Creeping Crud

Yep, it got me... got me good too.  Pretty sure I picked it up two Sunday's ago when I spent seven, yes SEVEN, hours at the hospital with Pie.
He called from work and said that he was going to the hospital because he was coughing really badly and having trouble breathing.  Silly man, instead of asking me to meet him there with his medical card he came all the way home to get it (and me) and then we went to SPH. 
(of course he wanted to change into comfy sweatpants too... we knew we'd be there awhile)
By the time we left we found out that Pie doesn't have a 'bug' or anything right now.  He is still coughing from his pneumonia (uh, yeah, the one from late December) because of irritation to his throat and lungs and because he has reactive airway - which is kinda like saying a horse has founder or navicular, its more a description of symptoms not a definitive diagnosis.  Pie was given a prescription for two different kinds of inhalers and a super heavy-duty cough suppressant.  We're hoping to learn more when we go to the specialist on Monday.  And I left with a killer cough which turned into a nasty case of the creeping crud.
Monday it was full blown, sinuses were packed, cough hacking away, low energy.  I pretty much chilled out (Monday is our day off) and rested so that I could work open to close at the restaurant Tuesday so that Pie could stay home and try to get his cough under control... besides we wanted to see if that medicine was going to let him drive or not, the doctor said it may really knock him on his rear.  Rest assured, I do not handle the food at the restaurant!
I managed to get through Tuesday but I was w-i-p-e-d out.  When I got home I had a quick bite to eat with Pie and went to bed... for 12 hours.  Wednesday I woke up even worse, Pie took one look at me and said "You are NOT going to work tonight!!"
(I musta looked pretty damn bad!  Even my father-in-law said it was good that I had stayed home)
I pretty much spent the rest of the week, well actually up to this Tuesday, doing as little as possible... rest on the couch so that I could go to work and make it through the night. 
This Tuesday was the first night I was able to sleep without any "medical help"... good thing I've never used "recreational drugs" because little old over the counter NyQuil cough and cold knocks me on my keister!!
I did have a great babysitter/nurse though...

(yes those are Spongebob pj's I'm wearing)

Tucker stayed by my side pretty much non-stop.  In fact the few times he did go and play he ran right back to me if I started coughing.  This is the same little dog that has at least one random burst of frenetic energy a day as well as lots of regular play and running through the yard.  Yesterday, when I was finally feeling somewhat better, he ran laps up and down the hallway from the bedroom to the living room, jumped on and off the bed, leaping in the air and spinning in circles... over and over and over. And over.

Ed - you really do want a Boston, they are such loving and funny dogs.  My dad has often had a dog that would travel in his truck with him, so that's no excuse!  Better than those truckers with cats stretched across the dash ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Stills ~ Blue

This week's Sunday Stills challenge was the colour blue.  Caveats were no sky pics and no archives.
So we have our little blue tractor, a New Holland Boomer

And because I've been sick as heck this past week I did cheat and use an old pic, but its one I've never posted... blue boat seen at Peggy's Cove, NS

Friday Funny

Wordless Wednesday ~ What Odin thinks of the whole modelling thing!

Formal Introductions

The breeders that we bought Odin and Octavius from stopped by on Sunday to check on the boys and drop off the papers... I finally got to find out if AQHA gave me my names or made up their own.  I was really hoping one of my six would be picked (that's six name selections per colt)  Usually when AQHA makes up the name themselves its not a very "good" name.  Or at least that's what I've heard from several people.
I was in luck.  Not only were the names on the papers ones I'd sent in, they were each my "first pick" name!
So without further ado allow me to introduce:

JLS Shock N Twist

Octavius

JLS Ima Cool Threat

Odin

The "JLS" is for the breeders.  It was their only requirement when they let me choose the names to send in.  I was pretty happy that they let me name my boys :)

*sorry for the poor quality pics, the boys were feeling a bit frisky and it was cool and windy out, tomorrow's post has a pic of how Odin felt about modelling lol*

A bit late, a birthday and Sunday Stills

Sorry I'm a bit late getting this posted... I had my family over for the day and then spent the last half my day in the hospital with Pie (don't worry he's okay now)
This week's Sunday Stills challenge was Canine Companions.
Here are my pooches in a rare moment, all three are still and quiet:

Misty (Golden Retriever X Rottie) Comet (Lab X Border Collie) & Tucker (Boston Terrier)

Usually at least one of them is on the move... or all of them:

Yeah we had a wee bit of snow fall the other day.  Don't tell Tucker he's not a big dog lol

And now for the birthday... March 20 my little Tucker turned 1 year old!  Hard to believe that he went from a little snub nosed pup:

To a handsome young dog.  There are some similarities though, he's still a sleepy little snuggle bug!

