Pet Photos…thrills a minute…

Not much has been happening around here this week. We’ve had a few pretty rainy days, but it’s still been nice enough for at least part of every day to get outside and do things – or get some pictures of the animals.


Lodo finally got comfortable with his halter, but it didn’t take him long to learn that when we were near him, we were going to hold on to it, and maybe even clip a lead rope to it, so he started playing “Catch Me If You Can” with us. That lasted all of about 10 minutes, and as soon as we caught him we put a catch rope on his halter so when he’d sneak up to nibble on our clothes, we could just turn around and grab the rope. He’s finally willing to let us then clip a lead rope to him…


…and sometimes even allow one of us to lead him. He’s still playing games, stopping and starting, threatening to run, or nipping at us, but for the most part we can walk up to him, grab the catch rope, clip on a lead rope, and he’ll follow as we walk away. He’s definitely a colt though, and he’s testing his boundaries. The other day I took Ness and Lodo out, groomed Ness, and then turned her loose in the yard to graze while I groomed Elphie. Lodo was running loose with Ness, but the temptation of a cute little filly tied to the fence was too much for him, and he quickly made a pest of himself. He’d sidle up to Elphie, nip at her, and try to mount her. Somehow he figured out pretty quickly that if he came up to her on the side where she can see, she’d kick him, not appreciating the pesky little brother’s antics. However, if he approached her on her blind side, he could get much closer – close enough to jump on her. Elphie gave him a couple of good kicks and became very aware when he was approaching on that side, and I grabbed a dressage whip and gave him a couple of good whacks on the nose when he got too close. He finally decided he’d go back to grazing with his mamma, but not before I figured out that he’s not at all head shy and he’s a pretty quick study.


The dogs are all well. Nock’s eyes are very cloudy, but she still loves to stand on the porch and look for lizards. Lou doesn’t seem to hear much, and the only ways to get his attention are to clap, really bellow at him, or stomp the floor. I think he made himself deaf by his constant whining. I never realized how annoying he could be until we came here, since he doesn’t whine when he’s around me; he whines because he’s not around me. In our old life, I’d go off to work or up to the barn or somewhere far enough away that I couldn’t hear him. Here, the doors and windows are always open, and the tack shed where I groom and tack the horses is close enough that I get most of the effect of the unceasing, annoying whining. Yikes. Thanks to everybody who put up with the annoying little creature for all these years!


The Ruckus Twins are still puppies. It’s hard to get pictures of them because they never stop moving. They chew on me, chew on each other, bark at Recona, and generally create chaos.


By standing up and twisting their collars, it only took five or six shots to get a picture of them being relatively still.


But then it takes no time at all for them to go back at each other. That’s Beli with Stout’s paw in her mouth.