Bellies And Such

Time for a... CHANGE! OF! SUBJECT!

I have three really big bellies so I started checking udders a couple of weeks ago, can you guess which ONE of these three has started an udder? Oldest first...

Milly Jo




Betty Lou




Peggy Sue




SOMEBODY is going to pop real early in October I bet!!

What a lovely distraction the foals will be!!!

Had a fantastic ride with Laurie Sunday night, was so upset yesterday I forgot to post it! We both had our Katies and we loped and loped... it was great! Last night we went out again, this time Laurie took her gelding Topper, I had Katie again, and Hilary didn't work so she came along on her Destiny... and everybody was POKEY!!! But it was still a nice ride. And yes I plan to go again tonight {grin}

Sometimes I amaze myself so I thought I would see if I amaze you too. Let me tell you about my typical morning and you let me know what you think...

The alarm goes off at 5. I hop out of bed {yeah, hop - well ok, I get out of bed} and lift Sherman, Rocket and Ty down to the floor, and grab Esmerelda, and down the hall and out the front door they go. Back to the bed and grab AJ and Angel, and down the hall and out the front door they go.

(If you don't know, the first 3 are adult, and last 3 still pups so after sleeping all night I don't quite trust them to make it all the way outside yet, so I carry them.)

Sometimes if I am really tired and there's nothing extra to do, I slide back in bed for a snooze alarm or two...

Then it's into the bathroom to grab my feeding clothes and {yes pee, I have to do that too ya know} and grab Vada and Darci who are sleeping with daddy, they go out the front door too. Then I put on my shoes and outside I go.

I am greeted at the back door by the 8 dogs I just put out the front door, plus the 6 bigger dogs that sleep outside. That would be Tank and Shasta, Samson and Delilah, Zacchaeus, and Jacob. Like the pied piper I lead my pack halfway across the property to the hay barn, and load the golf cart trailer with bermuda and rye for the horses and donkeys {and one mini mule} and alfalfa for the cows and goats. I drive to the main mini pen and make several stops to fill feeders there - In the diet pen are Becky Lynn, Nikki Renee, Ellie Mae, Susie Q, Mary Ellen and Josey Marie, then in the pregnant pen are Milly Jo, Betty Lou, Peggy Sue, and, although she not pregnant, Taffy Leah who is getting a little extra to put back on the weight after weaning her foal - and last but not least, Lucky, the little gray jack I am borrowing from my friend Jean (total of 11 mini donks there). As I drive around the back of it, I have the arena on the other side where the big horses are (right now just Katie and Destiny so 2, and Skeye pony, and Abigail the rescue donkey), and they get fed in between stops as well. Then it's around the trash trailer and over to where the jack pens are, and feed Dillon, and Wiley and Ozzie. A little further north and I am at the "garden", where the mamas and foals are - Foxy and Peter Pan, Betty Jean and Alvin, and Sarah Beth (5), and the cows - um, BULLS - Turbo and Hemi. {Remember these are MINIATURE cattle and only yearlings, so they are babies too.}

Then further north still, closest to the house, is the goat pen - Levi and Stetson, adn the 5 rescue goats so 7 total, and chicken coop - Sunshine and Daisy. Once all the "ranch" critters are fed, I fill the goat water as necessary, then it is back to the garden and fill water there. Randy has, over time, gotten automatic water to all of the other pens and, in fact, the large section of the garden has one too. It's just the smaller pens I have buckets in... Then I scoop the poop from the foaling pen, where Peter Pan and his mama Foxy still spend their days in the shade, and dump it over the fence for Hilary to add to her wheelbarrow when she cleans the garden. Back to the golf cart and it's back to the hay barn and first things first, the dogs are all waiting for their biscuits. 3 of those big Costco dog biscuits gives the right size bite to everyone, and they munch while I clean the scrap hay out of the golf cart and the hay barn, into the barrels it goes and when they are full I can feed them instead of 3 flakes of hay, no waste here if I can avoid it! Then I feed the dogs... and a couple times a week, O'Malley and Twister the barn cats (they have a BIG bowl and free-feed). Dodge the ram {yes I said Dodge the RAM, hey RANDY named him not me!} doesn't actually get "fed" per se, he is the one-man clean-up crew, keeping the weeds down, trimming trees, and vacuuming any scraps the horses and donkeys don't get. Then it's back to the big horse stalls I go, to clean them as even though the horses are only in there for dinner, they each manage to poop at least once before we let them out {sigh}.

Anyone want to take a guess as to what time it is now? Say I don't hit the snooze, but stay up... how long do you think it takes me to feed my crew? Oh, and did anybody do the math???

I'll answer these questions in one week ;)

Those That Matter, Already Know...

...and those that don't know, don't matter!

I am chanting this to myself. And asking people to remind me. Thank God for my friends, I can vent about this via text and phone calls and e-mails without doing it on the forum and making things worse... oh yeah and thank God for blogger - at least, I don't THINK any of those people read my blog {and if they do, oh well!}

This morning I got a call from a gal who knows those owners, yeah the ones who own the free horse... she heard from a mutual friend of THEIRS that this mare has done this before, more than once, during groundwork, and that is why they are afraid to ride her... they are afraid she will do it with them on board.

Which means they DELIBERATELY put my health and yes possibly my life at risk...

I JUST WANT TO SCREAM! As if that wasn't bad enough the nastiness on the forum just continues even without my input...

So I just keep chanting...

THOSE THAT MATTER, ALREADY KNOW - AND THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW, DON'T MATTER.

Keep reminding me will ya???

Drama Drama Drama

Oh. My. God. Can you say UNBELIEVABLE?????

Got up early and went riding with all but one of the gals from yesterday (Linda has her knee in a brace and has to work Monday so being extra cautious). And I took Katie for me to ride, and Jasmine for Rachel to try, as if that horse from yesterday had worked out I was going to return her to Jean or move her along...

