Thank You, Jeanelle!

I cannot say enough about volunteers who come early on mornings like this one.  "Thank you" just doesn't feel adequate. 

The ground was frozen, wet bedding from the most recent flooding was frozen, poop piles were frozen..............

Thank you so much, Jeanelle, for coming out and for drying out Sherman and Henry's stalls as much as possible when everything is so completely saturated.

Jeanelle didn't quite fill Big Sam, the old JD spreader, but she came darn close and, considering the weight of the wet sawdust, we're counting it as a Golden Muck Fork Award winning day.

Round of applause!

A Mud-Motivated Wish List

Ahhh. Mud.  In August, we prayed for just a smidge of softer ground.  Just a little rain to loosen up the brick-hard surface and make the footing just a little better for the Geezers.

I guess we overdid it.

Rain, rain, rain for a couple of months now.  This morning, one of our local weather gurus said this will be the pattern for the foreseeable future. 

And so....... A Muddy Wish List.....

We would be tickled pink and even purple if anyone out there in blog land has a few old towels to part with.  It doesn't matter if they are holey, stained, big, small, bleached, frayed or paisley.  Anything we can use to clean and dry horses' legs, wipe off feet before farrier visits, or even dry off damp volunteers would be a tremendous addition to our winter supply stash.

Got towels?  Give us a shout.  info@equineelders.org

Extra cleanup this weekend

Three inches of rain Wednesday and still coming down.

Once the "remnants" of Tropical Storm Ida depart, the horses say they MAY venture out of their sheds. Anyone with an extra hour or two to spare, Fri, Sat, or Sun would be very very much appreciated. (And you get to meet Sherman!)

{{{Sigh............}}}}

(yes, those are raindrops.)

Sigh..............

Thank You’s and other Tidbits

We have a lot of short updates and want to thank a lot of people today, so we’ll try to do it all in one post and hope we don’t leave anyone out.

We’d like to remind local Reiki practitioners that the first Shelter Animal Reiki Association orientation for the TREES program will be this weekend, Saturday, June 20, 10AM – noon. To participate, or for more information, please contact Janet Dobbs

The next Reiki workshop will be Reiki I, for both humans and animals, July 11-12. Saturday will be in McLean, VA, Sunday at Traveller’s Rest in Spotsylvania. For more information.

Our first resident update concerns Jubal. He’s back out with his “herd” (Fitz, Emma and Josh) and seems to be doing just fine. The wound on his fetlock is almost completely healed and almost all of the puffiness gone. Whew!

Lizzie is still gaining weight and doing well. She has settled in to the group including Sonny, Rienzi, Val, Marye and Wade. We’ve discovered she prefers to be called just Liz (not to be confused with “Just Jack” for Will and Grace fans.) Call “LIZ!” and she comes at a trot, but call “LIZZIE,” and she barely acknowledges your presence.

Josh is moving up in the pecking order in his field. Yesterday we noted that Fitz, who towers over Josh and outweighs him by several hundred pounds, was waiting in line behind Josh for a turn at the water tank. (The two boys and Emma all go for a drink immediately after eating a meal.)

Marye is still doing well and has not needed another Aeromask treatment yet this spring. Fingers crossed!

Now, the thank you’s!

First, thank you to Rennie, Gene, Carol, Michaele and Jim for coming to the sanctuary last weekend to help dry the place out after our freakish rainfall. It’s rained a few more times since, but nothing like the approximately 9 inches we got in about 24 hours that week.)

Thank you, too, to Gene and Carol for dropping off a new Wet Vac in case the weird wet weather continues.

Thank you to our neighbor, Patty, for arriving with a smorgasbord of seeds and grains about ten minutes after learning of Elmer’s arrival.

Thank you to COTH’s “Oldenburg Mom” for the gift of ~ 900 pounds of luscious smelling hay and to Samantha for coming along to help unload. Thank you, COTH’s “Nootka” for posting TREES’ contact information, making this donation possible.

Thank you, “Janet’s Dad” for a roll of quilt batting to use as leg wraps.

Thank you to Janet Dobbs’ students all, both Reiki and Animal Communication, who participate in workshops at TREES. It’s always fun to watch people’s faces as they come to understand that all things in nature are connected.

Thank you to everyone who sent prayers and support when Forrest arrived then departed in too short a time. Special thanks to Dr. Amanda Blanton who spent a good portion of her holiday weekend here. Thank you, again, to Gene and Carol for taking over the farm chores so we could focus on Forrest. Thank you Sam for transporting this determined old gentleman. Thank you, Janet, for being with Forrest as he crossed, and to Nelson, for bringing your backhoe out on Memorial Day, then returning a few days later with a donation. It seems Forrest touched a lot of hearts in the few days he was here.

We are continually (and gratefully) overwhelmed by the people who want to help offer retirement/hospice care to special needs elder equine. The horses, though, always feel there should be more visitors (more admirers.) If you’d like to visit and meet our special residents, please email us at info@equineelders.org or call 540-972-0936 (but remember that we’re somewhat telephonically challenged until Verizon comes June 24.)

Weather and Communication woes

Jeesh! Just when we got dried out after last week's record rainfall, Mother Nature gave us another big Wallop a few days ago.

Early Tuesday morning, just as we were preparing to start feeding the horses, a line of unexpected thunderstorms came roaring through. Our poor Red Maple tree, which stands virtually just outside the front door of the house, took another lightening hit. The proximity to the house took out our phone lines, the satellite and a couple of electric outlets, all on the front of the house.

We now have one phone line working, but must switch between email and telephone on that line to keep up with daily communications. Verizon has been dealing with a large number or storm damage calls for weeks and won't get to us unti June 24!

So...until then, we ask your indulgence and your patience. Email may be the best form of communication for now. We can answer e-notes during "after-business" hours when our telephone is not needed as much. And...as you might imagine, even distant thunder now sends us running to unplug everything, at least until we replace all the surge protectors. (Bless whoever invented those little gadgets....they saved the computer, the phones, answering machine and television. )

The horses are all fine, though a little addled immediately after the big storm. Fitz wouldn't come into the shed to eat breakfast and a few others ate only parts of their meals and wanted back outside. Everyone is relaxed again now. but more storms are expected this evening.

Mom N.........we are in awe of your power and even these lightening storms are beautiful in their own way.....but we would be more than a little grateful for just a short break in the action!

Freddie, the Self-Cleaning Arabian

Thank Goodness. Freddie really is self-cleaning most of the time. We're on our way to a record number of consecutive rainy days (or so the local weather gurus "joke.")

Even so, look at our 26 year old Arabian gelding, Fred Astaire:

Photo courtesy of Molly McDonald Peterson, mJm photography

No kidding! This is Freddie, as is, no special grooming, bathing, or "photoshopping," after several days of rain and mud. What a good guy.

We also have to take the opportunity to point out that Freddie is one of TREES' Cushings patients. Freddie's symptoms have been controlled for three years now, using dietary management and Pergolide. Again....Thank Goodness! Can you imagine dealing with an almost white "Cushings coat" during mud season? We don't even want to think about that prospect.

Think the drought is over?

No, there shouldn't be a pond in this field:

Local May rainfall records have been dropping like flies, and we're only half way through the month. After last year, a few large puddles are a welcome relief. Recent rainfall should be a good start toward replenishing wells and reservoirs.