how's this for grass?!

Welcome to my back yard LOL. Just been reading on a horse board how Canterbury is in the grips of a drought (and considering the time of year it is, we are NOT!)

So this is my back yard that the boys come into for 2 hours a day. (They're in the unused yards at the boundary fence to the neighbours place.) Smokey only had to be threatened TWICE with "If you don't let me catch you to put you back you will stay in the paddock from now on and miss out!" It also helps that he doesn't drink out of the dogs trough so is hanging out for a drink after 2 hours of shoulder height grass hehehe.

You know what? I think it's almost time to lose his halter! He's being an absolute GEM to catch now, he really is just learning what is acceptable from just being in with Mac and Rog. Will start catching him with a halter to put over his halter before I take his existing one off of course! Me not silly!

And this is them out strip grazing the big paddock, Smokey is attached to Roger's bum most of the time LOL. So very cute. And last but not least, a beautiful summer's evening here in paradise... :)

Big Day Out is always in January isn't it?

Well it was for Smokey yesterday LOL. Bridle on without any real hassles (just a token 2 steps backwards that I'll now put his bum to something solid so he can't hehehe) then took him straight out the gate for a walk down the dead end road.

The neighbours behind us had visitors and as we start walking towards their place they come out the driveway and towards us. A group of 7 people. Now Smokey isn't scared of "things" but people are not so trusted, so when they were only a couple of meters away from us we just stopped to let them go past except they all stopped too! Two young girls in the group are oohing and aaahing and ask if they can pat him, I said "sure". Rather than just put a hand out for him of course one went straight for his nose so he dived back a step and hid behind me. I brought him forward, told the girl to just hold her hand out for him and he turned his head and looked at me, checking if it was all OK. Very cute. That is what he did when I first went to see him.... that was the way he looked at Sola to see if "I" was all OK!

So he sniffed her hand and everyone admired him for a minute and then off we all went. Decided to continue down to see the Alpacas at the end of the road, and those people were entertaining on their verandah. So Smokey say's "hell, I ain't going near those aliens!" and does a zoom off to the end of the lead rope (actually when the calves behind him gave him a fright LOL). He came back up and came right up to the fence looking all of the 15hh Simone thought he was hehehe. A nosey wee alpaca (the smallest and most inquisitive one there) came right up to the fence where they sniffed at each other (with a gap of about 10 inches between them) until I gave the alpaca a fright by reaching out for it!

It zoomed off, but mum (2 legged one) came over to say hi. Smokey sniffed her, she offered him her hair, he nuzzles that, sniffed her some more, nuzzled some more, got admired lots and 15 mins later we decided it might be home time. :)

So an eventful outing for the wee man and he did very well with it all. Very proud of my wee boy.

Then his feed with day 4 of the Panacur in it (and happy to say at day 4 no worms left to see in his poo!)

God Bless the Postie!

LOL, a few things turned up today, including a nice wee wintec 2000 GP for Smokey (who I'd just caught to put in the back yard to pig out on some grass, perfect timing!) He saw it heading for him and said "NO WAY!" so we spent some time sending him backwards before he decided forward with me and the scary saddle was an OK place to be LOL. Popped it on him, he stuck his head down to eat and was completely ignoring the saddle going on and off, on and off, on and off.

Now to get a girth to fit those short straps! and to change the gullet from medium because already that doesn't fit him!

Got a gorgeous notebook in the post too from Daniela in which she'd written up for me what she'd talked to my animals about!!! That was really nice! (Told you she was lovely!)

Now just waiting on my Klaus Hempfling book to arrive that should have been here yesterday at the latest and my nippers for Smokeys' feet that'll be here next week, I don't mind birthdays LOL, it's an excuse to buy things for myself!

Summer Evenings are the BEST!

Had a lovely ride on Mac last night. 8.30pm before we got on, got off at 9pm, both of us still sweating like pigs but not cooked at the same time!

Had done Smokey earlier, over the tarp, beat him up with the sack, bridled and then took him down our dead end road for a walk and back.

Decided after what Danielle had told me Mac had said (a message of what he wants me to do in the future and I have NO IDEA where to start!) that I'd start from scratch with him too, re-do all the basics someone screwed up with him while breaking him in.... so over the tarp, showed him the sack and went to rub his neck with it.... uh oh! Mac doesn't like the sack (and who can blame him?!) When made to stand still for it he went straight into frozen with fear. Head up, eyes wild and rolled back and outright fear in his eye.... So we did some acknowledge and release stuff with him, linked in with pure love and just kept rubbing his neck, took a couple of minutes but eventually he softened and then tried to eat LOL. After he tried to eat we were OK, going from rubbing to flapping it over him. Then had a lovely ride with some nice work and all 3 boys got wormed (in their feed, no complaints this time round!)

Leo is healing well, complaining bitterly at being left in the backyard while the others go out into the paddock... PeeWee's broken nail hasn't come right off yet so she's still hopping around and on backyard rest too. The rest are all good :)

Pete said yesterday that where he was working (a couple of kms down the road) the lady had put the thermometer out in the sun where he was working and it recorded 47 degrees. No wonder the grass is starting to dry off!

My birthday tomorrow!!!! Absolutely NO birthday wishes accepted unless they're accompanied by a present!!! hehehe, guess I won't be getting many birthday wishes ;)

Leo the Lion...

...is a tad sore today! Had his visit to the vet and exited 2 stone lighter LOL. On a plus side he bounced back from the anesthetic really quickly so was able to bring him home with us again at lunchtime after my lesson with Mac.

Just emptied the truck out and thus able to empty the camera and here are a couple of the seals at Kaikoura. No face on shot up close of Daniela till she's said if I'm allowed or not tho :)

See the seal to Daniela's right in the grass at the base of the rock??? Sleeping upside down LOL. It was the one both of us happened to ask why they were all in on the rocks.



And the one alert boy down below was actually one of about 10 seals on those rocks! Well camouflaged aren't they!

My Critters Spill Their Guts!

hehehe Daniela had a field day practicing on all the dogs and a couple of little snippets from Smokey while I was playing with him. Talked to one of the goldfish and without seeing him as a fish out of water, she got him "stuck" and then saved (yes he jumped out of the bowl they were in and was found on the floor still and not breathing, did I tell that story already?)

She then spoke to Mac while we were driving to Kaikoura this morning and got all the juicy stuff on him too, including wire and choking being involved in his breaking in (did I tell you he has issues?!)

Daniela is lovely and great with what she's doing will be a credit to Rome when she starts doing this all officially (although with the Catholic hub being Rome she is running into a bit of a closed mindset about animal communication there!)

Fantastic lady I'll be trying hard to keep in touch with and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for practicing on my guys and passing on all she got from them. I now have to buy Dozer a red cushion hehehe. We got all the dogs down to the river too, which was LOOOONG overdue and loved by all of them...









We stopped and saw some seals on the way to Kaikoura, both of us after 5 mins said "too rough today huh?" LOL, maybe even seals get seasick in rough water!

After lunch and some last minute yacking Marcus and I returned to Blenheim and left Daniela in Kaikoura to finish her holiday...

Safe travels my friend :)

Visitors from Rome!!!

so, a couple of weeks back I got an email from a Daniela saying she would be in NZ in January and did I know of anyone here at that time teaching Animal Communication. In the course of our emails I offered her a bed here if/when she was passing through Blenheim and she arrived yesterday! :o)

She spoke with PeeWee yesterday and wants to speak to some of the others today and is absolutely lovely!

Looking like a bit of a drizzly day weather wise today so who knows what we'll get up to :o)