Too good an opportunity to miss…

Sally goes for a walk down the road with me usually at least once a day, sometimes more and knows the area close to home quite well.  She’d watched with interest my young neighbour learning to drive a car in the paddock where the sheep had lived before moving to fresh pasture.  Normally the gate to that paddock is closed.  Normally.

On this day, we set out for our walk, and Sally was quite lively and looking for adventure.  I walked along ahead of Sally, as usually she stops and nibbles grass along the way, and catches up with me further down the hill.  But she had noticed the paddock gate was open and quickly she ducked in there to have an exploritary circuit of the paddock.  I didn’t want her in there but she had other ideas and trotted away from me when I tried to catch her.  The ground was quite soggy and she was sinking into the mud and leaving great hoofprints behind as she trotted along with her head down sniffing at all the new smells.I trudged around the paddock after her, to ensure she didn’t eat the hay that was there as it was of a type unsuitable for horses.  She still managed to grab a mouthful as she raced past with a determined look on her face.  Finally however, she headed for the gate.Further along on our outing, she had a chance for a good gallop and a chance to show me a clean pair of heels…..well sort of clean….!

A walk, a sleep and a stretch – what a busy day!

There’s a great deal of enjoyment for me in going for a walk with the mob and seeing the world a little better with the help of their eyes.  I reckon they enjoy showing it to me as well, and there’s always a game along the way.Let’s see who can get to the river first…..!  Hmmmm….it looks like there’s quite a few weeds growing along the bank…..After a while, it’s time for a rest in the sunshine, here’s nice suitable log.After a sleep, a good stretch…….Another busy day unfolds at the FunnyFarm.

A Very Quiet Horse!

My horse Sally and I enjoy taking a walk along the roadsides, where she can graze and I can gaze.  On this particular day last month she spied my neighbour had opened his gate to a roadside paddock and quickly she took advantage of the situation and trotted into the paddock for a stickybeak.  I began to follow her to take her out but she was having no part of it and ran away from me.  If I pursured her I’d only be playing into her plans for a game and not achieving my goal, so I turned around and walked back to the road.  She then began to follow me – at a distance still – before stopping at the gateway to nibble on a morsel of grass.  All the while, my neighbour was getting closer with his large air-seeder…….

I called to Sally to leave, but she completely ignored me and it seemed the best course of action was non-action.  Except for taking the photos of the event, that is!  The tractor approached and passed and only then did Sally lift her head and give it a casual look.  As my neighbour commented later, not too many horses would be THIS quiet around machinery!

A drovin’ we will go….well almost…

My neighbour moved his sheep past my place and my mob were very interested in the proceedings, to the extent that Sally insisted I come and watch it with her. 

“Gee, what do you think of that?” she asked me….

When all the sheep had gone past, we took a look.  ” Well, Bob the dog and I have checked and all sheep are accounted for” Sally stated.

Needless to say, Fred had to check that all was well, and where better to do that from but on Sally’s back.

Different horsepower

While out for our walk, we were passed by a local farmer in his tractor. Sally was loath to move off the road at first, but eventually made way for it.  Haven’t things changed….once upon a time, and really, not so very long ago, this land was tilled by teams of horses.  Sally has an easy way of life – once a horse like her would have been pulling a buggy, at the very least.  Perhaps this is what she is musing as she stops to watch it travel down the road…..

Wonderful rain!

Finally the heavens have opened and dropped a wonderful rain across the state.  Mostly it has fallen relatively gently, and not caused runoff damage in my local area.  For the first time since I moved here, 18 months ago, the river is flowing over the crossing and it’s most exciting.  Fred was astounded by the change to his river, or so it seemed by the look on his face when he first saw it over the road.  Sally wisely considered the situation, before proceding across to her usual grazing area.  Dear Fred gave her a lead across, isn’t he sweet?! 

Rain at last!

The summer appears to be finally over, with a cold front hitting this state and bringing with it widespread showers and winds.  Enough to get Sally leaping around, pretending to see monsters in every bush blowing and kicking up her heels with glee. And not just her heels…..

