Here you see Sassy and Tude watching a livestock trailer take Bonnie-the-Jersey-cow away; she's heading off for a romantic tryst with a Polled Hereford bull. She should be ready to come home next weekend. I really miss her. It reminds me of the way I felt when my kids were toddlers and my mom would take them home with her for a day. Somehow the house just didn't feel right with them gone. Bonnie doesn't spend a lot of time near the house, and there are days when I only see her a couple of times, briefly. But I always know all I have to do is yell, "Sook, calf," and if she is in earshot I'll hear an answering "Mooooo", and then she'll come running full-speed toward me, her calf in hot pursuit. I know it isn't affection for me that makes her answer my call; it's her desire for sweet feed. But it's still nice to know I can count on her to acknowledge me. She's due to come in heat Thursday or Friday. Hopefully the deed will be done by Saturday and my cow can come back where she belongs. By the way, the only reason Sassy and Tude are showing such interest in this event is not that they're concerned about Bonnie leaving. It's the trailer that caught their eye; where there's a trailer, they've learned, there's liable to be a new horse they haven't met.
This curry-comb full of hair shows you that my horse, Blue, is shedding by the handfuls.
After my husband and I took our morning walk, I put a too-big saddle on the filly, Libby, and ponied her beside Blue. Her ears weren't quite as perky as usual with this heavy saddle on her back, but she handled it.
The month-old Jersey heifer, Secret, was soaking up sunshine. It looks like she's going to end up losing about half of each ear as a result of them freezing the night she was born.
Just a big old barn I often ride past.
After riding down a long, long hill, this is where I cross the railroad tracks to the Missouri river bottoms.
Some despicable character chose to dump trash alongside the road.
Getting home from my ride, I found Cliff and a neighbor boy burning off brush and trash around and in our "dumping ditch". Jessica and Adam keep their two horses here at our place; this horse, Tude, has to be sedated when he's shod. He was a little over-medicated yesterday, so Jessica is holding his head up.
Jessica and Adam plan to have their wedding in our pasture this coming summer, on horseback. Won't that make for some great pictures?
I hear thunder in the distance this morning. Even though that means no horseback riding today, rain would be a good thing. It'll get that pasture greened up and growing.
As usual, I'll remind you to click on any picture to enlarge.
