Try Explaining this One to the Insurance Company

I was getting home late from rehearsal on our moonless dark dirt road, when Sam and I spied a horse crossing the road ahead of us. I slowed down, stopped, and saw it was Snip, our big Tennessee Walker. He was drawn to the car by the headlights, I guess, and he stopped just a few feet away from us on the passenger side, just looking at us. I released my foot from the brake, but was totally unprepared for what happened next.  Snip thrust his head into the windshield, cracking a softball-sized bulls-eye into the glass. Snip was fine. I’m not sure how to tell if a horse has a concussion, but the next morning he was in his pen walking eating and drinking. The car however did need a new windshield and mirror.

Steve/Shelley

Spring Cleaning at Hidden Owl Ranch

First, we had a not-so-hidden morning guest… IN OUR BEDROOM!  Somehow a beautiful owl found its way into our abode, presumably chasing mice, and perched itself very nicely on our armoire.  I have an unfocused shot of him (?) that I’ll try to post with this. (Oops, later edit maybe) The owl was about 9 inches tall with a 2 foot wing span. He was so calm; he quietly flew through the house stopping in our room to watch us sleep. Michael came in and chased him out of our room, but not the house.  He escaped into our attic through one of the boys’ room open ceilings (no drywall yet), presumably to eventually escape through the outside attic opening.

Next, we finally cleared out the nest of our resident mouse/rat.  Wow, what an incredible variety of stuff we found!  A dozen copper pipe fittings, a pen, a screwdriver, a wrench, a sock, 2 pair of undies, a pound of dog food, a lot of fiberglass insulation, pen caps, pencil, water bottle, a solar flashlight, and two boxes of matches were in the stash.