On our way!

We are getting ready to board our flight from Newark to Bonaire--we arrive at 4:30 a.m. Interesting way to start a vacation, but that is how it is going to be.

We spend the afternoon and evening in Manhattan, trying to cram as much as as was possible into the short time we had. It was fun, and I bet I walked at least five miles. We went to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, The Garment District--mostly we just looked for famous things. Such tourists we are. If any of the pics turned out good, I will post them. I dont know what kind of service I will have on our trip, so I do not know how steady my posting will be.

Surely when I do get to post though, it will be good. At the very least, the pics will be good.

Behave yourselves while I am gone!

Lumpy and bumpy and mumpy

It is the time of year when the early babies start looking insane. This is Bijou,Melody's baby girl, born in March. She is starting to shed out, and it makes her look like she has mange. And of course, she is filthy, and it looks like the inside of her ears has mold growing in them. She does not, she just looks like a transient. The changes on her are a little more obvious than on other babies, because of the color.


Baby Spikey on the other hand, is still quite handsome. He is shedding off around his eyes though. Note how big this halter is on him---it is for brand new babies and it was still way too big. It even has a knot tied in the crown piece so it would not fall down around his neck.
I took these jillion pics to show his swollen lymph nodes. You can kind of see them here.

But lookie here--they are MASSIVE. And hard. But he is eating and drinking like normal, I saw him nurse tonight, which seems like it would hurt to me.


Those are some big ol honkers, aren't they? I dreamt last nite that she had a bunch of beer pull tabs like from the old days in there, and then when the doc checked him out, he found that he had swallowed golf balls and they were stuck there.


He looks normal if you cannot see those things. Dr. M saw him this morning, and he is not concerned, he said he is obviously fighting off something just like they are supposed to, and he will be fine. To make myself feel better, I could put some iccthammol on there to get it gooey and out of him, so we did that tonight. No antibiotics, no pain killers, no nothing except for iccthammol. He feels good, he raised hell 13 ways to Sunday when we brought him out of the stall to take these pics.

It did my heart good.

One more day of work---then we are off on vacation. Barry delivers the girls to the boarding place tomorrow so that they can be preg checked, or bred, or whatever they need while we are gone, but other than that, we are fairly well-prepared. That has to be the first time that has ever happened.

Games Babies Play

Is she the cutest thing you have seen all day or what? Such a cute little face, full of flash
It goes good with the rest of her--she is flashy all over.
Her fun game tonight was to play with the baling twine. She found a piece to chew on, which is not okay. I sent Madison to take it away from her. What ensued was a comedy.

She showed her mama first.


Then she showed China---who wanted no part of it either. I guess she could tell this would come to someone getting in trouble.

So the little speckled butt filly was off on her on game of tag.

She took her baling twine friend all over the pasture.

She even brought it to show me.



That is when she started teasing us. She stopped right in front of me and waited for Madison to catch up. Then she was off again.

Eventually she dropped it, but she let me get all these cute pics first.

What a fun baby she is.

Our other event of the evening is that Simba is acting very strangely. Last nite, she was filthy from the rain--I do not know why, as Slater was not. As soon as she got in the door, we could see how dirty she was, so we sent her back out. She snuck back in, and that time, Barry grabbed her collar and marched her out. Later we saw that she had peed in the floor as he grabbed her.

Tonight, she did not come in with Slater again. When we finally found her, she was filthy--it is raining again, but this was strange filthy like she had been rolling in mud. She was also super flinchy. Every time Barry would go to touch her, she would jump, like she was either scared or startled. She is just acting straight up weird. She is drying off in the garage right now, so she can come in to be observed. I wonder if she has had a stroke, or something. She is at least nine years old which is old old old for a Dane, but has never been sickly. She has some fatty tumors on her, but no other outward sign of illness. She is just really acting strangely.

One other issue of concern is that Spike has seriously swollen glands. Rock hard glands in his throat--you can see them from a distance. He is awful young to withstand any illness, so I am worried. Fortunately, his mama goes in to see the vet to be inseminated again in the morning, so he can just go along with her and get checked out. He ate grain tonight, but I never saw him nurse while I was there--that is not a good sign. He was not his normal goofy self either--a little more sedate than usual. Not listless by any means, but he is usually such a player, so rambunctious and fun to be around, and tonight, he just poked along behind his mama to come into the stall. I know he was not that way yesterday as Barry spent forever chasing them to take Aries in for her ultrasound.

Cross your fingers that none of these things are significant, and that I am just being a paranoid nut job. I am good at that.

It is still happening

AmyB called me today to tell me this horrible news. Her friend Jason was killed in Iraq last week by a suicide bomber. It was a terrible shock to her, and the theme that kept coming up was that it has gotten to the point that many of us do not think about it all that often, but our people are still dying every day in this "war". This sure drove it home.

