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6/30/2009 Ride with JaniceToday Janice and I had a good 3 hour ride. It was just the two of us, but we had a great time. I did not take any photos but will on Friday when I hope we have more of a group. Tomorrow Louise comes to try out Duchess in the hopes that we will trail ride once a week and get Duch out and I will ride Prin to get her out and about a bit. The weather is heating up here again. The house is nice and cool. I am doing laundry and getting the recycle caught up. The bin was full when they collected it today, so now I am putting more stuff in it. I also am collecting some clothes for the freecycle site I am also on.
Friends and GuestLast Friday I rode with my friend Lyn, new friends Diane, Judy and Judy's sister Linda. Diane I knew but had not ridden with and Judy I had met through my horse Meet Up group. Judy's sister Linda brought her horse to ride also. We had a wonderful time. Linda's horse is an arena/show horse so did not have lots of trail experience. She did well but the creek crossing was a bit of a challenge, but Linda handled it well and we are all pretty patient with this type as thing as we have all been there. We rode a good 2.5 hours and as you can see by the photos had a great time.
Last Thursday afternoon our friend, Ron, from the UK flew in to SeaTac. Garry and I picked him up and brought him up to our place for the weekend. Ron is attending a conference this week and will be flying home on this Friday. We stopped at Goldberg's Deli for a meal on the way home. Ron loves horses and used to ride a lot when he was younger. He cleaned stalls, watered and helped me with the feedings while he was here. On Saturday morning, we took Princess and Miss Minnie to Bracken and headed out on a trail ride. Ron and Prin were a good fit and we had a lovely 2.5 hour ride. We would have ridden longer, but the bugs were horrible. At one point something was buzzing around Miss Minnie's hindquarters and she started jumping a bit. I got off and tried to chase it away. I was able to remount and finish the ride, but the bug spray I had used was not helping very much. I am almost out of the good stuff and cannot find any. I will have to look online for more. I have another type that I need to mix with water and I used some spot on on MM and that is helping a bit. I think Ron had a good time and he was a help to me. While we were gone on Saturday, Garry picked up in the barn for me as he knew we would be tired when we got back.
Peg, any chance of you coming down one Saturday early and we can ride? Duchess is doing well and I think you would enjoy her. My understanding is Blanchard is crowded on the weekends. If we get to Bracken by 9:30 we are good for parking. I can meet you there as before.
I am riding today and Friday with Janice and hopefully Judy and her sister will join us on Friday. Tomorrow I have a gal named Louise coming to ride the filly and if that works out she will trail ride with me once a week. It is nice that I have met some nice gals to ride with. My friend Dolores is laid up for a few weeks so will think of her as I ride.
Off to do some laundry and housework prior to leaving for my ride. 6/23/2009 Where does the time go?I have not been on again for a while for whatever reason. I did have a great ride with Janice B last Wednesday. It sprinkled on the way tot he trail head, but Janice and I intrepid and brave horsewomen that we are mounted up (is that like Cowboy Up?) and headed off down the trails. Janice was riding her new Fjord that I had not seen before. I will download the photos (Dolores, I lied I do not always immediately download my photos, but do 99% of the time) the post them in this blog. Heidi was not in good shape when Janice bought her but is coming along nicely. She is pretty short especially next to Miss Minnie. Both mares got along fine. We did the same route Ronni and I had done, so we had 4 bridge crossings and went up and down some good hills.
    The weather turned rainy again so I have been cleaning house to be ready for Ron's visit in two days. Michael did the whole yard yesterday and things look really well. Once or twice during the summer I have him do the mowing and trimming for me. Usually he just does the back yard once a week until things dry out again.
I am off to feed and do some more house chores. I am meeting my longtime friend Arlene for lunch at the Claim Jumper Restaurant near her house today. I want to stop at Petsmart and get more Ferret food and some teeth cleaning kibble for the pups.
