Snowy Pictures...

We got snow here over Christmas weekend, but not as bad as some areas. We measured our snow in INCHES and other places measured theirs in FEET! ACK! Hope everyone got to where they were going safe and sound. The winds were cold and crazy and it was just plain miserable out there! In spite of the cold winds, the ground stayed warm so we had a few inches of snow on the top with some ice, and several inches of mud underneath. Did not make for easy navigating...even at the walk.

I got my camera back from the Camera Dr., and it finally works! They tried sending it back a 3rd time telling me nothing was wrong, so I told them to keep it, look again, use it like a consumer would, because something WAS wrong. It came back and all the settings were different, so someone did something to it - and it works! I still have a few settings to fix (noise when it turns on) but I can do that later.

Here are a few misc pictures from the weekend, and they are not going to be in any particular order.

Here is my 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover horse, Tripp. He is still a luv bug.



Tripp in the snow...



He consistently has a snowy nose...



Susie wanted in the action. She is Brian's Quarter mare.



Nevada in the snow...



Head shot of Nevada - he is such a regal boy and keeps everyone in line. I love watching him work things out with the trouble makers (Tripp). He never attacks anybody, he just has chats with them.



Nevada and Tripp....



Nakita the snow dog...the Huskeys are happy!



Mustangs in the snow...



Chase the llama nosing around...wondering what we are doing...



Batman with a snowy nose...he was moving around like a mini bull dozer...CUTE!



I spent a couple hours out there y-day when the sun came out, and Batman was all lovey dovey and gave me a smooch! In fact, he gave me lots of smooches. :-) He loves me!



Batman with the donks, and Tandee my Arab mare peeking out the barn door.



Batman and Tandee under the new canopy yesterday...



My Mom came out to visit. She says that Batman is hers, so if anything happens to me, Batman can live in her back yard with her dogs. :-)



Ajax the burro, with Tandee peeking thru the plexi stuff on the barn door...she was not coming out if she didn't have to...



Ace, last years rescue, has come along quite nicely...he is nosing the camera...



On the ugly snowy day the horses came up to the barn looking for treats. It was hard to see thru the blizzard and Joker took a left at Albequerque and ended up in the large pen...Ace followed, not knowing they were off the path...oh no! They are stuck! What are a couple of young mustangs to do? I will tell you what they did - they got saved by a girl! HA HA!!!! That would be me!



They are dealing with the weather, and it is obvious some of them don't care one bit for this stuff, and others are happy no matter what. Me....I am ready for summer! :-)

Until later....Karen and Tripp who is one of the snow lovers!

Decorations at The Horse Farm...

I have my camera back, and I am going to do a couple of entries instead of putting a gazillion pictures on one. :-)

The Horse Farm (www.thehorsefarm.net) is about 20 minutes from us, and she decorated their barn and had a small tour the past couple of Saturdays. Brian's son took riding lessons there for a while so we became real close to her and her horses. Sharon is a wonderful person who doesn't believe a horses life is over just because they are 20 yrs old. She is also one of the special people who can give lessons to kids AND adults both. A couple of her older horses had moved on, and there are some new ones to take their place. It was fun to go out and visit a while, and to see the pretty decorations. The weather was yucky out - very bitter cold and windy and still snowing (but thankfully not as much as other places).

Sharon got some corn stalks from the Amish and she built herself Cornelius the Horse. She has a beautiful little black Arabian that she took measurements of, and she built Cornelius based on her measurements. I was very impressed! Cornelius was wearing the whole harness!
Here are Brian's kids, Jordan and Madison, with Cornelius the Horse.



And here we are with Cornelius the Horse...



Front of the barn...



Close up of the wreath...they were so pretty.



When you walk inside she has music playing, there is garland and home made crafts around the tops of the stalls, and the manger scene in the hay loft. It was soooo cool! She made the manger scene out of things she had around the farm, and she said that once in a while when you walk in, one of the barn cats comes crawling out of the baby manger.



She has stocking for each horse, and she had to quit putting stuff in them because the mice were chewing them up. The names are held on by velcro. The person who made them did a great job!



Then there is Rusty, one of the farm mascots. They lost a dog a long time ago and picked Rusty up as a pup. She has grown into quite the dog!



