Week 21 - Germany

Week 21 – Germany

Monday morning – the start of another week to get closer to our family in Canada. The whole place was white with snow – really pretty. Our ride to our boys was really cold and windy, but so pretty. While we mucked our boys stables, they were out in the paddock. Peri ate the snow off the paddock poles; it was so funny to watch. Our boys were glad to get back into their warm stables. We then went to town to do the shopping we could not do on Sunday. Then it was back home, battling the wind all the way. In the late afternoon we had to re-do the trip to and from the stables to blanket, and give our boys their medication – they both have snotty noses, and the wind still was blowing. Man!!!! It is exhausting riding in the wind, but at least our boys are warm for the night.

Tuesday and Wednesday were basically the same. We went to our boys in the morning, in the cold, the thermometer outside the bank said it was -9 degrees, so it was cold. Bailie’s automatic water feeder was frozen as well. The wind was really strong both days, so the ride home is really hard. In the afternoon we went to give our boys their medicine, and by Wednesday Peri’s nose was clear, but Bailie’s was not quite dry yet.

Thursday was cold again -10. Kayla and I had to go to Dortmund for our medicals for our Canadian visas. We used a few modes of transport, train, underground, taxi’s and mostly our legs, and it took 3 hours each way, but the day was a success, and we got everything done. We only got home after 8pm, so we never got to see our boys, which was really sad.

Friday morning was Michael and Kayla’s birthday. We were sad that we were not all together, but we made the best of it. Kayla got to open her presents in bed, then it started snowing – the Lord gave her what she wanted – snow for her birthday. So after presents and breakfast we went to our boys, and rode our bicycles in the snow, while it was snowing – Kayla was so happy, even though it was -11. When we got to our boys they were already out in the paddock while the stables were being cleaned. Bailie had broken his blanket – silly boy, so I quickly changed his blanket, and then we finished off the stable mucking and brought our boys in. Bailie is still coughing a little, and Peri just has a runny nose. Then we gave our boys a good groom, and they love having their blankets taken off to be groomed, it sorts out all the itches. It was then off to town for some groceries – we can only buy what can fit on the bicylces. We also had to get some buckets from Barbara for water for our boys, because of the water feeders being frozen. After sorting out our horses water, it was time to head home, loaded with Bailie’s blanket as well, so I can sew it back together – it is times like these that I miss my sewing machine. The pipes in the house were frozen, so the owner had to come and put some extra insulation on them, so we were out of water until late in the evening – what is with us and no water (we had no water in Mauritius as well) By the time we went to bed everything was back to normal J All in all I think Kayla enjoyed her Birthday. We managed to speak to Michael on the phone, but he was just waking up – the time difference gave Kayla her birthday a few hours before Michael – that is a first.

Saturday morning everything was still white, but it was not snowing. Our boys were happy to see us. Unfortunately both boys were still coughing, and still had snotty noses, but their temperatures were still normal, so we just wrapped them up warm. The wind was blowing again, so riding our bicycles was quite hard. We unfortunately had to go into town to get airtime – we have a great system, it only tells you when it is finished, no warning – Eish!!

Sunday morning, the snow had gone from the bicycle paths, but I can’t think that it melted, because it was still between -9 and -11 degrees. When we got to our boys they were happy to see us, and we mucked their stables, and groomed them. Bailie had a slight temperature, and was not a happy boy, so we wrapped him up even more. In the afternoon, we came to check on Bailie again, and his temperature had gone up, and he is not eating so the vet had to be called. The vet will come on Monday morning to treat Bailie. Peri is still coughing, but he is still eating, and his temperature is normal. Oh! How I hope our boys will get better quickly.