Sunday Stills

Ed gave us Hallowe'en for our challenge today. I don't buy into the ghost and goblin type of Hallowe'en; to me it is Hallowed Evening, or Holy Eve, the night before All Saint's Day, which is a day for Christians to commemorate those who have died and gone to heaven. Here is what Wikipedia says:

Christian denominations celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints' Day and the Feast of All Souls' Day because of the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven (the 'church penitent' and the 'church triumphant', respectively), and the 'church militant' who are the living. Different Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in very different ways.

November 2 is All Souls Day, and in our church, we will go to the cemetery to pray for our loved ones.

So, in keeping with my view of Hallowe'en, I give you a very old graveyard on the side of the highway near Moyie, B.C.

Imagine walking through the woods, and suddenly seeing these headstones sprouting up from the earth....

Gone, and forgotten; no one to tend his grave....

Do forgotten souls have anyone to pray for them? We too shall be forgotten some day, our graves untended, mossy, and unkempt; but our souls shall for all eternity delight in the Light which calls us to come to Him.

It's no surprise....

To those that know us.... both kittens will be making their home with us. Ted decided to keep the boy cat, because he's such a character. We have named him Thumper, which suits him well; he is very outgoing and has a really big belly, as you can see.

The other kitten is still in need of a name, and it has to be a feminine, princess type name. She is quite shy, and Thumper is always thumping on her because he is twice her size. She will sit quietly on my lap, hasn't purred yet, and hides if there is too much activity. She is blue point Siamese ( her daddy is a chocolate point Siamese Manx) with a little calico marking that you can see on her nose.

Bubby could care less about the kittens, and Foose hissed a couple of times, but mostly ignores them.

Today is out 11th anniversary since our church wedding; for those that are keeping track, we had our 14th anniversary of our civil wedding in June; we celebrate both. I had a Mass said for Ted today, and he bought me roses. He worked on the porch for his workshop, and I made 2 batches of grape jelly, and since we both were tired, we had A&W burgers for dinner, and lit a candle to go with the roses! All in all, it was a good day.

What next!

Normally the saying goes: Look what the cat dragged home! Around here, I have to rephrase it a little to "Look at the cat Ted brought home!" In this case, two kittens, one of which we are keeping and one that needs a new home. We are keeping the female Siamese-type,

I will have better photos soon!

This cream colored male needs a home.

It shouldn't be too hard, he is super friendly, playful, and a purr monster. I think he's about 3 months old, and the female about 2 months.Both of these were feral kittens that were tamed by someone who is leaving the area for the winter, and these little rascals would have to fend for themselves- but my soft-hearted hubby took pity on them and brought them home. He did give me the option of which one to choose though! and of course, it won't break my heart if we can't find a home for the boy.

So, bloggers, lets hear some names! I'll put more photos on tomorrow to help you.

My treasures

Sunday when I should have been relaxing, I decided it was time to make the green tomato mincemeat- especially since the person who gave me her grandma's recipe was staying the weekend with us, as she and her husband came down to help with the auction. We made and canned 10 quarts, and it turned out really well.

As promised, here are the photos of the items I bought -

the barnboard cupboard that I put in my tack room,($20!)

and the hall table, which is in my office (also $20!)- I still have to clean and oil it.

The farrier was here today to do the mares. Chickory has apparently gotten over her big pout and is her sweet self again. She has really nice feet. Velvet is a Diva -in her own mind- and fussed a bit, but she is slowly improving. She seems to think that she doesn't hafta hold her foot up that long, don'tcha know!

The snow is slowly creeping down the mountains towards the valley, but I hope it holds off for a bit. My friends in Alberta and Saskatchewan are getting blasted with a breath of ole man winter though.

Pups, Peppy, and Auction updates

Now that the auction is over, I have a little time for my blog, and catching up on yours. The auction went well, no major problems and the rain held off until the last hour- of course, that was when we were selling the stuff outside of the building- go figure! I bought a couple of things- a handmade barnboard cupboard that is going in my tack room, and a hall table - pictures in a day or so! Ted bought an antique dresser, some birch firewood, and an old oak tabletop that needs a pedestal built for it.

I have had some email updates on two of Tess's pups from their owners.

This is Corb,

and what they say about him:

we’ve starting obedience training with Mary Lane here in Cranbrook. He’s so clever! After the first meet and greet he had it all figured out! Look at those eyes, he’s so sweet and those freckles...we all just love him to bits!

He was a very sweet boy, and I'm glad his people love him as much as I did!

The lady who has the one I called Chad, renamed him Henry, and this is what she had to say about him:

I have been meaning to write for a while and update you on Henry. He's doing great! He has so much energy but is calm and obedient in the house. He is getting quite tall. He is over 30 lbs now and still growing.

So far all the folks who have Tess's pups are loving them; just check out Janice's blog and Jenn's blog- Kali and Abby are both doing great and are waaaay too cute!

