Summer has its way...

of keeping your time away from the computer! it seems like ages since I've written, and I sure need to catch up with everyone....wondering how the end of your summer is coming along?!
We have been having a really good time, since Babe has come home there has been A LOT of time spent with the horses. Doug has been riding a lot too, and even went with Leah throughout part of the farm, they didn't go to far on his first "trail ride", and he got a little nervous, but did well non the less
Yesterday a sweet neighbor Logan came over to get some lessons and fell in love with Babe. Here she is on King (she said he hurt her butt to ride LOL) They all had a good time, and I love to watch someones face light up when they hop up on a horse! I know how they feel! Logan brought her mother Evelyn, a very sweet woman, and my friend Mari (all of us are neighbors) over to watch the riding lessons given by Leah and Lauren (Leahs best friend).
Everyone is falling head over heels for Babe, I wonder if she knows just how loved she really is?
There really hasnt been much to report here on the farm other than riding horses...all the animals are doing great, Norm Neil and Doug and another neighbor kid - Tyler, have all been working hay since you last heard from me. Guess thats why I havent gotten on much. Time seems to be slipping away this year faster than summers in the past. Tomorrow my baby boy turns 11 years old! We are celebrating his birthday with friends and family with a cook out in the afternoon. We have been searching ALL year for the only thing he wanted for his birthday...a youth model 20 gauge interchangeable barrel shotgun/243. We wernt able to get it as a 20/243 but were able to find a 20/22. We will order the 243 barrel online for him so that he will have his own deer gun this fall to.
Last week we had a very interesting view of a storm rolling in. My neighbor called me and told me to get outside with my camera it looked like we had mountains in the distance...hmmm. Walked outside to see the most magnificent clouds I've ever seen! They did look like we had mountains in the distance, or waves of the ocean. I've never seen clouds like this before...it was really cool! The kids and I watched until the unique clouds disappeared. Very cool. I took a few pictures and of course they just dont do that sky any justice, but here they are any way.

Well I've got to begin preparing for Douglas' birthday party tomorrow, and get some supper laid out. You guys have a great Sunday, I'll be by soon to catch up when things slow down a bit.
~*~Rae~*~

Saturday on the farm

(Molly above) We have had some full days lately. Norm has been bailing and raking hay all week. Today he did the yards and mowed a path across the farm for us to ride. Its bumpy from the wet winter with tire tracks from the tractor and cow prints, and in the tall grass its hard for the horses to see all the low spots and with all the rain we also had some "streams" running through causing even more ditches. (Isnt he so sweet to take up all that time just so we could ride??!!)

Even the kittens got into the act! This is Cowboy and King

And even the little Indian couldnt resist a ride in the saddle!

Neil and Michaela (the neighbors down the street and my other "children") spent the day and have been dying to ride the horses and since the temps cooled down tonight they were finally able to. Michaela is too scared to be away from home over night so she didnt stay till morning, but Neil comes over a lot on the weekends and stayed the night with Douglas.

This next pic is Michaela and Cowboy...again the kittens couldnt stay away and wanted to join in the fun (cowboy likes to play with the horses and swing from their tails!)

Cat in the hat? Nah...it's really Cat on a hat

This is Neil (he is a little too big for Babe)

But he sure did fall in love with her right away! No she isnt a pony, he is just very tall and she loves hugs so she lowered her head down for some affection from her new friend.

Now this is a better fit!

Can you see the love in Dougs eyes? I have just been so tickled with how he is riding, just jumping up there and going off like he's done this his whole life! he has finally faced his fears, next step is riding King, but he isnt confident enough yet for him.

Michaela was a little scared and has only been on a horse a few times, but she did well for her first time, with lessons from Leah,

Here goes Doug off on his own to the other end of the pasture, he even loped with her! Soon he'll be cantering along like a little cowboy

Best Friends (I love this picture!)

But this is my favorite! I wish it was more clear, my camera was taking some blurry pictures today and I couldnt figure out why.

