Hugh arrives

Friday was hot and I had a tank top on and was burning up while working on the stall for Hugh who arrived Saturday morning. The transport went fine and he got off the trailer and slowly went in the barn. Little Bit and the horses gave him a sounding greeting and Little Bit especially was excited.

We led Hugh into the stall and he sniffed around and Little Bit and him looked each other over. Saturday was cold and the wind was awful. Hugh's foster mom helped me put up fence so Hugh had his own smaller space attached to a larger pasture. I let the horses out briefly and they wanted to smell Hugh but he kept his distance. I brushed Hugh though and let them smell the brush and they looked like they were not sure what that smell was because it wasn't a horse.

I froze yesterday, it took a hot shower and a hot fire to get the chill out. Later that night I tried giving Hugh his medicine and he wouldn't eat it in grain or applesauce but he did do pretty well when I mixed it up in a syringe and put it in his mouth but he didn't particularly like me afterwards.

This morning he was fine and he ventured out of his stall and looked around and stood in the sunshine. It was cold but the wind wasn't blowing and so we weren't all freezing to death. I was so tired from the day before I took a couple of naps before going out and walking Hugh some.

Dusty and Jessie and their little girls stopped by and we all went to visit Hugh. I should have taken a picture of Lee hugging and kissing him, she is only two and half and she loved him and he seemed to love them all. What a happy and beautiful moment.

Little Bit is laying his ears back and kicking at Hugh through the divider between them when I hay them both, but when Hugh walks outside Bit calls for him. I can't tell you how I miss our Pony still, I had some sad moments fixing up the stall and wishing Pony were still with us. I know that Bit still misses Pony too but it is good to give a home to another animal. It is good to share a home and love, Hugh wasn't abused but owned by an elderly lady that couldn't keep him anymore.

You know I prayed about bringing another animal home and in so many ways I felt peace about this even though I don't have experience with Donkey's I have just always wanted one. The Lord has blessed me again with something good. 

I feel excited

It seems like my life is all about chores and work 7 days a week and it can become monotonous. The last couple of days things have started moving and I am excited. Hugh is coming this weekend and I have to get the stall ready and do some fence repairs but am really eager to finally get him here to begin his new life.

Next week I am closing on the farm I am buying, I will be moving there in the spring. The next few months will be a series of chain reactions with work to be done here to get ready for the move and renovation. The floors are being upgraded from carpet to wood for when my step son and his family move in.

At the new place I will have to install new fencing and have some repairs done in the stalls and barn. There is a pond and a small riding arena with a house and 10 acres. This will be the last time I move, it will be my home and where my horses will be buried someday.

There is a sunroom for the birds, the pond is for my brother who will be retiring in the fall and will live with me. The arena is for me, I will be able to spend time with Cody without having to be outside in the mud etc. There will be no boarders or the hassle of people trying to run a barn that isn't theirs or people tramping through where I live.

The dogs will have plenty of room and there is an extra bedroom for when family visits. It is not a fancy house but it has been remodeled and there is geothermal that was installed last year.

I know I will probably work as much as I do now but I am excited and feel like the future is going to be something fun and exciting at least for awhile. I am also excited that Dusty and his family will be living here and his two little girls will have a nice place to make many memories.

I wanted to take what my dad left me and do good with it and helping Dusty and family and my brother are two ways that I can do that. Kylie is on her own now but I did get her a nice little car. Of course I am helping the donkey by giving him a home and I am tempted to take a couple of goats but we will see.

I am grateful that things are easier now, I am grateful to my dad but mostly I am thankful to God from which all things come. I have said many times I have been blessed so much and it was true and continues to be true.

A donkey I love

I have been visiting a donkey who is at a rescue, I call him Hugh. Tomorrow he will be gelded and after a waiting period I hope to be bringing him home. The plan is for him to eventually bond with Little Bit since we lost pony and Bit is missing someone closer to his size.

I have really fallen for Hugh, he is very cuddly and sweet and I think he knows that I want to be his new Donkey mom. While visiting Hugh yesterday I had my first experience with a mean rooster, I got a scratch on my leg and learned not to turn my back on him. Hugh did chase him off once I went into where he was and I was really happy about that.

I also enjoyed the company of two potbelly pigs and a couple of really sweet goats. Below is a picture I took while Hugh was wondering why I was holding my phone instead of him.

