A Blast From The Past

And I don't mean a good one either. Last night after getting the donkeys home and settled I had a long talk with my youngest. Found out some things that she has done, over the past couple of YEARS, that made me REALLY NOT HAPPY. Don't feel like going into details about HER but I need to talk about ME. I feel used and abused, gullible, stupid, and a bad parent. How could I have missed this stuff?????

Then I was talking to a friend who said it's always the youngest... it was with her own boys... AND she told me that her sister's youngest was into heroin, they got her detoxed... and just found out she is using again.

So maybe we are not so bad off after all huh? And I guess I should count my blessings, she IS 18 now so her mistakes did NOT screw up my future... of course they could still screw up hers but all I can do is pray that she stops making such stupid decisions...

Anybody else out there wanna join that prayer, I won't mind!!!

The New Boys

Meet Abner (left) and Mephibosheth

This is why they named him Mephibosheth (he is a guy in the Bible that is club-footed)

I think I am gonna change his name because even I can't pronounce it unless I am looking at it written down... he's only had it for 4 months anyway, somehow he came to these folks without his name...

They are both very good boys. They are almost TOO friendly, haltered up nice, lead just fine, hopped right in the trailer with me... and the best part is, NO PACKAGE on either one of them!!! So you will not be seeing any cool gelding pictures like you did for Forrest lol.

Busy Busy, Tired Tired

Wow what a day. Got up about daybreak and fed, cleaned stalls, got cleaned up and went up to Wickenburg for breakfast at Cowboy Cafe and a feed/hay run at Serenity Farms with Randy and my pal Mary. We took Ty along and he did great, and was very popular lol.

Came home, unloaded what I bought, started loading for the birthday party we had scheduled and Lindsey finally arrived (LATE!) and helped me get the horses and off we went. With Randy's back out, I was very glad to have her help!

Got back home and had Randy's entire family (well almost, but wow there was still a lot of people!) PLUS some friends and my mom and brother, ended up doing more pony rides for the nieces, finally got everyone fed and put away, managed to scarf some leftover barbecue that they had eaten before Lindsey and I got back, and all the company went home...

And tomorrow we ride in Sedona so gotta get up early. I am OFF TO BED!!!

Yikes! Never Mind Yesterday...

What a potential hullaballoo just got avoided, WHEW! Due to a lost e-mail (no blame, no way to tell exactly what happened) I actually sold Jeffrey a few weeks ago, to the folks who bought Clementine. And I didn't even know it! Good thing the gal from California didn't call me until after I discovered this... and she is cool with it, still stopping by today to meet the minis and willing to wait until another one is born...

Guess it's just confirmation that I WAS RIGHT!!!!! When we first wanted to buy miniature donkeys and ended up having to drive to east Texas to get them, I told Randy then that I wanted to be a miniature donkey breeder right here in Arizona because not everyone is able to do what we did... Nice to have my thoughts validated like this!!

Of course it helps that they are so darn cute they almost sell themselves, and with David and Linda taking little Madeline with them when they go on big horse/mule rides, she has become our advertising department all by herself lol. And an adorable ambassador she is...

Fingers Crossed...

Got a call today from the gal who bought Madeline, they are enjoying the heck out of her and have started right off taking her along on rides. She did a weekender and now is on a week-long ride with them. Well, someone else on the ride, from CALIFORNIA, has fallen in love with her, and will be calling me about purchasing Jeffrey! WOO HOO! My first interstate sale... and if it goes through, that means 6 out of 6 foals have been sold before they were weaned...

Wow. I really AM a miniature donkey breeder {BIG GRIN}...

Here We Go Again

Got an e-mail about taking a couple of donkeys... she THINKS they are geldings because they have been there 4 months and haven't tried to breed her mare...

OMG I hope so. Two more gelding bills I don't need...

I'm hoping she would have noticed if they still had their "family jewels", generally donkeys are pretty large and visible...

She also THINKS they will get in the trailer... again, I hope so...

I pick them up either Friday night or Saturday. Stay tuned ;)

PS anybody need a donkey to love?????

Growing Like Weeds!

Our two remaining babies are growing like weeds... the boy is 4.40 ounces and the girl is 5.95 ounces, and it's only day 7!
And it looks like our little boy may have 4 white boots!

Chihuahua vs. Large Man

Today we spent most of the day at the VA ER, Randy did something to his back yesterday while I was gone to the parade, I came home to find him on the couch with his two best friends of the day, the TENS unit and a pain pill... and today he could hardly walk!!! So off to the hospital we went...

