Well, we survived the blizzard of 2009. We actually got very little snow compared to south of us. It was must worse there. The gov. closed all the roads in the state for a couple of days. The north wind was gusting up to 63 mph. It was bitterly cold. We do have drifts that are quite deep, lol. Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all

Here it is Christmas Eve 2009! Winter storm watch issued for us. From the maps, it looks like it could be bad. Gary put new bales out yesterday and we have plenty of gas for the generator. Now the generator is not big enough to run the house but it will run the water pump. This is good. At least the horses will not run out of water and we can use the potty! That's a good thing, lol. The wind is howling out of the north and it is 35 degrees. Brrrrrrr. Blizzard on the plains. No new picture today. If we get snow, I will be sure and take pictures of it. Have never really seen a blizzard so that will be a new thing. Glad we spent time building run-ins and the donkey house. At least all the critters can get inside out of the wind. All the horses have been eating hay like crazy. I think they knew something was up. Putting on an extra layer of fat for the storm. I'm glad we are not traveling today, we could get stranded somewhere!! Everyone be careful and have a wonderful Christmas season. Remember, this is Jesus's birthday, not just a holiday. God Bless us every one.

How things looked in 2008

This time of year, we tend to look back and try to find things we have accomplished. The bottom 2 pictures were taken the day after we closed on the ranch, March 13, 2008. The top 2, I took this morning. The barn was divided in half by a full floor-to-ceiling wall. The west half of the barn was knee deep in human trash. Not in bags mind you, just thrown in there. The shop was the same way. We went through dozens of industrial trash bags cleaning it up, using a scoop shovel but mostly just picking it up piece by piece. Don't think I have ever been so glad to get a job done. It was nasty. But now, we look at our little piece of red dirt and smile. We have done a lot in the last year. Built 3 run-ins, round pen, deck, and lots of fence. The only fence left to do is the one around the house to make a real yard. Weather permitting, we will work some more on that this week. We have accquired 5 more rescue horses and the 5 rescue donkeys. Another cat and another dog. I think that is a lot for a little over a year and we can be proud of ourselves.

This is Star peeking through the rails on the new deck. It's finished, now we are waiting for the fencing wire to come in. As well as the gates. It's been too cold to work on building the fence for the yard anyway. Yesterday morning it was 15 degrees here, brrr. Nothing like warming your cold face on a fuzzy, warm horse's neck. The farrier came yesterday and we trimmed the 3 adult donkeys. They stood still while their hooves were trimmed with the grinder, wow. Huge improvement over last time. Donkeys are so very smart. They learn very quickly. The baby BJ also got hers touched up. She on the other hand, has yet to learn this process is not painful, lol. The new cat, Little Man has taken up residence in Pokey and Sweetheart's hay bale. He likes being outside and "talks" to us while we are in Pokey and Sweetheart's run-in during feeding. Pokey and Sweetheart got their feet done last week. Pokey stood very nicely too. Blind horses just take a little time and effort to get them to do things without being scared. Pokey knows our voices and trusts us completely. All is well at Hawk's Acres.

You gotta check out this youtube video. Hubby's stepson makes this cedar stuff. It's beautiful!

Gasconade Cedar Co



Maggie

Update on Dolly. 14 days and 69 pounds later......

Amazing!

www.horsebackmagazine.com Am I reading this story correctly??? The HSUS provides the contraceptive medication to the BLM? WTH? The BLM has admitted in the past that it plans to eradicate the wild horses.

Our country is going to hell in a hand basket.

Mark my words, one day we will be a 3rd world country. Our people are without jobs, some are hungry.

Right in Oklahoma City, a doctor stabbed his 9 year old son to death. Dear God help us.........

All the while Wal Mart continues to add more and more junk from China. I am getting pissed off for sure. China owns the United States and I think it stinks! The very computer I'm using is probably made in that country. WHY? The US is going down the drain and China is getting richer.

