playin' in the mud

It's that time of year again, where we have to cut the boys out of the pasture so it can get some green. If we allowed them out on it, they would gobble up the grass before it even has a chance to start. The area near the barn is pretty mucky and I hate having them stuck in here, but it's only for a few weeks, and if the sun sticks around for a while, this will quickly dry out.








Give it just a bit of time, and this will green up well, and the boys will have grazing all summer long.











Ed has been wanting to get another corner post in for quite sometime. We had rigged the corner with a regular fiberglass post, and so far, it held up. But if the drafts get "horsing" around, it wouldn't stand up to them. So, we put on the boots, headed out to the mud and got a hole dug for the new post.







Abbie was with us, as Sadie was at work. I just buckled her into the "gator" and she buzzed around the pasture with us as we worked. She seemed pretty happy with all the activity.... we'll make her a "country baby" yet!!!!









We kept the boys in while we worked.. mainly so they wouldn't be under foot and "helpful".. once we let them out, Tonka went straight out to the fence and walked the line. I could almost here him saying "what's with this???"









Then he went back to where the new post was (and all that "new" mud) and took a nice little roll for himself. Silver decided that he would "smile" for the photo!!!!!












and then had a little roll for himself. Ah, shedding season... gotta love it.












Abbie seemed pretty happy "playin" around the farm .. she loves to be outside and just a part of anything that is going on!!!!










And here's our Chester.. home after surgery. He wanted to "fuss" with his boo-boo, so they had to send him home with this silly cone thing. He actually didn't mind it too much, and slept most of the rest of the day and evening. Give him a day or two and he'll be back to himself.


I said to Ed, the animals are going to want to keep far from me... poor Chester and his operation, the boys crowded into a small paddock.. I bet the others are just waiting to see what I'll do to them!!!!!!!!!!!!

boy... is he lucky!!!!

Trevor is one lucky dog... lucky that we love him!! Because he sure can get himself into trouble.. yes, the "dog trainer's dog" gets into trouble. I bought a couple of Pandora charms at the local jewelry shop. One for my niece's birthday and one for Deb's birthday. This little shop always does the charms up in a big way and I walked out with these two cute little packages.

Well, I had to run a couple of errands, and so I tucked the boxes (which were also in a bag) into my purse and ran my errands. (the purse was left in the truck since I didn't need it)



I came back to the truck and find out that Mr. Trevor... having been left in the truck... nosed thru my purse and pulled out the bag. He then proceeded to open the gifts!!! And eat the boxes, the ribbon and the receipt!!!! Needless to say, I was "bloody" mad!!! Camille and Hunter did their best to "hide" while I told Trevor pretty much what I thought of him at that moment.

Then, a horrible thought hit... WHERE were the beads??? Not only were they my presents, but they can be a little expensive and the thought of them being "in" Trevor.... horrifying!!!

Fortunately, he did NOT eat the beads themselves and I found them in the crack of the seat.... ,he was one little lucky dog.

The next day, I humbly went back to the jewelry store, told them my fate and asked if they would re-wrap the gifts. They were very gracious and being dog folks could understand.. thankfully I doubt they know that I train dogs for a living!!!!

Either way, the gifts have made it safely to their "people" and I will yet again, remind myself that Trevor and anything of paper... is a bad combo....

April

After the deluge of rain that we had during March, it has been so very nice to see the sun the past couple of mornings. Last year, we were still dealing with a fair amount of snow, so to have this much "open space" so soon is a real blessing. I was up fairly early today and this was the view outside our bedroom window.. sadly, the camera doesn't capture it the way it was... but still, a full moon just before sunrise on a calm lake.

A beautiful way to celebrate "Good Friday".. and then, even better, the singing of the loons.... they are back!!!! and to hear their song just started the day.

The "girls" hard at working, making breakfast. They have decided that the hay bin is the best place for eggs, so, before we feed out the hay, we always need to check for eggs!!!!

Ed switched gears (if you will) and has gone onto yet another house project!!! (I have to say, and not because he is "mine".. but this one talented person!!! and I greatly admire all the things he can do. I can't even begin to think what he has "saved" us in labor costs around this house!!!!)

Yesterday, he took the time to hook up our hot water heater.

And, yes, by the end of the day.. we now have hot water in the house!!! Which means.. I can use my "dog tub"!!!! now, just get a couple of sinks in the house, and we'll be "almost home"!!!

just wanted to add these last couple of pictures from my birthday weekend. Our friends, Dave, Traci and Dillon stayed the night with us. So Sunday morning, we took them over to the Miss Wakefield for breakfast. We haven't been there since Thanksgiving, and it was so good and such a treat. Then.. you know we had to get a picture of them in front of the moose!!!

And Sadie and Abbie too. It was such a cold day!!! so, the predicted warm temps for this weekend is a welcomed thought!!!