The only thing he could think of that he did was, he bent over to pick up Ty. Ty now weighs 1 pound 9 ounces...

Randy is always very careful when he picks up anything heavy because of his back... but since Ty is NOT heavy, he didn't think to be careful...

One of the guys in the ER said that sometimes all he has to do is sneeze and his back goes out...

Needless to say Randy will be a lot more careful from now on! Kind of embarrassing for such a big guy to have to admit that he was "taken out" by a less-than-2-pound chihuahua!!!

Passing the Torch

And YES that is a play on words, as you will see...

Today was the Buckeye Parade... and BOTH of my local daughters joined us...
First, me and Paint Mare...
Some of the other gals in the group...

Lindsey on Skeye

and Hilary on Katie...

Took the girls a while to "warm up" and "get into character" but by the time the parade was over and we were headed back to the trailers, Lindsey rode up to a policeman and drawled... "Excuse me, officer, would you happen to have some water, I'm so parched"... he started to apologize that he didn't have any or he would give her some, when she continued "I've been working so hard, I can hardly swallow" whereupon he turned BRICK RED and busted a gut laughing...

It was a great day with my girls... really surprised me that they wanted to come, they have always hated parades... then Lindsey pointed out another horse group (actually one we used to ride with!) and said "See Mom, they all have on black pants, long-sleeved white shirt, black hat, the horses have matching tack, and they have to walk in a straight line... THAT's what we hated...

Well, you will find none of that with the Outlaw Ladies and their Cowboys ;)

A Sad Night

I don't normally post twice in one day but today I need to.

Well we are down to two pups :(

I came home tonight to find girl #2 cold and still (the black and white one). Darci had been acting strange yesterday and kept me up since 2 this morning, but everything seemed fine and we couldn't figure out what she wanted. I guess there must have been wrong and she could sense it. Although the gal i got her from said that is what Darci looked like when she was born, to me she looked so much like Sherman and the rest of his brothers and sisters, I am still wondering if perhaps she was Zeus' pup and so was born a week early... she gained the same weight as her brother the first day but the second day she hardly gained anything and he gained another 1/4 ounce...she was my favorite. Guess I don't have to figure out how to talk Randy into letting me keep her now... the other two seem fine and have gained again as they have the past few days.

APS Follow-up

Well today the supervisor called Randy and set up a meeting at the house. He was actually in town and had to go back out to the ranch... but he did. She beat him there and was sitting outside the gate with the dogs barking at her. When they went in, she said to him "Better shut the gate" and he said "No, don't need to. They know better than to go out." (AHEM - except, I must admit, for Sherman who followed me out last night when I was riding, despite everyone yelling at him to get back in the gate. But he wants to go EVERYWHERE I go!)

Anyway the long and short of it is, the APS supervisor said "Your dogs are not a problem. Their job is to bark and scare people and that's what they do." This after Randy told her to watch out, Tank was going to hug her... a split second before Tank shoved his head between her legs from behind, like he does to everyone. That's his "hug" and if you are short he about knocks you off your feet LOL but it's all out of love... the supervisor pointed out that an aggressive dog would not put himself in a vulnerable, submissive position like that...

I was not happy that the actual meter reader didn't show up, but at least with the supervisor having been there, she should be able to communicate to anyone who has to come out that there really ISN'T a problem with the dogs...

Hhhhmmmmmm, wonder what will happen when they get the terse letter I mailed after being on hold for over half an hour the other day? Before Randy actually got through on the phone...

Stay tuned ;)

A Darci Pupdate...

After Midweek Fellowship last night I came home and took some comparison pictures as I had been requested by several people...

This was to be all three pups but Vada and Ty got in the way - they are very curious!

Boy #1 next to our business card - he could lay on it with room to spare!

The girls with a dollar and a battery - size AA!

Here is Girl #2 in my hand...

This was Sherman at the same age...

And this was Rocket...

Just about a handful ;) but they have already grown, Boy #1 and Girl #2 now tip the scales at 2 1/3 ounces and Girl #3 is a whopping 3 ounces!!!

All three faces and you can see the white tip of Girl #3's tail in the bottom left corner. All three have white tips on their tails...

Snuggled back up with mama where they belong :) with a very curious Ty unable to tear himself away. Luckily Darci is being very patient with visitors, although she did growl at Vada to the point where Vada now just peeks her little head around the bathroom door and won't come in!