I had hoped I would be dead before the end of our world but I fear that is not to be. I really don't want to see it happen.

I'm going to buy more ammo. I think we will need it.

Well, it's past the middle of November. We had some nice rain over the weekend. New guttering did it's job, yea! This morning, we kept BJ and Roger separate after they had eaten. It's weaning time. BJ is 7 months old and Roger is probably a little older. They are eating well on their own and drinking nicely so they don't need their mommas any longer for food. We will see how it goes and hopefully they will stay where we put them which is on the west side of the barn. Tessa and Sandy are in with them for company. The heaters are in the water tanks and the winter hay is on hand so we are set for the long, cold, winter to come. Seems like winter takes longer to leave then summer does. Gary is in the process of adding our new deck to the front of the house. It will have a roof on it for shade and shelter from the rain/snow/ice. I'm looking forward to sitting out there and enjoying our little bit of red earth. And giving thanks for my dream coming true. Oh yes, Dolly continues to "Thrive". That feed is the best thing ever. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Dolly 11-11-09

Well, hello Dolly! Feeling well enough to trot away and be hard to catch. How wonderful is that? Just shows what dedication and good care can do for a horse. From having to be lifted to her feet by a tractor because she didn't have enough strength to get up on her own to being able to trot. There really are angels on this earth. Go Dolly Go!

DOLLY TODAY

This is Dolly today. She has started on her new feed "Thrive". Made from all natural stuff to help her absorb the goodies she needs to get healthy again. Ear are up and eyes are bright. She is so thin, one can see her hip bones on either side of her head. She is trying! Hang in there Dolly, you are loved by many.

Why? Why? Why? Are people mean, creul, stupid? This is Dolly. Starving in a field in MO, owners wouldn't sell her until she went down and was dying. Thank God for 2 caring people who bought her, rented a trailer and hauled her to Rainbow Meadows Rescue in Sedan, Ks. She is named Dolly. She's trying her best to live. It's going to cost hundreds of dollars to get her healthy again. After the bill of sale was signed, I would have beaten the hell out of those people. Poor horse doesn't even have the strength yet to get herself up. She has to be lifted with a tractor, very carefully. I have met Karen and husband David at Rainbow Meadows and they are very knowledgeble about horses. I'm helping as much as I can by donating to them for Dolly's care. It's going to be a long haul for Dolly, Karen and David too. God bless'em.

rainbowmeadows.com is their website. Please visit and donate a few dollars if you can. They are a 501 c3 so your donation is tax deductable.

Praying for you Dolly. Hang in there girl.

Meet the newest resident of Hawk's Acres. His name is Little Man. He is a Texas cat. He was taken in by a FOB in Texas and she was kind enough to get his shots and have him neutered before bring him to us. He was a fraidy cat at first but has come around and is having a good time being an Oklahoma barn kitty. Miss Kitty has yet to make frinds with him but I'm sure in time it will happen. He is so very sweet and loves to be held. He will talk all day in his Texas drawl. His favorite words are meow-haha. I'm serious, that's what it sounds like. Fall is definitely here. We have had lots of rain and now some sunshine for the past couple of days with the temps in the lower 70's during the day and 40's at night. The horses and donkeys are starting to grow their winter coats in readiness for what is coming soon. Brrrrrr.

http://grannyfannie.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/hello-world/#comment-2

Check out the above link. This granny is right on target.

If we don't act quickly, our wild horses will be gone forever. I hate zoos, even horse zoos. Wild animals should be left in their natural habitat. Mankind is destroying everything beautiful.

Photo credit given to the Cloud Foundation.

The donk house is done. Gary did a fine job. It's so nice for them to have their own space to eat without another animal being able to steal their food. They were a little apprehensive at first when we shut the gates but this morning they were fine with it. They will like it even more when the north winds blow snow/sleet and they can be in their own little barn and stay dry and warm. Dunkey is the least happy as he can't steal food from the mommas and babies

but he will get over it. We used 3 sheets of translucent panels on the west so it isn't completely dark in there. Have a great weekend all and as Joe says "Be sure and hug your horses" or any critter that lives with you.

