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 !!!