Our New Grand Twinkies

Hunter and Talynn were born about a month early, and were transferred to NICU, where they've been for the last 3 weeks. There were no huge issues, just maturity problems common with premies, and thankfully, they are doing great now! Hunter was already discharged and Talynn will be discharged within the next day or two. As you can see, they look about as much alike as day and night, but each equally precious!!! We can't wait to get them home to celebrate their birthdays and to welcome them to the family!

Cowdonk

Yee Haw or maybe I should say Hee Haw!! I was finally able to help Teryn gather some heifers on my donkey!!! He (MiHijo) did soooo good! He was everything I was hoping for! At one point Teryn saw some cattle about a mile away. MiHijo and I stayed on top of a hill waiting. I didn't have to deal with any prancing or dancing, or neighing, or nervousness. MiHijo just patiently stood watching and waiting. It was awesome! I can't wait till we get to go again! Everything seems prettier framed by MiHijo's ears!

Home Away from Home

We stayed at an inexpensive motel called Mom's Motel. It was just 4 blocks from the beach, and was extremely clean, safe, and quaint! I absolutely loved every piece of our vacation! I loved that we got to explore the area using the 'collectivo' (the Mexican mass transit). I loved that we had to speak Spanish because we didn't have a tour guide to do it for us. I guess, I loved our vacation because we got to experience the true 'flavor' of the country, and do what we wanted, when we wanted to do it!

Aktun-Chun

We went to an Eco-Park while in Mexico and these pictures show us zip-lining through the jungle! I had to put one up of my little buddy Ty, and my Monkey Man, and one of me as proof that I really did it! T

Mayan Ruins

This bunch of pictures was taken at the Mayan Ruins in Tulum. I'm not sure the significance of the Mayan Indians sitting atop the pole and playing instruments, or why they were being let down by the rope around their ankles, but I must say it WAS impressive! As was the beauty of the ruins next to the Caribbian Ocean!

Pictures of Paradise

A couple of teasers, so you can see where we were this past week. It was truly a beautiful vacation! Playa Del Carmen was amazing and not far from there, I found my dream spot in Akumal, a tiny village where we could snorkle to the reef and watch tropical fish, play with sea tortoises, and swim as far out in the ocean as we wanted without having to worry about undertoe! One of the pictures is of the cenote - an underground river in a cave, it looks like there is a lot of trash, but the water is actually crystal clear, the "trash" is actually minerals that are invisible except in pictures. I can't imagine how heaven could possibly be more beautiful than where we were!!! It was beyond anything I could have ever imagined!!!

Donkey Skateboard

I'm pretty sure my little donkey stories are getting pretty nauseating! But what can I do, MiHijo delights me in so many ways! He's always into something! In the post, Let's Go Do Something, below, I put a picture of MiHijo standing on a flat bed trailer that was hooked up to the pickup. Well that flat bed got unhitched, and Teryn parked it in line with the other trailers and put the tongue up on a block. When Teryn got home today he noticed that the trailer had rolled about 100 feet and had stopped in a small ditch. MiHijo had some road rash on his hind legs. When we put two and two together, it was pretty obvious that MiHijo was on the trailer, dislodged the block, and went skateboarding. Oh, if only I could have seen it. We'll see if MiHijo keeps spending his free time on the trailer!

Donkey Meeting

We had a Donkey Meeting today! The County Agent did a demonstration on equine safety, we had a costume parade, and finished with a discussion about what types of activities we wanted to do. There were 13 people there, but only three donkeys this time. The picture was taken at the end of the donkey costume parade. Pictured are: Heidi and baby Pumpkin. You may not be able to tell, but Pumpkin is wearing her tiara and a fuzzy scarf (can't think what it's called right now). MiHijo and I are next in line, we are dressed like Mexican peasants - in observance of Cinco de Mayo - check out his jerry-rigged pack saddle!!! Last in line is Pepper and Linda, he's dressed up in his spots!!! Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and the others who attended said they'd be sure to bring their donkeys next time!!!

"Let's Go Do Something!"

I looked outside the other day, and saw MiHijo standing on the flatbed. Seemed like he was looking for something to go do!

Amazing Donkey Story

This story is tooo amazing not to share!! I promise, this really happened, and it's not exaggerated. The other day I was riding MiHijo and we woke up a rattlesnake!!! I never could see it, but it was right under us, rattling! MiHijo pivoted and crowhopped a couple steps, then stopped!I could still hear the rattle snake 3 to 6 feet behind us, and was afraid that MiHijo would start bucking again! I didn't want to end up on the ground on my back, so I decided to step off! MiHijo felt me putting weight in the left stirrup, and whipped his head around to the right and grabbed my right stirrup and boot top in his mouth. I knew he couldn't buck in that position, but I couldn't get off either!! He stayed like that till Teryn rode around, got down, walked up to us and pryed MiHijo's mouth open!'!!! He has never, ever offered to bite me, so I was shocked when he did that. The only thing I can imagine, is that as a guardian animal, he didn't want me on the ground with the rattler so close! Anyone else have ideas on how to interpret what he did????

