We have a baby!

Well, the summer from hell wrought one good thing. We have a beautiful buckskin filly! NOT, mind you, from either of the two mares we knew to be pregnant, but rather from Lucy the miracle mare who we thought was not pregnant this year. We didn't notice her little secret until about 6 weeks before the baby was born.

Thus far this summer we've been screwed by the corporation where my husband slaved for 27 years (I must wonder if the parents of the individuals involved told them it was okay to lie, cheat and steal to get ahead or if they came by those traits on their own). Due to all the stress from that lovely event, my husband suffered a heart attack the morning of the 4th of July and underwent open heart surgery the morning of the 5th. Thus, once the COBRA pays out and we pay our share AND continue to pay COBRA the 1200.00 PER MONTH, Honeywell will have flattened our saved resources. The corporate way of thanking someone for saving their bacon for 27 years. There just aren't enough curse words to describe that company and those people. Suffice to say, I am not wishing them health and happiness, and they'd best hope that if they break down in the desert with no water, that someone besides me happens along.

Back to the happy news of the baby before I get homicidal. The newest cherub was born at about 7pm , July 21st. Back in May I'd told a friend and fellow Harry Potter fan, that we'd probably have a baby the night of the big release of the final book. I was, however, talking about a different mare! We hadn't been paying attention to the state of Lucy's belly as we were too busy staring at the barn cam videos of the other two mares. I could have caught flies with my open jaw when I saw Lucy's belly bouncing one evening. The shock was so great in fact that I tried to convince myself the movements were just fly flinching. That thought was dashed several minutes later when the baby not only bounced REALLY hard but changed the entire shape of her belly. This mare, by the way, wasn't in a stall with a camera.

The night of the big release parties, I'd gone swimming. My son was going to go to a release party in town where he'd pick up our books. I really wanted to go, but Lucy had been bagged up for a couple of days and I didn't want to leave her. However, since she was showing no restless behavior, no signs of labor, I'd decided that I'd wait until about 9 and run down to the closer bookstore just for an hour or two, just to participate in the celebration. I got out of the pool and, still in my swimsuit, I went to check water buckets. All the horses were still eating dinner. I filled Lucy's bucket while she munched quietly, I went on down the row of stalls filling all the buckets in the barn. I was coming back to put the hose up when Lucy suddenly laid down and began pushing.

I raced as fast as my wheelchair could take me up to the house to holler for my husband (who, recall, is only a couple of weeks post op from his heart surgery) to start calling neighbors for help. All I needed was someone to hand me things since my husband couldn't bend and lift. The only neighbor he could reach, is the only neighbor with no experience birthing animals. In my husband's hurry, he didn't explain to her that all I needed was someone to hand me things. Thus, poor Jan, ran out of her house to another of our neighbors and told them we needed help. Karen raced down thinking that I had an abnormal birth on my hands. When she got here, baby was already on the ground and trying to get up. You know you have a wonderful neighbor when they'll grab hold of a gooey horse umbilical cord and amnion and tie them up so your mare doesn't step on them.

The little squirt is racing around the pasture, already completely unconcerned about where her Mom is, unless she's hungry. She's been that independent since she was two days old. It drove Lucy crazy for about a week, and then she gave up chasing the child.

Still nothing from the mares we know are pregnant, however, Blaze's baby is currently dribbling basketballs, so maybe it won't be too much longer. Maybe??