Ok let me backtrack here. Jasmine is a beautiful mare and I LOVE riding her. She breathes really loud and every time I take her out someone ends up asking me "What's wrong with her?" Well there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her, even the vet didn't find anything when he did the paperwork for the San Diego trip, but she huffs and puffs like a freight train! I though it was because she was out of shape, but I have worked her a lot over the past few months - started slow and easy and built her up - and put her on a diet and she is looking much better! Her ground manners left a lot to be desired, she had no concept of personal space - and unfortunately, despite constant work on them, she has gotten worse instead of better. I really DO love riding her, but saddling and unsaddling keeps me dancing so she doesn't step on me, and to top it all off, when corrected in the way I was taught - give a sharp tug on the halter and firmly tell her to STAND - she will set back and Saturday night after our moonlight ride she set back so bad she broke the rope and ran to the pasture fence with one boot still on! The ad for the free horse popping up Monday seemed an omen to me, and I thought if she worked out, Jasmine would have to go. It nagged at me all week though, and I decided that if I was willing to move Jasmine along if I got the free horse, then she wasn't the right horse for me and I should move her along regardless. I will admit I feel bad about this BUT I am 49 years old, and I am the first to say I am totally spoiled by Paint Mare and Katie and how well they have always behaved... Could I work on Jasmine's manners and probably fix them eventually? Yeah. Do I want to? Not so much. I still have young Luna to deal with and since I bred her I don't feel selling her is an option, I have a responsibility for bringing her into this world. I don't feel the same about a horse I bought, so if one goes, it is not going to be Luna. Rachel has also liked her since I got her, so I asked but she already has a horse and so declined. I made arrangements to return her to my friend Jean, no hard feelings, she had told me from day 1 to try her as long as I liked and if it didn't work out, to bring her back... then Friday Rachel contacted me and said she couldn't stop thinking about Jasmine and she DID want to try her after all. So another phone call to Jean and all is worked out, Jasmine will go to Rachel for a 30-day trial. Rachel is quite a bit younger than me and doesn't have quite the load I have so hopefully she will have more time to work on the ground manners... and yes, I realize that at some point in the future I may very well be kicking myself for letting Jasmine go, but right now I feel this is the right decision so that is that.

ANYWAY! We had a lovely ride and Rachel was excited to load Jasmine into her trailer and take her home. We had a lovely lunch at El Encanto Dos YUM and then we all headed home. I got a text saying that Jasmine was IN LOVE with Reggie, Linda's gaited gelding, which is good news since the two gaited horses will be living together and riding together a lot. And later I got a picture of the two of them e-mailed to me, which I forwarded to Jean as well.

Oh yeah, and the drama? Get this... checking the "free horse" thread on the forum when I got home, I find that another gal, a neighbor of those folks, went over and rode her today, she behaved perfectly and there are pictures... and both the owners and the neighbor are making remarks about how WE scared the mare, bandying words like inexperienced around... saying what do you expect from a free horse, you were told she hadn't been ridden in 4 months, and trying to make like this horse is perfect and her behavior from the day before was all our fault!

I simply said that I was very glad that the neighbor gal had not gotten hurt, and that I would stand by my statement that this horse is not safe as is and needs a lot of work, and to be careful... There is no doubt in my mind that if that gal had seen that horse blow up on Saturday, she would NOT have gotten on. But because she knows the people, she is believing their description - remember, a "poppin' and fartin' episode" - well those of you who know horses know that there is a HUGE difference between a little BKF* happy dance and full out nasty bucking...

Things really blew up from there. Lots of people who don't know me at all saying all kinds of derogatory things... the kind of situation where you feel the need to defend yourself because none of what they are saying is true, and someone is going to get hurt... but the more you talk the worse it gets, and finally I gave up. Despite the FACT that none of those people were there, and of the 7 that were, the 5 who did not OWN the horse were shocked and appalled at the whole situation, it seems they have made up their minds... except quite interestingly the folks who removed themselves from the list after my post yesterday have not changed their minds... at least not publicly.

I am still shuddering from time to time thinking how badly I could have been hurt yesterday and yes, still reeling from the "verbal" nastiness stemming it. I hope I can sleep tonight!!!

*For those that don't know, BKF is short for bucking, kicking, farting - and our equine behavior professor, years ago, called that their happy dance - when you turn out a horse and it goes a little nuts, kinda like a person screaming WAHOOOOOOO! And yes if you were ON a horse when they did that, you would probably still go off - hey I did, last summer, when I was dumb and asked Luna to lope when she was fresh and raring to go... but that kind of "bucking" wears off quick when you do a little lunging. There was no happy dance in that mare Saturday, she was flat out hateful and bucking like she was going to REMOVE that saddle no matter what... it was no less than a rodeo bronc or a young horse saddled for the first time and protesting violently...

"Free" Horse

Well I didn't say anything ahead of time because I didn't want to jinx it, but on Monday I answered an ad for a free 15-year-old gaited mare... the man had bought her so that he could ride with his wife, but he found horses were just not his thing, and he says he makes enough money that he just doesn't want to hassle with selling her, he will GIVE her to the right home... turns out he has seen our place, he bought Randy's old car a couple years ago... and because of that he was willing to wait until today for me to come see the horse.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

I had asked Sabrina to come along, she knows barefoot, she knows gaited, and she knows endurance, and that is what I wanted this mare for, to be Katie's "relief pitcher" so to speak - to alternate when we do multiple-day endurance rides. As it turned out Shirley, Linda and Rachel tagged along...

As arranged I called when we were close and the folks were waiting by the horse pen when we arrived. We all got out of the Jeep and walked over, and gee the horse didn't REALLY look like the pictures that had been posted...

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

But yeah, up her feed a little and RIDE HER so she builds her muscle tone back up and let the bite marks heal and get her feet trimmed and she will be ok.

Somehow it ended up that Sabrina had the lead rope and she and I were in the corral, the owners standing outside...

She was sweating in odd places even before we started... but didn't mind us touching her anywhere. Sabrina did some ground work and despite the need for a trim the mare seemed ok, no limping etc. She lunges just fine one way but doesn't like to go the other way... no worries, time will help that, I've seen it with my own. So she sent me back to the trailer to get my tack. Loosely tied the mare to the fence and shook out the saddle blanket, the mare backed violently halfway across the pasture, pulling the rope off the fence, but Sabrina kept shaking the saddle blanket and the mare finally stopped reacting...

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

But yeah, if the guy really hasn't ridden her in four months, maybe she forgot...

Finished tacking her up and Sabrina took her out away from the fence to lunge her. She is ok one way but doesn't want to go the other. Sabrina gets after her a bit and gets her going... to me this seems to take forever but finally she says to me "OK time to ride" and as she starts toward me

THE MARE BLOWS!

She pitched a brucking fit like you wouldn't believe! Yanked the lead out of Sabrina's hands although she tried to keep hold, and gosh it went on and on, she is getting close to the fence and I am thinking "Oh God, please don't let her damage my new endurance saddle!" and finally she quit.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

I was just standing there with the owners, in shock, when I heard Rachel say "Susan could you step over here a moment please"...

So I walked away from the owners and as I got close Rachel murmered "Take off your helmet, you are NOT getting on that horse" and I kind of shook my head and yeah, off came the helmet, there is NO WAY I am getting on that horse...

The owners didn't say much at all which was weird, and didn't even offer to take the horse and correct her behavior. When I said to them that I would not be taking her due to that behavior, they said they understood and kind of shooed us along and we gathered my tack and left.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

As we drove away we were all dissecting the episode, and the horse, and the owners... I took a lot of ribbing because they had to TELL me to remove my helmet and forbid me to ride, but hey I was really in shock... this mare had been described as kid-safe and very well-trained yada yada yada...

