January

We are well into January and it is supposed to get very, very cold tonight. After dusk I am going to make sure Sparrow-hen is snuggled deep into the hay nest I made for her under the dog ramp to the front porch. She has been sleeping in the pear tree again now that the pears have stopped bombing her during the night. She should be ok under there. She is the sweetest little pet. When I sit on the front porch reading she practically crawls in my lap. She sits beside me and coos and bok boks and makes the sweetest little sounds. She isn't one of those chickens that loves to be held or anything, but it doesn't make her any less nice to have around. She comes when called any time of the day.

I have been feeding her on the front porch. I made her a mix of chicken feed and wild bird food. I am going to mix some flax seed in her food tonight. And she helps the wild birds eat the suet blocks I set out. She also helps clean up the horses spilled pellet feed. There are lots of good feedstuffs and vitamins in those for her. So she should have enough warming food in her gizzard.

>>>><<<<<

(Bah, I lost a lot of this post while trying to edit a mistake ... I have no clue what all got lost =( A whole bunch of nice things have happened since I last posted to my blog. My computer friends from Yorkshire, England sent me a link to their PhotoBucket pages of a walking tour of Herriot's country. It was wonderful seeing the fabulous scenery and listening to the sheep bleating, the dogs barking, and seeing my good friends having a great time. I enjoyed it so much. Torvy, Rad and E!

Steve has been working lots and lots of hours working on some project at work.

Another trail ride ... Shari on Dancer her lovely Quarab Palomino, Kimberly on Little Raven, and me on Solly rode the whole Brushy Creek, 6 miles, in Bankhead. I was nervous because I was afraid the trail would be too slick under the leaves, but it wasn't. And the trail was up and down and through little hollows and it followed a creek for a while and went beside an enchanting little waterfall. The horses also enjoyed the trail because there were no long, long uphill bits. That loop is my favorite in the area, at the top of my list with the Piney Torch Trail.

Steve bought two boxes of blank bisque tiles for me to glaze from Dick Blicks. Man oh man, I am enjoying painting them, but I am extremely apprehensive about how they will look once they are fired. I have done two Fjordhorse tiles and am working on an Australian Terrier tile. Hopefully, the Aussie one will raise some money for Shari's little Aussie's eye operations. He has cataracts and is rapidly going blind. Gimli, Shari's Aussie is the darlingest thing, a BIG personality in a small package! I am not a Terrier person, but he sure put that breed tops on my small breed wish list, should I ever need something smaller than a Labby.

We went to a dinner party at the friend of our friends. We had a grand time. There were folks from all walks of life and from many countries and ethnicities. And the food, wow ... Fun for all!

Then we had a party at our house, we cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and baked beans. I think my South African computer friend calls it a Braai (pronounced 'bry' rhyming with dry). (I didn't know how to pronounce it until I saw the clip "South African Braai Etiquette" on YouTube)

I will post some photos of my pup, Kyffin, and some of the people and horses I mention tonight.

Laters all

December

It is a lovely winter day outside. So lovely I have opened all the doors and windows so the wind can blow through the house and the cats and dogs can come and go as they please. Of course, that means I need to check the batteries in my weather radio and run down to the shelter to stock it with drinks and chairs and to drill the dogs to the storm shelter routine in case we have to make a run for it in the night because when it is that warm in December we can have bad storms in Alabama. Old Carly is no longer with us, so I don't have her to worry about her this time. She is perhaps the biggest reason I waited too late when the tornado came through last winter, she was too decrepit to make a run through the storm to the shelter. I think I will also find a nice rum drink recipe ... Prichard's Coconut Rum, with a Fjordhorse on the label, makes excellent storm weather medicine.