We went for a walk along the road in the late afternoon, just Fred and Sally and I, and it certainly warmed us all up.  This is why…..Nothing like a good gallop down the road and then, at the end, well…..Poor Fred had never seen Sally do this before! Gee, she looks VERY tall when she stands on her hind legs!    Then when she landed, she was off again….Across the river and up the hill, racing with Fred and then this time, a great kick up!I think she shows a lot of agility for a girl of her age, and hope I can be as agile when I reach an equivelent time.  As it was, Sally and Fred had to wait at the top of the hill for me to catch up.  It was a fun outing, and we hope you enjoyed it as well.

Thirsty

Do you ever have one of those days or times when you are so thirsty, and you simply must gallop in for a drink?  Sally does……And finally, heaven……

Victorian Bushfires

I am a member of RedBubble, and also of the Wildlife Appeal group within RedBubble, and have copied the information from their Site to share it with more people, via this wordpress blog.  Although it is more than two months since the fires, the animals affected are still needing assistance.  Their habitat has been destroyed, they have injuries requiring ongoing attention, they are the silent victims of this tragedy.  Please help them.  Purchase cards, calendars, T-shirts, artworks from this site, knowing that all profits will be donated to this cause.  While it may seem strange to purchase a calendar at this time of the year, it is a great way of getting twelve images at a very good price.

We are a group of passionate photographers and artists who believe the wildlife & livestock that were effected by the inferno’s in Victoria & surrounding areas need our help.
We are doing this by supporting these agencies:
- WRAP (Wildlife Rescue and Protection Inc) and
- BADGAR (Ballarat And District Greendale Animal Rescue).
This account has been created to help these dedicated people who give so much for the wildlife and livestock victims of the Victorian Bushfires in February 2009, in Australia.

These compassionate and caring people are out there doing their best to help our injured and homeless wildlife and they deserve all the support we can give them. Please view BADGAR TV Advertisement

We also have a Wildlife Appeal Group at RedBubble, where selfless RedBubble artists have pledged to donate the profits from the sales of their individual works to the Wildlife Appeal. Please click on link above to see their beautiful contributions to help our appeal and we thank them all from the bottom of our hearts for their help – we couldn’t do this without them! There are also some enlightening editorials and comments in the FEATURED section. These stories show how compassionate we all are and that there is hope!
Thank You Thank You Thank You!

Over ONE HUNDRED MILLION animals lost their lives, and countless others are injured, orphaned and homeless. Please Help the Cause for these animals. Profits from all sales (these include cards, prints – laminated, mounted, framed and posters and T-Shirts) will be donated to WRAP (Wildlife Rescue and Protection Inc) This is to help the wildlife and animals who cannot rebuild their homes and cannot replenish their food source and, without our help, will not survive. Money raised will also be helping out Badgar Wildlife Rescue (WRAP affiliated volunteer organisation)

If you would like to donate to another wildlife/animal charity,
please check out these other links:

RSPCA Victoria
Animalaid
Wildlife Victoria

The wildlife need our help also.
Thanks for all your kindness and support.

This account will be active until it is no longer required for the animals who are lost, hurt, and need help. Thanks in advance for assisting the creatures who desperately need attention and who are truly the silent victims in the worst tragedy to date in Australia.

Stream crossing

Ginger Mick is quite comfortable with the river setting, and water holds no fears for him.  On this day, to avoid the attentions of Fred he decided to come across the river to me via the rocks rather than use the road.  A cat finds it quite easy to confuse a dog…..

Mick has performed this feat on other occasions and sometimes I think that animals enjoy testing themselves just as humans do at times.  Crossing via the rocks takes precision and athletic ability and a willingness to take a chance, be it ever so small. So begins the trip…A little leap-frog here…… and there……

And so Ginger Mick continued his way across the stream, sometimes simply walking from one rock to another, sometimes leaping.  Finally he arrived at ‘Big Rock’ – the largest of all the rocks in the river, and from there he took his final large leap back onto the roadside.