We entertained ideas of her being sick (she smelled "off" and her coat was not healthy looking at all), even that she had possibly been drugged... perhaps it wasn't even the same horse as the man had advertised a "liver chestnut" and this horse was almost a bay, brown with black mane and tail, but not black legs like a bay would have, her legs were the same brown as her body.

All in all it was the oddest visit I have ever had looking at a horse, and all my friends agreed - the whole thing was just WRONG.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

I thanked them again and again, I sincerely believe they kept me from ending up in the hospital today - or even worse! If I had gone alone, I would not have done as much ground work as Sabrina did with that mare, and I might have been on board when she blew. {shudder}

After I dropped off all my friends and headed home, still going over and over it in my mind, I almost started to cry thinking what COULD have happened to me. And those people just stood there like there was nothing wrong, no apology and no excuse and no attempt to correct the mare...

Back at home I pulled the few pictures off my camera and compared them to the ad, and I would swear it was NOT the same horse, except Randy looked too and pointed out the blaze and how it curved the same on both sets of pictures... and then I see that the guy has made a post on his ad since we left, saying unfortunately she did not do too good today, had a "poppin' and fartin' episode" - WHAT????????????? That was full out rodeo bronc bucking and it went on and on... that is no "poppin' and fartin' episode" Mister! I didn't want to say much but I couldn't live with myself if I said nothing and someone else got hurt (there were actually a LINE of people waiting for me to look at the horse, in case I didn't take her)... he also said she "may" need a tune-up so I commented that there was no "may" about it, she definitely need a tune-up, and I ended with "please be careful".

Several more times throughout the day I found myself fighting back tears, thinking what could have happened... when it was time to feed, of course that made me think "who would be feeding if I was in the hospital?" and I was so thankful to be able to take care of my critters. If I had come off that horse wrong and broke my neck, my "family" would be scattered to the four winds, Randy is not able to care for them and noen of my kids would be able to keep the "herd" together...

I hope I can get all this out of my head so I can sleep tonight!!!

I could not say THANK YOU enough to Sabrina, and still can't...

{yeah, yeah, I KNOW ALREADY... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

Flooring Friday!

Since Lindsey ditched the movie planned with me and Hilary for today, I stayed home and busted out another section of the living floor. I KICKED BUTT!!!! Ripped out the old carpet and pad, pulled up all the staples and nails and tack strip, vacuumed all the loose crud, sprayed the base flooring with "Alive" - LOVE THAT STUFF! - and when that was dry, painted it. While the paint was drying I ran up to Wickenburg for some hay and when I got back Randy was home... With him handing me the pieces of flooring so I don't have to get up and down, it goes pretty fast! I didn't take pictures because with half the room empty and piled into the other half, I really DON'T want y'all seeing the mess we are living in right now {sigh}. Once the floor is done though, you will see!!!

One Week Later

Well a week ago I was speaking with Deputy Sheriffs at my ranch... since then I have heard not a peep. Abigail's foal is settled into her potential adoptive home and christened Harmony... and I am talking with someone possibly interested in Abigail too!

It's a little early to relax yet but I am hoping that the old saying will hold true...

All's well that ends well!

The Real Memorial Service

Sorry if this seems to be my focus right now but yeah, it's just real important to me...

Today we went to Lynn's memorial service. Randy doesn't do funerals well but he opted to come along, and afterward, he told me he was really happy that he did... that it was a wonderfully uplifting celebration of Lynn's life rather than the "funeral" he is used to seeing... and doesn't usually want to attend.

We pulled into the church parking lot to find Sabrina's truck with Lynn's trailer and PATCH! He was saddled, with Lynn's boots backwards in the stirrups and her helmet hanging from the saddle. Of course I had to go and give him another hug... he still seems confused, missing his mama!

Inside there were several poster-boards and framed pictures of Lynn and events and people in her life. Her horse friends gathered to sit together.

First the pastor spoke, then there was one member of her family who spoke, and afterwards a slideshow of family pictures. Next was a good friend with whom she traveled a lot, and then a slideshow from their many trips. And last but of course, not least, was Sabrina, and then a slideshow from Lynn's horse life.

I was so honored that Sabrina chose to use some of my pictures in the slideshow. Randy would whisper "there you are" and at the next shot I would be whispering back to him "I took that one" and telling him where it was... toward the end, Sabrina included a shot of Lynn with my dog Sherman on her lap, and that broke the dam. She sure loved that dog and he loved his Auntie Lynn right back. It really meant a lot to me that Sabrina would include him!

Afterward the horse folks were all standing around near Patch and Lynn's father approached. I heard someone ask if he had ever met Patch and he said no (he lives out of state). So he was introduced to Patch and it was incredible, Patch nuzzled at his hand as if he KNEW that was Lynn's dad, his "grandpa".

We all adjourned to another location for the reception and of course more visiting and hugs and stories about Lynn. I got to meet one sister and toward the end, someone came to me and asked if I had met Casey, Lynn's daughter, yet. I had not, and they said well she is in the hallway and she is asking everyone, "Are you Sherman's mother?" So of course I went right away and came up behind her, touched her shoulder and as she turned I asked "Are you Casey?" and she said yes. I said, "You have been asking for me" and she got a blank look for about a second, then the light came on and at the same time, I said "I am Sherman's mom" and she said "Are you SHERMAN's mom???" She gave me a big hug and told me that her mom was always coming home from rides and talking about Sherman, she loved my dog... I didn't realize how important we were to her and that makes me feel really good.

Next thing I knew, a young lady standing by Casey said "I thought that was you" and she looked familiar but I figured I had seen her earlier at the church or something... then I realized, it was Mindy from accounting in the main office of the law firm I work for! We e-mail all the time but rarely see each other, however we were both at the Taco Party Friday night and did have a few minutes of conversation then. She said "I didn't know you knew my aunt!" and I said "I didn't know you were Lynn's niece!" and we both said wow what a small world...

It is always bittersweet to say goodbye but this particular "funeral" was anything but. It was a fantastic celebration of the life of a wonderful woman and I ended the day saying to Randy...

If I die first, you think back to this day. My friends will help you. THIS is what I want...

I am sure Lynn approved!!!!!

Moonlight Memorial Ride

Well we did it last night, Sabrina brought Patch and we ALL rode, along with some extras, and despite ending up in two groups (a fast and a slow) and getting sprinkled on (fast group) and DRENCHED (slow group), everyone was safe and we all had a wonderful time. We decided that the lightning was Lynn's flash as she was taking pictures of us from Heaven :)

Oh and that rain... it just might have been Lynn laughing with us so hard she pee'd her pants ;)

Happy Trails, Lynn Doyle!

The phone woke me about midnight... "Who the heck is calling me in the middle of the night?" I grumbled, and ignoring it, rolled over to try and go back to sleep... then it hit me, SABRINA! So I jumped up and grabbed it and yup, it was Sabrina... called her back immediately to hear "Lynn is gone"...