>>><<<

I miss Carly. She was one special Labrador. Imagine the Dolly Parton of dogs with a French accent and you have the essence of Carly. She was the loveliest color, a light yellow with the smallest hint of color, but without any washed out look in skin or fur. When she was a pup, she would get my attention at the computer by sitting up on her bottom, like a toy poodle, balancing with her tail and a with a paw on my leg, touching me ever so lightly, and making the most atrocious, loud, inhaling sound! People who heard this sound often asked me if she was asthmatic! I will try to find a photo of her to use in this post. She was an incurable chow hound. That and the fact that she was very self-centered were her only faults. Most female Labbies are very open-armed, always looking out for their human and canine family. Carly's only concern was that if her family was safe and all was well her food bowl would get filled morning and night! She had a way about her that was absolutely adorable. The darlingest toy dog had nothing on Carly for out-right C-U-T-E. She had these big round googly eyes, very untypical for a well bred Labby, with so much expression. She had a dished face much like a Pointer with a very deep stop. She had the most beautifully shaped, thick, soft ears. She was a lovely bitch I would have been proud to have shown.

Unfortunately, she developed a painful bone problem that Dr. Milton corrected surgically. When Carly was operated on at Auburn, Steve teased Dr. Milton and all his students and hospital workers about the Tennessee-Alabama college football feud. When she was brought out to us the next day Carly strutted out with a royal blue bandage on one leg and a bright orange bandage on the other ... Auburn colors! Of course, with us being from Tennessee, it was an obvious and hilarious jab at Steve's incessant ribbing of the Alabama folk the day before. Even though I was supposed to keep Carly quiet after the operation, she often got a crazy, Labrador look in her eyes and let loose with a butt-tucking spell the likes of which I have never seen before or since! She continued to butt-tuck upon occasion for several years after the operation. When she got going I would have to yell for everyone to hug a tree or run to the porch lest she plow into someone and knock their legs out from underneath them! But as the years passed Carly developed even more bone problems and was in pain again the last years of her life. She was with us for 14 years.

Carly managed to teach all my dogs after her to eat like someone is about to steal their food away at any moment. I would have to separate each new pup from the others and never let them see the others eat to break this behavior from my dogs. Even Crickett, who is as easy-going and accepting of others as they come, will now eat like a maniac because Carly and all the others have behaved that way. And with this behavior, a worry about food, comes counter-surfing ... another behavior I detest!

Carly was at her funniest when she saw something that worried her. Steve and I will forever chuckle at one particular incident when we were driving around exploring the Cumberlands. Carly rose up from the back of our SUV to see where we were when we pulled up to a stop at an intersection. She then noticed a motorcyclist pull up behind us and was certain this fellow was a dire threat! Her nose slowly rose above her eyes, she wrinkled her brow, opened those eyes as big as she could, pursed her lips and let out a series of woof, woofs that has us cracking up to this day whenever we remember her. You had to have been there to appreciate Carly at her finest. She did nothing half-way. She was all out hilarious even in the most simple mannerisms.
Carly was truly one of the most precious beings and we will always remember her knowing we were so lucky to have had her in our lives. RIP lovely lady.

>>><<<

I had another dream a couple of weeks ago. It was a doozy. We were at a picnic at a park (it reminded me of a picnic we went to many years ago when we lived in San Jose when my Labby, Caper, went up to greet Yvette - she hates dogs and watched Caper come up to her and didn't even move ... $*%!# - and Caper stuck her nose right on Yvette's cigarette and burned the heck out of her muzzle). In the dream I was gazing at a nearby pond and decided to take a walk along the bank. A fellow in our group called out to me asking if his daughter could walk with me. I said, "Of course!" So I took her hand and we set off on our walk. A ways from the other people in our party, we stopped to skip rocks and watch the ducks when we noticed something huge rising out of the water across from us. It was the face of a monster - a big monster - about a quarter of it's head rose up, kind of tilted to one side, just enough that we could tell it was something very strange and frightening. Then it sunk back into the water. We watched in horror as it rose up again, this time it was moving towards us, slowly, and walking towards shallower water so we could see its awful form. At first we were petrified, then we got our wits about us and started running - fast. Then we remembered the folks at the picnic and yelled to each other to head their way to join them and warn them of the horrible monster ... then I woke up ... does this not sound remarkably much like my alligator dream from before?

