Nancy

We have a new little friend at our house.  Her name is Nancy, and she is an eight-week-old kitten.  Nancy made her presence known to Daddy and Momma as they were taking a walk down our road on Tuesday evening.  She meowed to them from the ditch on the side of the road, and proceeded to stroll out to meet them.  Momma and Daddy were quite surprised, because that is very unusual behavior for a wild kitten like Nancy.  She allowed Momma to pick her up and even began to purr. What can a cat-lover do when faced with such a tiny, lovable kitten?  They carried her home with them.

Nancy has continued to be one of the sweetest kittens that I have ever known.  She climbed into Daddy's lap on her first evening with us and then went to sleep.  She is an excellent napping buddy and prefers to snuggle up right on one's chest.  She is not afraid of people in the least, and none of our noises or activities bother her.  Nancy wants to be in the middle of whatever is happening.  She also possesses the essential skill of using her litterbox. 

The only drawback to Nancy's presence among us is that our other cats object strongly to a new kitty.  She isn't thrilled with them, either.  She growls and hisses when one of the other cats approaches her.  We hope that they will make peace soon.  In the meantime, Nancy amuses herself by playing with the dogs' tails. She has no problems with canine company. 

We have not officially decided to keep Nancy as yet, but if no suitable home can be found, she will enter the ranks of our pets and be added to the menagerie.  I love her already.

On another note, Peg had a return of lameness from his abscess.  It had not drained fully, so we had the vet out to open it up. Now I have started the round of treatment all over again.  He is pretty tired of the hoof-soaking routine, and he is making me aware of that fact.  He likes to kick the soaking bucket and spill its contents over the floor.  Peg has also become adept at removing his hoof wrap and packing the hole in his foot full of manure and dirt.  I am ready for this treatment to be over!  However, I am grateful that he is healing nicely, and I am glad that his injury was only an abscess and not a joint problem.  I have seen horses crippled with arthritis and other such conditions, and I can't complain about Peg's problems.  His injury is only temporary.

Peg's Big Problem

Who, me?

On Saturday, I rode my good horse, Peg, down the gravel road to Mrs. Carol's house. She was out of town, and she had asked our family to let her chickens out during the day. My trusty steed and I felt equal to the task of liberating a few poultry, so we volunteered for the job.

After a leisurely stroll, we arrived at the chicken pen. Peg was surprised that I let the hens out, and he seemed a bit concerned, as well. He had never seen chickens on the loose, and I think he was afraid they might attack. Vicious chickens! Our mission completed, we headed for home to finish our ride.

The ride was lovely, and we both got our exercise. I hosed the sweat off of Peg and put him away in his stall for the day. He was looking forward to a long nap, and I wanted lunch.

When I went out to feed and turn out my horses for the evening, Peg had an obvious problem. He was limping badly on his right hind foot. This sort of thing has happened before, and he is always quite dramatic. He knows how to get sympathy by holding up the ouchy leg and staring at me with his big, blue eyes. Pitiful. There were no signs of swelling, inflammation, or injury, so I decided to wait it out.

On Sunday afternoon, the lameness was worse, and I knew that it was time to call the vet. In God's providence, our farrier called that evening to say he'd be coming on Monday to trim all the horses' feet. We determined that we should let him look at Peg before the vet was called.

When Mr. Eric, our farrier, arrived, he discovered the cause of Peg's lameness. Peg had a shard of glass stuck in the sole of his hoof, and it had caused an abscess to form. Mr. Eric drained the abscess and gave me instructions on how to treat it.

I have to soak Peg's hoof in a bucket of Epsom salts and water twice a day. In the meantime, Peg tries to knock the bucket over or step out of it, looking perfectly innocent the whole time. Then I must put iodine in the hole, during which Peg does his best to make me spill the iodine on myself. After that, I wrap the hoof in an elastic bandage to keep it clean. The bandage is supposed to stay on all day, but Peg is good at getting it off. The treatment process is really quite amusing.

Yesterday, Peg was hurting so badly that he would not use his sore leg. The poor horse was hopping along on three legs and holding the fourth leg up off the ground. He looked as bad as if his leg was broken. Thankfully, he is back to his usual perky self today. This morning he chased Jack out of the pasture, and I could barely see his limp. I hope and expect that Peg will heal quickly. It is always sad when one of my pets is not well.

A New Season

This year marked the beginning of a new season in my life. I have finished my homeschooling, and I am now learning what the Lord has for me to do. I have learned that the most important priority in my life is to serve the Lord by serving others.

One ministry opportunity that God has put on my heart is volunteering at a therapeutic horseback riding facility. A friend brought the idea into my mind, and I had been praying about it when we went to Oklahoma. While we were at the rodeo, I came across a booth for the Right Path Riding Academy, a therapeutic riding facility near my grandparents' home. I really enjoyed talking with the volunteers there, and we decided to consider sending me to Oklahoma in the spring to volunteer with Right Path. After I came home, I researched therapeutic riding facilities in our area and found a place called Gaitway. After talking with people at Gaitway and seeking the Lord, we have decided to pursue volunteering there. I am excited about the possibility of serving at Gaitway, and I will probably start in September.

I am about to begin teaching sewing lessons to two sweet, young ladies we know. That will be an exciting new project, since I have never taught sewing before. These young girls are both a lot of fun to be with, and I know that teaching them will be a pleasant experience. With help from my friend and neighbor, Mrs. Susan, I am working out a lesson plan. I have so many ideas!

A Master Gardeners' Program is about to begin in my area, and I have signed up to take part in it. I love to garden, and this class should be quite informative. My friend Rebecca has also signed up to take the class, so we can learn together. Lord willing, when the program is finished, we will be able to claim the title of Master Gardener.

God has been giving us an abundance of direction this summer. We don't know exactly where we will end up, but we do know He is in control. I can't wait to see where He will take me.

Lyla's Riding Lessons

We had Lyla, a neighbor's granddaughter, over to ride Buddy three times this week. Lyla is five years old, and she loves to come and play with Buddy and Miss Annie. Annie has been teaching Lyla to ride, and she is definitely a talented student. Lyla's only problem with riding is that her tiny feet don't quite reach past the saddle. She has to work hard to give Buddy his cues, but she manages very well. She can ride him all by herself.

Annie put Lyla on the longe line this week to practice posting the trot and to work on her balance and position in the saddle. That can be challenging when the saddle is big enough to fit two Lylas. Buddy is just the right size for her, though. It is really cute to watch the three of them working together.

Lyla won't be able to come back and ride until Thanksgiving. She will probably be a lot bigger by then, and perhaps she will be able to do more things with Buddy. She loves her Buddy, and she told Annie that if Annie ever gets ready to sell him, she will buy him! I don't know that her mom would like that idea as much as Lyla does.

We will sure miss our little friend Lyla with her pink cowgirl boots. I hope we can have her over again soon.

Coffee

Coffee is a very important beverage in our home. We drink quite a bit of it. Some of us sip it in moderation, while others tend to enjoy it in large quantities. One year we found a special coffee for Daddy's birthday gift. It is "the coffee that won the West." This brand, Arbuckles' Ariosa Coffee, has been in existence since the 1800s, and it was the most common brand used by the chuckwagon cooks of the West. Many cowboys did not know there was any other kind of coffee. Arbuckles' has been in business ever since, and they have never changed their packaging. The label looks just the way it did out West in the 1800s.

Arbuckles' Ariosa is the ultimate cowboy coffee, so we had to purchase some for our favorite cowboy. Daddy likes his Ariosa, and we usually save it for drinking when we have an afternoon to savor it together. Mmmm. Now all we need are some cowboy hats...