Horses, and Cattle, and Chickens, Oh, My!

Yesterday I took Ian, Vanessa, and Mila out to The Farm at Prophetstown to visit Aunt Leslie and the animals. Ian was so happy there, he did not want to come home! (My little barn buddy in the making.)

As we got out of the car, Ian ran ahead and then stopped and pointed. He'd spied the horses! (Look straight down the gravel path - they're the two dark shapes in the pasture.)

 We were greeted by some of the farm's 79 chickens. (I love how Ian is crouching down to see them.)

Great Aunt Leslie is the farm's manager, and she gave us a special tour. She got a grain scoop and showed us how to call the chickens (not that we needed to; they were everywhere!)

Suddenly, Ian spotted something really big.

 So big that he was a little hesitant to approach it. (I love how he is peeking around the shed.)

The farm's new tom turkey who went into full display when he saw us.

"Here, chick, chick, chick, chick, chick!" Aunt Leslie shows us how tame the chickens are.

 We also saw the flock of ducklings come out of their house to enjoy the warm sunshine.

 Ian's favorite place (one we went in and out of many times) was the henhouse. He loved feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, and watching the broody hens sitting on their nests.

 The wagons and tractors, though, were a close second! Wow!

 A view of the homestead.

 Following Aunt Leslie to go see the bunnies, cattle, pony, and horses. Another family had come out to see the farm; turns out they were Vanessa's neighbors from around the corner!

 Bojangles sure liked the apple we brought him.

 Time, one of the farm's standardbreds, was lying down near the fence.

 We slipped her a few apple slices.

 Ahhhhhhhh!! So nice to lay out after a long, cold, winter!

Ian and Charlie look at the rabbit cages. We also saw the "bunny playground" where the rabbits are turned loose for exercise. (There was a chicken in it, naturally. Those chickens were everywhere!)

 The farm still uses a working windmill to pump its water.

Next up were the steers. Aunt Leslie gave us some corn and had us call to them.

 "Here, cow! Here!"

 Maybe some more corn will do the trick.

 Charlie and Ian bucket-diving for corn.

The steers were not hungry - they'd been fed, and like the other animals on the farm, were enjoying the spring sunshine while they chewed their cuds.

 Jackson is a very gentle boy and does not mind being patted.

Ian wanted to go back and visit the chickens and the henhouse again.

 We ran into the "turtey" on the way back.

Grabbing the feed scoop, Ian got some handfuls of ground corn and fed Tom.

I didn't get pictures, but the turkey started following Ian all over the grounds! Ian found that a little intimidating - after all, the "turtey" was as big as he is!

After an hour and a half we finally were able to drag Ian away from the farm.  Such a lovely way to spend a spring break day!

Spring Break Shopping

It's spring break, and like many people, I went and did some shopping.

But, I didn't go to the mall.

I went to the tack shop!

A new lead rope for Abby (in orange, of course) and new leather work gloves for me!

Ditched!

I love spring break - I can get out to the barn daily without worrying about teaching and all the things that need to be done at school. My schedule is so much more open, my time more my own.

Yesterday I arrived at feeding time. As I was getting out of my car, Brandon, Tim's son-in-law, pulled up at the old barn behind me. All the horses came thundering up from the far west pasture, anxious for their evening hay.

I went into the old barn and chatted with Brandon as he climbed up into the hay mow. Abby came inside and was eating her carrots and peppermints until she heard the hay land in the hay rack.

Woosh! She was out the door in a flash! 

I had just gotten my phone up for some pictures, but she was gone before I could open the camera app!

I've never been ditched by Abby like that, but it didn't last long.

 As soon as I went outside, she left the fresh hay and came over to see me again.

I gave her a few more peppermints and some pats, talked a little more with Brandon, and then headed home.

I love spring break!

My Girl and Me

Lisa came out with me to treat Skippy's cut yesterday, and on our way back into town, we swung past the barn to visit Abby and her friends. As a result, I got some rare pictures of myself with Abby!

 Abby came over to the gate as soon as she heard me call. Naturally, her BFF Diablo came along, too.

I sort of wished at first that I could just have Abby in the picture, but then I realized that having two horses to spend time with was a good thing! (Love the hay in Diablo's mane.)

 Carrots were the day's treat!

 And they are finger-licking' good! (Of course, so are apples and candy canes and sugar cubes and...)

 When I remember that I had NO plans to get a horse again, and how Abby came into my life completely by chance...