Where my life is now

It's been months since my last post, there have been many changes in my life and more coming this year. We lost pony a couple of months ago to a tumor in his intestines. He was fine one morning, ate his breakfast and I heard a noise coming from the barn in the early afternoon and thought I should check it out, I found him in a full blown colic.

The day was spent with the vet with no changes, next was taking Pony to the vet's hospital for overnight care. I got a call late in the evening that things had taken a turn for the worst so I called a friend and we went and got pony and took him to an emergency equine surgery facility.

When we arrived it was determined that surgery was the only option and he had an 80 percent chance of surviving. Pony was prepped for surgery, I loved on him and he was put under, five  minutes into the surgery it was determined there was a large tumor and it was located where the small intestines joined the large, his chances of survival was now determined to be 20% and that he may never fully recover. I made the decision to stop the surgery and let Pony die in peace.

No one dreamed at the beginning of that long day that the outcome would not be a positive one. I had Pony for 15 years, Little Bit my miniature horse was devastated, they were very closely bonded. At the beginning of the year I had decided I was going to buy a farm I had found not far from Spencer, I wanted all my horses to have a final resting place together, fortunately Pony was small enough that creationism was an option. We will all still move together in the spring but not the way I had wanted it to be.  

I felt guilty selling the house I live in now because dad had bought it for me before he passed away. I decided that instead of selling this house that I would use it for something that would benefit others. I am going to rent it to my step son and his family so his two little daughters will have a home to grow up in and make memories. Eventually he will buy the property when it is possible but in the meantime the children will have a nice home, yard, barn and school district.

My daughter Kylie started college and shortly after decided to move out on her own. I am not completely thrilled about how she did it but it was time for her to try and live her own life. I have been a mother for so many years and because I was a single mom the idea of having time to take care of myself has been the biggest adjustment for me but it has been a good one.

My diabetes is managed with diet and so far I have done really well but I know in the spring I need to loose weight and I need to quit smoking before winter. I feel old sometimes but I am slowly starting to feel better and have more energy because I have something to look forward to.

Little Bit grieved for more than a week but is doing okay now. The herd is out of balance now with just three so I have found a rescued donkey I hope to adopt soon. I have always wanted a donkey, getting one will certainly shake things up around here.

All of the animals are getting older but they all seem to be holding their own. My hope with the new farm that has a small arena that I will finally after all these years be able to ride Cody and spend time with him before he gets much older.

My work has gone very well although I was laid off for two weeks at the beginning of the year. I am learning new things and I am feeling secure for now in my job.

The past few years have been very difficult, I didn't think it would ever let up but I think things are slowly getting better and I am much less stressed over money and financial problems. I am hopeful that this year is going to be good, my brother may be retiring and when he does he will come live with me. The new place has a stocked pond, I know he will be in heaven as he loves to fish.

I never got over losing the farm a few years back, my heart has longed for it ever since we had to leave it. I know I will never truly be happy until I have another farm again. The one I am buying is the last place I will ever live and I want to grow old and have my ashes scattered there. Until I am too old I plan on enjoying every moment and every square foot of the place.

I have a great deal to be thankful for and I still maintain that God has been with me every step of the way. I am very tired of the winter days though and am anticipating longer days of sunlight and the warmth of summertime.

I hope to start blogging again on the new farm, I don't know if the adventures will be as exciting as the ones on the old farm but it will be fun to try. I want to start with a couple of pictures of where I'll be moving and will add more as things unfold.

The Little Jumpers of Kindred Acres

Back to normal sort of

It's been quiet, that is good. I have had time to think about things and here my own thoughts. I need to take better care of myself and I am trying to focus on feeling better, losing weight and taking another stab at quitting smoking.

It's rained almost every day so my momentum on outside work has slowed down. Everything here is green and beautiful but grown up. It in a way is like starting all over again. Another place to cut back and clean up and bring to life. Things are disorganized and it will take time to get it all in order.

Many of the things I used to cherish are gone or still packed away. I haven't had the same heart about things in a long time. The past few years have just been so unsettled I just can't seem to feel very secure but it is getting better.

I have gotten a couple of calls this week on boarding horses, people still refer or someone finds information on the internet, always about boarding a senior horse. I think about how difficult it was and how time consuming it became and know that with working full time it would be to hard. Still, if I had a boarding barn that generated enough income I probably would do it again but I'd be more careful about boarders. You have to set boundaries and stick to them.

