Missy, A Diamond in the Rough

Well, we did it!  They all said we were crazy.  But we did it anyway!  We sold our house in the city and moved from Wisconsin to Arkansas and bought a farm!  My husband and son had already left for our new home to start the new job and the new school.  The youngest two girls, both home schooled, and I were left behind to finish up selling the old house, packing up the old life and saying goodbye to the old friends.   We all hoped to make many new ones soon!

Some of the new friends we were looking forward to getting to know were the four legged kind.  My husband and I had both always dreamed of country life, but had never been able to afford it.  Now, after 20 years of marriage and city life, we were going to be farmers!  No one was more excited about this then our middle daughter, who, at age 13, was going to get her first horse.  Our oldest was off to college.  Our son, a high school junior, had no interest in animals at all, and our youngest was only two.  But our middle girl was going to get the horse of her dreams.  At least that was the plan!

I had had horses as a teenager, but left them behind when I got married at age 20.  I hadn't ridden since.  I was beyond excited that soon, I would be teaching my daughter, who had only ridden a horse twice in her life, about the joys of owning one of her own.   And so, I set out to find her dream horse - that first best equine friend, that Misty, Justin, Black Beauty of a long flowing mane and tail horse for my little girl.  And while I was at it, I certainly planned on finding one of those for me too!

I started searching the internet and since I was still in Wisconsin, packing up the old house, I looked at horses for sale in both states.  Besides, my sister was there and she had a great eye for horses and I trusted her judgment.   So together, we checked out several nice prospects.  We even went through with a few failed pre-purchase exams.  Eventually, I found a horse for myself and had her shipped to Arkansas. 

While sitting up late, searching the horse classifieds one particularly cold January night, I found an interesting AQHA mare located a couple of hours north of me.  I called the owner but things didn’t sound too promising.  The mare was a former show horse the woman had bought as a new trail riding prospect only weeks before but was now too afraid to ride.  I really liked this mare’s pedigree though, and since this new owner had very little experience with this particular horse, I asked for the name and number of the previous owner, which she happily gave me.  After speaking with the mare’s previous owner, who happened to be a professional horse trainer and riding instructor, I started thinking I might be on to something.  The previous owner made it clear to me that this mare was well trained and suitable for my beginner daughter and that the problems her current owner had with her were the current owner’s problems, not the horse’s.   It was a bit of an odd situation, but I decided to make the drive and go see the horse for myself.  

Well, they say timing is everything and in this situation it turned out to be a wrench in our plans.  As my sister and I headed north, the snow started to fall.  An hour later and we were in a white out blizzard.  The two hour drive turned into three.  By the time we arrived at our destination the snow was a foot deep, the wind was blowing viciously, and the cold had set in.  I’m sure the mare’s owner must have thought we were nuts to come see a horse in those conditions, but it was our last chance.  I would be leaving just days later for an extended stay in Arkansas. 

Bracing against the wind and clutching our parkas tight around us, the owner, my sister and I trudged through the snow down the driveway to her barn.  We opened the barn door and then slammed it shut again as quickly as we could.  I looked up and noticed two creatures in the run-in area, a small pinto gelding and a woolly mammoth.   My eyes scanned the rest of the barn area looking for the beautiful mare I imagined must be the owner of that superstar pedigree I had seen on the internet, but I didn't see any other horses.  Hmmmm.  “What’s going on here,” I thought, as our host walked up to that woolly mammoth and started putting a halter on it.  Surely this was not the mare I was here to see!  I’d never seen more hair on an equine before in my life!  And she was huge!  She seemed nothing short of gigantic standing next to the 14.1 hand, slightly built gelding.  No wonder this lady didn't want her.  She was hideous!

Well, we’d come this far, and through a blizzard no less, so I made the best of it.  Yes, I rode that horse, in a blinding snow storm, in the freezing cold, on the icy driveway.   After about 20 trepidatious steps, (the horse clearly realized the conditions were unsafe) I dismounted and walked back to the barn.  We spent a little more time fiddling with the mammoth, checking her teeth, picking up her feet, marveling at how long and thick her beard was, and then my sister and I left.  Another 4 hours in deadly conditions and we were home.  Safe.  Thank God.

Over the next few days, I couldn't stop thinking about the mare.  Missy was her name and yes, she was hairy and huge.  But she was also gentle.  Her owner had finally explained to us that it was Missy’s size that intimidated her and that she had bought that slight little gelding for herself instead.  She’d only trail ridden Missy once when she realized the she was not the horse for her.   I had a big long list of reasons why I should pass on this horse but the biggest one was that I just had not had a chance to properly ride her.  She wasn't cheep either.  This was before the horse market took a nose dive and Missy’s asking price was…ahem…a lot!  But the words of her previous owner/ trainer kept coming back to me.  This woman had no motive to steer me wrong and I believed her when she said that Missy would make the perfect horse for a beginning rider.   My sister liked her too.  After much hemming and hawing, we decided to take a chance. 