6/16/2009 The Last Lesson for a WhileI had a lesson with clinician Scot Hansen of Horse Think yesterday. I drove out to the far side of Carnation next to the farm where he had clinics in early 2008. It was very quiet there and we worked in a 70 foot round pen. We had to walk through some lovely tall grass which Miss Minnie wanted to munch on, but we made it to the pen. I love Scot's clinics, but the last two private lessons I have had have helped me a lot. Scot worked with Miss Minnie for a while on her ground work, mainly softening and her backing up. She was not doing it properly and now I know how to get her to back up by responding to my cues and not being a slug. I then got on her (I remembered and took my tall mounting block with me) and we worked on my softening her while I am in the saddle. Things started to click for me and Miss Minnie was amazing. Now she backs up properly with me hardly putting any pressure on the reins. She has been working off my legs better since I took all the dressage lessons from Ronni last year and Scot has taught me who to soften her and get her to focus on what I want.
Miss Minnie is a gawker from way back. She was terrible about doing this when we participated in the 2 day clinic in March 2008. Between Ronni and Scot now I can nip it in the bud if I pay attention. Scot said I have come a long way since I first started working with him in early 2008. He likes Miss Minnie and he also says she takes care of me. I was tired but we had a great session. I like being able to ride and control MM without hanging on her mouth.
Today I took some clothes to the shelter and have been cleaning. Tomorrow Joan and I go for a trail ride. Thursday is Harley to the groomers and I get my nails done and Friday I ride again. I could ride Miss Minnie 3 hours every day and I do not think it would faze her.
Off to make the bed and get things ready for Garry to come home. I did tighten my riding helmet yesterday so I did not look so dorky. It is not a good look for me, but safe and I am all about safety. 6/14/2009 Amazing WeekThis past week as been an amazing one for me. Ronni is back from Australia for some months and we had 4 days of 2 hour sessions working with Duchess and getting her out on two trail rides. The first day we spent at Lyn's arena. I have been trying to practice what I learned last year from Ronni and she was happy with me and told me I had progressed and she could tell I had been applying what I had learned. That was great to hear. Duchess did well in the arena for not having been ridden for months. Thursday we took Duch on her first trail ride and the only two things that worried her was the short bridge, I went first and a huge chunk of pipe from the logging days at one fork in some trails. Yesterday she she walked right by it. We did arena work on Friday again and I put my new saddle on Duchess and rode her for a bit. My saddle is squeaking again and that bothered her a bit so she was not working really well for me. Miss Minnie and I finally cantered a bit and that went well. Ronni took some video of us and she was happy the way they turned out. Friday evening, we met Lyn, Ronni and her friend Tim for dinner at the OutBack Restaurant in Everett. We had a really great time. Yesterday, Saturday, I met Ronni at Bracken at 3 pm for another trail ride. We had discussed cantering a bit as there are several sandy slopes that would be safe for me to do this. We did 4 bridge crossings over the 3 bridges there and then cantered once up and the slope and the second time Miss Minnnie went into a gallop and we flew up the trail. It was great fun. I am really much more confident and Miss Minnie is much more relaxed because I am relaxed also. Now I need to get comfortable with trotting and cantering out in open spaces as there are some lovely areas along the top that are perfect for this. Ronni will be back at the end of July and she has be down for 2 or 3 sessions then.
I suggested to Garry that we go for a trail ride today and he told me I had better ask Miss Minnie. I was kidding. I need a day off. Tomorrow morning I leave at 7 am for a 90 minute haul to have a lesson with Scot Hansen my clinician that I work with. This has been very exciting for me and knowing that I am making good progress is gr  .JPG) 6/7/2009 Auditing a ClinicYesterday Dolores and I drove down to Puyallup about 90 minutes south of my place. D got to our house a bit late but we did pretty good time getting there. Of course I forgot the printouts I had with directions and most important the address. I am not familiar with D's GPS unit and was having a hard time programming it. I finally just asked for the City Hall. We did manage to find the fairgrounds and then park. I had not been to Clinton Anderson clinic before, but D had in Moses Lake earlier this year. She really enjoyed it. The one she went to folks brought their horses and Clinton worked with them. This one was part of his Wahl World Tour and he did demonstrations on some of his horses and one or two "problem" horses that someone brought in. We both got a lot out of his groundwork portion. I really feel you cannot learn too many good ways to teach respect and manners to a horse. Humanely that is. I do not believe in the fear factor. I was quite disappointed in his riding portion at the use of large spurs and the head set he puts on a horse. The horse's nose was down by it's knees and personally I do not care for that. It was hard to see, but Dolores thought the same as I did, that it seemed that he and his assistant were using their spurs way way way too much.
