Flower arranging, pigs and a dog.

I often take pictures of thing's that catch my fancy and then forget all about them. Here are some of those pictures before they are forgotten forever.

The other sunny Sunday morning I was cooking breakfast with the usual herd of pets around my feet and I looked down and saw something funny. Little Blondie had got out of her cat bed still wearing the blanket she sleeps under. At first it was perfectly aligned but by the time I got my camera the other pets had mobbed her knocking it askew.

Tommy Two Tone likes it.

Montie marvels at it as Bobby looks on waiting her turn to inspect things.

That same Sunday Brad and I took a drive to a friends farm and I saw something I wanted. They were moving all these pigs and putting them in crates. I saw this little runt with his head all cocked off to the side and really had to have him.

Well, it turns out Brad is very anti pig. He went on and on about how they don't stay cute for long and my argument about Echo needing a pig pal seemed pretty weak and so I gave up my new dream of having a pig pet.

To completely change the subject; I'm really not into flower arranging but I think I hit on something clever. I was looking for a place to put these daffodils and couldn't find the right vase. Then I found this old milk bottle and it was perfect.

Why do I have a milk bottle from the Wilden Village Dairy in Bedfordshire England? I just hope the milkman isn't looking for it.

Still on the subject of flower arranging; I was pruning a crab apple of some cross branching and stuffed the little branches in a vase and then the buds opened and it looked kind of nice.

And to think I usually just throw the trimmings away.

The crab apple above is a Red Jade. My original tree died of fire blight but left behind some seedlings around it's base. I pulled one up and planted it. It's grown quiet nice but is not a weeping tree like it's parent.

What a lovely day.

There was a lovely April shower this morning and all the birds were singing.

Later I helped Brad pick up some wheel lines. I drove while he loaded them.

Here he is securing the load.

I explored in the creek bed while I was waiting for Brad to get done. I'm so glad I got my ankle totally replaced so I'm able to walk like this again. I saw many doctors who told me ankle replacements don't work and the way to go was a total fusion. In other words welding my foot to my leg which would have crippled me for the rest of my life. Notice my sturdy boots.

After we were finished with the pipes I had a lovely visit with Echo. Usually when Echo and I eat apples, I sing the apple sauce song, it's just the words 'apple sauce apple sauce' sang to the tune of Lollipop. He loves it so much when I started singing it he walked with me, shoulder to shoulder, through the gateway's up and down the alley and around the corrals. I didn't have a hand on him, no ropes. It was wonderful. I hope he does it again. I said, "Come on apple sauce boy" and off we went.

He's grown more attached to me since he discovered he likes me to get his itchy spots and also the heifers are not in the next corral for him to visit with.

I took the following pictures as the sunset.

The leafless tree in the middle is an English Oak which hasn't leafed out yet for spring. Knowing it was a slow grower, I bought two bare root crab-apples from a grocery store because I just wanted something to grow quickly near the little oak till he got big enough to be a stand alone tree. Well, these crab apples were supposed to be plain ordinary white blossomed trees but they were mislabelled and so they are magnificent but unidentified specimens. Their scent fills the air.

The air is perfumed and filled with bird song. Nature is wonderful!

Echo where you've never seen him before.

I took Echo for a little walk into the corral that Sparkle, Mini Cow and Mini Me vacated last week.

He walked right through the gate like a well tamed boy and into the other corral.

It was very difficult to take pictures because he stuck to me like glue. I had to step back quick and take a picture.

He kept his face pressed up against me most of the time and his breathing was faster although he was incredibly quiet. I showed him there was grass beneath his feet but when he attempted to eat some the dreaded rope snake was there waiting for him so I had to pick the grass for him. He kept bumping my belly with his nose when he wanted me to pick another mouthful for him. I walked him over to the trough where the cattle were gathered on the other side and his breathing speeded up again. I really think he was having a good time.

I was picking up his front hooves...well trying to. I had him in a corner so he couldn't go back like he does when I lifted his hooves up. I had his foot up, having a quick look-see and I noticed his other hoof was up in the air as well. I explained to him the idea wasn't to stand on just his back legs but on three legs. He's so cute.

