She's married

My little girl finally married her long time boyfriend and we couldn't be happier! Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Colt!

I'm fine

Went to the funeral home this morning and talked with Kathy and looked at the photos of her husband and her and I believe she is going to be ok. It is going to be tough but she has vowed, with the help of Eric's mom, to finish the house. I stayed for about 30 minutes which is 25 more than I can handle and went to the feed store.
Started buying 500# pounds of feed at a time now which actually costs less than me buying a few bags at a time. When I got home Mike happened to be checking the hay fields so I asked if could help me unload and stack them next to the feed bins which he did. Thank you my man!
Fed the dogs and lay down for a bit then go back to funeral home for the memorial service. Well, I did go back to the funeral home but just could not convince myself to go inside. I even shut the truck off. But I couldn't do it and if anyone saw me I hope they understand. But I will visit Kathy and hope that she and SYlvia come for coffee or tea from time to time.
The wind has really picked up in the last few hours to the point of going out and locking down the barn doors. I tried to put the horses in the barn but they had a fit and would not settle down so put them back out with extra hay and they went and cuddled up with Red behind the barn by the shelter and with ears at half mast and cocked foot promtly went into snooze mood. Animals!
I was able to get some sleep without the bad dreams and think I will be able to sleep tonight. Even with the winds (Hurricane Sandy super storm) howling and banging things around I'll be ok.
Klaus is up in Escanaba to work so to me he is nearby. He has been steadily getting the barns rewired, which is hard to do when you are only home 24 to 48 hrs at a time. some aisle lights and a switch in my barn and finishing up in his barn and those will be done.
I'm going to take my tired self to bed so I can see what trouble will be witing for me to get into tomorrow!

At a loss for words

Life truly isn't fair, it seems, to us at times. And Friday is the perfect example. I went to the grocery store Friday morning after making one unintentionable stop. I rushed through the store hoping to save time so I could get back home and finish up a sewing job for the horse rescue Red came from. I always take 53 N to Bowers and turn left and make my way home. This time I never got to Bowers although it was right there. Six cars back from first car I saw the semi slide into the ditch, rock sideways, but remain upright. I saw a small fire start in the lower left front and people running all over the place. Within seconds the entire cab of the truck was engulfed in flames and the sky and roadway turned black with thick, acrid smoke. AND CARS KEPT COMING FROM THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION THROUGH THAT HAZE! The fact no other accident occured was amazing. I didn't want to sit there much longer but heard sirens getting closer so none of us moved. Once the fire dept arrived we all started to turn around to take other roads heading North. Told Klaus about the accident and could still taste and smell diesel fuel so once groceries were put away, took a long hot shower.
Later that evening a friend called to say that one our girlfriend's husband was killed in a crash earlier in the morning and when she told me where I nearly fell over. I immediatly called my husband downstairs and told him it was Kathy"s husband, Eric, who had been killed.
What I didn't see at the accident site was her car because it was to the side and partially under the semi. And today I learned that while having to sit there watching that truck burn, Eric was still in the car. They said he died on impact, it was head on, and didn't feel a thing. Why is that supposed to make it better? I have always hated that phrase.
I feel guilty for having watched that truck burn not knowing someone was dead. She feels guilty having sent him to the store. When I look back on yesterday I remember seeing the car take the curve, no brake lights, then the semi going into the ditch. I did not see the collision, only the aftermath. I don't have the words to express how I feel but had to go see her this morning and just hug her and hug I did and just listened until she began blaming herself. I know that's how we think. I did the same thing after my riding accident and beat myself up so badly it took 30 yrs to ride again.
So while we try to figure out the whys and what ifs, life goes on around us. I wish I had the right words to say to comfort her but as harsh as it sounds, she has to want to be comforted and move on. Maybe if one of her sister's can give me some of his clothing, I can make a quilt for her to help her heal. All I can do is ask. 

I AM BACK

Yes it has been nearly a year and a half since I last posted anything but so much has happened in that time frame not sure where to begin!
We spent most of last Summer looking at properties, coming down to inspection only to find something majorly wrong, or house was sold before our offer got there. Plus we were getting farther and farther away from everything.
So believe it or not we found a wonderful, 23 acre property with 2 barns, a huge pond, great house on high dry ground!
We acquired a new dog, her name is Kinzi and she is an Australian Cattle dog.
Tink passed away shortly after Christmas.
And we have a third horse! He is a 17 hh Belgian draft I got in Ohio. His name is Red and he is wonderful.
These are some of the things I will get into more detail on later, but I am back and hope to keep this blog going again.

