Dream Valley Ranch

weeeeeeee!

Look everyone! It's a liberated baby wiiiiiild mustang!!

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Silly Bunny

While my sleep challenges continue, at least the little Bunny makes up for keeping me awake by making me laugh. We bumped up his prednisone a few days ago and he is much more comfortable and much more silly. Last night, at the brilliantly logical time of 3.30 am, he went on a little Energizer Bunny Adventure: he circled the living room, Mom in tow spotting him of course, for 25 minutes straight. It's hard not to laugh when he has the company of his purple octopus :) Tonight he attacked a blue stuffed puppy along his travels and kept it tightly clenched in his powerful jaws for most of his circling adventure...you can never be too careful with these blue stuffed puppies...they are verrrry squirrely and might try to run away if you aren't clenching them just right ;) When he then fell asleep in my lap, blue puppy still lovingly clenched in his jaws, my heart simply melted with love for my little Bunny boy. Every day we have with him is a gift right now. I hold onto that and appreciate every silly moment as much as I can. I adore my little boy.

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Please help Rolling Dog Ranch win 20k!

Hi everyone,

Most of you know how much I love The Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary...they provide a wonderful home for over 70 disabled dogs, cats, and even horses. They taking in blind, deaf, wobbly animals and more...it's one of the most amazing sanctuaries out there. Can you imagine what their operating costs are with that many animals in need? It boggles the mind...

They are part of The Animal Rescue Site/Petfinder.com Shelter Challenge-the winner receives $20,000.

They are in first place so far and in the final week of the contest and could use your vote every day!

If you would like to help them win this contest, please visit this link and vote each day: simply enter "Rolling Dog Ranch" and MT for Montana and it will bring up their listing so you can cast your vote. 

And, if you realllly want to help them win: please post an announcement and a link on your blog or send it to friends and family and ask them to vote, too.

The contest ends on December 20th...what a great and free way to help support an incredible sanctuary!

Happy voting and thank you all for taking a minute to help support a very special sanctuary :)

 

Wombat anyone?

Count Basie, aka The Woodle, sends Season's Greetings to all (but a special one to his striped girlfriend Suzy) :)

p.s. to all of those Baby Dragon fans: the little winged one is on a holding pattern because of the icy footing...so for now she spends a few hours each day crow hopping and bucking and even rearing in her Auntie Star's stall pretending she's a wiiiiiiiild mustang! Auntie Star pretends to hate her from the other side of the stall door but when she thinks I'm not looking I see Star and her Mini Me snuggling-hehehe.

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Free the baby dragon!!

Little Snapdragon's mandatory 6 week 10' x 10' stall rest recovery after her colic surgery officially ended last Sunday. However, the poor little winged one (all dragons have wings you see) had to wait an extra week for her freedom because of the insanely. cold, windy, and icy weather. it's been too icy in any of the runs to risk letting her romp. In the meantime I have been moving her into Star's big 12' x 16' stall during the day time. It is so funny to watch her crow hop, buck, and rear like a little goofball. But what I love most is when she and Star stand side by side, their heads almost touching, and taking a nap. Mama Chloe has wanted nothing to do with little Snappie since her return so it makes me happy to see the little one having some snuggle time with her Auntie :)



Today is Snappie Liberation Day! Well..into a 15' x 36' run anuway. She will be limited to that size until early February when she will finally get to once again run like the wild baby mustang she loves to be :)



This sweet little girl has truly been an angel through all of her recovery...she never ceases to amaze me!



I'll try to get some good pictures this afternoon of her big adventure :) She is just painfully cute, wouldn't you all agree?

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When Bunnies and Guppies Attack

As many of you know, it's been a long couple of months around here in terms of stressful events. However, I have not really focused much on one particular change that has occurred over the past six weeks: the lack of sleep. Some of it just comes with the territory of having 12 critters-the odds are certainly not in our favor in terms of deep, scrumptious, restful sleep cycles every night. But most of the lack of sleep can be directly attributed to one adorable Bunny Monster.

"who me? i have NO idea what you're talking about mom...what a drama queen you are!"

