Enough of the wind already!

Holy mackerel, it is so flipping windy, and has been for days now. Warmer, yes it is warmer. Melting snow, sure we have that. Too windy to go outside though, you need weighted boots to stay upright and to stop you from partaking in an impromptu flight (or tumble through the icy mud puddles). The poor donkeys, they hate all of this wind, they are not happy. Lots of heehawing going on, they are refusing to leave the shelter, can't say that I blame them. Dise, undaunted by the blusteryness, has turned into a mud monster, yay. That horse cannot stay clean to save her life, I am sure she is part hippo, she loves to wallow. Right now I am not sure what I dislike the most, snow or mud. Both are annoying, both make it difficult to get things done outside. At least the snow hides all the poos! Now that they are uncovered it is more than obvious that we have a lot of scooping and cleaning to do when the ground is dry enough to get a bobcat into the pens. Yay! :) Waiting for the monsoons now, that seems to be the way things go around here, we usually end up with lakefront property in the spring lol. So much for the dry, bald prairie. Haven't seen evidence of that for a few years now. Theme tune for the last few springs has been "The truck got stuck" by Corb Lund, fingers crossed I can choose a new song this year!

Blow wind, blow! Get rid of all of this bloody snow!

It is official, I have cabin fever. Oh sure I could put on a snowsuit and boots and a toque and mitts and head outside, but I don't want to, so there!
I want to go outside in shorts and a tshirt and flip flops! I am done with winter, done with snow, done with being stuck in the drive! I want to plant grass seed, so that we can grow more than weeds this year. I want to get working with the horses and donkeys. I want to start cleaning up the yard, it still looks like we have had a major battle out there, have to get rid of the holes and trenches. Our drive looks like a mountain range, getting to the haystack requires ropes and carabiners (almost). The critters are fed up and I can't say that I blame them. It has been a rough winter for everyone.
Here's hoping that spring is warm and dry. No monsoons, no mudbogs, no floods.
Fingers crossed......

Hairy Hippos roam the prairies

The Hairy Hippos, Dise and Metta. My beautiful girls, I love them. Dainty, absolutely not. Graceful, hardly. Hairy, oh yes, they are hairy. Fjord horses are made for harsh winters, roaming the frozen wastelands of Norway. Are there frozen wastelands in Norway? I expect so. The girls are very hardy and I swear they gain weight just looking at hay. Easy keepers. We have a lot in common really. They love their food. The motto of the Norwegian Fjord Horse should be "We live to eat!" Vertically challenged, they make up for it in spirit. They want to be the boss, I want to be the boss. we debate this continually. I am learning not to be so bossy. At least one of us is learning. Dise is five and loves to walk, or stop. Stop is her favourite. Metta is twenty three and loves to go, and not stop. I am forty three and hope for something in between. Metta is the boss, nobody messes with her. Metta's word is final. She controls the herd with a turn of the head, an ear pinned back, a look. Very impressive. Much like Elsie Nelson and the raised finger, cross her if you dare, very few did. The girls look like they are a missing link to the horses of long ago. Dorsal stripes running through their manes, along their backs and continuing through their tails. Prehistoric ponies, with manicured hooves and a love of apples and carrots. The food, it is all about the food.

Thistledown Donkeys - meet the longears!

Chico, the superstar. He is the flagship for Thistledown Donkeys. Chico has been to Edmonton for an appearance at a Mexican themed patio party for an Earls Restaurant. He has been to two grand openings for an electronics store, enumerable children's birthday parties, day care festivals etc. He has made appearances at adults birthday parties (no he will not wear a wig and we will pass on the shots of sambuca, thank you). He can be a bit temperamental and moody, he is a star after all. He loves bananas, especially the peels. He rolls up the rim, almost time to do that again, and will happily accept coffee dregs.

