Wordless Wednesday

Things that make you go "hmmmmm"

Doing a little research tonight. No other symptoms; good appetite, no nasal discharge.

Snow!

We got snow this morning! Of course, it's the day they are moving the last of the heifers and the bull out, so the mares and Rio got turned out into different pastures so we could use their pens for gathering. With the snow, and new places to play, it was a photo op morning (imagine that!)

This is how you make a Quarter Horse look like a snowflake Appaloosa!

Gussie is flipping me some lip....

That's the fastest Chickory has moved for a while.She is more content to mosey around looking for minuscule blades of grass, or bury her nose in the hay- this being a mama-in-waiting requires food ya know!

He might not look big in this photo but Rio at 20 months is the second biggest horse here. Ted stood next to him today and really got an idea of how much he has grown. His training is on hold for now, I'm satisfied with what we accomplished this far, and will resume when the weather breaks in the spring.

Two minutes of silence...

Sunday Stills

This weeks challenge is the colour yellow, and Ed is back at the helm. Thanks, Sarah for filling in and keeping Sunday Stills going!

How about a little bit of camo for Merle?

Of course, I always think every colour is enhanced with a little black and white for contrast!

There are still a few leaves on the trees, enough to frame the moon setting while the early morning sun was coming up.

I finally managed to get a photo of my last brave pansy.

Thumper was quite certain that he is yellow enough to be included in this challenge.

There are still plenty of leaves on the ground, I was hoping the wind would blow them all away- no luck there!

Today is Remembrance day. (Canada )or Veterans Day (US) and I believe in the UK it's called Armistice Day. Remember to give thanks for all those who laid down their lives for our freedom, and remember them in your prayers.

Hangin' in there

A strong north wind blew snow along the slopes yesterday, only a skiff here in the bottom of the valley.  It was really howling, and Pearl and Lizzie had the right idea:

Sorry, had to use flash to get the photo! The wood stove is going non stop now, and my Christmas cactus is blooming.

Yep- two different coloured blossoms, two plants in the same pot.

I can't say as I welcome the onset of winter, but I am glad I live where I do, as Alberta has been getting some nasty weather for quite some time now. It's still green here, in fact the lawn is getting a little shaggy, but I'll let it stay long over the winter. The pasture is still holding out, but not growing much.

 We still have dandelions blooming and a few pansies and blue bacopa are hanging in there. I'm sure it won't be too much longer, to shovelling snow though. But I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

The ladies....

...in waiting, to borrow a phrase from Sherry over at Fern Valley Appaloosas. The mares are getting, shall we say, large.

Baby bellies bustin' out!

They are all due around the last two weeks of March.Chickory's first foal, Gussies third, and Belle's fifth. If Belle throws me a filly she will get a year off from raising babies.

Chickory is getting big! She is the smallest of the mares and is the first one due.
I'm really excited about Gussies foal, she has thrown blue roans so far.

I heard from the lady who had Velvet, (Gussie's daughter) she has been sold to a lady who is into cutting competitions, so I am really hoping to get some updates on her.

I just can't wait. 3 little hooligans all at once!

Wordless Wednesday

A Beamer post

Beamer was part of yesterday's happy frolicking horses, but I wanted to give him his own post. I keep him blanketed once the cool weather hits (he loves his blankets!) but he loves to go nekkid on the warm sunny days.

Off with the blanket and halter, and off he goes!

Funny how Reba manages to be in so many photos...

She loves to run with the horses, I think it's what keeps her young at 11 years old.

Since this is the field where the mares get turned out , Beamer soon discovered some tantalizing smells...

Mmmmm, mare pee!

Sorry Beamer, 5 more months to breeding season.

One more pose...

and one more gallop....

This photo makes me think of barrel racing, heading for the gate! Maybe Nitro gets a little of his love of running from his sire, as well as his dam.

See ya later!

Welcome back, sunshine!

Blue skies and sunshine today, so welcome after all the clouds and rain we've had for the last couple of weeks.Needless to say, the horses were happy to get out and romp in the sun.

Looks dry, doesn't it? Don't let it fool you, under the sod there is a clay base here, not gravel, so the ground really holds it's moisture.

(Sorry, it's a little blurry!)

I guess that clay base is the reason we have such good hay crops in this valley, which is really reclaimed lake bottom. Every morning during the summer, we have a fairly heavy dew, no drought here even though we went almost 3 months without rain.

It was nice to see Chickory out ripping around with no signs of lameness.

Rio wasn't too inclined to run around, unlike his brother Nitro, Rio is rather laid back.

He also has access to his pasture 24/7, unlike the mares. 

Well, I'm off to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Sunday Stills

Today's challenge is to use Macro for our shots; I must confess I had a little difficulty with the macro on my new pocket camera, I couldn't get as close as I could with the Olympus.

All the flower shots turned out blurry, bummer because I wanted to show that I still have a few blooms into November, mostly hardy pansies.

Here is an example of my frustration- it looked in the viewfinder that the tree trunk was in perfect Macro focus, but apparently the camera was focusing on the distance- very annoying and totally opposite of the effect I was trying to create. Oh well, keep trying!

Not much ado!

Pretty quiet on the home front. Rain has let up, but more in the forecast- but I'm happy it isn't snow; especially when I can take pictures like this:

Tess was happy to pose for me! 

Elk hunting season is over, and I didn't get out as much as I hoped to, and as a result I didn't get my elk. I guess the old set of antlers from my first elk that I put in my garden will have to do for this year.

We have another auction to work in 2 weeks, an estate auction of a wood working shop and all it's equipment. The weekend after that is Cowboy Christmas fundraiser dinner, auction and dance in Jaffray (2 hours from here) and Ted will be the auctioneer at that. It's always a fun time, but we haven't been to it for quite a few years. Hope I can remember how to dance!
So far it looks like all 3 of my mares are in foal, so be prepared for a triple foaling contest sometime in February.

They are all due quite close together, so it's going to be interesting. If Gussie has a blue colt, it's spoken for, if Coyote Belle has a filly I'm keeping it, and someone is interested in Chickory's foal. Should be a fun filled spring coming up!