So we ordered the vet check and when Missy passed, we purchased her and had her shipped to our farm in AR.  I kept telling Ted and Katelynn what a great horse I’d found, but the look on their faces when Missy finally walked off the transport truck ensured me that I still had some convincing to do.  It turns out though, that Missy did all that convincing for me.  Over the next few months, in the warmer climate, she lost all her woolly mammoth hair and revealed her true beauty.  That first summer, my daughter won 1^st place stock horse mare at halter with Missy at the county fair and over the next couple of years went on to win many other ribbons on that big, surprisingly beautiful, gentle mare. 

Beautiful Missy in the spring.

But that’s just the beginning of Missy’s story as a member of our family.  We've owned her for almost 8 years now and she has certainly earned a permanent place in our pastures. Eventually, Katelynn moved on to another horse and now is off to college.  Our youngest took her turn learning on Missy and is also now riding other horses.   Missy has taught both of my daughters and several of their friends and even Daddy, how to ride.   She’s had a couple of beautiful foals for us.   She’s been in parades and given “pony” rides at petting zoos.  She’s been climbed on and doubled on and taken swimming.   She’s gone camping with us and taken all of us on many wonderful trail rides.  And you know, she never did grow back her woolly mammoth coat of hair.  I guess in the mild Arkansas winters, she just doesn’t need it.   She was big and ugly the day we got her but her true beauty, both inside and out, was just waiting to be discovered.   She was a diamond in the rough that turned into a gem - a shining jewel of a perfect first horse.   I can’t count the number of times people have said to us, “That horse is worth her weight in gold!”  And we all agree wholeheartedly!  Thank you, Missy, for just being you.   No other horse will shine so bright in our memories for years to come.

  

Kate and Missy at their first horse show, the 2004 Pope County Fair

Kate and Bailey Miller riding Missy at a Wrangler's 4H Club playday. 

Kate on Missy at the County Fair. 

Missy, standing perfectly square and perfectly still while six year old
 ClaireAnna dismounts for the Goat Undecorating class at the county fair. 

Missy and ClaireAnna a few years later at a barrel clinic.
Missy wasn't very bendy, but she tried her best!

I wrote this essay about Missy a couple of years ago, but never published it.  Today, we are laying Missy to rest, after three years of COPD.  She's come to a point where her quality of life is low and we don't want her to suffer any longer.  We are so sad to say goodbye to her.  And so grateful to have been blessed by her for so many years.  
Run free, dear Missy!  
We will always love you.  

Church in the River

We missed church this morning.  Ted needed to get some bush hogging done before the storm came in and I had goats to milk and extra chores to do before out of town guests come to stay for a week.   After a quick breakfast of nothing but string cheese, we both headed out the door to our respective assignments.  A couple three hours, two quarts of milk, and lots of filled and dumped wheel barrows later, I was ready to call it quits so I took the 4-Wheeler out to see what Ted was up to.

He was still on his tractor, bumping along in one of the cow pastures.  I checked in with him and then sped off to the “bootleg”; a narrow section of land we own along the river, to see how it looked after Ted mowed it.  I always get excited when he mows the bootleg, since it is one of my favorite places to ride.  There’s nothing better than riding my horse along the cliff and looking down at the rapids and swirling pools of the Illinois Bayou, flowing right through our farm. 

After my inspection, I could not help but head over to the path Ted cut the other day through the woods to the river’s edge.  For the first time ever, the path is wide enough and clear enough to ride our 4-wheeler right up to the rocky area we call our “beach.”  Once I was at the “beach” of course, I was simply compelled into the water, clothes and all.  How could I resist the gentle sound of flowing water calling out my name? 

I waded for a few feet till it was deep enough and then just dove right in.  Ahhhh…..What a cool, fresh and wonderful feeling.  I looked about me and marveled at how I was completely and totally alone in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods, in a river.  “There’s no one here but me,” I thought.  And then a smile crossed my face as I finished the sentence, “And You.”  So there, in the river, I spent some time with my Lord.  And there, in the river, every single part of me was ministered to. 

The moment I dove in, my skin was cooled and refreshed by the rain-swollen river’s flowing water. I swam for a while, the breast stroke and the elementary back stroke.  My relaxed pace was barely enough to give me an edge over the current.   My muscles were stretched, invigorated and strengthened.   My own, God-made endless pool!

Then I let the river carry me downstream as I floated on my back and closed my eyes.  I prayed for my youngest daughter who is away at Church Camp.  I thought about some friends who are struggling and asked the Lord to show me ways I could bless and encourage them.   I floated silently in the dark, in total relaxation and praised God for the pleasant feeling of physical weightlessness the river was giving me. .  In those still, quite moments, the words, “Peace like a river,” flowed through my mind and flooded my entire being.

