And one peaceful shot of a recent sunset over Loon Lake .....

I am SO lucky to be able to live in such an amazing place.

Nothing in the world better than puppies .....

Johnny's puppy, Bear. Adorable (but not quite as cute as my joyful Cheddar ...)

Garage Update

Well, if I had known how exciting a new garage would be in my simple life, I would have built one years ago! ; ) Anyway, here are some updated pictures ......

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??????

Those of you who know me best will be surprised to learn that my garage ... which I have been talking about for 12 years ... is FINALLY being built! This is so exciting that I can barely even *type*! Check out these photos:

Well, I've been gone a while .....

How could it be that I have not posted new news for more than six months???? Trust me on this: it is not because I have been sitting around doing nothing! Let's see .... in the last six months, I have:

• survived a snowy and cold winter, including doing chores twice a day, every day, hauling a lot of wood into the house and a little ash out of the house, AND some great skiing
• spent Christmas with my family in Indiana
• gone to Myrtle Beach with my wonderful sisters and their families
• gotten sent to the ER by one of my horses (Hank Jr. accidentally kicked me in the chest) (and, yes, I am SURE it was an accident)
• taken on more work than I can possibly do .... (a.k.a., "why can't I say no?")
• learned a lot more about farming with horses and mules, including using Hank Jr. to move big round bales of hay (no, it's not unfair to him: if he wants to eat, he can do a little work to earn it)
  
• caved in and got a satellite dish
• taken about a million walks with my adorable puppies
• started a blog to sell eggs (check it out at http://sites.google.com/site/karentheegglady/)
• gotten the bids to move forward on building the much-anticipated new garage
• and gotten back into a healthy workout routine

All in all, it was a good winter. Spring is now well underway, the pastures are growing, the horses (and dogs and cats) are fat, the hens are laying eggs like crazy, I have 10 baby chicks (so cute!), and I am planning on getting a batch of chickens to raise for meat soon. I'm shopping for a new horse (or two) .... it's an addiction, I guess.

Speaking of addictions, have you seen a picture of my dog, Chet? I'll attach one here for your viewing pleasure. Oops -- looks like I couldn't stop at just one! Isn't he absolutely adorable??? He is pure joy.

First Annual
Draft Horse Field Day,
Fergus Falls -- at Lindig Farms




1. Look at those straight furrows!!

2. Me driving mules .....

3. Johnny O. driving my three percherons .....

4. Johnny with my three and me ahead with his mules .....

5. Me grinning like an idiot .... because I just love plowing!! ; )

(click on any photo to enlarge it)

My Wonderful Summer Vacation ....

And the fun people I shared it with ...

Haying with Horses .....

April Snowstorms Bring Snow-women!

We got about 10" of snow over the weekend -- wet, heavy snow PERFECT for building snow-women! So I did. Then I took her picture with Babe and Cheddar ....

More Caribbean Cruisin'

Caribbean Cruisin' with my Best Friends!

CheddarDuke!

And suddenly it became obvious how Cheddar's Daddy might have looked .....

Plowing with horses .... and MULES!

On the last Saturday in October, Omar and I hauled three big black horses and one big yellow dog to Fort Ransom State Park (North Dakota) to help with the fall plowing. Omar hitched up our three (Ladd, Budd, and Hank Jr.) to a plow for the first time, and I had the honor of driving Johnny Obowa's mules (Jack, Ben, and Shorty). I loved it!

New Kitties!

Here at Terry Barry Prairie, we have added two new kitties to the mix. Their names are Ted and Spot, because as you can see, they are SpotTed. : ))

Sodbusters Days -- September 2007

Here is me, raking hay with Jessie and Bonnie. Not much hay, but plenty o' fun!

What We Did on Our Summer Vacation ....

The Sisters and Company Come to Visit!!!!

And, Boy, Did We Ever Have FUN!!!!!

Wagons Ho!

On the second day of the wagon train, we were joined by about 160 Norwegian young people on a tour of the U.S. They walked along and rode on the wagons from our camp to the town of Walcott, where we paraded through town and then back out to our camp.

Wagons Ho!

Here we are on the hot and dusty trail! We had a total of 6 covered wagons, counting the chuckwagon that was pulled by four mules, plus several out-riders (those on horseback) and a three smaller carts and carriages. The majority of the ride was on gravel road (as seen here), but other parts were through grassland (rough!) and on sandy minimum maintenance roads. It's hard for the teams to pull the load through sand. I swear I heard Jr. and Laddie swearing! ; )