cleaning up my act

There is just something about a sunny warm day that reminds me....all those dirty brushes and winter crusted halters need a bath !!! I have to admit..most folks probably do not enjoy scrubbing horse brushes, washing halters or other such menial jobs...but I do ;-)

Nylon halters have a way of getting dirty around here..and a quick soak in some soapy water goes a long ways to getting them clean.

Next comes the horse brushes, curry combs, both rubber and metal, hoof picks, assorted other tools, and shampoo bottles that have been used, but are not empty need a little clean up too.

and....after a good soak, a dash of fabric softener in the rinse for the halter and leads ropes ( to keep them soft and pliable ) they all get hung out to dry on my trusty clothes line....
AHHHHH !!!! Life is indeed good ;-)

Dreams coming true

*C-C HOTEL KALIFORNIA

"Kallie"

3 years ago, on my son Matthew's 21st birthday...a curly coated black filly arrived on our farm....I knew when she arrived, she would be here awhile....LOL..usually that comment is reserved for a foal that did not quite live up to expectations...homely, poor conformation, or something for me to know that foal would be a tough sell....BUT in this case, it was just the opposite! Named "C-C Hotel Kalifornia" and quickly barn named "Kallie" I have been watching this filly grow since that wonderful day....Kallie has grown up nicely! This spring, we took Kallie to our dressage trainer, to see how she would progress in training....and finally after weeks and weeks of rain, we got a break and I got a chance to see how Kallie is coming along under saddle with Trainer Mike.

Trainer Mike graciously rode Kalie outside for me..so I could do a few pics of her...she is coming along really nice! Kallie is a very capable horse, she has a wonderful kind and willing to work under saddle attitude. Trainer Mike has just started her canter work. I was mighty pleased to see her large expressive trot at liberty, was the same trot under saddle.
Trainer Mike is doing an excellent job with her, and I am mighty pleased at her progress...she will be a wonderful and capable dressage mount. I am really impressed with her ability to "go long and low" this is not always easy for horses of the curly breed....this indicates a proper length of neck, and good physical ability.... As usual, I like to capture head shots, they say a horses eye is the window to his/her soul....here are a couple of my captures on Kallie's face and kind, willing attitude..enjoy! I certainly AM.
We shall see where your talent takes you, the world has lots of possibilities .

Whaaattaaaaa Wedding !!!

Some events in life, just stand out more than others...a child's wedding has to qualify as of one those really special events. I can hardly believe it has been two weeks already! Two weeks since my youngest son, "Matthew" tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend/fiance' "Lauren".....
Wedding day was just spectacular !! We have one rain shower in the morning, then the rest of the day the outside lighting was just "soft box" ( light clouds/awesome lighting ) ....a photographers dream!
Our extended family started arriving on Friday, the day before the big event, we had a family dinner Friday night, and the groom-to-be made an appearance....Dinner at O'Shays..nothing better!

Saturday was busy...esp for me....Since the wedding was held at an event center, there was no Friday night rehearsal dinner..instead the kinks were worked out early Saturday and I held the rehearsal dinner as a rehearsal brunch instead....my friend Dawn Q. ended up being my right hand..there was not much time for the wedding part to eat and then get dressed for a couple hours of photos. Dawn even helped me put on my makeup....poor me....hard to put on makeup when you can not see your face without your glasses.....
When my Sister "Sally" called and asked us if they should come early to help...I said YES.....lucky thing too, she seemed to be the only one who could help us correctly put on boutineers and corsages...geeeeee. has it really been THAT long ago...? well...yes, it probably has.....I had certainly lost my touch. We also had a few cases of mistaken identity...James and Matthew look a whole lot alike...and at one point, James was banned from the dressing room, because he was thought to be the GROOM !!! even Lauren could not convince the door guard...
Here is James and his fiance' Elissa....
The ceremony was simple elegance.....vases of single flowers lined the aisle....white chairs were our seating and more vases of flowers were at the alter. Hardly a dry eye in the place as Lauren walked down the aisle....her Dad had been killed in a logging accident about 7 years ago...she gave a flower to each sibling of her Dad's family, and her Grandma too....like I said...not a dry eye....esp me...... The minister ( a family member, who has many wedding ceremonies under his belt ) wore a kilt and quoted Scottish blessings..he did such a fantastic job...and after hours of practicing "VavRosky" he introduced "Mr and Mrs VavRosky....I now have 2 sons, and a daughter ;-)

