Wordless Wednesday

( Pssst.... Our family reunions continue...)


Addendum...


... when family reunites, there are smiles all around ... and one very tired set of parents. :)

Because she asked...

... for me to create a blog post on her recent surgical operation, here it is.



With her surgery now behind her and an overall feeling of relief at hand, four days later she is not yet feeling too terrific.

With icy cold frosty in hand the day following, we decided to make a call and see her tonsil free throat and hear a varied voice with adenoids also removed.

Plagued with continual systemic infections, one after the other, it was time for this gal to find some reprieve health wise.

Onward ho baby doll, time to mend.

Smile!

On the mend

and it helps to have her baby sister alongside of her in the process.

Newest Grandbaby Meeting Day

"We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Miss Francesca,
.... our newest Grandbaby

A baby is a little bit of heaven on earth

So many people all at once, and only one little baby girl who was very patient with all of us holding her one after the other.

Precious

More lessons from the horse barn

A tough minded cowgirl would declare;

"Working hard ain't never hurt no one, especially when so many chores await at the horse barn!"

(This young gal celebrated our daughter's birthday after a barn day with her)

Our daughters know the romantic idea of owning a horse will never come without huge responsibilities and lots of physical labor.

They know all about it now, mostly because they've been privy to the learning curve process their instructor has offered them for knowledge gained when assisting in managing a bunch of paddocks and two barns filled with horses. All thirty of them.

It's not just about riding or jumping a horse for them now. The horse love in also warrants;

• cleaning stalls
• sweeping (oh, lots of sweeping!)

• throwing hay bales from the hole in the loft flooring to the stalls below
• poop and scooping for others during their lessons

• grooming the wild beasts
• cleaning wounds

• polishing tack and saddles
• tacking up horses for horse campers

• tending to younger children in need of assistance
• entertaining the barn dogs
• cleaning horse blankets and other such items

• cleaning up horse pee accidents in main aisles while removing tack
• keeping the tack room tidy and organized

• moving around jump equipment
• turning in, turning out horse dwellers

• feeding and watering horses
• washing out the toilet

• assisting the vet or the Ferrier when requested
• following a scheduled assignment board
  
• assisting or teaching lessons (older girls)
• taking horses way out to pasture

• trail ride fetcher, tacker, organizer and payment taker
  
• learning special dietary needs for certain horses and ponies
• rodent patrol
  
• and so much more

Another tough experience last week for our girls was watching the death of yet another horse, this one carrying a foal due in May. The poor thing wasn't in great health to being with, the pregnancy quite a stunning revelation to the owner.

Last week she dropped on the ground in her paddock with a sudden thud during the middle of horse camp, unable to maintain her weight on her back legs. Nursing her for several hours, all left for the night only to return the next day to a visiting vet having to put her down. It was mentioned that the foal had already died, quite possibly the day before. The whole scene was was awful and the day ended on a difficult note.

The emotional fallout for all the horse loving barn girls was so sad. There were abundant amounts of emotions displayed and plenty of tears shed, hopes for another foal in their midst crushed, but the owner, a lovely Christian woman was so very wonderful with all of the girls and woman who were there at the time.

Sometimes these things happen and it's difficult to prevent them. But, this was the second horse down since the fall when the baby's momma was found dead early morning when all arrived at the barn to ride. Grief filled the barn atmosphere for all involved, and then there was the incident of horses running down the road to rescue.

There have been so many lessons learned from their barn. And, I sure agree; "working hard ain't never hurt nobody!"

And, finally.....

After a hard day of volunteering for grunge work at the barn, they ride yet again because the owner believes every single horse should be ridden every single day. So the horse and pony girls get up on the saddle again, and yet again just when they thought the day was done.


Another deep reality from hanging out in horse barns is arriving home later on with an awful combined scented odor of human sweat and horse stench.

So then, before resting - it's off to the shower they go....

one week ago - "after" photos

Just one week ago, our general landscape was sunny, snowy and wonderful.

You can view photos I included in a blog post by clicking here.

Below are "after" photos, those snapped this week.

The differences are drastic. The landscape not quite as beautiful - for now.

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by the streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and

whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.”

~ Psalms 1: 2,3

After waiting oh so patiently, they spotted the playground...

... and begged for some good ole' spring time fun.

Ahhh, spring!

It's almost here in full force.

No buds yet, just dead looking everything.

mother and daughter fun

I found out one of our local preferred pedicure businesses offers a super special price only on Tuesdays.

When my husband was out of town recently, I informed my seventeen year old daughter she and I would be doing something very special later in the day. I kept it a secret and never divulged just what that was exactly.

We were going to have a memorable mother and daughter girls only night, just she and I. And this would also be the first time we've ever done this type of thing together.

I'm happy to report she, like her father, really loved it all! She loved the back massage chair as the attendant worked on her feet. She was offered a little nail decor on her big toe to compliment her nail color, which was a super sweet addition to her evening.



I highly recommend this girly fru-fru activity and implore all mothers out there to think about doing something like this with your own daughter/s. Or bring your husband because I've also shared with you how much mine liked his own surprise pedicure, sans polish naturally.

Wordless Wednesday

Passionate

Lessons from the horse barn

Horses!

Are you a horse lover? A rider perhaps? A horse owner? If you can answer yes to one of these questions, then you'll surely be able to appreciate this story.

Shortly before the early morning start time of horse camp last Thursday, a frantic telephone call attempt was made to our home, but we had already left on foot for the barn.


The call was from the owner/instructor of the horse farm, the message not retrieved until after the day's event ended .

During the wee morning hours, an entire paddock of horses had escaped, the gate not closed properly the night before by one of the helpers.

The horses (all of the ones shown in the photo below) were spotted too late, all trotting up the long winding driveway in a horse parade fashion, one behind the other.

Following the leader, the rascal horse leader that is, all quickly began to gallop in sync down the road, deep into coyote country.


Actually, lucky for the owner of said horses, someone quite a distance away managed to corral them all within her own property horse paddocks, just happened to know her phone number from her sign at the end of the property, and called her to say they were safe there with her until she could retrieve them.

When we crested the top of the hill and rounded the bend, with both dogs in our midst for their morning walk, both girls were frantically summoned into immediate action.

The horse camp was delayed and parents remained with their children while our girls, along with another camp helper, hopped into the owner's truck and were driven to rescue the herd of horses. All of them were placed on lead ropes and led on foot back to the farm, and then securely replaced back into their original paddocks.

The horses were physically exhausted by the end of the saga, all heavily dripping with sweat. Worse part? The ponies and the sweet baby horse were too tired for the young children to use in their horse camp! Good thing for the owner with many other horses to use, though many hands higher.

Even the baby (shown below) was among the escapees, so worn out and tired after trying to keep up with the big guys, obviously ready for recovery upon return.


Oh, and the girls were very adrenaline filled, though fatigued like their counterparts, especially one small eleven year old girl who managed to command the attention of two ponies on their walk for over half a mile.

All involved shuddered to think what could have happened to one or more of these horses as they sauntered down the road in the early morning hours. But, they were safe now. A great ending!


Moral of the story?


Have you always wanted to own a horse? Wow, then you might want to take note of this heart skipping story. It only takes a few minutes to lose a horse.

Just imagine, your beloved furry pal bolting down the road and perhaps not being able to secure a happy ever after like our girls experienced. Praise God, this won't happen again. What a huge ordeal for all!


As our girls chat about buying a horse for themselves to own, I know their eyes are "wide open" now, and they were definitely gifted with another great learning curve experience to place in their memory banks for the future.