I blogged about Jason before, after my Vegas trip with Amy. Although they lived far from each other, they were very close, and in a weird turn of events, ran into each other at the Bellagio one night when we were there. It was a going away of sorts for him, as he was gearing up to go to Iraq. Amy was so surprised to see him, and now I know how much she must treasure that surprise nite they got to spend together before he went.

Anyway, here is one of the many stories about him

Major Jason E. George

Major Jason E. George in his West Point graduation uniform. Photo courtesy of Bakersfield.com and the Mason family.

Bakersfield.com notes that Hugh and Candy Mason knew the loveliest of rituals: "When he [their son, Jason] was close [to their house], he'd honk the horn twice. Then his parents would smile, look at each other and move toward the door. Jason was home."

They received visitors of another kind last week, when solemn military personnel arrived to inform them that their 38-year-old son, Major Jason E. George, had been killed by an IED while on foot patrol in the Dora district of Baghdad. Horribly, the explosion killed two other American soldiers and at least 25 Iraqi civilians.

A resident of Chicago, Major George had only been in Iraq since May 5th.

Photo of Jason George provided by Beth Brenner from Bakersfieldnow.com

Sports ruled young Jason's life and the family's home is crammed with shelves of trophies, both academic and sporting, including one from Jason's win at the Pinewood Derby. In school Jason played tennis, baseball, soccer, and basketball. As a senior at Tehachapi High, "Number 22" kicked the winning field goal in the finals of the school's Desert Inyo League Championships. Jason George was an Eagle Scout; he had a high school internship with NASA at Edwards Air Force Base, and after a year of study at California State University at Bakersfield, these many successes culminated in a West Point appointment by then-U.S. Representative Bill Thomas.

Jason E. George was an undefeated boxer during his time at West Point. After graduating, he served eight years in the service before leaving in 2002 to earn an MBA at the University of Michigan. Before being called back up for duty, Major George was working for a consulting firm in Chicago that specialized in health care, helping hospitals and clinics save money by becoming more efficient. Major George was an Army Reservist assigned to the 252nd Combined Arms Battalion out of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Old friends remembered him warmly.

"He was so committed to the service of our country and just excited about it," said Christine Goedhart-Humphrey, who attended California State University, Bakersfield with George.

"He wanted to serve his country," said Willy Duncan, who was in a fraternity with George. "I'm going to remember him as a hero, because I believe that's what he was. I certainly appreciated him going over to Iraq and laying his life on the line for the rest of us so we could have our freedom."

Loving and caring, Jason George made sure both his mother and his grandmother received flowers on Mother's Day. He worried about his ill grandfather, and asked if he could talk to the doctors directly. He never failed to end a phone call with, "I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad." The reporter at Bakersfield.com writes, "It is too early for either Hugh or Candy Mason to be philosophical. They still expect their son to walk through the door. Although they do not want to criticize the military, they are struggling with the idea that a major was on foot patrol. They just do not understand."

Major Jason E. George's parents, Hugh and Candy Mason, hold the West Point graduation photo of their son. Photo courtesy Bakersfield.com and the Mason family.

The magnificent Patriot Guard Riders have Major George on their Watch List, where messages of support and sympathy are being left for the Mason family.

Major Jason E. George will return to the US on Thursday, May 28. Our hearts are with Hugh and Candy Mason, and all who knew and loved this fine young man. Please know that we stand beside you at this terrible time of loss.

Wow.

Weekend in the woods

Try as we might, we cannot quite get everything together at the same time. We got out of town a little after 4 pm on Friday and arrived at the campground around 5:30. Jodi and Ed had been there all afternoon, so were set up and relaxing. We were surprised to see how busy the campground was--we have gotten a little spoiled in that we have quite often had it mostly to ourselves over the past year, since our friend bought it. The word is out though that it is open, and it was pretty busy.


We hung out and had dinner and talked all nite. We expected Amy and Burt to arrive from Chicago Friday nite, but they hit a snag of some sort, and did not get in until Saturday afternoon. Linda and Randy arrived Saturday morning. We had a nice ride--not long, maybe 3 hours or so on Saturday afternoon.


I rode Gyro, because she is delightful. And after this, none of the pics will make any sense.


This Great Pyr came to visit on Sunday. I thought he was swell.