Oh no...

We didn't get our chance to say goodbye...

I spent a few minutes with Sabrina, struggling for the right words, wishing I could reach my arms through the phone and give her the hug we both so badly needed. Then I went back to bed... but not for long. I didn't want to wake Randy but I could not sleep... then it hit me - I NEED AzBCR!!!! This is where I met Lynn and where our group "hangs out" on-line...

So I went to the Memoriam section and I just had to say all the things I had practiced for today...


Farewell Lynn!
i refuse to say goodbye as i am sure we will see you again! you will be sorely missed while we are apart...

but don't you worry about Sabrina, we've got her

and hey when you get to Heaven, look up my Justice... he's not gaited but he's got the same coloring as Patch and he was a darn good boy... you ride him for me will ya? at least, until i get there, then he is MINE!!! or until Patch gets there to join you, whichever comes first...

you made the world a better place by your presence and i know you are doing the same to Heaven, but i miss you already... i will pray for your family as they struggle with this {temporary!} loss...

and i wanted to tell you, i just HAVE to tell you, girl... there is a certain phrase that i will never ever hear again without thinking of you San Diego 2009 remember?

Happy Trails Lynn

we will always have our memories...






And, we have each other... instead of gathering at Lynn's to say our goodbyes, we gathered at Sabrina's to share our memories and our stories and our tears and lots and lots of hugs... Sabrina, Shirley, Brenda, Melanie, Linda, Rachel, Vikki, Claudia and me...

The moonlight ride that was already scheduled for my place tonight will see us ALL there, Sabrina on Lynn's Patch, and all of us wearing teal (the color for ovarian cancer) in memory of our dear friend - and we will have a toast to her!

Just In The Nick of Time...

Got a call late last night from the daughter of Moses, the owner of the property where Abigail came from... he did remember me and was happy to do the paperwork that we neglected to do back in October!!!!! Picked up my bill of sale this morning at 8:00, and shortly thereafter got a call from Soleil at AERO, who is a veritable fountain of support and advice, checking on our status. She was so happy to hear about that piece of paper!!!

Got a call mid-morning from a new Deputy Sheriff (the officer from yesterday is off today) to say that he needed to set an appointment to meet Mary at my house as they now have an appropriate trailer... and as Soleil instructed, I informed him that we were now playing a whole different ball game. Honestly I expected an argument but I didn't get it, he asked me to fill in some information as he didn't have the whole story, and asked a few questions, and that was it. He said he would call Mary back and tell her that without a bill of sale from ME to HER they could not come pick up the donkeys, and he told me that if they show up here I am to call 9-1-1.

That, I can do!

So I guess I will be on pins and needles for a bit, waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak... but the gate will be constantly locked, the dogs will be on guard, and if things go right both donks will NOT be here for long... and hopefully without a legal leg to stand on, Mary and her family will finally do the right thing and walk away.

Step 1 for me is to contact Fawn WITH AN ADOPTION APPLICATION and confirm she still wants to adopt the foal, and get her back over there with paperwork in order! After this experience I vow I will never EVER take in or adopt out any animal without making sure EVERY i is dotted and EVERY t is crossed!

On another front... I got a call from Sabrina, one of my endurance friends, it seems that Lynn, another of our group, is about to lose her battle with cancer. They are sending her home from the hospital today, so that she can die at home. She asked Sabrina to gather our group together and come visit her tomorrow morning, saying "I won't die today, and I won't die tomorrow, but I can't make any guarantees after that".

This just breaks my heart, not only for Lynn, who is only 55, and is leaving a son, a daughter and two YOUNG grandchildren whom she dearly loves... but for Sabrina as well, who is losing her best friend. Literally, when I think of them, it is not Sabrina and Lynn, not even Sabrina-and-Lynn... it is SabrinaandLynn...

And I am stressing about tomorrow, I have never been in this situation... what does one say to a person who is at the end of their life? I am worried about sounding stupid or crass or rude or insensitive... Lynn is an incredible woman and I am so VERY honored that she considers me a friend - especially one good enough to be called for tomorrow's goodbye visit.

I have to drive into town for a party at the main office... I will use the drive time to plan for tomorrow.

Could Things Get Any Worse???

I woke up this morning feeling certain that I have made the right decision, the donks cannot go back to Mary. Trying to get things back on track, before work I drive out to the property where Abigail came from and leave a note, and a form of bill of sale, for the owner...

Had to drive most of the way across town to southwest Goodyear to a client's house so she can sign some papers, on the way back I take a deep breath and call Mary... long long story short, it does not go well. She hands the phone to her husband who threatens me with the Sheriff and hangs up on me.

So instead of back to work, I go home. Randy is at school and Hilary at work and I cannot leave the property unattended... A phone call to Randy and he heads my way as back-up, and so that if nothing has happened by the time I need to get back to the office, I can go.

Shortly after he arrives, vehicles start to gather. With no camera I cannot document the truck and CAR HAULER, nor the small car parked across my driveway - trying to prevent us from leaving? Eventually the Sheriffs arrive... I watch for them to come to the gate, I will not go out until they do. It takes forever... thankfully Randy is wise enough to stay inside and let me handle things.

I attempt to be calm and reasonable but when they say that due to my inadvertent reference to Mary as "the owner" on a prior blog post, which I did correct later but which they had already printed, and no other paperwork, their hands were tied and I had to give up the donkeys. I explained to the Deputy that I had already advised these people that the foal was NOT here, but he was welcome to come in and see the mother. I said I was not comfortable telling anyone where the foal was because my friend was doing me a favor and did not need to be dragged into this, in no way did I want those people to know where she lived... His reply was "You had better get comfortable with ME real quick, or you are going to jail!"

YIKES! And YIKES again! I feel horrible but I cannot, for any reason, put my own animals at risk, my brain is scrambling...

We go see Abigail, as we walk I am telling the deupty some of the examples of why I have refused to return the donkeys to Mary's property... I can tell he is an animal lover and is shocked - "she feeds the donkey CAKE?" and I also point out that I am also trying to protect Mary, with her disabilities Abigail, and eventually the baby, could easily knock her down and cause her injury... But he says his hands are tied and he has to follow "the law" {yes the fingers are going here, making those invisible quotation marks!} He asks if Mary gave me a lead rope with the donkey (no) and it sinks in that he is expecting me to lead her up front right now, and they are planning to load her into that CAR HAULER!!!!! Oh my Lord, I quickly point out that it is over 110 degrees out here, and state that I am really uncomfortable with that. He actually agreed with me and said he would tell them to go and get a propr horse trailer... so I ask if it would be an acceptable alternative for me to call my friend and have her bring the baby back to my place while they are changing trailers... and he agrees.

So that is one thing less to worry about, they will not know where she lives!