For his birthday Tucker got his new "big dog" collar, its the exact same as the big dogs's.  A leather collar with "sheriff stars" on it. The little blue nylon collar we got him as a puppy went from as small as it could possibly be made to as large as it could be made. Tucker also got a new dog tag.  On the back is his name and our phone number and on the front is his position here (trust me its fitting lol)

For the record Comet and Misty got new  tags too.  Comet's says "Top Hand" and Misty's says "Ranch Security".  Both are also very fitting.
Thank you so much to Fetching Tags!  I love the way the tags turned out plus they got here this past Friday, just in time for Tucker's birthday!! :)

ABCs Of Me

The other day I saw this post at Oregon Sunshine's blog "Adventures of Life"  It seemed like a neat idea so I asked her if she minded if I borrowed the idea... anyone else want to play along?

A: Age: 37
B: Bed size: Queen
C. Chore you hate: household, folding and putting away laundry and cleaning the cat boxes.  If you mean horse chores then nothing really... after all its been less than a year that I've been taking care of my ponies here at home instead of boarding :)
D. Dogs: 3, hope to get a 4th as an outdoor guardian dog. 
E. Essential start to your day: stretching
F. Favorite color: purples, also greens, blues
G. Gold or silver: for jewelry, either.  I really like the look of brushed nickel for household things like doorknobs.
H: Height: 5’8″
I: Instruments that you can play: none, zip, zero, nada. I can't even sing half decent. Although I used to know how to play a couple simple songs on guitar.
J: Job title: according to my father-in-law, manager.  According to me, supervisor.
K: Kids: none of the human variety.  Of the 4 legged, furry kind 16 (if you include the barn cats)
L: Live: after a sometimes impatient search, on an acreage near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada)
M: Mom’s name: Darlene
N: Nicknames: Lou, Brat, Smartass
O: Overnight hospital stays: none for myself but I did stay at the hospital all night in the ER with Pie before he finally got admitted (when he had the lung abscesses)
P: Pet peeve: rude people, the lacking everyday consideration kind of rude or just plain stupid kind of rude.  Also people who get animals without thought of what they're getting into.
Q: Quote from a movie: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" Rhett Butler  "I feel the need, the need for speed" Maverick  "There's no crying in baseball!" Jimmy Dugan (which for some reason my friends and I randomly say)  BUT if we could include TV I could have one of my favourite quotes which comes close to something I've said a few times "You know what, there's a ton of lore on unicorns too.  In fact, I hear that they ride on silver moonbeams, and that they shoot rainbows out of their ass!" Dean Winchester
R: Righty or lefty: lefty
S: Sibling: 2, both younger.  A sister and a brother (the 'baby')
T: Time you wake up: usually between 11 am and noon unless I need to get up earlier.  *Please bear in mind that I usually go to bed between 3:30 am and 5 am*
U: Underwear: yes, clean lol
V: Vegetables you dislike: it would be shorter to list the ones I DO like lol.  Veggies just don't do it for my sweet tooth.
W: What makes you run late: I used to always run late.  Now I try to be more on time, but Pie makes me late a LOT
X: X-rays: teeth at dentist, chest for bronchitis/pneumonia, chest for ribs, ankle.  I'm supposed to be getting my knees x-rayed but haven't yet.
Y: Yummy food you make: I bake some pretty good desserts.  For meal foods though... hmm, there's a casserole I make that Pie likes, doesn't really have a name.  I make a good roast, chicken breasts. Most of the stuff I make is pretty basic.
Z: Zoo favorite animal: Tigers, wolves, zebras.

Friday Funny ~ For Mikey ;)

One day at the veterinarian's office where I take my cat, a man and the receptionist were verbally sparring.

After a few moments a technician came to her co-worker's defense.

"Sir," she interjected, 

"do you know what happens to aggressive males in this office?"

Porcupine!

There was "something" off in a field beside one of our grid roads.  I had written it off as nothing to note when one day Pie said "Did you see that porcupine in the field?"
I told him that yeah I had seen it, however I wasn't sure it was a porcupine because it was quite aways out and if it was it must be dead, it hadn't moved in the 3 or 4 days that I'd seen it.
Well Pie had seen it walking not 30 minutes before, and probably about 500 feet from where I'd always seen it.  It was indeed alive and a porcupine!
After a few more days I was looking into who I could contact to check on it though.  You see I was getting pretty worried.  It never moved more than a couple hundred feet from where we saw it, in fact it rarely moved at all.  And when he did it was more or less wandering in circles.
Then I decided to get some pics of it. He was out in the field so I zoomed my little point and shoot as far as it would go...

