Here I am again!

I know it's been ages and ages since I last posted. This will just be a brief post explaining some of the major changes that have occurred in the nearly two years that have lapsed...

• March 2012 - I bought my first straight Egyptian Arabian colt, Osirion (as a yearling)

• April 2012 - I took my big black mare Layla to be bred to the straight Egyptian stallion Sabbataz JA

• May 2012 - I bought a little grey 3 year old Arab filly, MSU Dreams Aswirl AM (Sonia)

• June 2012 - I attended the Egyptian Event for the first time in Lexington, KY. I also rehomed Jazzy, my grade QH mare

• August 2012 - Start of training/first ride on Sonia

• October 2012 - Took on the mare Daughter of the Sands (Isis) as a training & rehoming prospect

• April 2013 - My beautiful boy NUHA Star Bennu (Jaws) was born to Layla

• July 2013 - Took Sonia to Pennsylvania to be bred to the very handsome Trueblue Goldmine+++//. I also put a saddle on my colt Osirion for the first time!

• September 2013 - Sonia confirmed in foal for an August 2014 baby. I drove out there to pick her up and met some more wonderful people.

• October 2013 - Moved the horses and myself to a new location. 
• Nocember 2013 - Isis was euthanized.
• January 2014 - My poor little Kit Kit passed away. We have been buried in snow and I'm so ready to be done with Michigan!!!

So, that's a quick summary, clearly glossing over a lot of major details. I hope to be able to fill in some of those details in the future.

More Michigan adventures

Today my new roommate (Jae) and I headed south back into Indiana to pick up a new addition to the colorful menagerie here on the farm. I have mentioned some of the critters here, but, until now, I didn't have pics to go with my comments. I will start today's post with some pictures of the animals residing on the property.

We'll start with the llama (Snickers) and his lovely lady ewes, since I've already mentioned them. Those girls look like they are gonna pop out some babies any day now, but we're still waiting!!

There are also quite a few ducks and chickens running around. The ducks come in a variety of colors, and there are even several Muscovies.

Hershey and Cadbury are the resident meat calves, although they have a long way to go until they are big enough for the dinner plate.

Coyote is Quimby's new bff. She doesn't care so much for the Chunk, but Chunky has lots of love for the puppies of the world.

And, of course, my ponies are right at home amongst all the other creatures.

So what else could we add to the bustling little farm to make it even more colorful? What, indeed! How about this fuzzy little face?

This cute little girl was a "free to a good home" pony-sized molly mule. She's still just a baby at about a year and a half old. The guys who had her seemed to think she was crazy and flighty. Watch this video and see if you think the same thing:

The new mule (we still need a name for her) caused quite a sensation in the neighborhood. Horses and calves couldn't figure out what this strange looking beast was.

Watch the fierce, wild mule on film! And please, leave a comment if you have any suggestions for this little devil's name. One last note... she is NOT mine, she's my roommate's. So far I've refrained from adding more to my own head count!

Llama drama

Today the ponies had a new resident move into their pen. He's black and hairy with a face only a mother could love. They immediately decided he was the ugliest horse they had ever seen, an offense to their refined equine sensibilities.

Snickers, of course, didn't enjoy being the butt of horse curiosity. He just wanted to return to his beloved ewes across the fence.

Snickers is a very accomplished whiner. If you've never heard a llama whine, you can consider yourself very fortunate. It's rather grating and extremely pathetic. As my roommate puts it, "He's the whiniest damn llama I've ever known."

 Zeplin, Layla, and Jazzy converged upon poor Snickers as soon as we dragged him into their domain. I think he was convinced that they were a special breed of llama-eating horses. Zeplin especially wanted to know what he was about, even talking to him face-to-face in spite of Snickers's weak attempts at spitting at him in the cold winter air. Layla took offense that something so ugly wanted HER hay, so she pinned her ears back and charged at him whenever he got close.

When I fed the ponies their evening grain, Snickers was able to take a few minutes while they were distracted to grab a couple mouthfuls of hay. Then it was back to running away from monstrous horses.

I guess we'll see tomorrow if any attitudes have changed overnight...

Zeplin

My boy doesn't like me at all :-) (Notice how Jazzy is moving pretty quickly at first, then she decides that's a complete waste of her precious energy).

A few horse pictures

Just wanted to share a few July pictures. Not much to say, so enjoy!

Latest horse pics

I took the time last night when I was feeding the ponies to snap a few quick pictures with my cell phone.
I can't believe how mature my Zeplin looks now! So hard to grasp how far he's come from the gangly yearling colt I obtained four years ago!

Jazzy is a bit more difficult to photograph because the other two like to get in the way:

Another challenge is trying to take a picture of Layla without her head down to eat. She certainly doesn't miss a meal! No wonder she gets along so well with Jazzy... Ignore the sunbleaching and the dreadlocked mane.

By the way, in case you were wondering--my house didn't get flooded in Iowa, but I am still trying to figure out when I will get back there to clean everything back up and list it for sale. Things at work hardly ever seem to slow down! Very frustrating, because before I took my emergency trip out there, I had been trying since last October to find time to go.

I am back

I have been told by some good friends that they really miss reading my blog. Thanks, you guys, you are awesome :-) It's wonderful to have friends like that!

There hasn't been much to comment on the last few months. The weather has looked like this:

MARCH (flooding from snow melt and rain)

APRIL (more rain)

MAY (even more rain--does it ever end??)

After three months of rain and flooding, you can see from a couple of these pictures what my horses' pasture looks like. The ponies themselves cannot escape the mud. I am ready for more than just an afternoon at a time of sunshine!!!

Hopefully it dries up soon so I can put the kids back to work. In the meantime, enjoy the many pics of mud and rain I shall be posting.

I assure you, I am still alive!

Wow, I survived January! And what a crazy, insanely busy month it was! I have plenty to tell, but I lack the energy to type it all out at the moment. Suffice it to say that I am hoping against hope that February will be a bit more relaxed. I'm not holding my breath though--the first week was hectic and this coming week my company is hosting a meeting for some of the managers of all locations here in Indiana.

We have been slammed with several storms lately, as has most of the rest of the country. Last Tuesday brought an actual blizzard to the plains of Indiana. We buckled down under pounding snow and sleet, while further south they struggled through inches of ice and freezing rain. Driving to the place where my ponies currently reside, I encountered ice-coated roads like this:

Reports from nearby TV stations claim this to be one of the top five snowiest winters (Dec-Jan-Feb) since such records were kept.

The horses were none the worse for wear. They seemed resigned to weathering through the rest of what winter has to offer, as we have no other choice. So long as they have plenty of delicious grass hay, water, and grain, they ignore the challenges tossed out by a cantankerous Mother Nature.

The kittens remain in high spirits, enjoying the warmth of our cozy home and the company of my now unemployed roommate. Hancock (Hank) enjoys cleaning in the sink, while Murphy crashes after experiencing a catnip high. Blue came special delivery, FedEx.

That's my update for now. I think I've run out of steam and I need to get this office cleaned yet today. Stay warm and keep spring in your sites!