So, we are in real crunch time now. June is 60 days away.. the move in target!!! If you don't see or hear from us over the next couple of months.. don't worry.. and if you are worried, come on over to the farm.. we can find something for you to do :o)

the big 5-0

Today is my "real" birthday, though after the wonderful party on Saturday, I felt like that was my birthday. However, today wasn't without it's surprises as well.. my dear hubby gave me two new beads for my Pandora bracelet, and I got all kinds of well wishes via phone/email and blog... and tonite at dog class... there were even balloons, a cake and a song!!! So, it was another fun and happy day... the big 5-0... another chapter in life. Ed and I got back to work on the house, though I have to admit, it's hard to be back in construction mode... I liked having it in house mode. and we had to go and find nearly everything. Now I know "why"... I can appreciate the big push on last week's projects and the huge "clean up" we did at the end of the week... but everything needed to be done, so it wasn't a "waste" by any means.

This nice sunny photo of Annabelle sitting in front of the electric shed was taken last week. We certainly do NOT have that weather right now. The wind is howling tonite and the rain is beating against the glass. Driving home from dog class was an adventure to say the very least,and according to the news, we got another 5 inches of rain just in the past 24 hours... this is the fourth storm of the month and there is water everywhere. Can a lake get too full?? But, by the end of the week, we suppose to have the sun back and almost summer like temps...so we'll see....


This is our front door light, I found it at Lowe's. I like it because it looks "old" and like it even better because it wasn't that expensive.

Ed got it put up last week, and even though we still need to get electricity to it... it's all in place and looks very nice. We made a good choice and I can't wait to see it lit.

The other big push last week, was finishing the closets that are in Sadie's bedroom and Abbie's. Now Abbie's closet will have a "secret door"... Ed has an office that is actually above the mudroom. We didn't even know we had this space until we built.. somehow all this room really didn't show up on paper. But when the real house began, and the space evolved Ed said it would make a great office space. So, we made an excess to it by going thru the closet that is in Abbie's room. This is the view from the office looking into Abbie's.

And this is the official LAST piece of sheet rock in the main house... the ceiling of Abbie's closet. Now, just a bit of mud and tape... some sanding and paint, and we'll be done.... well, we'll need a couple of doors... but basically done.

Ed gave Abbie a grand tour of her new closet and the last piece... I don't think she is quite as excited as we were....

We did have her sit in her new room and check it out. Again, I'm not so sure that she is all that excited about it....

Since Sadie has picked up some part time work, we have Abbie with us quite a bit. We're blessed that she is easy going and fairly portable. We just bring her and her things and she is pretty happy just being in the house with us....

she's pretty good about entertaining herself, so unless she really needs something (food/diaper change) we can just keep an eye on her and still get out things done around the house....

Ah yes,.. house mode... I just LOVE my dining room table... I can already see all the dinner parties we'll be having there. I can't wait to have people over!!!!

But back to construction mode... I have picked out the tile for the down stairs bath.. another Lowe's purchase.... .68 per tile.. we figure we can do the whole floor for about 120.00..... big savings !!!! and I am looking forward to tiling... haven't really done it before, but I think I can figure it out.

I have also come up with a color for the bathroom... a blue.. and think that I have finally settled on a "green" for the living room... we are also looking at our options for kitchen cabinets, and I think Ed might be right... of a sudden it will seem to pull together.

so.. on a birthday.. that's a good omen.... "it will all come together"....still though celebrating my birthday next year in the house... THAT will be a real present...

a mark of time

About 10 years ago, this little boy came to visit us with his Mom. His name was (is) Dillon, and he had never been on a horse. Course nothing doing, I had a horse and knew this little guy could have his very first ride. Silver was more than happy to help out and we all enjoyed a very special afternoon.

THEN... last Saturday.. a surprise birthday party.. friends came from near and far.. including Dillon and his Mom!!!! (traveling for four hours!!!) Not such a little chap anymore.. a wonderful young man!!!! who was very happy to be re united with the gentle horse that had given him his very first ride!!!! course we weren't about to miss such a great photo opt... so even though ol Silver is long retired and Dillon nearly taller than I am.. fond memories and good friendships last a long time!!!!

what a day

Somewhere along the line, this Tuesday will be my 50th birthday. I still haven't quite figured out when that happened... when did I hit fifty... what happened to forty?? because I am quite sure that I skipped that part. but either way.. fifty it is.

The day started out like any "normal" Saturday.. my time in at the post office. I was however, looking very forward to being done with work, because I had a wonderful lunch invitation from my dear friend Kelli. The past week hasn't gone so smoothly, so last Monday night, she invited me out to chat and sort of "make up for the week". I was really looking forward all week to it. To top it off, things at work went amazingly well.. the mail truck arrived early, the load of mail was somewhat "light".. the window wasn't too busy, and when I closed the office at noontime, I was in my truck and waiting for Kel by two minutes past noon. I also had bell choir practice, so Kelli knew that we had to be back in town by 3:00, so, I was happy to have all that "extra" time by getting out of work so quickly.

