All the Fiddles in the houz!

Take a look at these adorable mugshots....we are having a terrible time coming up with equally adorable names, so we need your HELP! If you think you have the perfect name for one of these little munchkins, please leave it in the comments! We'll come to a decision on which names to give them at the end of next week....Here are the three amigo's!


Keep this in mind: Mama's name is Fiddle....Daddy's name is Banjo!

Amigo#1:

Amigo#2:

Amigo#3:

Happy Trails!

The Fiddles

SHE HAD THREE!!!!!

As best we can guess, Fiddle went about a week over her due date...But our patience has paid of! We were greeted by THREE bouncing baby goats tonight when we returned from dinner....talk about CUTE! I cleaned up Fiddle best I could, I don't think they were more than an hour old when I found them....got their umbilical cords disinfected....got their bedding freshened up...gotta mama some much deserved warm bran mash and a special black licorice treat...refilled water....closed off the opening to the rear paddock (they just aren't big enough to navigate that ramp yet, and too many other dangers reside out there they are not ready to handle as well).

Of course I will be taking lots of pics tomorrow, so check back to just how cute these kiddies really are!!!

Happy Trails,

Fiddle & Family

Ice, Ice, Baby!

No, not the rapper type, the toddler type! Mommy's little snow devil, I mean ANGEL...

We got our first snowfall of the season yesterday and it was well received around the homestead! When I got home from work I bundled up the Little Brat and headed for the great white outdoors for some fun in the slush.....we got a good 3+ inches!

LB made quick work of building some snowballs to play with....

She was just a tad confused as to what to do with them though....is that YELLOW?!?!

Mommy just HAD to pipe up and offer her some totally unecessary and regretable advice... "Throw it silly girl!"....and she DID.....INCOMING!? (OUCH, that was cooooold!)

We had just enough time before it got dark to put together the most handsomest of snow men you could imagine....tall, lumpy, dirty......he must have reminded LB of Daddy (who is out of town on business this week) the way she warmed right up to him like she did.....

Hey, if its going to be this stinkin' cold out, we might as well have some snow to play in! Stay warm out there!

Happy Trails,

Leah

Inauguration Day 2009...

...although I opted to come to work today instead of joining the thousands of people up north for President Obama's historical inauguration, we did have an opportunity to watch the event live during our lunch hour from a conference room on-site...All I really have to say about the event can be summed up in 3 words.

MEMORABLE - MEANINGFUL - MOTIVATIONAL

Regardless of your political stance, I think we can all agree on what an eloquent and inspirational speaker Obama is...if you did not feel moved by his message of hope and resilience in this challenging time, I don't know what could possibly move you!

Here's to a better and brighter future! Only time will tell if his words will be mirrored by his actions, or if American's will step up to his call for personal accountability, but I look forward with anticipation to success...As I see it, if he succeeds, we all have something to gain!

Check out this site....

...I just created for our local 4-H Club! What a great bunch of people...if you or anyone you know is interested in being a part of a really wonderful 4-H group, give Fred or Maggie a call!

What to do with all this ICE?

There are a lot of negative things about the cold and ice, especially when you have responsibilities that take you out into the elements on a frequent basis....there's always a positive for every negative though, and the cold is no different...as I looked out over the frozen landscape this morning, I came across a few beautiful sites....like the sparkly crystals of frozen dew on the top of this fence line, for example...GORGEOUS!

And this ice sculpture that Uncle Travis made from all the ice removed from a water trough....AWESOME!

And speaking of water troughs.....I think we may start a new business of selling frozen tombstones....or super-sized ice cubes! That large shiny thing leaning against the fence is actually the top lay of ice removed from this water trough the day PRIOR...you can see the NEW hole I had to make in the ice for the horses to drink today....JR came behind me to get the loose ice out for them....

Happy Trails & Silver Linings!

Leah

Beautiful Horses: FROZEN PONY EDITION

Good Morning Dually! Has this cold treating you? Yeah, the extra pudge you have stored up does help a bit...


So, we are right smack-dab in the middle of a mighty cold spell....the kind of cold that makes your face hurt, eyes water, and icicles form on you snotty nose....On this morning, it was actually 0 degrees...ZERO....as in NOTHING...NO HEAT AT ALL....Not even ONE degree of it! As you can imagine, the sights to see on a morning such as this are quite interesting....the landscape is sparkling with frozen dew....and whiskers have grown icy as they collect moisture from each horse's breath....

Treasure would like to voice his disdain with the current weather pattern now....I hear ya buddy! And could not agree more!

Snuffy would like to express his opinion on the matter as well...I pick up what you are laying down buddy...hang in there, warmer days are ahead!

Jack has accepted the frigid cold with silent submission though....he is more worried about when I'm gonna put this camera down and give him some grain...

So, here's to hopes the weather forecast is correct this time and we get those 'above-freezing' temps here in the next day or two! Pretty pleeeeeeeeeeese!!!!

Happy Trails,

Leah

Pinki's Finally Home!

We picked up Gma Kathy and Uncle Travis at the airport yesterday, and along with them came Randi's puppy, Pinki-Dinki-Doo! She named her that, not me...."Pinki" for short....her inspiration for such a name was her little white (pink) toes in front....She's grown a lot since Thanksgiving, but she is still just as precious as ever!

They are total BFF already!

Welcome Home Pinki!

Happy Trails,

Leah

Blogging...

"Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few."

Just one of my favorites from a long list of good ones on: www.despair.com

Happy Trails!
Leah

Clydesdale Q&A

Since we brought "Tiny" home, we have learned a lot about the Clydesdale horse, and thought we might pass some interesting tid-bits of information along to the rest of you too...

For example...you might wonder how in the world you get ON a horse this size....well, let me tell you, Tiny is actually on the small side for her breed, but is still the biggest horse we have on the place! Let me illustrate how you accomplish the feat of mounting a mountain...First, you find the tallest mounting block you can find. Next, YOU JUMP!

I've been asked what my favorite physical feature is on our Clydesdale beauty, but there are just so many! The breed is known for their long, flowing 'feathers'...This is the hair that grows from their knees down to their hooves and is quite distinguishing and lovely...However, all that hair attributes to dermatitis issues if not kept clean and well-groomed...Pretty, but high maintenance! That big round apple-shaped booty is also a favorite feature of mine....Tiny got back! But I will have to say that one thing that stands out above all the rest of her wonderful feature are her big, brown, sleepy, puppy-dog eyes! They draw you in...they are just precious.....what do you think?

You may be wondering what kind of load this breed can handle...how much weight could one horse carry or pull? I wondered the same thing, and although I have not determined yet their pulling capacity, I have found that 2 tall teenagers are a piece of cake for them to carry!

Finally, what in the world do you FEED these massive creatures? The answer is simple...they eat what all the rest of the equine species eat...just about anything they can get in their mouths....what our Tiny REALLY likes though, are apples....she will take them so delicately from our hands....they are a real treat for her, and she savors every bite! She eats an apple this size in about 4 bites....

Let us know if you have any other burning questions about the super cool Clydesdale horse, and we'll do our best to find you an answer!

Happy Trails,

Leah & Clementine "Tiny"