After a few days in Zinder (settling in and adjusting to the heat & humidity), it’s time to look back at that first Saturday morning when we woke up at Ishtar’s Ark for the first time in three months!

Sheba was still at the office (I didn’t want to pick her up late at night, remove her from her puppies for the first time, only to come home and start off by saying goodnight…), and so Anette and I started the day by greeting our equine friends. Arwen especially was very happy to see us and surprisingly social. As soon as we let them loose, Arwen followed us around like a faithful dog, wanting to be included in all things. She hasn’t been like that since before I bought a second horse for her in 2005.

After  recovering from Ali’s neglect (which was discovered two weeks), the horses already looked much better, having spent the past two weeks eating from morning to evening. Isolde still needs to put on some weight, but her body is busy shooting off in height. Although she isn’t as “deep” as the other horses (from head to tail), it is now impossible in certain angles to see the difference between her and our two adults!

After a meeting with the critters of Ishtar’s Ark, we headed off to the office to pick up Sheba. My beautiful Rhodesian ridgeback yearling was thrilled to see us again, but a bit incredulous at first, as if it was all a good dream that she might wake up from. The partnership was right there were we left it, if not even stronger. Three months is a long time to be without one’s RR assistant and it felt so right to be united again!!!

Sheba was proud to show me her beautiful puppies, but did not want me to spend more time with them than with her. She had no trouble leaving them behind when it was time to follow us home, which was when she really realised that our arrival was “for real” and that she would be back in her old routines soon. By the time we came back in the evening, Sheba was very happy to see the puppies again and went out of her way to play and interact with them. The Sheba Seven is an adorable lot, but quite a handfull, as seven untrained puppies generally are. Thankfully, they’re in that age when they learn quickly and despite their intensity, they are eager to please and quick to read your signs. Since our arrival, they’ve already got the hang of a number of vital commands such as COME, SIT, IN & OUT (of the veranda or the kennel), which makes it much easier to handling them and getting more time with them one-on-one. Three of them are already responding to their new names and the rest are hearing lots of “Good girl!” or “Good boy!” while they wait for us to come up with a name that is “just right” and fits with their personality.

The first thing Sheba did after stepping inside the gates of Ishtar’s Ark was to head for the veranda, where she knew her “pool” awaited her!

Dennis was very happy to see her, and although his interest in her was purely flirtatious, Sheba took the opportunity to practice some ridgeback wrestling moves!

While I unpacked our suitcases, Anette was out with the animals; a happy, content lot.

Our goats Allis and Esmeralda are enjoying a new lifestyle with Magagi, who feeds them well and lets them out in the garden every day. They look nothing like the skinny creatures I saw on picture two weeks ago, and both might still be pregnant. Esmeralda definitively is, which is nice, because we’ve been looking forward to new goat milk this season!

Although there are many things to adjust to, I am grateful for how well things are going. Magagi means the world to us and is adding a standard to the garden that Ishtar’s Ark has not seen in a long time. Although I never thought Ali capable of neglecting the animals in his care, his passion for the job had slowly diminuished with time, and there was nothing I could do to revive it. Anette and I will be working to find a new rythme during the weekdays, but we’re already well on our way. There is just no way we will be able to ride out the whole flock mornings and evenings the way Ali did, but we should be able to take them out about every second mornings together with Sheba; and then there are the weekends, when long trail adventures await! For the time being, the horses seem quite satisfied with the rides that have taken place, and are fully occupied with their new toys and constant access to green grass - a seasonal treat. Will keep you updated about how things go!