Before we left, another couple was out braving the weather for a visit. We had a very nice time and we got caught up on what all has been going on.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Well, I guess it isn't over yet! New Years is right around the corner. Wow...time sure does fly....

Until later, Karen and Tripp who likes snow

Snuck in a few shots before taking the camera back...

So I call the number the camera people gave me...you know, if I had problems. When I told them the zoom only works when I am up close to something she says "Oh, so it doesn't work at a distance....." Uh, yeah! Now is it just me, or should they check it like they would sight in a gun? You test it at all distances then decide if it is fixed or not. So, it is back in the shop. I will say the person I talked to was very very nice, and I am not one to shoot the messenger. Hopefully I will get it back real quick! I am going crazy without a camera!

So while I was testing it I took a few shots...

Tripp says "Ptooey!" while Millie looks on...



Two of the young roosters who lucked out and did not make the trip to the Amish. They are not aggressive yet, and they are quite amusing to watch, so they are sticking around a while. Okay, they are pretty too! The white one is that large chick, and he has a cute beard.
I am sad to report that Rooster Cogburn had a fatal accident this weekend. He got into the yard and the dogs got him. We are very sad about that...he was a neat rooster. :-(



Wendigo is one of the first mustangs we adopted. I am ashamed to say I let her feet get out of control and she ended up with a rear hoof crack that was causing her problems. I had to keep her up and soak the hoof, which she did real good with. We had to wait for that to feel better before we could trim her up and put her back out. This weekend was her moment...she was pretty good about the trimming, altho the last rear hoof was a challenge. Thankfully I had Brian's help and we got her done, and now she is back out with the others.
Here she is begging to go out...giving me that fake happy look. :-)



After the trim I had Brian double check my work, and Batman and Wendigo were checking me out.



Nevada: "How you doin?"



Chase the llama is in the hay bale...the bale that is on the tractor waiting to be put into the field. Hee hee! This is the thing that makes Brian so mad...guess this one will be done and he won't have to take it out next week.



We are adding a canopy to the other side of the barn, and we got so much done this weekend! Yay!
Brian is adding boards to attach tin to.



I was helping attach boards when a turkey flew up by me. This was a self portrait opportunity if I ever had one! :-)
The turkeys are very curious...they follow us around and watch everything we are doing.



I was on the main part of the barn helping to slip new tin under the edges, then I was attaching it on my end. Since I was up there and my balance is not that great, I stuck to taking a picture of my feet to show I was helping.



Remember Ace, the rescue mustang from last year? I could not get a good picture of him, but you all get the idea. Our boy is growing up! I hope I can stick to my plan and make him a Spring project. It will be time to start preparing him for a new home. And if we decide to keep him, I have to prepare someone else for a new home. As much as I would love to, I can't keep them all. I really want to be able to rescue more in the future and learning how to find new homes for them is the only way I will be able to do it.
Ace is filling out a lot. He has a real short back, his legs are thick and strong, and he finally has someone to pick on - Flash, the pony who came back. He is not mean about it - just makes faces and I think it makes him feel good.



I got an update on Wyoming. One of the girls at the ranch has been riding him, and she started doing back flips off him! Woo hoo! I can't wait to go visit him. Just need for the weather to hold out so I can go out on a day they are riding.

I have not heard anything about Copper the past couple weeks, but I am sure he is doing great. I bet I hear something soon. It has been almost a month that he has been at the trainers. I have not heard from the adopters either, so am not sure what is going on there....maybe the trainer has heard from them. I will know soon. I know he technically is not my responsibility any more, and there comes a time when I have to let go, but it isn't time yet. Once I know where he is and that he is settled in someplace, I will relax. :-)

Guess I better find something to fix for dinner.

Until later, Karen and Tripp who is still as cute as ever!

Got my camera back...and it will be going back again!

Okay, as you know, took camera in, they replaced lens, I got it back and the zoom did not work. Got phone call that said it worked for them - nothing was wrong. They mailed it back to me - as in by UPS! They did not send it back to the store like they usually do....
Anyways, the zoom still doesn't work! Oh it does if you are already up close to something then zoom in on it. The whole reason I picked this camera was for the zoom and the size of the camera. Mostly the zoom. I hope they are open tomorrow...and if not, I am headed back to the store on Monday with camera in tow!

