Here Comes The Sun

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right

Little darling,it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun,here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...

(Lennon / McCartney - The Beatles)

When I woke up this morning, I swear it must of been -3 - and it was. However, the day turned into a beauty and I had forgotten how all encompassing the sun and warm weather really is (bring it on I say!).

After doing all the work, including TMSMOTP's leg (who was by no means impressed with either the warm weather or me jetting her leg) - it was time for morning tea - and to sit out on the side of the house where there was not even a speck of breeze. How delightful it was to sit there with Bessie Merle and just continue to read my book (yes *sigh* - still going through the Scarpetta series, although I'm now on the homeward trail now as I have started "Predator"). I was in heaven until ......... " Aaaaaaaaahchooooooo".

Ok I sneezed once. Means nowt - back to my book and my cuppa. "AAAAAhhhhhchoooooo". And again. Must be the dust! Nothing was going to spoil my morning and my soujoun on my favourite chair sitting in the sun reading.

By lunchtime the throat had become a little more than an irritated throat.

By mid afternoon (now - 3.35pm) I want some sorbet to kill the soreness.

I am not impressed - nor am I going to give into this.

SO THERE!!!

WhooooHoooo Wee Jimmy!

Finally, we think that the penny has dropped with Wee Jimmy and he now understands what this racing caper is all about.

Today at Cairns, not only did he jump out of the barrier with the rest of the horses, but he seemed to track straight. He got caught behind at the turn into the straight but after he got out, he managed a very credible 2nd place.

You know, how proud do I feel of this boy, knowing that Evan and I were there when he was born, looked after him and his mum after foaling, weaned him, and taught him to lead.

He was broken in with Paul Moody and had a good education and then thrown back into the paddock to think about his education and to be a horse for a good while.

Lucky Wee Jim, he then became a syndicate horse and we joined forces to get him out on the racetrack. Fred Wieland trains him at Cairns, Shoie does most of his riding and my goodness look what a country boy can do.

So what if it not Randwick. He has shown that he now understands what he needs to know and he wants to be a racehorse and it doesnt matter where he does it.

We're very proud of wee Jimmy. He done good.

GO PRIVATE JAMES!!!

Fat Girls are Doing It For Themselves...

The girls are getting ready to go into the homeward straight. Dirty (pictured below) is now starting to bag up - not long to go there. Creds is next on the list, following by TMSMOTP - otherwise known as Heffalump. Cant wait to see what she thinks of being called "Fat Girl". Have a look at her Twitter to find out!

Its a pretty exciting time of the year ... just think we are now to start Foalwatch... I cant wait to be sitting up until midnight. I just cant wait!!!

Pip (aka TMSMOTP, Heffalump or Fat Girl!!) - Not a very good photo... but you get the size of the tummy?

Creds


Dirty (not far away now)

Welcome!

To new Massie Lodge resident, Silent Beauty (aka Beauty - pictured above) ,who has come to us for some well earned R&R after having her very first prep.

Beauty is by the now Victorian-based Sire, Sunday Knight and she is real stunner.

Beauty is up with us in the house yards being looked after by TMSMOTP (The Most Spoilt Mare on the Property), Pip and Gossy (Local News) on one side and Dirty Girl and Creds on the other. We always find that these ladies have a way of comforting new arrivals straight off the track.

I see the rumour mill is hard at work (if you have been following Pip's Twitter). Yes - Erik is due out today to do a few things and YES Pip you're one of them!

I have to say that Iam very amused to see that Pip's Twitter has quite a following out there. I still dont see how she can get to a computer?

Massie Lodge on Saturday

um, er, well maybe it wasnt this bad (and no we havent inherited a colony of penguins!) but it was very close. Today It felt as if we were living next door to the Antartic with a temperature of 13 Deg and 35kph gale force winds gusting at 65 kph.

Yesterday the temperature was 14 Deg (with the same wonderful winds) and Adam the farrier was booked to come and trim Angel for the first time and to do the young Connie boys, Harry and Buster. We were actually quite impressed with the way the 3 youngsters behaved in the howling winds.

Evan was browsing through the BOM site and noticed that there was temperature reading for the Antartic. -40 Degrees at one stage of the day. Hmmm (Im not sure that I will be visiting there anytime soon).

It really makes working outside very difficult and we finished up early today to rush inside and put the fire on.