Amy brought her pack of dogs. This is Bopper.
Every time the dogs got a chance, they got their short asses right back in the Denali. Evidently, camping is not the best thing in their world--they prefer leather seats to sleeping in a tent.
This is Jodi, looking like she has been caught in a thunderstorm, because she had in fact been caught in a thunderstorm. Our Sunday ride went off the rails a bit, as it looked like the rain was over. It most certainly was not.
Only Eddie had a reasonable raincoat. I of course, had nothing, and was soaked to the skin.
Look how wet all the horses are. I had to use the flash too, as the skies were so dark.
Poor Amy had on a sweater, I cannot imagine how unpleasant that felt.

I did not mind the rain so much, it was actually kind of fun.
This is what Jodi looks like when she is not caught in a thunderstorm. Her horse is a pretty good boy too.
Here, you can kind of see Tequila's ouchies. And that her ass is shaved, so that her wounds could be treated. She discovered the couch in the trailer, but honestly, she was as happy having the mid tack and stud stall to herself--she could come and go and had two rooms to choose from. Not a bad way to live.
This is Barry and Head at the initial tree. We always stop here for a snack break.
Who knew that Bocephus had been there?
It was at this stop that Gyro got up close and personal with this tree. She spent the longest time trying to get it in just the right place to scratch her itchies--which evidently involved her udder or something else personal. I don't think you can see her face well enough to know how much she was enjoying this episode. We watched her do this for several minutes, moving that tree all over the place. When she got done, she picked up her off hind leg and tried to get it out of there--that required hopping on her other leg all the way around the tree. She never got the least bit bothered by any of it--she is a good girl, and kept us laughing for a while.
This is the big Weed. His real name is Tumble Weed. we mostly call him the Weed. When he is bad, he is the called Dick Weed. This weekend, he was regular Weed, which is nice.
I did not get many scenery shots, as I thought I would have time on Sunday--and then the down pour started, so I mostly have pics of rain, and a few rocks in the rain. That kind of sucks
This is Tequila acting like a good girl. She was an angel all weekend, and she is feeling very good. It does my heart good.
Ah--finally proof that it did not rain the entire weekend. This is Linda and the Dirty Cowboy. Saturday was hot and humid and other than it making me sweaty, it was really nice.
Barry rode Hawk on Saturday. Hawk got cut from the team last year, as he was pretty solid and did not need the work, and got bratty about the trailer. It was time for that to end though, so he was back in the lineup. He was excellent. Did not take a wrong step, was great about the trailer, and was all around swell in every single way. We were thrilled since he has been off so dang long--like a year or so--which is a long time for a young horse. Barry loves him.


I kinda like him my own self. He is such a handsome boy. He is going to make someone a great horse---if someone would just step up and buy him. You could not ask for more in a young horse with as little work as he has had--he is just such an athlete, but laid back enough to get along with everyone.

This is Barry's favorite activity on these weekends---sitting. He did not ride on Sunday, opting instead to go mountain biking, but he did not get to do that either due to the rain. So he sat and rested. I take my resting in the form of a nap--I slept so long Saturday evening, I missed dinner. I only was down for an hour or so on Sunday when Darrell and Paula showed up and I never ever ever miss the Logan show. You just cannot make that stuff up, so I got up for that adventure.
The other swell thing of this trip as baby Junior---Eddie and Jodi's pup. Is he not the cutest thing ever?

Almost Friday Fragments

Fragment 1: Tequila has been very ill, but is looking up. She is on so many meds, especially pain meds, that she finally decided tonight that she can in fact eat dog food. She just felt too crappy to eat until then. For the last week or more, she has been living on hot dogs and yogurt. Hallelujah.

Fragment 2: Baby Poops-a-Lot is on day 3 of not pooping a lot. That may really be over. Thank sweet Jesus.

Fragment 3: I took the first dip in the pool this evening. A little chilly, needs more cleaning, but an hour in there with a good book can un-do a lot of tension. I love the smell of swimming pools. And getting to watch Tequila move around comfortably while I hung out made it even better.

Fragment 4: We went to dinner at the Country Club with my parents. I ate more carbs in one meal than I have in a week and it was totally 100% worth it to me.

Fragment 5: Barry went to Chicago for an interview on Wednesday, and has been offered a job. It is a lot of responsbility, and has the complication of him having to live in Chicago--300 miles away. It is not final yet, as they have not shown him the money as of yet, but it is promising. Meanwhile, another company contacted him today and set up a meeting to discuss the potential of setting him up in business down here--kind of. That is all kinds of encouraging for us. Laid-offed-ness does not suit us well.

Fragment 6: Today, the new Deputy of our office was announced. We have been waiting for some time to hear something about who is taking over. We are thrilled with the choice. She starts in July. We respect her brain, she is so nice, and gets along well with people. It should change us for the better for sure.

Fragment 7: We are going camping this weekend with Jodi and Ed, Headleys and AmyP and her law partner or boss or whatever he is. I have not met him yet, but it should be a great weekend. We are taking Gyro, Hawk and Radar, so a nice selection--a horse for every mood, kind of.