I guess it's a fairly common attribute of older doggies to become eratic in their sleep cycles and sometimes become night time pacers. In our little boy's case, I think it's a combination of senioritis, side effects from his medications, and sometimes just a bit of discomfort because of his spinal issues-it's tough to find a comfy position despite the plethora of different types of doggie beds. He has his choice of practically every type of firm or soft surface imaginable but when you've got radiating pain down your leg from lumbosacral disease that doesn't always help.

Last month we decided that heading upstairs to bed had become too difficult for the little Bunsicles so I elected to sleep downstairs with him and his Guppies. Mr. smrp sleeps upstairs with the shepherds during the week since going without sleep is harder for him as he has to go to a real job every day-having functioning brain cells is a pretty critical component of his job. On the weekends, though, he joins us downstairs and we tag team Bunny babysitting duties.

So what does that innocent pup do each night you might ask? Well...I think we kind of dug our own grave by nicknaming him The Bunny because he has decided to embrace it for all he is worth and he has become The ENERGIZER Bunny. He keeps going, and going, and going...I think he might have radioactive batteries!

But that alone wouldn't be so bad if he could actually stay upright on his own...we would happily let him wander about in a Bunny Proofed room while we slept if we could. But he's reached a point where he generally needs someone to spot him so that he doesn't fall sideways or backwards. And-he has lost all fecal and urinary continence so we need to make sure his bunny peeper is appropriately tucked into his diaper and that any accidental bunny poops are scooped and cleaned up before he accidentally steps on them and spreads the love :) The lucky part is that he isn't one of those dogs who is embarrassed by having such little accidents...I'd be so sad if he was stressed out about it. Instead, he just does his thing and OFF he goes on his energizer bunny adventures. It's good to be The Bunny :)

So...right now I generally get somewhere between 2-4 hours of interrupted sleep per night. But about once or twice a week I get a solid 6 hours of delicious sleep. Those nights are simply marvelous! This week I was blessed and had THREE nights in A ROW of 6-hour-sleep-episodes! The energy I felt was tremendous...I'm already a pretty spunky and energetic person-I can only imagine that I'd be SUPERsmrp if I actually got 7 hours/night :D

Unfortunately last night was a rough one. The Radioactive Energizer Bunny was at his finest and I may have eeked out 1-2 hours of sleep altogether through the night. I am exhausted. Thank goodness for mr. smrp always finding a way to spend an extra hour or two at home on those really bad days-it makes all the difference in the world. And thank goodness for the delicious vanilla soy latte he whips up for me with a smile :)

But the real secret ingredient for recovering from a difficult night is the absolute silliness of my crew-this morning it was the little tiny Guppie who seemed to know that I needed a little extra snuggling. I received an absolutely ridiculous Guppie Attack this morning that did more for me than even that yummy latte :)

Hope you all get a giggle out of the silly baby Guppie like I did :)

look at those adorable eyelashes :) 

 

uh oh...eye contact!

 

here she comes!!

 

she's got that crazy chicken eye look going!

 
bonk!

oops! sorry mom! (nervous guppie lips...)

 
I think I'll go lie down with my Bunny now. (she's sucha  TINY guppie!) 

It's like being in the bahamas!

Well-other than the ice and snow, no ocean, no pool, and that our temps are a good 40 degrees less than any self respecting island paradise would boast-but otherwise today felt JUST like being down near the equator to us. Especially when compared to the negative teens of a few days ago and an upcoming forecast of single digit temperatures-and that's for the daytime high temp! Yes....We are fully enjoying and embracing this blistering heat. Heck-maybe I'll do my afternoon hike in flip flops ;)

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Heated Pony Condos, late night mustang games, and other silliness

The weather forecast called for a single digit night. Woops. We awoke to negative 15.8 degrees F. Wow. 

Last week I decided it was time to give The Baby Mustang her very own heated condo here in Siberia. Most folks who are interested in more holistic horse care are not supportive of having heated stalls and I tend to agree. The more natural of a setting we can offer our horses the better.

However, Snappie is in a different situation since her colic surgery so I had to change my strategy in order to make sure she can remain comfortable here in Siberia ;) Where the rest of the herd members each have a huge run attached to their cozy stalls, which allows them to move around and stay warm during cold periods, little Snappie is still on stall rest so she can't move around much to stay warm. We knew we had to change something after she had a tiny colic type session a few weeks ago (which we think was caused because she was cold and did not drink enough of her heated water). A blanket could help but she has an abdominal incision so we chose not to go that route at this point.

