Im obsessed...

.. with taking photos of flowers and trees and buds and bees... gotta stop and get back to animals - lol.

Saturday..

I have to say that Im having a lot of fun with my new camera.. I dont know whether Im any good at it, but I love spending time out and about just taking photos of the horses, dogs and whatever I find when Im walking around the place.

I like to think that I see "something" ... would life be great if I could do this full time an get paid for it? I know that I would have a ball.

I have Evan creating a new website for me .. and Icant wait for it to be up and running. At the moment I am just finalising the name of my Company - it is a marketing and PR company for the horse industry which encompasses managing and conceptualising websites (of which I have 4 great clients), writing and creating, taking photographs. I have to say that I would love to be doing it full time.

Anyway, we shall see ....

We have had another 3/4 of an inch rain over the last few days and the place is back to being "bog city" - it has been quite a while since we have had this sort of weather.

Evan and I took the dogs out this morning to feed the horses down the back and check out what was happening around the place - we are under water mostly, can you believe it?

Jimbo is having a two week let-up and will be back in action very soon after his latest win. Who would ever have thought that Jimbo would be a Class 3 horse?

Harry and Buster are just about to go to school - now that will be interesting!

Oh, time to go and feed up.

Herman ...

The little filly passed away on Monday morning. Not that Iam surprised, however, I am suprised at how upset Iam.

I knew when she entered the world 4 weeks early that the chances of her living a normal life were very remote - but I always figured that while she was breathing, there was hope that she would get past those crucial first days.

She was a funny little thing. She wore Pikey's purple Weatherbeeta rug to keep her warm (that gives you an idea of how tiny she was). When she slept I threw the Onkaparinga blanket over her.... her mum, Nippa, was very good to her.

Its funny how Mother Nature sorts these things out. She had a few problems that would of had to been rectified...

I spent most of the weekend nursing her along .... I knew it was going to be a long shot.

Sometimes some things are just not meant to be.

Just Another Saturday Night....Not

I sat down last night to watch a movie and just chill out ... Evan had gone to bed early and I thought that I would watch Young Victoria - all the horses were doing as they normally do - so I thought.

After watching the movie I thought that I would go and do a quick round of the horses, I call it "tucking them in" before falling into a coma, lol.

I went down to see Goss, Herman and Pip .... they were fine. I went over to see Nippa and Dirty and .... and ... Nippa's foal that was 4 weeks too early.

Raced in and yelled at Evan ... "WAKE UP ... NIPPA'S HAD A BABY..." There was enough in my voice for him to wake up, lol, and spring into action (he had been asleep since 7.30). Evan grabbed his mobile and called Erick - he came in a flash - and there was plenty of concern.

The little filly couldnt stand. She was stargazing .... but she was able to suckle.... after tubing her with Nippa's milk and some additives and then giving her a bag of fluid with vitamins in it he said the only thing we could do was to hope that she hadnt been starved too much of oxygen - he believed that the placenta had become compromised and thats why she came early - 4 weeks too early.

Evan and I set up camp out in the paddock. The little filly was wrapped up in blankets and had on Pikey's Weatherbeeta purple rug (and it fit her!). We now had the job of feeding the filly hourly and trying to get her to stand. Erick believed that she was compromised, but the morning would tell more about her mental state.

We brought out chairs, rugs for ourselves and the picnic set (not really!) ready for the night in the paddock with the little filly.

We rang the owners and said that she had a 50/50 chance of surviving. Not good.

Then it started to rain.

Ok, time to up camp and get the mare and the filly into the stable and out of the rain. I grabbed Nippa and Evan picked up the filly and into the stable we went. I had lain down an old doona on the floor of the stable so that we could keep her warm, along with the Weatherbeeta coat and the Onkaparinga blanket.

We set her up and then came back for the chairs which was parked outside the stable. I sat there huddled under the awning of the stable and under Evan's jacket so that I wouldnt get soaked.

Every hour Evan would milk Nippa and then I would get little Sally to suck from the bottle.... luckily she had a strong suckle - a very positive sign.

By 4am both Evan and I were the walking dead. The little one was not responding as she should have been. Evan sent me to bed as he would be able to handle it for a few hours as I had not had any sleep. I had a feeling that by the morning she would be dead.

I woke at 8.00am (Pikey thankfully had left me to sleep) - Evan had come in and said that Erick had just been and Sally had been standing and doddering around on her own but had yet still to suckle.

Erick was amazed. Evan thought she was a gonner. I didnt know.

The littlest pumpkin is still alive and doddering around now (its now 12pm). Against all odds. She still has a very long way to go to get out of the woods... but where there is life there is hope.

