Such a pretty time of year!

The Indian Paintbrushes are in bloom and the grass is so green and lush. We have had so much rain this month, but now the sun is shining!!!

It makes for nice photos!!!

I have a million like this one...........

Our path.....

My awesome agility yard!! It was the riding ring, but my boarders don't ride and I would rather head out on the trails, so we let the grass grow. It was built to drain well, so even with all the rain it is solid and awesome!!!

Last weekend we headed to Falmouth do rent an agility ring with a friend to do some training on new dogwalks and such. She lives hear a part of the Presumpscot river and it was SO full, but the dogs found places to go in and cool off. Most of those plants shouldn't be in the water!!!!

Roscoe doesn't "do" water............

I thought this was a funny photo. Talk about a disconnect with the dogs! LOL!!!

Wow, amazing photos, I want a camera like THIS!

These were taken by a photographer for the Bangor Daily news. Article is here - http://bangordailynews.com/2012/06/10/news/hancock/new-draft-horse-team-arrives-as-darthia-farm-rebuilds-from-devastating-fire/

He went into the pig pen!!!

His image is farther down. You'll see.

First I have to admit I am fascinated by the rye. It is being grown to make straw to cover the strawberries. Why are strawberries called straw-berries? Anyone know?



 I just find the rye SO pretty and soothing to look at. It is repetitive. It makes an image of endless repetition. Why is that soothing? Constant. Smooth. Uninterrupted. Soothing. I think it is beautiful to look at.

The dogs look so tiny and protected. The world at the bottom of the rye is a whole different world. Not repetitive and constant, but alive with bugs and rodents and stuff to eat.

 The rain beat it down nearly flat. And I thought it would never stand tall again and that might have ruined it as how would they bale it then? But, some sun and a few days of gentle breeze and it is back up to reaching the sky!!!!

 

The Indian paint brushes are blooming and SO pretty!!!!

And, here he is!! Pig pen raider!!! See, it was project graduation on Sunday. They had fortune cookies for the graduates. Apparently they had a lot of extras, so the pigs and goats got fortune cookie left overs. They had their FILL, I guess, and some were left in the pens uneaten. I guess you can only eat so many fortune cookies before they get boring. On our walk yesterday we lost Spur. No, he was IN the goat pen eating fortune cookies. This morning we didn't lose Roscoe, I saw him do it!!!! He scooted under the gate into the BIG pig's pen!! OMFG, I was FREAKING out. Those two pigs could kill him in one bite!!!! Plus, I didn't want to have to go in there to rescue him, but as I am FREAKING out and screaming for him to get out, he panics and can't find the hole he snuck under!!!! I HAD to go in and get him!!!! I have NO idea why the pigs stayed sleeping on the other side of the pen, but thank goodness they did. I KNOW pigs can bite!!!! And these are very happy and active pigs. When we visit them and toss them Charlee Bears and bug eaten asparagus stalks they get all excited and RACE around their pens. They are FAST!!!!! Roscoe lives to see another day, but from now on he will be leashed when we go by the pig pen. I guess, I have to admit that a 9lb MinPin isn't really a good farm dog. There is simply too much a tiny dog can get into on a farm. When my vet asks me what my dogs eat. I just say a "variety". I didn't think that included fortune cookies, but now it does. :O Fortune cookies stolen from the pig pen!!!

Lots of videos again!

Class homework on sequence 5, plus an opening that was a buggar for us at class, but he does fine at home. - More threadle work. This is very hard for Spur, jumping into me. We are working on it often, just a few reps before his walks. - Yesterday we went to a new place to train. Did some DW work and he is taking out a hit and is sometimes high. Not sure about jackpotting those or not? He used to take out a hit and miss, so he is figuring out that new striding and getting it, but they are high with little hind leg separation. This was a good set up because it was slightly down hill, which is what caused his last miss at a trial. I sent this to Silvia yesterday. Plus, sequence 6, which he started out kind of slow and worried, then ends up doing pretty well!!!! -

My dad's horses stayed the night

How many people can say that had a couple horses over for the night? :D They arrived Thursday at 4:00 having made the trick from Louisville KY. Many stops along the way as there were others they picked up and dropped off. Still an adorable donkey in the trailer to deliver. I didn't get a photo of him/her, but saw the ears through the trailer window. CUTE!!! I shut mine up in the barn and let Andy and Archie have the dry lot for the evening. They ran and bucked and rolled the travel cooties off. Of course, I can't seem to get my video to work for the GOOD shows, but I did manage a kiss. Very sweet, they obviously are very attached. Andy is the lighter and bigger one and more confident. Archie is smaller and definitely looks to Andy for support. Beautiful animals! Dad won't roach their forelocks like that, he will certainly let them grow thick and pretty. We then swapped and put these two in the barn for the night and my three stayed out. I was glad it was a nice evening and not one with CRAZY INSANE thunderstorms like LAST night. :O Holy SMOKES, we even heard some electrical explosion about 11:30 last night. Rich even got up and went out the the barn to make sure it wasn't our electric fence. Everything was working fine, but somewhere, someone had an electrical issue. It wasn't lightening at the time, the storm had passed, so it was a strange event. Woke us both up out and we laid in bed saying to each other........"What was THAT???". Our power was still on, so it was odd, but maybe another neighborhood had a transformer burst. Who knows, but I was glad those storms didn't come through while we had our visitors.

7 inches of rain, seriously!

That's just not funny!!! I am tired of walking in muck boots and rubbing down dogs. Although, I think the dogs are thoroughly enjoying their rubdown. Colby is clearly telling me here that she wants to go first........... Roscoe stayed home. He saw the vet today and we are going to try a 10 day course of Metacam, an anti-inflammatory. She thinks it is his shoulder, either muscle or ligament of some sort. She doesn't think it is his neck, which is good. He is SORE, poor guy. I hope it helps, he is not a happy camper.


The rain has beaten down the plants. My chives were in full bloom and looking really pretty. The rye at the farm was over my head and looking ready for harvesting and baling. It is flattened right now. I'd show you a photo but I didn't bring my camera because it was STILL raining. It has rained for three days and three nights, STRAIGHT!!!


Colby's mouth is feeling much better. She lost three upper incisors and five lowers. There are absorbable sutures. After 10 days I can start brushing her nice clean teeth. I intend to do that EVERY day, so she doesn't have to go through this again.

Rain, rain go away!!

Last weekend I had it pretty much off. Just one kitty visit to do, so I spend my time gardening and planting my flowers. I set up our "bistro" and we enjoyed the sun and bright flowers. 

 

I am afraid those flowers don't look like that today. I think we have had about 7 inches of rain in the last 24 hours and no sign of it letting up.???? It is just SO annoying. 

But among the dreary conditions I found this!!! -

 

I have wanted a yellow/white iris for a while and Lisa gave this to me last year. I had no idea if it survived! You can see it just about the water soaked, fallen over orange poppies.

 

I also found a green caterpillar eating my DELPHINIUM heads!!! Damn it to hell!! I picked it off and stomped it to DEATH. Damn it!! I LOVE my delphiniums!!