And this is Radar, the proud papa - or maybe not so proud, lol - he came into the bathroom while I had the pups out so I held them in my hand to show him - he took one sniff and BOLTED! Not sure if it's "dirty diapers" he wants to avoid, or maybe child support???

APS - GGGGRRRRRRRRR!!!

OK to start I should say for those of you that are not local, that APS stands for Arizona Public Service, our local electric company. Our meter is not one that can be read from the street, they have to come into our yard and actually touch it. And we have a perimeter fence around our yard with a locked gate. So early on we got a lock from APS, so that they can access the yard if we are not home.

The other day I got yet ANOTHER letter from them, that they cannot read the meter becuase of "unrestrained dogs". Translation - we have ANOTHER new meter reader {sigh}. Now if you have followed this blog for long, you know we have gotten quite a few new pups in the last year or so, but they are little ankle-biters and not frightening. It's the BIG dogs that make people hesitant to come in. However when Lindsey moved out, three of them went with her, and the two that are left have been here for 3 and 4 years respectively. Since APS checks the meter monthly, obviously our dogs are NOT a problem for the meter reader. Except that every time we get a new one, we have to go through this again. Last time it was like pulling teeth to get the office to give the reader our number so he could schedule a time to stop by when we were there and "meet" the dogs. "We don't do that" is what I was told. I was given several other options, like putting up a fence (you KNOW what that would cost!), locking up the dogs for several days around meter reading time (no way, with all the livestock I have to protect - that is their JOB!), or changing meters to one that can be read from the street (although that would change our type of billing to one that would end up costing about $600 more each year). And they didn't want to hear that the propane guy has no problem, the farrier has no problem, the boarders have no problem, etc. etc. etc. We finally convinced the office to ask the meter reader about calling and he was agreeable... and once he stopped by and actually MET the dogs, he realized they were NO PROBLEM. It's been a couple years now and here we go again...

I just finished writing them a "nice" letter {HA!} after being on hold for OVER THIRTY MINUTES with no customer service...

If I had a choice, APS would be saying goodbye to this customer!!!!!

Answered Prayers (aka Darci pups!)

What a day! Woke up at 4:20 to find Darci panting hard, in the first stage of labor. PANIC CITY! God bless Randy for putting up with me...
I stayed home for a while but she didn't seem to be progressing, and I had to get to work. So, I took her with me! We weren't at work 5 minutes when she started SHRIEKING at the top of her lungs (seemed like forever but about 5 seconds...) and out popped pup #1! Half an hour later she let out one squeak and there was pup #2...

And not quite an hour later, without a sound, pup #3...

Nursing calmly now that all is done...

Here they are in backwards order - pup #3, a tan girl; pup #2, a black and white girl; and pup #1, a dark brown boy.

A better shot of #2 here...

Our prayers were definitely answered, despite Zeus getting with Darci on MLK Day, it looks like the pups are Radar's after all. Of course we won't be 100% sure until they grow a bit, but despite the fact that #2 looks a LOT like Hannah's pups, the gal I got Darci from says that is exactly what she looked like the day she was born, and lightened up later... Anyway Randy took them all to the vet after it seemed she was done, just to make sure there wasn't another pup since the x-rays showed 3 for sure and maybe a 4th... but Darci got the all-clear. The pups weighed 2 ounces, 2 ounces and 2 1/2 ounces respectively... unbelievably tiny! All three together aren't even half a pound...

Now that the adrenaline has gone, I am left feeling like I have been hit by a truck, so I am going to bed...

Check This Out

Meet my grandhorse... well, one of them. The mini one...

This is Austin


Also... this:

is my friend Bill. Just found out he is being hospitalized, something about the heart... not sure yet what is going on. But I would appreciate prayers for him. He is a good cowboy and a really nice guy!

LEGS!

This is NOT my foal (I could only wish for pasture like that here!!!) but this picture came in an e-mail and was just too cute not to share...

A Fabulous Day :)

Just a few of my favorite pics from this ride...

Yup that's me with TWO dogs on board... Sherman in his saddle, and in the pouch up front, a tiny little poodle whose mom was having horse issues...


A Katie earcam of Lake Pleasant...


Ty, sound asleep once he got warm wrapped in a towel...

AZBCR Fundraiser Ride

If you live in Arizona, and you have a horse, and you aren't a member of this website, you are really missing out!

AZBCR

This weekend is our second annual fundraiser ride. The gal who started the website does it all on her own, so last year some folks had the idea for a fundraiser to help out with expenses. It was fun but WOW, this year looks to be even better...

