New Arrivals

It's been a couple busy weeks here, and our home has been welcoming in a gaggle of new arrivals. Perrin's home for the summer, and practicing the flute as much as possible. I love it. Then on Friday, we got our new bathtub. What a beauty! Last weekend we acquired this sweetie here on our left - the new (to us) garden tractor, a 1995 Cub Cadet 1864 complete with 18hp commercial grade Kohler air-cooled engine, power-steering, a 54" mower deck and a whopping 42" 2-stage snowblower. This baby's a sports model compared to our trusty old Cub Lo-Boy. I mowed the entire property in just under 3 hours yesterday. I'm planning on getting the Lo-Boy running smoothly again (we've got some remnants of the paper gas-cap gasket in the gas tank choking the flow) and selling it. I think I can cover the cost of the new tractor. (If you know someone interested, leave a comment.) Our friend Denise mail ordered a Box o' Ducks, (yes, you can order ducks over the internet) and we got three. These are American Runner Ducks - did you see the movie Babe? The goofy duck in that movie was a runner duck. The last time we had runner ducks, they would run down the driveway along side the car when we came home, just quacking up a storm. Just like a dog, but funnier. What a hoot. And the eggs are awfully good too.

No Guts, No Glory

I coach the mounted games teams for the Hunter's Run Pony Club. Our regional rally (pony club speak for competition) was Saturday, and the kids did great! It's so much fun seeing young people develop a skill, then go out there and perform when it counts. You can check out some photos if you like.

The last hack

Between fall harvest and spring planting, we have permission to ride in the crop fields surrounding our home. Sensing time was short, Madeline, exhibiting a case of latent equestrianism*, took Casey out for a hack across the fields on Sunday. The tractors arrived on Monday. No more easy access to field-as-manure-spreading site, and no more hacks. On the plus side, in about 8 weeks the corn will be tall enough that we won't be able to see all the houses that have been built over the past year. *After showing little interest in the horses for years now, Madeline has been asking to ride recently. Maybe she and her sis' will venture out together this summer.