More adventures - Jackson Hole and Yellowstone

Laura Ingalls Wilder Books

Myself and the boys have enjoyed reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series of nine I purchased before leaving.  As we travel over all the vast open prairies, through mountains and snow we imagine how Laura and her family's arduous journeys were by wagon.

I was initially surprised by the hunting in the first book Farmer Boy, the story of Almanzo. As one journeys through all the series of these wondrous little books, it is miraculous to learn how they survived in the wild, with relentless weather conditions, living in total isolation, completely depending on nature for survival. So much is taken for granted in our modern day life.

Old log homes from the early settlers

We were thrilled to see a reproduction of the log homes built by the early settlers. Laura's pa built most of their homes himself.  They survived cruel fires and unyielding blizzards.

Log Homes

The wooden creaky old wagons that were pulled by horse over vast prairies and though great rushing rivers and creeks.  Our next book will be Little Town on the Prairie.

The boys in a wagon

The children playing on a wagon.  We found a miniature wagon for them to play with.

Grizzly Bear

How fortunate we were to see a few bears in the yellowstone park.  Watching them amble about the sage brush, looking for grubs and slugs.  They looked so cuddly and warm.

Bison grazing alongside the steam near the warm spring geysers

The bison, so powerful in the herds.  I remember how the great herds used to roam in Africa, it's hardly seen with their restricted land.  The animals struggled with the late winter and deep snow in Yellowstone, many calves were lost.

Moose

We were delighted to finally see a moose.  Moose is a popular animal in our home as Sania's favorite plush toy is a moose whom he's been loving for 3 years and shares life with us.

Bison on the freeway

This impressive fellow was moseying along the freeway all by himself.  He must have climbed down one of the mountains.

Scenery from a park in Yellowstone

Overlooking Yellowstone Lake.

Knitted scarves

It was so cold that I quickly knitted up two scarves for my little boys from some amazing hand spun pure wool, kettle dyed from Uruguay that I purchased at a cosy little knitting store.  What a pleasure it was to knit with such fine wool.

First time in Snow

The boys found a small mountain of snow in the alongside the road to play in.

Sliding down a snow bank

We then took them up the tram in Jackson WY for some REAL snow.

Trying to climb through the thick snow

I slid down a small snow bank

I managed to climb to the top of a small hill after continuously sinking so deep in the snow, obviously not dressed for it, to slide down and enjoy the fun with the boys.

Brrrrrr

A wonderful snow experience but next time we will be dressed for it because the boys wanted to play more but their feet were almost frozen.

Exploring Grand Canyon and Utah

Grand Canyon

Passing through Arizona we stayed in National Parks alongside the Grand Canyon.  Marveling at the spectacular great rifts and canyon's which has been so deeply carved by the Colorado River.

Amazing Grand Canyon

We felt so small sitting, looking down into the great Canyon. So quiet and peaceful in the greatness of it.

Utah

Surrounding views of the land as we drove further along the Canyon.

Park in Utah

A national park we stayed at in Utah.

Comfortable on a bed of weeds

Resting comfortably in a soft, cool bed of weeds after a couple hours of traveling.

Kristin

How fortunate we were to visit and connect personally with Kristin from Singin' in the Barn.  She showed us around her barn and I admired her beautiful horses. Her home was cosy and warm, full of wonderful treasures. The children were spellbound by all her playthings she keeps so neatly for her grandchildren.  We chatted away, of course there was not enough time. We explored her lush, almost secret flowery garden and were amused by Kristin's very playful sheep dogs!

Beautiful Snow Capped Mountains of Provo

These are the beautiful views we had from the camp grounds.  The snow capped mountains in Provo not too far from Kristin's home.

Bear Lake

Heading further north towards yellowstone we passed by Bear Lake, turquoise and like glass.

Dandelion Fields Forever!

Golden Fields of Dandelions

When we moved to our farm in Dominican Republic about 5 years ago I brought along some Dandelion seeds.  Although they do not grow well in the tropics I am happy to now have 10 plants and continue to spread the seeds.

When we ventured through the countryside of Utah and Wyoming I was delighted to see an abundance of Dandelions growing in the pastures.  So much goodness!  The healthiest greens ever for man and beast.  I was amazed to see them in the Organic Grocery in Jackson WY for $4,99 when they grow all over the place, even in the town gardens and in the cracks of concrete pathsways.

Here is a link for some wonderful Dandelion Recipes over at Mountain Breeze.

Beautiful Barn amidst the Golden Florals

I am one post ahead, I will post photos of Utah, an incredibly elevating state, in my next post.

I am at awe by the beauty of the farmlands between Idaho and Wyoming near Jackson Hole.  So fresh, green and colorful.

Dandelion Magic

Their weather has been extremely cold and rainy this year that most of the plains are flooded.  The animals are waterlogged in many of the lower pastures. The mountains elegantly wrapped in their white winter gowns.

Lying in a soft bed of flowers

Soft, cool and fresh.  Summer in Wyoming, is a winter for us.

My Flower Child"

My little boys are always overjoyed by the timeless magnificence of mother earth.

Flower Delight

gaily dancing between the flowers.

Blowing Fairy Puffs

and blowing the fairy puffs.

Dandelion Beauty

My other Flower Child

Wild Flowers

They could not resist climbing this hillside to gather these honey scented wild flowers. So many flowers to adorn our family dining table.

Rolling Hillsides of Montpelier

Picturesque view of the rolling hills in Montpelier, Idaho.

Helping Horses

We had so much work to do here on the farm before leaving for our two month travel vacation. Our cozy silver airstream has been waiting for us in Phoenix Arizona to journey us on yet another interesting adventure.