Here is an example...this shot is at normal distance. When I tried to zoom in I would get about to the 1/2 way mark, and it would not focus. It tries...and you can see it focus for a second, then it goes to blurry. If I was standing close to her, I would have been able to zoom in just fine.



The chunky rooster is the one I tested with me being close. I got zoomed in on his head pretty good. When I maxed out the zoom is when it got blurry, but I was only a few feet away from him. This is the white chick that was so big when he was little. He is kind of a goofy guy...he got to stick around. We took a bunch of chicken to the Amish to prepare for the freezer. There are 3 roosters that I just love, and he is one of them. As long as they don't fight, they are all safe.



Flash is a large pony we rehomed during the summer with the agreement that he comes back here if they can't keep him. They are going thru some family 'stuff' and could not keep him, so he is back. He is the best trail riding horse and will do about anything you ask, but he is kind of a tank with no manners. He had a couple other big horses and several acres of thick grass as friends...now he is back to grass hay and mud. Good! He could stand to lose a few...he is a chunk!



Took this when I was camera testing...he's a pretty boy.



This really makes Brian mad! Hee hee!!!! Sometimes I let the donks, Tandee and Batman in the yard to eat grass and fertilize. Do you think the donks would munch on the grass? Yes, for a short while, then they head to the round bales stored in the front. They had been eating on the back side of this one, so when Brian gigged it with the tractor, the other side was eaten out like a donut! HA HA HA!!!! And here the donks are munching away!!!! HA HA HA!!!



I hope everyone had a wonderful day!
Hug your horses today...and tomorrow...and every day after! :-)

Until later...Karen and Tripp who loves hugs!

Eat Beef...or Pork...We don't care as long as it isn't us!

Vanilla Ice and Pimp Daddy escape the season for the 2nd year in a row!



Vanilla Ice got in the habit of attacking Brian and his kids so he is lucky he is still around. He doesn't bother me - he knows who the Alpha is around here! :-)

Until later...Karen and Tripp who is glad he isn't a turkey, cow or pig! Ha ha!

Crazy Woman on the Loose!!! Look out!!!

That would be me! The crazy woman on the loose...



I am having withdrawl from my blog - and my camera! I am just going crazy! We have had an overly wet season and the mud won't dry out because it isn't warm enough on the the dry days, we have over 2 weeks of hunting season so I can't head out to the trails to ride, and did I mention I don't have my camera???

You know how it is, when things work, they are great, but when they don't - argh! The computer broke - thankfully it was a quick fix that warranty took care of. My photo printer has been acting up for a while - won't feed the large paper thru without being force fed - but it started making lines on the photos and that is when I took it in. They said nothing is wrong with it, that maybe it is the ink cartridges. That won't fix the paper issue that they say isn't there (I have had to force the paper thru for a while now). I also don't see how the ink cartridges would cause lines, but when it gets here, I will try new ones. I am not going to say it is operator error on this one...I have had it long enough and know better. But I will check just to humor them. And if the cartridges fix it - I will admit I was wrong. :-)

The camera - now this one is driving me crazy the most! I took it in, they replaced the lens, I got it back and the zoom would not work, and once in a while the shutter door would not close when I turned the camera off. I took it back in 2 days later after playing with settings, etc., and two people tried to help me, and one of them saw the shutter door get stuck open. They said I needed to send it in again. I was not happy, but what can ya do?
After they had it another two weeks, I get a call and they said nothing is wrong with it, that the zoom is working and holding the focus. (it was a message on the machine so I could not ask questions) My theory on this one is they fixed it and they are blaming it on the crazy woman who doesn't know how to work her camera. That way it doesn't mess up their percentages on 'come-back' items. At this point, they can call me crazy all they want as long as it works when it gets back.
Why I don't have both items back yet - I don't know. I am hoping this next week...
What I am thankful for is for having problems like this - because in the big scheme of things, these really are not problems. It could be a whole lot worse, and I know that.

So, I am going to make lemonade even tho I don't drink it...I picked a few random pictures to post....I love photos!

Mustangs in the woods...



