Catch up attempt!

Hey, strangers. Bad blogger here...

Merlin says Hi and it's not his fault at all...

Pippin won't take the blame either...

He's fat & happy...

As is Merlin...they both became so fat & happy, I had to get a new harness this fall. Bad me...

Once things had settled down after FIL passing, house was cleaned out, made saleable, then sold. I found the minis had outgrown their original harness while vacationing in the pasture. I'd planned on buying a better one so did. Video is Merlin the boys & myself trying it out. It's rather long, towards the end Lincoln begins commenting to Grampa that Merlin keeps farting. Boys 🤣

The Grandbabies are growin as well, in a very different way. Lincoln turned the big 4 in September. He loves preschool, especially special days that allow pajamas...

Sweet Kennedy in Okinawa turned 2 on Halloween. Sure wish I could hug on her as I do the boys. Nearly daily pics and FaceTime help. Especially with the cousins loving each other. Cousin videos are the best.

Little Jefferson turned 2 just last month. Dintvtell him he's a baby. He won't hear it, as far as he's concerned anything Lincoln can do he can too. Gives Gramma lots more gray as he attempts to jump off stairs!!!

I'll try to keep up better, having the boys as much as I do doesn't give me much time. When I have tried, dear blogger has been less than cooperative grrrr. Even this post I'm fighting lots of blips for some reason. Please ignore any errors as going back to correct is proving to be quite a headache. 

Yes, I am back...

Hi there...

Herbert the humpback wanted to give you a wave hello. 

We've been back awhile but, between the trip and daughters thankfully prolonged visit prior to their move to Okinawa, just haven't/don't have time to blog at the moment. 

I'll leave you for now with another shot of "Herbert!"  This guy we saw so often up close & from my sons deck, we had to name him...

Franklins excited...

Franklin is very happy to be headed back home to Alaska....

Maybe not so much the suitcase part though!

Neighbor girls are checking on the barn kitties, so they'll get some cuddles in. Dogs are at the kennel, the Mini's are at a friends. I'd warned Meridith to step back as we unloaded as I knew Pippin would leap over the lowered ramp. Well, he didn't wait for it to be lowered to do so, he was up, over & out before hubs had a chance to drop it!  Cleared it like a pro, he's quite the athlete, maybe once Lincolns steady in the saddle they'll be doing some jumping lol. 

If the Mini's have never experienced goats, they sure will now. Withkidding season, she's got about 30 goats along with these guys...

Daddy Pig & George, they're destined for "freezer camp!"  There are 2 horses, a pony, guardian dog, a cow, three kids, this adorable wee fawn...

A neighbor had watched it for several days, never a Momma. My friend took it in, to week to stand, no suckling reflex, she'd had goat colostrum on hand & has been syringe feeding it several days with her daughter. It's now walking about & sucked her little girls finger while I was there a bottle was fetched & off he went.  So fingers crossed its going to be ok. 

Little to the left please!

Amazing how an itch can help establish friendly teamwork!

I hadn't witnessed mutual grooming since their introduction last fall. Shedding has changed all that, it's now something I see them doing frequently. I even had room on my camera to video 👏🏻

Ever wonder where the phrase "you scratch my itch, I'll scratch yours" came from?

I think I do!

We've gotten a grandparents pass for a nearby zoo, we got there at opening yesterday. Allowing Lincoln first dibs on which animal to ride...

Lincoln was all about the wolf as he thought it was Balto of Iditarod fame. Jefferson the tiger cub by default. Jeffersons first merry go round ride, each time his tiger went up or down, I'd hear his very quiet "WOW!"

Lesson #8...

Lesson #8 brought lots of fumbling on my part while harnessing. I was having brain farts to the extreme. I'm actually glad as all had been going so well, I may have been growing a little to confident. Have to always be alert to ovoid potential wrecks. For instance, it's a good idea to thread your driving lines thru the turrets on both sides, your false martingale needs to be attached to both the under cinch & over cinch, just two of my six snafus!  

Recognize this bum?

Got to drive Noey once again. I have a feeling I'll be driving him a while. Or at least till I've overcome my bumbling in handling the lines & whip at the same time!

While the rein aide did help, it turns out my whip at home is to heavy on the thumb for me. Once we found one light enough for my thumb to keep in place without causing some serious cramping it got much better. It has come in handy as Noey likes to cheat the corners.  Without the whip on hand I could navigate his cheat attempts well just giving & taking with my hands & anticipating when/where he'd try to cut the corner short. Adding the whip was more difficult for me & Noey could feel it, especially at the trot. The whip is used to gently speak to the horse. Basically if he's trying to cheat on a right turn, I simply "tickle" his right side gently. This tells him to keep left & stay on the wall till I actually ask him to make the turn. Visa versa the other direction. I'm actually happy that Noey isn't quite as "easy" as Fred had been. He's making me think & learn. Plus, I understand Haflingers, we were laughing that my answer to every question of "why is he doing this" was, "because he's a Haflinger!"  Not entirely the correct answer as we all know whatever was occurring was my fault. 

Noey's favorite thing to do is stand quietly...

Another student had gotten a new harness which needed adjustments. Noey was perfectly happy to stand relaxing while they worked on it.

And of course I've been busy with all our boys, two & for leggers...

Chilling & picking dandelions ❤️