 ... I feel incredibly blessed as well as very, very lucky.

She brings so much into my life, just by being herself.

A Barn Run for an Injury

I got a panicked call from my sister, Leslie, this afternoon. She is in Michigan at a conference, and the teenager who is checking her horses while she's gone had sent her pictures of an injury Skippy had incurred.

 It was on the underside of his jaw.

Leslie called me and asked if I could go out and check on him, and treat the wound or call the vet if need be. I was happy to go, but I was leery of treating a blind, injured horse alone so I called my daughter, Lisa, and invited her to come along.

Out of all our kids, she is my horsey girl, and so she hopped into her car and joined me.

Naturally, Skippy and Cocoa were in the far end of the pasture, and neither would come when we called. So we had to hike out to them.

As we approached, Skippy decided to be social and came over to say hello. Blind since birth, Leslie has had him most of his life, and so he knows the pasture and barn very well. (Skippy is in his mid twenties.)

 Lisa offered him a carrot and that was all it took - he was now our best friend! He really is a sweet boy.  I checked under his jaw and was pleased to see that it was just a scrape and, aside from cleaning it and putting antibiotic ointment on it, nothing else needed to be done.

 We gave Skippy a final carrot and pat, took his halter off, and began the hike back up to the barn.

 Our new best friend decided to follow us up (probably hoping for more carrots.)

 It was amazing to watch Skippy negotiate the pasture. He actually turned and went a different way than we did - unerringly finding the gravel path to the barn.

After a couple of pats and another carrot, we said goodbye to Skippy. I will go back tomorrow and treat the scrape again, but I phoned my sister and told her that all was well with her boy.

An Apple a Day

I surprised Abby with an apple tonight instead of her usual candy canes.

She thought that made the hike up worthwhile!

Tired Teacher or Spidey Senses?

Friday I came back to my classroom after doing bus duty at dismissal and looked around. The classroom was in good shape, I was tired, and so I gave our classroom pet goldfish, Moment, her weekend feeder, grabbed my coat, teaching bag, and keys, locked the door, and went home.

Only I decided to head home via three antique shops that I hadn't visited since Christmas vacation. They're side by side in a large strip mall, easy access in and out (just what this tired teacher needed) and so I thought I would just drop by and take a quick walk through.

I've had good luck at all three shops in the past, but it can be hit and miss, too. The finds I've had have been very good, so I always go in with fingers crossed.

Nothing at the first two, but the third shop had a bunch of Marx Best of the West things: Pancho, Thunderbolt, and a bunch of dolls that went with the set. That's often a good sign - usually if there's something from an estate sale that is horsey, real or otherwise, I will find other things that are related to horses.

Sure enough, I came around the corner, and spied a long glass case full of Japan chinas.

They were in excellent shape - no breaks or chips, and I was sorely tempted by the two black pieces, but the seller wanted $25 each. I did not want to pay that much for them.

I finished looking at those and turned to head past the cash register and out the door when I spied another glass case on different counter. Inside I could see what looked like a Breyer classic scale foal, one of the Hagen Renaker molds Breyer had used.

But why would a plastic horse be in a glass case?

My hopes began to rise and as I got closer, I could tell it was the Hagen Renaker Morgan foal, Roughneck. I gasped and cried aloud, "Holy mackeral!!"

(There went my poker face, right in front of the shop owner!)

Score one for me - a Monrovia Hagen Renaker Roughneck - tagged for $45! (I was able to get 10% off because of the breaks.)

He has a repaired tail and left hind leg, but still, he was a great find. (Look at those eyewhites!)

He was made from a brown slip and has a large pour hole that was left unplugged.

The football sticker.

I don't know if the owner heard my blurted out comment or not. She did tell me that, "These are worth hundreds of dollars online" and yet she was still willing to take off 10% because it had two repaired breaks.

I posted pictures of him to a collectors' group on Facebook. Someone commented about my "Spidey senses", which made me smile. I thought it was more "tired teacher syndrome" that made me take some time off and shop. Regardless of the reason, I am thrilled to add this foal to my china cabinet and collection

People Magazine Horsey Style

It may not be People magazine, but Abby has been featured in North Salisbury Living, a local magazine for our town. They have a pet feature and I submitted Abby as a possibility last fall.

Hot off the press, here is the article.

(Better get your hoof print fast - no doubt they'll be going for big bucks on eBay soon.)