Happy Friday

Happy Friday

Throwback Thurday

Throwback Thursday to last summer when it was so darn hot that Penny used the ponies as shade.

Throwback Thurday

Throwback Thursday to last summer with Penny and King

Thankful Day 25

Thankful Day 25: I am thankful the vet is only a phone call and a text away.

Thankful Day 20

Day 20: I am thankful for a 120ft hose to get from the barn to the mares' water tank. Beats lugging 5 gallon buckets.

Look Whos Driving

I needed to pick up Junior and Lace yesterday and figured I might as well take the dogs to the vet for their yearly shots. I'm all about killing two birds with one stone (sorry, hate that expression but that's totally what I'm filling...getting stuff off my to do list). Time is so limited these days that I have to really sit down and figure out how to squeeze in all that has to get done.

Junior and Lace needed to come home but will hopefully be going back in a couple of weeks. Junior already looks better being on the pasture in Madison so I'm hoping we can get him back up there for a little bit longer. I am already stressed and worried about Bo. I'd rather have only one horse to really worry about rather than two (ok, so I worry anyway but it's different).

Penny was due for her shots so I figured I'd run to the vet and then pick up the horses.

Can you tell they were not impressed with me after their vet appointment.

Farley loves to travel. Penny, not so much. But hopefully we can fix that. Penny is very much overweight and Farley is about right, sitting at 82 pounds. Unfortunately, he's too big for me to lift in and out of the truck but he needs help getting in and out. This is why we dont' travel with him...and he farts. All. The. Time.

This was my view after I got Lace and Junior loaded. Penny tried to talk me into letting her drive home. Not yet girly. you need to be able to see over the steering wheel. :-)

But all is good again and hopefully we can convince Penny that traveling isnt' such a bad thing.

Photobomb

Can you spot the photobomber?

I think she tries to get into every picture!

New Fencing

Saturday morning I went out to let the horses out of the drylot. I knew that I needed to spend the weekend moving temporary fences around so that the horses could get into the new portion of the pasture. We'd divided the pasture two years ago (temporary fencing) and that seemed to really help. I didn't do it last year and I noticed the difference.

So I opened the gate and couple of horses moseyed out only for me to discover that someone had pulled the fence down and they started going into the "new" pasture. I wasn't mad but slightly irritated. Irritated more at myself because they don't touch that fence unless there's no more grass to enjoy. And the electric fence wasn't on. It keeps getting unplugged and I have no idea why. I had thought maybe someone was unplugging it but I don't think whoever is, is human. I'm guessing a mouse keeps running by and unplugs it. I'll have to figure out a better setup to keep the electric fencer plugged in. But it's probably a good thing that it wasn't on as the fence was down in multiple places.


So off I went to put up fencing at the bottom of the hill. I didn't want them into the very bottom part of the pasture because it's still wet from the rains we received a few weeks ago (we are not in a drought but everywhere else is). So our pasture has standing water...ergo the annoying mosquitoes.


But I want to keep the horses out of the bottom pasture so they'll have something in August when we go into a drought, because it'll happen.


So I rushed back to get poly posts and electric fence and set to work. Two hours later, I was almost done.

Almost because I had no way to hook up the electric. I decided that I didn't want to try and figure out how to go up and over the gate in the drylot so I'd hook up to the permanent electric on the perimeter of the pasture.  I knew the north and east portions were still there (the horses had pulled the electric off on the west (and I think the south) and it's disappeared somewhere).


So I hooked everything up and started walking the fence. That's when it dawned on me that I haven't had electric on the pasture in years. It's been at least four or five years since we used electric and it shows. We'd cut down scrub trees growing in the fence line but they've since come back.


So after getting a thorn jammed into my thumb and scraping up my palm, I opted to have Mike start cutting down trees. Actually, it was the two scrub trees that I couldn't break that was the final straw. There was simply no way I could use the electric fence with those trees growing up and into the fence.

So Mike went out in the afternoon to work on cutting down trees. As with everything else, the chainsaw hadn't been used in probably three years so it was in need of some TLC. I'm not sure that it actually got any but at least it got used!  All these projects that we need to get back to and it requires a little bit of extra work because everything has sat for almost three years.


Why three years? My daughter will be two next month so nothing has really been accomplished over those past two years and the year I was pregnant (or what seemed like a year), nothing was accomplished either. So three years the place has fallen into disrepair. So now we are fixing it and I'm excited to see the improvements!

I did have good company while I was out fencing. Farley and Penny were with me almost the entire time. Well, until I moved away from the stagnant water. Then Farely decided to go back up to the house and find some shade. Unfortunately temps were rising into the 90s so I had to work fast. Mike go the brunt of the heat while cutting down trees.

