Motive VIII

I don't know if it is something in the air lately or what, but my younger horse Mow has been extra playful and I have even managed to catch it on camera (shot through our bathroom window so that he didn't see me and stop!).  I took some funny videos as well but blogger will not let me upload them at the moment, I will add them later if I can.

One day he actually played with the jolly ball that I bought for him.

His newest trick seems to be rearing up with things.  This is the only time I caught it on camera, but I have also seen him rear up while playing with a fly mask and while playing with Rabi, who also reared.

When he gets bored with the jolly ball he grabs sticks instead, sometimes even pulling them down from the trees.

To protect the fly masks from destruction (which he steals from a hook by the stall), I decided to let Mow have a towel instead.  I missed all of the action but this is how I found the towel the next day.  Must have been a fun night!

And finally a very rare moment where Mow is napping in the sunshine next to our barn cat Zia.

GA Cold

Compared to the rest of the country, we haven't really been that cold, but for here, we have (literally) been freezing!  Yesterday the low was 18 and it did not get above freezing all day.  Last night went down to 21 but it is above freezing now, whew!  We don't have room in the house for all of our animals (we're up to 22 rabbits...) so most had to stay outside.  I did bring in the one week old baby bunnies and our two indoor/outdoor cats became just indoor cats for a couple of days.  The horses were just fine, especially the miniatures with their long winter fur coats.  Our biggest issue was water.  Since we rarely get below freezing, let alone stay there, our water pipes and tanks are not insulated or heated.

 

I poured hot water in the rabbits' water dishes a few times a day and broke/scooped ice from the horses' water tanks.  I'm thinking that a tank heater or two may be in my future...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also turned off the outside water and opened up valves to prevent the freeze from damaging our pipes.  This resulted in a very neat looking icicle from the hose!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Parents' Visit

My parents spent two weeks visiting us during the holidays.  We had so much fun that the time just flew by!

 

They brought Doni, my mom's 30-year-old horse, with them and we put him in one half of my horses' pen.  Rabi lived with Doni back when I was at home and they certainly remembered each other!

 

My mom and I rode the horses every day for the first week of their visit.  We both accomplished huge personal goals this year - I rode over 700 miles this year.

 

And my mom rode over 600!  (this photo was taken during the 600th mile)

 

While we were out riding, Matthew and my dad worked on some wiring and lighting throughout the house.  First, we got rid of the hideous light that was over the dining room table!

 

And replaced it with a wood-trimmed cloud light.

 

My dad also installed an additional track lighting system over the island in the kitchen.  We still need to by some more cans, but these lights really help us see the island better!  My dad and Matthew also fixed the TV antenna and split up two of the lights on the outside of the house so that they now run off of separate switches (no photos of that work).

 

One day we visited the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum to take a break from projects.

 

We also went to a gun range to practice with my parents' handguns.

 

This was Matthew's first time shooting a handgun.

 

Our next big project was to work on the landscaping around the front of the house.  First my dad dug out all of the stumps from the old bushes and then he dug holes for the new bushes.

 

Then my mom and I planted 12 new azalea bushes.

 

Mom and I also worked on picking up all of the loose rocks that had been a walkway a long time ago.  We dug a trench under the drip line of the eaves and put the rocks there to help with erosion.  You can barely see the line of white in the upper right of this photo.

 

Matthew pulled out the old edging around the rock path and I will be using it to connect the flowerbed in the front of the house with the bed on the side of the house.

 

We ran out of time to go and get some mulch, but here is one side of the house all finished except mulch.  The other side still has a few rocks left that I will continue to pick up over the next few weeks.

 

Dad and Matthew also found some time to re-enforce the Foosball table so that they could play easier.

 

My mom and I visited family and friends in Florida during the second week of my parents' trip.  My dad had to work (he works remotely through his computer and phone) so he stayed with Matthew at our house and took care of all of the horses.

 

Our first stop in Florida was in Tampa to visit my Grandfather and all of my aunts.

 

As usual, our main activity was to go to a nearby park to look at the birds.

 

And I, of course, took lots of bird photos.  Here is a wood stork foraging.

 

And a juvenile night heron on the beach.

 

Our second stop in Florida was to visit our horsey-friend, Louise, and go riding around her place.

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Mom and I returned to GA on Thursday in time for some swing dancing and my parents spent one more day with us before returning home.  Dad used his pole saw on Friday to help us reach a few more branches around the house.

 

While I was in Florida, Matthew found the perfect desk for his "office" at home and he and my dad had it installed by the time I came home.  Aside from the rust stain on the carpet, this area looks a lot better now!

Christmas at the Gunzburgers

We spent Christmas this year with my parents at our house.  Mom and I started off the traditions by making reindeer ornaments from a kit.

 

They turned out pretty cute!

 

Christmas morning found the stockings stuffed full and the presents under the tree overflowing across the living room!

 

After opening stockings and eating pancakes, we opened the rest of our gifts.  First Matthew and I handed out all of the presents.

 






















Here's Matthew with his new sun hat.

 

And me with a liability sign from my brother.

 

I mostly used cloth bags this year instead of wrapping paper for the gifts.  Part of my parents' gifts included the bags that their items were wrapped in.

 

The aftermath of Christmas.

 

Bagheera was exhausted from all of the festivities.

 

Family portrait (just missing my brother!).

 

Mom and I also went for our traditional Christmas horseback ride since she brought her horse with her for their two week stay.

 

After gifts and riding we decorated cookies.  I tried using rice flour in our cut out cookie recipe for some gluten free cookies and they were delicious.

 

Lots of sugary snacks for us!

 

Finally, we had Christmas dinner that included local grass fed lamb, my mom's homegrown potatoes, broccoli fresh from our garden and homemade bread in a broccoli casserole, and lettuce salads also fresh from our garden. 

 

Matthew cutting the lamb.

Our Tree and Other Things

This weekend, among many other things, we picked out our Christmas tree and decorated it.  We set it up by the door to the screen room since this year we actually have a TV so it can't be on the entertainment center.  Matthew and I even pulled out the festive hats for the occasion.

 

Our family portrait.

 

As usual, the cats were very helpful during the decorating process.

 

Bagheera thought that we made her the perfect bed!

 

The finished product.

 

In other news, this past week has been a little chilly and one morning everything was covered in frost.

 

And here's a photo of Zia so she doesn't feel left out!  She has been very cuddly lately.

 

Finally, a video of the horses playing this morning.