Proudly Introducing Tricia's New Husband - Ryan Steig

Ryan and Trish got married, and started their new life together Wednesday, April 13th. Here are a few pictures from the wedding. Ryan's a great guy, and we're wishing them a long, happy, healthy life together!!!

Taking a Nap

We took a ride in the buggy today, then had a picnic. We unhitched MiHijo while we ate our lunch. He took the opportunity to rest up a bit for the trip home!

Tokayo's Progress

Teryn is making progress with Tokayo. You can see from the picture that he is doing good in the round pen. Teryn plans to ride him in the arena tomorrow. I also put a picture of me grooming Tokayo who is smooth and sleek now. For awhile I told Teryn that Tokayo and him had a 'kinship' of hair color, but Tokayo has lost his winter coat, along with much of his silver, Teryn seems to be getting more!

Lazy Afternoon!

My new Hybrid

I was looking up some information the other day, and one of the sites I found called mules hybrids. I thought it was cute, and accurate in terms of efficiency, and vigor! Anyway this is one of the pictures Holly took on Easter. After lunch TLee helped me work my little mule and I finally got to pet him!!! He wasn't crazy about the process, but I'll give him a little time, and I'm sure it won't be long until I have another little dorse (dog/horse)!!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

I hope you have a great day today. Thought I'd send a couple of Easter thoughts.

*Did you know that Easter is THE most significant Christian holiday? Among a dozen other reasons, it's because Christians are the ONLY ones who worship a living God. All other religions worship people who are dead and gone!

*I was looking up Christian symbology at Easter and found a symbol I was unaware of that I will start incorporating into our Easter celebration. It is the rooster! I read that in Europe the churches don't have crosses on top, they have roosters as a reminder not to deny Christ the way Peter did! What a fun symbol to use at Easter time!

*Last one of my friend posted the little poem below on her facebook message today. I loved it so I copied it and pasted it. I hope you enjoy it too!

Up from the grave He arose
with a mighty triumph oer His foes,
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and He lives forever with the saints to reign...

He arose.....Hallelujia...... Christ Arose!!!!!!!!

Have a Great Day!!

Shenanigan

Shenanigan is my new baby mule!!! I don't know a whole lot about him, but I do know that a ranch hand in the area put a donkey out with some mares and about a year later, Shenanigan showed up. The rancher didn't want the baby mules and gave them away...I'm not sure what happened to the ranch hand! Anyway, I think Shenanigan is the result of a joke gone bad, and I am the beneficiary! I am soooo lucky!!! If I had picked my favorite color, it would have been exactly what I got!!! You can't really see it now, but when he sheds out in a couple of weeks, his Jerusalem cross, and the dorsal stripes on his legs will show up. I'm sure he'll be beautiful! I did some round pen work with him today, and he caught on real fast, and was "facing up" in no time! He is 10 months old right now and very wild. I can't wait to get him gentled and start teaching him tricks! I don't know much about mules, but I'm betting with the family I have that we'll be able to make an amazing mule out of him - and I'm betting that the joke won't be on us! Anyway, stay tuned to the blog, I plan on posting Shenanigan's progess!

2 Adorable Kids

1st Kindergoats

Introducing our 1st Kindergoats - sort of! These are only 75% Kinder, but it's a start! I'm also happy to announce that they are both girls, most of our dairy babies have been boys!

Dr. Ryanna

Maybe Ryanna will decide young that she wants to go into healthcare! She's already doctoring the animals!!!

Pepper

This is a baby donkey that I am taming for a friend. He leads pretty good, and I can pet him all over. Maybe I'll surprise her with a trick or two before I finish with him! He should be a large standard donkey when he is grown.

Bonzai

Bonzai is my new Pygmy goat. We will be able to breed him to our young Nubian goats and get Kinder goats - a breed that is known for being great meat and milk goats. Another perk is that the babies are beyond adorable! I'm naming all my milk does after flowers - didn't think a flower would be appropriate for a billy - so I named him after a tree. Anyway, I'm trying to find an extremely colorful flower because I have a really colorful young doe that I'm trying to name. If you have any ideas, let me know. So far I have does named Rosebud, and Buttercup.

Mi Hijo's New Trick

Mi Hijo will now lay down on command. I'm preparing for when I'm too old to climb up! I'll be able to lay him down and get on without any problem. All I have to do is pick up his hoof, and tell him what I want. 1, 2, 3! Isn't he the smartest donkey ever!

GVN to LVN

A quick announcement to let you in on the good news! Trish just found out that she passed her State Board Exam and is now officially an LVN! She said it was the hardest test of her life!