I had bought some electronic rodent repellers for the barn from the place that we get our Fly Eliminators from. I hooked one in the feed room right inside the people door and one at the front of the barn at the large door. For some reason the Belgians do not want to come in when I am feeding them and they are wilder than March hares. Then none of the horses want to go out of their stalls when it is time to release them. I am going to try them for another few feedings and if it continues will return them. They are not totally eliminating the rodent issue but it is better than it was. We also have a Squirrel that comes into the barn. I have seen him a few times. When the old neighbors were across the street we had no rodent issues as their cats were in our barn. When we move we are going to get some barn cats but at this point are trying to use other methods.
It is time to feed Garry some dinner. 6/5/2009 Hot Week for Western WashingtonI know for lots of folks what we have is not hot, but when it gets to 90 here it is very hot for us. Most of us do not have air conditioning in our homes so sleeping well is out of the question. I gave each of the Ferrets a bath the other day using the shampoo the vet recommended. They are not scratching any more so it must have been good for them, but they were not happy while I was bathing them. The little one is quite squirmy. I had to hold her with one hand and shampoo then rinse her with the other hand trying not to get her face or ears wet. They shake worse than a dog does so I had water on my glasses and my shirt, but not a whole lot. Smokey the larger ferret grabbed the dish drainer with his front paws and I had to pry them off. When I put them back into their cages they acted as if I had done something terrible. Smoke has been hiding in his blanky a lot. Garry suggested I put a damp towel in the bottom of the cage for them or just rinse them off. I shouldn't shampoo them daily. I will make an effort to shampoo them at least once a week.
We purchase fly terminators from Arbico for the barn and it really helps a lot. We have very few flies in our barn. They advertise the electronic gadgets to keep rodents and other pests away. I have some coming, one for the feed room and one for the front of the barn by the front door. I hope this will keep our little furry friends away. I finally got some sun block for Miss Minnie and put it on her nose this morning. I bribed her with a carrot first and then sprayed her nose. She has not gotten sunburned and started peeling yet, so hopefully I can keep on top of this. I gave each of the other horses a carrot and came to her last. She almost took my hand with the carrot. I guess she thought she was being left out.
Tomorrow Dolores and I go to audit a Clinton Anderson Wahl Walkabout Tour at the state fairgrounds down south. It should be pretty exciting and I hope to learn more. You can never learn enough about anything.
I want to finish the newsletter and G should be home in a few hours. 6/2/2009 good week so farOur hay started coming in around 3:30 Sunday afternoon. They get 200 bales to a truck. We got 3 truckloads delivered and stacked in our barn.
The owner was supposed to call yesterday to let me know if he could get us 100 more and did not call until this morning. They were back here around 9:30 am and got all but 4 bales in the loft. This year only one bale broke. The horses have been eating the new hay since Sunday but in a day or so will be going back on last years. I have about 100 bales of 2nd cutting left to feed out.
We had our Board Meeting last night. Some of us were talking about our ditzy mares. Last Saturday was a first for Miss Minnie. Arlene has a fairly new mare and she was acting up recently. We were laughing and trying to figure out what gets into them. I know we will never know the answer and most of the time I really do not want to know what they are thinking. Arlene went with the horse meet up group we are in to a beach in Oregon for a long weekend. It sounds as if they had a ball. I think someone mentioned they have showers within walking distance. I may go next year and camp in the horse trailer. I am already looking into folding or roll away beds. They are low and that is a problem for me, but I should be able to make do or figure out a way to make it higher.
I am getting tired so want to post some photos of Arlene and her horse at the beach. Great photos Arlene!    5/31/2009 Saturday RideYesterday I drove Miss Minnie and myself up to Bracken to meet Lyn and Dolores. Each of us lives in a totally different direction from the trail head so it works out for us to meet there. I got there first and then Lyn pulled in a few minutes later. Dolores got there about 15 minutes after Lyn. Lyn and I had a visit while waiting for D and I saw Toni and Susie ride back in to Susie's horse trailer. I went over and visited with them also.
