Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Well not much going on around here.  I bathed both ponies today- and this time Heidi got a good solid scrubbing this time! 
 
 
 I found black hair-literally in Heidi's left foreleg.  I scrubbed it thinking it was dirty hair, gave up since I can't get her legs clean anyway then determined it was black hair. 
 But at least her mane came out snow white again!
While they were still grazing, I raked up two totes full of the grass that the town mowed from the Roark's side.  It was mowed this morning, stayed out in the sun and dried it so it's like hay.  I gave all the bunnies a handful to see what they thought of it.
 Heidi came running to me when I called to bring her back to her pasture
 
 They got back into the pasture and went to get a drink out of their freshly cleaned and filled water trough. 
 
Phoenix Definitely looks a lot better! 
Before I went inside, I wanted to get a few pictures of Mom's Double Knock-out rosebush since it's covered in blooms. 
 
 
On a more personal note, apparently I'm good at hurting/pissing off people so I give up.  I just don't know what to do.  She says she thinks she's second best to one of my other friends and says I hurt her.  I had no intentions of ever hurting her.  I wonder why I even bother to have friends when all they're ever going to do is put themselves up against each other.  Or try to think that they're only 'second' fiddle to the other.  I can't say I understand it and I can't even being to think what's going through their heads.  One doesn't even bother the other since they don't really have anything in common-other than me. 

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Some good, some not so good

     Well we'll start with the not so good.  I have had several GORGEOUS days that I should have been out riding but I first need to get Heidi's feet done, and I haven't actually had time to!  I just wish I had more time in the day.  When I could have been riding on Friday no one was home so I didn't want to ride while no one was home in case of an accident.  Then Saturday I spent the day with my two aunts, Lisa and Cathryn, since Cathryn left this morning.  Then today, just lacked motivation, had to go to multiple places and now I'm just relaxing.  I've got several things that I'm starting to go through in my mind.
     Now for the good!
     I've got my plans for going back to NY.  It'll be late July- yes I'll miss the graduation itself, but I cannot take that much time off of work at once.  Dad will have to feed and water the bunnies and horses while I am gone, but it shouldn't be that bad, I plan to only have the one type of feed and it shouldn't be hard to deal with.  Mom will be driving northward with me.  We'll be staying with Aunt Sheri and Uncle Dennis in East Greenbush.  I'll spend 2 days in Argyle, 1 day down in Saugerties with Kylie and one day in East Greenbush.  My camera will get a heck of a workout those 4 days.  Hopefully I can get everything I want to done in those couple days in Argyle.  I cannot wait to see Cin, Mich, Kylie, Rae and Debbie again!  I cannot wait to meet John and Amber too!  Maybe one day sooner I'll be able to do it again.  I'll be bringing 4 rabbit northward,  a pair of steels for Rachel, Legacy for Cindy and Cinny for Kylie.  I should be bringing home a pair of tort Dutch from Dutch by Design and MAYBE a blue buck if we can get one. 
     I've got mental renovation plans for the barn, to build my new cages, now to write it all down and out so I know how much I need in materials.  I figure if I start putting $20 a week separate to put towards my cage renovations, I should be able to get them done by the end of summer.  I'll have it down to just a trio of Holland Lops (Speedle, Faith and a Legacy x Oliver baby) If Faith stops acting all funny she'll be around.  Then as the shuffle begins I'll get the rabbits all resituated and then consolidate and get everything where I want them!    This will be the most interesting. 
     And of coarse have to leave you with a few pictures! 
Bevis(year and a half ish), Ben(almost a year) and Norman(9 weeks):


Phoenix and Heidi:

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The long road

The ponies were hot.

 The grass is SUPER deep  in the yard.  That's a 90 Gallon garbage can.  The ponies have been attempting to graze it down but it's just too much and much, much, much too deep.
 But with the house being hit now by the banker's to be auctioned, I have to pull my ponies off of that field since I don't want them sold with the house and I had to bring them back to my pasture.  Hopefully my pasture can hold them until I hear who buys the house on June 1st, then I'll know what I've got to do.  If it's someone that will let me put the horses back- then I will continue to graze them over there, if not, I'll have to find someone to put Phoenix to rest and I'll keep Heidi solo for a while.

