I should have known

When even Spenser and Sunny felt the need to bow their heads, that there was some sort of mischief being planned. This is a dangerous duo when they get together. I am breaking all sorts of phobias and traditions by posting pictures of people instead of just the animals. I think I can get away with it by actually posting one of myself......which really, really, really goes against my inclinations.


So here are Malcolm and I in our birthday regalia! We had a lovely birthday tea at the barn yesterday, complete with tiaras for the birthday court.



Linda and Anne looked marvelous...........I'm not sure how Sarah got away without being in the picture. Perhaps now we know what she was praying for earlier in the day.
Even Sparky got into the party mood. He is missing his girls so we tried to take his mind off his loneliness. I'm not sure there is another bull in the world that would allow us to put this on his head and actually pose for me. Sparky probably should be wearing a halo instead of a tiara. But, it does prove that real men aren't afraid to wear pink!
Vantage was excited by the party and wanted to wear a tiara........but sadly, no one else would give theirs up.
And Sammy was devastated by being without a tiara.......he's so dramatic.
But he gets over it quick.
Thanks for the fun birthday everyone.

Little boys - what was he thinking?

This may come a surprise to some but Sammy is a bit on the bold side. Poor Sparky the bull, he is separated from all his wives and now he has to contend with this youngster. All I can say is I'm very glad Sparky has raised many, many children of his own and he has the patience of a saint with them. He has let Sammy think he is intimidated by Sammy. These pictures don't show how very large Sparky is but trust me, he's big. But he's such a sweet guy. I do think he should not let Sammy get away with this.But he humors him and moves away.
He really could just flatten Sammy if he wanted. But I think Sparky thinks it would just be too much trouble. But now Sammy is under the impression he has the bull buffaloed!
Working cows is very thirsty work. That lower lip pout will work every time. How nice that Allison will share.
Anxiously awaiting.
Just what he needs, caffeine. At least it's Diet Mountain Dew.
And look how sweetly he asked for some more.
And how patiently he awaits the pouring.
Nothing like a cold drink on a hot muggy summer day. Thanks Allison!

Tropical Storm Fay

Fay has finally left the area. We are still getting rain and now it looks like Gustaf is forming to the south of us. We needed rain, just not all at once. Fay was a slow moving storm that seemed to take forever to get here, then seemed to take forever to leave. I didn't get great pictures of the storm, my camera seemed to resent being out in the wind and mist. The ocean was pretty churned up on Tues night, before it was due to hit Thursday morning.

Driving home from work on Thursday was a real treat. We closed the store a little after 2pm and the wind was really kicking up. They will close the bridges with sustained winds of 60mph and that was a fear, I would be stuck on the wrong side of the river, or between the river and the Intracoastal Waterway. I crossed the Buckman around 2:20-2:30 (it takes a while to cross when you're only going 30mph due to the wind and the rain) and they closed it around 3:30pm. I'm sure there were gusts at the top of the span that were 60mph or more when I crossed. The inlet before the Vilano Bridge was rough and full. Not a bad picture considering I just stuck my camera up to the window and snapped as I was driving.
The is was the ocean looked like as I was slowly driving down A1A to get home. (Rain on the windows doesn't help a picture)
AFter much wind and rain on Friday and Saturday, the sun appeared on Sunday. The is from the walkover from the Villages of Vilano to the beach.
These are the same houses that were in the news reports with the waves slamming into their pilings. They survived the storm.
The pond at the farm looked like this just a month ago. It had been completely dry last year at this time.
And this was the pond on Sunday, before the next batch of rain hit.
You could see the thunder clouds moving in late Sunday afternoon.
But do you think the little boys cared?
Nope, not one bit.

The boys try on the surcingle

Yesterday, Linda wondered if her small surcingle would fit Vantage. So, of course we had to try. He could care less he's wearing a belt around his middle. And then he learned a bit and bridle would come too. He could have cared less so off they went to the round pen to see how he adjusted to moving with some equipment on. Walk, trot, change directions....all we wanted. He had a little buck somewhere in there but mostly he was calm and showed off his stuff.This was the end of his big buck.
And then it was Sammy's turn. He could have cared less either. He was much more interested in all the smells in the round pen since his mom has been turned out there for the last few nights. He hasn't worn a bridle since April and he had no problems with it yesterday. I'm not even sure he noticed the surcingle. Here's his walk.
And his trot.
And his bloodhound trotting imitation.
I think I have the exact same picture of his mother. For him, the canter is his preferred gait.
So another milestone reached without any trauma at all.

Sammy loves scratches

There was a recent thread on the COTH BB about allowing butt scratches for a weanling. Sammy enjoys being scratched almost anywhere. It's a toss up between scratches or treats. I think they have equal billing in his pleasure department. I am amazed that the lessons started when he was a baby have stuck with him. He knows to stand and wait. He plainly knows how to "ask" for them but he is polite about it. And it is so satisfying to know that you are doing something that he so fully enjoys. The lips quivers and the nose goes up and out.
Vantage doesn't really see the need for them but he certainly doesn't want to miss out on anything that Sammy is getting. They really are good buddies and Linda and I are both very grateful they have each other to grow up with.
But friendship evidently has it's limits. There are just certain things Sammy doesn't really like to share. Treats - he's not big on sharing them. And evidently he's not so crazy about sharing my scratching fingernails. But he still is making sure I haven't gone anywhere and will continue. They really are good friends........really.

We have had rain.

We have had a lot more rain this summer compared to last. The grass is beautiful and green and growing. We had a summer shower this afternoon and what could be better than a nice roll in the wet, tall grass.It's important I suppose to have a friend to watch your back while you are otherwise occupied.

Hey Sammy, you all right, man?
Woah......he's coming back this way. I guess Vantage wasn't expecting the double roll. Sammy's got talent.
There is just no privacy in the little boys' field. Chasing each other though is a major activity for the boys. It's almost as fun as chasing cows.
Because the grass is growing so well, the boys are sharing their grass with the cows with babies. Poor bulls have been separated out for now due to family planning issues. The momma cows have lightened up a bit but they still keep their eyes on the troublemaker.
I don't think the boys can resist trying to play with the babies. How can anyone resist this little face?
While Sammy was keeping the babysitter cow occupied, Vantage made an end run on the babies.
And off they scattered.
And look who's playing innocent!

Guest photographer and a reality check

We were honored to have my nephew in town this weekend and he's a much better photographer than I am. Here are a couple of pictures he took of Sammy and I. Unfortunately, too many of them included my fluffy, slovenly self so I'll only post the artfully cropped and staged ones. This one, you can see how close my hairdresser has gotten my color to Sammy's.And what better view to prove that the back end is currently a bit taller than the front end. At least you can better gage his current height with me sort of in the pictures......at least those of you who know how tall I really am.
And Sammy seems very nonchalant here. But he has learned a very hard and valuable lesson.
The cows were very cooperative in his herding practicing sessions........until one of these arrived.
And now, Momma cow is a bit less tolerant. Rumor has it Sammy was seen running across the pasture with Momma in full chase. Poor Sammy. But life's lessons are best learned at a young age.