Aaron in his normal attire

 In a few weeks Aaron called one night and told us about a team that “Stevie Wonder” could drive….sounds like my kind of horses, Claude & Clyde a pair of Belgiums that Icicle Outffiters were using on their sleigh rides in Levenworth. So Christmas Day we packed up and went to drive the pair. A little dashing through the snow in a open sleigh…..and the deal was sealed. This was the team for us and they just happen to come with a covered wagon. When Claude & Clyde finished their sleigh pulling job….they were scheduled to come to Stillwater, and last Sunday Dalton and our neighbor Rick went to Levenworth to pick up the boys.

 When Dalton lead them off the trailer, all 1800 lbs…that’s each…not together… I looked at the size of those feet and went “Holy Mackerel”…man are those feet big. It’s a little like when you buy a piece of furniture and you say “ It  didn’t look  THAT BIG in the store.”. and then you get it home…and you go “What was I thinking????                                                     

After a day of getting used to the place. Dalton took Claude & Clyde out for their picture debut.    What’s Not to Love about these guys? So come spring, we’ll be taking this show on the road…stay tuned…..this week we are going to get the Covered Wagon from George over in Levenworth.

That’s the name Wrangler Ani came up with for the new addition to the ranch. With those big brown eyes and dark mane she looks like Sofia Loren, minus the big glasses.

After a week of settling in, Bella went to Ani’s round pen for evaluation.

Bella meets her new friend Rain

Casanova Rain noticed her right away.

She was a gem. The plastic bag “sacking out” was a little alarming at first but she soon settled down and just looked at it with much curiosity. Or she was looking at the human waving this stick and bag around wondering what would posses a person to do such a silly thing.

The big noisy tarp came next…No Problem with that. A few  sniffs and onward she walked.

                        Next the saddle. No Problem with that either.

Crossing the wooden bridge….took a couple of tries. It is easier to walk around things than over them. Funny, the same thing happens in the house.

After a couple spins around the pasture, Bella’s evaluation was complete.

She passed with flying colors. Bella is quick to learn, well mannered and a great addition to the trail string. It will be a while before our guests will be able to rider her. She still has to go through “Leadership school” and “Back of the class school”

All of the evaulation was proffessionally monitored by “Indy”- Wrangler Ani’s mare and given the “Indy Stamp of Approval”

First we took turns driving a team of Belgiums: Claude & Clyde pulling a sleigh. We are looking at adding Claude & Clyde to our “family” for  hay wagon rides and our wine rides this summer.

Between the Gee and the Haw and the Whoa…and the Step Up..we got the jargan down.  What a Feeling it is to handle these massive beautiful creatures with just 2 pieces of leather in your hands.

After our fun in the snow we joined the Icicle Outfitters Crew for Christmas Dinner in a heated wall tent. A first for all of us!

Thank you again..Aaron, Bruce, Sandy& Wendal for making our Christmas Day an event we will always remember.

Do not try this on your own…you may pick something that is poisonous….go with someone that knows mushrooms and you will be guaranteed to stay out of the emergency room and have a beautiful bounty of mushrooms to saute.

That’s like playing on the All Star Team for our horses.
Over 100 people showed up to drive horses from the park back to the Icicle Outfitters Ranch in Eniat.
For 3 days the “horse pushers” lived like they were back in the old west.
Well, they had a few modern day conveniences…like a water truck…out houses….heated wall tents.
What an experience it was for Dalton and Dan (who went along as the “Stillwater Wrangler”).

Chuck Wagon arrives for lunch

Lunch Is Served!

Dutch Oven Cooking for Dinner

What would a Trail Drive be without entertainment!

What a wonderful peaceful view

Lunch Time for Dalton

Getting Ready In the Morning

Jackson was first. Since Lori was Jackson’s owner before he came to Stillwater, she new exactly what to expect.

This is making me S..l..e..e..p..y.

I'm tired from all this shoe stuff...I think I'll just rest my head on Lori

Now Susie-Q on the other hand was the big unknown……no one knew if she had ever had shoes on. But we were getting ready to find out.

The “clean out”..with a “Hoof pick” went well .

The trimming went well. Mules hooves are different than horses. The heels of the hoof need to be higher than a horse in most cases. More like the donkey side of the equation.

Then came the shoes. All the banging on the anvil forming the shoes for a perfect fit to Suisie’s foot…made her a little nervous. With some reasuring “scratching” from Dalton she soon settled down and was a gem for 3 of the 4 shoes.

 The last and final shoe on her hind foot….took Lori more time than normal…..for some reason Susie just didn’t want that last shoe on!  Lori is extremely patient and eventually…the 4th shoe was attached.

Susie-Q has been using her new shoes and doing well in her trail adventures with Dalton.

He was bound and determined to find a mule of his own!

After searching far and wide- Missouri – Iowa- Montana- Idaho – he finds a 16 hand molly mule in Walla Walla. At least it is still in the state, barely. Armed with directions from Map Quest and our GPS we head off for Walla Walla one morning. 4 hours and 55 minutes later we arrive at Cindy’s Ranch. We are greeted by baby puppies, baby mules and this very big red mule- Susie-Q.
After a few hours of discussion, a ride around the arena- Susie-Q was loaded into the trailer and we were headed back to Sultan, 4 hours and 55 minutes
away. With a quick stop at the Fly’n J Truck stop for fuel , food and changing drivers we were back on the road headed home.

Now this is the time….when you start second guessing yourself….the drive home….why is this person really selling this mule?…..what’s wrong with her that I didn’t find?….did the owner “ace” her up to make her gentle?….the thoughts run rampid….then you finally tell yourself…Well she is mine now and She Is What She Is!

What a girl Susie-Q turned out to be! She was everything Cindy told us she was….kind..gentle…willing…big hearted and best of all she likes Dalton! Unlike horses..mules choose their owners…and once they choose them..you had better not go anywhere without them, or you will see the biggest temper tantrum in the world. Nothing like seeing a 1,000 lb mule pitching a fit.

I am sure that there will be many Dalton and Susie-Q adventures to come.

Having a trail string is exactly like a football team, you are always looking for a good draft pick.
So this time he finds “ Pistol Packn’ Jackson a 6 year old mule, who just so happens to be less than 5 miles from the ranch. This is a good thing…most of the time he finds them in Montana, Wisconsin, Florida, Tennesse and they have to be chaufered out here by Cowboy Express.
After a few conversations with Laurie , Jackson’s owner we are headed over to the field to see what this mule looks like.

Dalton just happens to have the horsetrailer hooked to the back of the pickup truck. That should have been my first clue…..that just maybe Jackson would be coming home with us.
So here is our newest member of the Stillwater Family
Jackson

Jackson is offically Bailey approved!

The Birthday Girl

Big Borther is the "Offical" candle lighter

The "Birthday Wish". Think it was for a horse?

Let's Eat this cake!

The end of the party....until next year!!

What could be better than a birthday celebration riding horses , chocolate cake and ice cream?