Enough is Enough

I took my sweet, old, mare Dixie out for a short ride on Saturday and I believe that she told me it was time for her to retire.

She didn't stumble, she didn't refuse, but she felt tired.  I get it old girl,  you are ready to retire and you have earned it.

Dixie brought me back into horse ownership in 1998 and has been such a great teacher, confidence builder, guest horse and babysitter.  She has been semi retired for the last couple of years, but other than taking the occasional child on a backyard tour - I'm officially letting her live out the rest of her years as a lady of leisure.  At 27 years young this year, we're hoping to have her around for a good long while yet.

Thank you, my sweet, sweet girl!  

KD's Day Off

I've come to really appreciate a good vacation day.  Started off this morning with an early morning vet call for spring shots and then spent an hour shooting the breeze with him.

Got a little housework done, then picked up a round bale for the girls.  I use a Hay Hut to protect the round bale and try to keep them from wasting so much hay.  It's a little unwieldy for me to tip over by myself, but I can still do it.

My two little hens are laying well again and I found a dozen eggs in the soft bed of hay pieces left in the Hay Hut.

After sifting thru the hay for the eggs, I rolled the new bale out of my truck bed and with much grunting, tipped the  Hay Hut back over the new bale of hay.  Then I noticed that I forgot to cut the twine off the dang bale, so had to reach through the windows to get that done...didn't want to flip the hut again.  The horses still pull hay out of the windows and stomp on it, but much less is wasted than with a traditional hay ring.

Next in line was to meet my daughter to go check out a wedding venue at one of our favorite places to ride...Diamond D Ranch.  Jenny and I used to rent horses there when she was just a little kid, and during her teen years she worked there as a Summer Horse Camp Counselor.  The Griffin family has always treated her  as part of the Ranch "family".  They've built a wedding pavilion that is really lovely and we are considering it for Jenny's wedding this year.  Here's what it looks like at night.....you can go as casual or as fancy dancy as you like.

A quick sandwich from a local Subway, then Jenny and I went to pick up her new Lab puppy.  Jenny has been involved with the pups since they were born  - the bitch belongs to a good friend of hers and the male is a proven working duck dog from GA.  My new grand pup is soooo cute and smart too!  Now she has to get a name to suit her.

After saying good bye to Jen and the pup, I headed home to feed the crew and relax for a while.

This is Dixie, my 26 year old Appy that gets prettier every year.

Stylin had to work for her alfalfa cube treat and performed for the camera.  I was a little close and it was a little hard to fit her in the frame while I asked her to lie down, but we got it.

What an awesome day !   

June evening

This is my little frog pond - I used to put bleach in it to keep it clean and pretty, but killed a bunch of tadpoles one time and felt guilty. Now it's home to anything that wants to live in it with the exception of mosquitos.




For those who like spotted butts, here's my girl Dixie - 21 yr old grade Appy. Stylin didn't get her picture tonight - she was busy in the back part of the yard. Look at our grass....that's what a couple of good rains will do.


Here's our little "Mighty Dog" Jesse.



And this is Sarah posing with her summer clip. You can still see the gray undercoat....she's a chow mix and just gets way too furry for Florida summers. She's a wonderful Therapy Dog and loves to visit our local Community Hospice.