Tequila, my first donkey, a rescue from the meat pen at Innisfail Auction. This donk has way too much personality. She is a kleptomaniac, an escape artist, a fool. She hates dogs, and birds, and deer. She is our guard donk. She refuses to be ridden and will lose structural integrity and fall over. She is a clown. I love the big moose, you can almost see her thoughts she is so animated.

Chiquita, over fed, over loved, yet uncared for. She came to us grossly overweight and covered in fat pads. Her hooves were so overgrown that she could hardly walk. That was two years ago. The new Chiquita is slim and trim, with nice hooves, and as such is way harder to catch. She is our early warning system. If anything is going on, Chiquita sounds the alarm.

Buster Brown, Tequila's little bro, also a rescue from the meat pen. I love this guy, he is a pest, a constant shadow, always wants to know what you are doing. Buster will be heading out to do some appearances this year, he is Chico's understudy.

Buddy. Where to start. Buddy was an orphaned donkey who lived in the house and then in the yard with the dogs. He thinks he is a dog and prefers their company. He is a loner, an outcast. He is naughty and has been spoiled. He loves cans of pop and will chug them in one go, then stick out his tongue. He needs work on his ground manners before I let him loose on Joe Public.

Isabella arrived with Buddy from Hanna, she is a Nickelback donkey. She is rideable but just needs some work, She is a bit of a madam and will kick out if she is ticked off. She is the one that the farrier has to watch out for. She likes cuddles and loves to be brushed. 

That is the crew, my lovely longears.

They have tack imported from England, genuine donkey tack from the beaches of Skegness. I love the sound of the bell collars, reminds me of my childhood trips to the seaside. All I need is a beach, maybe I should work on that idea? Beachfront property in Welling, could be interesting.

From West Side to the world's smallest townhouse, and all the bits in between and some after......