Still not so good.  So I crouched down and made some weird whistle, Pie said I sounded like some kind of bird but he couldn't place it.  I wasn't trying to sound like a bird, I was just trying to make some kind of non-threatening noise to attract its attention.
And it worked!!  He started walking around, and while he meandered in  loops he also made his way toward me.  Oh wait, was that a good idea? lol

Ok enough pics... sorry the quality wasn't great but it was freezing and windy, which of course made it seem colder.  Oh yeah, and I was supposed to be going to work.  oops lol
Like I said, I was getting worried about the little guy... he always stayed in the same basic area.  No shelter (those trees in the pics are waaaay in the background).  I don't know anything about these pokey little guys but I did find it weird that he'd basically "hide" between a couple twigs sticking out of the snow to sleep.  Seriously, I'd watch for him at night on my way home and he'd be there.  Even parking with my lights flashing on him and tapping the horn got no reaction.   I thought that was a bit odd, in my mind I thought a wild animal would react to something like that.

can you see him?

Just when I was going to try calling someone Pete came home one day and said, "Hey!  The little dude's on the other side of the road now!  He's moving on!"  I was pretty happy and when we went in to work sure enough, he was on the other side of the road, heading west.  The next day he was further west into that field and from then on I haven't seen him again.  Happy travels little guy!

**if anyone has knowledge about these pointy little guys feel free to share**   :)

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Ah, St. Paddy's.  The day most people associate with parades and drinking green beer...

 How many of you know there's more to it than that?  Well c'mon, after all it's SAINT Patrick's Day!  In fact until the 1970's Irish law mandated that all pubs be closed on St Patrick's Day.  For those that celebrate the intended meaning of the day it is a day of spiritual renewal and offering prayer for missionaries.
The story of St Patrick ridding Ireland of snakes is just that, a story.  And like many a religious story it has to do with Christianity and paganism.  It is believed that the snakes in this legend were the pagans and that as St Patrick spread the seeds of Christianity in Ireland he thus ridded it of the pagan religions, or snakes.
*Interesting side note, quite a few pagan rituals and customs were incorporated into religious ceremonies, rituals and customs to ease the conversion of the pagans to Christianity.*
As for how clovers became associated with St Patrick's Day, St Patrick used the clover to illustrate the Holy Trinity.

 And now a toast, whether you're having green beer or not:

May your blessings outnumber

the shamrocks that grow

and may trouble avoid you wherever you go

Slainte!! 

*Pictures found with Google Images*

Wordless Wednesday

Adopt the Internet

If you're looking for a new pet please consider one from a rescue or shelter.  Many people write them off as "problem animals" when in fact there are many wonderful animals in need of homes and it's not their fault they're in a shelter.  People move, they have children, they lose their jobs, they develop allergies, they lose interest, the pet got 'too big'.  I never said all the reasons are good...
Shelter and rescue pets come in all ages, condition, size and breed.  Yes that's right breed.  Got your heart set on a purebred?  You can find one!
So please, go to your local shelter or surf the net and you may find your next best friend:

Equine Goals!

Shirley at Ride a Good Horse posted her equine goals a few days ago (which she in turn had gotten from Kimberley at Ranch Momma)
I've been thinking for awhile of what I hope to accomplish with my horses this year so I thought I would follow along and put it in writing.

These two boys (Voodoo above, Applejack below) I hope to have in really good shape this spring/summer.  Both are going to barrel races and team sorting.  And while I do both of these for fun I am hoping to have a good season with both boys.  Applejack got some tuning this winter on the pattern from a friend... she found some holes that I was missing and he's been running a nice pattern, let's hope that pattern is the same once we start entering!  I'm really hoping he bumps up into the 2D from 3D this year but if not then I hope to place consistently in the top of 3D.  With Voodoo I'm hoping to start running and placing consistently, he's usually in 3D so far so we'll see what this year holds.  Even if he remains in 3D it would be nice to place more often.

This little man, he needs a job aside from being a buddy.  I don't have people visit with young children often enough for him to be really put to work and he gets chunky pretty darn easy.  Well it turns out that I've got a group of friends that drive!  Which is an idea I've been toying around with.  Actually learning to drive has been on my equine bucket list for a long time, but driving Rootbeer occurred to me late last summer.  I've got a good group of people to help me out... and who knows maybe one day in the future some of the other horses will becoming driving horses too (I personally think Voodoo would look pretty sharp with a buggy)  I have done a littel bit of driving in the past but it would be nice to really learn how.

These two aren't old enough to have "jobs" yet.  Instead they'll spend the year learning the little things that lead to being grownups.  Feet handling, improve their leading, trailering lessons, grooming, etc etc.  And no Odin isn't bigger than Octavius, he's on a bunch of packed snow.  Tavi is actually the bigger of the two.

