Winter nearly over???!!!

I was surprised a few weeks ago now with a new puppy. My other dog Taxi is going to be a full time working dog. She just wants to go and go all the time and is naturally talented.Sad, but I had to make the right decision for her and keeping her as a mainly house pet was not the right one.

The new pup is called "Panda" because we thought she looked like a Red Panda. She is a red heeler with some odd colouring as dad is a Blue and Mum is a Red.

She has well and truly taken over in the house and is learning that everyone is expected to get along here.
Our resident Kingfisher has not been around much lately. So it was a nice surprise to spot it in the tree last week. An even nicer surprise to see another one sitting higher up.

We took the horses to the fund raising day at Waikato Equestrian Centre. Trapper was very cool about everything and jumped quite a few of the small X county jumps. Aisha, who rides him a bit was having a great time. She laughed so much she looked like she was crying sometimes.

And now we are winding up to Daffodil Day. We did a practice run which lead us along the Waikato River, under some of the big bridges and then up Victoria Street and into the heart of the city.
The day prior to this, Summer and I had been cruising around the farm where no one could be seen and then the next day right into the thick of it. Traffic, people and other challenges. She would never cope on her own but Jan was there of course leading the way on the amazing Shadow. He sets such a great lead that all others just follow along. Perfect for one like Summer who is not really all that brave.
Friday, Jan had organised to meet with the paper for a photo and story so that people would know, what we were out on the street for.
I spent 2 hrs the night before, removing what seemed like half the farm from Summer. Its so very wet and muddy here and she has never been known for her cleanness.
Then I fenced her onto a nice patch of clean grass which quickly turned to mud as the ground was so wet. Still it was only a matter of hosing her off in the morning and she ended up looking pretty damn good I thought.
We then headed to town for another practice. Unfortunately the rain started to set in and we headed for home. Lots of wet gear to dry out again.
It is amazingly wet underfoot here now but it is definitely warming up. Pollen flying off the pine trees is a pretty good indicator.

Chief has good days and then, not so good ones. Definitely a difference between working with a 3-4 yr old and a now 7 yr old. Mentally he is so much tougher and very used to having his own way.

So Daffodil day is 5 days away now and I have a HORSE meeting this week and I manage to turn a year older this week too. Plenty going on as always and a troublesome teenage boy adding to the mix.

Have a few new calves to feed. Midget twin, absolutely crazy mad heifer, and an enormous slow and slightly dumb bull calf. They take a lot of time but are worth it in the end.