Unexpected Surprises

On Saturday morning, May 8, 2010, we were blessed with an unexpected gift! One of our llamas, Snowflake, gave birth to a beautiful, white, female cria! Much to our surprise we were not expecting her arrival as we thought that Snowflake was unable to have a cria.

Llamas gestation period is 11 1/2 months long (I know shot me dead!) and she hasn't been kept with Lakota since last summer. Most definitely Lakota Dotz is the sire of this adorable little cria.

Donnie worried over her cuz she wouldn't get up and nurse that morning. It was a windy & very brisk morning for her to be born on but as you know we don't get to pick the day and time of our blessings. After working with the cria for about 1 1/2 hours & Snowflake spitting on him trying to protect her cria, Lily was up & nursing. There were a few occasions where she fell or was blown over by the wind so Donnie would go back out & get her up & steady on her feet.

Now, 2 days later, she is just wonderful! A bit of a curious, social butterfly, as she doesn't stay close to her momma at all. If it is quiet you can hear her mom humming & see her running after the little white fluff of energy! All the other llamas in the pasture assist in watching over her too.

Welcome to the ranch Lily! Congratulations Snowflake & Happy Mothers Day!

The Weekend...

T.G.I.F. What does it mean... that it is Friday and the weekend is almost here. Weekends used to mean "family time" but things have changed a bit with that. Saturdays are usually spent running around like chickens without heads to the city to get things done that can't be done during the week when DH (Dear Hubby) is working. It takes the majority of the day. No such thing as "sleeping in" around here... I WISH we could but we very rarely sleep in. Sundays used to be church in the morning but that has slipped away. Now Sundays are days used for going to my parents house & running errands for them & doing things at their house they need help with. Sundays... laundry day for DH. Also used to do projects on the ranch when the weather is warm outside... which by the way should be happening in May. *fingers crossed* When it is summer we love to have BBQ's on the weekends. Good food, good friends/family and just chatting & chillin. Nothing better than that! Thank goodness for the weekends cuz it does bring some rest & relaxation for us and hopefully for yall too. :) Have a splendiferous weekend all!

My Eyes...

A couple weeks ago my eyeglasses broke out of the blue...so my husband took me to get my eyes checked & some new glasses. During the exam it was discovered that I have cataracts?! My left eye is -425 & my right is -725. UGH!! I'm 49 years old & I have cataracts??? What a shock to me and my family too! I had no idea, I have been having problems with my eyes for the past few years, a couple weeks after getting glasses I can't see as well as I could during the exam. I kept telling myself that the script was off but apparently I have been incorrect. My right eye is the worst and surgery needs to be done on this eye first. My left eye is just showing the signs of cataracts beginning so it also needs to be done at some point. My Doctor has grounded me from driving at dawn & dusk because of how bad my sight has gotten. I never realized how often I want/have to drive at those times??? It has become an inconvenience for me not to be able to drive. My husband works hard 5 days a week & drives all day long, so when he gets home the last thing he wants to do is drive some place. My daughter has extracurricular activities where she needs to be taken to or picked up from at those times of the day??? I never realized it but I need to be able to do my part of driving for them both and this is really putting a damper on us. I NEED to have this cataract surgery! Shockingly the surgery is $2,500.00 PER EYE! Yikes *gasp* but it NEEDS to be done. We were referred to a company that assists in the cost of the surgery if you meet their criteria and are approved by them. At this point we are waiting for them to contact me for an interview to see if we would qualify for assistance. I do not like waiting... tick...tick...tick. We haven't scheduled the cataract surgery yet because I don't have the monies for it so we wait for the approval of this other place before we can schedule the surgery. I am having a hard time seeing because I did not get new eyeglasses, I do have the script eyeglasses from the exam BEFORE the eyeglasses that broke but they seriously are not too much help. I am tired of not being able to see & getting these headaches too! I know I am stressed out because lord knows I don't want to not have the surgery but I don't want to stress out my husband about the costly surgery, also my daughter is very worried about me now since I can't see. My eyes are important to me, I it has been difficult to function normally here at home caring for the animals, the house and my family. Also I love photography & it is hard enough to take photos when you can see... it is next to impossible to do now. I am thankful that I am fortunate enough that my eyes can be fixed as I know there are some people that lose their sight altogether. I am trying not to freak out about it because it can be fixed but it is hard to not be bummed out about trying to get through a day with the way my eyes are now. :( OK... Time to stop with the woes me, pull up my panties & suck it up! Just had to get it out...

Smith Rescue Ranch Zazzle Store

I have a store on Zazzle that benefits our Rescue Ranch. Any money we make from a sale of an item goes to the animals care here on the ranch. Whenever I can get time to take photos with my camera is a happy time for me, so I do it as often as I can. Then I take some time & make merchandise in our store with the photos I've taken. It is very relaxing for me & I love being able to share the photos of things in my world. Please go to my store often as new items will be added often! We appreciate everyones support! ♥

White Prairie Wildflower Stickers from Zazzle.com

Weekends

...are for barbecues with family & friends! I love it when it is Spring & Summer and warm enough on the weekends to have some friends and/or family come out for the day and barbecue some meat on the grill! We sit & chat, take photos, play games and just relax. I love it! In about a month it should be warm enough for the FUN to begin! Woohooooooooo

☼ SpRiNg ☼ FeVeR ☼

It was sunny & fairly warm today so I kept ending up outside. Once the warmth is here to stay I will be outdoors most of the time doing chores & projects around the ranch. I want to get a vegetable garden going in our garden area again this Summer. It was full of snow from the past few storms we got. Most of the snow has melted away & it is REALLY soggy in there. I will have to wait for it to dry up a bit before it can be tilled up & compost mixed into the soil. May be by the end of this month we can get that part done at least. I have a bunch of Butternut Squash seeds & I'll also get some Zucchini seeds too. Now that there are only 3 of us here on the ranch we don't have to cook as much...that is a big change in groceries, gardening & cooking!
The grass is turning green & there are buds on the trees around the area so it won't be long before the wildflowers start to bloom. I have a large variety of flower seeds that I also want to plant around the place to give it some color! I wonder if we'll get much moisture? To be safe I better plant within reach of the hose so I can easily get water to things.
Once the color starts popping I will be out with my camera for hours on end! I can't wait! I love going out with my camera & getting shots of everything I see, it is so relaxing!
Happy Spring & Summer to you all! My favorite times of the year! ☺