The last few clips of the field after we took the water tub out:

     I'm going to miss having this big field for the ponies to romp round, but I'm sure I'll find a place to board Heidi nearby that I can afford and we'll be happy together. 
     I also have the Bug-Off Garlic from Springtime coming in for Heidi. I mean the bugs are getting Phoenix fairly badly but I can get him a fly sheet or just keep the swat on him but if I plan on riding Heidi I can't have the fly spray or swat wearing off that quickly. 
     Bunny update!
     I put Colby onto a tablespoon of pumpkin daily and he LOVES it.  No more calf manna(though I'm still giving some to Eliot who doesn't like the pumpkin and for Pipsqueak).  Sassy did get bred for Carla this time to Moe, now hopefully she takes!  I've also decided to sell out my New Zealands and Holland lops.  I'm just ready to focus down and get everything under control.  Especially with Colby and Pipsqueak.  

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Full plans!

     The full plans so far are to move out the New Zealands.  I'm not sure how to deal yet with the pending litter due in a week, but right now the buck is up for sale as are the two daughters of his that I still have.  The doe will be for sale upon weaning the litter along with the litter.  I'm going to use Dutch for meat.  I talked about it with dad some and I'm personally not a freak for the taste of the New Zealand rabbits.  There's not as much meat on the Dutch rabbits but they're a smaller breed anyway.
     I'm going to use Juliet's spot for Sassy's baby when she's born and I get her here. I'll give Angela and Carla first option to Juliet as she's a nice doe and she could still brood for a few more years for someone. I'm seriously still contemplating skipping Frankfurt show since I'm highly doubting anyone with Dutch will be there, and my New Zealands are in no condition to show anyway.   Might as well skip it. 
     Oh, Keisha's babies are hoping in and out of the box now!  3 bucks, 1 doe and I lost one-threw no fault of Keisha's.  The only doe is the only mismark in the litter- figures. 2 blacks(one of each gender), 2 gray bucks. I'm tossing up which little buck I want to keep- the gray or the black.  Both well marked.  I'll have to watch the grays to see how their ring pattern comes out.
     I'm thinking I won't make the graduation in June, it would mean taking 4 days off of work, so I might go up the weekend before instead-while I have a 5 day weekend.  I'll have to get a place to stay since Aunt Sheri and Uncle Dennis won't be home so I won't be able to stay with them.  It's that or wait and go up fair week to see her before she leaves for college.  Full plans there are still in the works.  I'll have the time built up by then to take that kind of time off.   
     I still plan at some point to get down and see Dustin preform live.  He's one of the only solo singers that I follow (Christian Kane being the other one), and two bands (Rascal Flatts and Backstreet Boys) so hearing them live is my goal for this year.  I've been to a BSB concert, Christian Kane on a tv show he's an actor as well-how I learned about him- and Rascal Flatts also on a TV show- but I know eventually I'll hear them live but sooner isn't a necessity. 
     My Zyrtec is making me incredibly sleepy, it's the Zyrtec-D with the decongestant in it.  It'll take a few days to get used to it, but it seems to be doing an awesome job keeping my sinus' drained.  Ohh thinking of sinus'-outside- Garlic has been ordered.  It should be here Monday or Tuesday afternoon so the morning after it gets here I'll be giving it to the horses.  Right now the flies are murdering them so badly that I don't dare call Micheal.  It took me forever to get their feet clean and I got Heidi's done faster than Phoenix's because they just wanted to keep kicking at the flies on their bellies so I have got to stop that so Micheal won't get hurt trying to trim.  Their feet need it, that's for sure, but I'm not risking Micheal because of the flies torturing the horses.  I just won't ride again until they get done.
     As for my guy front, I don't know.  Billy's been acting strange towards me since I talked to Chad.  It's a shame cause I still like him, he's a great guy, a bit young but still a great guy.  But I guess everything happens for a reason.  I'll try to get him to talk again tonight but no guarantee's on anything at all.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Giddy fun Update

