At first it was because he's black, so he was originally named after Bagheira from the Jungle Book. 

But it also turns out he also has a fascination with plastic grocery bags and loves to chew on them when we get back from the grocery store.

 Hence "Baggie"

  cute.  i love bagheira. 

Hey all - sorry I've been out and about and not checking in at chat. Things are kinda busy here at work and I've actually been doing work related stuff. LOL, I know hard to believe isn't it??? And this weekend DH FINALLY decided to start working on the inside of the house. Well needless to say, I think I will have an ulcer before all is said and done. Friday he and a buddy started gutting my dinning room. Plaster and lath in an 1800's house. Saturday was finishing the dinning room and the living room. So as of now, I have a complete and utter mess and no floor in my living room. I'll show you some pics tomorrow. I left them all at home today. So for however long it takes to get things put back together again, I am stuck in the kitchen and bedroom of my house because I have no other place that is livable.

 On a good note, I took my newly painted trailer on its maiden voyage and took Glis to her first Hunter Pace. What an awesome time we had. We didn't do any jumping of course but we had a blast and Glis loved every minute of it and did awesome. Some of the trails in the woods were very steep and slippery but she did them perfectly. I have no idea what our time was but I don't care cause we had such fun. My friend who has major back and neck issues rode with me and for the first time in a very long time, she got to canter her TW mare and the pleasure of it, brought tears to her eyes. So that in itself was my prize for the day. I can't wait until Aug when we get to do another one.

Here is the pic from the end of our day. Glis is totally checking out farmer guy and his tractor.

And for you chicken people my obnoxious rooster who really does belong in a pot and not in a pen. LOL

 Great to see an update sprague.  You have my sympathy on the remodeling mess.  That would drive me insane.  But I hope the finished rooms will be worth the hassle.

I'm envious of all of you that get to go on adventurous rides now.  I haven't ridden since the spring and even then it was just a tootle round the farm on Annapolis. 

If the time ever comes when I get another riding horse, I think I'll have to take lessons. I'm so out of shape and all sorts of bad riding habits have crept in.

spragueme:

And for you chicken people my obnoxious rooster who really does belong in a pot and not in a pen. LOL

 He looks like he's full of himself. :) I have a couple of chicks I bought two months ago, and one of them got huge, and grew a large comb and large wattles. So I've come to the conclusion he's NOT a hen, but is, in fact, a rooster. So his name has been changed to Nicolai Dobzhansky. :) It's not for sure if he'll be staying or not, but he's a pretty mild mannered rooster, and LOVES people, so I think he'll be sticking around. Unless he starts waking the neighbors up at four, then he might go on a little trip. Love the picture! Thanks for sharing! :)

Well you asked for it. This is the mess that was once my house.

Dinning room before

And after.

Living room on left, dinning room on right

my old living room floor beams

What I had to look at for 2 days before the new floor was in

some of what was taken out

Dinning room before

and now

But I did find 2 cool things. This May 1950 Look magazine cover with Shirley Temple. Sorry its upside down. I'm gonna frame it and hang it up anyways.

I found this old wooden handled tool too but it fell apart in my hands. Not sure what it was but I'm keeping this too.

 Think positive thoughts.  It will be done eventually and then you can look back on this time and laugh.

Cool finds you made -- that magazine cover will look great framed on the wall.  I have no idea what the wooden thing may be.

Oak beam floor joycing?  Wow, Sprag, that's one old house...Don't let them take away those beams!  People here buy them for big money when doing restorations.  Nothing better than old beams(maybe they're not oak, but they do look old!)

Aside from that....ENJOY YOURSELF!  What a dream doing up an old house.  When we started here  there was NO water nor electricity in the house, no toilet or bath/shower for three months(big garden though with 22acres and no neigbors,) and an old  little  wood burning stove for heating in winter...

Also, Dom informed me that she was pregnant 3 weeks AFTER starting the whole project...

 Don't know if we sit back and laugh but NO ONE can take away those memories...

 enjoy my friend...rr

 Oooh, Sp, I love the project!  Having been through this for the last couple of summers, I feel for ya, but it is going to be so lovely when it's done.  The old wood is fantastic!  And the old tool and magazine.  I really want to read up on how to improve my canasta...

You and Glis are having so many adventures, it is inspiring.  

 I am trying to get my place back in shape after all it's neglect.  Love having the boys at home, but I need to get busy riding more, I have let them just hang out for too long!  Scooter is off in his right fore, can't see it at a walk but definitely head nodding lame at the trot.  So he is off for a while.  Had him reshod with simple shoes and give him lots of turn out in the big pen.  Ice tight every couple of days.  It may be the end of his career this time, but that's OK.  We have our Flagstaff Arab show coming up July 6- 8th, so I am struggling to pull that together.  Still need people to run the gate.  Why does no one want to volunteer in this club!!!! 

Anyway, love you guys and just wanted to check in.  Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

The more I look at the images of your tool sprag, the more I wonder if there were ever any thatched roofs in your area?  It appears that the tool has an iron shaft; and or an iron nail holding the wooden portion to something that appears to be rusted.  This, to me, might rule out any "butter churning," wouldn't it.  Something involved in the production of butter would be solid wood.  The daily cleaning with water would contribute to rust...and I don't think you'd want that in your butter or cheese(remember I live in France,lol.)

Once on a job in Ireland I watched a demonstration of how they still thatch roofs there(and here in Normandy.)  They used a tool similar to the one I see in your photos  to "batten" straight(upward motion) the reeds used in thatching.

I have several wood working mallets, old and new.  My belief is if it were for use as a striking tool, the weight would be at the end...

Great find though...rr

 So many fun and interesting things going on and I am missing them all! 

RC, sorry to hear Scooter is off, but I know he will still have an awesome time being with you.  You never can tell either -- I have retired Solo from eventing and I will never ask him to jump 3'3" again, but a year after his injury, he is doing pretty well.  He'll always be just as lopsided as ever, but that's nothing new.  But he may still have a few (smaller) jumps in him yet (which would thrill him to pieces).

Encore is (knock wood) doing very well 3 weeks post injections.  I am trying not to be myself still and I am hoping that all will be well.  We are planning a mtn trip this weekend, he needs a stronger butt!

Everything else is about the same, I just try to keep my brain busy so I don't think about the bad parts.  Fortunately, it's field season so I HAVE to be busy whether I like it or not.

I miss you all --

 Thanks for the update Solo.  I'm glad to hear Encore is doing well after his injections and that Solo is doing good too and will send positive vibes that their improvement continues.

Even though you won't ever do 3' 3" on Solo, I bet he would enjoy hopping over smaller jumps in a non-competitve setting -- out on the trail or somewhere.  I wish we had that sort of trail around here (not to mention the weather to enjoy it in).

We've had 100 + degrees that past few days and it's brutal.  Poor Star, with her bulk and the fact that she is black, is practically cooking.  I went out and sloshed water on them both at the weekend, but since I work 45 miles from the barn, it's not practical to do that during the week.

I hope everyone is having a great day.  Nice and HOT here, but at least we've had some rain this year so the fireworks aren't banned like they were last year.