The geese on the pond were making their way for a good nights rest

We topped the day off with the 5 of us (me and Norm, Leah, Doug, Michaela and Neil) sitting outside watching fireworks down the street making up for the rainy 4th of July, and my good friend Tina came over and we sat outside until well after midnight laughing and having such a good time! The only thing we lacked was a bon fire...why didnt I think of that?
Our days have been filled with horses since Babe has come home, work on the farm has actually slowed down since planting is done and most of the hay bailed and put away. Norm can now finally breathe a little easier now, and hopefully wont have to work anymore 15+ hours a day now thats its slowed down.
So what did you do today?

Tired Thursday

It's really been busy around here. Summer seems to be slipping away to fast. Before we know it it'll be time for the kids to start school and then the next time we turn around the dreaded winter months will be here! *sigh* We have been taking advantage of the warm summer sun and spending most of the day outside.
Norm has been busy cutting, raking, and bailing hay in the big hay pasture. Tomorrow the guys will all load the hay onto wagons and put it up in the barn and the big round bails will go into the lot for feeding the cattle in the winter.
The silage corn is coming up good, not to mention all the field corn, its huge and just about to tassel. Soy beans are looking good as well. I don't want to jinx us, but it looks like this year will be a good one. We have had a lot of rain, sometimes its been a little much, but its better than last year where we hardly got any! It hurt the crops, the pastures for the cattle, and our hay cuttings badly. This year it's green everywhere, and cattle are fat and happy.
We did have a young heifer die yesterday and we arent sure why. She just laid down and apparently was sleeping when she died. The dead wagon that has been used in the past has changed hands. Rather than making rounds once a week with the old company (meaning that a dead cow could sit several days and stink up the place!) Now they come out the same day, and if unable to come that day they do the very next day. In fact the driver called yesterday to tell us he just couldnt make it from his other trips cause his truck broke down and apologized! What a surprise! I think we will like this new company much better!
I did some work in the garden and have decided that next year we will not plant near as many plants as we have this year. I have too much squash and cucumbers that I dont know what to do with! I'm hoping some of our neighbors and family will take some. If not I'll be putting a sign up in the yard advertising free veggies!
I finally was able to pick a few jalapenos and banana peppers. The green peppers are getting bigger and wont be long until they are ready. I planted a bit later this year so no sweet corn or watermelons yet....really bummed about that!
Today we took a little trip out of town and went to our favorite Chinese restaurant! We haven't been in a year, it's about an hour away where I used to live in the big city, and anymore I really hate going up there. In fact I hate going to town here! The food was great! I began going there when I was 2 years old! My mother and aunt went all the time and of course drug me and my brother along, then after I moved back from North Carolina, I too started taking my kids. Leah and I totally drooled the whole time it was so yummy! :-)
Norm began his farm work when we got home so we didn't see him till after dark, and he went to bed right after supper. We are all beat today, the heat has really drained us! The dew point has been 65 so its humid and you cant help but start to sweat as soon as you go outdoors! This hot and muggy weather makes it hard on the horses so we havent ridden the last two days. We did today for a few minutes. Doug has been dying to ride again, and Leah wanted to ride Babe bareback. She is so smooth so it makes it really easy. We wanted to work on our balance so we decided to bring her up and ride for a small bit. We didnt put the bridle on, just used her halter and some lead ropes....my girl is so good! Both Leah and horse! Douglas did so well without a saddle! I really have been so proud of him, he has come such a long way since Saturday when we brought her home! After that colt kicked him and severed part of one of his fingers, he was terrified of them. Now he is grooming, tacking the horse, riding and hugging all over her! She knows Doug doesnt know much about what he is doing and that he is a kid, and walks so slow when he is on her. He can get her to gait though! And he did that bareback too! Of course since she is a Tenn. Walker it's so smooth its easy. I however, being so short have a hard time climbing on her and getting down without stirrups! I rode bareback too, but I had more trouble that Douglas, of course I'm old and fat and that makes a difference! She was also getting pretty sweaty and we didn't want to do anything much, so I didn't ride for long like that.
We also got our hands on Buck, haltered him and brought him into the barn for some grooming. he is pretty shy of everyone but Norm. But a mans heart is through his stomach! He did well, much better than I expected! We only had him tied and groomed long enough to brush him down all over and comb his mane. His poor tail is a mess and needs much more work, I'm really hoping we dont have to cut it because it drags the ground and is so beautiful. He is so sun burnt he looks like a buckskin, even though he is really a beautiful chocolate color. He has a tad bit of rain rot too! I guess all this wet weather has been a little hard on his skin. So tomorrow we are going to pick up some stuff to clear it up. Luckily its not bad.
Leah worked with Jack again today, he had a trailer loading lesson, and loaded very well twice with no problem. the second time he took a little longer to walk up, but he still did well. He was saddled for the second time and did great. Leah had her feet in the stirrups and leaned her body onto his back, working on jumping up and down on the ground and into the stirrups, and flapping the stirrups on him. That was the only thing that made him a little nervous, but after a few times he relaxed. I took some pictures I posted below. Well time for bed, more garden work in the morning, horse lessons and grooming, and hopefully taking it easier than today....probably not though! I hope tomorrow i have more time to visit your blogs, I'm just too beat and need to hit the hay. I hope all is well with you! Enjoy the pictures of Jacks lessons!

