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Accident
We had another storm come through last night and after checking Rilla and her puppies went outside to check the rain gauge. Another half an inch. This is the craziest August. The hay fields are growing well and we should get a decent second cutting if the weather stays hot and dry early September. My first job was to check on Dancer and Oliver. They had dumped their water trough and were out of hay. I do not think anything happened as far as the breeding but Oliver is learning to be gentle and sweet around a crabby mare. The water tank was put back in place and the water started. Only then did I start hauling hay filling the hay feeder plus some extra piles. From there I went to the barn to do last minute cleaning and realized I needed to turn the air conditioning on. Mark got breakfast around 8:30 am. After breakfast the motorhome was moved out of the barn. Mark started working on the outside spraying some kind of solution that dissolves bugs. He left then because according to him it needed to sit a while before brushing it off. When he came back though it worked, next he sprayed a different solution on which removes tar and dust and then left that. At 10:00 am we had a couple come look at it. They will come back for a test drive AFTER we take it to East Peoria Tire on Monday as he thought the front axle needed to be looked at. He had no complaints about anything else. His wife loved the layout. They have been traveling in a very small motorhome and she would like something different. They HIGHLY recommend East Peoria Tire telling me they are honest and do wonderful work. I didn't really tell them that I know the family well, just that I only use them and showed them my famous truck tires that have never caused me to be stuck. At noon Diane and I left for Middle Grove and got the shock of a lifetime. We pulled up and saw the Yanmar excavator on it's side and no one around.
Diane was trying to call Mike but it went straight to voicemail.
Our first thought was Hunter must have called 911 for an ambulance. That machine is so heavy if Mike was stuck under it he would not be alive. Diane didn't have Hunter's phone number but I did so called him and was relieved when he answered quickly and said, "everything is fine." Hunter was the one IN the machine when it fell. We don't know how he didn't get hurt but were so thankful he wasn't. Diane and I drove the truck into the field to where the stock trailer was and got that hooked up just as Hunter and Mike arrived in Mike's truck. We followed him all the way up to where the horses were. Opened the back gate of the trailer, I led Star to the trailer, Hunter and Mike picked up the filly and put her in first then Star quickly followed. I just took a few pictures once they were safely in the trailer.
Above is Roseberry and Thalia, below is Denver, Bulu's 2025 colt now gelded. He is only14 months old and is huge. Of course his dam is 16.2 and so is his sire Valiant. Denver is also for sale.
Below is Lily, the start of it all. She is 24 years old and still looks great.
On the way home we stopped at Bees for peanut butter ice cream. Mike and Hunter got lunch. Mike bought it all and by the time they were done ordering he spent over $69.00
Diane and I were trying to figure out why he was buying so much food. It turned out he hired a guy with a large excavator to come pick up his and was bringing him lunch too. As soon as we got home Star and her filly were put in the far paddock. I was going to clean stalls, really, but ended up visiting with my guests at the farm house for just a little too long. When I got back to the house Taegan and Braelyn were here swimming and wanted to see the puppies.
They are so tiny. These are Cavapoo puppies. Their mom is a purebred miniature Poodle and their dad is a King Charles Caviler Spaniel. They will look like little teddy bears when they grow up. Taegan went with me to Sarah's house to get the big cage, then we set her up in the laundry room. I am keeping it at 77 degrees. Rilla is panting some but it really is important to keep those puppies warm.
Mark and I left at 4:00 pm for Gils for supper tonight. I've been too busy to shop and there isn't much food in the house. I'm not cooking Sunday dinner tomorrow as so many of our family is gone. We arrive about 4:07 pm the waitress came right away, we ordered and our food came at 4:18 pm. Crazy fast and so delicious. We ordered a cob salad to split.
They are big and plenty for both of us. We had almost finished when Beth and Greg walked in. They joined us and when the waitress came to take their order she asked if we wanted dessert. Mark didn't want dessert he wanted an order of onion rings.
It gave everyone something to munch on while waiting for Beth and Greg's meal. Beth owed Diane $30.00 so she gave that to me. Diane and Mike were gone so we just left that on her counter and drove home. I took the golf cart over to give Dancer and Oliver another wheel barrow load of hay. They were standing together quietly but were glad to see me with the hay. I'm not sure when they ran out but it must not have been that long ago as Oliver decided he would rather hang around me than eat. Funny Boy! I filled another wheel barrow for tomorrow morning before going home. Rilla and her puppies were checked. I am making sure each puppy is latched on. I sure don't want to lose one. I took the video below to share with Sarah.
We have lowered the temperature a little and moved the heater farther away, she is no longer panting but the puppies are still staying warm. I'll check in a hour to make sure they are holding their temp.
I had 2 loads of laundry still to finish and the last load just let me know it is done.