Dinner followed the wedding, lots of time for good conversation and a chance to visit with the Bride and Groom...we left the event center around 9:30pm , when we left the Bride and Groom were still busy enjoying friends. Matthew had friends from elementary school, high school , college and work attend in his honor...plus, of course all the family that could make the trip.
Pictured here was the other best gal at the wedding...our Great Niece "Edie" ...she made a lasting impression on us all...what a sweetheart she is!

Saturday night I slept very little.....a slideshow of the whole even kept running through my brain....everything about this was so perfect!

Sunday I had the honor of bringing Matthew's Jeep home...the Bride and Groom took their other vehicle on their short honeymoon, and I took the extra one home.....Got a few horns honked at me....the wedding part had decorated BOTH vehicles, not know for sure which one the Bride and Groom would be traveling in...better to be safe, than sorry. I also took a few moments to stop along the way and do some fun "wedding" pictures of my own.....
Guess I got carried away on the Jeep pics ;-) since I had no time at all, to take pics of my own..this was my way of satisfying my need for pics.

Whaaattaaaaa wedding this way...and we wish the Lovely Bride, the Handsome Groom all the best for years to come .....we were all surprised to see a photo album already made up..the Bride and Groom looking at pics of the Bride and Groom and ceremony ! What a clever idea...the photographer's wife was in another room, process and editing photos as the night went on...gotta love technology...

and...the proud parents.....looking a bit older than in our own wedding ....oh well !

Pudgy's bad day

A good barn cat is a necessity on a farm.....mice would run amuck around here, if it were not for our 2 barns cats, that are extremely skilled hunters.

Our barn cats are a little different than average though ( according to visitors to our farm ) they actually act more like a couple of good dogs....course, they are well cared for, and very well loved. I named them lovely names when I brought them home as kittens...Clarissa and Marissa...Their names quickly morphed into "Pudgy {the larger of the two } and Fuzzy { the runt of the litter }" they look a whole lot alike, but their personalities separate them more than anything. Clarissa ( Pudge ) is a lap cat...no doubt about it! if you are setting down, she will come for miles ( in cat measurement ) to hop up into your lap..there is none of that sneaking around, pretending you are not interested, with Pudge, she makes a straight line to you, and hops up whether you want her or not! Marissa (Fuzzy) is the horse lover in the family...if there is a horse stalled or in our arena, she stays there. She even has slept right in the stall with an injured horse before...esp when the boys are gelded, she spent 2 days in the stall with Dark Knight when we gelded him last year.

We feed the cats each morning....Pudge is often in our garage, Fuzz comes to the barn from the arena, or...if there is no one to babysit, she will join her sister in the garage...

Two weeks ago Sunday, I headed down to feed the cats....only Fuzzy showed up, certainly not uncommon for them to be away from the barn, out on a hunt..so, I thought nothing of it.
When I fed Monday morning, and still no Pudge...I gave it some thought, but not much. Either one of the cats has had a span of a few days when they have been AWOL, only to return to a seeming normal cat schedule.

Monday evening Mike and I hopped in our spa.....we use our spa every evening..often at dusk, to watch the stars come out...A good share of the time, the cats appear at this hour....sitting on the rail above us, they seem to enjoy the ritual as much as we do.