They are all home now

There isn't much I can do to keep the neighbors out except maybe keep the door shut! Haha! I had just finished dinner and was getting ready to do some hand sewing and watch Idol. Had my glass of water in one hand when I heard what sounded like a giant moth trying to get out the front door. This time it was a male Ruby-throat and DAMN is he small but quick! I know the pick are fuzzy but I was so excited to have them back. As for keeping that door closed.........naw, I like the unexpected arrivals and it's just been too nice not to have every door and window open.

All too soon it will be too hot and the A/C will be running.

Spring Birds Coming Home

It's been a great week to see the Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks and Orioles arrive back at our feeders within days of each other! And so many too. The hummingbirds should be making their return soon too! I put out all the delicacies for my feathered beauties, grape jelly, orange slices and getting the nectar feeders ready tomorrow. The tree at one point was so full of color it seemed there was a festival going on and no body told us about it! Blue Jays, Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Goldfinches, Chickadees, you name it. If it was colorful, it was out there!

And the chattering and singing and squawking going on just adds to the "party" atmosphere!

Not sure how I feel

I know everyone is celebrating OBL's death and that this evil-no-good-doer is gone, but what are we to be happy about? I am not opposed to capital punishment and believe in an eye for an eye, but is some one's death really a celebration?
We celebrate Christ's resurrection at Easter, but remember his torture and death. The very idea that OBL's capture, on video, has been splashed all over the news media, just goes to show how immune and impersonal, we are becoming to violence, no matter how horrific. It's scary to think our future generations may never know right from wrong, just have no emotional ties to any experiences, pleasant or hurtful. We desensitize and train our animals to ignore danger and distractions, these creatures do not reason like humans do, they just react. We take that away from them to keep them, and us, safe. But humans have the ability to reason, think it through, know the outcome or consequences, and react accordingly. At least I think we do........


God bless Americans and their freedoms.......it comes with a price.

OOOHHHH BLIZZARD and idiots who kill animals

Well ok we have lots of wind that it making the drifts around the house look huge but we barely got 6" of snow! what happened to the 12" to 18" they were predicting? I really hate when they say one thing and we get another. Someday the weather people will cry wolf one time too many and people are going to get hurt because they ignore it. I forgive you though because this is just the info the computers give you.
Took pictures of the horses playing this morning, even caught Paha playing with his Jolly ball but Easy Share seems to be taking a break and cannot download my pics. So, I will update those later.
I would really like to get my hands on that bastard in Canada that killed all those dogs. What kind of a person does something like this? So, if he does not want certain people around, shoot them? The dogs actually tried to defend themselves and were just pretty much butchered where they were. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that there are people out there capable of doing something like this on such a large scale. I am going to keep up on this because I want to see what kind of action Canadian officials will take. Sheesh! I kind of put him up there along with Micheal Vick whom I believe should still be shunned from football and Obama forgave. Or, I believe he congratulated the team for letting him back. Some actions are just unforgiveable. Am I wrong? What do you think? Let me know..........

The fence lost this round

Never in a million years would I ever have thought I would have to take a toy away from a horse! Paha and his Jolly ball got into trouble sometime early this morning and judgeing from the marks in the snow, well, he wanted his toy back. Every now and then he would toss his ball over the fence and stare at it, so, since I have been dutifully trained by my animals to come at every beck and call, I would go out and throw it back in. When I woke up this morning it was just getting light out and when I looked out the bedroom window across the driveway, there they both stood, as usual, at the gate and facing the house. Both Jolly balls were at their feet. This was around 6:30AM or so. When I finally rolled out of bed to go out and feed, they were both in the back and the toys were up in the far front corner. Then I saw the bottom wire all curled up along the top of the snow and one top cap had popped off the t-post and was just swayin' in the breeze. AND the 1 1/2 to 2" of snow turned into 5 or 6"!!! SOOO.... finished feeding, cut the power to the fence, went to the store to get feed, birdseed and dogfood as I intended, came home, unloaded feed, ran the hose to water tank to fill, grabbed some tools fixed the fence and all is good. Whew! No more toys unless I'm out there too!

