Simone at Home

Simone, our resident roadrunner, is still making her home each night in our stable - roosting on the support for one of the stable fans. She comes in about an hour before sunset and leaves about an hour after sunrise.

We first saw her on Thursday, February 14. The nights were still blustery and cold so we figured she was just getting in out of the bad weather. However, she has been there every single night since - for a total of 46 days! Good weather or bad, she's there every night. We and the horses move all around her and it doesn't seem to bother her at all.

We say 'she' and named her Simone for no real reason. Both male and female roadrunners look alike so it could very well be Simon.

Some people have asked if she is likely to build a nest in the stable and we don't think so. Roadrunners usually build a nest close to the ground, often in cholla cactus as a way of protecting the eggs and chicks from coyotes.

It will be interesting to see how long she makes this her nightly home.

Getting Started

Welcome to our life with horses. We started riding in 1996. We bought our Icelandic Horses in 2005. Gletta, on the left in the picture is Betty's mare and Morgunn, on the right is Dan's gelding.

Gletta is Icelandic for "frolicsome and full of play" and Morgunn is Icelandic for "morning." They are a special part of our life now.

We have good, good friends - Lane and Margie Moore - of Lazy M Ranch in Caroline, Alberta Canada from whom we learned most of what we know about horses. We have new, good friends - Max and Michelle Wade - who are the owners of Galloping Grace Youth Ranch who provide kids with a free opportunity to learn about horses.