MiHijo from Birth to Present

Afri / Tex Keyhole Garden

Take a look at the keyhole garden we're building. The weather conditions in parts of Africa are very similar to here, and the Africans are being taught to build these gardens as a logical solution to the drought, and their difficulties getting water. I looked up several sites and am doing a combination African / Texan garden.   Africans put rusty tin cans for iron, bones for calcium, lots of dried grass, broken pottery, twigs, compost, and manure.  Texan gardens have a lot of cardboard, phone books, even cotton shirts. I put ALL of the above. It was a really cool way to get rid of old papers. We had too many to shred, and we can't burn them because of fire hazards, if anyone wants them they'll have to dig through mounds of muck!!!! We will water via the compost basket in the middle of the garden. There will be a 6 inch slope and gravity is supposed to allow plants on the outer edges to drink. I'm sooo excited about my little garden! It combines many things that I value... conservation, art, and frugality. I also had been wanting to learn to dry stack rock...I guess I got my chance, and throughly enjoyed it!!! I'll post more pictures when it is planted.  The first picture is the completed garden.  The 2nd picture is a close up of the compost basket.  My husband thought that if I wove Spanish Dagger into the hog wire, it might keep the compost from drying out so fast!  I love the green in the garden, and the 'native' look!!!

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!