Mustang Saga

Yesterday we started staining the round pen. I really like the way it looks. I'll have to get before and after pictures. We ran out of stain after doing about half, so will have to get more. Do any of you have experience with staining outdoor wood? Should I do two coats? The wood is weathered and very dry, it soaked up the stain really quickly. I'm thinking that we need to do two coats.

This morning I found my camera again so I figured I should take some pictures as I went through my morning chores.

Here's The Old Man freshly brushed and fly-sprayed, having his morning grub. How many horses do you know who have alfalfa for bedding? It's quite deep in places, but I had to clean some of it out today. He won't eat the stems, only the leaves. (His teeth are fine.) I figure at his age he's entitled to be a bit picky. And this way he has some cushioning for his old feet.
He's not looking too hot, I know. I'm going to up his special feed, but I don't want to have to lock him up too much longer every day. He loves running around with his mare, and I don't want to take that away from him. I want him to enjoy life to the fullest at this point, even if it means he's a little underweight. He's also been acting kind of strange at times, and I've noticed a slightly strange smell about him. Not horrible like a horse whose system has shut down, just a little strange. I don't know if it means anything serious yet, but I do take notice.

The Fatness, doing what she does best:The Cuteness, occupying himself while I work:

The Three Amigos, coming in from the pasture:

The Cuteness, doing what he does best,
being cute!

And being a rotten puppy:

Cute, with a little bit of Rotten:

My daughter, who is home from school, asked,
"Why is there a motorcycle in your window?"

My son left something to bring a smile to our faces today.

Why is the daughter home? Why does my chest feel so heavy? She's got the flu, and I think I've got it now too. Chances are, it's the Swine Flu. We're staying home. I'm a little worried because I have asthma and that makes me high risk, but my asthma isn't that bad. I've got a call in to my doctor just in case, but they're very busy so who knows when they'll call back. In some ways it's a good thing, because I'm pretty sure once we've had it we'll have an immunity to it from here on out.

Once I started feeling bad I called the school and offered to pick up my boy, but they were happy with a "wait and see" approach. So I guess we'll see.