A day with my kids and my horse

Welcome to the farm/horse blog here at Wilmoth Farms!
Whew is all I can say for the day today! Yesterday I about burned the house down grilling out some steak! Leah and I were making supper, homemade macaroni and cheese, fried green tomato's from the garden, one lone red tomato sliced, and some burnt yet under done steaks raised and hand fed from the farm.....
I set the grill on low and put the steaks on intending on a nice slow cooked steak....but about 10 minutes later Norm runs in and tells me the grill is flaming and black smoke is billowing out into the yard! The grill was on fire and not a little fire, and the porch was close to burning! Luckily Norm was here mowing the yard and saw the smoke cause the kids and I were in the house! Could have been a disaster, the propane tank could have blown, the house could have burned! We did recover from the scare, but unfortunately the steak didn't get through it okay! You know your loved when your family eats you burnt under cook steak! We think there was a birds nest I didn't see or was aware of and it caught fire.
Norm has spent the day mowing another pasture for hay. (if anyone wants any hay here close to us let me know!!!)
Today was fun....reminiscent....and HOT!
After our cool spell last week today was HOT and humid! It got up to 88 degrees!
The farrier came today, not the usual but a fill in for our guy who had knee surgery a week or two ago. I wasnt NEAR as happy with him as I am when Josh shoe's and trims. He did...okay...but slopping looking. Now dont get me wrong when I say sloppy. He basically did the shoeing okay....I felt he filed down Babe's hooves to short. She isnt in any trouble of having hoof problems, and he did set her shoes good. I just think he didn't have to file that much on the wall of her hoof. Josh does it clear enough to perfect so I was spoiled, and this guy charges more! I hope Josh is on his feet when its time for a mani and a pedi again!
Now I always seem to leave Jack out of my posts and pretty much have ignored posting! I dont know why? But I'm gonna post about him a little.

Jack did not get to get out of a day at the Wilmoth Farms Hair Salon! He really got a work up, his first ever complete day of beauty. He was a shiny little clean colt when we were done with him!

I dont know if he likes his new Doo or not, he stood still though and finally tried to go to sleep on us after a bit. As you can see the black in Jack (ha ha that rhymes!) is either sunburned or he is turning into a brown, black, and white paint...hmm take a look and tell me what ya think.

I love his eye has a little blue sliver in that pretty almost black eyeball of his! You can see it in the above pic better than this one I think.

Jack has really amazed us. We dont know exactly how old he was the day he showed up on the farm...quite expectantly! He was a neighbors horse down the street and he was shooting off guns right by his pen that he had just been weaned, in. As you can guess...he jumped fence and went running to get as far away from that idiot that he can! It took them 2 days of trying to catch him before the neighbor was totally pissed off by riding a mare up to the barn. He thought the horse was worthless with a nervous disposition. (he was wrong!) Jack is the quietest colt I've EVER seen or been around. He haltered from the start with no full at all. He has learned a few commands that we use such as sound or body language along with word commands. For instance, When we are needing him to move that pretty colt's but out of the way. We snap our fingers at his rear end and he automatically steps aside our of your space.