I took several pictures today and I liked all of them so I made a collage with a little help from Picasa. Remember you can click on the picture to enlarge. It was a beautiful day with baby blue sky and puffy clouds. The donkeys were willing to have their pictures taken. The temps were in the upper 70's. Couldn't have asked for a better day. Farrier was here and trimmed hooves and even Buddy got his done. He always protests so loudly. One would think he was being murdered! Worked with Spice in the round pen, I think we made progress. What a wonderful day God gave me.

As you can see, it's another cool and cloudy day. After feeding, I walked down into the gulch followed by Gary who was followed by Belle, then everyone else. Gary checked fences and I walked back up to stand on a little out-cropping to watch the rest still down in the gulch. Spice followed me up and stood beside me. She left the other horses to be with me, seems she can connect with me but I have trouble connecting with her. I want to work with her as she is supposedly broke to ride and looks like she has a great trot. I'm fighting my own fears of getting back on a horse and Hawk will be the first one I do it with. Spice is bossy with the other horses and donks. Maybe that has something to do with it. She has never offered to hurt me and I'm not afraid of her. But, for some reason, I'm not feeling close with her. Spice is the dark appy in the first photo. The big goof Sonny is the other one. Maybe I need to spend more time with her in the round pen, just her and me. To be continued................

This is Tessa taking her first few steps in her Old Mac's. They help her left front lameness a lot. She is now a happy horse. She was licking and chewing like mad. She really doesn't want them off at night but we have to give her feet some air-time. Rain here the last 2 nights. Lower temps too and that is nice. Hope is slowly gaining weight. She is such a love. Roger keeps us laughing daily. I'm so glad we got the donkeys. They each have a different personality and I love each one greatly. Blogger is doing something different today. The picture is at the bottom, hmmmmmm. Oh well, change is good sometimes.

On a more serious note, the round up of the Pryor mustangs has halted. Please visit The Cloud Foundation website and donate if you can.


http://www.thecloudfoundation.org/

Update

The internet. What can I say....before we had it, we didn't know anything about it. Now when the Hughes.net terminal goes down, we feel lost and out of touch. Out of the last 12 days, we have had service for 2. Grrrr But we are up and surfing now so hopefully it will stay that way. Last Thursday, Roger (new baby jack) was gelded. In the course of 4 days, he went from a sweet, loving little boy to a hellion with an attitude and temper. Boy am I glad that is over, LOL. He is doing well now. Still healing but time will take care of that. My sweet baby boy is back. He was trying to help Jim (internet guy) yesterday with fixing the terminal. Taking tools out of the tool belt, Jim got quite a kick out of it. The weather has been wonderful here the last few days. Cool with northeast breezes. I got a lot of painting done on fences and have a bit more to do. The cool weather is a reminder of things to come in a few weeks. We have gotten half of our winter hay in. The rest will come soon. We are going to build on to the barn to make room for the donks to eat inside this winter. Am anxious to get started on the construction. Gary and I love working together on these projects. Such a good feeling to see it done and know the equines will have shelter in the cold. Jake is doing well. He barks at the thunder. Maybe he is trying to scare the thunder monster away from his family, LOL. Click on the pictures to enlarge. Momma Hope needs to put on more weight but these things take time. She is so very sweet. I'm so glad we have her and Roger. I'm glad we have all of them. They make our lives complete.

Dunkey plays with anything!!

Hope and Roger are feeling more at home today. They are free to roam and graze with Belle and BJ. One can see just how thin Hope is in the 2nd picture. She has gained some weight since being saved. I will never understand how someone can starve an animal then just sell it to a broker with no thought to where it will end up. Roger and BJ are having lessons every morning and evening. This morning, Roger stood with the lead rope just hanging from the halter and let me clean his feet. This is a huge improvement in just a few days. He also led pretty darn good this morning. They both are starting to "talk" to us when they see us. Donkeys like hugs and scratches very much. I love watching those ears go upright when you speak to them. Each one has a different personality just like people. Have a great weekend everyone.