Everyone leaves... Fawn brings the baby back... I try to call the Deputy to get permission to go back to work, as Randy is home to provide access. Have to leave a message, no return call. Finally I have no choice so I leave, calling again and leaving a second message with Randy's phone number and explaining that I must return to my office for an appointment.

At 5:00 I am out the door, first thing I call Randy... he has heard nothing.

I get home, he has still heard nothing.

Well I guess I had better go ahead and feed the two donkeys along with everyone else, and if their dinner is interrupted, they will just have to finish after they are moved.

I finish feeding, we have still heard nothing.

Darkness falls, we have still heard nothing.

The gate is locked, and I am going to TRY to sleep. I am just worn to a frazzle!

Struggling...

...and praying hard about it. What am I going to do about Abigail and her foal? I have told their story to a BUNCH of rescue folks through my internet connections and the OVERWHELMING response - 100% - is they should NOT go back to Mary.

Financially, I should get my reimbursement and let them go back to Mary's house, and walk away for good. If she has truly found a trainer, someone else can take over helping her.

Morally, knowing that Mary and her family cannot take proper care of either one, can I live with myself? Especially if, as I fear, the baby dies?

And how can I continue to call myself a rescuer if I turn my back on them?

I strongly believe that I take on a responsibility for these animals when I agree to take them in... just as much of a responsibility as I feel toward any animal bred by my design. I feel sorry for Mary, I truly do, but under the circumstances, well, yeah, I KNOW what the right answer is. And she is NOT going to happy about it.

I feel like throwing up. I can't sleep. Now starts the possible conversations running through my head...

Join Me In Shaking My Head...

Before our trip I had a conversation with Mary G, went somethign like this:

Mary: I want both donkeys back at my house.

Me: I am about to go out of town, the baby is already at my friend's house because Hilary has her hands full, I don't have time to bring them.

Mary: When do you get back?

Me: Monday night.

Mary: Bring them Monday night.

Me: Our plane doesn't even get in until evening, we won't be home until late.

Mary: Bring them Tuesday night.

Me: I really won't have time until my day off Friday.

Mary: Bring them Tuesday night.

Me: We will have to see, getting home so late Monday I don't know what will be happening.

Mary: Bring them Tuesday night.

Me: I will see how it goes...

As I leave work tonight, it is pouring rain... all the way home, showers off and on, I get home and barely have time to feed before it hits... so there is NO WAY that I am going to hook up a trailer in this weather! The baby is still at my friend's... and bottom line is, I am still REALLY uncomfortable with either of them going back to Mary's anyway.

So the phone rings, guess who? "Just wanted to make sure you were on your way" {sigh}

She is not listening to anything I have to say, eventually I give up arguing and hang up... several calls back which I choose to let go to voice mail as I am finished arguing... and then she calls my husband. Apparently him saying "not in this weather" somehow sinks in where me saying it didn't...

I haven't even unpacked yet!!!!!

A Bad Ending to a Good Trip

Well the day started out nice, we chatted a bit with Uncle Bernie and Aunt Robyn, waiting for Grandma to get up and around after her busy day yesterday... got all packed and loaded, and headed to her place about 10 to take her to breakfast. Well she fooled us, she had been up for a while and already eaten! Got the tour of the old farmhouse and with no trouble at all convinced Grandma to come on out with us anyway, "heck I haven't had my juice yet I can sit with you and have my juice" she said... wanna guess where we went?

Yup BOB'S BIG BOY lol... although we were too late for the buffet by the time we got there. And instead of juice, Grandma splurged on a chocolate malt!!!

We had a lovely visit, catching up on what she has been doing lately, and all too soon had to take her back home and share with other family members staying at her house. Chatted a bit and then it was on the road to head toward Detroit... we stopped back at Island Park on the way out of town, a couple of the pictures I had taken yesterday were blurry so we tried them again. Climbed back in the car, dropped the camera in its bag at my feet... stopped once at a rest stop, car was locked... stopped once at a gas station, Randy never left the car... pulled into the rental return parking lot and Ali the shuttle driver came bustling over, rushing us, grabbed out suitcases out of the trunk and headed for his shuttle, we were still gathering stuff, I checked the floor to make sure I had all the trash out (yes my mama taught me well), Ali was calling over his shoulder to check the car for cell phones etc., I patted my pocket - yes I have my phone - grabbed little bags and ran after Ali who was disappearing with our big bags. Got to the terminal and checked in to find that thanks to the folks in Phoenix taking our paperwork, and Randy misremembering our departure time, we were going to have RUN for our plane... in fact we are now on stand-by!!!!! And getting situated to go through security I realize I do NOT see the camera! Immediately called the rental office, messed with the darned automated system, never could get a live person... had to shut off the phone to get through the security checkpoint. Tried again right after that, still nothing, finally called the main number and had them take a message, the camera must have gotten kicked under my seat, I KNOW it was there and I KNOW I don't have it now...

Praying hard, Randy is telling me if there is only one seat I go without him and he will sit in the airport until tomorrow... which does NOT make me happy! Thank God some folks didn't show, Randy and I were the LAST two people to board the plane. No way we are sitting together at this point, but we are so grateful that we are both on the way home...

Arrive at Sky Harbor in Phoenix, get our bags and the Jeep and get on the road, and I am calling National again... got a real person but she says I have to hold while she finishes with her customer at the counter. After being on hold for half an hour I hand Randy my phone and use his to call again... the gal answers {oops} the end result is, she says they will call me once they have checked the car...

Because we moved around so much on this trip I was extremely conscious of where that camera was the entire time... after all, I didn't want to get to Michigan to find I had left it in Indiana! I must admit that I used the "Grandma's 90th Birthday Party Pictures" story on the rental car folks, even though those are the ONLY pictures we actually CAN replace, because there were so many cameras at the party... It's the time with Debby, and Amish country, and Randy's cannons that we can't replace :(

So I am praying hard that we get a GOOD call tomorrow!!!

Uncle Bernie and Michigan... and GRANDMA!

Leaving Angola, we headed north for Lansing to pick up Randy's cousin Cheryl (Mike and Carol's daughter), the plan being to have dinner together at yet another place from Randy's childhood memories, to eat Coney Island Dogs and then hit "The Parlour" for amazing ice cream sundaes... however the family had apparently changed their plans and gone the night before while we were having Chinese with Aunt Carol in Angola, so we had to postpone that and participate in the barbecue at Uncle Bernie's house. Which was also good, don't get me wrong, but for me this trip was about making Randy happy and he was craving his Coneys...

It was very nice for me to see Uncle Bernie and family again though, they had visited the family here and although we didn't get much time together I enjoyed them. Their 3 kids are almost grown now, the youngest about to get her driver's license, but all of them still wonderful to hang out with! And I got a quick tour of "The Morgan Farm" where Randy spent so much time visiting in the summers growing up.