So, it has given me some motivation to update my blogs (this one and Massie Lodge - Dog City) and have made my study quite cosy... problem is I have Bessie Merle flat out in front of the heater. Matilda next to Merle, Ruby under the desk (where do I put my legs?) and Pikey laying down behind Merle. Ok, how am I going to move out from here? lol

TMSMOTP and her offsider, Gossy have finished their dinner and are standing at the fence wondering when I will make my final appearance with their supper (yeah, well ... they get some extra hay normally when I get home from work ...) - so I cant disappoint them today, which means putting on 3 layers, a red tartan scarf and a very becoming cream crocheted beanie that I bought for 50c from the Salvation Army shop! Yes, I know, a most becoming look, lol.

So I guess if I can just budge Pikey abit I can swivel around and jump over him and Merle without disturbing them.

You can see that I run the show in this household!

We're Still Wild About Harry...

Maybe even more so now that he is growing up. Both Harry and Buster were excellent boys yesterday in the howling winds when Adam came to do their feet.

The last photo comes with a story... and the reason for it is because the halter suffered a technical malfunction just as I was taking the picture and the back strap came off. Harry being the gentleman he is, he just stood there and waited for whatever came next.

Both boys have plenty more growing to do.

Still Being a Little Angel

Every so often a horse crosses our path that I think is special and breeding has nothing to do with it (mind you if you had just bought a $1,000,000 yearling at the sales you would want it to be something pretty special, lol!).

Angel is the girl I'm thinking of. Her temperament is just so even, her will to learn and to try something new is more than enthusiastic. Her ability to connect with humans on an emotional level is amazing.

We were both pretty impressed with the way she handled getting her feet done in the howling gale force winds that would see a seasoned performer start to spook. Not the little Angel, she just took it all in her stride. The last time I was lucky enough to meet such a wonderful soul was little Isabell (now registered as Rockon Ruby). I am blessed!

I had to laugh when Trix (her friend, pictured below) had to come and stand with her while she was getting it done.

To our friends the Koch's who own the special little girl, you are very lucky indeed.

:)

Some Pics of the Residents

Balls (Ballasario) who is going back into work next week.



Southern

Nottie

Trix who is going off to be broken in in the next couple of weeks.

Vicki (Vimala) settled in at Massie Lodge. Will be with us for the next 6 weeks or so.

Wooohooo

Very good news following Erik's visit today regarding TMSMOTP (The most spoilt mare on the property) or Pip.

Erik was very pleased with the progress of Pip's leg and even though we are 5 months behind the eight-ball we are heading in the right direction with healing taking place around the wound and very little proud flesh over the wound.

Still, its going to take a long time for complete healing much to TMSMOTP's chagrin - who hates our morning washing session.

Oh well, one day a time I say (and Pip say's "It's just one biscuit of hay at a time").

Jack's Education Continues..

and he's looking fantasic!

It's Just Another Winter's Day...

And man was the wind coming off the Arctic Caps or what!! Today was an early start with Adam coming first thing to do some feet ... new front shoes and back trim for Balls, shoes removed for Vicki and trims for Dirty (pictured below) and Southern. Honestly, the wind was howling and when Evanski came in from seeing Adam off, he was frozen to the core. Adam is back next week to continue the list.

We decided that its been so cold that Gossy (pictured above) should be wearing Jamys at night and The Most Spoilt Mare on the Property will not have any of that rug -bunkem and destroys her rugs at 50 paces. Hmmmph!

Gossy's such a lovely natured mare, just a quiet old girl who loves the fact that she too is being spoilt along with "TMSMOTP".

Wee Jimmy runs tomorrow at Cairns in a non tabber after winning a jump out the other weekend.. I gotta tell you I'm nervious just thinking about it. Keep your fingers crossed.

Watch this space.

Well Done Havana Wind!

Congratulations to our friends the Koch's and the Maltan's (and other connections) who hopefully spent last night celebrating the great win of their horse, Havana Wind in the North Queensland Cup! Well done guys - we had a drink at home to help celebrate!!!

The following story was ran in the Townsville Bulletin:-

Havana Wild Storms Home
Craig Baxter - The Townsville Bulletin
June 17th, 2009

VETERAN stayer Havana Wind breathed new life into a flagging career with his shock win in yesterday's $20,000 RSL North Queensland Cup (1630m) at Cluden Park.

Rank outsider Havana Wind ($61) floored punters as he broke a winning drought stretching back to the 2007 Innisfail Cup. Cairns trainer Fred Wieland admitted to surprise at the eight-year-old's sudden return to form.

