Bunny and the Snapper

The other day a large snapping turtle marched onto our property. The dogs took note. Abby, veteran of several encounters with snappers, knew exactly what to do. She left it severely alone. Bunny, the cheerful, inquisitive, rather dull pit bull, was enthusiastic about this new creature. She sniffed and sniffed. In spite of several warnings from us, she continued to explore. The snapper was in a bad mood. It hissed, threatened and opened its jaws. Bunny, oblivious to the meaning of all this, pressed her nose in closer. SNAP! YIP! The snapping turtle had won the day. Bunny retired vanquished from the field of battle with a bleeding nose (although she never knew she was bothering anyone). You could practically hear Abby smugly say," I told you not to do that."

On Saturday, Annie and I went down the street and brought home a mare and foal. We have permission to work with these horses whenever we want. The mare is called Sadie, and the foal, who is now about 8 months old, is named Jasmine. Jasmine is special to us, because Momma and Annie were there when Jasmine was born. We also kept Jasmine at our house for a month while she was being weaned. Annie and I spent a lot of time working with her while she was here. It was a fun experience.

Usually we concentrate on Jasmine, but on Saturday we put her in the pasture to play with Poco and Rusty while we worked on Sadie. Sadie is an older mare of quarter horse type. She doesn't get handled much, so she's a bit rusty on her manners. However, we got to ride her in the round pen. Sadie is really a great horse. She just needs some time. These are some pictures of Sadie and Jasmine. Jasmine is changing color, because although she was born black, she'll be grey like her mother when she grows up.

From top to bottom: Sadie in a pen at our house, Jasmine and Sadie a few days after Jasmine's birth, Jasmine at our house, 4 months old, Jasmine in our pasture at 6 months.