When Lyn, D and I started out Miss Minnie was pokey in the lot. She had her hooves trimmed on Friday and I usually give her a few days off before riding again. Per (D's horse) was a tad spooky for some reason also. We headed out the back, D leading Pep for about a 14 mile and then mounting. There were a few little spooks between the 3 horses for whatever reason. We came to the creek and I said I would go down the hill first as it is steep and Miss Minnie goes right down and into the water. There is a flat piece of some rubbery material about 3 feet wide and 10 inches deep across the trail. D and Pep were behind me and Lyn on Rio behind her. Now I did have my hearing aid on but between the fast creek and my squeaky saddle I missed all the good stuff. Apparently Rio took exception to the thing across the trail and he tried to climb up the sides of the trail which were pretty high. Some how Lyn ended up in front of the saddle almost kissing his head and this was going down a steep hill. D saw all of this. Lyn managed to get back into the saddle and they made it down to the creek but she was pretty shaken by then. We hung in the creek for a bit and then headed on down the trail. We took a new trail and it was pretty nice. I was second and D was leading when I saw Pep do a little jump in the air, which through D back a bit. She had her favorite expensive pair of sunglasses on the top of her head and they flew off into the ground cover. Of course we could not find them. The two gals looked at me and said it was my turn. I said no way. Miss Minnie was being pretty good except whenever Pep came near her, she put her ears flat back and looked as if she wanted to either bite or kick him. This is very unusual for my mare. We had a good laugh about all the drama at our break. Lyn went back by the logging road as she wanted to head home and D and I took a longer way to go back via the pipeline and stay off the paved road. Miss Minnie argued quite forcefully about not going with Rio which was strange for her also, but finally we made it back. I was just on the parking lot side of the big gate we go around when she looked down and spooked to the left. I started laughing and D was cracking up also. D is very impressed with Lyn's and my Tucker saddles as they never seem to move no matter how steep we go up or down or if the horse spooks. We tried my saddle on Pep but I think he needs a wide and mine is a medium. When we get the new one I told Dolores she was welcome to try it out one day when we ride.
400 bales of our hay is coming today. I decided that if we can fit it in we will take 700 instead of 600. I am not sure if Sarge will make it through the upcoming winter, but better to have too much than to run out. G cleaned the stalls and I finished cleaning the loft so we are hay ready and waiting for the trucks to get here. 5/30/2009 things much the sameNot much riding since last weekend. The weather has improved so things are looking up. The corral has pretty much dried out. We extended Prin's paddock another panel length (12 feet). The horses are out except for their meals in the barn. Today Michael and Rory came over and stacked the hay that is left in Chub's old stall. Garry and I dragged and dropped it down. We do not have room for 800 bales this year, so I am cutting the order back. This afternoon I am meeting Lyn and Dolores at Bracken for a trail ride. Tuesday I am riding with Janice B, and I hope to ride with Joan on Wednesday. My ride hours for this month are down, so I need to spend lots more time in the saddle.
I have been spending a lot of time on Face Book reconnecting with old friends and keeping up on old and new friends. I also am getting hooked on Farm-town. A new friend has been very helpful with that.
There has been some drama going on lately which had worn me down, but I hope things are moving along now. Life is too short for some of this stuff. I am amazed at how some people that you think are nice are really tremendous trouble makers. Maybe not tremendous, but still they should think a little more than they do. Of course I open mouth and insert foot at times so I know how that is. Sometimes I think that confiding in anyone is a huge mistake as they will turn on you. I see this happening a bit lately and am truly amazed at times.
I need to go down and catch up Miss Minnie. I took hay out this morning and left the herd locked in the corral. I want to get the old barn area set up so they can get under the overhang and not get trapped in a corner. We have some wire and fence posts that I need to clear out. We had bought a DR Trimmer wanna be that works great so I can do weed eating without holding a weedeater. I need to get it down there and start using it.
I am off for my trail ride. 5/24/2009 May Rides and New FriendsI know I have not been on for a while. Garry was gone for a few days the week after Mother's Day. We had to get up at 2 am to get him to the airport on Wednesday the 13th. I came home and took a snooze and then met Dolores at Victoria Tract. She knows the roads up there, but we discovered not the trails real well. D showed up with a sausage breakfast sandwich (it was noon) which I love, a birthday card, some tulips from her own garden, a plant and a holder thingy that I can put some cutting implements on to use on the trail. We hit the trail around 12:30 pm and boy was it muddy. These trails are closed for about 6 months but you can ride the roads in the winter. They had just opened up on May 1st but with the rain we had after the 1st they were pretty slimy. We did get some views of the water which I have posted. We ended up riding for 4 hours, lost part of the time and getting rained on. I was grumpy and whiney. I remembered my compass and D got us down but a 1 or so from the rigs by the road. I had already walked quite a bit and was not up to another mile or so. She called a friend and he drove over to pick up D to take her to the rigs. I stood in the rain holding two wet cranky horses and her dog. I finally got home to my house around 6 pm. I did dry out a bit in the truck and started to warm up again. Where was my new long coat you ask? Why it was safe and dry in the back seat of our truck. I did not think it was going to rain. Yeah Right!!!!!!!!!!
