My First Horses

I have always wanted a horse. We have been going all over to breeders and auctions looking for older horses that were good to ride. Gaited horses were a plus. On Friday I was dropping off sign letters for our Mill and was killing time at the horse auction. And I saw a big dapple gray mare. She looked good. So I went home to my husband and he said take an expert with you to make sure she is a good one. My horseman neighbor said both mares looked good, but were very pregnant, and that was a bonus. We saw the stud both were Fox Trotters. So the foals should be a gaited too.

The auction lasted until 1am in the morning and we won both mares. And we had no horse trailer. But a kind father and his daughter had a four horse trailer and were willing to bring our mares home for us. So our two mares got to spend the night in our goat pen. And this morning I awoke to see my horses in my yard, what a neat thing. Now the work begins, vets, farrier, hay, fence and grain. Going to be a very busy horse owner from now on. If anyone has any name ideas, please post them. We need two names for these 10 year old mares and soon their foals. One is a gray and the other a dark chestnut.

To Stain Away

Our contractors spent the entire day staining our log house in between the raindrops. It will cure on the house in 36 hours. In this heat it is absorbed very quickly into the logs and the deck. We are very pleased with the results. It was so worth it to do this to our house. It looks good with all the nature around us.

Blueberry Snake

Today, I was picking blueberries with my neighbor Nancy. We spotted a black snake caught in the bird proof netting. It was the 2nd snake caught this week in the netting. The last snake brought vultures to feast on it. Not wanting vultures tearing up my netting I chose to remove this dead snake from the netting. As I was doing that the snake moved! It was still alive. It was a long black rat snake with the round pupils. It was very caught in the netting. I took a stick to hold its head while I carefully cut all the netting off his body. He knew he was free the second I clipped the last string. He looked at me, flicked his tongue and took off into the woods. I hope he learns to stay away from nets.

Fish Quilt Lesson

Here is 1 block of many for a summer fish quilt for my quilt class. My students are learning how to strip sew and cut fabrics to make a simple block in the shape of a fish.

Chicks First Day Out

We finally opened the coop door for our baby chicks to run outside. Half ran to the adult coop and the rest hung out at their coop doorway. They will have to wait until August before they can play with the adult chickens.

House Staining Day

Today is Wednesday and our house is drenched in oil based Pecan colored Wood Guard stain. It is a messy task to do on a good day. Today at noon it rained! But the stain was absorbed and locked in. Now our contractors are staining our deck. I am so glad they know how to deal with this stuff. It is a LOT of WORK to get this done right. But the results speak for themselves.

House wrapping

Before stain can be put on our log house, the windows and doors need to be protected. It took a whole day and 3 men to wrap put house. They did a great job.

First Canoe Trip

My husband and I joined our neighbors on a canoe trip down the Jacks Fork in Alley Springs, MO. It was our first time down a real river. We rented from Harvey's in Eminence, MO over the Memorial holiday. The river was clear and cool. I learned that open sandals are a poor choice when walking over the rocks in the river. Those rocks hurt my feet and got into my sandals. Next, always wear a life vest even if you know how to swim, that current and a metal canoe can drown you. Don't bring any valuables with you, wallets, keys cell phones and camera will get wet and lost in the current. Wear a swimsuit that stays on you and shorts too. The current is strong and will strip your bare if you get in the water with loose wearables. Bungee your towel and cooler to your canoe, or it will get lost if your turn over. Have extra clothes and towels in your car upon your return. You will get wet and you will need dry clothes after. Harvey's had a shuttle service and restrooms to change in which was nice.

We got wet after hitting another canoe by accident. Then that same canoe turned over again later on the journey. I learned that water rescues are hard to do. A nylon rope would have helped. Other than the turn overs and the water rescues the trip was fun. The water was clear and I could see the fish at the bottom. The trip was 6 miles of nature with all the cliffs and trees. We even saw baby river otters on the shore. We are planning to go again this summer. What a great way to see Missouri!