Now...I'm well aware at how horrified our little Snappie was at first: "Oh. My. Goodness! MOOOOOM! I'm a WIIIIIILD MUSTANG! I don't need a HEATER! How EMBARRASSING!" I'm sure she was afraid that all of the other mustangs wouldn't let her play in their mustang games :D But...as indignant as she seemed I know the truth thanks to my little Dragon Cam :) Here she is snuggled like a bug directly under her heater :) Before the heater she never slept in this spot...hehehe...she's a spoiled Baby Princess Dragon with her very own little heated condo :)

Another benefit of this new infrared heater is that when I close the Flowers in on really chilly nights, tucked into their stalls fluffed up with shavings, heated water buckets, and extra hay, the barn is a lot warmer because of all that body heat in combination with the new heater. Last night, for example, the interior of the barn was 25 degrees warmer than outside the barn! A cozy 10 degrees ABOVE zero rather than 15 below :) Definitely made me feel better knowing the girls were a little warmer than they would be otherwise.

In other fun Siberian News-there is a silly game I am starting to play at night whenever I close the girls into the barn. I close their exterior dutch stall doors one by one right after I've fed everyone in their stall feeders. Well, Chloe-who likes to remind me that she is a wiiiiiild mustang whenever she can- always hears me walking up to her stall along the gravel. She invariably acts all skittish and goofy and bolts out the door so that she won't be TRAPPED. Last night, as I stood behind the dutch doors, hiding so that she'd feel safe enough to walk back into her stall, and thinking that it was 11PM with minus 11 degree temps I couldn't help but wonder what series of events had led me to this point in my life. Playing Hide and Go Seek with a wiiiiiild mustang late at night in frigid temperatures :D Oh well...it made me laugh and I guess that's a good reward in and of itself :)

Other funny side effects of such cold weather is that our little fragile Bunny can't always tolerate the temperatures to make it all the way out to the yard to do his business. He does wear a 7th Generation diaper to help keep him and our house clean, but he's also gone back to his urban thug roots and leaves his mark on our deck: I call it GraPEEti :D

And here he is all cozy and snuggled and empty afterward :)

And a few pics of the rest of the crew :)

 
 
I guess I should stop procrastinating and get out there and fling frozen pony poo :) Have a cozy day everyone!

xoxo 

I love Rolling Dog Ranch

The Rolling Dog Ranch is an animal sanctuary in Montana dedicated to caring for disabled dogs, cats, and horses. This video is such a wonderful tribute to two people (and all of the critters they have saved and loved) who have created a paradise on earth for so many "unwanted" animals.

If you are thinking of a special gift for an animal lover this Christmas, please consider a donation to Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary on their behalf :) It's my favorite present ever!

Way to go Steve and Alayne...you guys are a true inspiration!

ASPCA Video "Rolling Dog Ranch" from V K on Vimeo.

Grateful

Today I am grateful for so many things. To keep it simple: we are incredibly thankful for the wonderful family and friends and critters in our lives.

We are so lucky to have families who are unconditional with their love and support. My immediate family has been through a tremendously scary and difficult challenge this past month...I am humbled by what we've all been through and I am more proud of my Mom than I could ever describe with words. And my love for mr. smrp has grown, as if that was even possible, because of all he did to make sure I could be there for my Mom when it counted.

And friendships...how could any of us make it through our day to day lives without the kindness and generosity of our friends? We thank every one of you for all you bring to our worlds every single day. My words feel so unworthy but hopefully you all know how much we love you :)

Then there are our critters. It is impossible to describe the love I feel for our furry family members. Today I worked with my trainer and Snappy and I simply could not concentrate because of the cuteness factor...seriously-this little baby mustang has got to be the cutest creature that ever walked on earth (shhhh...don't tell the Guppies I said that!) :) And the rest of the Flowers and all of the Yahoos...how did we get so lucky to be surrounded by such gentle, funny, ridiculous, loving souls?