HOPE

We made a 3rd trip to Waverly, Ks yesterday. To Winding Road Equine Rescue. Kristin does a great job at her rescue. We brought home a miniture donkey momma and her baby. These two were rescued off the broker lot by the Fans of Barbaro. They came from a preacher. Not my kind of precher because Hope is so very thin and both their hooves were in horrible shape. How can a man of God treat animals that way???? We put them in the round pen and Hope immediately went to eating the grass. There is no shelter in the round pen, last night around 10 pm, the thunder/lightning started to the northwest. We both went out and moved Hope and her baby, Roger Rabbit to the pen on the west side of the barn with access to the alleyway so they could get out of the rain. There were forcasts of hail the size of golfballs, yikes! As soon as we got back into bed, all was quiet! But, this morning we have had 0.4 inches of rain. Beautiful rain that makes the grass grow. Hope is so sweet, loves to be brushed. Roger hasn't had a lot of handling so he is a bit nervous yet but he is coming around. Welcome home Hope and RR.

http://www.windingroadequinerescue.org/

NEW (ER) WHEELS

The "Ram 2500"

It's not new but it's very nice and clean. Everything works. And, it pulls the big Yuba trailer great! It also has a pop-up ball for a 5th wheel. It's 4 wheel drive which will be great this winter since we live in BFE. LOL. Hawk's abscess has drained and he is back to normal. We have had almost 2 inches of much needed rain in the last 24 hours. We have mud!!! Temps are in the lower 70's, it's cloudy and, of course, humid. But, we aren't complaining. Maybe the grass will grow a bit and we won't have to put out the big bales for a while. Life is good!

Baby BJ loves her grandpa! She is growing by leaps and bounds. She is nibbling a little bit of moist feed morning and night. Momma Belle is still the main source of food though. Temps have cooled off a bit here, thank you God! We also got 1.6 inches of rain last Thursday afternoon. Nice, but we are still more than 5 inches behind for the year. We have already put out hay for the horses. Hawk had to go to the vet Friday. He was very lame on the left front. The x-rays were negative for fracture but did show an abscess tract. So we are soaking his foot in red vinegar and water and wrapping it. He is a lot better this a.m. He is good about everything except taking the Bute. That stuff must taste horrible. Such a sweetie. Hope everyone has had a good weekend.

NEW LIFE

Look closely! There are 3 new babies! They hatched late yesterday morning. Mom didn't appreciate me getting this close to take their picture, lol. We shut the cat up last night so she wouldn't get them but this morning they are gone. I looked them up on the internet and found out that the babies stay in the egg 2 weeks longer than the other birds who are born naked. Thus, they are able to run around very soon after hatching. So, I am encouraged and sincerely hope these 3 are zooming around in the grass with their parents somewhere. I didn't see the parents either this morning. I am continually amazed at Mother Nature and how if left alone, takes care of her young. Good luck little birds!

SNOWFLAKES

Snowflakes in June. I love snowflake appys. They change so much from year to year. Hawk (foreground) is my love. I bought him when in MO. He is 10. Spice is to the left. Hawk must be a little thin-skinned. He can't stand horseflies. He runs to the house in hopes one of us is outside and will do a smack-down on the horsefly. Hawk is a great, great, grandson of Secratariet. That's right the KD winner. I have his registration papers. Amazing isn't it, lol. He can run like the wind. He has the best ground manners and is well-behaved. Spice is a good girl too. She loves attention. The last few days have been really hot here. Early this morning, we got a little rain and that is good. The grass was beginning to get crispy from the heat and wind. This morning, its cool and nice. Well, time to get moving. Have a great week everyone.