>>><<<

Sparrow, my one little hen, is still with us. The chicken run is nearly finished (gosh it's taking a long time to build). We have been doing something else almost every weekend this fall so we haven't been able to spend many days on it. It is so well built I have considered turning it into a horse shed! In the meantime, Sparrow has been sleeping under the dog ramp to the front porch in a pile of hay I made for her after I found her sleeping there on the ground. With no other chickens to cuddle up with in the tree branches, she decided that between the cold and the owls at night she would rather sleep there. I worry about possums getting her, but that would be a problem in the trees too. She is better protected with our dogs going in and out of the house at all hours in the spot she has chosen to sleep. Soon, she will have a house of her own and this spring she will have buddies to pal around with.

I am having trouble deciding what breeds of chickens I want to get. Looking at all the colorful breeds is like looking in the window of a candy shop, too many to choose from! My favorite breed is Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas. But the breed I am most interested in is Buff Plymouth Rocks. But the sweet, feather-legged Buff Brahmas and Salmon Favorelles absolutely endear me to them. And the gorgeous Golden Campines and Silver-Spangled Hamburgs catch my eye every time. And the colorful Blue-Laced Red Wyandottes and Vorwerks are intriguing as well. Do I get a couple of each for eye candy or do I concentrate on one or two breeds to help support a rare breed or two? I may as well put the breed names in a hat ...

>>><<<

Solly continues to amaze me. I love that horse! How many times have I said that and I haven't even had her a year. A few weeks ago Steve and I took her to Shari's for a playday for Shari's students. We had a blast. Solly was good as gold and did everything I asked of her even with other students on their horses milling about in the paddock going by at various speeds. Then we all went on a trail ride. Solly, who much prefers to be first horse on a trail, was on her best behavior even when the horse coming up behind her was often a stranger to her. With Shari's help she is a great Dorina replacement, with a very similar personality to Dorina, but even better if that can be possible.

Last week we went on a trail ride. Shari was on her beautiful Palomino Quarab, Dancer, and Sara rode her bay Quarab who was Avery's mare, Firestar's, first foal, and I rode my Solly. The weather was awesome - slightly chilly with the bluest of blue skies. I missed Kimberly, she was in school ... trail rides don't seem complete without her little smirk and giggle. The leaves had already fallen so you could clearly see through the forest. We rode about 8 miles of the Pine Torch Trail. We turned around at the creek where we rode the horses into for a drink. The Quarabs made a bit of a big deal of having to go down the notorious jagged brick stepped creek bed while Solly and I patiently waited. Then Solly rode down to the bank with just a smidgeon of hesitation to get a drink and cool her feet. And for some reason, she didn't paw at the water. Usually she paws like a maniac splashing water all over me, her saddle, and everyone within 10 feet of us. She probably does it when she is hot. Anyways, I wasn't in the mood to deal with it so I was grateful she didn't start splashing. The pale, dry, Big-Leaf Magnolia leaves lay on the ground like patches of snow. The shiney, green needles of the hemlock's branches gave color to the brown forest. Every once in a while we came across bright magenta berries, holly trees or lichen covered rocks for a bit more color. Solly went first, last or middle horse with no problems at all in any position. Her bright spirit and fuzzy ears before me made the day that much more enjoyable. It was another wonderful horsey day that reminds us, after writing numerous $100+ checks to various people, why we have the silly beasties!

>>><<<

Steve has bronchitis. Despite being sick we went out to buy gifts for our Christmas angels. We get different children every year. We only got one child this year, a little 7 year old girl. For many years we also got to buy presents for a lovely little lady who required special care. This year, Steve looked for her name on the list but it wasn't there. We feared something bad had happened to her, it broke our hearts because we had grown to love her over the years although we never got to meet her. Steve asked about her and the lady that collects for the angels looked into it for us. She found out that something good had happened ... she got adopted by the people who were fostering her and looking after her! We will miss her.