I tried to desensitize him with the rope but he gets so scared that I can't bring myself to do it. I know how to do it but I can't scare him even if it's for his own good. I have gone soft in my old age. I guess someone else will have to do it for me. :)

I can groom Echo.

Echo and I made more progress. As I've mentioned before, Echo will not let me touch him with anything other than my hands. If I attempt to touch him with a brush or rope he becomes horrified and bolts. I bought this very soft jelly like brush that I can wear like a glove but as soon as I touched him with it he ran backwards like I'd touched with with a cattle prod! Here's the brush.

It soft and flexible for even legs.

I know if I can't get Echo to except this brush/glove then I might as well rule out him ever wearing a saddle in the future. lol.

To get him used to the sound the jelly brush made I brushed my sweater and of course Echo ran off soon as he heard it, so I made him to his circles at a trot. He doesn't like doing circles and wanted to turn in and approach me. I let him stop and come to me and when I brushed my sweater he ran backwards again, so I made him continue his circles. After awhile he decided the little soft sound the brush made was better than circles and he came and kissed me as I brushed away at my sweater. Then I held the brush towards him and told him to 'step up'. I trained him to touch things with his nose when I say 'step up' and he touched one of his whiskers briefly on the brush. I made such a big fuss of him for doing that and so the next time I held it out and told him to step up he gave the brush a firm nudge and was rewarded with hugs and kisses like he'd just won the Grand National.

He figured it out; run from the brush and he has to trot in circles around the corral but if he touches the brush he gets cuddles and lot's of "good boys". I then put the brush on his neck and brushed him which quickly led to an all over brushing. He stood very still and was tense, he never moved a muscle. I don't restrain him when I do these things because there's no point in it. If he decides to bolt I have trouble holding him and it just makes matters worse. By the way, the brush is very good for legs.

Tonight I went to groom him and we had to do the whole thing over again. It takes a long time for Echo to become comfortable with something new. Once he settled down and let me brush him, I flipped the brush over and used the other side which has bigger firmer knobbly bits. I think he enjoyed that more but we had to stop because all the brushing created static electricity and I felt some little jolts in my fingers.

Next I'll try some different brushes. I really want to use a brush on his mane and tail and pick his feet out.

Weed burning.

Last Friday Brad and the neighbour's dad burned our irrigation ditch.

I didn't help because I find burning ditches too stressful now. Besides I can't run very fast any more. Luckily for them the breeze was blowing unusually from the north. I did drive around by the creek with Brad to make sure everything was out.

I spotted a deep patch of dead noxious weed that was choking off the native vegetation. We set fire to it.

I helped contain it with my shovel, so I did get to have a little bit of burning excitement in the end.

More cows for Wildairo.

Wildairo was so good with the cows we put out with him on Saturday that we decided to put even more cows with him. Here I am moving the cows with my trusty cow chasing stick.

Everything was going along really well until Wildairo ran into the area we were moving the cows out of.

Brad shouted out to me to chase him back out, completely forgetting I had only a cow chasing stick and not a horse chasing stick.

Wildairo slinks past me because he knows he's not supposed to be there.

Wildairo explores.

These two little calves remained behind to watch Wildairo.

I discover Wildairo no longer comes when called so Brad tries the old trick of luring him in with a hand full of hay. The fat Wildairo laughed at his dried offering.

Wildairo gives in and takes a little nibble. It reminds me of Mr Creosote in the Monty Python movie, 'The Meaning of Life'.

But Wildairo still refuses to be bribed into following. We left him alone and after about 10 minutes he realizes he's on his own and cantered back to where he should be.

Wildairo went looking for Dandylyons in the herd but couldn't find her. I was pleased that he worked his way through them without getting them spooked. He called and called for her in his pitifully high pitched voice. Brad and I could see her out in the sagebrush. While looking for their mothers the two naughty calves had found her and decided because she was the only bovine they could find they'd better stick close to her. We got a rope to lead Dandylyons to Wildairo so the big lad would stop fretting. Wildairo watched us go out there and then he spotted her and the two calves. We arched his neck and trotted to where they were. When he approached them he started making these low grunty sounds. Wildairo put himself between Dandylyons and the calves which struck terror in their hearts and they ran of to search for their real mothers.

