We Ride Again

Getting ready for our third ride of the year.

Here's Bet and Ivan

Me and my girl, Holly.

Abby, Anne, and Bet

Roy, Easy, and Ivan.

Ivan was a good boy that day
and Easy in her old age still wants to run home.

Abby just loves to ride Roy, and he is so perfect for her.

We ride once a week for one hour.

Going back home.

When we were on are way back, we saw the cutest thing.

All done.

Gardening With Janie

Janie is watching for rodents

We went out to work in the garden the other day, it was a "transplant" day so we dug up the lavender and moved it to Bet's herb garden.

Janie, listening for the rodents

It has been really nice outside so a lot is getting accomplished in the gardens

Fair Enough

These are our new pens for Bet's turkey's and my quail at the Animals of the World barn during the last five days of the Puyallup Fair.





Mr. Tom seems to enjoy the pens and the roost that Daddy built inside of it for the turkeys to roost on, and this one did for most of the fair. Lots of people took pictures of my quail through the fence but I managed to miss taking their picture.



Down at the poultry barn the day after we set up in the AotW barn we brought our birds in for the Jr. Poultry Expo. Bet's Silver Appleyards won a big award. Champion Heavy Duck.


Birdsmanship duty requires us to clean out each bird's water and then fill it. Kai and Abby did that job.


They took their job seriously and they did it well.


Another duty is to fill the feed cups of each bird, they have a grocery cart for us to make easier to do.

And to lean on.


Anne did great at her first birdsmanship.


I got sweeping duty!

Chicken showing the next day requires cleaning beaks and feet one last time.

Practicing my chicken's best pose for when the judge asks me to pose her in her best position.

It is such a convenient pose, don't you think?

At the show table for us "senior showmen." It helps if you keep your eyes on the judge.

Or it helps to stick your head in the shadow.

Silly bunch waiting for their turn to show.


At least Anne is serious!

Kai is serious too. Just a different sort of serious.

A pep talk from Uncle Mike!

Where is that keel bone?

But it really isn't all that interesting.

That pep talk really worked, now we are just having a good time!


Is there something about showing chickens and being blonde?

Kai told his mom he was leaning on the table so that he could see the judge. It is all about seeing the judge, we told him to look at the judge and he was.

He was so excited to get a blue ribbon, that he tied it on his chicken's neck.

All went well, and we are all looking forward to next year.

To Vacation and Back

Here is a little wave for you from up at Iron Creek Falls

Sister Chelle wants to make sure you don't miss the beautiful falls.




She wants you to know it is scary up where we are sitting, she thinks grabbing the log will keep her safe.

Okay, now we are all normal, sort of.

Here is Martin, his favorite place is on the floor when we are in the truck.

Heading up to the huckleberry fields


maybe he has another reason he hides on the floor.

The view is worth as much as the huckleberries.

Except it doesn't make a very good pie.

The top of Burley mountain as seen from where we park the truck and pick berries.

Never fear Huckleberries, we will be back next year.

These are the dogs that we took with us
Janie, Rose and Pitiful Martin.

Home Again!

"I am so happy to be home," Janie says. She smells the

barn when she gets home.

Some of those who stayed home pretend to be unfazed by our return.

But others were interested in our return.

Others just wanted food.

Aren't they just the cutest little smudgy faces? They are learning to eat kitten food and they get it all over themselves. They needed to go in a cage for their own protection. Rat Terriers see these kittens as just really fuzzy rats.

So sad but these little guys did not greet us when we returned, they had the unhappiness of disappearing while we were gone. Who knew horses eat goldfish. Just kidding. The blue heron must have gotten a free lunch in the horse trough. How many fishies do you see in this picture?

How many kittens of Pippi's do you see in this picture?

No question here, all four horses were glad to have us home, and took us, Bet, me and mom, for a three hour ride the next day after we got back.