famous again (almost)

So, we get a call yesterday morning from our neighbor Dusty, who is a professional photographer. She is often asked by magazines and the like to take pictures of horses and other animals to go along with their articles. Dusty knows we love to model for her, and often our animals "fit the bill" for the shoot she needs to create. Today, it's Duke turn. Dusty needs to have "a food aggressive horse" to go with an article on clicker training and good manners. Now, actually Duke is very good around his food... he has to be, because he's too big to have bad manners...so truthfully, it took us a little while to get the shot that Dusty needed.... here she goes over how it "needs to look" and after a few takes, we finally convinced Duke that we wanted him to behave this way... he couldn't believe his luck when we allowed him to drag Sadie over to the bucket which had carrots and grain in it. But Dusty got her shot!!!!

She also needed a "sick" horse, so Ol' Silver got picked for that one... Dusty even created "snots" for his nose!!! Which was kind of "icky", but really fun...

After our modeling session, we got to work on the chores. Abbie came up to the barn to supervise. She loves the chickens (and can make a great chicken sound when you ask her to). I think she likes them because they are small and will run when she goes towards them. But she did want Sadie to hold one for her so she could pet it.

Then, she wanted to help with chores. So, we gave her a little fork and let her spread the shavings. She thought this was a great idea, and so do I.... might as well get her started on chores early... I might end up with a barn fairy afterall....

Guineas!!!! well, there's a story all to itself. Sunday I opened the coop to water and feed the birds, and they had plotted against me... and made a great escape. Now, I don't blame them for wanting out..it's been a long winter, so I thought - fine, go out. Well, Mr. G. had other ideas and when the rooster stepped outside of the coop, we had a massive bird fight. Now, I know how to handle dogs.. and I have even broken up a few horse squabble... but birds... they are serious!!!! I had to use the rake between them and did manage to get the rooster back into the coop... Mr. G was having a complete fit!!!! Course, getting the rooster in, meant the guineas were out, and I can't get the guinea in without opening the coop, and then worried about the rooster. So, for the past couple of days, the guineas have been out. Now, they are talking about a storm coming in on Friday, so somehow, between now and then, we have to come up with a game plan to get the guineas back inside..... drama on the farm for sure....

"What do you think Abbie.... can we wrestle those guineas?????"

weekend in review

All winter long - actually - ever since we have had our house "weather tight"... this one big heater in the basement has been our source of heat. The wood finance heats the hot water, sends it into the house and then this heater makes "hot air" from the hot water. Our basement has remained around 78 and the warmth from below has come up thru the basement door and the floors. Except for bitterly cold days this heater has done all the work and the house has been more than warm. On the very cold days, the "little stove" assisted, but over all that has not happened that often. Our builder told us that this would be an easy house to heat, because we have the "latest" in insulation factors.. and he was right.

However, the real game plan for heating the house has been radiant heating. We have all the tubing in place in the floor of the basement. We still need to do the tubing that will heat the floors on the main floor of the house, and that will be in plans to do over the summer. This past week, we finally got the last of the hook up supplies, and have switched from the one big heater to using the radiant heating in the cellar floor. Personally I think all the exchange values on this wall look like something out of a space ship, but Ed seems to know how each one works!!! All I can tell you is the cellar floor is nice and warm and the basement is staying as toasty as it has been all winter. I can't wait to get the rest of the work done knowing that the main floor floors will feel as warm as the cellar ones do.

Ed was away this weekend, and though I missed not having him around, there was plenty going on to keep me busy. Saturday night, Abbie, Sadie and I went to Kelli's and Rick's. Next week, I will be seeing Chester again, and meeting his new owner.. so , as a gift for them, I wanted to scrap book the blog that I kept while Chester was with us.

I don't know much about scrap booking, but Kelli does, and she offered to help me put Chester's book together. Kelli sure has an eye on how to do this, and basically, I did the cutting and told Kelli how I wanted it to look, and she took it from there. I'm glad we started when we did, because one evening wasn't enough time to finish it. So, we'll get together again this week and have it done for me to take. I can't wait to give them this gift... I can't wait to see Chester again!!!!

While Kelli, Sadie and I were working on the book... Abbie entertained herself with the Boxers. She loves dogs, and I think the Boxers were quite intrigued by her. Abbie kept taking their dog kibble and transferring it one bowl to another. Mya kept checking to see if it might be more "interesting" after Abbie handled it.

All of the boxers -- Mindy, Gus and Mya were so good with Abbie. They don't have many little kids around, and it's wonderful to see how gentle they are with her.

Abbie just loves all the animals in her life. And she's big into "helping out" just now. She loves to help feed the dogs, and knows just how to do it. Though sometimes during the day... the dogs end up with a little extra kibble now that Ab can get the cover off the dog food container.....

I'd like to tell you that Ginger and Abbie wore each other out in this photo.. but actually they were just laying on the floor. It's been nice having the "service puppies" in our home, because Abbie has learned that dogs do come in all different sizes.....

It was really cold this past weekend..... I had hoped we might have the last of this really cold weather behind us.. but not yet. So, we kept the little stove chugging all weekend... again, Abbie wanted to "help". She does understand hot, and the stove sits high on the hearth.. but, this was a little too much "helping" for me... after the picture was taken, I made her back off.....

Hunter and Trev.. all cuddled together on the couch.....

and I am looking forward to my morning coffee on the front porch........

Maple Sunday..