This series of pictures pretty much captures the silliness that our critters bring to our world.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by the people and/or critters who make your hearts overflow with love and laughter.

Happy Tofurkey Day everyone!

xoxo

All of us at Dream Valley Ranch

 
  
  

Taking a break...

I didn't want anyone to worry...there's been so much going on this past month with illnesses and Snappie's surgery and all of the extra work associated with her return that I've decided to take a bit of a blogging break.

I'll be back in a week or so! But, before I go, I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the good thoughts for our critters...it means more than any of you could know!

Snapdragon is doing really well-hopefully I'll have funny stories of her silliness when I come back :)

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Suebeedoo

Time for The Bunny Cam

A quick update: the BunnyCam is down-there are some software glitches I am fixing tonight :) Please do not be concerned if you can't see The Bunny...he is fine :) xoxo

Our little Bunny has been having a rough month...I don't write about all of our difficult experiences with the critters because it becomes overwhelming and I like to point out the happy moments on this blog whenever possible. But, in this case, his slow decline and new weakness means that he is getting into trouble when I am not inside with him. Having 4 other active pups who need twice daily hikes in the woods, not to mention my full Flower Garden of rescued ponies with various needs, I have to figure out a way to keep everyone's demands met. Enter the Woofcam-or BunnyCam in this case :)

You can view the live BunnyCam by clicking on this link (a new image uploads every 30 seconds so just click F5 and you can see the latest image). But this is a preview of the little boy resting on his comfy bed as I get ready to go out and give meds to the baby Snapdragon.

Happy Bunny viewing to all! Oh, and if anyone sees our little boy in trouble, I'd sure be grateful if you would please email me right away-I always have my iPhone with me so I check on his image every few minutes, but sometimes he falls backwards and I certainly would appreciate a heads up if he looks like he's in trouble!

He is such a cute little boy...we adore him.

(Oh-and in case anyone is wondering...no-that is not a particular design style we are following with the carpets :D Our boy needs full carpet coverage so that he doesn't slip so you'll notice my mishmash of area rugs taped together to give him the texture/support he needs. Eventually, when we don't have a recovering baby dragon in the barn and I have the time, I'll find a nice large area rug so that we don't end up with a headache every time we walk into the kitchen!)

 
   

CARROT!!!!

YUM!!!

Won't somebody pleeeease

feed me????

Hello World!!!!

I am SNAPDRAGON!!!! Hear me ROAR!!!!!

pony kong time

poor little snappers is having a rough time...i gave her a pony kong with some tiny hay cubes to help distract her but she is sad and whinnying. she does interact a little with buttercup but i think she wants her mom and mom isn't interested. poor little winged one (all dragons have wings after all). i hope she settles in soon...it's breaking my heart to hear those baby whinnies!

hi mom i'm home!

poor snappers...mama took one sniff and ran off in the other direction...sigh...



the baby is having a somewhat worried and stressed night because her return to DVR is so different than life before surgery. 5 more weeks of stall rest...this will be quite interesting.



it is amazing to have her home but my little heart hurts watching her look so sad and worried and hearing her nervous whinnying....



welcome home baby girl-we misses you!

Project Snapdragon is almost completed!!

Project Snapdragon is underway-she just loaded and we are under way!! she looks great!! Updates and more pix later...



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Happy Howl-o-ween!

A very happy halloween to everyone!



Our sweet fuzzy boy, Count Basie (aka The Woodle) turns 12 today. Here he is napping after breakfast, getting rested for his late morning Birthday Hike. He is an amzing boy still able to hike 3-4 miles per day. We worship The Woodle

as do most people who meet him :)



Today is also a melancholy day for me and mr. smrp...this was also our sweet Monkey's birthday. She was so strong and healthy...we were certain she would be here for this year's WoodleMonkey day. Our hearts still hurt every day missing the pack's Matriarch.



Hug your loved ones extra tight today in her honor please...life seems far too short to me these days.



Hoping everyone has a wonderfully ghoulish day,

xoxo

Critter update

Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday-it's been a bit crazy around here with the storm and now (my favorite!) insane winds.