I felt more alive being outside and working in a barn and with animals then anything I have ever done but I will never put someone else's responsibility before my own family again. People don't care and they will take advantage if they can, not all but most. So, in doing the right thing and caring you have to be prepared for the treatment you will get and weight whether or not it's worth it.

I still have dreams but I am also cautious because as Scarlet O'Hara once said "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!". Nor will my animals or my daughter.

On a funny note, I have three dogs, one is a golden retriever named Daniel, next is Micah a Collie/Sheppard mix, and then there is Cooper a Sheltie. Cooper steals food, if the other dogs are eating their kibble he will eat as fast as he can and then try and snipe the other dogs food out of their bowls. I got tired of guarding and watching Cooper so I take his food to the bathroom and shut the door. The other dogs eat in peace and don't inhale their food when Cooper is in another room.

Once everyone is done and walked a way from their bowls I let Cooper out. Micah and Cooper are not super fond of each other, it isn't a complete dislike but they are both herding dogs and a little more high strung. I usually walk up to the bathroom door to let Cooper out but since the door isn't closed shut completely I will ask one of the other dogs to nudge it open sometimes. Daniel will do it immediately when asked and happily since I gave him a command and he loves to please. Micah, on the other hand looked at me the first time I asked him to do it and walked away. Now Micah knows what the command means, he's opened doors before but he chose to walk away instead.

The second time I asked Micah to open the door for Cooper he touched the door with his nose, looked up at me and then walked away again. He touched the door enough to move it ever so slightly but not enough to let Cooper out, Daniel ended up finishing the job. I had to laugh at Micah, it was all so deliberate. I wonder if Cooper would open the door for Micah? 

Back to my regular life

Yesterday it was all about spring rain. The place has greened up and because there are woods and a creek by the house there is plenty of wildlife activity. I watched the tenacity of tiny birds chasing other much larger birds away from their nests. The barn eaves are full of nests of these tiny birds. The little ones were little black moving specs compared to the enormous birds they were chasing. There was a smaller raptor and even a buzzard that endured the wrath of these little homemakers. One large bird in particular got chased half way across the big corn field behind us before the smaller bird was satisfied. Imagine the bravery, the sheer nerve of pursuing and performing an in flight  flogging of something many times your size. Go little birds!

I have yet to see the wild turkeys. Last year when we moved here there were several adult females with what looked like 20 or so tiny baby turkeys wandering all over our road and in the woods and in our driveway until they grew to maturity and then disappeared in early fall. On my road you must break for Amish buggies and baby turkeys!

All the animals in my little collection are doing well. Danial is now a senior dog, he is still full of life but the signs of aging are present. He doesn't see or hear so well, he has lots of bumps, a could of tumors and a whiter face. Micah is still young but a much more mature acting dog. Cooper is just Cooper but he doesn't fear people anymore, he is so much happier than when we first got him but he still gets into everything gross so we have our moments.

Nana the Cockatoo and I have bonded a great deal the past 6 month. We have an evening ritual that she will no allow me to skip. She must be swaddled and held for a time on my lap every evening around six o'clock. Loki is more trusting and has come a long way, it has only taken him 5 or 6 years!

The horses are all much happier because they can get out every day and they have each other and a pasture all their own. Cody is more energetic since I switched him to a feed with a little more carbs, he has also filled out and rounded out better. Little bit is getting older and wants to come in when Cody does, Pony is doing good and still lets Aubrey have it when he is tired of being chased. Aubrey is huge, he is beautiful and a little high strung. I love them all and it pleases me to see them happy and safe and together.

We have one cat left from our first house years ago, Tiger Lilly. She has to put up with the cats that were left here by the elderly lady that lived here before. She had to go into a living arrangement where she couldn't take her six cats. They live in the garage and she comes every evening to feed them and clean up after them. Tiger Lilly must be about 14 years old but she is doing okay. The other cats have a lot of personality between them and although there are too many they are safe and won't ever be homeless.

The house is not that old but is in need of major updating cosmetically. I haven't had a moment to really organize or get things under control outside since we moved here. It is because of working full time and a lot of extra hours. Eventually things will get righted, until then oh well I will live to enjoy the beauty outside and all of my little charges.