Shout For Joy!

     There have been so many good things happening I keep thinking of the chorus to this song.  "Shout for joy.  Sing His praises.  Lift my voice, unto the Lord."

     The weekend of the 21'st went quickly as all weekends seem to do.  It was still rather cold and windy.  We even got more snow Sunday evening
                                                     with stronger winds.  Joe fixed the

section of fence the cow had broken through, and moved some hay down from the loft.







     I think it is neat to watch Amiga and Sir Loin digging through the snow for grass.  Amiga is much more intentional, digging with her hoof, while the cow just pushes the snow around
with his nose grabbing bites of grass.

     Joe spent the majority of the weekend watching TV and playing on line Texas Hold-em.  Dan was at Courtney's all weekend and Britney read and watched TV quite a bit, so I was able to get lots of school work done.

Frosted birds nest awaiting
    the coming of spring.

     Saturday I went to Marj's for our 3rd class in "Lessons On Lightness".  I did not take Amiga because of the extreme cold, blowing snow, and iced up trailer and Expedition. I was there for almost three hours. 

     Church and a quick stop at school on Sunday also got me out of the house, as did a trip back to Marj's to walk Zorro Sunday evening.  In this
                                           picture he can be seen looking out of his stall.

       Driving home, down the gravel road in Joe's pick up truck, with his station of tunes playing on the radio as the snow blew across in front of me, I felt so good to be alive.  I really enjoy the country life, and even though things get tough sometimes, I like being outside, messing with the live stock, taking care of the land, and being a farmer/cowgirl.  Yippee ki yay!

    
     I ended my last Blog post with a series of pictures of a cat sliding off a deck.  Here is Abbey, trying to get a crumb and then sliding off a stool at the kitchen island.

     Monday morning I fell asleep for about an hour during my regular Bible reading time.  And then when I got home from school and was working on school work I got so sleepy I went up to bed and ended up taking over a 3 hour nap. I don't know what my problem was, I felt fine and was getting my regular nights of sleep...but I still couldn't seem to get enough sleep.  Wonder if I was either fighting some sickness or just in the hibernation mode.
                                                                                    Missy continues

to be more adventuresome.  She is coming farther and farther away from the barn.  She will explore around the buildings and in the yard.  She has even been practicing tree climbing.  If you look closely (click on picture) you can see her up in our old pear tree.

     Brother likes to get in on the climbing action as well.  He goes a lot higher than Missy dares to climb as you can see here.

     Tuesday I took Amiga to Marj's, not knowing she had some lessons scheduled.  One of the two high school girls that was there for a lesson was our former neighbor (Dani) whom watched our old house for us when we were on vacation.  Britney had sat with her a few times also. Richard helped me with unloading Amiga who has been bolting off the trailer.  He worked with her for 15 minutes and ended up having her step up, stand calmly and then step back off.  Marj was so nice to still let me test ride in two of her saddles.  The one Courtney bought me for Christmas is very nice, but is a bit wide on Amiga and too wide to sit in.  I really like the style of it though. It is an endurance saddle.

      Amiga waiting patiently for some saddle fitting.

     I tried to stay out of the way of the lesson people as I rode Amiga around. It was fun, and I enjoyed watching the girls jumping their horses. Amiga did okay, but was as distracted as I was.  When I got home, Joe and I took it slow unloading her and she did better, but still went too fast when told to step off.

     Wednesday was a long day of school work from before sun rise till well after sun set.  I need to quit grading so much of the homework I give.  It is pretty sad when my entertainment for the day comes while doing chores.

In the morning the chickens make their usual trip from the chicken coop 

to the barn.  Looks like "March of the Penguins" in this little video clip.  

Notice the two young roosters bringing up the rear?

At night I have more time to spend watching and talking to the animals.

Come on Sir Loin, time for dinner.             He always comes to the corn
                                                         crib when he sees his grain bucket.
     Be careful Amiga. It's slippery.   
She also comes to the barn when I  call for her.  Sometimes I have to go get her from way out in the pasture.  She usually follows me back to the barn.  Or she will run ahead and be in her stall waiting for me to feed her.