"He was nearly off to pony club if he didn't perform today," Wieland said. "He's been very frustrating, I don't know why he hasn't won a couple more races before now. "Hopefully it doesn't take him two years to win another one."

Havana Wind before yesterday had failed to flatter in two runs from a spell, albeit over unsuitable distances.

After bucking at the start and virtually taking no part over 1250m at Cairns last month, he had been 12th of 13 behind Andamon over 1200m at last week's Parry Nissan Great Northern meeting.

"I thought it was a fair run here the other day, but I didn't think he could beat these horses today," Wieland said. "He was going to go to the Laura Cup but I might have to come back here now."

Former Sydneysider Havana Wind – who despite his long run of outs went into yesterday's race with career earnings of $267,000 – enjoyed a lovely run in midfield for apprentice Justin Wood in the non-claiming race.

The Spinning World gelding had a half-length to spare on the post from Mackay visitor Cockaigne ($2.70 fav) with the same margin to third placegetter Xaartrik ($5.50). Cockaigne hit the line strongly in a nice trial for Saturday week's $100,000 Rockhampton Cup (2000m).

Welcome Back - Vicki!

Former Massie Lodge visitor, Vicki Viscount has come back to us for a rest after injurying herself during her last preparation.

Vicki (or otherwise known as Vimala) is just the same loveable gal and is enjoying her recouperation in the stable yard next to the house surrounded by The Most Spoilt Mare on the Property, Gossy and Dirty and Creds - lots of good company for the girl before she is able to go out in the paddock with other fillies her age.

Photos to come.

Sunday....

After a great night just relaxing with some bubbles, good company and music - Sunday morning came with a thud. Not just any thud of course, but a thudding headache from drinking the whole bottle of bubbles!

Evan very kindly brought me a cup of tea to rouse me awake - Pikey brought me both of my ugg boots in his mouth - now if that isnt a sign that I had to get up I dont know what was!

So up I get and get outside in time to feed "the ladies" (who else - Pip and Gossy), wander with Evan down the back and when we get in I decided that I would be a good girl and do the right thing and have some cereal instead of the bacon, scrambled eggs and toast that I was madly thinking about.

Evan calls me to the computer - last night the conundrum came up about Chicago's song that seems to make a lot of conversation - 25 or 6 to 4: what the hell was the song about? Was it about some drug crazed adventure overnight or was it purely about writing a song?

After sitting and discussing this very important matter for some time, the power went off: Ergon Energy's promised maintenance outage was on today from 9am until 3 and it seemed that this had been forgotten by one party and the other thought it was next weekend.

So, without power and breakfast (thank God I had put a pot of Coffee on prior to going outside!) our Sunday began without any power which meant no water, no tv, and no computer. I mean, thank God that we sorted out the important issue - Chicago's song 25 or 6 to 4.

The Most Spoilt Mare on the Property (or Miss Pip) had been spared her daily washing of her leg so she had to settle for spraying only. However, there were plenty more things to do..

Worm Buster and Harry
Spend some time with Buster and Harry
Worm Pip and Gossy
Worm Maz, Madey and Katie (down the back)
While Evan went to the tip - coiffe Pip and Gossy's mane into a respectible length
Attend to Ruby's war wound
Clean Pikey's ear
Chase the cows down the back
Fix up Ball's rug
Let Creds and Dirty out for a pick
Let Pip and Gossy out for a pick

Get the ladies back into their yards
Take some photos of Evanski and the canines (see later posts...)
Feed up

... the list goes on...

and by this time I can promise you by this time I was hanging out for a cup of tea.

2.45pm ... 2.50pm ... 3.00pm ... 3.15pm - waiting, waiting, waiting for the bloody power to come back on - finally at 3.30pm there was electricity and there was much rejoicing and celebrating at Massie Lodge.

Even though we didnt have any power, you know, I think today has been one of the best Sundays... (but please dont tell Ergon Energy that).

Evan and Pikey

"Mate, us blokes have to stick together when she wants to take photographs, the best thing is to just smile and it will all be over..."



"... especially on the zoom in shots .. Pikey, mate, c'mon lets try for a smile for Helen"

"Yeah that's it!!!"

Evan and Ruby

"Smile for the camera Ruby!"

"You know Ruby, I really hate getting my photo taken too, but since we're here we might as well make the most of it by smiling!"