First: Snappers is doing really well...the theory is that gastric ulcers caused a decrease in GI motility and thus she colicked. Foals are prone to gastric ulcers-especially foals on milk replacer like the baby dragon was. She will be on Gastrogard for a few months to help her tummy heal (yes-we know how expensive that will be...but it's cheaper than another colic surgery so it's all relative I suppose).



The winds are bad for the next few days so we will shoot for a Sunday homecoming. In the meantime, my original plan for her new Dragony Headquarters have been ridiculed by this oh-so-lovely wind so today I must plan for a totally new and different set up. I have no idea where to stick our little girl-perhaps I should just put some booties and diapers on her and bring her inside ;)



I'm sure I will have something sorted out by tomorrow and will be able to focus on bringing her home Sunday to a posh new Dragonfly Suite :)



Chloe is doing really well. She loves to nap in the snow and has been a nut literally galloping through the snow. She's such an amazing critter.



Everyone else is doing pretty well. We've had a few sleepless nights with Mr. Bunny throwing up and having some diarrhea, but that comes in cycles so we just roll with it the best we can to keep him comfy and happy.



Thanks to everyone for the sweet emails asking about our crew! Hope everyone is keeping cozy out there :)

xoxo

woohooo!!

We are having SO much fun in the snow it's simply absurd :)

Snappie update: she is doing great!!

More pix and vids soon :) 

 

Snow Day!

What a beautiful morning to wake up to...14 inches of snow greeted us. The Monsters leapt through the fluffiness with joy, poking their faces deep into the snow banks then suddenly racing and bounding full speed like crazed muppets :)

This is early for such a big storm but we love it. The weather forecast is calling for 2-3 feet by tomorrow...woohoo!! Time to break out the snowshoes :)

Last night Mr. smrp plowed our 1/4 mile long driveway so that we can stay ahead of the curve in that sense. There is no way we could live here without Clifford our Big Red Truck and his plow.

I'll post some pictures of the Snowy Flower Garden later this afternoon when I post the baby Dragon update :)

Happy snow day to all!

nighttime dragon report

Our vet called our little girl a "pistol!" today :D He is very pleased with her progress and feels good about our tentative Saturday Home Coming :) He started her on grass hay today-just a small handful at a time. Well...Miss Punk Muffin Dragonfly did not appreciate such measly quantities and let it be known that a Wiiiiiild Baby Mustang MUST have more food! They love her :) And-he told me again about her perfect baby horse poops. Sigh...I love hearing about how great and cute her little poops are.

Chloe is doing great-the edema in front of her udder has almost completely gone away and she is full of whinnies when she sees me. She is looking for someone to hang out with and I'm making sure I give her lots of treats and scritches so that we can bond a bit before Snappers returns (tho they will not be in the same stall).

We have a big storm hitting us tonight-they are calling for up to 2 feet of powdery snow by tomorrow afternoon-yippee! The pups are in heaven and so are we :) The Flowers are snuggled inside their toasty flufy stalls and we have a fire roaring...hope everyone has a nice evening!

morning dragon report

Doc Hudson called today to let me know that the little Dragonfly is doing well...she even had an almost normal poop this morning!! I'm very hopeful but also very aware that things could just as easily change for the worse. Hanging onto each good moment is incredibly important right now!

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little sweet snapdragon

she is doing really well but seeing her all bandaged and muzzled broke my little heart...on our way home-just wanted to send a few quick pix...  (i'm home now and wanted to mention that the muzzle is on her because she was trying to eat the wood shavings...she has not eaten in a few days and I guess they looked pretty tasty. i am so grateful that she is doing so well, but it's still just sooooo wrong that she's had to go through all of this and the weeks to come. But I'm doing my best to focus on the fact that she is still here and that she is doing so well!)

take me hom please!

can i drink with this thing on?

hannibal lecter?

sigh... 

 

i think we dodged one bullet!!

just finished working with Uncle Jerry and Chloe-temp is normal so we are thinking it's more likely a full udder...crossing fingers and toes!! Snapper update this evening but ao far so good for our little baby dragon!

you have got to be kidding...

This was what I found tonight at the 11pm feeding...we are now worried about Chloe having mastitis.

Noooooo! My poor mama mustang!!

Trying to care for a mare with mastitis who I cannot handle yet and who kicks and bites?

