Sunday Stills

Christmas decorations is the theme this week. I guess I got my tree decorated just in time today! I have a few favorite decorations like these ones;

It seems that that Thumper and Pearl were in a helpful mood.....

Thumper had to have his very own ornament, I gave him this one in hopes that it would keep him from snagging something off the tree!

I think the cats are having great fun with the tree; so far, I have to rehang the bottom lights, and they snagged three things from the tree- and it's only been decorated for half a day!
I always decorate with candles,

and my sister bought me a lovely Christmas centerpiece.

Bubby thinks the tree lights are just perfect.

Next weekend is Christmas, and for those of you who only visit here on Sunday, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

Just can't wait!

My husband was over at Brian's Saddle Shop a few days ago, and I asked him to get some photos of my saddle for me. Well, he did, but I call them teaser photos because he didn't show the whole thing! Here is what I mean:

I might have to go find a second job to pay for it, but by spring, I'll be riding it!

We have a winner!

Well, two winners, actually!
I put everyones name on a list;

well, two lists, actually, the shorter list is the folks who entered on my other blog.  I cut them into strips, put 'em in a bowl, and the first draw was for the $65 certificate, and the winner is- drum roll, please-

That's right- my buddy Janice! It's always nice when it's someone you know who wins, and Janice, I'll bring our laptop over on Saturday so you can get online to shop for your prize!
The second winner of the $35 certificate is from the entries on my other blog, where I post the horses I have for sale from time to time. Currently featuring Velvet! And it's fitting that the name I drew is for the latest follower of that blog:

Gowestferalwoman-congratulations! I will email both of you with the code you need to enter on CSN stores site for your order- have fun doing a little Christmas shopping! And thanks to CSN stores for making this possible.

The girls were feeling left out.....

When the rain finally stopped, there was plenty of water standing in the pens, and of course, I had to check out how deep it was when I went out for my daily chores.

I loved to play in puddles when I was a kid....

Fortunately, because of  the warm weather, the ground has thawed out and a lot of the water has gone into the ground. Never one to waste an opportunity, I loved the lines and reflections in this photo:

It is so nice when the sun comes out after a couple of rainy days. 

The manure mountain is surrounded by water, and is making a good barnyard tea, which I am standing in, in that first photo. I left the wheel barrow on the pile while I snapped the photo above, and it seems the girls are never one to waste an opportunity either!

In the last week Velvet has tipped the wheel barrow over twice- and always when it's full!

Belle, meanwhile, is getting mellower as her baby grows; only 4 months to go! And of course, that will be another contest, my annual guess the date one which I'll start in March.

Just in Time for Christmas- a CSN stores giveaway!

Edited: Contest closed

I know a lot of us have a tough time at Christmas, and maybe we can't afford a gift for someone special; but thanks to the great folks over at CSN stores here is your chance at winning a $65 gift certificate in the form of a promotional code, to be spent at any of their more than 200 website stores, on any thing you want! For example, you could choose leather messenger bags that work perfectly for slipping your laptop in while you are travelling, or on the way to a horse show;

like this one which is guaranteed delivery by Dec. 24.

Since I'd like to have a winner as soon as possible, I'll keep it short- to win, all you have to do is visit CSN stores  and tell me what you would like to order if you are the winner! The giveaway deadline is tomorrow (Wednesday) at midnight Pacific time.

For a second chance to win, you can visit my other blog, where I promote my horses that are for sale. I'll draw both of them at the same time, and post the winners on Thursday morning. Have fun doing a little virtual shopping!

Guest post by Beamer- for Mrs. Mom

First let me say hello to all my fans in blogland; Shirley tells me I get a lot of compliments (Well, naturally, aren't I the handsomest boy ever? )
Apparently Mrs. Mom  is one of my fans, and I really appreciate her helping my people to put me on a good barefoot trim program. Also, I hear that Mrs. Mom doesn't have a horse of her own right now, so I thought I'd give her a fun post to cheer her up and that she can go back and look at whenever she has the blues and needs some horse lovin' . ( That's the best kind, ya know!)

I love smooches, and Mrs. Mom is always emailing smooches to me, so I'll start off right!
Also, I hear she likes Appaloosa horses- well, personally I don't see what's wrong with a nice shiny solid black coat, but to humor her, I allowed a "snowflake pattern" on my rump. We can pretend, can't we? 

So, Mrs. Mom, climb aboard my sleek black back, and I'll take you for a ride!

I really enjoyed turnout time, and thought I'd just show off a little for you. Check out my power take-off:

I can drift them turns...

And do y'all remember my patented suspension?

And hey- who needs a bridle to have a perfect headset?

All that exercise is wearin' me out!

Okay, it's raining, and it's time for me to go get my blanket back on and go to my cozy shelter!

Hope you enjoyed spending an afternoon with me! Love ya!

Sunday Stills

Pets has to be one of my favorite challenges, and this year I had some very willing subjects.