Merry Christmas angel, wherever you are!

>>><<<

The pecans are dropping their last nuts in the winds today. I have filled my bucket and will be munching on them for months. Mmmm. Nom, nom, nom.

>>><<<

My ponies are so fuzzy and cute this time of year. I have got to get my camera fixed. Maybe I can scout up a nice photo from last year. Someone on the Fjord-L wrote, "They are in their winter jammies." So descriptive, I love it!

>>><<<

Merry Christmas everyone!!!
<<<>>>

Chickens, Books and Ponies

If you read my last post you know what a difficult couple of years I had with my chickens. I think I read too much. I have read so many horror stories about varmints getting into coops/runs and destroying every single bird inside. And my birds did so well roosting in the apple tree in my fenced yard in our mild clime with my Labbies on guard much of the evening that I didn't figure that cooped birds had it any better. And another thing, I only had a few bad runs with my chickens, I would go for months at a time with them running around free range without loosing any of them. I figured my losses were fairly low despite a couple bad spells. But the animals drawn to our place by the drought, devastating my flock in a short period of time, was the last straw that convinced us to try something new and fix them a proper coop and yard.
Our chicken run behind the garden shed is coming along well. The frame is all but done. Now all we need is the caging and to figure out how we will finish the bottom edge so that determined predators can't get in while we are sleeping, and to install a roofed roost, and doors and nesting boxes inside the shed. Then, we hope to get a new garden shed so I can use the old one for a chicken coop.

Our friend, Miguel, has been helping Steve build the frame and last weekend they poured a concrete step to rest the door on. It's very nice. I drew a little hen in the corner of the step in the wet concrete. (I can't see concrete mixed and formed without thinking of the Romans.)

My last, lonely little hen, Miss Sparrow, is still doing well and lays several large green eggs for us every week. If we don’t get any pullets this fall we will surely get some chicks this coming spring.

I bought some pansies and violas to take the place of the tomatoes and cucumbers in the garden this winter. I wonder if herbs will last all winter here in north Alabama. I would like to plant them too. I like to keep parsley, rosemary and chives. now we have added dill to the fresh plants we use in our cooking.

The farrier came out again for the second time. I don't think it's a fluke, I really like her work and her way with my ponies. Anjee was her typical spoiled self, testing her with every little trick she could think of. Humans, to Anjee, are nothing more than a source of entertainment. I tried to raise her properly, to respect us squishy, little humans, but somewhere along the way I missed the boat! But the farrier handled her most excellently and actually got her to stand quietly for a while.

I also got all the ponies properly groomed: beards and other shaggy places clippered, tails and manes combed out and neatened up, and bot eggs scraped or clippered off. They are so cute now! ~I must get photos~

I have been asked to draw a little design for name tags for a meeting for my ponies breed club. I have a few drawings finished that I like a lot. I hope they are happy with them when I send them in, and I hope the size of the drawings is usable.

I finished Bernard Coldwell's book "Sword Song". I love the series it belongs to, 'The Saxon Novels'. I also love his 'Grail Quest' series and 'Warlord Chronicles'. Coldwell could be my very favorite author. In between other novels I am slowly re-reading all of the Harry Potter series. I am enjoying them more this time than the first time I read them. And Steve and I are of an age that we figure the number of books we read the rest of our lifetime is so limited that we are usually loathe to reread anything ... but Harry is one exception I will make! (I sure hope he grows his shaggy hair back out for the last movie!) Waiting in the wings on my night stand is Ken Follett's "World Without End", the sequel to one of my all-time favorite books, "The Pillars of the Earth".

I am hoping to find someone to ride Bankhead with on a regular basis. I am not one to go out adventuring on my own on a horse. It looks to me like this fall is going to be long and lovely. It would be a crying shame to spend it cooped up in the house with fat, out of shape, pasture-potato ponies out my window!

That's about all that's happening around here lately. We are enjoying the change in the weather ... warmth and coolness at last, hopefully no more HotHotHot this year!