This morning it was up and off to breakfast, had to laugh because Uncle Bernie picked... BOB'S BIG BOY! YUM...

Back home we helped Robyn finish setting up for Grandma's birthday party, then ran Randy over to "Island Park" downtown {yes Eaton Rapids has a downtown!} for pictures with the two parrot guns (cannons) which are monuments in the park. He spent a lot of time pointing out different features, took tons of pictures for him and even a video... {sigh} WHY WHY WHY didn't National find the camera?????????

Leaving the park, he strolled over to the gazebo and had words with 3 teens who were carving their names into the picnic table... invited them to leave the park or he was calling the police, their choice. Well they went but not very quickly, and not very far, and once they felt safe they were yelling epithets... Randy's reply: "If you think you can take me, bring it on!" in response to which they shuffled a little further off {meanwhile I am frantically urging him to leave, the last thing we need is a FIGHT right before Grandma's birthday party {eyes rolling here}

Anyway they didn't leave, just stood on the bridge connecting the park to the city (Island Park, remember?) so he DID call the cops... never heard anything further despite leaving his number for ID purposes.

Grandma's party was a blast, there were 102 people in attendance {thankfully not all at once}, we DEMOLISHED four whole cakes! I just LOVE Randy's Grandma... she is the sweetest lady! I got to meet a ton of Randy's more distant relatives and of course I can't remember any of them, but that's ok, he did well even with that many people, stayed to the side and was able to reconnect with quite a few people he hadn't see for a long time. Grandma was surprised and seemed quite please... did I mention she is another one of Randy's family that I really LOVE??? Unfortunately with so many people she was quite busy so thankfully we have tomorrow morning reserved for private time before we have to head home... Once things started dying down we snagged Cheryl and the 3 of us went and picked up Stacy, a long-time friend, and off we went to satisfy Randy's craving...

So ok I am not really a hot dog gal, they were ok but I sure wouldn't have driven more than half an hour just for them... but Randy was happy and that was good enough for me. The Parlour however definitely made the whole trip worthwhile!!! Talk about ice cream heaven... I asked but they do NOT bottle and sell their stuff like some places, however the assistant manager was kind enough to come give us the "secret" recipe for the peanut butter sauce since we live so far away and can't come back for more. And Randy said... "I can make that" {huge grin here!}

MORE TOMORROW!

Aunt Carol and Indiana

Really really neat old barns on the way to Aunt Carol's and yes I took a few really neat pictures of them. Kick that imagination into gear again... [sigh}

We arrived later than we had planned so opted to have dinner close to "home" and chatted up a storm the whole time driving, waiting, eating, driving back, and for a couple more hours sitting in the living room... stayed up too late but we SO enjoyed talking with Aunt Carol. I had not met her before as when Uncle Mike came out to visit she was not with him. But I could not stop saying to Randy, "I LOVE your Aunt Carol"...

{There have been "issues" with some of Randy's closer family members, for example the sister who was seriously ticked that we got married on HER anniversary - as if Randy could remember what day that was - and the sister-in-law who felt it appropriate for Randy's ex-wife to be a roommate to her and Randy's brother - and the brother who couldn't say NO to that... ANYWAY it should come as no surprise then that I really really loved his Uncle Mike for the person he was, and I was thrilled to find out his wife was just like him!}

Amongst the talking, Aunt Carol had us go into the basement to look for the missing box of cannon miscellaneous that Randy's dad was unable to locate... AND HE FOUND IT! Tim would certainly understand his excitement... AND for me, she dug in the spare room closet and came out with her last remaining re-enactment outfit, AND IT FIT ME!!! Well almost, it should be taken in a bit... but unless I lose the rest of the weight I want to this winter, I might very well leave it be so that it isn't tight (which will be hot!)... Anyway I have a skirt and blouse, a chemise, a slip, TWO sets of drawers, socks, garters, THREE different pairs of boots/slippers, multiple hats for different times of day... I promised her pictures but it has been so busy and so hot here that I haven't wanted to put all those clothes on even inside the house. When I do it, I will post pictures on the blog too :)

This morning we got up and somehow got to talking and talked through breakfast time so a quick snack to hold us and we took off for Shipshewana... Randy has been dreaming about the fried chicken at the Blue Gate Restaurant since the last time he ate there... and he's normally a BEEF guy!

We arrived a bit early for lunch so wandered through several shops, where I found souvenir magnets, and one antique store where I found a lace collar to compliment my outfit! I also drummed up my courage and asked one Amish gentleman if I could touch his horse, explaining that I had my own at home and I missed them so... I was absurdly happy to come away with my fingers smelling of horse sweat {grin}. If you need that explained... ask Mikey!!!

The Blue Gate lived up to Randy's memories and I can honestly say it was the best fried chicken I have ever had. After lunch we visited a wheelwright as Randy is looking for wheels (and actually the whole "carriage") for another cannon barrel his club picked up not long ago... and in his yard he had for sale an old covered wagon replica. Kick that imagination into gear again, I took pictures... and this one part I will have to explain in detail as it had me laughing out loud:

They had a "modern" for sale sign on it, the kind you can buy anywhere... with spaces for make, model and year... in the space for year it said...

OLD

Now tell me you aren't chuckling to yourself...

Back to Aunt Carol's we went to get her settled in her comfy chair and load up the rental car... the cannon box would not fit in the trunk so into the back seat it went.

MORE TOMORROW!

Debby and Ohio - An Amazing Day...

***Hoping against hope that the rental car company would locate my lost camera I have delayed blogging... unfortunately they did not {sigh}. So now I have to catch up...

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time... parked the Jeep in covered long-term parking so it wouldn't be quite so hot when we return... got through all the baggage-checking and standing-in-the-security-line garbage... got something to eat (inlcuding a Cinnabon YUM) and finally got on the plane. We did not have seats together and I ended up next to a woman with an extremely busy and loud small child on her lap... and while it was better me than Randy, it would have ended up a disaster! Thank God for the woman who was to sit next to Randy, who agreed when he suggested switching... and I don't feel QUITE so bad about her being stuck with the small child because as it turns out she was ALSO seated separate from her husband, and the single man next to her agreed to switch seats so that they could sit together...

About halfway through the flight I got extremely antsy... I am not claustrophobic for small places (well, except for my feet and legs), but I AM claustrophobic for crowds... and I was SO done with being squished between two people on either side (yes even if one of them WAS my wonderful husband), with so many more front and back... (and no leg room wasn't helping!) I was never so glad to get off a plane...

We really thought we would zip through the airport in the middle of the night and had told Deb we thought we would reach their hotel around 3 or so... this was not to be. It took forever to walk through the airport... another forever for the luggage to come out at baggage claim... another forever for the rental car shuttle bus to take us to the rental car office... and THREE forevers for the rental car people to handle the 2 people in front of us and get us into a car...

