee stood well for her clean-up and new trach installed. And, tah-dah!, I stayed upright the whole time!

I spent another hour this afternoon pushing snow around. Never could justify all the time we spend plowing snow. After all, it is just going to melt in a few months...oh, well!

And then I went and got a ton of feed so we are set for the cold of next week. Unloading the feed helped the shoulder muscles loosen up.

Now its time for some desk work, a shower, and then shut-eye. Hopefully, in that order!!!