While in the spa....we could hear a "meow" certainly nothing unusual...Fuzzy usually meows alot and often comes to the spa from a distance, meowing all the way...so, we waited...we could hear the meow again...hmmmmm ? The wind was just howling that night...and we were actually NOT even sure we heard a meow...so, we waited and listened...again..."meow"......I peered over the edge of the spa, thinking a cat had to be close...but no cat....hmmmm ?

and...suddenly Mike said "Do you think one of the cats is under the house? the wind had blown the cover off, and I put it back on....on Saturday afternoon?" so, we busted out of the spa, headed to the back yard, removed the cover, and out came Pudgy......no worse for wear physically....but a little out of sorts mentally....she would NOT leave the porch the rest of the night...she even ran in the house door, which she never does normally...they are not allowed in the house...

By the next day Pudgy seemed back to normal....she had a big adventure...we are certainly glad she said something...otherwise she might still be under there looking for mice ;-)

The HB 5

OK, early spring foals have all arrived.....In Europe 2 new foals arrived...a buckskin filly out of "Mary's Half Moon" who we sold as a bred mare....a chocolate filly out of "Stag Creek's Flitty Wren" who we sold as a bred mare..and the three that arrived here....here are pic of them all! HB has 2 more foals due in early summer via outside mares/AI and then one fall foal due here...yahooo !!!

To date....2 colts, 3 fillies.....lovely foals!

guess blogger will not let me add pics right now..I will come back and try to edit later !

Henri in the sunshine

On Wednesday we had about 2 hours of sunshine and I could just NOT resist getting Henri outside for a little playtime ;-) We are rehabbing the pasture here by the house this spring...shhh! don't tell....don't tell that I turned Henri and Krinkles out for a little sunshine and fresh grass ;-) Henri found out he does not have total control of those long legs yet....LOL

...but he sure enjoyed airing it out..and getting those legs in better shape. It is fun to watch the foals, who have only been on flat ground, to see their first realization that the world is indeed NOT flat....Henri zipped around the pasture as his Dam Krinkles had herself some fresh grass...




Henri found lots of things to be curious about..he would stray a ways..then zip back to his Dam...


He played alot longer than I thought he would, and only when he was completely tuckered out did he stop for nap time....oh the sunshine and the green grass felt sooooo good! After his nap, ( a rather lengthy one I must admit ) I took the pair back to the arena for a snack of grain and a good supply of hay. The weather was quickly changing for the worse, and I wanted them in out of the mud...In a few days ( when I have done enough spoiling on Henri ) I will turn them out with herd on our big pasture, and he can play the days away with his siblings....I am sure enjoying him right now though...
All tuckered out , what a SWEET BABY BOY !!!!

Oh BABY !!!

Last Saturday evening we welcomed *C-C Henri" to the ranch! I have been waiting several years to use the name "Henri" I needed just the right personality, and of course, a boy to hang this name on. This guy was it! Henri is somewhat of a plain name, but the personality of this colt will make a big impression. Krinkles foaled at the lovely hour of 7pm..right between when I looked out the window to check on her, to when I returned a couple minutes later....she was already up and ready to be a Mom....I could see long white legs from my view, and I headed out to put the rest of the pieces together....Mom and Son were doing well, I patiently watched as Henri made his attempts to stand, and kept an eye on Krinkles. She had not "cleaned out" as quickly as she usually does.....so, at 10 pm, I called the vet( I figured better 10pm to do this, than 3 am ..LOL ) and we worked to remove the placenta. Henri was a mere 3 hours old, but he was SO interested in all the vet equipment, and what was going on..and then he was busy bucking and playing around....MR personality !!! It was so cold out, I blanketed him . We finished our "job" about midnight and I climbed into bed at , I think it took me an hour to unthaw..but it was well worth it! Once again our vet comment on Krinkles and how her body condition does not seem to match her age....the last teeth float we had done on her, the vet commented on how her teeth looked like she was 10, not in her 20's ..apparently her repro track is the same.....so, another successful foaling here at Creekside, and time for some sleep!

Krinkle Clown and her 2010 curly coated, chestnut, pinto + a few appy spots colt *C-C Henri !!!