So Far So Good

Meet our first noteworthy wild of 2021! Back on the 4th, just as we were approaching our mail delivery destination and preparing to call it a night, we spotted this guy:

(Also, I am probably way more amused than I should be by the two random chats showing here.)

He reminds me of Windfall, only less spindly and with a Taurus-like neck. 

He's fairly speedy and has a great personality, so we were fans right away. "Soozy" had to go ASAP, so he is now Capricorn. XD

We found this pretty pony two days later, again hanging out near the destination of a mail run: 

With such a high genetic stat total and fun coat color, we were really hoping for a pleasant personality...

...and we got it! (Aside from lacking in the bravery department, that is.) Her performance metrics aren't bad either, and while Pepsi is big on her, it's not comical.

Since we found her on Epiphany, that became her name! (Good thing she wasn't a stallion.)

For the record, here is the ranch she was hanging out near. (The wild Pepsi is riding was another captured in the same vicinity, but she was nowhere near as special.) Wilds seem to mosey up near people's ranches frequently. Bethany's theory is that these are the lonely ones that want to be caught.

Our buddy Gem and her horse Ham came across some wilds that were definitely not lonely. 5 or 6 of them were spread out near each other in this patch of fjord highlands. There was an albino elk in the mix too. You know you've got a great buddy when she alerts you to said herd and offers to let you lasso them all. (She was at her horse max at the time, but still!)

How's the weather up there, Gem?  Ham is so huge! XD

Gem has a pair of donkeys and also generously offered Pepsi their first foal! We've been pining for a donkey since they were introduced, but so far we've had no luck combing dark forests for them. So, we are now the happy owners of a donkey colt! Here was the little guy the day we got him!

Here's a look at his profile from back then:

It doesn't get much cuter - he makes goofy braying noises instead of whinnying - and we love that he has a fairly believable donkey personality. XD

He's gotten much bigger since then. We were hoping he might make it to 12 hands so we could ride him, but we're not thinking that's going to happen. He seems to take more after his dam than his sire. <3

Fortunately, he has no trouble pulling Pepsi in the pony cart! We were so excited when he turned 2 and could be harnessed!

We're calling him Toby, since he somewhat resembles Toby, the real-life donkey of This Esme (an equestrian YouTuber we all enjoy.) =) 

Lily was already less than thrilled that we were planning on keeping 3 new equines this month. Then what happens? She goes out and finds our first lucky find of 2020!

This horse does look suspiciously unlike either typical volcanic or swamp wilds...

We recently picked "Keen Eye" as our second specialty, which has taken a lot of the suspense out of wild horse ID. 

We knew within seconds that we had lassoed a Poitevin! I thought that this breed (AKA Mulassier)

 was one of the prettiest draft breeds on HI2, so it's really cool that we get one on HI3 too.

She has lovely feathering, but she's definitely more refined than our other two lucky find drafties, Clavius and Herschel. =)

Whoa, skittish much? Between this and the laziness, she's not exactly the most fun horse to ride. At least she's not ornery!

Since the Poitevin has a history of being crossed with donkeys to create mules, and since we happen to have a male donkey, I think she and Toby may be destined to have our first ever HI3 foal!

A Fowl End to 2020

Happy 2021!

Here's a quick recap on the end of 2020 before we forge onward into the new year.

Christmas morning: cloudy and white

So many presents!

Nala enjoying her giant candy cane

2020 prettiest present award

Mom received all of this! <3

We were most excited about the stuffed birds!
Each one makes the call of the real-life bird it represents when squeezed.

On HI3, we found a cool pony on Christmas Eve!

Aw, tiny star. <3

Little Buck had a high stat total:

and an okay, middle-of-the-road personality:

Because his performance metrics were not so great, we were already thinking, mmm, probably not keeping him.

Then we had PepsiSummer get on him, and... yeah. It wasn't pretty. Interestingly, he's the same height as Pizza but is over 150 pounds lighter.

As if the game could sense our disappointment with Buck's size, this was the first wild it put in our path on Christmas day!

(Side note: Pepsi, another player on the game who has great taste in names, apparently also lives in the snow belt and shares Mom's feelings towards the white stuff.)

Whoa! She is by far the hugest brindle we've ever caught!

Her personality and performance metrics leave much to be desired. =( She's even ornery, which is our least favorite personality trait. 

It's a long way down if she bucks you off!

Because she's brindle, amusingly large, and came to us on Christmas morning, we haven't been able to trader or auction her. We decided to give her until the end of the year and see if any other wilds came along that we deemed superior.

It didn't happen.

So, even though she is impractical for everything we routinely do (she's ornery, skittish, pokey, and a lackluster jumper), I don't think she's going anywhere. I will happily let one of my sisters take her on and just admire her from a distance.

Later on Christmas Day, Felicity and Showtunes found our second ever sparkling crate.

Inside was a cheetah plushie!

Not only did Showtunes get ridden and get to keep the plushie, but we also determined his favorite treat! He was one happy pony this Christmas!

We were sorry to see the day end, but end it did.

Because of the pandemic, the humans have been hanging around the house way more than usual this holiday season. On New Year's Eve, we had time to ourselves for once while they visited Lake Michigan.

Mom reports that it was not intolerably frigid or windy at the lakeshore, which is not usually the case this time of year. Even so, it was below freezing, and by the time they meandered their way from downtown to the end of the pier and back, she could no longer feel her toes or fingers. It looked to Mom like there were more birds around than other people, but then, everything was a blur to her - literally. She managed the entire outing without glasses (mask + glasses + cold air = don't even bother), including taking these photos with numb fingers. Now that's dedication to documenting the day!

Look at it. Acting all innocent. We all know what you are, you gigantic snow machine!