     When Hercules can't get into the coop at night, he comes up to the house and waits for me.  He usually roosts on the deck railing until I come out. Then he'll hop up and follow me back to the coop which I open for him.


    











     
     I enjoy a few minutes of playing with the barn cats, brushing my horse, talking to the cow, and running from the dog as she follows me from building to building.  I chuckle at myself while counting my chickens.  Each night I make sure I have all 10 and our 1 turkey before I shut the coop door.  I find myself counting "1,2....3,4,5.....6,7,8,....9,10  and a big fat turkey.  He he he.

      Thursday Marj and Courtney took Zorro to Champaign.  He got a "clean bill of health!"  Several people watched him and examined his legs and
                                         the vet said he is once again sound.  Courtney
said loading Zorro was doable, but not easy.  They actually made the round trip in a remarkably short amount of time.

     These pictures were taken Saturday, but I thought were fitting here.  We are so proud of Courtney and how hard she has worked to get Zorro healed from his lameness.  She really loves this horse and is truly dedicated to him.  What a lucky boy.




      I ordered baby ducks to arrive over spring break and paid for a spot in the gaited horse clinic with Larry Whitesell, at the Illinois State Horse Fair the first weekend in March..... I told Marj I was ready to start up lessons again.  I am excited about the weeks to come. 

     Once back from the U of I Vet, and when chores at Well Green Farm were completed, Courtney treated us all to dinner to celebrate Zorro's prognoses and Marj's birthday.  I felt so happy I wanted to "Shout For Joy!"'  hence this Blog title.

      Friday morning I took Missy to the animal rescue shelter to have her spayed.  I had put her in the dog crate over night so she wouldn't eat or drink.  Late in the afternoon I went back to pick her up.  The vet said she was the best behaved out of all 5 she had just spayed. The vet also talked
                                                     me out of putting Missy in the tack
room with a heat lamp, so we brought the dog crate into the furnace room.  I thought it would be warm and quiet but less stressful for her there...no Abbey or Kaysha to scare her.  On the left, you can see Brother "helping" me out.  Always the curious kitty.  I had Missy in the cat carrier until I was ready to move her.


     Once in the crate she settled in and continued sleeping off the drugs from anesthesia.  Notice her shaved belly.  I checked on her several times before I went to bed and she appeared content and comfy and was not messing with her incision.

      Saturday was a long but fun and productive day at Marj's.  For our class this week we each had a horse.  I took Amiga.  The trailer unloading has improved, but still needs quite a bit of work.  Amiga was really relaxed during much of the session on the ground. She did well with everything except yielding her shoulders.  She tends to block with her shoulder instead of turning by steping across or over with her front feet.  We all rode at the end and Amiga was great at a walk.  Keeping a slow smooth gait was a different story. I still need to work (a lot) with my leg cues and be softer with the bit.  The following are pictures of all of us working our horses.

     Here is a video I took.  You can hear Courtney and I talking .

 
     Towards the end of our riding,  Joe came in to talk with Richard and see what we were up to.  Once all of the horses cleared out, Courtney came in to walk Zorro and then put a saddle on him....the first time since he pulled his suspensory ligaments back in August.  He was so funny, trying to shake the saddle off.  After walking him with the saddle and letting him get used to that, Courtney got in the saddle and I led Zorro around for 5 min.  He was so well behaved.







   






















      Sunday we had fresh chicken eggs for breakfast.  I worked the nursery, went to second service, and then to school.  When I got home, Joe was in the midst of butchering the two roosters we hatched last summer.

 







     I helped with the clean up, and noticed all the chickens were quite upset.  Joe had hung the roosters from the clothes line to let them bleed out so the snow beneath was a mess.  I poured water on top of that to try to dilute it.  Well, we ended up having fresh rooster for dinner.  I tried to cook the bird slow, boiling it in water, but my stove top can't be turned low enough.  I thought it tasted a bit gamey and was kind of chewy, but it might have been my imagination.  This time I only counted 7 chickens when shutting the coop for the night.  I finally found the one lost one behind the broken barn door that is leaning against the south wall inside the barn. She was all the way back against the corner.  I sent Bro in to scare her out, but he just sniffed her and came back out.  Since I couldn't easily get her, I decided to leave her there for the night.  She'd had enough trauma for today.
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Baby It's Cold Outside

     I have placed random pictures throughout this post to break up the text because I don't really have much photographed of what went on this week.