:)

Campaign Ruby

I didnt realise the hype that surrounded this book until I got it home and found out that it was by the daughter of the ex Prime Minister.

It actually is a good read and I enjoyed it immensely. The plot ... well the plot is similar to what happened in real life - talk about art imitating life.

If you get a chance to read it - do ... its good fun.

Um, er....

Jimmy won again today at Atherton ... what can I say.... Woooooooo Hooooooooo ...... Many thanks to Brad Furber, Mark Elliot (super Jock).

He is now going for a well earned rest after a great preparation.

Wee Jimmy - Private James - Class 3 Horse .... What a Hero!!

Gossy and Herman

Little Herman is growing up quickly and has realised that he has teeth and what they can do. Goss is being a brilliant mother and naturally Pip is the best Aunty.

.

Ruby

Congratulations!

To Massie Lodge friend and owner of Posssum - Paul Batley who is now the proud owner of a little filly by Tanaboata out of his mare, Distinctly Magic. We wont tell Poss as she needs to get ready to go back to work!

Winners are Grinners........ Jimbo Does It Again!

Wooohoooooooo! What can I say? Jimbo has done it again, this time at Mareeba where he won a Class B over 1200m. He certainly is doing us proud up north. After speaking with Trainer, Brad Furber (pictured above with Mareeba Committee members and other Jimbo owner, Mark Fuccilli), he is planning to give Jimbo one more run before giving him a spell - and a well deserved spell at that!

Hopefully both Evan and I will be able to travel once all mares have had their foals and we will be able to go and see Jimbo race in person. Its been a long time since I have given him a cuddle!

Many thanks to the Koch's for the photos, the Maltam's for the texts and of course congratulations also to the Koch's for the win by Lightning Blue in the first!

Spring is Here!

Not Long Now Nippa!

Lovely Tessa Rossa mare, The Nip (fondly known as Nippa), is next up to have her foal. Not due until the middle of October, Nippa is certainly getting nice and round. There is certainly plenty of bubs in there!

Miss Qld Mud - 2010

My old girl (she'll kill me for saying that!) decided that it was time to have a mud treatment this morning seeing that we had an inch of rain yesterday. Things are much calmer between her and Goss, with Goss now over the protective mum bit. Both ladies are back in the paddock together, happy to be in each other's company.

Gossy and Herman

People who know me know that I cant help myself when it comes to animals. If there is a stray looking for a home or a kitten or cat that needs feeding, Im usually the one who will start buying cat food so that the cat will not go without.

We have some cats at work and naturally I have taken it upon myself to be their guardian and when the latest batch of kittens lost their mum at a wee age, naturally I couldnt let them go without milk and feed. So, Whiskas jumped onto the shopping list every week (much to Evan's amusement) and I would sneek out during different parts of the day and feed the little ones - and their siblings as well.

I certainly dont do myself any favours though. Last Friday, little Pumpkin (pictured on the left above) didnt show up for a few days and when I found her on Friday morning, her back legs had been mauled by a dog and were rife with infection.

So it was down to the vet with her (while going out to collect the mail) and I said out loud to the nice receptionist at Greg Harris's that I would take responsibility for the little one.

After leaving the kitten to go and get the mail, I got a call from the vet telling me that the prognosis was not very good for the little one and that putting her to sleep would be the kindest thing.

So, with my new responsibility I agreed with the vet and the poor little pumpkin was put to sleep.

I get so attached...

I see Fields of Green ...

After 3 inches of rain over the past few weeks, Massie Lodge has turned from tradition brown and dusty at this time of the year, to green and lush. All the dams are full and the paddocks have full contours. Matilda was feeling pretty good this morning and decided to take a dip in the bottom dam and check out the ducks. LOL

We took the dogs for a walk around the property this morning to check them out and the paddocks were still squishy ... things are looking pretty good this summer.

Hanging Out with Harry, Buster and Maz

Sometimes your just lucky to hang out with the boys and see what they get up to when they all meet up. I dont know who enjoyed it the most - the boys or me being able to watch them!

Gossy and Herman

Jacky Lee .... Winner at Cairns Today

Jacky Lee (pictured above with his mum, Gossips) has done it again and has won the Cairns Airport Handicap at the Cairns Amateurs today. Over 1250m, Jacky paid a cool $17 for the win and we hope that his owners, The Koch's had $5 each way!

It always give me a sense of pride to know that both Evan and I played just a small part to getting him on his way. Go get 'em kiddo!

Remind me to tell Gossy when I get home that her boy has done good!