Remember summer?

Naughty Puppy

Who, me??

Fall 2009 - This and That

C and his dog.


The ponies, Prince and Spanky.


Cowboy, looking contemplative.

The "girls" that provide our delicious brown eggs. :o)

One of Lily's kittens, that Spanky stepped on seconds after this was taken. I think she'll be all right.

Spanky, being friendly.

Daisy, who also had a litter of kittens, but would prefer that Aunt Lily do most of the mothering.

Prince is starting to look kind of shaggy - he's growing his winter coat.

Daisy

Lily. She's a good mama.

My black-eyed Susans are looking tired and cold.

'Autumn Joy' Sedum - I love it's red color in the fall.

The Johnny Jump-Ups are still blooming away, mid-November. Awesome. In our house, we affectionately refer to them as Jackie Pop-Ups.

Hotspot Festival Parade

Today K was able to participate in a neighboring town's festival parade. K was doubtful that it would work out, so she was quite happy when it did! We were up late last night, polishing the saddle, bridle and her boots. She was up bright and early this morning, raring to go. It was a short night!

She loves her pony, Spanky. Can you tell?



He seemed a little nervous, so she led him around the school grounds where they later saddled up.



A cute little girl with pink cowboy boots wanted to know, "Could I please pet your horse?"







A little ride around the grounds to make sure everything's adjusted right.



It was a pretty short parade. We watched it near the beginning of the parade route, and then moved so we could watch it again at the end.







Smile for the camera, Spanky!

A Brings Home Trouble

One Saturday about a month ago, A was driving home from running errands and phoned saying he was "bringing home trouble". Hmmmm....

I asked if it was alive. It was. K gleefully ran down the road so as to more quickly meet whatever it was he had. It was 2 calico kittens, madly trying to escape a cardboard box.

Since building the little barn last summer, A mentioned we needed to expand our cat population to keep up with the mouse population. We did have 2 toms, Socks and Skittles, but Socks disappeared over the winter and had been gone for months. I said I wanted a calico kitten. He brings me two! (What a guy!) K and I decided to go with flower names for the females, and continue with the candy theme for any males that come our way.
So - the kittens adorning the top of my blog are Daisy, the long haired one on the left, and Lily, on the right. Cute, eh?

Wouldn't you know, within a week of getting the kittens, Socks reappears. He's grumpy and has the loudest annoying meow, and is now missing part of his ear. Last week he attacked Lily and K was heartbroken to discover her bleeding on the ear and paw. I jokingly advertised Socks to give away on Facebook, and actually had some takers!, but none were local. (No, I don't want to travel 6 hours in the car with a grumpy tom cat! I like my skin in one piece, thank you very much.) We haven't seen much of him since he attacked Lily. Perhaps he has a guilty conscience?


Daisy, pre-pounce:



Lily:



A Very Dirty Dog Indeed:

Thanks, F, for donating your time!

C's dog, Cowboy needed a doghouse for the upcoming winter. Last year we made him one out of straw bales in my flower bed in front of the house. It worked, but was messy and we wanted something more permanent. F became aware of this need, and offered to make one, letting the kids help, which they thought was great fun.

Previously houseless dog:



Cutting out the door:



Assembly begins:



Cowboy supervises, and seems to approve:



Since A sells P2000 insulation (great product), we have some on hand, and F put some on the doghouse. Cowboy should be quite toasty this winter.



K was busy putting the reflective tape over the P2000 seams.





C helped F put pieces of wood over the insulation so that they would have something solid to screw the siding to.





I suggested that they make it in such a way that it can be easily cleaned (ever the practical one). The lower portion of one side of the roof is hinged for easy access.






Finished product:



It's pretty nice - especially when you consider that it was made entirely of scraps, (except for the insulation).

Thanks again, F!

Update on Prince the Pony

For a couple of weeks now, Prince has been at the 4-H leader's place. I mentioned in an earlier post that she kindly offered to take him for a while and try to teach him some manners. It was NOT a Fun Experience for A and Cindy and the neighbor kid to get him into her trailer. Her trailer is not the step-up kind, but had a ramp, and it was just too spooky to him. He was rearing a lot, and bumping his head a couple of times on a corner of a trailer door (the ramp goes up to close, and then there are two little doors above that close). K was in tears and I was worried he would slash his head open. This went on for quite a while. Finally I went and sat in the truck (it was so cold and windy) and prayed about it. Once I warmed up I got out expecting to see more of the struggle (O faithless heart!) and he was in the trailer! Kind of makes you wonder why we don't just ask the Lord for help first thing.

It seems he has settled in nicely at Cindy's, and she's making big strides with him. He's looking at her (before he would just turn away), he's leading nicely, not nipping, etc. I'm quite pleased that it's going so well - she said he's learning very quickly. He's also established himself as head of the herd, or whatever you call it, which is quite funny, because he's sooooo little - he looks like a midget horse next to her two horses.

Here's a picture of him from last summer - he's sticking out his tongue. Goofy little pony. Check out the white markings on his face - to me it looks like a tornado. Maybe we should rename him Twister?