Horse Update...

I got "Blue" back from his 30 days of training a couple weeks ago and he did great. The trainer said he was like a 20yr old trail horse. He is really laid back and calm. Im excited to start working with him myself. He was also a stallion when we got him...he has recently been gelded so I have given him some time off to heal. We are putting up a small arena area and I will start working him as soon as that is done...hopefully this weekend!!

This isnt a good pic becaue I took it with my phone one morning when I was feeding.

This is our newest member "rain".

She is going to be Eric's horse but shes turning out to be more spunky than we had counted on.

She is 14 and gaited like a Tennessee Walker.

We were able to trade a couple trees for her.

The first time I got on her she reared a few times and tried bucking!!

She is just the kind of horse that will test you to see if you really know what your doing...shes trying to call our bluff.

The second time I rode her she was much better but she definately has more "attitude" than Blue!

We also have recently sold Dazzle which was Taylor's horse.

She is still intimidated by his size so we are going to get her a pony instead to start out on.

She is pretty excited about it and I will get a pic of her and the new pony as soon as we find the right one!

Mud Fun!

This is actually what my kids call fun!

I had no idea they were playing in the mud until they showed up at the back door like this...

It was really funny until they found out they were going to be rinsed off with the hose before coming in!

The water was a little too cold they thought...

I should of got a pic of that....there werent so many smiles during that part!!

New Baby Pics!

Well, it has been a long time since I have updated this blog!!

Sorry!!

Now I have TONS to get on here...it might take awhile...

here are some new pics of the babies...they are growing fast and getting extremely cute!

They are so friendly that I had to turn this bucket upside down just to get them away from me so I could take their picture!!

Now this bucket by the window has become a favorite toy...they jump in and out of the playhouse all day!

I could not get a pic of "ponte" the black and white one cause he would not leave me alone...I guess I was still more interesting than the bucket:)

We have also named the red/white one "copper"...the two of them are so friendly that it is close to annoying!

Just a couple close ups of these guys markings on their heads.

We sure are having fun having them around.

Great entertainment!

We now have 3 more girls that are bred to be due in October...

Looking forward to more babies!!

We Have Baby Goats!!!

Well, it finally happened...our long awaited baby goats have arrived!! I do have these out of order though. We ended up with two sets of twin boys (imagine that:)...

The first pictures are of the two born saturday the 26th and the next pics are the two born thursday the 24th... This little guy is just adorable...nicely marked! These two were the saturday deliveries and this was really cool because we were there to witness it!! Taylor actually helped me and thought it was pretty cool. She is the one responsible for these photos because I was a little busy and my hand were just a little messy!!:)

The black and white one was the first one born and this next pictue was the second one...who had a little trouble making his way into the world. About 15 minutes after the first one was born I kind of figured we were only getting one this time. We were busy taking care of the first one when I noticed another "sac" which I kind of figured was the afterbirth, but when I got to looking I noticed there was a foot in the sac! Another minute or two later the sac broke and there was just the one hoof coming out...not a good sign. You should see two hooves and a nose. I knew I was going to have to check and see if this was a back foot (I've been reading up on complicatons!!) So I tried to check but still wasnt sure what I was feeling. I got my vet on the phone and he talked me through it for the next 10 minutes or so. I finally was able to feel the head because I actually had stuck my finger in his mouth and could feel teeth! That was a relief because I REALLY did not want to have to "turn him around"!! Next I found the other front leg and kind of helped it along and within seconds he was out!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that Eric had the guy he works with and his wife along with a customer and his family out to the house to check out some plants and they of course wanted to check out the new babies we had just had on thursday. So while I am showing them the babies from our first goat I was telling them that I thought the other girl would probably have hers before the day was over. A few minutes later she laid down and started pushing! So, through this whole process above...I had an audience! They thought it was really neat that they had timed their visit just perfect!

Here is a pic of the second one after he was all dry...he is probably about 5-6 hours old here. He is marked pretty close to momma and the other one that's black/white is just like daddy!
Is he just the cutest thing!! I got these photos out of order also!!! Not doing so great with this post! This is the set born first and in this picture of course they are a little older...but I think only about 1 day or less!!

This one has a story to go with it too...I had checked on Zinnie (momma) that morning when I fed and I thought maybe she was getting close, but with first timers (just like humans) it can take a little longer. This was a thursday which is my bible study morning. I decided to go ahead and go but then skip going to lunch with everyone so I could come back and check on her. I left home at 1015 and checked on her again before I left...her and Dahlia were both laying in their shed so I didnt think anything would happen for a couple hours at least. This particular day Eric had his two mexican guys working at the house (which they normally dont) and he had asked them to go over to the goat area and move one of the houses so we could get ready for the babies to arrive. Eric called me a little after 11 during bible study and says the mexicans called him and said their are baby goats!! I kind of freaked out because I really wanted to be there! I raced home to find these two walking around and already dried off!! Zinnie sure does work fast...we will definately remember that next time!!:)

Hope you enjoyed our new baby photos! We are all pretty excited about them. We will wean them at 3 months old and then they will find new homes. Except maybe the black/white one...Taylor is getting attached!!

New Horse....

Well, I got a new horse!!

This is "Blue"...he is a registered paint quarter horse.

He is turning 4 in June and we will be sending him to the trainer on saturday for 30 days....I cant wait to get him back and start riding him.

Dazzle and him seem to get along great...Dazzle is enjoying having another buddy to hang out with.

Plants, Plants, Plants!!!

Things have been extremely busy around here with plants!

Our flower orders have all arrived...

(I didnt think the shipments would ever stop coming!!)

We probably have around 800 flats in the greenhouse.

The picture above is a "mini greenhouse" that Eric put together for the marigold seeds.

This way we can put heat just to them if we need to and keep them a little warmer than everything else.

This weekend we are going to be below freezing...crazy Missouri weather!!

I tried to get a good pic of all the flats, but I think I need a wider angle!

This gives you a pretty good idea though.

I will take another pic when they all start blooming!

This is what the field is looking like at the moment...pretty full!

We have had 2 semi load shipments in the last couple weeks.

In the distance you can see all the flowering trees...

Here is a fun picture of the monkeys! They love to play around in the plants...

Lately they have been playing "spiderwick"....

In case you are wondering....no, Brody does not wear glasses!

He has been wearing some with no lenses just for fun!

Thanks for checking on us and check back often.

We will have baby goats and chickens within weeks!!

We are so excited!

FLOOD WATERS!!

This was a pretty cool site to see....

As most of you know, the Lake of the Ozarks

has had an incredible amount of rain!!

I took the kids down to Bagnell Dam to check out the flood gates that were open...I think all but two.

I was trying to explain it to them the whole way there,

but they didnt really get it till we got there.

It was pretty cool standing there with the sound of the water and all the birds circling...there was probably 100 or more!!

Hope you liked the pics!!