May the Fouth . . . .

 

For the record, May is "Meet an Arabian Horse Month."

So, in doing my humble part for the Emerald Empire Arabian Horse Club, I'll tell you that the two without spots (Lefty and CB) are purebred Arabians. 

They aren't quite as glitzy as the horses you see at the big shows or in the horse magazines, like this legendary and gorgeous stallion Khemosabi (I got to see him when he was just 2; never forgot how stunning he was).

 

 Nonetheless, Lefty and CB have the qualities that lure people to Arabians----pretty heads, intelligence, versatility, a tendency to show off and sweet dispositions.

So, consider yourself acquainted with a couple of sweet Arabian horses.   

~~~~

Yesterday was a banner day for the horses.  

They no longer had to stand on their heads to snip off blades of grass from underneath their fence. 

They got to go to a field filled with lush green grass. 

Oh, they were thrilled, to say the least.  

Thank goodness for solar fence charges where one stretch of fence line keeps 'em inside.  One touch of that fence line with one nose sends the message to the others. 

So, no worries about their escaping unless I forget to turn on the switch.  

They ate grass for about an hour, and then went back to the barnyard for afternoon snoozes. 

The horses have full bellies when they go to the grass for the first few times in hopes that they don't colic. 

I also limit the amount of grass Lefty gets to eat because, like me, when he even looks at food, he gets too fat and could founder.  

So, all this is done with great care.  The horses don't care about that.  They now know that they can taste that grass every day, and I can be assured that Lily will remind me if I'm behind schedule to lead her to pasture. 

While they were eating grass, I dragged their barnyard with the harrow.  It's truly amazing how the dragging can dry out the mud and, of course, smooth up the surface.  

I also did some harrowing in the field where the horses stayed until late December.  Lots of piles of horse apples to be scattered and to allow grass to grow in those spots. 

Both the barnyard and the field look much better today. 

It's a scurrying day ahead.  With rain coming tomorrow, I'll be mowing lawn AND taking time out to pick up my deck flower baskets.  

Can't wait to select the colors, hang them and admire. 

We're moving toward a lovely showcase of brilliant and pastel colors all around the place.  One plum tree is loaded with blossoms, while the other big one is slowly lighting up with its blossoms.  

I also spied the first asparagus spear appearing above the ground---just its tip, but that means we'll probably be eating asparagus by next week.  The last couple of years the patch has continued to yield almost to July, so lots of tasty dinners ahead.

Lots of beautiful sights around the Lovestead and the neighborhood.  

The only complaint I have these days is that the gnats and irritating bugs have returned on schedule. 

Playing Chuck-It with the dogs in the evening may be abbreviated as those bugs get hungrier for human blood.  

Just when we love getting outside in the evening, we're driven right back inside. 

Oh well, it all comes with the territory, and most of the territory around here is mighty fine right now.

Happy Wednesday. 

  

With the Gooby Ranch Report appearing below, I must clarify that these babies are not Dick Gooby's calves, and from what I can tell, the mother comes closer to having scours than the calves. 

And that was probably mud rather than loosey goosey manure.  

These belong to the Russell family on Center Valley Road, and I think they are adorable and beefy, of course. 

Gooby Ranch Report

 

We had a tough year with the new calves.  It seems like all of them wanted to get scours. Mary Ann checked with the vet and got what we needed to doctor the calves. 

She mixed up the medicine and we caught the first calf.  Jeannie held the calf while Mary Ann filled a big syringe and pushed it in the calf’s mouth.  Since each calf needed a pint of medicine, she had to fill the syringe eight times to give the calf the right dosage. 

Some of the calves outweighed Jeannie by 50 pounds.  They put up quite a tussle, sometimes Jeannie was on top and sometimes the calf was. Once a calf got loose just as Mary Ann was pushing the plunger and Jeannie wore the whole dose. 

We have to give the calf the medicine four times a day.  It’s really messed up my movie watching.

After about a week of helping Mary Ann and Jeannie doctor the calves, I got the scours.  They were so bad I couldn’t leave the house, I had to stay in and watch movies. 

Mary Ann figured if she gave me the same medicine as the calves then I should get over the scours.  Since I weigh more than the calves, I would have to swallow ten syringes of medicine. 

When Mary Ann stuck the first syringe in my mouth and pushed the plunger, it tasted so bad I couldn’t stand it.  I spit the stuff out and started to get out of there. 

But when I headed out Jeannie tripped me.  She grabbed her pigging string and she and Mary Ann threw me to the ground and tied me down with two half-hitches and a hooey. 

Then Mary Ann pried my mouth open, jammed the syringe in and pushed the plunger. That was really fun.  I was over the scours in two days but I told Mary Ann I was so weak I had to stay in the house. 

After two weeks Mary Ann said if I was still so sick, I better have another dose of medicine.  Suddenly I wasn’t so sick anymore.  I sure did enjoy my movies while I was relaxing.  If I ever hear of calves with scours on our place again, I’m leaving town.