What a beautiful day. It was sunny and warm and full of fun. I felt much better than yesterday. I am still sore but no hurting like the day before. Getty went to a disc Golf Tournament and would be home late.
Autumn Leaves. View from my office.
So I planned a bunch of stuff for today. The people who wanted to buy hay showed up at 9:00 and got their hay loaded in record time. They were a really nice couple and part of King County Horse Search and Rescue. They showed up on time and were very polite. I like people who are like that. I have had several people who want to buy hay; either don’t show up or show up about 3 hours late and then ask for the hay for a far cheaper price. First of all, I had to pay to have the hay cut, baled and delivered and therefore will not sell it at a price lower that I paid. Nor will I *give* you free hay because you have too many horses and can’t afford to buy hay for all of them. So needless to say, having the nice couple that I had today was a real pleasure.
Then my mom showed up. I had just let the dogs out and was walking to the barn when I heard Nan squeal with delight. Then Tess did her god awful high pitched bark and I knew that my mom had arrived. Before my mom went into the house, the girls managed to convince her to toss the ball and upon entry, they got their treats from her. I was ignored by the girls.
We had our coffee then wandered down to the barn. Mom got to work right away by filling up the bread buckets and feeding the sheep and ducks and chickens. I am sure that Tess and Nan got a few pieces too. I did the alfalfa feeding.
Cattails in my front pond.
Willow Tree next to my front pond.
While I was in the barn, I saw a Bald eagle and took some pixs. This is when I realized that I really need a long lens on my camera. The Bald Eagle flew over and perched on a tree near my pond. The wild ducks went crazy and took cover under branches in the pond below.
Bald Eagle looking at the ducks.
Now he is looking at me.
He turns his attention back to the ducks again.
Look very closely. You can see the ducks hiding at the bottom of the pixs under the branches from the Eagle.
He finally gave up and flew off. He didn't appreciate me taking pixs of him.
Liz, a lady who came to look at my Aussie saddle the day before, arrived to pick up the saddle. She is also a very nice lady. I sold my new saddle to her at less than half of what I paid for it. I sold the horse that I used the saddle early last year. I have a nice team roping saddle that I ride on now so therefore I had no use for the Aussie saddle. It was nice to see the saddle went to a good home. I gave the money that I got from the saddle to help pay for my mom’s vet bill. Her cat got sick yesterday and I wanted to help her. It’s the least that I could do.
The sheep were happy that they got fed. Next on the list was us to get fed. Mom brought Sukiyaki fixings and I love that dish. Just as she was cooking, my friend Joyce arrived so she joined us. I haven’t seen her in years. She has a nice Border Collie named Molly and she used to come for lessons when she lived in Easton. She moved near Spokane and we keep in contact via email. It was great to see her and catch up. I sent her home with a bag of Clun Forest wool since she is a spinner. She has Shetland sheep and makes purses and hats.
A friend showed up after we ate so we made him sit down and eat also. He came over to help me ear tag sheep. No sense in letting a volunteer go hungry. The sukiyaki was delicious and I ate two helpings. I was so full that I wanted to take a nap but didn’t. Joyce and my mom left and Chuck and I went to tag team the sheep.
I had picked seven Clun Forest ewe lambs to add to the flock. Since I belong to the Scrapies program, any sheep that stays on my farm, after a year old, must be accounted for and have a tag. In addition to the Clun Forest ewe lambs, I kept two Katahdin ewe lambs.
We used Tess which is a good thing. We had to grab the ewes and I tagged them and we didn’t have much time to tell Tess what to do. She has hundreds, if not thousands of hours of work on the farm and knew what to do. She held the sheep in the corner and any runaways were dealt with. She was like a cutting horse, moving to the left and then to the right and holding the sheep. She was incredibly fast if there was a break away. She held the sheep while we worked on the ewes. She didn't need hardly any commands but just did the needed work.
We got the sheep tagged and then cleaned stalls and worked dogs. I was starting to take it easy as my chest began to hurt. It was a good time to quit watching the flaming red sunset and feel the cold fingers of fall wrapping around our legs.
Red, the rooster enjoying the evening.
The little Red hens
Sleeping Geese
Getty and I ate the rest of the sukiyaki and watched the LSU game. Sad to say, the LSU game was not a good way to end the day as they lost.
So as a consolation prize, Getty and I had some dessert.
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