The fellow I get my hay from has 2 of the boy pups, and says that they are already trying to help him with moving cattle. I think I'm pretty happy with the cross of Tess and Moss, and I have three orders for pups so far, if I get 3 more I'll probably breed Tess again next year.

I got an email from the lady I sold Peppy to- for those of you new to my blog, Peppy is the colt called Choctaw Peppy on my sidebar, that I sold last year; he's Velvet's full brother.

Here is the story on him:

Pepper is doing real well; spent 3 months at the trainer - Daryl Cartier. I think he did a great job.  One of my boarders (actually two - mother and daughter) fell in love with Pepper the first time they saw him and got to know him. It wasn't an easy decision to sell him but Kymber, the daughter, will use him more than I and she wants to show him English and Western. The horse and rider are both so young and it is a bit of a concern.

 She's a good little rider, 14, and seems to be able to handle him real well. He will stay here with me and I can help her with colt issues. He's a good mover, with a nice easy lope. He's quiet and a little stubborn at times - a colt.  They follow your blog also and would be tickled to see you post her picture and the news that they now own him. My heart is a little heavy though. 

So all in all, I think I have a small but successful breeding program for both my dogs and horses- and by the way Kai is doing well, I'll be sure to get some photos of him soon with his new buddy, a Fjord weanling.

And just a quick note from Beamer:

There's snow on them thar mountaintops! 

Which means I have to make sure he has his blanket on at night, and lots of hay for him to share with his buddy Url; they now share the shelter, which is kinda cute.

Sunday Stills

The foliage of fall in all its colorful beauty- the subject of todays Sunday Stills Challenge. There is still a lot of green here, and rather late in the year for us at that!

The maple trees gave me some colour this year- last year they froze while they were still green and the leaves dropped without changing colour.

Red, like our flag!

I love the red berries on all the different bushes, they add a beautiful bright splash and make me smile.

A visit

Barby returned yesterday afternoon, hung around in the trees bordering our yard. He let me stand right underneath him and talk to him. I offered him some raw meat but he wasn't interested, just flew to another tree. He hung around all afternoon, I even rode under his tree on Beamer, and he just stayed there. So I spread sunflower seeds around the perimeter of the yard to attract mice for him- if he doesn't get them, Foose will!

Speaking of visiting, we have friends from Alberta here for the weekend to help with the auction on Saturday- they're the ones who own Luke, Tess's littermate. we have so much stuff for the auction, it's crazy! We are going to be really busy.

Backhoe, tractor, seed drill, boats, campers.

Horse drawn implements, and yard decor galore

Antique furniture,

and a Singer Treadle sewing machine that works.

So much stuff that I don't have time to show it all! I am clerking the sale so I will have a long day tomorrow.

Owl update

The owl progressed rapidly, by Tuesday evening he was flapping his wings quite strongly.

So Wednesday morning we decided to set him free. After feeding him some beef and chicken ,we took him out and Ted got the honour of releasing him.

We released him about 7 AM.

He stayed in the tree all day, we checked on him a few times-and made sure we kept the cats in the house. This morning, he was gone. We feel blessed to have had this chance to spend time with one of the most beautiful birds.

Wordless Wednesday

The Owl and the Pussycat

Anyone remember that story?

Foose was sunning himself on the bed today; he's such a funny cat, lays on his back all the time. I haven't let the cats see the owl, I don't want it to have any more stress than it already has being cooped up.

The owl, which we have nick-named "Barby" because of the barbwire, is really improving. It's eating, and doesn't seem to mind being handled. Thanks to Cheyenne, who commented that owls don't drink, I haven't been trying to get it to drink, but make sure that he gets juicy meat.

He is looking much brighter, and seems to like the kennel we keep him in. When we are done feeding him we hold him in front of the cage and he hops right in. I will be talking to the vet tomorrow about getting him to an owl rehab place on the coast, but think that Barby might just be well enough to fly in a day or two. I hope so, it would be wonderful to see him fly away. I'll let Ted be the one to release him, he just loves having this lovely bird to care for.

In reading up on Barred Owls, I found out that they are one of two types that have dark eyes, the other large owl with dark eyes is the barn owl.

Blogger won't let me load videos, but when it does, I'll put one or two on. I notice that blogger will be doing image upload maintenance tomorrow evening, so hopefully they will get it right!

What a morning!

The Beamer photos will have to wait for Wordless Wednesday: This morning we found an injured Barred Owl; it had most likely been chasing a mouse and got it's wings tangled in the bottom strand of barb wire(I hate that stuff!). In this photo I'm pointing to the injury.

I brought it into the house and made a whole bunch of phone calls, but unless I want to drive for a couple of hours, there is no one who will take it, so guess what- we are in the rehab business as of today! One lady brought me a couple of mice in live traps, but the owl wouldn't eat. I think it got really stressed, and I was told that their normal eating times are dusk and dawn, so we will try again this evening. I put it in a portable dog kennel for today, with a dish of water and if it eats and drinks I'll move it to the Canine Hilton where it will have plenty of room to move- and when it can fly it will be able to fly out of there.

