done with foaling season.

we had 51 babies hit the ground running this season! happily, they're all growing rapidly and developing lots of spunky personalities. 

almost halfway

there are 25 babies on the ground now! and if i counted correctly, we have 16 mares already bred for next year!

we've been staying busy in the last few weeks here at the mare barn.

6-10

10 babies are on the ground now, 3 of which are colts. we've got sorrels, a bay, palominos, and a buckskin. there's one mare in the barn that will probably foal tonight, and i am watching the camera closely!

two more

#4 and #5 came yesterday very, very early morning! after leaving the barn from #4, I discovered #5 in the indoor arena! they're a sorrel WR This Cats Smart colt and a Genuine Masterpiece bay filly respectively.

this week has been fairly busy, and we're gearing up for more babies and for the actual start of the breeding season.

#3 has arrived

She must've heard us talking about her, because filly #3 arrived yesterday afternoon. Another filly, she was pretty quick to stand and nurse, with which we were all quite pleased.

This was a CD Olena baby out of the mare Pepto Madonna.

49 to go! Let's hope they're all smart!

punxsutawney prognosticator

since my post at this time last year, i still haven't found out if punxsutawney Phil's predictions work in this time zone. if the weather in the last couple weeks is any indication, i dare say spring really is right around the corner.

the waiting game

the third mare to foal will PROBABLY go tonight, but she's doing a pretty good job of keeping us on the edge of our seats. after waiting for an hour or so after work, hoping she would foal, i decided to go to the apartment to wait it out. 2 hours since then, pepto is just standing at the feeder, munching on her hay. at this point, I'm hoping she doesn't wait until 2am to foal!


Oscar, Rita's lovely kitty, was none too thrilled with the waiting game this evening!

waiting game.

we're holding strong at 2 fillies right now, with an extra mare in the barn who will foal any day now. at the moment, this feels like one of those horrible "hurry-up-and-wait" situations. the floodgates are going to open wide, and we are going to have foals coming out our ears, but right now, nothing!!

however, i am enjoying the quiet evenings and making a point to get into town to use the high school weight room as often as i can! it's been great to have a workout buddy, and i am enjoying the accountability.

rita, my boss, went hunting this afternoon (the day before the last day of elk season) and shot herself a cow elk, which is pretty exciting for most Wyoming residents! hopefully she took some pictures, and i'll check them out tomorrow, while "oohing" and "ahhing" over them.

i'll leave you with this silly photo of me with my dear friend, socks the cat, whom i was trying to force into looking like he really liked me (he does, by the way).

2 down, 50 to go

 Number 2 was born tonight! Another filly, she's a WR This Cats Smart out of Whittle Tenina. Just like her yearling sister, she's a smart little girl! she was quick to nurse, defecate, and walk/run around! and all of that just makes this mare even more of a favorite for me!

 the foaling crew was on standby and ready to help with ANYTHING!

happy foaling day!

the first baby was born last night. a precious little palomino filly stole my heart at 9:45 on thursday, january 24. i'm not sure why her birth was so exciting to me, but i felt like a kid on christmas morning as she was making her entrance into the world.

so, this one is Genuine Masterpiece x Partyware. she's the first of 52 due this spring, and i am looking forward to every one of them (and praying they are all healthy!)

 these lovely kittens think they are helpful and have been hanging around to make sure they don't miss out on anything! yesterday, we had an extra dog around the mare barns, and these boys do NOT like her!! they were hiding on the straw and puffing themselves up as big as they could get! it was pretty funny to watch.

 in other news, we've been having some pretty nice, warm weather for the last few days. it makes it much nicer to be out feeding 3 extra pastures while the guys are away in ft. worth!

it's a cold, cruel world :)

 yesterday was 50 degrees and lovely, but when i woke up this morning, i knew it was going to be a long, cold day!

 it's a good thing the horses are shaggy!

my water bottle froze when it was out and about in the gator cup holder!

once again, i've fallen way behind on this whole blogging thing. i've seen some people who just do photo blogs, so i'm going to try to do "photo friday" from now on. and maybe this weekend i can catch up the blogisphere on what's happened to me in the last 5 months.

big girl

i've been offered a real, big kid job with wagonhound! so, i'll be moving to the apartment that's over at the mare barn, and i'll be staying in Douglas, Wyoming for the time being.

i don't know if/when i'll be able to come home, but i'm going to try to make it back at some point.

back in the Midwest

I've been living in the Mountain Standard time zone since January 15,2012. and this weekend I got the chance to have 2 full days off from my wonderfully time consuming job at the mare barn. knowing slightly ahead of time, I was able to book tickets to go see my dear friend, Coleman, in Omaha Nebraska! Why Omaha? You guessed it, I got to go watch the US Olympic team trials for swimming!

The weekend didn't come without its share of frustrations, but i can assure the positive aspects far outweighed any negatives.

My flight on Friday was delayed by an hour, so I didn't arrive in Omaha until 1am. Thankfully Coleman is a nice guy, and was still willing to come to the airport to get me!

Saturday morning I sat in the nosebleeds to watch the prelims for several of the races. But really, I don't think there was a bad seat in the house. I was really impressed with the setup.

I lucked out and got to use one of the swimmer's credentials for the rest of the sessions I was there, so I got to be down on deck with Coleman and sort of behind the scenes. It's amazing to watch this caliber of swimming on television, but it's just not quite as good as watching in person! I think Abbie was sufficiently jealous that I got to be so close to Ryan Lochte.

Omaha is a pretty nice Midwestern city, and I was glad to have experienced this Olympic trials! It's pretty special to get to experience it with a good friend.

I'm now waiting in the airport for my flight to Denver, where I have a 4 hour drive ahead of me. Unfortunately, my flight has been delayed until 9:55. So, I will be nice and tired tomorrow morning when I have to work at 7! Not only am I sad to be leaving a friend, but I am sort of sad to be returning to the mountain standard time zone. It's been good to me as far as work experience and gaining some good friends, but I miss my family on the east coast.

falling behind

once again, I've slipped up on my blogging action. i guess I'll try my hand at it again. here I'll post some pictures of some things that have happened around the ranch since my last post. I'm headed to Omaha this weekend, so maybe I'll write some explanations for the photos while I'm sitting in the airport.

Opportunity of a Lifetime

somebody had the nerve to write a letter of application for this internship that said it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to do this job. my boss has jokingly said we need to find that person and actually let them experience it. after today, i say 'let her have it'.

i suppose people would describe me as an outdoorsy person, or at least someone who would rather be in the country than the city. most days I'd agree, but today i say 'bring on the pavement!'

why do i say these things?! as of this afternoon, i am 0 for 2 on seeing snakes BEFORE i was about to step on them. luckily my boss was with me and warned me in time. I've been dreading the time when it would be warm enough for the snakes to come out, and folks, the time has come.

just when i thought i was adapting well to wyoming life i had two snakes cross my path and send me into mild panic attacks. that has to be worse than a black cat crossing your path, right?!

the good life

i guess it can seem like a pretty charmed life when you look at all of the lovely baby pictures I take. and it is pretty fun most of the time, but i have been SO tired lately!!