Dyfra, Stjarna, Pineapple Upside down cake and the Orchard

Dyfra enjoying the grass around the house the first week of April. The ultimate, all terrain lawn mower. ;O)

Stjarna is doing very well. Got her teeth done, is a wonder she could eat at all, the ramps at the back made it impossible for her teeth to come together so she could chew properly. So now that is taken care of, she should need a lot less feed to keep her weight up. She seems happy now that she can chew her food correctly.

DH 's Yummy Pineapple upside down cake!

The small young Orchard, with flowering Japanese cherry tree in the background and you can see some of the beautiful Bulbs.

Things are going ok. Still in the holding pattern that has been this last year and change.

DH will be flying to VA for an interview in about a week and a half. Keeping my fingers cross they will hire him for this job. It is about time we get a break and DH is offered a real long time work!

Moving would be a bit of a logistics nightmare but well worth it for a good job!!!

DS would have more opportunities on the other side of the country, for college and work.

Oregon is dead in that regard. There is nothing here, the state is stagnate.

DS has been weeding the kitchen garden for me and I have been slowly planting Veggies.

DS has been keeping busy with Farm chores. Not much else to do around here.

I have Ella the Donkey and Theia for sale, wither we move or not, I do need to down size a bit. Have had a number of people interested in Ella but sadly, all have just been Time Wasters, a number of them not showing up when they make an appointment to see her. Very frustrating to say the least. No queries on Theia yet.

Can you believe Theia will be 8 years old this June! She was the last mini foal born at our old farm, how time flies.

Also offering Dyfra for sale but counting what I paid for her originally and the shear number of hours, months, years I have been training her and putting real ride miles on her, she will only sell for a fair price. She also needs to go to a buyer that already has one Icelandic and is a very, very good rider. She can get high strung and fizzy at times but has never been a problem for me.

We did go look at cars for me, just in case this job comes through. I have narrowed it down to the Honda Element and the Toyota Scion xB.

Think the Honda would suit us better because the inside can be hosed out and built with people like my husband in mind. LOL

But Toyota's have always been reliable for us. So it would come down too.. which of the two would be the best deal/price. Am looking at the 2008 certified used models.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

The Gallery showing for my three pieces of Art starts May 5th and lasts until May 30th.

It is a sad day today ~ The Bourke's have a new home

Its a sad day at the house today, just feel like crying, so does DS for that matter. But there is no way we can take them with us if we move. So I found a good home for them.

They will be missed a lot.

Blueberry was an Angel, a very sweet and loving Bourke. Just an all around wonderful pet to have.

Gallery showing starts May 5th

And they even put one of my pieces on the flyer! How cool is that. VBG

I do plan on going to the reception on the 7th, but since they will have a live band, I won't be able to stay long. Do plan on taking some photos of me next to my pieces, so I can share that with everyone. :O)

Spring, flowers, Hummingbirds and Nari

Humming birds are back, this little male was taking a break from trying to chase all the other ones off this feeder. This year we have two feeders, one at the back of the house the other at the front. They chase each other around and around the house....

Is so much fun watching them.

Nari, watching the Hummers while sunning herself on the old tractor. Can see the mane around her neck and her many, many toes. Pretty impressive.

Nari being cute rolling around on the hood of the tractor trying to get me to come over and itch her, needless to say, what you do not see,,is her rolling over and falling off.

Spring flowers are finally arriving and here is a Beautiful Carmelia bloom. Bright enough I can see at a distance without my Glasses. LOL

The Daffodils have arrived.

So have the Star Magnolia's.

Can see Dyfra and Stjarna framed by the very old Sakura flowering Cherry tree. It is always the first flowering tree on our place to bloom.

Another view and angle of the old Sakura tree.

We had some beautiful weather for about a week, mostly sunshine but we are back to the regular scheduled programing which calls for rain, rain, high winds, more rain.......

Oh and the mud, I hate mud and we can't afford the 1/4- gravel and shredded cedar mulch I used to use to make sure there wasn't any mud.

There was a very short day break in the weather last Sat and an good friend came over and we went for a short ride on the Farm. I should of been smart and had DS take some pictures but I forgot. Will have to next time.

DH finished his work at the neighbors, still actively looking for a job. Things are pretty much the same.

Apple pie, Icelandic horses, missing ducks and cat

Well, the nice news first. Here is another one of DH's yummy pies, made totally by scratch.

Mia wanting a hug while I was working on getting her finished painting ready to put up on my online shops. Does she look happy and smug or what?? LOL

Best friends, Nari enjoying a warm noon time on Dyfra's back.

DS helping groom out the Icelandic's before the farrier arrives, that way I could go get all the other horses and jenny.

