An update!

Sorry no pictures.  I haven't had time.  Things have been a.... ****storm at work lately and it's had me extremely stressed.  I've barely read anything and I'm way behind on my October reading update, but I'll get it up this weekend.

I just wanted to update you on everyone really quick and to say I'm sorry I haven't been reading blogs or blogging lately.  I've been working a lot of over time and when I'm not working I'm cleaning house and doing chores.  I haven't had time for anything lately.

First up, the horses (and donkey).  Everyone is doing fine.  Chrome's injury is coming along well.  They are fat and happy and ready for the cold weather (which we haven't had yet, it's been a very warm, very dry fall).

The goats are doing great.  We've bred Coral to Crockett.  Jasper has moved out into the big pasture with the horses, Rebel and Yankee.  He's doing great and getting big.  I'll have to get pictures soon.

Jackal is doing great.  He hasn't had any neck problems after being weaned off of the drugs.  We are still working on his weight and gentle exercise.  As recommended by the vet he is not wearing a collar or being walked on a leash, which means he's pretty much stranded at home which sucks... I'm thinking of getting a harness, but it absolutely can't put any pressure on his neck.  I'd appreciate any recommendations.

The cats are doing well.  Gray Kitty is fifteen this year and she is really showing her age.  The other cats don't like her so she's been living on the screened in porch and inside full time since late summer.  She spends the day on the porch while we're at work (with her own heating pad) and comes inside at night.

OrangeJello is doing well and still rules the roost.  We got Emi, Shadow and Pharaoh spayed/neutered last Tuesday which is such a relief!  I was so afraid Emi would end up pregnant before we could get them in.  We had the appointment scheduled for a month (that's how booked they stay).  They are all healing up well and doing great.  I have to get pictures of the kittens.  They have grown SO much!  Pharaoh is really starting to chunk up and is looking like a tom cat.

Jack, my squirrel, is doing fabulous!!  He lives on the porch during the day in a double decker condo (I'll post pictures sometime, sorry I haven't been posting the ones I promised) and sleeps in a smaller cage inside at night.  He is almost four months old now.  I never imagined I would have a pet squirrel, but I love him so much, even if I am constantly covered in scratches.  Those claws are sharp!!

The dove is doing great too.  It took her a while to adjust to being on the porch with all of the activity as opposed to in the chicken coop, but she's slowly figuring it out.  She's still skittish, but we're able to give her free run of the screened in porch (not at the same time as Jack because he's a brat lol) so she can fly, bathe and get some exercise.  We just wait for her to perch at dusk to catch her and put her up so it's minimal stress.  Everyone is coexisting well on our zoo of a screened in porch.  Jack and Gray Kitty had a dispute, but now they are fine together.  They both stood their ground, but didn't hurt each other and now they have a truce where they ignore each other haha.  They are NEVER left alone together unsupervised though.  Jack and Jackal basically ignore each other now although Jack does vault off Jackal's back sometimes hehe.

Hubby and I are doing fine as well.  I'm having trouble adjusting to working so many hours (man those part time jobs spoiled me haha) and everyone is sick at work right now (so of course I'm stressing about trying to avoid it before my favorite holiday), but it will be okay.  I'm going to try to figure out some things to prioritize my time because I really miss all of your guys.  I had to mark all of your blogs as read... I'm really sad I don't have the time to go back and get caught up.  I hope you guys will let me know in the comments if there is anything important I missed (or link the posts so I can read them).  Thanks for sticking with me in my absence.  I'll try to post more, but for now I'm going to hit the hay.  Night!

Snow Pictures!

 Jackal's excited, come play with me face.

 When I call his name he whips his head around and then his body follows, so cute!

It's hard to tell in profile shots, but he's lost a LOT of weight!

I need to get better comparison pictures for you guys.

 Chrome doesn't mind the snow, but the goats hate it!

 They refuse to touch the snow/ice at all!

To get back in the barn they would back up under the eaves instead of turning around lol.

They thought so hard about coming to me, but in the end decided not to.

While I was crouched down taking pictures of the goats, Zep came up behind me.

Then he peered around my shoulder at Jackal hiding and using me as a shield hehe.

I really wish my good camera hadn't died because I really want to take pictures of the birds out in the snow.  :(  I'm getting sick though, so I guess I shouldn't sit outside in the cold.  Oh well.  There's always next time.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures of Jackal and the herd!

Taming the goats video!

I know I haven't been posting much on this blog (sorry!), so you may not remember, but I got a couple of free male Pygmy goats last fall.  They were very skittish and we could not touch them at all without cornering them.  I've been working on taming them down with the help of their favorite food (crack... um I mean corn).  Check out the video!


They get a little too competitive and excited so when they start head butting each other and get too rowdy around me I get up and walk away.

P.S.  I LOVE my new GoPro.  It comes in handy for so many things besides just sports hehe.  :)

Storm's Snow Pictures!

 Note For Other Siberian Husky Owners!  I know you aren't supposed to let a Sibe off leash, but I've had Storm for eleven years so I know when she will and when she won't listen.  I've called her off when she was running to kill birds before and she has never refused to come when called.  Also, we were in the pasture which is fenced and although the fences are not Sibe proof they are heavily covered in trees and brush so they provided a visual barrier and she was so happy to be playing in the snow that there was no danger of her running off.  :D  Now enjoy the pictures!!!!

