Wednesday, May 21, 2014

lions, tigers and bears.....

All of a sudden, it feels like things are getting quite busy around here. It's always "busy" in some sort of way, but with spring coming on fast and quick.... I feel even busier, if that is some way possible. 
Ben came out and got the horses feet done. Silver has made it threw another winter, but I see his age creeping in even more....I'll be anxious to get him out on green fresh grass and see what that does for him, but I have to admit, I have great "fear" as to whether he will see another winter or not...... 
Danny and I have been out and about. He's growing so fast and has been such a fun puppy to work with. He's very easy going and takes anything new with a relaxed and calm attitude. Today we did some work at one of the local malls, which proved to have some great things to try. 
Benches are always good for "under"...though at this small size, under seems like the easiest thing to do. However, I have a feeling he's going to be a big boy and they may not be as easy a few months from now, if we don't continue to practice them. 
"up" is another new word, it means... put your front feet up on something... that's easy to do too.. especially if you are working for a bite of cheese....
A mini carousal... no problem.. even if it was very loud and really... more annoying that fun....
"nickle rides" were great for climbing on!!!!! 
And stairs are always good to work on. We practice all sorts of things... up and down of course.. but stopping, waiting... going fast and slow.... funny all the ideas you can come up with on a set of stairs....He's a good little boy, and I love seeing him grow, change and work... we're having a fun year so far. 
Spring is also.. end of the year school field trips, and when Sadie asked if I would like to join her and Abbie on this one, I was excited to go.......
Abbie and buds were more than excited to have their first "big" bus ride!!!! Since she has been very little, she has talked about "riding a bus to school"... and even though this trip isn't to "school"... it still counts.....
Our trip was to a wild animal sanctuary. It is run by a veteran (Marine) and his family. From what we learn, it started out quite small, but has continued to grow. It is now open to the public and admission fees help fund the operation. Most of the animals come from zoos or circuses where they have been retired from work... or from people, who bought exotic animals, thinking they would be good "pets" and found out differently. I took so many photos of the animals.... it was hard to pick just a few for this blog......










I have to say, that Sadie, Abbie and I really enjoyed looking at the animals. Many of the others just rushed by them, but we really took our time. And then, we had a neat opportunity... the man who started all of this, noticed us, and came over to talk. He even opened one of the pens, and invited Abbie and Sadie to join him in visiting this mini donkey. He was such a nice man, and you can tell that he truly loves the animals in his care and is doing all he can to give them happy comfortable lives.......







And then we  noticed these folks. A camera crew was there... filming all around the sanctuary and interviewing the owner..... I had almost as much fun watching them as I did seeing all the animals.....

And then we noticed this "notice". Turns out that this crew is doing some filming for a possible program that is all about the sanctuary. And after talking with them for a bit, there is a chance that this new show will be running next fall on the Animal Planet channel.... who knows... there might be a glimpse of us visiting!!!!!
After our visit, it was decided to do a picnic beside this pretty lake. Poor fisherman, here was his peace and quiet until a bus load of pre school kids stopped for their picnic.....
It was just the perfect place to sit a minute, talk about the animals and visit with all the kids....
And even though they had just seen lion, tigers, and bears.... somehow a giant rock and riding on a bus was just as exciting. Oh the joys of four year olds......