Missing my Anna very much and what is making it worse is my husband will not talk to me now. I really had no other options. The pain meds stopped working, she wasn't eating, she was crawling on the floor and wimpering all the time. Her life quality took a 180 degree turn in 2 days and I have to much respect for animals to have made her continue tthat way for a few more days. Had someone said, "She'll be good as new as soon as you fork over $2000" in a heartbeat she would be fixed! But the surgery was no guarantee and not recommended because of her other health issues. I know I did the right thing by her and if others do not understand I cannot help them. We all grieve in our own ways, (have to move back so tears do not hit the keyboard) if he chooses not to talk about it there isn't much I can do. I have other critters to take care of and can grieve for her in the quiet moments and know I have some truly great memories of her.

Love you Peeps, mom's drinking a Shiner Bock beer on your behalf!

Goodbye to a sweet Treasure

Never again will we utter the nicknames, Anna Banana, Peepee pop n squat or peeps. Our beautiful red Doberman Anna is off to run and chase deer and squirrels with her brother Toby, and meet up with the rest of the gang, Bravo, Aries and those before them. It was not an easy decision to make and kind of knew a few days ago she must have been in a great deal of discomfort. She was barely eating and stayed in my bed, on my pillow, but would insist on being with me when I went out to feed the horses. No more of her silly excited cries when ever one of us came home from somewhere, especially for my husband when he was gone on business all week. I miss her terribly but I have nearly 9 yrs of wonderful memories from a dog who gave her all.

Goodbye to our sweet treasure................

A funny thing happened on the way to the round pen

Last Thursday I was taking Paha out of the pasture to the round pen for some work. First off, he nearly pushed me into the water tank, he got smacked on shoulder for that, tried to take off when I closed the gate, back-up, back-up, back-up, pushed me all over the driveway, circles, back -up, 6 more steps I can let him go in the R/P and let it out. Mind, you he is nearly resting on my right shoulder and I cannot seem to get him off of me. As I went to open the gate to the round pen, I raised the lead rope to turn his head, the lead rope was NOT attached to him! The snap was hanging from his halter and the badly rotted and frayed cotton rope was hanging in my hand. Did he know the rope was broke and was trying to stay in contact with me? Until I took off the snap in the R/P he stayed with me then walked off to roll run and be his goofy self. He has been pushy lately, but only to Meins, so I believed he was testing me, now I'm not sure. He was even super good for our hoof trimmer, Darrin. Both of them were. They are usually snots because it's close to feeding time. Horses, they just always keep you on your toes. My lesson learned though; ALWAYS check your equipment! This could have been a disaster had he wanted to take off. I am grateful that, for whatever reason, he followed me.

Having fun

Sent some things to Frog Pond Farm Draft Rescue for their auction and am delighted to see that my quilts are going to help bring in some $$$ for them. They are a great bunch of folks who do what they can for these horses.From what I've seen so far many of them come in with badley negleted feet. Right now there is a big one named Lotto who is fighting for his life. Numerous abcesses going on right now and a really hard decision has to be made Friday. Do they continue to help him fight or is it time to set him free from pain. Not a decision I would want to make but when you have animals, there is always that possibility that letting go is the best option. So if you get a chance please go to Frog Pond Farms auction page and bid on any number of great items donated by folks like us.

Long winter

Hi all! Sorry I have not been keeping up here lately, been busy sewing up a storm, slogging through snow and trying to keep my health in check.

Have new glasses now with the right perscription and cannot believe the things I have been missing. And I'm wearing braces now too. Geez who gets this old and starts wearing braces? We're lucky if we have any teeth left! lol just kidding. Still dealing with Vertigo which has kept me off Meins for some time.

Paha, on the other hand, has grown and filled out and has been pushing Meins around. Meins seems to "allow" him to be boss for a bit and then turns around and will start chasing Pa. Hopefully Paha will be going to the trainer late Spring to finish his "education" and hopefully by then we can control my imbalance and start riding him and Meins. If not, I may have my trainer send him off to be put to a cart and go from there. I think Paha would be an awesome buggy horse!

Greetings

WISHING FAMILY AND FRIENDS A GREAT THANKSGIVING DAY!

Don't eat too much! Love you all, especially you MM!

