Its hot.

Lotka isn't eating well.

Bel isn't either.

Elmhurst is hassling the volunteers.

Hana is stiff from her clash with lightning.

Blue Viking is angry that she doesn't live in Elmhurst's barn.

Cruella is mad that Blue wants to live in that barn.

Ms Stalwart says her feet hurt.

Missy says, "OI! Someone turn down the heat!"

Flagship says Elmo is HOT.

Taba Dance rolls her eyes.

The Princess agrees with Flagship.

Trail Guide would like you all to know her last foal, TRAIL TRICK broke her maiden last Saturday.

Arc Bar says someone please do something about the heat, the lack of rain and the impending hay shortage.

Porter continues to eat just enough to maintain her skinny-self. Hana Bride has lost weight, too... so has Cruella, but Cruella seems to be better off than the other two.

All three are 29 years old. Such a critical turning point, it seems. So many times the 29th year is a hard one to pass but if they make itb thet re-bound.

Taba Dance got herself caught in a fence today. She is fine, just a few nicks and cuts but, once she was free and proven ok, I fell apart. Was nausous and shaking thinking about Taba, her Mama, who lost her life in a fence while I was at work.

FOR MY SANITY, I NEED TO WORK FROM HOME.

Cruella is 29! Happy Birthday, big girl!

OI!!!! I'm at wits end!

Ok, so technically having old horses who feel REALLY good is a wonderful idea but thats before one takes into account what happens when we combine age, wisdom and energy.

Yesterday the ladies left the barn with some extra ZIP. Pete did my morning chores and after he watched the so-called old ones kick up their hooves, he went about other barn chores.

He got back to the main barn and there was blood everywhere! He went in search of the source. He found it...Hana Bride was bleeding from her mouth. Apparently she had been kicked. When I looked I discovered that her front tooth was knocked out and she has a large hematoma on her chest.

The vet and dentist were notified. Visits should happen tomorrow.

Today was pedicure day. OH, FREAKING, MY! The ladies were absolutely LIVID at being kept inside till noon.

Timeless Sue scowled, Lotka had such a major hissy fit we had to take her into her stall, Porter danced, Taba Dance WHACKED me with her head, Hana Bride pinned her ears and refused to pick up her feet. Ms. Royal Flagship DRAGGED  me up, down and all over. Trail Guide shook, The Princess Royal REARED. Go figure, Bels Starlet behaved. Arc Bar Miss thought 3 minutes per hoof was quite long enough.

Cruella BIT ME MANY TIMES! Blue Viking passively looked into the distance while trying to launch our beloved farrier into the next realm. Ms. Stalwart was almost perfect and Missy White Oak reminded me what crash helmets are for!

The hoodlums were PERFECT!

What is going on?

Then, after the ladies were released from their "prison" they dumped the water trough AGAIN, chased the barn cats AGAIN, got into the hay room AGAIN and ransacked the straw bales I had ready to put in their stalls.

Every time I caught them they RAN RIGHT at me like they would run me down!

I'm black and blue, sore, tired and ready to go back to a safer hobby like training yearlings or jousting...

Many of you know about our color policy at OMRH. When a mare turns 30 years old, she becomes royalty and is surrounded by the color purple...purple turn out blanket, purple feed tub, purple grooming tools.

I have been thinking about expanding that idea. I thought 25 years on this planet, after all the dangers our ladies have faced, needs to be acknowledged, too.

After careful consideration, we decided horses 25+ years old should be decked out in red.

Last year the ladies made TATTERS of their blankets. I knew we'd be buying some new ones this year and then we received a very nice donation to the blanket fund from Taba Dance's sponsor/former owner, so the timing to implement the new colors could not have been better.

So now a person can tell how old the ladies are from a distance.

We have one purple blanket in the pasture, Timeless Sue. That will change to two as Arc Bar Miss will turn 30 in 2011.

We have six red blankets: Hana, Cruella, Stalwart, Porter, Lotka, and Princess. That number will soon increase by one as Blue Viking will turn 25 soon.

Oh, what a festive pasture!

The ladies sleep tonight, safe and cozy, well fed and loved. I am grateful for each of them as they teach me so much.

Timeless Sue reminds me that love conquers all and a simple kiss means all is right with the world.

Hana Bride constantly tells me how quickly life can change, no matter how hard you try, and that despair gets you nowhere. At the same time she reminds me neverto forget the past as it is a guide to the future.

Little Miss Porter says never give up, success is just around the corner.

Lotka is very clear in her reminders not to get too haughty as nothing is ever secure.

Bel's Starlet agrees with Lotka but insists that as long as you stay true to your heart, you will land safely or end up in Heaven.

Taba Dance is convinced that the next juicy carrot is right around the corner.