Jack stands well, grooms (usually falling asleep!), lets us pick up 3 feet. Doesnt kick, never has, has had a saddle on a few times and never cared, has had a bit in his mouth, the bridel was too big so we had to hold it where it fits, even with our hands above his head the whole time, he didn't care. All this done after the first time we tried. He is a little friendly and loving horse! He has issues we are dealing with right now. We are working on him picking up that last hoof for us to pick out. Today he did finally pick it up after some work, and started to let Leah pick it when he pulled. Leah held on and when he quit she let go. We praised him and ended on a good experience rather than a bad. He didn't like to be separated all day from his buddies, but it didn't kill him and something he has to learn to be okay with it. He even had fly spray on for the first time and never twitched a thing on him, he didn't care! This little guy will be easy from start to finish I think. I'm going to send him to someone to start some ground work with him. I dont have a round pen or space to do so. He likes his comfort zones with the other horses. He needs to learn a lot that I cannot do with out that accommodation. We are really going slow with him and do repetition work each time. We always end it pleasurable. He also doesnt like to walk outside the barn or the field and has taken off twice now....he goes right to the gate to the field at least.
I cant wait until one of us ride him!

What is it about a horses butt thats so cute? Babe is another one of those who doesnt care what you do. And had her day of beauty too. Cowboy had a little nap in the hay.

The guys all got new fly masks. I wonder if that would count as a mud path facial at the salon?

Babe too got her's!

I'll get into our riding day now. Leah and I rode for about an hour (too hot to do much and had some barn cleaning to do). I remembered again why I love this horse. She is like riding a cloud since her walk and gait are smooth! We had a great time walking around in the horse pasture and the heifers pasture (which is much bigger). She did great on all her voice commands when I verbally asked them, except for - stop, left, and right. Babe was trying to get back to the barn so we had to walk around a bit more and she was made to think going to the barn is our idea and what we want. We were ready and she didn't try to lope to the barn. That is one thing I want out of her right away. Actually its the only thing she needs a little work on and actually its me thats doing it wrong when I'm stopping her from doing that. Now you might picture a horse jumping around and totally ignoring me and not listening. She didn't really do much except trying to turn in that direction every few minutes! It got annoying by it quickly. Doug rode Babe today after his 15 minute riding lesson from Leah yesterday. He walked, gaited and loped on her! He was nervous when she gaited and loped, but all in all I was soooooo proud of him for just getting on there and giving it a try even if it might scare him a little!!!

He really had a fun time! And as you can see he took the lead even!

This is the view from atop of King.

We tried to get some pictures that didn't make me look fat, THAT didn't work as I'm sitting here and seeing thats impossible. And the hair got flat after sweating in the helmet!

I have a picture of each of my kids peaking out from under babes head to print off so we decided to take one of me too to join them...not really happy with that one but its the best we got, maybe when I wake up tomorrow and that 30 pounds I want to loose is gone, and we could try again!

My beautiful Babe

I had a blast about finally being up in the saddle again after several years! I never once got nervous after not riding in 3 or 4 years with this stupid fear I developed.

My view from a horse
Babe and King dont feel they have to be first, they just switched off the whole time.

I'm just so glad to be reunited with her and get my experience and be confident at it. I had forgotten that it felt like to ride her, its as if your walking on clouds. I know now that this fear will be gone and I will officially be back in the saddle! We ended the day with supper out for pizza.
I have an award for some of you so keep scrolling down to the other post I did before this post. Guys' check out those blogs they are all so great and worthy of an honest scrap award!
Thanks again Luanne!
nite all, I'll catch up on your blogs tomorrow, my eyes are now crossed and trying to close so I think thats a sign I should head to bed....good grief! Its 1:29 am!!!!
See ya! May God bless you!