Fall Deer
adminOn the way to pick up some horse feeders in Scapoose, Washington, we stopped to take a great picture of these deer in the fall leaves.
Welcome home, Bubba!
After a couple of close calls, we decided Jodi needed more of a ‘confidence builder’ horse and Kody was too green. Just when we started looking, we ran across a posting from Miranda, Kelly’s daughter (our trainer). They were helping friends sell two horses and, after taking a trail ride with both of them, we decided to bring Bubba home with us (the horse formerly known as Laredo). He’s a great big quarter horse and is 15 years old. Although you can’t tell from this picture, he is extremely solid and stocky. He has plenty of ‘hours’ on him and is safe for anyone to ride (even Jodi!)
The Great Wind Storm of 2006
Weather forecasters started out the weekend by predicting a large windstorm to hit sometime on Sunday. By Sunday afternoon, they were all back peddling a bit and covering their previous predictions by saying, “you can never be too prepared!” By 9pm the winds really did start picking up and, at one point, reached 50-60 miles per hour in Colton and 102 miles per hour on the coast. Not such a good thing when we’re surrounded by 100 foot trees! This turned out to be the worst windstorm in 10 years and most likely the top 5 worst ever in Oregon. With daybreak came the discovery that one of our very large trees did snap and fall directly onto a gate and electric fence in Kody’s pasture. Luckily everyone is safe, but we have our fence repair work cut out for the weekend.
Christmas Tree Harvest Time
Estacada is known as the Christmas Tree capital of the world. Just like most Iowa farmers grow corn, here in Estacada and the surrounding areas, most farmers have Christmas tree lots. The harvest begins a few weeks before Thanksgiving. This weekend we stopped to take pictures of one farmer harvesting his crop with a helicopter, which seems to be a common practice. A group of workers will cut down the trees and bundle them deep within the field. The helicopter will then fly overhead with a dangling cable. Without slowing down, the helicopter will hook up to a bundle of trees, fly them to the front of the lot, then release them. From there, the farmers will load the bundle for delivery.
Kody’s Trip to the Vet
Kody went to the vet today to have dental work done. To make sure he was calm and cooperative, they gave him a sedative that took effect in less than 30 seconds. He wobbled his way into the chute, then was strapped in to hold his head up and mouth wide open. As soon as the vet pulled out the first saw, Jodi quickly departed to the waiting room. Brad stuck it out to get these pictures, but it wasn’t for the faint of heart! Kody made it through with flying colors and vet said he was the best patient of the day!
Wedding Ceremony at Hug Point
On August 18, Brad and Jodi ‘tied the knot” at a beautiful location on the Oregon Coast called Hug Point. The ceremony was short and sweet with Mom, Jean, Morgan, Brandi, Danni, and Sammy as witnesses.
Mini Cooper
Meet our newest addition, Mini Cooper, or “Coop” for short. He is a 1 year old mini mule. At 33″ tall, he is just about full grown. We hope to teach him to pull a pony cart one day, but in the mean time his favorite activity is to graze with Brandi
KC
KC is a Poland Spot mix who will grow up to be our breading sow…
Dee Dee and Kobe
Brad thought it would be a great idea to get a couple of Texas long horns…. Dee Dee (Dawn’s Delight) had Kobe in April 2006, and is due to deliver again around April 2007.
Ducks
Our local farm store, Coastal, celebrates Spring every year with an event called “Chick Days” where they display rows and rows of baby chickens, ducks, turkeys, and many other foul. We just couldn’t pass up on the last 6 baby Mallards and brought them home on March 21st, 2006! They are: Jane, Lilly, Jasmine, Sweet Pea, Daisy, and Jake the Drake. They spend their days wondering the farm, searching for bugs, slugs and worms. If we don’t let them out of their cage by 9am, they become very agitated!