The Foose

Bubby- he is fading into old age, and I hope he hangs around a little longer; this cat has been everywhere with us, even living in a camper with us. He used to love having showers with Ted, and once weighed 17 pounds. Now I think he weighs 7 pounds.

Thumper; he is going to be a huge cat, and he really lives up to his name.

Pearl, the Princess, is a very feminine feline- until it is time to beat Thumper up! Foose loves her.

The three hooligans

My blue eyed beauty, Reba

Does it bother your eyes to look at this photo?

December 11

This day was the day, 60 years ago, that my sister Sharron was born. She lived 16 and a half years. We lived along the shores of Kootenay Lake, and there was a little store about a mile away that we would walk to. One evening in June, she, and two of my brothers, went to the store, and made the fatal decision to walk another 100 yards to the Starlight Drive-In to watch the cartoons that come on before the movie. Any of you remember Drive-In movies? They had a huge screen that you could see from the road, so they walked along the shoulder of the road to find a good vantage point to see the screen. The driver of an approaching car was also distracted by the movie screen; but with one more distraction- he had been drinking. My brothers and sister were walking single file along the shoulder of the road (narrow shoulders in B.C.) and he missed one brother, hit the other one in the hand, and hit my sister full on. My sister died within seconds, but her memory has never died for me. I pray for her soul, and still grieve for her, a life cut short, for reasons only God knows.

Another good day

It warmed right up here, things are melting all over- it even rained this morning. Yesterday I went for a putt on Beamer, just rode down to the neighbor's farm and back; took the dogs too. When I rode into their yard, Beamer stopped and stared at all the unfamiliar things, like machine sheds with shadowy, horse eating combines and balers. I let him take his time and look, and we advanced one step at a time (good boy!). I could hear the snow start to slide off the roof, -I was riding bareback- so I took a handful of mane and shortened one rein, and when it whooshed, all he did was a half-spin, and stop and look. Good boy! The dogs all got to practice heeling as there were a couple of vehicles to deal with, and we had a wonderful outing. We went into the hayfield after, and the snow is a little deep for the dogs there-

so I didn't go too far. We did some visiting over the fence with the mares, and called it a day.

Not too exciting, which is just fine with me.

Wordless Wednesday

The Kitty Tower

I got the Cat Tower from CSN stores the other day, and it was a big hit with the cats right away. Thanks very much to Lisa from Home on the Range blog, where I won the gift certificate.

The kittens and Foose loved it. They take turns being the "Lord of the Castle" or on Pearl's case, Queen of the Castle. I'm having a blast photographing them playing on it, but I'm saving the best photos for Sunday Stills because the theme is Pets on the next Challenge.

Winter Wonderland

Sunday morning dawned clear and cold (-16 C) and as soon as I looked out the window I knew it was going to be a photo-op day.

The frost crystals were huge, and added beauty to everything, even the mess of spiderwebs that adorn my porch roof.

Beamer and his buddy Earl were my next stop; this sure looks better than the muddy mess of last month!

The trees were absolutely beautiful, stark white perfection against the deep blue morning sky.

I have a few more photos, but I'll save them for another post.

Sunday Stills

Ed gave us free rein this week, a potluck of whatever we found interesting to share. I chose beauty, wherever I found it;in the way the mountains look like they are floating on a sea of cotton wool in the early morning;

in the curve of the clouds laying heavy in the valley at sunrise,

in the joy of watching the mares play in the snow;

silly, frivolous fillies!

I deliberately upped the contrast in these photos to make them more interesting.

But my favorite photo of this week is a portrait of Belle, this is the mama to Janice's filly Jazz, and Kai. She's in foal again, and I'm really looking forward to the next baby!

I think I found plenty of beauty this week; hope you enjoyed my potluck.

Blue Christmas, anyone?

Just a reminder that Velvet is still for sale; make someone a blue Christmas!

"Add a red ribbon and put me under your tree"

Hoses made easy

One of the banes of existence in the winter is dealing with frozen hoses for those of us who aren't blessed with automatic heated waterers and heated barns. I use tubs and electric de-icers, and have to fill them with a hose. Last year I was reading Mustang Diaries blog and she mentioned putting the hose in a garbage can to bring in to a warm room. I've read a few comments this year about folks storing their hoses in showers or bathtubs, so I thought I'd share with you the easy method I use to deal with the hoses of winter.

I store my 100 ft of hose in my muck cart; it makes it easy to get it from the house, where I store it in my mud room, and the wheeled cart makes it easy to take anywhere. I have to bring it up a few steps to the deck, and it rolls up easily.

When I coil it up I start with the far end, and have the part that goes to the tap on top; I attach it and roll the cart along while the hose unrolls itself.

It's quick and easy, the longest part is re rolling the hose and coiling it into the bucket.

I have had my share of frozen hoses over the years, and I've found this method super easy. The muck buckets are available at most farm supply stores. I use them for a lot of different things.

Wordless Wednesday