Month: March 2011

Books in the Barn Birthday Bash

Another fun afternoon with some horse-loving young readers. This month, newcomer Katelin joined Allisen, Ana, Brenna, Erin, MaKenna, Nevaeh and Sofia. The day was extra special, as it was Brenna’s birthday, and I was honored that she chose to spend part of her day with us.

 

We read a second story about Keeker and her pony Plum, with an extended version of our “Wheel of Keeker” to review what we’d read. Next month, we’ll switch gears to meet Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa.

 

The readers decorated their own personal notebooks — impressive creations from everybody – and we celebrated Brenna’s birthday with cupcakes, granola bars and juice boxes.

Winter isn’t giving up easily, so we spent only a short time in the barn, learning how to halter a horse, and, of course, the now-routine brushing and braiding. Helpers Addi, Ane and Jaimie teamed up with Rusty, Biskit and Chicago to help the girls practice haltering, with Jaimie facing the biggest challenge – keeping Chicago on task, as the hay in his stall offered a nearly irresistible temptation, given that his job was to lower his head to little-girl level, which is just this side of hay-flake height. But Jaimie convinced him to cooperate, for which the Handsome Horse was rewarded with the laying-on of loving little hands, and lots of carrots. He’s got a good job…

Chronicle of the Old Yellow Dog

SleepyHeadZ

To spur some confidence in his ability to walk across the ceramic tile, as well as provide some traction on our slippery winter roads, Zenga is now sporting some flashy red slippers. There is no sneaking around for him anymore, as the slippers announce his shuffled wanderings with a distinctive “whooshck-whooshck, whooshck-whooshck”.

Leaving them on for 2 days straight did great things for Z’s mobile confidence. Hurrah! However, removing the slippers for a routine nail trim reminded me that dogs sweat through the pads on their feet. Even in the winter. And especially when covered by a secure rubberized footing.

I left the slippers on the boot rack in the back entry to allow them, and his feet, to dry overnight. In the morning, the back entry smelled like the Anoka Senior High School wrestling room. (I can make this comparison only because, for reasons long forgotten, our dance line had to practice in the wrestling room once or twice and the smell has been burned into my permanent nasal memory.)

So now Mr. Shuffleupagus builds confidence and strength with his slippers by day, and airs out by night.

Next up, a cardigan for my canine…
TheRedSlippers