Fragment 8: In order to go on vacation and still have my mares bred etc properly, I have to send several sets to sleep away camp to be dealt with while I am gone. I did it last year with Squeak and Diablo and their kids and it went well. This year, it will likely be twice as many mares. But in any event, I started putting together all the paperwork on that tonight--boy howdy, is that a lot of instructions, coordination and arranging! I have to get all my contracts in order, contact lists for each mare, their anticipated schedule, and get it to three stud farms (at least, maybe 4), the barn where they will be staying and Dr M. I probably ought to put pics of each mare with each set of instructions. Add that to the list.

Fragment 9: Today was a scary day in that I heard via Facebook that my friend Meagan who is 24 weeks pregnant with twins and has been on bedrest for two weeks had gone into early labor again and been sent to Carbondale to the hospital. I worried all day. Tonight she posts that she is now in St Louis being monitored and the babies are where they are supposed to be. Her goal is 30 weeks. 27 is the absolute minimum they want her at. We are praying they simmer down and stay put, and it sounds like they are trying to do that tonight. Thank goodness for that.

Fragment 10: Friggin mouse just ran down the hall. He clearly has no shame.

Fragment 11: I am now within 7 hours of having to be on the road for a meeting with an investigator tomorrow, on a death case. I should have been asleep two hours ago. This feels so lawyerly, going to meetings and such. I rarely feel lawyerly.

Fragment 12: Barry put up some laundry. I only asked once. And he swept the floor. I only asked once. I do not know who he is some days.

Fragment 13: Cute new restaurant opened in town, a Mexican joint. It has a beer garden that is so cute. I cannot wait to go to it. This is the perfect time of year for it, but I only have one potential Friday to go to it, since vacation etc will interfere and then it will be too hot. That is next Friday, the day before we leave for Bonaire. THAT will be awesome.

Fragment 14: This took so long that it is actually Friday now and not Almost Friday

The poop post

I am not sure if you have noticed it, but bodily functions take up a lot of my time. Not my bodily functions, but those of my animals. This is Gypsy's filly, Baby Poops-A-Lot, aka Poop Butt Baby. She has been pooping non-stop for twelve days--she took one day off where we thought she was not pooping, but it was a trick. You can see in the top pic that her hiney is scalded, but it had been covered in poop. In fact, she had poop all down her legs, her tail was wet with it--she has been an all around mess.

A bout of a day or two of the runs is normal in babies around ten days old. Most shake it off, some don't. Babies this young can go downhill in a hurry, so you have to get it stopped. That requires four times a day doctoring. You can imagine how easy that is. To get that done, baby and mama have been stalled, which makes baby stir crazy. Gypsy has been an angel though. You have to keep pooper away from other babies, in case there is something in there that is catching, which you usually cannot know until it is too late. For example, the state lab gave me poop results last year, two days after the baby was dead from it--five days after being hand-delivered a sample.
Today is the second day that we believe baby to be poop free. So she got let out to run for a while tonight--we put her in a different pasture than normal as Gypsy thinks she is funny lately, and will not always come in when I tell her to. She is more catchable in this pasture. This is the first time she has been in a pasture with the older foals.
I promise she does not have crooked front legs--she was standing goofy.
I hope I am not jinxing it, but I think we may have this beat. And thank goodness, I am not up for another loss, and I really like this baby. I think she has a pretty pretty head, which is not always a given for Pepto-bred horses. And when it is not covered in poop, I lover her butt too.
I hope this means we will be graduating from pooping names to a big girl name.

Photo shoot

Sunday afternoon, I had to suck it up out of my crying jag over the foal and go do something I had previously been very excited about. And I am so glad I did, as it perked me up.
We went back to the iris farm that I saw last week, and had a photo shoot with Sly.
Because the ground was wet from the monsoons, we were a little limited on positioning, and thus have some shadow issues, but it was still really fun.
Sly was amazing. This is on the side of a busy highway and he was not phased by the traffic.
He was so well-behaved, I had a ball shooting him. I could have done that forever.
He is such a ham. And then he botches up this shot with the ears going wonky, something he almost never does.
I love this one
This would have been awesome had the shadows not interfered. Shows off his hind leg a little




Barry ain't so bad his own self, huh? I love doing pics of him. Sly makes it easy and Barry makes crazy faces, so it is hard to get a good one, but when I do, I feel like I really did something. And they are both so pretty, it makes it fun.

Thank you SO MUCH to the Colvins, who own this place and were so gracious that they let us do this on their one day off of the week. I have wanted to do it for years, and finally got my nerve up to ask, and they were so willing to let us. Thanks so much!