Jun. 14, 2009
~Pieces and Bits~

Oh, I really stink at coming up with titles. LOL Susanna & I took a walk by ourselves the other day and I showed her how to use the camera. She really liked that. She took this picture of daisies.
This is our cat, Reggie. He finds the funniest places to relax-sinks, boxes, buckets..the stroller. I get such a kick seeing him in his various positions of relaxation. It always encourages me to slow down.
Here's my 2 horse crazy girls. I think I've got a #3 in the making now, too. Alyssa is trying to say horse now & gets very excited to see them-bats them in the nose if she can reach. We went to a friend's house that has an outdoor arena so Hannah could practice poles & barrels before her shows this weekend.
Alyssa, asleep in the truck:
Hannah & Copper had her gymkana show yesterday & they did fantastic. It was their first time & they worked on technique & not rushing around the barrels. Our horse trainer encouraged Hannah not to plan on winning anything-to put her young horse's training before her desire to win. She did just that, but still placed 4th in barrel racing. So, that was a bonus. She got 5th in pole bending and 3rd in barrels & poles.
Our trainer even came to watch her, which made Hannah nervous because she really looks up to him and wanted to do well in front of him.
She was thrilled that he was pleased with how she & the horse performed-even though she was thrilled anyway-she knew they did well for the first time ever doing it. She had a lot of fun. She knew a lot of people there from 4-H, hippology class & also drill team. And, she had a good friend (who been doing this for 2 yrs already & was competing with her horse, too) who stuck with her through the whole thing, encouraged her, helped keep her calm before classes, gave her pointers & reminded her from the fence to sit back back going around each barrel.
I just love that Hannah has a friend like that-those kinds of friends are worth more than gold. And, I do love her friend, also. (Danielle)

Before we left, I found a baby bird on the ground-alive. I couldn't find it's nest anywhere-believe me, I tried. Well, Susanna became it's Mama and we had to take it to the show armed with worms, tweezers & a dropper.
She told my dh that he could the bird's father. He said, "I'll eventually be his undertaker." LOL. She didn't get that, of course. We've tried to save baby birds almost every year. I do wish the birds would take better care of their babies-they are a lot of work!
We ran out of worms, so Jonah, Hannah & Danielle were searching for worms in between show classes. LOL. Jonah was in charge of chopping the worms w/ his trusty pocket knife. Hannah was in charge of feeding. Susanna was the supervisor. LOL

He's still alive this morning-peeping away, wanting more food. This little one eats a lot. I fed him once during the night. I don't know if bird parents feed their babies during the night, but I did. Hannah did, too.
This morning, I was chopping strawberries for Alyssa at one end of the counter, while Hannah chopped worms at the other end for the birdie.  LOL  later, we found a worm trying to make a get-a-way along the counter.  Ewww.  I tell ya-life sure would be dull without kids around.
Hannah's got another show today-but Danielle's grandfather is picking her & the horse up.  Pat's got to work & I'm not comfortable towing the trailer on the highway.  We'll meet up with them there, but won't stay for the entire thing.
Right now, Pat & Jonah are rounding up cows so we can get one steer on the trailer to go to the butcher. 
Life never gets boring around here!

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Jun. 15, 2009 - hi

Posted by momofsix

We had to take care of a baby Robin. I was shocked at how many worms the baby bird ate. We had to start doing family outings for worms in the evenings to keep up with his huge appetite. You are right that they are sure a lot of work.

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Jun. 18, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Haflingerhorses

Wow - Hannah did awesome!!!!
She is having a wonderful week at 4-H, I can't imagine better! Is she enjoying the drill team?
Rachels week of 4-H is still a way off - July 20. We need all the practice we can get, but it does fall right in the middle of summer so therefore takes up a lot of precious summer time preparing for it.
I'm like you with the horse trailer - I'd rather someone else tow it around.
Antoinette

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Jun. 18, 2009 - Baby Bird

Posted by basketflat

I read on another blog - http://balentinebliss.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-i-did-on-my-first-day-of.html - that very young baby birds need to eat every 15-20 minutes day or night. That's one of the things that's hard about keeping them alive. There are actually people that take in baby birds and feed them that often!

Cathy

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"Keep my commandments and live!
Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye."
Proverbs 7:2