     Wednesday 1/12 was a very long day at school....almost 14 hours....I left home at 6am with a slow drive due to the blowing and drifting that had occurred over night. It was bitter cold out. Coming home at 8:15pm, I got stuck in the drive twice, and it took me about 5 minutes to get up it.  Andy came and plowed it 15 minutes later.  I had stayed at school and work until the Freshman Orientation program I was helping at from 6:00 to 8:00pm.  At the start of the program I was helping direct all the incoming people to their
                                                     seats. The place was packed, noisy,
and people were still trying to get in.  But then, when the choir started singing the national anthem, everyone stopped moving and it got dead quiet.  It brought goose bumps to my skin, especially with the thought of Daniel leaving for Afghanistan in May. I was both amazed and thankful of the respect everybody showed to our flag, country, soldiers and student choir.

     Thursday Britney and I carpooled to school for the first time in awhile. Because her test grading job is over, she is now back to part time like I am. Once home, I could not keep my eyes open while trying to do school work.  I took a 70 min nap and woke up feeling worse, and feared I might be getting sick.  Dan had the flu yesterday. I just couldn't get warm.  It doesn't help that it barely got into the teens and there had been a sub zero wind chill outside.  I was quick about chores which I did early, took a long hot shower, had Joe's home made chicken soup for supper and sat with hot tea at my computer. I did not last too much later than 9pm.

Brother out hunting....the snow doesn't slow him down much.

     Friday it was a little warmer, so later in the afternoon, even though I still felt drained, I took Amiga and my new saddle over to Marj's.  Courtney walked Zorro while I messed around with Amiga and the new saddle.  I wasn't sure about the saddle.  It fit okay, but sat a little high on her back.  I liked the looks of it but it felt too wide while sitting in it.  Somehow with Courtney and Marj there, and our three horses, my fatigue drained away and we three had an enjoyable time taking turns riding Amiga and Arboleda.

Amiga and Sir Loin....
and Brother to see what I am doing.








     Because it had gotten so late and cold outside Friday evening, Marj offered to keep Amiga over night.  We put her in the stall next to Zorro, so the two could have a slumber party.

     Courtney and I were back at Marj's by 9:45 Saturday morning. She had a horse trainer from Champagne come and speak to our class.  Natural horsemanship is rising in popularity and there is more and more information available on riding in lightness.  The speaker was a physical therapist (for humans) by trade so did a fantastic job explaining about the horse and its movement. He helped us see what is meant by "a working frame" and how suppling and strengthening the horse's entire body reduces tension and stiffness and enables the horse to more easily maintain balance.  This leads to relaxation which allows the horse to stretch and become more flexible in his joints and muscles while moving more efficiently and gait better because collection can be achieved.

The book we have been studying, "Lessons In Lightness" is aimed at teaching us the "art of developing the horse through an understanding of the complexities of how the horse thinks and moves, so the horse responds rather than reacts".  An intense and sensitive bond between horse and rider is the goal.  I am excited about implementing these philosophies to my training methods.  Actually, I am the one in the most need of training.

                                                             Sunday, Britney helped me take
down all of the Christmas decorations.  Joe dismantled the tree for us.  I spent much of the day packing everything up.  Un-decorating is the worst job ever, depressing....no joy and no anticipation of the holiday to come, it is all over.  I went to Marj's after chores and walked Zorro for Courtney.  He did very well.  Marj showed me how to sidestep him which is good for his type of injury and also gets him thinking.

