Western Tanagers, Churl Horses and Apple Trees

The other day we went riding and to our delight saw a brightly yellow-colored bird with yellow bars on its black wings and red on its head.  After searching the web, I found out it was a Western Tanager-- a pretty cool looking bird with almost tropical colors and a song that we've heard quite a bit around here.  They're bug eaters in the summer, which makes them ideal for keeping pests down.

Our horses have been difficult.  My horse, Rocket, tends to go from surly and disobedient to okay, depending on any number of things.  First, Rocket had a tendon injury.  We then discovered that she needed shoes, which changed her attitude from slow and surly to fast and surly.  Then, we had to buy hay cubes because we ran out of hay and none was to be had for any price in Montana, so Rocket had gas on the hay cubes which made her cranky.  Then, Scarlet had sore feet, so she needed shoes.  With all that, the girls have been slow on their mileage and have decided to pull the same shenanigans as last year before they got good mileage under their belt. 

My plan for self-sufficiency is slowly taking hold.   The garden is doing okay, and I bought a blueberry bush and two semi-dwarf apple trees for fruit.  The apple trees are a Macintosh and a honey crisp.  I had wanted to get two honey crisps, but the guy at the nursery explained that I want  different varieties for cross pollination for better fruit.  So, I got two trees that would work for us.

My entryway to the house looks like a garden with a bunch of plants in pots and the two apple trees.