New Farm Family

   My new Farm Family consisted of a married couple and their four children. Both adults were a bit on the portly side and both had a good sense of humour, which always goes a long way with me. Mary had immigrated here from England and married “Pops” as we called him. They lived on the same land his father had owned and here Pops had lived all his life. The first born son was about twelve when I came on the scene and there were a twinset (one boy one girl) of five years of age.

Lastly was the baby a little girl now aged two they called of all things Fum. The head horse girl was Eileen and I was to work under her mostly.

   The house was basically only two bedrooms and the parents and kids all seemed to tumble on one bed at night and slept in their bedroom. Eileen slept in the other bedroom and lucky for me there was a den that was designated as my room and it had two single beds in it. I was happy and Chubby could look in the panes of the french doors and see where I was and would find himself a bed outside at night.(no more in-house luxury for him but he didn't seem to mind)

   This place was full of horses and I was in heaven! There were forty horses in the dude string and another thirty head of colts and broodmares and young bloodstock. Finally I was happy and had enough horses around me! There were dogs too and Siamese cats. Mary believed in having purebred animals and they would pay their way by the offspring they would produce. When I arrived there was a male Basset, named Watson and two female corgis and a cross-collie farmdog named Butch aka. Dollardog.
   Butch had apparently been purchased from the Indians for one dollar. Butch also has gotten hung up on a hay rack and suffered some broken bones, which he mended on his own and he limped but still did his job of getting the horses in whenever necessary. Now added to this bunch was the infamous Chubby Chicken! Oh and I think there was an old retriever of Pops' as well. I have forgotten her name and think she died shortly after my arrival. There was also one white goat that had been a pet of Andy’s, the eldest son. The goat was very popular to the people who came to rent the Dude horses and he could always be counted on to perform at just the right times. The goat was also lame having been used for ladies goat tying and was apparently the only goat there. I just hoped me and mine could survive without injury.  Of course Trouble and Duke, my horses were added to this menagerie of animals and no one seemed to mind. We had all fallen into a wonderful fairy land of animals and room to roam.