Clay & his "Significant Other"

This photo was one of Clay's presents to us. Pictured is Clay and his favorite female companion - Kali!

Jamima Zambowski and Aunt Phyllis

One More Pict from Graduation

I wanted to be sure to add a picture of Tricia with her Grandparents. She was very excited that they were able to come for her big day!

She Did It!!!

Here is the picture of our new nurse. She is pictured with some of the other nurses from our family, and with her kiddos. It was a great weekend, and grandparents, and aunts from both sides came to help her celebrate!

A Girl and Her Horse

Some things never change! Trish will be a nurse in another few days! But she still loves those horses!

Mi Hijo

I wish I could describe how fun it is to take a ride in the cart. Mi Hijo does so good! He's such a smart little donkey!

T-N-T Varmit Control

Ty and Teryn have been putting out snares to trap coyotes. At first I didn't like it, but there are way too many coyotes, and they'll kill my goats if they get a chance! Anyway, T&T've snared 38 coyotes in about 1 month. The snares get expensive, so they've started making their own and selling the extras to a local ranch suppply store. Ty can make a snare in about a minute. In the picture he is holding a dozen snares that he made the other day.

Answer to the Riddle

If you know us very well, you know who Bacon is. Well looks like we're going to have some Bacon Bits!

Guess Who Just Turned Two

Ryanna is growing up so fast! She had a birthday the other day. Look at that smile - think she knew it was her special day?

Riddle

Who can guess what we're expecting? Your only hint is that the arrival date is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days.

Solo on Mi Hijo

Today I got to go Solo on Mi Hijo - and it was a BLAST!!! He did sooo good, you'd think he's been pulling a cart all his life. He just went nice and easy - and didn't do anything scary at all!! You can see in the one photo where he was going into a little ditch and I was trying to get him to scootch over. Turning is a bit hard for him, I suspect the shaft of the cart is too long, but Teryn says it's supposed to be that way, and Mi Hijo just has to learn how to move his body so he can turn. Ty was the photographer and he couldn't resist taking the picture from the tail end of a donkey! I'm not sure why, but I really have to watch my family, they seem to get a kick out of getting behind me and Mi Hijo and taking pictures!

The Long Awaited Day

I've waited almost 5 years for what we did today!! When I got interested in donkeys, we bought Sierra, the scardest in the West! I worked with her a lot but couldn't get her over her fear. We were afraid that she would run off with me, so we wound up breeding her, and MiHijo was the result. MiHijo will be 3 in Feb., but I decided that if Ty could pull me around in the cart - which he did during the Mustang Makeover, MiHijo could! I've been ground driving him for quite a while, and today I finally took a ride in the cart (sorry the camera died so there aren't any pictures of the cart). It was GREAT!!! Now that we've done it once there will be lots of opportunities for other pictures! I won't be using MiHijo very much because he is so young, but for short little lessons, he'll be fine!

EMM Picture

I knew I'd get a picture! This one came by way of Clay. Darrell Dodds, the publisher of Western Horseman, sent it to Clay, who forwarded it to me. Thank you Clay and Darrell!

Mustang Makeover Results

We had a great time at the Mustang Makeover this weekend in Ft. Worth!!! I wish I had some pictures, but we were several miles down the road when I thought about the camera. I'm sure someone will send some pictures soon, and I'll post them when I get them.

OK, OK, the results...Rainmaker did a great job this weekend, with some beautiful sliding stops, and solid performances every time they showed! In the finals Teryn Lee opted to do some working cow horse exercises, then finished by getting his rope down in the last minute of his performance, and roping a steer.

They wound up winning 3rd overall in the Pro division. The auction was today, and Rainmaker was the 2nd highest selling horse there. A family from San Angelo bought him. This family has been to a couple of Teryn Lee's clinics, and were impressed by Rainmakers progress and easy going attitude. Teryn Lee and Holly were happy to see Rainmaker go to a good home!

In addition to everything else, Teryn Lee and Holly are coming home with a 3 year old mustang to train for someone who was at the competition.

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good weekend! Thanks to everyone who came to support and have a good time! Be sure to check out Teryn Lee and Holly's blog and take a look at Rainmakers pictures in the beautiful west Texas 'desert!'

It's Out & It's Awesome!

The 2010 Western Horseman Calendar is out. Take a look at the following web site and see if you know the handsome guy in the 2nd picture! If you're closely related to us - DON'T buy the calendar!
http://www.bigbendsaddlery.com/calendar.html

Trish and Family

Trish and her kids are doing great! Trish is 1/2 through nursing school and going strong! We have to watch her though! She wants to give us all shots! Things have been less intense for her this summer. She has had 2 week long breaks and has enjoyed spending special time with the kids! Nursing school has been hard, but she's doing great and we are so proud of her! This is a picture of Trish and kids when we were taking a walk on the ranch. I also had to add one of the kids with their Popop because he is the center of their universe!