My Cessa, this girl gets to just be a horse, and spoiled with attention.  My only goal here is to give her the best life possible and to recognize when she's letting me know its The Time.

I'm also hoping to put together some 'obstacles' that I can use with all the horses, whether mounted or on the ground, to help desensitize them.  Think bridges, tarps, small jumps, etc.

Sunday Stills ~ The letter P

This week's Sunday Stills theme is the letter P, any thing, person or place that starts with P.

Rootbeer the Pony

Porcupine

my mare, Princess Spright
aka Cessa

my sweet puppy, Tucker

Friday Funny ~ Calving

A rancher was helping one of his cows give birth, when he noticed his four year old son standing at the fence, wide-eyed and soaking in the whole event.

The rancher thought to himself, "Great, now I'm gonna have to explain the 'birds and the bees'.  Well, no need to jump the gun.  I'll just let him ask the questions and I'll answer as best I can."

After everything was over, the rancher walked over to his son and said "Well son, do you have any questions?"

Just one," gasped the still wide-eyed lad.  "How fast was that calf going when he hit the cow?"

Wordless Wednesday ~ In the Hay

Mattie

LK is a friend of mine, a bit younger but still a friend.  I met her a few years ago through our local barrel club.  When we moved to our acreage we kinda became neighbours, add that we're both horse crazy and LK putting some rides on Applejack tuning up the holes I was having trouble with and we've become friends.
Yesterday I got one of the WORST text msg's you can get from a horsepal... "Mattie's gone".

I msg'd back "WHAT?!?!"  then a few minutes later "Did she get out or did someone take her?"About 45 minutes after the first msg I got one saying "Can you call me".  I was in the city so I msg'd that I'd call her as soon as I could then headed home.  A second later my phone bleeped at me, I was at a red light so I glanced at it and the msg said "She's dead"  As soon as my light was green I pulled into a parking lot and called LK.
I had a hard time understanding her because she was crying so hard, and honestly I was having a hard time not crying too.  At first LK and her dad thought maybe Mattie had gotten out, turns out she had gotten trapped between the fence and feeder.  The neighbour found her and let them know.
A hard way for anyone to lose their horse, harder still when she's your rodeo partner and good friend.  My heart was breaking for my young friend.

Mattie was a sweet horse but also a tough rodeo horse.  She and LK qualified for CCA finals (Junior Barrels) in 3rd place, having been the leader for a good part of the season.  After some tough luck they fell short of winning the season championship.  I was really impressed with how gracefully LK handled it, she never once blamed her horse (unlike a LOT of competitors) Instead she focused on the good things and celebrated her horse. 
LK is still in high school so she ran in the juniors, but they could run with the ladies too... in Stettler they entered the ladies division and were 4th our of 82.  In Elbow the won the junior's by 6/10s, that time tied the winner of the ladies.
The last couple days have been pretty tough for LK. She says one of the things that has helped her get through is all the msg's she has been getting and realizing how many people care about her and loved & respected Mattie.  I remember how when LK talked about Mattie she would just LIGHT UP.  And how Mattie always loved to stick her nose into LK's hair and breathe deep.  How Mattie always rolled in the indoor and goofed around but was all business when it was time to race.

Again LK, I'm so sorry for your loss, just know your Mattie Rae is waiting for you on the other side of that Rainbow Bridge... where you guys will have all of eternity.

Sunday Stills ~ Your Favourite Place

This one was pretty easy for me, I'm a homebody.  My favourite place to be has always been at home or at the barn with my horses.  Well now that we (finally) found our acreage I have both together! 
Here's home, the house seen from the backyard:

And here's the barn, which I now just have to walk across the backyard to... instead of driving 30 minutes.  BTW I loved sitting on that bench by the barn door this past summer and just chilling out :)

Things that make you go hmmmm

Friday Funny ~ Toothbrush

A father finds his four year old daughter outside brushing their dog's teeth using his toothbrush.

Dad asks, "What are you doing with my toothbrush?!"

The daughter replies, "I'm brushing his teeth. 

But don't worry Dad, I'll rinse it out when I'm done just like I always do."

**I'm sorry Mikey but I thought of Mercy when I heard this joke! lol**

True Horsepower!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Ladies who lunch

The nightly routine

sssh, I need my beauty sleep

Every night at bedtime Pie lets the dogs out while I take the extra pillows off the bed.  When the dogs come back in we settle things down for the night; shut off lights, check the pellets in the stove, put down Misty's bed (she flat out REFUSES to come down the hallway in this house).  Then when we brush our teeth Comet goes and curls up on the carpet at the foot of the bed and Tucker jumps into bed and snuggles under the covers.  Its pretty cute but the other night Pie got the idea to put a sleep mask on him... Tucker didn't object at all and this picture was the result.