June 2008, moving day for the houses. Once they are moved onto the acreage the real work begins. They have to be gutted, the roof has to be realigned and made to join together then reshingled (thanks to our new found Filipino friends), a basement floor has to be poured, electrical and plumbing started, septic system installed, on and on. The houses look awful, one is pink, the other one is yellow. Locals drive by slowly and stare, we are a freak show. To add to this persona of oddness I move some donkeys onto the land. Heck, might as well give them something interesting to look at. Tequila, Chiquita and Juanita, all I need is Juan Valdez and a Mariachi band. Donkeys are not like horses, I learn quickly. They think, rather than act, making them less flighty than horses, and they make the worst noise known to man. I love them, they are awesome :)
It was windy, it is always windy here, unless it is snowy, sometimes it is both. Our horse shelter blew over, adios Juanita, a very sad day. Our septic tank took off, ricocheted off the horse trailer and took off down the road. A neighbour brought it back on his tractor. We fenced the pasture, I learned to use a post pounder, a skill I hope I never need again. I bought a Norwegian Fjord Horse, Dise. The hairy hippo, she has never missed a meal, bless.
Still living in the city and waiting for our house to sell. I am the General Contractor. I am in charge of getting things done, making sure people are hired and actually show up, most times this does not happen. Contractors do not like to take orders from a woman, even one with an authoritative British accent. Sometimes Mike gets on the phone and yells at contractors, this usually does the trick. General Contracting is not a good way to make friends.
Summer comes and goes, followed by fall, we plod on with what funds we can manage to scrounge and do as much as we can. December 2008, our house has sold, awesome, allowing us to free up some more cash to get on with making the acreage house(s) habitable. We move into the world's smallest townhouse; two adults, three children, two dogs and a collection of cats, yikes! Winter is nasty, lots of snow, very cold. I trek out every day to feed and water. I haul water in, no water on the acreage yet. Not ideal construction weather but we work on things, slowly.
Spring 2009 is wet and rainy and muddy, very unusual and not much fun. Thank goodness for wellies. Insulation is sprayed in, windows are fitted, kitchen is measured, walls are knocked down and  rebuilt somewhere else, septic system is still non existent. We have stairs, Hallelujah! We decide to move onto the acreage and live in our travel trailer, hoping this will speed up the construction process. July 1, moving day. We have two trailers, one of them is older than me, to use for bedrooms and a detached garage (also moved on) to use as a camp kitchen and temporary home for the cats. Cooking is to be done outside on the coleman stove. Laundry entails a trip to the city. Showers happen either in the trailer or at the YMCA. We have water to the property line and it is hooked up to the house via a cistern but somehow none of the outside taps are working. We run a hose from the neighbours property to fill water jugs and the horse trough/trailer, usually a few times a week. Plumbers insist it is the fault of the guy who ran the water line, that guy says his line is fine, the fight continues all summer until eventually the plumber realises the water pump is installed backwards. We have water!  Even if it is only from the bathtub in the basement thanks to a large wrench, I am happy. The outside tap works, after another visit or two from the plumbers. Drywall and flooring go in, painting is started, still nowhere near finished and winter is almost here. Electrical work progresses, kitchen goes in, sort of. Three tries to make the counter top fit. Alcohol is fabulous :) I enjoy a drink or two most evenings, for medicinal reasons. The weather turns nasty in November, lots of snow and freezing temperatures, not ideal camping weather. Forgot to mention the portapotty, we are a one outhouse family. Once the weather turns cold it is named the Ice Throne for obvious reasons. We stay in the trailers until January 2 2010, breaking point. We move into the house, finished or not I don't care anymore. I am half frozen and in danger of becoming an alcoholic, if I am not there already. We camp on the floors until we can move the beds in. Still no indoor plumbing but who cares, we have some working electrical outlets and can boil water to do dishes. No sink yet, so we have to use washing up bowls. Showering at the YMCA every day, I have become a minor celebrity.  The ladies from the 8am aquafit class(whom I meet in the change room daily) are kept informed of progress (or lack of it) and the children's school is keen to hear of any news. They think we are brave, and daring, and probably mad. Friends and acquaintances offer their bathrooms to us, "Come over and shower any time!" Laundry is done while visiting family. I am on a first name basis with the lady at the Laundromat.
Spring 2010....Calls to the plumbers continue, too many calls to mention. A wonderful thing happens, they plumb in the septic system, one toilet and a sink! Heaven! I feel very spoiled, indoor plumbing. I can do laundry at home! The kitchen is finished, appliances arrive and are connected. Painting is finished (sort of, still working on that). The lights are installed. Plumbers come back and finish things up. Tiling, yikes, takes months. Finished now, nuff said. Hot water heater installed. HOT WATER! Showers at home, I have forgotten what this is like.
As if this isn't enough to contend with, in the midst of this we have gained some critters. We now have two fjords, one quarter horse (rescued), one shetland pony (same) and six donkeys. I start a donkey ride business for birthdays and such, Thistledown Donkeys. The gift that keeps on eating arrived for Mike's birthday, November 2009. Hugo, a great dane. He lived with us in the trailer, thankfully he was smaller than he is now. We had our first litters of Siamese kittens in February 2010, second litters in August 2010, third litter expected March 2011. Country Whiskers Siamese Cats is born.

Who's bright idea was this?

I think it was mine, but it might have been my husband's, tough to know where to lay the blame really :)
Either way the decision was made to move from our nice detached house in the city to ten acres of bald prairie. Never ones to do things the easy way, rather than build we decided to move two houses onto the land and join them together on a basement to make one big house. What fun! What utter madness! Houses were acquired from the family homestead and from an acreage just south of town. House movers were employed for the mammoth task. Basement was dug, it rained, we had a swimming pool, awesome. Basement was constructed regardless of the mud bog, (out of styrofoam, like a big lego set), concrete was poured.  Still it rained, man the pumps! Moving day! Off down the road like the circus, first one house, then a few days later the second one! Onto the basement they go. Praise the Lord! They fit :)
Wonderful, end of story?....move in the next day?.....shortest blog ever?....heck no. This is where the story begins......