     Monday, Presidents Day, No School....the record low for this day in history (-18°F) was recorded last year.  We were at a balmy 34 degrees most of the day. The wind picked up and it misted/sleeted in the afternoon. I finished packing up Christmas, got out all the old nick nacks, dusted them and the furniture, and returned the house to pre-holiday decorated. I also got a nice chunk of school work done.  At chore time Joe and I spent 15 min.
trying to eradicate an opossum from

the chicken coop. It was hiding under the roosting perches.  The chickens did not even want to go into the coop for the night.  In the photo below, Joe is going into the coop with a bucket to catch the intruder.  It was a cute young-in so I wanted to catch and release it. You can see how big the two "baby roosters" have gotten.

Joe came back out to get a hoe to help scoop the unwilling creature into the bucket.  He left the door to the garden shed open and the chickens quickly noted this and started making their way to this shelter for the evening.
















The opossum sure put up a fight.  I kept hoping it would "play dead", but that was not the case.  It wasn't aggressive, but it kept trying to run and hide.  We did finally catch the little bugger.  Later when we drove to Bible study, we took the country route, and found a nice wooded, fairly remote location in which to turn him loose.

     Tuesday it rained off and on throughout the day.... while the teacher meetings for the institute day drug on and on.  I really fought sleepiness. 
I didn't get home until late in the                   Missy with Sir Loin           

afternoon, made cream of wheat, had a cup of hot tea, and still ended up taking a nap. What else does one do on a cold, damp, gloomy, winter day?  

     Wednesday I had to slip out of my last class very early to go with Joe and Britney to Chicago for her annual neurological evaluation. Cathy, the teacher who is in the same classroom as I, the other 5 periods, was kind enough to step in and cover for me. 

We have been taking Britney to Children's Memorial Hospital and she has been under the care of Dr. Goldman for 11+ years.  She has also been seeing Dr. Tomita.  Both of them and their staff have been wonderful. 

Stewart Goldman, MD- Medical director, Neuro-oncology, Gus Foundation Chair of Neuro-oncology; Associate professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Our two Drs. along with nurses and interns, looked at Britney's MRI scans and report, and went through the neurological testing and checking of her eyes, reflexes, strength etc. and said everything looks great.  The brain tumor is stable and she should be good to go to the mission field in Guatemala.  They did want her to have part of her shunt in her neck region x-rayed to be sure it will hold up for 2 years.  If it looks like it might "spring a leak" or get clogged ....they will want to replace it before she goes.  Evidently, there tends to be greater scaring and calcification in the neck area because of all the movement the tube must endure. 

Amiga heading back to barn following Kaysha + Bro.
      Britney drove me to school Thursday as it snowed. We only got about two inches, but it was enough to slow down traffic and make me nervous.  The temperatures had started dropping in the wee hours of the morning and continued all day long.  The chickens were back in the coop when we got home form school....just too cold and/or snowy for them. After I fed Amiga and closed her into the barn for the night I brushed her and then picked ice out of her hooves for the umpteenth millionth time this winter.  I think she likes getting the cold clods of frozen snow out because she is really picking and holding her feet up nicely for me. I have to really work to get the chunks out most times.

                                      Brother and Missy have become good friends.
     Friday morning we hit our weekly low of -4 degrees (with -17 windchill)  As would be expected, I was hoping for a day off school because of the cold...but that was not to happen.  It was just as well, because I had a computer lab reserved for my 3 classes, and to reschedule it for next week would have been nearly impossible.  When we got home, I discovered that the cow had gotten through the fence again.  This time he went from the side pasture in to the back pasture.  He went through one of the stretch gates breaking one of the hook springs in the process.  He was probably caught in it for awhile, judging from the tracks in the snow, but it was just the ground wire so he probably wasn't getting shocked.

     Brother likes to come up on the deck, especially if it is sunny, and look in at us.... while Abbey likes to gaze out at him and the rest of the world.


     Recently, Missy has been getting bolder and following Brother further and further from the barn.  She has even come all the way up to the deck with Brother.  Here she is trying to get a better look at what brother is watching.... Abbey.

The barn cats watch for birds and Abbey watches them watch.

And now for one last picture Carol sent me off of  "I Can Has Cheezburger."

Slip, sliding away.....                                                And that's all folks....
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