     Well, anyone that needs to know can text or email me!  I doubt anyone's reading this- anyway.  I think I have found me a boy-stalker.  :D  Makes me all funny, I was told yesterday at work that I apparently put "fear" into guys- I was told I had scared this one guy at work into actually doing his work quickly and effectively.  Good, it work!  So I asked two of the guys that I used to work with, Chad and Billy, 'what makes me so scary to guys'.  Both said I never scared, intimidated or even bothered them in the slightest.  Which was good.  Chad's definitively older than me has a women but he gave me some pointers on guys and how he's visualized them and what they want. 
     Billy on the other hand I find quite attractive, though he's 8.5 years younger than I, I feel so old thinking about it, and he said he wasn't scared of me but he was horrified of heights.  I thought that was hilarious cause he's a volunteer fireman and going into a burning building doesn't bother him, but little heights freak him out.  HEHE, I guess he won't want to go to Natural Bridge with me!  He's given me a ride home once and he 'leads' us home at night, he even waits for me to get done and stays with me until I do get done.  He makes me smile. 

     Well I have thought of a way to get the ponies off both pastures, but I have to see if Aunt Lisa still has some of that electric tape fence and a solar charger she's not using and I'll borrow that to run a hot wire across the front of the other field and I can put up a quick gate and finish the house side of the Roark's and put the horses over there. Then I'll have to ask Uncle Jim to borrow his water barrel if he's not using it, so I can bring them some water.  I figure if I can leave them out there for a few weeks(Only on days off so I can bring them back at night into the regular fence) but that's still in heavy thought process.  Tomorrow I'm hoping that it stays warm enough to get a good scrubbing bath on Heidi and then take them to the Roark's front yard to graze on that waist deep grass so dad can mow their field again.  I wish the grass would grow faster, I really do! 
     Email has been sent to see about bringing one of my tort does back into the barn and if so I'll do what I can to get her into show condition really quickly so her and Della can both go to Frankfurt.  Thinking of Frankfurt, I'm thinking I'm going solo.  Lambing season has started as I saw on my Uncle's blog and my Aunt (My usual partner for bunny shows) will be watching her ewe's as they lamb so she'd be too worn out to go to a bunny show.  It's alright by me, maybe I can find her a new Netherland Dwarf buck that's smaller and showable.  Or possibly a different color.  Hopefully Uncle Jim doesn't kill me! 
     Anyway, enough, is enough, Time to go to work!  Maybe I can get Billy to chat with me a little longer, him being in the Mix room and me in the Dough room is difficult. 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Random

Just a random update.  I tattooed the Holland Lop babies and redid Zelda's tattoo.  It wasn't the best pen tattoo on Zelda but it certainly did look better give me a solid clamp tattoo any day! 


So I'm going to replace my clamp tattoo letters and numbers.  I like the clamp a lot, my penmanship with the Tattoo pen is subpar. 
I pulled Keisha's babies out of the box again today to check them and THEY HAVE THEIR EYES OPEN!!!!!  So far so good!  Keisha's doing very, very, very good with her last litter.  I'm hoping one of these little grays comes out Really quite nicely. 

  Well it was a very good Mother's Day.  Between Jess, Allen and I  we put money together so mom could actually have some spending money for herself. New shoes, and some other stuff!  I took her out shopping today, since I had the least amount put in myself- it was so fun and interesting.  I actually had some fun. 
I wanted to eventually get out and ride but this ear pain has kept me from doing it, plus I was soo tired from lack of sleep I came in and took a nap.  I went and gave my baby some snuggles and she gave me some snuggles for my 'mother's day' gift. 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Random thoughts