The next two days I was taken to lunch by friends to celebrate my birthday. Friday night Garry's plane was supposed to land at 9:30 pm. Like the idiot I am I did not check the flight tracker online and even left early. I will not make that mistake again. By 9:45 I was worried. At 10 PM I asked and was told that the plane made an emergency landing at Minneapolis for a medical emergency. Then I had to fight to see if Garry was on the plane or was the medical emergency. He finally got to me around 12:30 am. We stopped to eat on the way home so did not get to bed until around 3 am. My children came the next day to take me to a movie and to lunch. I was really tired. Garry stayed in bed until noon. the kids and I left around 10 am or so. It was a birthday I will not forget!
This past week I had two great rides at Bracken. One with Lyn and Jennifer and the other with Dolores and another meet-up gal, Tamara. I have met a lot more ladies to ride with this year and have been enjoying it a lot. 5/12/2009 5-12-2009Today has been a quiet day. I have been on the property all day and loved it. I am getting some clothes ready to take to a women's shelter with some shampoo's etc that I do not use. Chief and I are going down to clean the barn and get things ready for the horses tonight. It has been raining, then sun, then wind and more rain and then more sun all day. I did not clip the feathers on the horses. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight is when we get up at 2 am to take Garry to the airport. Dolores is not working tonight so we can ride tomorrow. I told her I would feed when I get home from the airport and then lay down for a few hours. She can call me when or if it is good to ride. I have my new long coat in the pick up so am ready for the rain. Will probably tie it on the back of my saddle unless it is absolutely sunny and clear sky tomorrow.
Toni wants to take me for lunch or dinner this week and P2 is coming down Friday to take me to lunch and I will be going out with the children on Saturday. After seeing the trailers I want to see the new Star Trek Movie. I hope it is good. Peggy P on here liked it so I will try it.
We are going to have Duchess and Miss Minnie micro-chipped next month when Dr. Ron comes to do the dental on the mares. All 4 need a little work, but Duchess has to have 2 teeth pulled which will be fun. I have gone through this before with a horse, so it will be ok.
Off to the barn. More rainWe had a nice weekend but now it is back to rain. Saturday I rode with Lyn in her arena. Miss Minnie and I did lots of trotting and actually cantered for a very brief time. At one point we were jogging around the poles and in circles when I realized she had flexed at the poll and we were just gliding along and turning almost effortlessly. It was a really neat feeling to have so much response with so little effort. I try to remember all that I should be doing and sometimes I just do it without thinking and things come together. Unfortunately that does not happen all time time.
The parts came to fix my horse trailer saddle rack. I pulled the rig up into the house driveway and unloaded Miss Minnie. I led her over to the house to let Garry know we were home so he could fix the rack for me. He was trying to get her to come in the front door. I think if I had moved out of the way she would have walked into the house, which would not have been a good thing. Chief was inside with Garry and he went back into the kitchen area. The kitchen and living room areas are open. I took her down to the others. Prin was gone as Adam had picked her up on Friday night and she spent the night at Tracy's in a "sleep over" with Tracy's two mares. They were going on a club ride Saturday. The other 3 had stayed up in the corral waiting for Prin or Miss Minnie to return. By the time I put MM into the corral with the others and drove the Gator back up to the house, Garry had the saddle rack out and was trying to get the sheared off bolt out. He finally got that done and then told me that the new part was at least 4 inches longer than the original part. Since the warranty was still good on the horse trailer I did not have to pay for the replacement bolt or gas shock. Yesterday I mailed the new shock and the broken one back down to them which cost me over $9.00. I am gong to scan the receipt and see if they will reimburse me for having to mail the part back as it was their error. Hopefully we will get it fixed properly this weekend. I am tired of having the saddle rack swing out on me every time I open the tack room door unless the trailer is tipped the opposite way. G needed me to help him put the rack back in and I could not believe how heavy it is. I am amazed that he got it out without hurting himself.
