The Menagerie Grows

Ah Spring. Babies are beginning to take up residence. Aside from 5 week old Dexter, we now have 4 mallard ducks – and Abigail is mamma duck. They follow her in single file as she leads them from their enclosure to the pond for a daily swim. When they were only a week old, they swam in my bathtub. Jada, our Rottweiler was quite concerned when they peeped and would look at Abby as if to say – “help them”. They also enjoy sitting on her lap as she watches TV with Jada at her feet. Herding 4 ducks is no easy task – Abby has informed me that she does NOT want 4 children when she grows up – but Jada tags behind and helps scoot them along. It will be fun to see if they take up permanent residence in one of our ponds when they are fully grown and released.

Dexter is doing quite well, and mom Zahara is beginning to show her weight gain and is looking really nice. Dex is our little clown and should be a great horse for the right people. Vonnie calls it the “Pee Wee Rodeo” whenever we have to hold him down for a check up. Most of the time he just follows us everywhere – until its time for some serious business – then he shows us that he is a horse after all. We hope to find them good homes later this summer.

Annie, our mauled kitty, is having difficulty with her leg. Arthritis has taken a nasty toll on her elbow and after she races around the house – she suffers for a couple of days. It breaks my heart to see her in pain. She endured so much to keep her leg but we may have to amputate after all. She and Pica, our other ‘found’ kitty are best friends.

I'm busy working on retreats for 2009. We are getting ready to go "live" with Abigail's Art Retreat. The classes are wonderful for adults and kids alike. The cost will include your choice of 3 days of classes, three lunches and two dinners. AND - most all supplies will be included. Some classes WILL have an additonal nominal supply fee depending on the type of materials required for the class. The cost will be: $1300 for adult + child and $650 if an adult wishes to attend alone. For those that stay at the Embassy, we will have some special activies in the evening to keep the kids busy. I'm pretty excited about this new venture and can hardly wait to get it uploaded!