Please no snow yet

I think this pic of our outdoor thermometer says it all! BBBBBRRRRRRRRRRR! These are just a few pics from a pretty nice weekend.

I try to take the dogs for a walk down by the creek after feeding the horses in the mornings. I can check the fence and get a bit of exercise. I had decided to grab the camera for once and took a few nice shots.

Happy Horse Ranch

Thank you to Sue and Fred Marengo for letting me visit your horses at Happy Horse Ranch. Although the morning started out "iffy" it turned into a beautiful afternoon for my visit. I made sure I brought some carrots and apples for their herd and they loved them. Cody wanted all the attention but, Zip wanted all the carrots! Copper was a bit shy but she is such a pretty Arabian I think she was just being coy. All of them were such a delight as is their caretakers. They suprised me with a trip into town for lunch at Joy's. Totally unexpected and worth it! If you like pumpkin pie you will love her Pumpkin Crunch.....Ohh I want more! Thanks again to you both for a delightful afternoon.

Not quite the morning

This was not quite the mid October morning I was expecting to wake up to but still a bit excited all the same!

Later this morning I will be heading to Lexington, MI to visit Fred Marengo's Happy Horse Ranch. I can't wait to see his equine rescues that have become a big part of his life and prompted him to write the book, Second Chances, which all proceeds from the purchse of this book goes to the rescue. Way to go Fred!

Celebration of the horse

Saturday is the Celebration of the Horse over in Metamora. I'm going to go visit some FRIENDS that will have booths set up, wonder the breed displays, peruse the local tack shops and stores and try to enjoy myself. I really did want to do it again this year, breed display and parade, but I do not like to be humiliated into doing it. There are other factors that helped make my decision but lack of support was the biggest. I'm sorry if what's important to me, promoting the Appaloosa breed and heritage, was not what everyone else wanted to do. I have started on Paha's Native American costume for next year and by then I should have a trailer I can borrow. This is very important to me and I wish others could see that.

Kathleen Dodds! You have to check out this young woman. youmightthinkthisiscrazy.blogspot.com, she has taken to riding her Appaloosas across America. She started out in Oregon and her destination is New Jersey. Pretty brave to go it alone. She has met up with some not so nice folks, (Sidney, NE) but for the most part everyone has been helpful. Check her out!

It will be a nice cool day so I hope all can get out and enjoy the weekend.

Not much going on

Hey gang, not much has really been going on here. I think I have finally resigned myself to the fact that I will never be right. I am met with opposition no matter what I say or do and have just conceded to the war. The battles have been too numerous and now having to deal with "noise induced stress" (never heard that one one before) try as I might I am not winning. I am really trying to "be happy" but the depression has become so bad I just want to give up. I cannot concentrate, forget things-instantly, not paying attention, cannot focus and want to cry and sleep all the time. I'm slowly pushing my friends away and the big blow came last week when I was asked to do a job then the next day was told someone else was doing it. The way it was done just kind of hurts. So I am back to not trusting people their is no friendship or loyalty to someone who would do that to you. Maybe my husband is right, "if you don't have any friends they can't ask for favors", and then screw you in the process.

The horses are doing fine, getting their winter coats grown in and just being horses. So I will not be posting for awhile until I can screw my head back together. Love you all!

Hot Air Balloon

Meins and Paha saw their first hot air balloon up close and personal yesterday! It was just too funny. The one fellew seemed to be having some trouble (4 balloons in all) and looked like he was going to land in the trees next to the pasture. When I saw the first balloon we grabbed the camera and ran outside and in doing so I heard this really loud snorting and blowing. That was when I saw the guy trying to get more heat up into his balloon. It was the propane tank, not the horses, "snorting and blowing"! They were very alert and running around a bit but when I stepped over to the fence they calmed down and stood and watched this balloon make his way across the highway to the cow fields on the other side, We had the outriggers in their vans going up and down the road following them. It was a pretty exciting few moments to these so close.

Nearby Metamora holds the balloon fest the end of August and this weekend the weather will be perfect. I'll be keeping an eye to the sky today as they will be launching off again.

Taking a ride in a hot air balloon is on my bucket list. This particular group does not offer rides. They had helicopter rides but that isn't the same thing. I want to float through the air and enjoy the scenery in peace (I'll accept the hissing and blowing! lol Enjoy the pics!