When I opened my eyes, I marveled at the pure loveliness of the woods and the river.  I looked at all the details of the stream, from pebbles and rocks to boulders and limestone slabs, a bank of clay, and another bank of sand, the reeds and grasses, so many kinds of trees, their tangled roots, the cliffs and ledges, the sky filled with white clouds.  Then I thought about all the wildlife I knew was surrounding me.  Hundreds of birds, fish, deer, squirrels and rabbits, turtles, fox, raccoons, muskrats, beaver, otter, coyotes, snakes!!  They are all there, most hidden from me, just feet away.  “This is amazing!” I tell Him.    I can barely believe how perfect it all is.  My mind is filled with awe and wonder. 

How do I deserve to be here and receive the blessing of this river?  As a matter of fact, how do I deserve anything that I have?  How do I deserve my very life?  I surely know that I don’t.  And my heart is filled with thanksgiving so much that I think it may burst.  I am thankful for this river.  I am thankful for the man on the tractor two hay fields away.  I am thankful for all the people I love and who love me.  I am thankful for all my animals and my home and food to eat.  I am thankful for fresh air to breath and all of nature to marvel at. I am thankful for a life that brings me joy… and so many other things.  So many things.  But more than anything, more then everything combined, I am thankful for His love for me.  The love that overflows into Mercy.  The love that gives me hope of a future in His presence.   The love that promises me that future. 

My soul was quenched in God’s river today.  For God made the river and God made me and He was there with me in the river.   He used the river to tell me who he is.  He used the river to encourage me to talk to him.  He used the river to refresh my body and stimulate my mind.  He used the river to fill my heart with gratitude and drown my soul in His peace and serenity.   The river was my church today, and even now, many hours later, it is still washing over me.  Reminding me.  I close my eyes and can't help but smile.    Peace like a river is mine.  

2013 Calves

It is really strange for us to have only seven calves at this time of year.  We would normally have upwards of 12 ro 15.  Our herd of 30 mama cows, (some calving in spring, some in fall) was reduced to only nine by last years severe drought.  Dumb lost her twin calves a few weeks ago and some how Annabelle is way behind the rest of the herd and has not calved yet.  So right now, we've only got seven.  But they sure are cute!  Here are the stars of this years cow pasture!

 

 

I call this guy "Eyelashes".

Today in the Barnyard

I can't stop taking pictures of these adorable stuffies!

 

 

Our surprise ewe born last night is doing great!

 

Awwwww...

 

The bottle babies are hungry!!!

I don't think this is the way you are supposed to do it!

Goat Families.

In this photo there are two mothers, three sons, two brothers, 
one daughter, three half brothers, one grandmother, one grandson,
  one half sister, two uncles, and one nephew. 
(I'll sort that out for you. The two adults are mother and daughter. 
Two boys belong to the mother, one boy belongs to the daughter.
All the boys have the same father. )  

Yearling sisters, Angelina (left) and Jolie (right)

 

 

 

 

ClaireAnna has had runner ducks for a couple of years now, and only just acquired her first male recently.  We are very hopeful that we will soon have our first purebred runner ducklings.  However, runners are not known for their broodiness or good setting skills.  They are a duck breed that has been developed specifically for two purposes, exhibition and egg production, and like egg producing chickens, they often have no clue how to set a clutch.  But right now, in the runner pen, all five of our ducks have decided to set.  The one standing up only did so when I entered the shed.  Whether or not all or some of these ducks will successfully finish the job and provide us with ducklings remains to be seen.  We are giving them the chance to try! Two are nest sharing on the left, and three are nest sharing on the right.  FYI: Female duck = duck, male duck = drake.

 

 

 We only have the one male runner and since all his ladies are trying to be good mamas, he spends his time wondering the pen alone. 

 

Now Ancona ducks are a different story. 

 They are awesome setters and mamas!

 

What's under this blue thing?

A boat load of Ancona eggs!

These two girls are nest sharing that beautiful pile of eggs. 
They are both dedicated setters. 
They only leave this nest box when I come into their pen to take a photo!  

This is another ancona duck setting on a nest of runner eggs,
just in case the runners don't come through for us!

Sadly, we found a dead chicken in the barnyard today.  This Brahma hen was one of the free range chickens that we don't collect eggs from.  The good news is that we found her body in a location that Sniper could not possibly have been!  He didn't do it!  It is also clear that she was not killed by something , but rather died on her own.  I do not know why, but since egg production just started up heavy again, she could have been egg bound and since she was free range, there is no way we could have known.  


 

We expect a big storm late tonight, and so a few things had to be done to prepare for it.....

The Bobsy Twins will spend the storm safe and sound in a stall in the barn.