But now the horses are in the new part of the pasture. I'll have to get pics. I'd gone out last night but they'd already come up for the evening. Maybe tonight. With trying to get kids to bed, it's a bit tricky to get back outside before the mosquitoes come and the horses come up to the barn for the night. But if that's my only problem, I won't complain.

Meet Penny

I've been meaning to talk about this topic for quite some time. It's sort of a touchy subject for me so I waited for the longest time and now almost a year later, time keeps slipping away. I have better pictures but I keep thinking I'll get them and post and never do (again the whole Road to Hell is paved with good intentions kind of thing).


So I guess I'll just talk about it with only one picture.


So this Friday will mark the one year anniversary that we lost our English Shepherd, Gypsy. Not more than a week or two after that we acquired Penny, a red heeler.

We had adopted Gypsy from the Sioux Falls Humane Society when my beloved foster failure, Leroy passed away. He hadn't been with us for very long but he had claimed me so what could I do. I had wanted another big outside dog, and Gypsy fit the bill. She'd been a handful for a number of years until the last one or two. I had thought that I should start putting out feelers for another big outside dog at some point because both Gypsy and Farley were getting up there in age. Farley is 13 and will turn 14 in November.


A year ago this Friday, there was a terrible accident. I have no idea how it happened but Gypsy hurt herself horribly. She didn't tell us she was hurt. You see, she was a fuzz ball. So much fur, it was hard to know that she had managed to do serious damage to her and it went unattended. When we discovered that she was injured, it was too late. I'll never forgive myself. She died in front of my eyes. It wasn't the way she should have gone. I take full responsibility for not noticing her injuries until too late. I run through all the what-ifs and scenarios and how she could have done so much damage and we could have been so oblivious to it all. Just the thought of it makes me sick.


We buried Gypsy out back. This weekend for the past two years has been extremely tough for me. Last year we lost Gypsy to that terrible accident and the year before, we lost Trouble. She had had a stroke sometime Friday between the time I left for the Irene rodeo and the time I got back. We had to take her in that Saturday and say goodbye. I was even more heartsick over Trouble but only because she had been with us for so long. I knew the time was coming but with Gypsy it was a shock.


When I mentioned that we were in need of a new outside dog to keep Farley company (last time Farley got severely depressed), Penny arrived in short order. A friend of mine was looking to rehome Penny and she's been a blessing ever since.


Before we started the Sanctuary, we fostered for a small dog rescue. We had dogs come and go each month and they all had their quirks. I was expecting these quirks but Penny didn't have any. Her only pitfalls....licking faces and jumping. Both of which we can easily manage (not running off or anything else along those lines).


Penny loves the horses. She would prefer to heel them but she'll come up to them and say hello (at least to those that want to say hello). She's still so very young and inquisitive. She took a liking to me and my daughter instantly. I'm her dog when Leila isnt' around but when Leila is around, Penny is hers and only hers.


Even though I'm saddened that we lost Gypsy, I think Penny is an angel in disguise. She's not very protective of me but I think she's what keeps Farley going. Her heeling Farley will probably be what ends him. An almost 14 year old shouldn't be heeled if he has bad hips. Although I think Farley would rather turn into a house dog now that he's older. He's discovered the AC (I'm trying to spoil him in his old age). And I can't get him out of the house once he's in.


So I know I didn't ever really introduce Penny like I had wanted. But she'll have been here at the Sanctuary for a year at the end of the month. It saddens me that we lost Gypsy but it did give us the opportunity to meet Penny. I know some don't believe in God and I don't normally talk about it but I do think in a mysterious way, Gypsy sent Penny to us. If it was Gypsy's doing or God's doing or whatever. It just seemed like more than fate. To some it would simply be a coincidence.


Penny is a loyal dog and I'm sure glad she calls the Sanctuary home.

Summer Pasture Time!

I spent Saturday scrambling to get the temporary fencing up so that I could release the big herd. I've been more than anxious to get them out on grass. The hay guy is worried about having enough hay, which makes me even more nervous. So having horses out on pasture means no more putting hay in! Hopefully with dividing the pasture, we'll be able to rotate enough and be able to bring the horses back to this section of the pasture later this summer. It'll also give me a chance to do some serious spraying.


I've been trying to spray at least once a week to go after weeds that have been long forgotten and are taking over. I'm excited to see the results. So much neglect over the past couple of years and I'm finally getting back to it. Not sure that I'll get to do any spraying this week but this week is going to be busy.


I wish I would have taken my camera last night to take pictures. There was some pretty sights last night out in the pasture. But for now, I'll leave you with a few pictures of the first day out to pasture.




Jim and King



Brego, Dude, and Chaos



Rain and Jim

Penny supervising the herd

Penny having a discussion with Brego (and Brego's shadow, Ivan)