I have decided to sell my Circle Y with the other saddles I need to get rid of. I am not using it and it only fits Miss Minnie and Sarge. Sarge is retired and not ride-able and the Tucker's will fit him. I am looking for a wide Tucker for Prin and Duchess. I think the Tuckers we have will still fit Duchess. I need to try the new one on her soon. My vet is going to do all the dental work mid June after Ronni has come and worked with the two young mares and me. Duchess needs to have her wolf teeth removed and will not be able to take a bit for a few weeks. We are also going to have MM and Duchess micro-chipped for identifying purposes. MM has distinctive markings, one that cannot be changed or duplicated. Duchess is a typical Belgian. I would know her anywhere, but there are no unique markings on her to prove she is ours.
I am off to feed. Since it is nasty for trail riding today I will continue to work in the house. I left the horses in last night even though it did not look too bad in the evening, I knew it was going to rain, so gave them a break. 5/7/2009 Good Week and Good DayHarley got groomed today, so he looks like a huge white cotton ball. I got my nails done and my pinkie nail now looks nice. I have been trying to go without caffeine HUGE HUGE HUGE MISTAKE! I zipped over to my favorite Starbucks this morning after dropping Harley off and had my hot Grande Mocha with a slice of Lemon loaf. YUMMMMMMM!
I have been working on the newsletter on and off the past few days and did some more this morning in between Harley and nails. I have the stalls cleaned, water, feed and hay in for tonight. I have a horsey meeting tonight and will be eating dinner at the restaurant. All Garry has to do is go down and let the horses in.
Garry bought a chain saw to replace the one that was stolen and they were able to give us the Serial number for the stolen saw. I have called it into the Sheriff's office in case it turns up somewhere. The officer I spoke with told me it has not been that long so it may still be recovered. I doubt it but at least we have done what we could.
I have a horsey meeting tonight and will be eating at the restaurant prior to the meeting. The gal that runs it does a great job and things move along quite well.
I need to send work party photos to the gal that does the web site for CHC. She let us all know that they are having server issues or switching servers and we could not access the members only portion. She then very nicely sent along the membership listing to all the members. I tried doing the site a couple of years ago and did not do well. This gal has done it probably since the club first got it and really knows how to get things working on it. My feeling is more power to her!
It rained off and on today. Dolores is working tonight so we are not riding tomorrow. I hope to get the newsletter done and printed so I can ride with her on Saturday. She does not work Friday nights so we can get a fairly early start this Saturday. Not sure which trail we will ride at but we always have such a good time when we ride. Hopefully no more broken fingernails or horses laying down on us.
Michiko, I do not know if all horses do not like being in the rain, but mine prefer to be under cover and probably most do. If you see horses in a field with trees and it is raining, more than likely they will be standing huddled around the tree to get some cover. It is muddy in our sacrifice area right now and Miss Minnie does not like the mud. I think I may clip the feathers off the Belgians, then they will look neater and cleaner.
I had better get cleaned up so I can leave. 5/6/2009 RainSurprise Surprise it is raining again today. Fortunately I do not have to go out and drive any place today. One thing I like about this site is you can look and see how folks are finding your site. The Internet is a wonderful and scary place. I saw how someone with an AOL e-mail address had found me. I then did a search the same way using the information for another person and was amazed at what came up. So much is public access now and there was nothing bad about the search, but it was so interesting. I do like the fact that you can get lots of information from the Internet, but the scary part is sifting through to see what is true and what is just a figment of someones imagination.
The horses will not be too happy to go out today as it has been raining off and on. We do not seem to be getting the wind so far that I believe was predicted so that is good. This will be short today unless I come back and add something. Garry did take me out for Mexican dinner last night. The really good restaurant we like was packed when we got there, so we went a block or so over and went to the other one we used to eat at. It has changed hands several times and the food was not as good. It was not bad last night, but I like the other one better. Tomorrow night I have a meeting at a Mexican restaurant in Snohomish. I guess this is my week for Mexican food. Sunday for mother's day we are going to a great one in an area I think is known as "The Junction" in West Seattle.
I did forget to add that I finished the Robert B Parker book Night and Day. It is now Garry's turn to read it. Parker has a different style of writing, but Garry and I really enjoy his books. This one is another Jesse Stone novel. Tom Selleck has been playing Jesse Stone in the TV movies based on these books. He does a great job, so when I read one of the Jesse Stone series I picture him as Tom Selleck.