Not sure what is going on here. I've seen Belle do the same thing with the baby. I think it maybe discipline but not sure. BJ sure stands still when it happens. I think I would too, lol. He is not biting down hard, just holding her. BJ is doing well with her hoofie lessons. She lets me clean them now and is doing ok on leading. I think learning to lead is going to be the hardest for her. Update on the killdeer's nest, there were 4 eggs but now back to 3. Have no idea what happened to the 4th egg. Poor mom was on the nest yesterday in the hot sun with little to no breeze. No breeze,,,,,really strange for Oklahoma. Have a great weekend!

AQHA

I'm glad I did not transfer registration papers on our 3 QH mares when we got them. Two were saved from an auction, the KB was outbid. To see why read here-

http://hawkeview.blogspot.com/2009/05/guilt-by-american-quarter-horse.html

I would never, never join the AQHA because of their pro-slaughter stand.

These mares are 19, 25, and 27 years old. I should send them to slaughter to make room for younger ones????? I think NOT!

I found the Killdeer's nest yesterday. Puzzeling why they would lay their eggs in the open like this. I placed the rock next to the eggs to mark the spot so we won't drive over them. I think the birds are kinda pretty. God's creatures are amazing!

I've OD'ed on Cuteness

I can't help it. I'm in love. This little baby has stolen my heart. When I sit down on the ground, she comes up and gives me "nose kisses". Her coat is so long and so soft. I love watching her run and play. It's been over 30 years since I've had a foal to play with and this one will definitely be the last. When we adopted Belle and Dunkey, we knew there was a chance Belle was bred and in the last few months, it became obvious there would be a little one. We call her our "late in life baby". LOL She has started her lessons about having her feet handled. Farrier will be happy!!!! She tries to make noise but her snorts are like a sneeze and her other noise is like EEEwumph. So funny. Right now it is sunny, hot and very windy. She almost got blown over into my lap, I had to catch her! She only weighs about 20-25 lbs. I just want to hug her to pieces but she doesn't like to stand still for too long. Belle is a great mom and takes good care of BJ. She has learned to trust us with the baby. When she thinks BJ has had enough spoiling, she will make her move away and we know to let BJ have some "mom time". Ah, life is good.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. Belle gave me almost the best present ever. BJ was born yesterday afternoon around one. She is the cutest little thing. She is doing well. Eating and pooping ok so far. They spent the night in the barn and this morning we let them out in the pen on the west side of the barn. Then it started to rain. They had access to the barn but Belle chose to stay outside. We are dolting grandparents and went out and put them back in the barn. Then it really started to rain hard and we even had some hail. Belle is not happy in the barn but BJ is too little to get soaked. BJ is running, trying to buck and snort! Dunkey is in awe as is Sonny. Sonny stood at the gate and nickered at the baby. Sorry Sonny, you cannot have the baby for a while yet.

Had company yesterday. We walked up to the pasture and visited with the gang. Yesterday started out hot and humid, wind went to the north and it became cool and windy then turned off warm again. Today, it's cool and cloudy. With a few sprinkles. Ahhhh! Belle stayed in the barn again last night. She was not happy! Tossed her water tub, got the shavings wet. Threw her feed tub around. All this and no baby! Maybe tonight....... She and Dunkey are back out with Tessa and Sandy in the south pasture so we can keep a closer eye on them. Dunkey is so very attached to Belle. I think he will be the "odd man out" when the baby comes. At least for a while.

Have great weekend.

http://www.habitatforhorses.org/index.html

Latest word on the mustangs is that the mares are going to WY and the gledings and stallions to TX. All donations to Habitat for Horses is much appreciated. See link above. Mark donations for "Nebraska 200". Jerry Finch is a hero as are Jim Weber, HSUS and many volunteers on the ground. This was no small task and it will be ongoing for a while yet. Every dollar counts and no donation is too small.
PS: No baby donkey yet....................sigh.

Early morning visitors...... So pretty.