Bad Hair Days

Isn't that a face? All I can say is, don't ever let the sheep trim your hair, no matter how talented they claim to be!

And leave it to Sunny to be the only one to let himself be barbered. On one end, his tail is actually touching the ground. Now from the side he looks sort of like somebody grabbed his tail and pulled until his forelock got shorter. Doofus!

By the way, thanks for sharing your favorite winter warming items. Flannel-lined pants sure do sound grand this a.m. Yesterday was close to 60', but we had high winds to match the temp. Between the flying grit and the hunters next door blasting away, I groomed & hung out with the horses, but didn't ride. This morning it's still, but also chilly, foggy, and bitter. and it's already nearly noon, so I'm not holding out much hope for a warm-up. I guess if it was spring it'd seem balmy, right?

Speaking of hunters and deer - if this one isn't thumbing his nose....

We spotted this guy on our way back from Kansas last weekend. (That trip? Long story - don't ask.)

The orange sign?

It reads:
POSTED
Wildlife Refuge...

Obviously, Kansas deer get a better education that SD deer, because T's tallied three so far this weekend. The freezer will, indeed, be full of venison. And not to worry, it will all get eaten, too!

Deer and mud ponies

Somewhere around the 22nd of October the weather man reported that we'd had fourteen days of rain so far in the past month. The remainder of October didn't have much more to offer in the way of sunshine.

Hello, Mud Ponies!

On the last day of Octber - Happy Halloween! - Sunny was definitely in need of some serious de-mudding. Thankfully, he's not wind-tangle prone, or I'd be doing that, as well. But November appears to be starting out bright and sunny and surprisingly mild. I'm hoping for a ride this afternoon.

Last Sunday we did get everyone wormed, in spite of the distraction provided by some pheasant hunters walking the fenceline to the south. We could see and hear the blockers - the ones along the fence - quite well even from three pastures over, and the cows and sheep all headed up in our direction as far as their fences allowed.

They weren't the only things flushed out and scampering away.

These two deer, this year's fawns, from the look of them, have been hanging out in the tree grove closest to the barns.
They have a regular path worn down to the horses' salt block, and are comfortable enough with the sound of people to come down and browse about while we were carrying on a normal-voiced conversation.
We see them a fair amount out in the pasture as well.
Sometimes they run - the first one was already well over the fence and gone by the time I got my camera out - and sometimes they look at us all big-eared and wide-eyed and just trot off leisurely.

T, of course, is salivating waiting for hunting season....

Dreaming of sugarplums?

We had an early Christmas here yesterday morning before H flew out to spend a week with her mom and brother. The house is very quiet and empty feeling at the moment, but we'll still see the morning in with church and a nice supper tomorrow for the two of us and maybe a friend or two will drop by.

The horses made out like bandits, and have been enjoying peppermint treats from my sister and molasses-flavored oatmeal treats from T with their grain. They have some more goodies coming from my mom, as well, so they'll be extra happy to see us for the next couple of months, don't you think?

Yes, I subjected Sunny to wearing antlers again... but I wore some myself this time, too.

T was kind enough to snap us together -
and doesn't Sunny just look thrilled!

Actually, I think I'd just accidentally whacked him with my set of antlers - it takes a bit of coordination managing an extra 8 inches of height!

We caught these ladies on the way home crossing the fields on their way to share a hay bale dinner with some cattle. I only managed to capture four in the shot, but all eight of them showed us their heels in fine fashion.

The weather forecast is saying it just might warm up into the 20's here by Thursday - I'm just crossing my fingers we get the almost-thaw without the accompanying freezing drizzle.... But that's a worry for another day!

Happy Holidays from South Dakota, everyone!