5/5/2009 Now I am the Twit!Today I am the Twit!!!! Apparently our Garbage/Recycle went up. I had paid in December and then in January 2009 the old price. Why I double paid I have no idea. Anyway I now owe them $13.53 which I have sent off. You would think I would have noticed the rate increase, but apparently I had selective vision and skimmed over that portion of the bill. Now I am being paranoid, did I send in the PUD payment? I had better check. Good thing I checked, I had not done so; so I did that also. I use our Credit Union to pay most bills so it is easy for me to check. It is a good thing I did not pack away my long sleeve hoodie T shirts for the summer as I started wearing them again. I went out to do some errands today and it got really cool out. I had to put the heat on for a bit as the house was chilly. Chief and I are going down to clean stalls soon, so that will warm me up. I just finished the new Diane Mott Davidson book Fatally Flaky and really enjoyed it. I am not reading the new Robert B Parker Jesse Stone novel Night and Day. I got the weather forecast on my e-mail, not looking good for the next few days. I am getting some clothes ready to take to one of the women’s shelter or wherever I can take them. While cleaning the stalls I have time to think and was going to write this wonderful blog on choices and contemplation. Now I am too tired. My choice is to start dinner and take a short break. The wind is picking up again. I had a great talk with my friend Dolores today. We e-mail and talk on the phone when we cannot ride. I do not think riding tomorrow will be possible. One thing I want to say is, it would be nice when people make choices that they not take it out on others when they are overwhelmed. I can say this as I have done this in the past. I know a few folks that do so much I get exhausted thinking about their day. One of the gals is like the energizer bunny and she is older than I am and never stops. We used to walk together at work and this gal can move out. When one is overwhelmed little things get blown out of proportion very easily and then it is I have to do this, I have to do that. Tough!!! Those are YOUR choices, either do something constructive about them or just move along. Again I have done this in the past. I am constantly amazed (I should be used to it by now) that so many people will not take responsibility for THEIR actions that were caused by THEIR choices. Instead they act the fool. Again, boy have I done this one!!!! Oh Yeah. Harley is barking to come in so I am off to steam some veges. 5/4/2009 Weather and things in generalWe have had some storm warnings here today. I left the horses out but got the stalls ready. Joan and I toodled off to the Board Meeting and Garry brought them in for me. By the time we left the meeting it was raining a bit but not so windy. When we got close to our house there was a utility truck on the road. We could see that lights were on so apparently whatever happened had been fixed. I really feel for those folks when they have to go out in horrible weather to get the power up and running for the rest of us. It is dangerous.
The bar is on the other side of the meeting room we use in the restaurant and the folks got so loud I had to take my hearing aid out for a few moments. It picks up everything and then is hard to sift what to hear what I need to. I am not sure if it is working on the trail rides or not. If the person in front does not turn their head to the side and talk loudly, I still cannot hear them. I can sure hear the wind.
Midnight and the Ferrets went in to have nail trims today. Bandit has to receive a shot every month but I am not sure if it is working. It is for a female ferret type condition. She is acting the same as always and seems to be eating etc ok, but I am concerned. Fortunately Dr Wilson (the Ferret expert) was in and checked her out. We had moved the shots to every 3 months, then every other month, now she is down to every month. I am not sure if Bandit will need surgery or not. It blows my mind to think of something that small (she weighs 1 lb 6 ozs) as being operated on. I am sure it will work out ok.
Been a good day, I got a few things I needed. I guess I had better get back to bed. It is hard for me to unwind when I have been out in the evening. At least Friday I do not have to be up at 4:30 am after my Thursday evening meeting. People and Things in General I apologize to the person I called twit. It was unwarranted. We just are not getting this solved and it is blown out of proportion. I am still confused as how it did get blown out of proportion. Maybe one day I will figure this out.
Did not ride this weekend. Got Garry at the airport on Saturday and we stopped at Goldberg's Deli on the way home for dinner. It started sprinkling on us and by the time I went down to bring in the horses it was pouring. Last night I was able to leave them outside overnight but tonight a storm is coming in and it sounds like a bad one. I have a board meeting so may have G bring them in after he gets home so they are not in so early, but if the rain and wind are starting up before I leave I think I will bring them in.