Luna BAREBACK!

Ok lest you all get really excited, it was NOT me that did it, I am not that brave yet! But here is proof that it can be done :)

In Case It Rains

No, it's not one of mine, I don't think Randy would let me do this! One of the folks on one of my donkey yahoogroups posted this today, they are praying for rain in between rain dances, it is so dry where they are... It was just too cute not to share!

More Ty - Cuteness Overload!

Took some more pictures of our little boy today...

and meeting his "big brothers"!

Just a handful of pup :)



What a difference between Rocket and Ty!

Kisses...

Rocket is totally enthralled!

Internet Stalker?

I may have one! Someone knows I did something that no one told them... this person mentioned that I said something about it on the internet... based on who and what, it could only be this blog! Now don't get all excited, I didn't do anything I shouldn't have or anything like that... just something that particular person had no reason to know about...

I find this VEEEEEERY interesting... and extremely odd - but don't worry, it won't change anything :)

Sherman the Magnificent

Well, OK, that's maybe grandstanding a little... but my boy was quite impressive today. If you've been a long-time reader you have seen pictures of my Sherman riding behind me in his own saddle and harness... Well we went for a ride with some friends out near Bumblebee, which included some pretty steep ups and downs, big hills! And some extended loping in the wash YEE HAW lol. And Sherman never fell off once! Of course he had to keep his strength up by begging bites from everyone else's lunch {eyes rolling here} but hey, he's so cute, no one minds sharing...

Here are the shots that Sherman appeared in...




He was one tired boy after "saddle surfing" for over 4 hours though. We got in the truck and pretty much as soon as we were rolling toward home, he was PASSED OUT...

Further Proof of Insanity

Ran some errands today, one of which was a stop at our friend Jean's place to take pictures of her puppies to post for her since she doesn't have a digital camera... and to pick up a scooter she bought so Randy can do some minor repairs, and take a look at the non-working hot water heater on the LQ trailer she just got... this whole thing with Darci has us a bit unsettled and taking a hard look at Radar, he weighs less than the girls do but his bone structure is so different that he is actually bigger - taller and a wider head - even though his torso is almost scrawny so he weighs less. So we are thinking to get him neutered and try again for a littler chi stud... and what does Jean have but FIVE male chihuahua pups. The one I liked best was already spoken for but much bigger than his little, tiny, itty bitty brother... Randy asks "how much" and Jean says well, you are fixing my scooter, right? Right. And my water heater, right? Right. OK then, pick a puppy out!


We weighed him when we got him home, he weighs 1 pound 5 oz at 7 weeks old... we decided to name him Ty, which is the maker of beanie babies, since right now he isn't even as big as a beanie baby, and if all goes well he will be our future "beanie baby" maker lol...

Blessing In Disguise

I didn't say anything when it happened - hindsight being 20/20, I should have asked for prayers then, maybe we wouldn't be facing this... but on MLK Day, when Lindsey came back for one last load of stuff, she brought Zeus, her {intact} pup with her, and didn't watch him. Darci was in heat and had been running with our "stud" chihuahua Radar, no worries, he's a little young yet we thought but if it happens fine, and if not fine. Anyway I was out back working and had Darci outside with me, next thing I know i hear her shrieking from behind the barn so I go running and OMG Zeus is locked with her...

Fast forward to this afternoon, since Darci is obviously pregnant we set an appointment to have an x-ray done, to see what's what. Well there are 3 pups for sure, possibly 4 as the vet saw what looked like another spine but couldn't find another head to go with it, so it might have been directly behind one of the heads he did count... If they are Radar's pups and he got her early in her heat, she could have then in the next few days and be fine. We never saw them locked, but we weren't always home so they could have... If they are Zeus' pups, she is not due until 2 weeks from Monday and they are already of a size to be ready to be born if they are full chihuahua, so they will grow quite a bit more in the next two weeks and we are looking at a probable emergency C-section. And did I mention that we live an hour from the nearest emergency animal hospital... GEEZ! And Radar is older than Zeus, this whole thing just should NOT be happening...

If you pray, pray for my Darci - and for me. I don't know what I would do if I lost my girl...

Oh, and as for the blessing in disguise part - well, with Randy layed off, he is around to keep an eye on her...

Wise Girl

This caught my eye as I was waiting for photobucket to bring up MY albums... at one point in my life this would have been advice I gave my own daughters...

I am very thankful to have met a good man, who loves me for me, so that I don't have to feel this way any more!