Please oh please let this just be a full udder :(

she's out of surgery!!!

my baby flower made it through surgery...phew!! she had an obstruction in her large colon. they are puzzled because it wasn't that big...we will talk more about it when i go see her tomorrow. in the meanwhile i am relieved she is out of anaesthesia and recovering. i will visit her tomorrow and hopefully get to bring her home next weekend. now to figure out some baby dragon headquarters for her month of stall rest!!

oh: and for those who are worried about mama mustang: she seems to be doing well...just a few whinnies every few hours...poor sweetie.

i think i need a long nap now :)

thanks to eveyone for the good thoughts!!!

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surgery :(

my little Snapdragon goes into surgery in an hour...i am sad and worried. i'll update as soon as i can. thanks so much to everyone for their kind emails and thoughts...we are crushed.

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ittybitty...

just had to post this picture of my baby girl when she was just 1 day old...she's a strong little masked superhero. i miss her :( come home soon little Sunflower B Snapdragon!!!

snapdragon update

i'm exhausted so this will be short...snappers will be at the hospital about three days. we are hoping for medical management but she might need to undergo colic surgery if she doesn't get better. we have no idea which direction this will go-it's scary to say the least. coming home to chloe's heart wrenching whinnies was so sad. i just want everyone to be okay...please keep our baby dragon and her mama in your thoughts and hearts these next few days. thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart for all of the amazing good thoughts and kind words. xoxo one worried suebeedoo

another hospital picture

Baby Snapdragon gets an ultrasound.

snapdragon's at the hospital

We're at Littleton Equine Hospital waiting for Xray results...been a rough and scary 24 hours. The baby Dragon was a star at trailering 1.5 hours down off the mountain. Mama is home and doing okay-we had hoped to avoid weaning until spring but sometimes life makes other decisions. i'll update soon but it looks like our little girl will be here at least a few days. we are desperately hoping that she does not need surgery. Thanks to everyone for their good thoughts-we sure need them! Here is our baby nuzzling Uncle Jerry for comfort. and that's the vet tech giving her sone love, too.

our baby snapdragon is sick

Please think good tboughts for our little baby mustang...she is sick. has been colicky and with diarrhea since 5pm last night. we've been watching her, examining, medicating, and waiting-holding our breath and worried as you can imagine. no sleep...my amazing vet came up at 6 and then at 1...trailer is hooked up and ready in case we need to take her to the hospital. we still don't know if it's a tummy bug, gas colic, or twisted intestines. Babies are known to be somewhat exaggerated when in any pain, but my vet is worried that she is continuign on these 4-5 hour cycles of pain. I'll update later...poor little baby Dragon...she has been so so good with all of the shots and meds...

worried...sigh.

Yes...he is a monster

But an oh-so-delicious one! How can I ever resist this sweet face of such an adoring binary Bear Guppie? I have absolutely created a monster (with the help of his anti-seizure drugs!)and I love every little itty bitty part of him. I remember too well his first fearful 5.5 years...hugs would make him catatonic...putting on his harness would result in him cowering his head down to the floor...snuggling? Out of the question. Yes...I'll take this New Brave Demanding "I must touch my mom at all times" Bear any day of the week! This was the look he gave me as I, GASP!, had stopped scritching his ears for a second to hug Jesse Guppie who had plopped down against me on the sofa. Oooooh, the horror of it all! :D Pooooooor poooooor Beah ;)

Sigh...I am one lucky Guppie Mom :)

(And, yes, The Look worked and I am sending this via iPhone typing with just one hand while the other hand scritches his fuzzy ears-who can blame me?)

Things I love about DVR

i love watching the sun as it sun peeks over the ridge...

 

which makes the trees sparkle...

and that time each morning when The Flowers finish eating and find the perfect spots to take naps like lizards...

 

i love knowing that my little monsters will happily snuggle in their beds for a cozy morning as I drink my coffee...

 

hang on a sec...11 degrees...really? i just called The Princess who lives over over at The Magic Kingdom just a few miles up the road: she had a toasty 23.5 degrees.

oh well...i love our chilly valley, every itty bitty degree of it :)

Pretty snowy morning

I can't help but smile when I wake up to a snowy valley.