I spoke with Michael about him and Rory doing some work for us in a week or so. We need to build a retaining wall around part of the paddocks as they are higher than the corral and Duchess starting digging out one side of Prin's under the corral panel. We will then have them bring in enough panels to finish the paddocks. Lady will have a short one as we still have a pile of sand there to use up. I will need it for the pack walkway. At some point will have another load of sand delivered to use for fill ins etc. I would like more gravel put on my parking area as the manure that is dropped is not being picked up. Some of that is my fault.
Adam took Prin yesterday to his old place. Tracy brought her two horses there and Adam, Tracy and Josh (Tracy's son) rode the mares. Prin did well and seems to be completely recovered from her abscess. Adam was pleased with their ride yesterday and was talking about taking her on the club ride next Saturday.
I am off to feed. Midnight and the Ferrets have an 11 am appointment for nail trims at the veterinarians and Kathy and I will be working together this afternoon. I have my board meeting tonight so need to be ready to leave with Joan by 5:30. 4/30/2009 Ride with Joan 4/30/2009Joan, Jango, Miss Minnie and I headed out today. It was a bit warmer than yesterday. Joan was in the lot when I pulled in and then about 5 rigs followed me. Some of the folks we knew. Evie and friends were marking trail for the Slicker Nicker Ride A Thon coming up in the next week or so. This is to raise money for Theraputic Riding for Challenged children and I believe adults. Scot and Gail were there taking Scott's new young gelding out for a ride, and folks that we did not know. When we returned Susie's trailer was parked next to me and I could tell Toni was with her as I recognized Buddy's halter.
Joan and I rode about 3 hours today. The horses were a little silly. There were some guys planting trees where it had been logged off and Miss Minnie acted as if they were Aliens. Fortunately Jango was a cool dude and walked by them. Both horses did spook at whatever a couple of times and Joan jerked her neck on one of Jango's spooks.
I think an Alien has taken our Ferret Smokey. Smokey has refused to poo in the litter box pretty much since we got him last year. If you seen him getting ready to poo and yell "IN THE BOX SMOKEY" sometimes he will move into the box and do it. The first box he felt was too small as once his butt was in it the rest of him would not fit. He is about twice the size of Bandit. I got a larger box then he acted as if he could not get his butt over the edge into it. For some reason for the past two weeks he is using it. I cut up their treats and when I see him use the box I give them each a piece of treat and praise him. Yes I cuddle and talk to the Ferrets, I also cuddle and talk to my dogs, especially Chief when we are working outside and I hug and talk to the horses all the time. I am old I can do what I want!!!!!
Time for my man Chief and I to do chores and drive the Gator around spreading hay for the herd for tonight.
Why is it when I smile in a picture I look like an Alien.................Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Ride with DoloresBetween the weather, Dolores working and my being sick we had not ridden together since March 4th. This week she is working nights. Did not work Tuesday night so we rode yesterday for over 3 hours. The sun was out but it cold cool in the woods so we both put our jackets on over our other layers. I ended up with a broken pinkie nail (very painful), Dolores ended up with a broken pinkie nail (not so painful) and Pep laid down while she was riding him down a sandy strip on the pipe line. Dockers the dog was very energetic and had the horses a bit keyed up with his zooming back and forth. We did pretty good until we were crossing the short bridge. I was in the lead and was looking for Dockers. Apparently he was under the bridge and started splashing which spooked Pep and made Miss Minnie jump. I made a grab for the saddle horn and must have hit my pinkie head on and the end snapped off, unfortunately it went up and took my own nail off a bit so it was bleeding and very very tender.
We were on the last leg going across the pipeline when I heard D holler, Penny what is he doing? By the time I looked back Pep was down. I said he is laying down. D jumped up and was not hurt, but broke one of her pinkie nails. She said don't they sniff the ground or give warning? I said no sometimes they just drop. I have been on a horse or two that would do that when I was riding through a sandy area. By the time we got back to the parking lot we were the only two horse rigs left.
It was still a good ride, just a bit more exciting due to the shying, laying down and broken nails. Today Joan and I are riding and should have a nice quiet ride. Needless to say Dockers is not coming with Dolores and I on Friday. Miss Minnie is not going to be happy when I go down to get her in a few minutes, but the sun is shining and I have to ride! |
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