Maple Sunday... a sure sign of spring. The sap is running, the nights are cold, the days are warm (well.... warm-ish) and steam is rising up from the sugar houses. I look at this picture, it actually hangs in my dining room, and I think... "isn't that neat, what a cool way to collect sap".. then, my horse sense kicks in and all I can see is... work!!!Oh it looks good, the two gentle horses hauling the tank thru the woods.. everyone in the family helping out.. but afterwards, there would be horses to care for, harness to clean, sap bucket to empty.. sap to boil.. and the list goes on and on.. yes, romantic - but in real life......... Our trip to the sugar houses on Sunday showed us a more realistic view of how the sugar houses operate today. This particular one is very modern and semi-commerical. There was a large crowd of people, despite the very chilly day. These folks don't even use buckets. All the trees are tapped with plastic hose , which then all connects to bigger hoses, and eventually run to the sugar house. Now, it might seem easier to deal with the hoses than the buckets, but the hose has it's own "issues". Mainly, wild life, the squirrels and various other creatures loves to chew on the hoses, and bigger animals (deer and moose) if running fast enough, can easily take it down. One gentleman we spoke with said he had spent five hours checking and repairing hose the day before. Here, the hoses are all plumbed into the house... and then empty into this holding tank. The warmer the day, the faster the sap runs... We were there at the "warmest" part of the day, and the sap was really pouring in. This is their boiler... as I said, it's very modern and though it was really neat to see, I missed seeing the wood fire and the steam rising out of the house. (They boil off at night when no one is around but, after I tasted their maple flavored ice cream.. (so YUMMY) I had to forgive them for not boiling while we were there. There were many farms taking advantage of the day and offering open houses and tours. One of these was an elk farm, and yes, they raise and sell their animals for meat. They had a nice display of antlers and told us all about the elk, their care and the like. They'll have some fawns in a few weeks and said we can come again and take a look at them. From elk to alpaca!!! Another open farm on the list. We have been to this farm a number of times, and it's very nice. They have a gift shop with hand made items, plus yarns and fiber for sale. Their animals are very friendly, and Abbie was totally in love with them. This little alpaca was quite taken with Abbie's hat... almost looked like she was checking her out and asking "are you a pink alpaca??" Abbie decided she better check and make sure she didn't turn into an alpaca!!!! The last stop on our trek was a "more traditional" sugar house. Now this is what I am used to seeing!!!! They were boiling off and that wonder maple steam rose up thru the roof..... and a nice toasty fire turned that sap into beautiful maple syrup.... because this time of year... this day..... THIS is what it is all about...... yup, a sure sign of spring....

NEADS day

Another check in at NEADS...we have stayed very consistent about checking in each month. It makes for a nice road trip and change of scenery.. even if it's still cold snowy there as much as it is here....But, working with Dave, having a day with the gals and k9's and our usual stop at Cracker Barrel, always makes for a good day. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it, but NEADS has a little "side line" (if you will).. they have a small adoption place for kitties. It's neat because it gives some very deserving kitties a second chance and the kitties also "aid" the service puppies in their training. We did our "usual" chat with Dave about the puppies progress, go over the lessons for the upcoming months.. ask questions about some of the things we are working on... and then allow playtime for the dogs. This month, it wasn't just Leo and Ginger... Loyalty is now a member of the team, and he can keep up with the goldens without any troubles at all. After our time on campus, we went into a small city that was close by (we have yet to do the bigger city).. but Dave just wanted to see the pups around some sounds and heavy traffic. It was also a pretty wind and cold day, so we really didn't want to spend too much time outside. Here we simply have the puppies sitting on a curb and watching the traffic. (certainly way more traffic than Ginger sees on a daily basis)... but everyone did fine. Then we parked on a park bench and watched the buses for a bit. The sound of the air brakes, the noise the doors make as they open or shut... and people climbing on and off.. presented a whole new look for the pups.

It didn't take them too long before they all got bored with this idea. Which is the main goal.. to have it so nothing phases them. That way, if they become "country dogs or city dogs" it will be all the same to them. So, yet another month come and gone, and I have to say, I think the time with Ginger is going by even faster than the time with Chester did... scary.....

where's spring???

On Monday morning our field looked like this.. big patches of "grass".. warm air, bright sunshine and ROBINS!!!












LOTS of robins, happily hopping around the field looking for all sorts of "goodies". Their song filled the air, and I thought.. "yes, it has arrived, spring is here"....









On Tuesday morning, our field looked like this... and the little robins were high in the pines....














Did someone say something about spring?? because I think I missed it.....

getting ready for the walk..

On April 16th.. there will be a local walk for" MS". Kassy has put together a team of walkers (which somehow includes me) to do the five mile hike. This is being done under the name of "Steph".. who is a marine's wife, a friend of Kass, and is dealing with this horrible disease. In order for a team to walk, they must have 250.00 to donate to the cause. Kas has been thinking of ways to do this fund raiser, and we came up with the idea of a "parent's night out".






She asked her boss if we could use the pre-school - which Jess was more than happy to donate - and then Kas advertised to her parents.. that they could have five hours to themselves on a Saturday night. Needless to say, most of them jumped on that idea, and were more than happy to donate. In fact, they were so generous that Kas went way above the 250.00 goal.. she ended up with 400.00!!!!






We had 15 children all told.. besides Kas and myself... my sister Rachel, Kassy's friend Crystal and Sadie all worked together as the supervising adults. We also had donations of food... Tom's Mom donated frozen pizzas for the children's supper, and my friend Kim made the most wonderful chocolate chips cookies that the kids had for dessert. Along with playing outside, and having supper... we made crafts....





Played games - like musical chairs ----















did coloring (which Abbie is really getting interested in)....












and towards the end of the evening... we settled the kids down and finished the night with a movie. By the time the parents arrived, we sent home sleepy children, and well rested parents arrive to gather them. Thank you to everyone who helped us with this, it was a great project and a fun night. Now, if I can just do as well on the walk!!!!