I was so exhausted, we checked our directions and figured out how many miles Randy could drive alone on different sections of the trip and let me nap, before he would have to wake me to help him navigate a change in roads... but first we stopped at a convenience store so he could get some coffee to help him stay awake. Because I was planning to sleep I stayed in the car working on directions... because I wanted to be sure I knew where we were going, and because there was an odd-looking man standing on the sidewalk in front of our car staring at me. And then there was a knock on my window. I looked up, startled, and the odd man was RIGHT THERE motioning to me to rolld own my window and his lips were moving...

OH NO! There is NO WAY on God's green earth I was going to roll down my window... at 3:00 a.m. in Detroit!?!?!? UH UH!!! I shook my head and said "I don't know you and I am NOT rolling down my window" just in case he could hear me... he continued gesticulating and talking so I glued my eyes to my map, heart pounding, and prayed Randy would hurry... well GEEZ I forgot the car was running so I had AC (oh so muggy back east!!!) and Randy had told me to lock all the doors... suddenly there is knocking on the OTHER window which stopped my heart... but it was Randy! I quickly fumbled the door locks open as the odd man left the car and went back to the sidewalk, but as we backed out of the parking space he was gesticulating madly (and Randy said he was cussing!) {don't you just love that word, "gesticulating"? Yes I know I used it twice... but it's so perfect!}

So a 50-mile nap later, Randy wakes me in Clevaland to get him from one freeway to the next... and once that was accomplished, back to sleep I went.

Another 33-mile nap later, we reach Port Clinton and I must navigate the last few turns to the hotel... and CALL DEBBY! It's 4:30... She was so excited to hear we were close...

As we pull into a parking space she and Tim come running out... well, ok, DEBBY was running out, Tim was composed and geez, acting like an adult...

Debby was jumping up and down outside my car door saying "Get out so I can hug you" and silly me I was so groggy I was trying to gather my things... {smacks self in head} ok Debby's excitement permeated my mush brain and I jumped out and got the BEST HUG EVER...

Neither of us thought we would be able to sleep but within a few minutes we were all "out like a light". The plan was for Tim and Debby to wake up and use the facilities, then make sure we didn't sleep past 8... next thing I knew, Debby was touching my shoulder saying "it's about 8" and they went to get coffee from the office so we could have the "facilities" ourselves...

None of us being familiar with Port Clinton, we tried to ask for directions to a good breakfast place, the {very nice} East Indian hotel manager (owner?) directed us and lo and behold we discovered BOB'S BIG BOY! Now that chain used to be here, I ate there as a kid, but has been long missing from Arizona... we all opted for the all-you-can-eat breakfast bar and yes we ate all we could eat! On the way out the door I saw a chalkboard sign that said "Thank you" and "Have an amazing day"... In the car and heading for the ferry I was telling Randy, I can't believe it, I should have taken the camera in, and taken a picture of the breakfast buffet, and had the waitress take a picture of us... and that sign! I knew I would be kicking myself when I got home to blog and hadn't done that... so I resolved right then and there to document EVERYTHING from then on...

It was already hot and humid but the breeze off the lake made the ferry ride quite enjoyable... chatting away like old friends, the four of us disembarked at Put-In Bay and made our way to the beach to look for Petoskey stones, which Randy remembered from his childhood... now this is a rocky beach, not a sandy beach, so quite noisy as the waves roll in and out... and the wind is blowing in our ears... and we are talking... I heard a noise {sounded like a BIG belly-flop!) but it didn't really register until I heard Deb say "Oh my God, there is a PLANE in the LAKE!" We all turned around and sure enough, THERE WAS A PLANE IN THE LAKE!!! I was standing there with my jaw dropped, blinking... surely I don't see a PLANE in the LAKE?!?!?

Suddenly it occurred to me that I had a camera, so I started snapping pictures. And started thinking out loud, "There have GOT to be people on that plane... at least ONE the pilot... WHERE ARE THE HEADS? Please God I do not want to stand here and watch people die... we should be seeing heads!!!" The ferry captain had immediately stopped loading people and headed toward the plane which was about 25 yards off the end of the ferry dock (at this point about 100 years from us). Now we all know that ferries do NOT haul @$$... but I am telling you, he HAULED @$$! Huge clouds of black smoke pouring from the smokestack... and then we see heads popping up (I thought 3, Randy thought 4, turns out later Randy was right) and the ferry "staff" is throwing life preservers... and the plane was disappearing into the water. At some point it hit me that I have VIDEO on this camera and I quick switched over and caught the life preservers being thrown and the last few moments of the plane's wing and tail before they were gone...

This could have turned out SO differently, those folks were awful lucky... or God's hand was keeping them close! They could have hit the ground, or the ferry, or the dock... the water was a good place to crash!!!

Debby commmented that this was an amazing day and I vowed then and there to return to Bob's Big Boy before we left Port Clinton and take a picture of that sign!!!!!

Tim rented a golf cart and we toodled around the island some, Deb's description of the rest of the day is so good you should just go here and here if you haven't already... and DEB GOT PICTURES!!! Well ok I got pictures too but since I sadly left the camera in the rental car in Detroit... you will just have to go look at Deb's!

Oh and you might also want to go here for more on the plane crash... but really, although as Deb says my video is there, the big video that someone took from right ON the ferry was much better... however I will say that I am GLAD we were far away on the beach and NOT on the ferry!!!

The ferry ride back was uneventful {including, miraculously so I am told, NO BARFING from Debby!!!} and thankfully so was the walk away from the ferry this time... Debby and Tim surprised us with some souvenir coffee mugs and we began feeling sad that our time together was soon to end... somewhere in here and I am sorry I can't recall the exact timing, Tim was asking me if one was to fly in to where we live, where would they fly in... I distractedly answered "Phoenix" and he asked again a bit differently, finally it sunk in he wanted to know the name of the airport so I told him Sky Harbor... Debby is, meanwhile, clutching my arm and frantically whipsering that this is GREAT, if Tim is actually asking then he is actually thinking about REALLY COMING TO ARIZONA!!! {This is where Mikey, reading this blog post, will be jumping up and down and screaming, and Wade and Mercy and umpteen dogs will be staring at her with puzzled looks...}

When we reached the cars, Randy handed me the rental car key and much to my surprise said "I will ride with Tim, you take Debby with you so you can chat just a bit longer". AW... what a guy. {Side note - one of the symptoms from Randy's PTSD is extreme difficulty with not being in control so any time he rides while someone else drives it is a BIG DEAL!} We headed back to Bob's Big Boy so I could get the picture of our "amazing day" sign... for the blog... {sigh} You will just have to IMAGINE it!!!

A harder goodbye I have not said for a long long time...

And we headed for Aunt Carol's in Angola, Indiana. I tried to stay awake, I truly did... but I must confess to a nap on the toll road...

MORE TOMORROW!