My sister used to live south of San Francisco and we went out to visit a few times. We loved it out there! Driving up and down the coastal highway, stopping to whale watch (can't find those pictures...will keep looking), and heading to Santa Cruz to hang out on on the pier....TO EAT ICE-CREAM! YUMMY!!! The sea gulls hang out close, and there are seals at the bottom of the pier and bark constantly...it is so cool! My sister and her husband have moved to Maryland, so will have to find cool stuff out there.



This was a summer shot of course - and before Flash went to his new home. Flash is the paint, then from left to right we have Nevada, Stormy and Epona.



Then of course I have to sign off with Batman! He is still doing well, and he is a roly poly right now! He was showing off his new teeth this summer...



Today I spent all day out in the barn cleaning and Batman hung out with me. I sat down on a pallet and rubbed and scratched on him for over an hour...it was all about him and he was happy. Okay, so was I! I was remembering his birth, his discovering his legs, his zooming around, and then the stress of having to take him to the auction. I was really counting my blessings again today...I am so very lucky! He is 28" tall now!
Funny Batman story...when I was inside the barn cleaning, he was in there too. I had turned around then heard this "thump thump thump" and when I turned around to see what was going on, I see that Jester the donkey is standing there and Batman is double barrel kicking him in the chest! Jester did not even twitch, but Batmans ears were back like he meant business! It was so darn funny! Brian thinks we need to get him a mini friend...but you can't pick friends for them. What if we get one he doesn't like? He insists on having a mustang buddy, so for now that is the way it will stay.

Well, this is it for now...
Hope everyone is doing well!

Until later...Karen and Tripp who will get his picture taken once his person gets her camera back. :-)

Sunny day for horse time and building time...

Today was the day of starting the new addition to the barn. It is just a canopy that will consist of extra shelter, place to park and store things, and hay storage. Brian and his Dad started that, and I made a few minutes for horsey time. I missed out yesterday and did not want to miss out today too.

Nevada is a mustang we acquired a couple years ago and he was already started. He is as big as Copper, but already filled out. I worked him on the ground a while, then got on him bareback and with a halter. He did pretty darn good for not being ridden for a long time! He has a dreamy trot...it was fabulous! Brian hollered at me and said "You are doing a great job with my horse." (Brian wanted me to get Nevada warmed up so we can go riding together) After riding Nevada again, I am thinking he should be my horse. Hee hee!

Look into my eyes...



Nevada kept walking towards me when I was trying to get a picture of him. A good problem to have! How many people do you hear say "I just can't get away from my horse, he just keeps following me!" It is usually the opposite! Ha ha! He is a big pretty boy, and such a pocket pony! He loves people!



After Nevada I worked with Tripp a while. The little stinker did not want to get caught, so I followed him around until I could get around to catch his eye. Once he looked at me and I could get him to face me as I moved around, I knew we were in business. He fell right back in to the old routine.

He has these scabby things all over his back, so when I hopped on he seemed uncomfortable. Once when I tried to reposition he brought his head and neck straight up and he grunted, but he did not move. I slid back into the place I was and he relaxed. He has forgotten how to walk forward. I don't know if he really forgot, or if he was uncomfortable and just did not want to move. I did move his front end around, and his hindquarters around, then I called it a day. He had done enough ground work and he did not give me a playful buck when I got on...life was good. I will work on those scabby things then get on again. He is a luv bug too, and he and Nevada are good friends. They will do well on the trail together.

Look at his mane. At the 2008 EMM it was mostly scrubby and sticking up. I never trimmed it...it grew out even by itself. Yay!



I was playing with Photoshop...this is called Glowing Edges...



Look into my eyes....and ears....



Body shot...looking all cute!



And what is a morning of fun without a self portrait? Don't know because I have never NOT done a self portrait while having fun! HA!



Jester the donk was not to be left out. Actually he was my victim when I was trying out the zoom on my camera. It still does not work. Brian was right, it is the settings, but when I change them, they go back to the old settings. I will be taking it in tomorrow! I am still not saying it isn't user error, but I think I am doing the same thing I did when I first got the thing.

Look into Jesters eyes....



It was a great day! Lots of sunshine, light breeze, we got a lot done...life is good!

Until later, Karen and Tripp who loves his girl! (that is me!)