Windy weather.

Yesterday it was so windy. I had a fight with a big metal barrel that kept trying to roll over my flower beds and crush the few little plants I have. Brad came to the rescue and tied it to power pole with baling twine. Where would we be without baling twine?

It has been windy for days and I need to spray weeds. I let the weeds go unchecked last year because Foxsun was allowed to go where he pleased after he received a poor prognoses on his health. One of the places he liked to go was an area that I planted native plants in that I call my wild area. I planted lots of Golden Current, Choke Cherry and Serviceberry. I also planted a couple of Spruce trees, Elderberries and Maples. It should be a nice spot when it all grows in. Little yellow flags mark the little trees and shrubs and Foxsun didn't crush any of the plants.

These pictures I took this morning.

You can see the deer help me by doing a little pruning now and again. The white electric fence is to keep our cattle out.

The day before the wind storm I was playing with Echo and I noticed he had what's commonly know as an 'eye booger' and I went to wipe it away only to discover it was something else. It must have been very uncomfortable for him because he let me remove it without a struggle. I had to use one hand to hold his eye lids open and the other to remove the object which turned out to be five inch long hair or piece of grass. He was very glad to have that out. Last year he held still so I could put my fingers under his tongue and remove the seeds packed in there causing his mouth to bleed. He knows when he needs help.

Echo is really bonding now and is a very affectionate boy. Last week I made a pathetic attempt at getting him more comfortable with ropes by throwing the lead rope over his back. He leapt into the air and became airborne in a successful effort to dislodge the rope snake. Now when he's scared, instead of running away from me, he comes to me for safety.

Max hangs around the corrals then walks home with us to have his dinner and spend the night indoors.

It wasn't too long ago that Echo would run to the far end of the corrals when he was being fed hay, snorting loudly. He was so scared of people. The sound of metal gates banging would make him shake in fear. Now I can open gates to lead him through and the other night while taking him a midnight apple snack, I was belting out a few choruses of the Apple Sauce song and he put his head over the gate and gave my face a big sloppy lick.

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.