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM!!!!!

That's what the e-mail said I got from Debby in the middle of the night... in 24 hours we will meet...

Now it's less than 24 hours... I am all packed* and dropped off at work, I am allowed to leave after our 2pm house call so it is arranged that I text Randy when we leave the client's house so he can be driving to my office as my boss and I are driving to my office...

I hate traveling, the day we leave I am always a basket case, what did I forget to pack, what did I forget to tell the caretaker about the animals... did I kiss everyone goodbye? Well ok I don't kiss them ALL, in fact I counted this morning and before the sun came up I had fed breakfast to 55 animals... {sigh} thankfully they are not ALL mine and hopefully at least 5 little goats will be back home where they belong before I return...

But we are leaving this evening - oh and for any internet stalkers, the house will not be unattended while we are gone, so don't bother trying to cause trouble!

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM see you tonight Debby!!!!!

*well ok I THOUGHT I was all packed, I have already had to text Randy to grab 2 things I forgot!!!

If It's Not One Thing, It's Another... or FIVE!

So, my friend Fawn was coming over tonight to pick up Cupcake the baby donkey, she is going to play grandma while I am gone this weekend so that Hilary doesn't have quite such a full plate... I got a call from another friend, Rose, as I was leaving work, in a bit of a panic because she came home to find FIVE GOATS in her yard... well she doesn't have proper fencing to keep the little things safe, and lots of coyotes out by her, so long story short, Fawn and her husband, who are also friends of Rose, picked ME up instead of the baby donkey... went to Rose's and it took FOUR of us to capture 5 little goats... got them into Fawn's trailer and back to my house we went, put the five goats in my goat pen and loaded up the baby donkey and all her stuff, and off they went.

Does something about this seem WRONG to you????? I wonder if it's karma because I was gloating to Mikey that I get to meet Deb... so is my life turning into Mikey's????? If so, Randy is REALLY going to kill me...

The good news is, the goats look fat and sassy and well cared for, so we are hopeful that they merely escaped, and were not dumped... if they were dumped I'd expect them to not look so good... If we are lucky an owner will show up VERY SOON and take them back, preferably for Hilary's sake before I leave tomorrow... but if not, well, even five goats are easier to care for than one "infant" donkey...

And if no owner shows up at all... well... they are so darn cute I already want to keep them, but I sure don't need this. Luckily one of Rose's neighbors has already claimed two...

{sigh}

Another Truck Conversation Update...

Randy went by Brandon's last night to "help" with the truck, got some interim pictures - modifying the existing "hole" in the sleeper...


see the silvery strip along the top?

...to match the hole cut in the cab... since there was already a hole for the back window.





Looks like an awful mess right now! Randy took me by to see it later in the evening and I sure don't see how they are going to get it done by the end of this weekend... especially since it has been raining here all morning! (Brandon lives just a couple miles from us.) But maybe there is not as much to it as it looks like to this uneducated GIRL! ;)

So Frustrating!

Well Cupcake's adopter has decided that she wants to bring BOTH donkeys back home... and bottom line is, it's not the right decision, so I am afraid I am going to have a fight on my hands. Mary's house is the LAST place that baby needs to be, for multiple reasons... none of the 3 people that live there are familiar with equines and with a bottle baby, it is SO important to teach them to BE A HORSE (or in this case donkey). It's not safe to let Abigail teach her... and I honestly don't think she will EVER accept ANY other animal, she does NOT want to share Mary. "But the baby is SO CUTE" - well of course she is, all babies are cute, BUT THEY GROW UP!!!!! And if you don't know how to teach her to behave, it will NOT be cute when she is walking all over you at 600-700 pounds!!!!

I can only hope that someone out there comes to their senses before the baby is so spoiled that no one can make her behave (yeah, like her mama!)

Well, that's not exactly true, her mama CAN be made to behave, I've already made progress wit her while she has been here, but geez it's a lot of work and no fun!!! And you have to constantly be on your guard that you don't get run over, knocked over, stepped on, kicked or bitten...

After all the time and money spent over the past couple weeks on this baby, by my whole family and several other friends who offered to help, this is incredibly disappointing. I am almost tempted to wash my hands of the whole thing and just drop them off, but for Cupcake's sake I am still hoping I can get Mary to do what is best for the foal, which is NOT taking her there. {sigh} Perhaps the draft of the "agreement" I will insist on will cause her to see the light... a LONG list of expenses out of pocket to be reimbursed, and an even longer list of instructions for how to properly raise a baby... AND how to train mama. Yeah I've said it before but it was ignored, or even just forgotten - whatever the reason, it wasn't done. Maybe in writing...

Anticipation...

I believe in the power of positive of thinking, I am NOT jinxing this by talking about it ahead of time...

I MIGHT GET TO ACTUALLY MEET DEBBY!!!!! I have been following Life's Funny Like That ever since Mikey nagged both Debby and me into starting blogs and we did it about the same time... she is definitely one of the "best friends I have never met", we comment on each other's blogs and e-mail and even mail each other silly packages once in a while (if you have been a long-time reader you will remember my "chocolate soup" lol) and once she totally surprised me with a phone call which was so cool... but now I might get to actually meet her!

Randy's grandma is turning 90 and the family is having a surprise party for her, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to go too but I was determined to send him at least, he should NOT miss THIS birthday party... thanks to his brother's in-laws we got discounted tickets and I am going too, on a whim I mentioned to Debby that I was coming to Michigan in a couple of weeks and wished we could meet up, lo and behold she is doing her level best to make it happen... the iffy part is, as you know if you follow both of us, that she just started that new job...

SO - I am asking for prayers that it all works out, so far both Randy AND Tim have jumped on the bandwagon and Debby and I are beside ourselves with excitement!

I even figured out how to scream with a keyboard {grin}

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I am so psyched!


*Edited this afternoon to add this e-mail I got from Debby...

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAMMMMM!

OH MY GOSH SUSAN. I DON'T WORK FRIDAY. I'M OFF THAT DAY. I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO ASK. THE NEW SCHEDULE WAS UP AND I DON'T WORK. IT'S LIKE GOD WANTS US TO MEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited about this, I can't even begin to tell you.

This is so flipping awesome."

So now we just need our flight info (long story but we can't get it until 1 week before we fly) and then we can make final plans...


SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAMMMM works for me too {HUGE grin!}

Bye Bye Truck!

Last night Randy had a couple of guys load up the sleeper onto the International, strapped it down, and off it went to be installed...

So it's not REALLY bye bye... just for a few days! Next, will be the flatbed!

Cupcake Has a New Mama!!!

Check this out!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e77t9yrJaaY

My husband is the most amazing man! I told him about a story I had read, where the people had rigged an igloo cooler to feed their orphan foal so they could get some sleep...






And just in time because mama's milk is about dried up already - she REALLY does not want to feed this baby!!!!!