Sniper too! Since his dog kennel is outside with
 only a small dog house for shelter, he'll spend the night in a goat pen.

I put up a new wind and rain block tarp in the Ancona pen
to protect my setting mamas.

ClaireAnna stuffed the goat's hay rack with hay.

 

And our resident psychotic has been chained to her dog house
and drugged with benadryl as per her vet's instructions!
I hope it works!

Today in the Barnyard

The Katahdin lambs are all growing and doing great! We have six all together from two sets of triplets.  One triplet from each dam has been pulled off and is being bottle fed with goat's milk.  There are two white w/ brown spots rams, one solid black ram, two solid brown ewes and one black and white ewe.  We are keeping all the ewes and the black ram.  We are trilled and surprised to learn that the young ewe we bought last fall that was accidentally exposed to a ram, turned out to be bred!  She is making a nice bag and we'll have more lambs by the end of April!

 

Ronald Weasley, left, Severus Snape, right
This black ram lamb is my favorite! 
He's turning out really handsome!

Hermione Granger

Hermione and Ronald

Lily Potter

Harry Potter

Ginny Weasley

We had 11 Silver Marten kits born and these three blacks are the only
survivors but it looks like they are going to make it.  They are
three days old today.

These two look innocent right now,
but the evidenct of their delinquency is between them. 
Clearly, they are trying to bust Sniper out of his kennel! 
And they've almost succeded!

Edit! I was wrong!  We have a new lamb today!  This is our bonus lamb!  When we bought the dam, Clarice, last fall, she was not supposed to be bred, but a ram lamb had gotten into the ewe pen accidentally for just one night, so there was a chance.  Well, we lucked out!  It's a ewe!

 

The Silver Martins Have Kindled!

We used to raise our own rabbits for meat at Harmon PFarms.  At some point we got rid of them and we've regretted it ever since.  So at the 2012 Pope County Fair, when the rabbit show judge, Tex Thomas brought some of his world famous Silver Martens to sell, Ted bought ClaireAnna a trio.  The term "silver marten" can be confusing because it describes both a color and a breed of rabbit.  Several different rabbit breeds come in the color silver marten.  But Claire's new rabbits are the breed Silver Marten, which of course, comes in the color silver marten.  Confused yet?  In addition, the silver marten color comes in several varieties: black, blue, chocolate and sable.  ClaireAnna's rabbits are black and blue. 

 

Silver Marten rabbits are small meat rabbits.  We plan to raise them for our own freezer and ClaireAnna will also show them at the County Fair.  Rabbits are easier to raise and butcher then chickens.  Rabbit meat is delicious all white meat, tastes almost exactly like chicken, and is very nutritious.  We love it and use it exactly like chicken.

 

ClaireAnna's new Silver Martens: A blue buck, a blue doe and a black doe.

I don't have a good photo of Claire's adults, but this is what a
black Silver Marten looks like. (Not our rabbit.)

This is a blue silver marten.  (not our rabbit)

Claire's blue doe kindled (gave birth to) seven kits (baby rabbits) on April 4th.  Unfortunately, the first time mom did not pull enough hair or make a nest, had her kits on the wire and did not feed them properly.  This is not uncommon for rabbits.  We did force nurse her once which is a procedure in which one person holds the doe on her back by the scruff of the neck and the back legs.  A second person then places the kits on her belly so they can nurse.  Doing this often triggers a release of hormones in the doe and afterwards, she may step up her mothering skills, pull more hair and nurse her babies.  Unfortunately, it didn't work well enough to save this first litter.  We're hoping her second littler goes better.



Sadly, all of these kits died.   

ClaireAnna's black doe kindled four kits on April 6th.  These were also born on the wire with no nest made and we lost one the first day.  We force nursed them just to be on the safe side and two days later, the remaining kits are fat and healthy!  Mom is doing a great job!



Three fat and healthy two day old black Silver Marten kits.  
 

Here is some interesting rabbit color genetics for those who might be interested.  The black color in rabbits is dominant. Let B = black.  The blue color is a recessive gene. Let b = blue.  So Claire's black doe is from all black rabbits and carries two copies of the black gene - BB.   All blue rabbits carry two copies of the blue gene since blue is recessive and would not show up unless there were two copies.  Our buck is blue - bb.  When we breed him to our blue doe, the only color they can produce is blue.  That is because each of them only had blue genes to pass on to the kits.  When we breed our blue buck to our black doe, she will have only black kits.  That is because the buck only has blue to give and the doe only has black to give.  Each kit will have one blue gene and one black gene - Bb.  So, since B is dominant over b, all her kits will be black even though they have a blue sire and once copy of the b gene.  However, these kits will be able to produce blue rabbits since they carry a blue gene.  But for now, we will always know which baby came from which mom.  The blues from the blue doe and the blacks from the black doe.