The Princess Royale doesn't really believe anything is secure. It is important to count on your own self and reminds me to be aware the only constructive way to live life is to insist you deserve royal treatment.

Ms. Royal Flagship says if you want extra, you have to stick your needs in front of everyone's face until you find the right person.

Arc Bar Miss insists its a gentle hand that wins the biggest hearts.

Cruella is very clear in her opinion that if you want something, you have to go get it. If someone is in your way, they deserve to be run down.

Blue Viking wants the world to know that nothing on Earth means more than a full belly and a clean place to lay down at the end of the day.

Ms. Stalwart reminds us all that physical health is the only things that matters.

Missy White Oak says to hold onto who you are. Failures are brief, victories stay forever.

It's hard to be bitter when surrounded by such beauty and wisdom but I am not a mare...I do not posess the same forgiving qualities. I get angry at those who send horses to places unknown and angrier still who send them to slaughter. I wish upon them the same fate. Its wrong to feel that way, I know.

Maybe a few more years with beautiful ladies will help me.

Right now, I am sending an invitation. Come spend a week with us. see first hand the beauty, the love and the worth...you will be forever changed.

AH HA! I caught her! I caught Cruella ransacking, dumping and otherwise vandalizing the grooming buckets! Now, unless she has an accomplice or two, I can readily blame her.

All is well. The ladies do not like the heat but everyone is tolerating it well. We rub them down with a linament refresher on the worst days, hose and bathe them, too.

I've had to put several ladies on a diet. Missy White Oak is FAT! Taba Dance, Stalwart and Flagship have really filled out as well. Sigh, I love fat mares!

Mama cat, Eve, is such a fickle little thing. I am beginning to think she ended up here because she ran out on her previous family.

So, you know the babies were born in Cruella's stall. There they stayed until they could walk. Then Eve moved them to Missy's stall. POOR CRUELLA! She was so upset. We could almost hear her worries, "What does Missy know about babies? She has only had three! I've had 15!" 

The whole time in that barn Eve hung out with the barn cat, a handsome fellow named Chandler Bing. Chandler helped her with the kittens every day.

Then with no warning, Eve took the children and left Chandler! She moved into the other barn and started hanging out with Too Bad, the big boss of barn cats.

Last night at dinner time I found the kittens back with Chandler. Eve is with Too Bad.

Oh, the drama.

AN EASTER STORY...

Things happens here at the Haven. Wonderful stories of life, different species co-habitating in loving ways. I know this just as well as I know the back of my own hand. And somehow, I am still surprised everytime I witness the love. Today was a reminder of how much love this land holds.

Young Sadie, an eighth grader was here helping me clean the stalls. As we cleaned the stalls in the big barn, Cruella paid us several visits. It's not unusual for Cruella to come ask for treats but this was different. She was anxious.

By the time we got down to the lower part of the big barn, Cruella had made her presence known several times. We both wondered out loud what she wanted. I looked over and her stall door, in the small barn, was open. Horses mingled in and out. Almost EVERY lady made their way into Cruella's stall. I figured she just wanted to tell me about the stall door. Cruella is fond of her stall. She is also very particular as to where droppings are left. I somehow convinced myself that she was worried about others tramping through her private quarters.

We finally made it to the other barn. Arc Bar Miss stood guard in front of the open stall door.  Timeless Sue, Blue Viking and Lotka also stood nearby. Cruella stood outside the barn peering in the cracks into her stall. Several other horses were on the back side of the barn outside Cruella's stall. We began cleaning at the opposite end of the barn. I cleaned Missy White Oak's and Stalwarts's stall as Sadie raked the barn aisle. Sadie started on Blue's stall and I began cleaning Cruella's stall.

It was then I noticed a small orange cat, one I hadn't seen before, nestled in the corner of Cruella's stall...with FOUR NEWBORN KITTENS! The babies were not more than an hour old. Their little umbilical stumps still bloody.

I approached the new family with caution. Ferral cats are very common here. I have at least a dozen living under my front porch. But this is NOT a ferral cat. She hissed a little but allowed Sadie to pet her AND the kittens.

Kittens in a horse stall are in danger. Cruella is almost blind so these babies were REALLY in danger.

I made a nest of straw in the hay room, under our wood rack and hidden behind the old FOR SALE sign. We moved the family and went to the house for a break.

Before I made it back to the barn, Mama cat moved her kittens back into Cruella's stall.

When we put the mares in for dinner, Cruella went over to the small nest of kittens and pushed the straw just a little snugger around the young family.

She knows they are there, I hope they will be alright.

I'll look for a LOST CAT ad but I bet this new Mama is just another of the many dropped off unwanted cats we have housed over the years. I'll have to get her spayed and see about finding homes for the babies.

But meanwhile, she has some of the best equine mommies watching out for her and her little brood. I think I'll call her "Easter Eve."