You can click to enlarge pictures.  I have to say something before we continue.  I LOVE both of my dogs, but I do want to say that Storm is the best first dog a girl could ever have (my family has had dogs since I was born, but Storm was the first one I picked out, raised and trained by myself)!!  Jackal is cute and adorable, but in my totally biased opinion Storm is just stunningly gorgeous!!  Especially when she's in her element like these snow shots.  She had so much fun and just loves snow!  Sometimes I wish we got it more often even though I'm not that crazy about it just so she can have fun in it.  :D  So anyway, enough bragging hehe.  Let me know what you think of these pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 Chrome has gotten so much better about not chasing the dogs, but Storm still keeps her distance lol.

I love this shot because she was getting too far away so I called her and snapped this picture as she skidded to a halt to look back at me! :D

 

 

 

 She looks awesome for an eleven year old dog huh?

 

 

 I love those eyes!

 

 Coming back when I called with a smile on her face and her oh so typical "what do ya want?" expression!

 This turned out so cool!  She ran right past me and I snapped this one thinking it would be too blurry to post, but it came out so sharp and clear.  Love it!

And then after all of our fun we had a run in with Led Zeppelin!!  He hasn't tried to mess with the dogs in so long that I thought he'd gotten used to them, but apparently he still hates them!  I have no idea how I managed to get this picture.  It is a still shot I took, not something I pulled off of a video (I should have taken video that day, but totally forgot to)!  Storm was not hurt!  She is totally fine, it just scared her.  We decided after that to go play somewhere safer.  The weird part is that we'd been out their an hour before he finally attacked!!  The little brat must have gotten tired of us running around.  At least I know he will still protect my animals from other dogs or coyotes.  :)

 A cute picture I made of both dogs.  Notice a theme?

And two more of Storm below that turned out blurry but I had to share them because it shows off her personality!  You can click to enlarge!

My Belated Thanksgiving Post

 Hi, everyone!  I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  I've finally stopped feeling sorry for myself (about canceling my vacation with my family and surprise road trip due to stomach flu) so I figured I would write a post about what I'm thankful for.  About time huh?

 I'm thankful for my dad, my mom and my siblings.  I'm thankful for their patience and love.  I'm thankful for my husband.  For his love, loyalty and understanding.  I'm thankful for my extended family and for Facebook since that's one of the main ways we are able to keep in touch since we live so far apart.  I'm thankful for my husband's family for accepting me and always being welcoming when we visit.  I'm thankful for my best friend because she always knows how to cheer me up and how to have fun, even when we're broke.  :D  I'm thankful for all of my animals.  I don't know what I would do without Storm, Jackal, Chrome, Faran, Led Zeppelin, my cat and all of the birds.  They provide we with so much comfort and so many laughs!  I'm thankful that I have a house to live in and a job to provide me with the money to have a house and food.  I'm thankful for my car which gets me to work everyday.  I'm thankful for my camera so that I can go out and take pictures of my awesome critters.  :D  And there are many other things I'm thankful for, but those are the main ones.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

 Led Zeppelin and my mini white turkey hen.

My cat rolling in the dust and getting all dirty lol.  You might want to click to enlarge it hehe.

Storm's Eyes Update

Storm is doing great.  Apparently the reason the medicine wasn't working is because I didn't know I was supposed to do it twice a day.  Now that I'm doing it twice a day her eyes are doing sooooo much better.  :D  Yay!

Now if some things will calm down at work and I'll start feeling better (I think the stress is getting to me) maybe I'll be able to do something fun with the dogs that I can post on here lol.  Sorry it's been so quiet.  We aren't really doing a fall garden this year, so there isn't much farm related stuff going on.  I promise this blog will recover someday hehe.

Here are some pictures at least to make it up to you.  :)

 Check out the water drop in front of her!

 My stalker.  She follows me everywhere.  She's fascinated by my camera hehe.

Cute Zep Zep!

Oops!  I meant to schedule this to post tomorrow.  Sorry for the double post lol.

Guess I Needed A Break

Wow I really needed a break. I'm exhausted and yesterday my toe was really hurting so I didn't do any training. I didn't read blogs. I didn't post. I didn't even open my computer! I think I really needed that. However I am back and the all the critters are doing great.

I picked back up with my clicker training with Chrome and Zeppelin. You can read about their progress on their blog at http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com. For everyone who is not interested in the equine clicker training you can see the pictures here without all the talking about training hehe. Enjoy!

I love how curly his coat is when he's sweaty.

Pretty boy after being brushed. Ignore my uneven rolled up pants . . . dorky, but I didn't want my pants getting dirty.

Do you see dapples on his ribs yet?

Not a great shot, but had to show off his gorgeous tail after I brushed it.

Annoyed that we interrupted their play session.

Chasing the goat.

I know we're all biased about our horses, but isn't that the cutest face you've ever seen.

Sunday Stills - Favorite Place

This week's challenge for Sunday Stills is pictures of your favorite place. Anyone who knows me or has read my blog for long totally knows what my answer is . . .

In the barn with my horse. :) There is no more relaxing place on the planet, or a more relaxing activity than grooming a horse. All I need is my . . . very dirty grooming box.

Speaking of grooming, I should have totally taken these pictures after grooming because his mane is so gross.

Just trust me he looked beautiful after I was done brushing him. :) Led Zeppelin likes to spend time with us in the barn too.

I can't wait to see what places everyone else has chosen for their favorite place. Check them out.