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Update on the new horses.

Category: Getting my garden started | Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:01 pm

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Mimi wanted to go to the barn yesterday, and said that she would buy breakfast at a small restaurant that we both enjoy, if I accompanied her. I haven't been there for a while, and wanted to get some pictures of of the new colt (Pablo) so I went along. There are 5 newborns, ranging in age from 3 months to 2 weeks and one still yet unborne. There is also a new born Lama.

Patrick, the first to be born, has lost his mom, due to a severe case of intestinal colic, which, in horses, can be fatal. Patrick was not weaned, and needed mothers milk to survive. Mimi,s Mare, (Dahlila) who had just delivered Pablo, has taken over the task, and while at first wasn't sure about the whole thing, has now become a fitting step mom. And, the two half brothers have become good buddies, they romp and play together.

The barn owners have acquired a Lama and have it in with the yearling's. Lamas become protective of the horses that they are living with, and unlike horses will face attacking predators head on and often can fight off a wolf or coyotes. Anyway, the Lama turned out to be a female, and a pregnant one at that. So along with the foal's there is a young Lama.

All are doing well, except that already noted, and following are some pictures of the youngsters, and Mimi's riding horse, Lady Guenevere.



This is pablo, he blinked



This also is Pablo, he wanted more attention














This is Payton, Last years Foal


This is Lady Guenevere



This is the Lama

Last edited: Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:02 pm

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A Loons Story

Category: Getting my garden started | Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:30 pm

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A Loons story

We here on Black Oak Lake, love our loons. Summer would surly be a lesser quality time without them. Their haunting calls, the distinctive silhouette as they move slowly across the lake, and their devotion to their mates. We usually have 2 or 3 families on the lake. Normally each family produces 2 young, which they devotedly care for. Some times they can be seen with a baby on their back as they go for a ride. Because they dive for food, and swim very well underwater, they are a relatively heavy bird. They ride low in the water, and it takes them a long way to get airborne. They seldom go inland, their nests are at the edge of the water. They are very nervous and will quickly dive when they feel threatened. They can swim long distances under water, but very shallow. Unfortunately, they are sometimes hit by boats while swimming underwater.

Last year, towards the end of the season, an Eagle got one of the Loons and it's absence was obvious, as the remaining Loon from the couple was always alone. Occasionally the Loons would gather into a group, I think as they prepare to move to their winter homes. The lone Loon was not a part of the group. As winter approached, the group of Loons left for their winter homes, but the lone Loon stayed behind. We noticed that he (or she) had been acting unusually, in that he would rear up and flap his wings and one wing didn't seem to be normal. One day another lone Loon appeared on the lake, and the two seemed to develop a friendship, and for several weeks they could be seen together at different locations on the lake. ( we have a Loon watch program where if you see a Loon out on the lake near your home, you note the time and location, then we compare notes, and hope to learn from the results) By this time they were the main topic of e mails that went from home to home among the concerned people. Someone contacted a wild bird organization and some folks from there and some of us got together in boats, and one cold late fall evening, attempted to capture both or at least the one that seemed to be injured. They caught the injured one but the other was too quick, and got away. The injured bird had a very badly broken wing, that had healed crooked, and unfortunately he had to be put down, as Loons don't eat or survive in captivity, and he surly wouldn't survive long on the frozen lake.

The remaining Loon, the newcomer, was spotted in the lake until the ice covered the lake completely, and then he disappeared. We fear that he became feed for the Eagle, or a wolf or coyote. I guess that we must accept the food chain as a matter of life, and love both the Loons and the Eagles.

Tom

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