Ted was overwhelmed; he loves owls and when he walked in the door and saw me holding an owl he was so excited he could hardly talk.

We consider it a honour to try to help this beautiful bird.

UPDATE: The owl ate some raw chicken, and drank some water. It wouldn't touch a live mouse, or a dead one. We think it's a juvenile. It flapped it's wings today, so the damage can't be too severe. It may be able to fly in a day or two. Meanwhile, it will be developing a taste for chicken....

Bad Velvet, and a saddle update

Note to self- always give the horses a once-over even if you think nothing is wrong. When I put the mares out this morning, I barely glanced at them. But when I brought them in this evening, I noticed right away that Velvet had a swelling on her neck right behind her jaw, and a bump on her knee.

It looks like she got her head stuck in something and pulled back, banging her knee in the process. There is heat in both places, so I hosed the swellings, dried her as best I could, applied peppermint oil for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities, wished I had some DMSO, and put a blanket on her for the night (cold freezing night!) Well, I guess it was a horse eating blanket at first, but then it was horses eating blanket!

It was thoroughly investigated by Chickory, and she gave it the taste test too.

I wonder if there will be anything left of it by morning? It's a really tough cordura blanket that has survived many horses, so I hope so.

We went to Brian's Saddle Shop on Saturday so Ted could install a stock waterer for them, and I got to see the start of my saddle. The ground seat is under way, and the horn cap is installed. Brian was working on the tooling on the cap. There will be rawhide trim on the horn cap and the cantle.

I played around with the stamps that Brian will be using on it- so please forgive the sloppy job on this sample I made- Brian does it so much better! But it gives you an idea of what the pattern will be. It's the Association basket stamp and a pitchfork border.

Tomorrow I've got some fun Beamer photos for you- if blogger cooperates!

Sunday Stills

Today's challenge is cars, and I really have to thank Janice for my take on this challenge. She was looking through an old newspaper book we have, it's newspapers from 1929 all bound into a book, from the Butte Montana area. In it were all kinds of ads for cars,and she figured I should photograph them for this challenge- so here they are for your enjoyment- and thanks, Janice!

A good day

Well. I did it! Loped bareback, that is, inspired by Gun Diva, who rode her mare Estes at a lope bareback. Beamer was very careful with me, and didn't complain when I held the reins a little too tight, fearful for my balance. It was just a short lope, and he's easy to sit at the lope, I just need to learn to relax my lower back, and go with the flow. Not so easy when my lower back is my big problem. But I'll have fun trying!

We have been having misty mornings here until it warms up enough for the sun to burn it off; looks like this in my yard in the morning:

My strawberries survived the frost so far, I liked this shot with the frost rimed leaves, and the blossoms bravely trying to bring forth fruit even into the cold days ahead.

We went for dinner at the Mennonite fall Thanksgiving dinner tonight- what a great meal! So much food, and good company, topped off by their youth choir who gave a wonderful performance of spiritual hymns. They were the perfect ending for a beautiful fall day.

I was hoping to take the dogs to try Sammi out on sheep, along with Janice and Kali, and Jenn and Abby, but have to put it off until Monday- the sheep lady has a volunteer fencing crew tomorrow so she won't have time.

Friends

I know how good bloggers are at rallying around if anyone needs help or advice, so if any of you have any advice for my friend Carol over at All These Pretty Horses, head on over there; her blue roan stallion Shadow has been diagnosed with COPD, which is severe asthma. His treatment is pretty expensive.

It seems that a lot of us have been having issues with our horses this year, things just seem to go in bunches. I had a bad stretch where in the course of 2 years I lost 6 horses. Never again, I hope!

We've hit some beautiful weather, cold at night but clear in the day- true fall weather. Last night the Big Dipper was sparkling away when I brought the mares in late, there have been geese wending their noisy way through the skies, and the scent of smoke from wood stoves in the air. Beamer gets his blanket on at night, and he shares his shelter with Url; usually Url finds the deepest pile of hay and plunks hinself down on it while Beamer stands. Every morning when he hears me come out the door, I'm greeted with a hungry moo. Even if he still has hay left- fresh is better!

On Friday Ted and I have been invited to the Mennonites belated Thanksgiving supper and social. It should be an interesting evening.

It's finally here- fall!

Fall has definitely hit here, we got our first killing frost last night. Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful, and we had Janice over for ham dinner- no turkey here unless I can get an organic one. It was a beautiful day, and we got to enjoy watching 5 border collies play ball together. There is definitely a hierarchy involved, with Tess at the top.

From bottom to top: Kali, Sammi, Reba, Tess, Sage. Sage and Tess are half sisters, and daughters of Reba; Kali is Tess's daughter.

Our auction consignments keep pouring in; we just got a 1971 John Deere snowmobile in really good shape, and a John Deere model G tractor. I'll do some photos of some of the antiques this week.

I went to Idaho yesterday to haul a horse for a friend, and when we got to her place she showed me two little kittens, tiny little things about 3 weeks old. They were quite happy to snuggle in mycoat pockets while they loaded some chain link rolls for the auction.