Winter Wonderland

I knew it, I was tempting fate by even saying the word Spring!  No more 70 degree days, we are back to full on winter!

Having the animals can definitely be challenging during wintertime.  They have to eat twice a day and need fresh water whether the sun is shining or it's a full on blizzard!  

Luckily this past week I've had my snow-loving sidekicks to make those cold trips to the barn more fun! 

They aren't the only animals enjoying the snow though, strangely, my Arizona horse loves the snow and cold weather.

Sadie has the least shaggy winter coat and spends the most time standing out in the snow!

Just looking at her makes my ears cold!

A little snow won't stop Dolly from her constant food hunt! 

Daisy has definitely become an indoor dog, but she even enjoys a little playtime in the snow!

Schumi is definitely an Arizona dog, he has very little tolerance for the cold and does not see much fun in it!  A few flakes and he's done!

The girls, like Schumi, opt to view the snow from their nice dry barn!

I'm ready for the warmer weather, but don't want this little snowball to grow up too quickly!  Nothing cuter than a puppy playing in the snow!

Warm Before The Storm

You've got to love Colorado weather...on Monday, giant snowflakes.

On Thursday....sunny and swim weather.  Well, swim weather for these two at least! 

Moss was SO excited to play in the water!

Denali was pretty hesitant at first and opted to watch from the sidelines.

With some encouragement from me and from Moss she finally braved the rapids!

It didn't take long for her to decide this was a pretty fun place to play!

I was worried the water might be a bit cold for them, silly me, they went right from the water to the snow!

They finally took a break to soak up the sun.

Headed back home for a loooong nap!

Moss and Denali's Snow Day!

It was Denali's first snow at her new home and there was no better way to spend it than with her buddy Moss!

They ran...

And played...

And rolled...

And ran some more...

And played some more...

Well, you get the idea...

Such a fitting picture the way she looks up to Moss :)

A quick rest before more playtime!

It took a while, but I think these two are finally worn out from their big day!  

Happy Valentine's Day from Sadie Acres!

With the variety of critters that we have here at Sadie Acres, it's quite amazing how they all co-exist pretty peacefully.  

Sure, Dolly and Penny have their morning food battle, the chickens pick on the rabbits, and although Rowdy adores Sadie in their stalls he will chase and kick her when they are turned out together (I guess you always know the boys like you when they pick on you!), but overall there is a lot of love in our little barn.

No bond is stronger than the bond between Chloe and Oscar.  Before we got them we had planned on only getting one rabbit, once we started researching we quickly learned that these guys form extremely close bonds and live much happier and healthier lifestyles when you have them in pairs.  Watching these two together I can't imagine them ever being separated!

Sadie and Rowdy are best buds in their stalls, although Sadie paces a little bit less since we got Dolly as her companion, she's still happiest when Rowdy comes back in the evening from turnout.  

Penny and Rowdy are definitely the most bonded of the horses, they were together in their previous home as well and their behavior definitely mimics an old married couple :)

Since Dolly was purchased to be Sadie's companion (aka BFF) I had high hopes that they would bond right away. Unfortunately, Sadie preferred hanging out with Rowdy and Dolly preferred tormenting Penny, but with more turnout and trail rides together these two finally seem to be enjoying each others company more and more.

Every once in a while you'll even find an unusual pairing.  The hens are usually pretty inseparable, but on this day shortly after Dolly came to Sadie Acres Lady Mary opted to spend a little time with her. Worried she was looking for an escape route I almost rushed over to move her, but I soon realized she was perfectly content hanging with Dolly, she perched there for a good 15 minutes, and Dolly hung out just as happy to be with her visitor.

Hopefully Mary will warm up to Denali like she has to Dolly, poor Denali didn't receive quite the same warm welcome from her!

I guess we can't win them all! 

Making a Splash!

I know it's a little too early to use the S word, but with a high of 72 degrees Saturday and the creek running strong from runoff, I'm going to say it anyway...it feels like Spring!  

We took full advantage of the perfect weather this weekend and nobody enjoyed it more than the horses, with their still heavy winter coats, the cool water must have felt fantastic!

Rowdy, of course, had to make the biggest splash :)

Sadie must have remembered our river trips in AZ because she was a champ and waded all the way in to where the water was up to my ankles.  I was glad I didn't bring Dolly along on this ride, she definitely would have been swimming!

Even Penny, who enjoys water the least had fun splashing around.

The only one not excited about our noisy trek through the water was this huge owl that we presumably woke from his afternoon nap.  I wish I would have had my camera ready, he flew right in front of me and Sadie.

The reality of it still being February will definitely sink in with snow in the forecast this Wednesday, but it was nice to soak up the beautiful weather for a couple days!

Hay is for Horses

...and Berners if you ask Denali!

Denali is slowly getting more comfortable hanging out at the barn, but she was a little overwhelmed her first couple trips. 

It's understandable, the huge horses, the very loud and unpredictable chickens, so many new sounds and smells, that's a lot for a little pup to take in!  

But there is one thing that definitely keeps her coming back for more...the giant hay pile!

She loves it when I pull apart the flakes, she always make sure to get in one good attack before I whisk it away.

Getting up to the top is a bit challenging for her, but she's a determined little thing and does not give up easily!

And boy is she happy when she finally conquers (usually with a little boost) and makes it to the top!

She gets her crazy eyes when she finally gets to the top!

Getting down has it's challenges as well!  

Her trek down is usually followed by a celebratory leap onto me before she goes to tackle that mountain again.

Climbing that hay hill can be pretty exhausting for this little pup so when she finally gets worn out she usually heads over to visit her second favorite thing in the barn.

Seriously, Just too much cuteness for one barn!

Meet Denali!

We're back, and as promised, Denali has arrived!

I did a TON of research before I decided my next dog would be a Bernese Mountain Dog, and I must say, the research paid off!  

She's been here less than 24 hours, and I can say with complete certainty she is the perfect addition to Sadie Acres!

Here is what we know about Denali so far...

She is excellent on road trips!

She was perfect on the 2 1/2 hour car ride home last night, she sat on my lap and looked around for a little bit, then slept the whole way home.  I probably have Jerry to thank for keeping her active yesterday, but either way she was the perfect car dog.

She loves her new toys and carrying around her food and water bowls.

And most of all, she loves playing with Schumi!  It took him a little while to come around to the idea, but he's warming up to his "little" sister.

She slept the whole night!

At bedtime she crawled right in the dog bed and went to sleep.  Being a Berner she did get hot a couple times and had to move to the cooler floor, but she didn't make a peep between midnight and 7am!

She has the common sense to be an excellent barn dog!

Denali is my little shadow, everywhere I go she is right there with me, but she was VERY cautious around the horses. She opted to wait patiently outside their stalls until I was done.

The rabbits on the other hand...it was love at first sight.  A little too much love for poor Oscar, she licked him all over his face and head!

To my surprise there wasn't much interaction with the chickens.  She chased them a little bit in a playful way, but for the most part she stayed clear of them and they stayed clear of her! 

She is very helpful!  

She helped me work...no, I didn't pose this, she is just that ridiculously cute!

She really wanted to help me scoop feed!

She helped me look for toys under the table!

It was a lot of adventure for her first day, she is one tired puppy!  Time to rest up for day 2 :)