Kelly met me at work, and I told her that I wanted to leave my truck at the church, that way, all she had to do was drop me off there. She thought that would work out fine.. so I took my truck to the church, hopped in Kelli's jeep and off we went. We had a wonderful, wonderful time together. Our lunch was very good, but it was simply nice to sit and talk. So much of the time we are together for "another reason" (like a dog class or something) and you just can't "talk" at those events.. so, to sit and have "nothing else" to do.. was grand. One thing we discussed was - I am having a hard time trying to decide on a paint color for the living room. I think I want it a "green", but nothing is hitting me right now... noting that we had a little time before bell practice, Kelli said that she would pop over to the farm and see what colors I had been playing with and give me her opinion.. I thought that was great.

And as we round the corner... I saw a balloon tied to the mailbox... and the drive way was filled with cars!!!! YUP... a surprise birthday party!!!! Suddenly alot of things made sense.. ie: Ed picking out the biggest turkey we raised to be cooked... the major clean up in the house... the rush to finish up some things around the house... THIS had been "cooking" for a long time.



The house was FILLED with family and friends!!! Goodies galore!!! The cake (at the top) had a picture of me when I was around six years old.. the puppy beside me was our six month old St. Bernard dog, Cesar.....





The house had been decorated to the hilt. and not just "birthday" decorations, but all sorts of "homey" touches... thanks to Kelli!!!!









Ed and the "crew" (I am still figuring out who all helped with this) even went into the storage trailer and pulled out our dinning room table. (side note.. I was so happy to see that silly table again.. it's been over a year!!!)







And you know, it was nice to see the house more like a house than a "building project"... it was very, very exciting!!! the food tables are about where our counters will be!!!!

Here's one of the "culprits!!!!" (and breathing a big sigh of relief that it all went off without a hitch).. well, there was one hitch, you'll see that later in the blog!!!!!

But, back to the party... family and friends from all over. Here is Traci and her son Dillon, who traveled (with Dave too) from Mount Desert Island (about four hours) to join in the fun.

And our house was crowded with our dear friends!!!!

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as I made my way around, I got to hear more about all the details of the party, and try to spend time with everyone who came. The food was great, and the sound in the house was warm and happy. Many times I just stood quietly and listened to it.....

Even doggies were invited... and here Banjo has a good run in the field with two of his sisters and Charlie.

As we were all sitting about and talking, Rick said something like "where's the team". Sort of jokingly I said to him.. "if you want to hitch and get them out go ahead" The next thing I knew, both Rick and Dave were headed out the door. A little bit later, someone said "hey look outside" and we saw Rick ground driving the boys.



And not too much longer... the team pulled up to the front door.... all hitched and ready to give rides to the guests. I did run out and took them around the field for a couple of trips...

and anyone who wanted to go for a spin was able to. Such fun!!!!

Here, Dave and Deb take the boys out for a ride... I'm so glad that Dave is able to enjoy this beautiful wagon that he built.....

And then there were presents.. so many great presents. They were such a surprise, I really didn't expect that.

(thanks for the flamingos Rach!!!! you know how MUCH I love them!!!! (not) )

There was one gift that I just have to share. You see, yesterday (the 27th) would have been Moxie's 13th birthday.. (you all know how I feel about Moxie). I actually woke up a little sad when I realized what the day was, and I even mentioned it to Ed and then to Kelli at lunch. Well, unknown to me.. Kelli had gotten a picture of Mox and had a custom made stain glass picture done as a birthday gift... which I received on Moxie's real birthday.......

I am sure as the days go on, I will think of even more to say about my birthday party... and may even add more to this blog... but it's still all so overwhelming, that this is what I have to say for now.

The most important thing though... I am reminded yet again that the Good Lord has showered me with many, many blessings!!! and I am truly grateful... thank you all, for wonderful day, for all the things you do, ....... for making my life so grand........

oh and bell choir.. well I missed out on it, so won't be playing at Easter (because I missed too many practices) but it's OK

long blog, part one

I thought this was kind of a funny picture, I was feeding Abbie the other day and looked down to see this... both our feet up and crossed (in the same direction)....

Anywho,,,, our dear friend Josh has just been promoted at his work.. a rather excellent promotion and even though we are MORE than thrilled for him... we are sad, because it means that he must move away from all of us.He's not leaving the state, but it's a drive and so, being able to just have him pop in and see us, won't be so easy anymore.

In celebration of this promotion, Josh's Mom planned a get together so we had the chance to say "see you and best wishes" (we hate goodbyes) it was a fun evening and I love getting photos like this of the "kids"... er .. young folk!! they are all good friends and such great people!!! Here we have Nate&Kass, Diana, Josh and Mike. WE are so proud of them all, they are really making their way out there in the "big world"

These two.. they have been the best of friends since birth!!!

so, best wishes - Joshie - we'll keep in touch and will wait for anytime you make your way back to the "south"....

ONE of our girls has been working overtime.. look at the jumbo egg we found a few days ago. Course, even the regular eggs are good... but this was a real beauty.

I for one, appreciate their efforts... nothing like fresh eggs for breakfast!!!











Ed has been "bugging" me to cook up one of the turkeys. So, on Sunday he pulled one out of the freezer.. it will take almost a week to unthaw.. it's now in the frig and I will cook it up sometime towards the end of the week. I don't know why he chose such a big one... just said it was the one he wanted.. therefore... I guess it is... but it's going to take me a whole day to cook it!!!!