I love knowing that my Flowers can choose to stay cozy and warm in their stalls or go out into their roomy paddocks and enjoy a roll in the snow.

The Yahoos will enjoy a few hikes in the snowy woods today, too.

And I will embrace the peaceful silence that accompanies each little snowstorm.

We sure do live in a wonderful place...

Did you hear that?

I love my little pack...and they make me laugh when they hear something in the woods. Is it an elk? A bear? A lion? Nooooope. Just the echo of our UPS man heading up our driveway confusing the silly monsters :)

I love my mustang whisperer

This is Jerry and the mustangs. Jerry is an old cowboy turned horse whisperer...he's a gem of a man and I honestly don't know how I would have survived this first year of horse momness without his help and encouragement. I am lucky to be able to count him as one of my closest friends. Yesterday I was working on changing something or other in the barn (as usual!) and Jer called me out to watch. He was kneeling in front of the girls, putting treats on top of his hat, and letting them eat off of it :D why was he doing such a silly thing you might ask? Well-Chloe is just starting to actually believe that living among humans is safe and that people can be kind. Jerry said that he wanted to encourage her curiosity and build her confidence. Personally I think he just wanted to have some snuggle time with his two favorite mustangs :) and who doesn't love a gruff ol' cowboy who lets wild ponies eat treats off of his head? :D

Happy Bunny

And a more satisfied Bunny after a yummy breakfast. Sweet sweet boy...as long as you feed him on time that is ;)

Feed us already!!!

I took some pictures of the two BFFs this morning as I waited for the hot water to cool down in the dog bowls. Can you see the look of annoyance on their faces? If they could steal my camera so that I would just focus on the important things (I.e. Breakfast!) they'd be happy ;)

What a weirdo!

Recently Bear has been begging when I eat apples. Okay-that doesn't seem too weird I guess? Carrots, broccoli, apples, steamed fluffy soymilk from my morning lattes...he does live with a vegan human mom after all, right? But for some reason today's newest treat just seems odd for a dog to want. i just discovered that he loves oranges, too! An orange slurping Guppie? Who ever heard of such a creature? :D his sister is a bit more picky and walks away from soy milk and oranges with a look of disgust on her little cute face. But not Bear Guppie-he grabs the orange pieces with gusto and makes happy loud smacking noises as he slurps them all up :D I just adore this ridiculous boy...do you all see how sweet his liquidy eyes are? DO YOU? (Ninja Pony Mom: that last sentence was just for you hehehe).

 
  
  

Another beautiful day

No words needed...just a happy sigh...

Happy nappy puppies

I love this comfortable GuppieBunny friendship that has slowly become the norm around here. I would never leave them unattended together, but it sure is nice that they can all hang out together in the kitchen with me while the shepherds nap in the livingroom.

It's been a wonderful week with Auntie Wendy visiting and spoiling me and the critters by helping to muck stalls, holding Bear's paw, and making a yummy burrito fest dinner among other things!

Always grateful to have visits from dear friends who adore our critter world as much as we do :)

We miss you Auntie W!!!

8 degree mornings are fun!

Well-actually-we're a toasty 22 now at noon and I finally emptied, cleaned and set up the last water troughs with heaters today. Probably would have been wise to do this last week when it was warmer, but as they say: hindsight is 20/20 :) that and it's been a ridiculously busy week here so we do our best to roll with it all :) thank goodness that Auntie Wendy is here visiting! Right now she is holding Bear's paw for me so that I can get a few critical chores done. Some people underestimate the importance of Bear Paw Holding but let me tell you: it's probably the most wonderful gift anyone can give me :) star likes her fresh, clean, warm water-doesn't she look so peaceful?!

Funny morning moments at the ranch

Watching our resident magpie take turns sitting on all of the ponies' backs...wondering why Snapdragon was circling around a pole-she was chasing the magpie :) laughing at the mad dash of the Bunny as he darted past me and hopped full speed up the deck ramp...walking the fourpack and hearing that wonderful WHOMP as The Woodle flopped upside down in the snow...asking the non-Bears to sit for a picture, having them all wiggle with silliness, and seeing Bear sit down and look at them all in disgust as if to say "like THIS dummies!" what a nice morning with such silly critters...

We looooove the snow!