You can see Nari helping out by sleeping on Dyfra. :O)

Not so good news, the 3 ducks went missing for about 24 hours and only one came back in the wee early hours the next morning. We have not been able to find the other two and ducks are not known for being quiet. They were going under the gates in the horse's pastures so we put what we call "sweeps" on the bottom of the gates, so they would not go under them any more. But we did not get one put under the gate going to the road. Pretty sure that is how they got out?? So we are down to one lonely duck but she seems happy to stay close to the hen house now.

Then yesterday, Nari was happily helping us with chores and about 2pm I had to go in and give my back a break. I don't remember seeing her helping us feed the horses, was tired yesterday, so my mind was fuzzy. Well, DS couldn't find her that evening to put her in her giant Kennel for the night. She stays in there so the night predators don't get her. She has been gone all night and have not seen hide nor hair of her since. DS is upset and all of us are getting worried.

About when Nari disappeared, was about the same time the ducks did too. Not sure what is going on, once.. ok but twice is strange.

Other than that, DH is helping the neighbor out with putting up sheet rock.

I have planted some pea seeds and starts, some potatoes, Yukon gold and blues, Walla walla onion starts, so far. Have a few Brussels sprout starts to put out still and DH has a tiny rhubarb start that we need to find a place to plant it.

DS has been helping with the Farm chores.

Oh and DH passed the NARTE test! I just hope it helps him to get a job. He is still sending in lots of keyed resumes, has had a couple of interviews but no luck so far. We are trying to stay hopeful.

ADDED: Found Nari. I took Dyfra out for a ride to both see if the Trilliums were starting to bloom and if I could find Nari. Dyfra misses nothing. The flowers are just starting to bloom but I did not find Nari. Came back in and while sitting on Dyfra by the house.. I heard a "meow".... Mewwwwwwww... echoing faintly off the hills on the forest land next to us. Dyfra refused to stop looking in that direction. Then I yelled,, NARI !!! and I got some answering faint Meows back.

I got off Dyfra and told DS about the direction the meows were coming from via the direction of Dyfra's ears (as I said,she misses nothing) and I had a sneaky feeling she was up a tree. Sure enough.. DS found her in the forest land up an Alder tree. He said it was quite and adventure to climb up the tree to get her , climb back down with a squirming Nari, who used his face as a jump off point once near the ground, pick her up again and then crawl back through the blackberries and barbed wire fence with his cat in his arms. But she is now safe and sound and home.

She slept nearly 24 hours in her Kennel/House and seems to be happy to stay home now.

Its a dangerous world out there.

Edda will be 10 months old at the end of the month

Edda is growing up. I was trying to get Dyfra and Edda to stand right next to each other. Dyfra only tolerates her at times you see, but knows to mind once I am in the pasture. Edda hasn't had the time put on her to learn that.

So.. almost side by side, neither happy about it, best I can do for now.

Dyfra is a solid 12.3 tall.

Edda will be 10 months old at the end of the month, how time flies!

The other angle, you can just see Edda's back on the far side of Dyfra.
Yes, Dyfra wears a rain sheet, and can tell by her neck where it ends. LOL

DS, DH, Nari and what's up

My 20 year old son, wearing his father's Navy Jacket from around 1980 time frame. Patches you can't see are the Shell Back and a CVN-65.

Nari's favorite perch. DS's shoulders,,, lol.. no parrots needed here.

Second is riding on Dfyra's back or helping DS bring hay in on the little wagon while Nari sits on top of the hay.

Though about noon time, DH says Nari's on the shed roof poking her head out of the tarp we have up there. I went over to look and she popped back down,, then.. she popped her head right through again. Just like a gopher in a hole. Sigh... I guess we have a new hole to deal with.

Nari was nice enough, in a Cat's fashion. to let us know that there was an issue that needed tending too.

DH took the NARTE test last Monday, thinks he passed but we won't know for sure until the 10 days are up. We are hoping this will help DH with his job search.

Still looking for a job of course, just had another interview. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed.

Because DH sold the Motorcycle, I can keep us going 3 months longer than I originally quantified out. So it gives us a little more breathing room, if nothing major happens.

DH has been keeping busy with Farm chores and making yummy Pies and Cakes from scratch.. totally from scratch. Tastes much better than anything you can get out of a box.

And of course looking for a job.

DH went over last night to help our only close neighbor's with a plumbing issue and again today to get some the rest of it dealt with. He will go back on Sat to help our good neighbor with the rest of it. Even though we did not expect or want anything, for DH's help. Our neighbor has made a point to pay DH. For this we are very Thank full. Every little bit helps. I need to figure out how to say, Thank you, in South Korean, as I think it is the polite thing to do.

DS has been keeping busy with the Farm chores, making his yummy brownies or cookies and his Art.

Me, I have been keeping busy with the horses, chores, online stores and Art. I need to make time to finish the Tabby Cat painting soon! Also helping friends when and where I can.

So we have all been staying very busy.