What is it about Dandylyons that makes horses love her so?

Wildairo builds his herd.

I've been putting off turning any more cattle out with Wildairo. Dandylyons doesn't run because she's too old but the younger cows love to run so I was worried he would chase them and their little calves.

We round up Sparkle, Mini Cow and her calf with our cow chasing sticks.

You can see my stick in the bottom of the picture. I was herding and snapping away at the same time. Mini Cow bolted back to the feeder wanting her dinner not herding. I yelled at Sparkle and got her to go through the gate, where Wildairo was waiting to do a meet and greet. Unlike Echo he's never has been bothered by gateways and was trying to get in the corral. I was yelling at him to keep out so he wouldn't mess things up.

Soon as Sparkle was through the gate she did a huge leap and buck, followed by very athletic double barrel kick and almost turned Wildairo into the headless horse. He was like, "All right, take it easy there little Missy". It's been many years since I've seen Dandylyons pull that move off.

Wildairo showed Mini his snake face and she knew what that was all about. Cows that hadn't been raised with a horse probably would have run off right about now.

Someone's missing.

Dandylyons is taking a break from him and sleeping out in the deep sagebrush where he's too scared to go.

He's looking in the direction of where his comfort cow is.

Wildairo has no intention of chasing the girls or young Mini Me. He was raised as a wild horses and wild horses respect the women folk and their little 'uns. He fondly remembers the 'band dads' and he had always wanted to be one himself.

Wildairo finally gets his herd and is very proud.

He's mine..all mine.

Echo Taffy is no longer a GI mustang, but a civilian mustang.

His title came yesterday. I rigged it a bit to proudly display his name.

He's a horse...not a number! lol. They are insisting on calling his body colour 'black' even though he's obviously a Aubergine (maybe now a mahogany) bay. lol.

These pictures are from last summer.

Notice his 'lucky pinto' sock.

I took a walk.

Today I took a walk to see Echo but first I went to see the birds. I think the ducklings are male and female...oh dear, we'll be over run with ducks soon.

I think if their darker breast plumage is in dots, it's a hen and if the dark looks more like stripes, it a drake. So, according to that, the big one in the back is a girl.

Jet Lag our rooster wanted to take me on. I took some photos of him and it kind of threw him off his game.

One day he rushed up to me to do this war dance and I kicked in his general direction to warn him off and my slipper flew off, so I picked it up and bonked him on the head with it. He didn't seem to notice and I think it's because he has that funny little red helmet on his head.

He's very good looking and he knows it.

Jet Lag rounded up his girls and with a big 'cockle doodle doo' took them off for a peck and scratch about.

I gave Echo some apples.

We have had a major break through thanks to a swarm flies. A few days ago we had a plague of those nasty biting flies that bite cattle, horses and even people. I put Echo in a very small pen so I could spray him, but the spray wasn't all that good and he still had some fly's biting him. He still didn't trust me, so every time he had to itch himself he'd back away so I didn't take the opportunity, while he was distracted, to rush him. I noticed he kept trying to scratch behind his elbow, so I did it for him.

Wow, that an eureka moment for him. In the past no matter what good rubs and scratchings I've given him, he's been too tense and scared to enjoy them. He'd stand with his head high, jaw tightly clenched watching me like a hawk. Well this time was different. I felt the bug bite on his skin and did my thing. His head stretched forward and he just loved it! I found lots of other bites on his body and went to town scratching them for him.

While he was on cloud nine, I took the opportunity to go were no girl has gone before. I gave him leg massages, belly rubs and even found some places in need of itching between his back legs. I even managed to semi-clean his boy parts. (Something that geldings need doing every now and again). He's got no kick to him at all! What a sweetie, he didn't even warn me off or get mad when I poked him with my too long finger nails. I tried to lift his front foot up but he backed up. I didn't have him on a rope because he's got that rope phobia thing going on that we have to deal with.

Today he showed me the mustang way off keeping flies off.

A thick layer of mud.

I gave him a belly rub which he enjoyed but he still kept his eye on me.

On the way home I met Max eating some grass.

Good old Max.