I have been taking care of two very lame Thoroughbred horses and a beautiful Paso Fino that were moved over to our farm from a nearby equestrian center. Their hooves were neglected and improperly trimmed which led to this condition.  All the fungus and wounds have been taken care of and hopefully they can soon learn to walk barefoot again. It could take up to a year for rehabilitation. A kind fellow South African, who is experienced with barefoot trimming and hoof problems, who now lives in Florida has been kindly guiding me through the process.  I also have been studying the informative Veterinary approved 16 hour course, called "Under the Horse"  by Pete Ramey, a populate hoof specialist and practitioner.  I highly recommend this course for every horse owner!

Black Thoroughbred Horse

This beautiful horse has been living in a box for many years, probably his entire life.  Lack of exercise hinders circulation.  Barefoottrim is an informative site that explains how damaging shoes are to horse. "What is so bad about shoes, you ask? To briefly encapsulate, shoes restrict blood flow to the hooves; shoes restrict the natural expansion and contraction of the weight-bearing hoof necessary for optimal health, movement and gaits; shoes weaken hoof horn due to the nails that are driven into the hoof producing holes and weakened areas of the horn; shoes provide only a temporary, artificial band-aid fix to many hooves that are physiologically unsound thereby enabling the unsoundness to increase. Horseshoes also prevent the natural traction of the Equine hoof designed by nature, herself."

Damaged Hoof Wall

This is how the right hoof looked when he arrived.

We opened up the wound which was riddled with fungus and bacteria to allow light to penetrate and heal.

Sania cleaning his ponies hoof

My little boys love to take care of their ponies hooves.  Note how patiently little Coco stands and he does not need to be tied up.

Our journey has begun, we are in Idaho - photos will be up soon.

I leave you with this cute little video of my pony boys!

Aqua Fun

Sania on his Papa's shoulders

Play! Something my children know how to do very well.  Water play is a big favorite, especially with their papa.  They spend much time in the pool cooling down from the intense tropical sun, after jumping in the trampoline or riding their bikes.

I never taught my children to swim.  We've always played in the pool. The children became comfortable with the water and learnt to move their bodies like a fish.  Sania began swimming on his own at two and a half and Sasha at the age of three.

Some images of the children with their dad, I captured a couple of days ago.

Sania held in position to be flipped over

Their favorite game in the pool with their dad.

In the air

They always want to be thrown higher.

Sasha with Papa

Sania returns with a big smile.

Sasha being thrown up in the air

Sasha's turn to be thrown up in the air.

Nana enjoying the cool water

My mom has been visiting the past couple of weeks.  She to is a great swimmer and spent much time swimming with the boys when they were little.  The boys have copied her elegant strokes and have kept her quite entertained with their playful energy.

Snuggle pups sharing a towel

My babies.

Sooty keeps me warm after my swim

A warming cuddle with Sooty our sweet little cat.

The Children's Easter Tree

The children's easter egg tree

The children found this tree in the garden a few months ago and said it would be perfect for the easter tree.  It is a branch usually attached to the palm trunk which holds all the seeds.

Our little felted chicks comfy in their nest

The children and I each made a little chick to put into the nest.  We needle felted two little balls each.  Felted them together and added a little red wool for the beak.

You can see the little nodules on the branches which once had a big red seed attached to it - enjoyed by the birds.

Some of the eggs the children painted surrounding the tree

The boiled eggs painted were used to decorate the bowl which holds the tree.

Easter bunny and chicken

The big easter bunny has been with us for a couple of years now.  The hen, chick and smaller bunny are new additions for the easter display.

Little chicks with their new mama

Our little chicks from my previous post are doing well.  One of our wild hens had been roosting on eggs out in the cow pasture for a long time.  I paid her a visit, taking along the little chicks and shook her eggs only to hear liquid within.  They turned out to be rotten.   I brought my little chicks along with me just in case and carefully tucked them under her at the same time.  After she pecked me a couple of times I took her and the chicks to a small hen house and left them there together.  She has adopted them after they were three days old. Unfortunately my little boys who were attached to them cannot go near the little chicks since the wild hen is extremely protective. She has flown at me a few times to protect her new babes.

A Fluffy Surprise

Where does all that cheeping come from?

We had to move mama hen and her eggs to another location because her nest was infested with mites. We dusted her and the eggs with diatomaceous earth.   Stressed by the move she abandoned her eggs.

Sadly we took them home and placed them upon our gas stove.  The pilot lights remained on providing warmth to the eggs.   This was not an easy task as at times the stove got so hot from all the cooking or too cool in the evenings.  We thought we had lost them.

The egg is cracking open

Until early one morning when I came downstairs to prepare breakfast and I heard this beautiful cheeping song.  Excitedly I ran out to call the boys and these are the photos of the first few hours of our little chick being born.  Two others followed soon after.

It's opened

She cheeped and cheeped and pushed and pushed...

She's pushing herself out

The boys couldn't help peeling a few pieces of the shell..... then she pushed herself out

Almost

She was curled up in a damp ball.

The Head

Sania's little hand stroking her head.

A Wooly Nest

We brought out a little wool nest I previously felted.

Keeping her cosy

and cradled her to keep her warm.

Sasha with little chick

To let her know she is loved.

Warm Chick

Sweet tender hands amazed by this beautiful miracle.

Learning to Stand

Leaving her to explore.

Fun with the little chicks

Playing daddy to all the chicks.

Out in the garden

These little chicks are so beautiful and run to us for food as if we are their mama hen.  It would have been nicer for them to have their mama's comfort, easier for them to find their way and explore the world with more safety.  At the moment they roam in a small open cage kept in the garden during the day and we bring them into the kitchen at night. In a few more days I think they will be able to join some of the bigger chicks and explore on their own.

Feeding older chicks

These are older chicks we had a few weeks ago.  They have become quite tame and enjoy being fed by the boys as much as the boys enjoy feeding them.