Pretty In Pink

My lovely little filly Penny is getting halter and handling lessons.

She is a natural. She adores attention, doesn't seem to mind anything I do with her, and learns really quickly.

And she's gorgeous. I love her curly tail.

Penny seems to be enjoying our short sessions as much as I am. What a darling baby horse. I'm very impressed with her sense of self, her calmness, and her loving nature. I think I'll learn a lot from this little girl.

De-Fencing

My neighbor has a couple fields that need mowing, and I have some horses that would love the job.  This seemed like such a good combination we immediately made a plan to get the horses to the field.

There are some improvements to be made before the plan is put into action. An old dilapidated cross-fence needs removing, and the perimeter hot wire needs to be checked and tested.

A friend came over to help, and we got the center fence removed. The post holes still need to be filled, but the heavy lifting is done! I spend a lot of time putting fences up or fixing existing fences; it was quite refreshing taking one down.

While checking out the hot wire, I couldn't help but notice the lovely grasses and flowers in the field. I'm sure my horses will like these as much as I do. Well, perhaps for different reasons.

And just outside the pasture is a stand of native iris. And a bee!

I love these little iris, they brighten up the landscape.

Doe and Fawn

Picture This!

Camera? You want pictures? Got grain?

What's That?

My inside/back yard dogs made a break for the outside world this morning, in a canine celebration of summer. As a reward for letting me snag them, I put them in the "out front" yard for awhile.

They had a great time exploring this new space, and before long asked to come back into the cool house. 

Zander was in this yard yesterday (and now), and the alpaca ignore him. But new dogs! Worthy of alert behavior.

Finally!

Since my Alpaca arrived I've been trying to get them moved up by the house - the top of the hill rather than the bottom - and into a pen where I can work with them.

They came up the hill a couple weeks ago, and today I finally got them into the nice grassy pen.

You'd think a lush, grassy area would be enticing, but not to Alpaca. Although they are plenty happy to eat that grass now that they are on it.

Tired of the Rain

Even the geese seem to have had enough wetness

The chickens have no question about it.

But the goat is so disgusted with the turn in the weather she decided to get into the van to eat. You know that if I wanted her there she'd never load.

Brief Interlude

Zander and Veryl

Hugs and adoration of his new best friend

Who bought him a new squeaky toy!

That he is learning how to make squeak. It's flat, different from his red bears.

But oh so much fun.

Geese!

Heading down the road, looking for trouble.

Finding it. Three sheep tried to interfere with goose food. They were moved on.

Including the ram. No one messes with goose food.

Painting With Clouds

Our weather is continuing to be unseasonably chilly with lots of clouds. This morning the clouds were exceptionally beautiful. The sky is a huge canvas.

Shedding Season

Zander is losing the last of his puppy fur by the handful. He looks a bit moth-eaten these days!

Blue Skies

Blue sky and a white fluffy cloud. It's such a rarity this year I can't help taking pictures.

Fresh Food

An empty graveled lot becomes an impromptu flea market on weekends and some week days. Included is this stand of Eastern Washington fruits and vegetables. Today I bought asparagus, cucumber and apples. It's the best source of fresh food for about 30 miles.

Storing Hay

Second trailer load of hay. It's great having hay stored on the property, even if tasks like covering it with tarps get a bit challenging.  Another picture taken late in the day, so a bit fuzzy, but it does convey the awesome size of the tasks at hand.

Mighty Mountains

This is the view driving west towards Shelton on SR101 on a sunny day.

I apologize for the picture quality; these were taken from in the car going 60 mph (I wasn't driving :) ). The Olympic Mountain range is stunningly beautify, and this is one of the best views of them I've seen.

Surveying His Domain

He may be old, his hips may be bad, but he's still in charge of this property, and still protects it.

Sunny Day Sunset

Look who came to visit!

Nice to see the mountains again.

The plants look so beautiful in the sunlight.

Clouds of Promise

After a day of intermittent torrential rains that left standing water everywhere, the skies began to clear right about at sunset. These beautiful cloud formations seem to promise better weather for the morrow.