Saturday, November 15, 2008

rainy day fun....

Most people.... sensible people.... who are just getting over being sick, would take a rainy day and have a warm fire in the woodstove, a good movie (or book) and a hot cup of cocoa... sit quietly and enjoy the time.... BUT, I am not "most" people.

I had it in mind that today we would take Duke to "Meaders" and see what we could find for a harness. I have been dying to work with him, but in order to do that, he needs "equipment"...so, even though it was drizzly, wet, showers.....rain!!!! up we went.

I thought that maybe we could go into the barn to do this, but Chuck was just as happy to fit him out in the parking lot. Aside from being a little "jittery", Duke for the most part was quite good. He did get tired of standing about as we fussed, did straps up, took straps off, walked him.. fussed again. But we got everything to fit just perfect.



I really do like Tonka's leather harness, but after doing a bit of research and talking with a number of other horse people I chose a "biothane" for Duke. They are hardy, easy to clean, light weight, and all the rage in the harness world. You have to look carefully to see that it isn't leather, and I was able to get it with brass fittings... which I prefer to the chrome. I will see how the two look when we get the team together, but that is still some time off, so for now, each horse has his own personal look.

By the time we loaded Duke onto the trailer again, we were all pretty wet and ready to head home. Thankfully, this horse loads like a dream, and when we opened the trailer he walked on as happy as could be. I told Ed, he might have been worried this morning when we put him on... wondering why he was leaving his new home.... needless to say, he was pretty happy to get back.

Sadly, Tonka was not the "welcome wagon" ... poor Duke, got a big reminder from him as to who is King of the pasture. So much so, that finally Ed went out and had some "words" with Tonka!!! I know that they will work it out, but when two big boys go at it.... it's a lot of muscle power going on there. They "yucked" it up for a bit, and then we decided to call it day, and brought everyone in for dinner and for the night.



Hopefully, tomorrow's weather will be brighter and I can get this boy out and do some work with him. It would be nice to get him hitched, but I will see how the ground work looks... not that he doesn't know his job... it's more like, do I know mine!!!!

enjoying life again

So, to start this blog off... may I first tell all of you that I am on the mend and feeling so much better than I did just a week ago. Thank you all so much for your notes and phone calls, checking up on me!!! I guess it's pretty safe to say that I did have some version of the flu... it started out with "cold" like symptoms but with the fever, aches and various other things, I guess it can safely be called the flu, either way, it's pretty much gone, and word to the wise.... DON"T get it!!!!

I feel like I missed out on so much... I really missed teaching my classes, it's a treat to see all "my dogs" week to week, so I will be very happy to get back and see how everyone is. The guys have all the beams up on the house!!!! so, that is it... and I can truly see the size and shape. I think it's going to be the perfect size for us, and even though there is still months of work to be done, I really (really!!!) can't wait to be in it!!! The stairs are being worked on next ..then I can go up and see what that looks like, and the panels come next... then the roof, garage, screen room, deck......and so on, and so on....

On another note, in case you weren't looking, eight weeks have come and gone... because last night, Kas and Nate brought Banjo home!!! For those of you who don't know... Banjo was one of the Chessie puppies that I helped deliver... yes.. eight weeks ago!!!

What an amazing dog he is!!!! (somewhat bigger in this picture than when I first "met" him!!!) He is going to be the perfect dog for Kas and Nate. He is incredibly sweet and mellow, but very curious and full of fun. He walked into their house like he had been there a million times before. He respects Charlie, is interested in Nora, and adores anyone who thinks he is grand!!!



If done right, raising a litter of puppies is a huge undertaking, and I so wished more puppies had the same sort of start to life that Banjo got. Mary and Ed did an outstanding job and because of that, this little guy has a strong foundation to begin his life with. His training is going to be a breeze and so much fun.. again because of the way his first weeks of life went. Truly friends, if you want your money's worth (aside from adoption) please go to good, ethical breeders who invest their time, knowledge and hearts and souls into their puppies... you will never be disappointed by doing so!!!!

Welcome to the family.... baby Banjo!!!!!