     So for a few days worth of thought.  First pit stop was the rabbits.  I'm seriously considering getting rid of the New Zealands and the Holland Lops and keeping just the Dutch.  Dutch can be used for meat, even if it takes them longer to get bigger for eating.  The New Zealands have been a pain this spring, the buck spraying everything, I even dropped him down to the bottom cages and he, without fail, sprays me every morning.  It's getting gross.  I get rid of him, I'd either have to replace him or get rid of Juliet too.  While it's a contemplating thought, just get rid of both and use their cages for Dutch brood does part of me says don't do it.  Juliet's starting digging her feeder out, getting mad that it's empty and throwing it off the cage.  She's not an old doe, tad under 2 years  and she's not been over bred, she's still got a couple years of breeding left in her. She's a pretty doe, but also a tad small.  Well I'm still thinking about it.
     The Holland Lops, well, I'll be putting Gabriel down soon, he's not doing well even for a 7 year old he's had a good life.  Legacy will be going to New York to live with Cindy and be a brood doe for Cindy.  She's bred to Oliver who I'll be putting down with Gabriel due to his teeth. He's having issues holding weight and bits the snot out of me when I try to clip his teeth so let him go as well.  So that'll leave me Speedle and Faith, and whatever Legacy/Oliver baby I have.   A Trio.  I may or may not keep any of the Legacy/Oliver litter at all.  I may keep one or two of the best ones to bring to Cindy as well.  Give her some extra, outside bloodlines. Not sure yet.
     The Dutch, well, I've got some that are most definitely going once I get their bloodlines into the barn, and a few that I'm keeping them and a baby out of them as well.  Jeanie, Terra and Della.  Connie's litter I may or may not keep any out of .  It's a tort x black (Steel carrying) litter.  So there's no saying what color they'll throw- should throw all blacks but I'm betting a few grays will pop up-knowing my luck.  I'm hopeful for the Keisha litter that the one little gray I am watching is a doe so I can keep that one in particular, if not I'm keeping at least 1 baby out of that litter as that's the end of the Syd bloodlines that I have.
     The horses have been good, I'm watching Phoenix as the grass cannot get ahead of them, nor stay ahead.  I don't know why, it held it's ground last year with 3 of them way better than it is with the two of them.  I'm going to order some kind of garlic supplement to put Heidi on to get the bugs off and away from her.  She goes banana's with bugs and since it's coming spring/summer the bugs will be BAD and I do want to continue to ride her and work on her.  I think Phoenix is going to fully retire this time around, I might go ahead and get rid of all his stuff(riding wise) other than the saddle.  The saddle could come in use at some point with the interchangeable gullets but it'll be cleaned up really good and covered.  I don't think I'm going to ride him anymore, he's dropping condition-still- more than I'd like for him to be doing.  That has to stop and I can't help it anymore.  If it keeps going I'll be putting him down sooner rather than later.  I know the grass is helping but he needs way more than I can realistically give him.  So it's time if the grass can't support him.  I might start working him on the lunge line to try and help build up his back muscles. 
     Anyway, it's time for work, I'll keep mulling over my thoughts while I am at work, unless a certain someone keeps giving me funny butterflies when he scares me, the other crazy old man just plain startles me and I get jumpy.  I now need to UN learn that behavior.  I used to swing when I was startled, I had to learn to jump instead and now it's a source of amusement for some folks. Oh well. 

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Wonderful ride

Picture's first!!!
Now for the words.  I had attempted trotting twice but Lazy butt wouldn't go.  She was getting sweaty and tired.  But I had changed bits and that seemed to have helped ten-fold.  I was very happy with my results today.  I was more subconscious about where my legs were and using my legs to get her to bend around them with pressure.  We ended after a half hour of progress.  Then dad and I took them to graze.  Dad has been one of my biggest supporters and I know I'm very thoroughly a Vandiver as I take after his side of the family very heavily. 
The last picture of just dad reminds me of some of the only mental pictures I had of Grandpa Skip-some of which come from pictures that dad has. 
Anyway, it's raining now so maybe the ground will be decent enough to ride again tomorrow, now that I know how to make Heidi work and I think I've got her going good.  Now for us to get to trotting.