The Dirty Girl...

and her "once a day" carrot habit.. well you cant deny a pregnant lady can you?

Woohoo Go Jackie Go......

Jackie Lee is currently away from Massie Lodge being broken in - and today we were very impressed with what we saw after only a few weeks.

He is such a smart boy and they're very happy with the way that he is progressing under saddle.

They all grow up so quickly!

Bye Bye ...

Evan and I farewelled Joie today as she left Massie Lodge to start the next phase of her life. With Joie gone it was time to move the mares around getting ready for the upcoming breeding season.

Dirty Girl is now in with Creds (who can now breath a sigh of relief!) as both ladies are due in August and have been brought up to one of the yards near the house.

The most spoilt mare on the property and her mate Gossy are back in the paddock adjacent the house so that they can resume lawnmowing duties during the day.

The sweet, sweet little Angel has gone with her mate Trix to join Daisy and Maxine in the 5 acre paddock. The 4 ladies get on like a house on fire and have had a great day just picking and enjoying their space. When we led Trix and Angel down the back - Evan took Angel and she was such a good girl to lead - even Trix was a good girl.

Balls has left the stable yard and is now in the day yard next to Dirty and Creds (he likes the company of the ladies).

Nottie and Southern are now together - they're not due until late November and December so they will be moved later on.

It's funny Joie going after all this time.... you know she was a real "Drama Queen" and a real bossy britches with the other mares, but she always had time for a cuddle and a scratch behind her ear. Both Evan and I wish Joie and her owners all the best for the future.

Welcome Back Balls!

Welcome back to Balls (Ballasario) who has been away on a hectic preparation where he has run 2nd and more recently 3rd at Doomben over 2240m.

Balls is here with us for a short holiday before resuming his preparation.

Wee Jimmy... back in work

I just love his early photos .... what a cutie!!! Well, wee Jim is now back in work and is looking a million bucks. We're thinking that he is heading to Cairns for a pipe opener in the next few weeks.

Go Jimmy!

Growing up ..

With our friend and part owner, Rob Koch (and photographer Jane Koch!) - after a roll

How handsome am I?

The Fog

The fog was quite amazing this morning, when I looked out the front windows the front looked like a professional photograph that had had the background whited out. That was how thick the fog was ... in fact, it was a very weird day today, weatherwise...

It was damp and there was the thick fog that did not go away until we had a shower of rain later in the morning. (Mind you Miss Pip was quite happy about the weather as it was way too damp to be hosing her leg etc., and she was still quite happy with the normal biscuit of hay that she gets after all the fussing around!).

This afternoon seemed a bit better with the sun finally poking its nose through the clouds after lunch....

Its winter all right!

Educating Angel

Once the main process of weaning is over, education starts with yielding, leading, picking up of legs, getting used to being pasted etc., all of those things that horses have to be taught to do.

Angel has been a star performer in her learning lessons and has accepted all of her education as a matter of course. Of course Evan has played a huge part in all of this (remind me to get hold of that flanny shirt and put it away!)

I know I keep saying this, but she really is a little Angel.

Miss Pip

We're still daily treating her leg however, we have become very encouraged with the fact that there is evidence of healing. Mind you, its still a very long road ahead for her to get the leg to completely heal.

As much as she hates the daily washing and spraying (as much as I do I think) , she loves the fact that she is the most spoilt mare on the property (and of course Gossy is enjoying all this attention as well!). She is still on "Pip Juice" twice a day and she has no problems accepting this in her feed (Pip Juice is Rosehips, Cammomile and Dandelion tea) - Pip never has any problems accepting any feed!

I did take a photo today of her, however, that photo is one of her covered from head to toe in mud and naturally with mud dreadlocks... so, I thought this one might look better!

Being Angel

The time finally came to wean darling little Angel away from her mum, Gossips and her Aunty Pip. After the separation, there was a little calling out across the paddocks, however, once each girl was given a biscuit of hay, they seemed to become distracted and forgot about each other and started to think about their stomachs!

Evan got in with Angel later that afternoon as she was not cranky or upset at all and she started to accept the lessons that he had to teach her. I think that she was already very independent of both Gossy and Pip, so weaning was really a matter of course (and one of the highlights being that mum would no longer try and eat her dinner!).

And so, little Angel now has new friends ... her best mate - Trix, Daisy and Maxine - who really has no time for little girls.