Star Creek Ranch and All Things Miss Minnie

Great Trail Ride

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:08:23 GMT

Joan and I just got back from a 2.5 hour trail ride. It was perfect. Miss Minnie was not too excited about going again, but she was good. We did part of the trails I did yesterday. There was some good hills so Miss Minnie, Jango, Joan and I are getting our workouts. I am going to clean house and do laundry now as Garry will be home in a few hours.

My lessons are paying off as Miss Minnie and I are doing so well together now. My confidence is really up also.

Good Trail Ride and Not so good Ride at Home

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:40:38 GMT

Ronni came over yesterday to load Duchess and to ride her on our property. The trailer loading went well. I decided to ride Princess. We saddled up and went down into the coral. The rest of the horses were in their stalls. I got on Princess and she bunched up like she wanted to bolt and was not listening to my cues too well. Below is what I was feeling like. I finally got off and let Ronni and Duchess wander around the property. They seemed to have a good time.

I wired the money for the Chewelah place so I guess we officially own two places now. It seems unreal to me.

Today my neighbor, Sheri and I went trail riding. We have not ridden together for a year or so. Miss Minnie did really well until we started home. We did a lot of hills so they got a good cardio workout. On the way home she jumped forward about 3 times in different areas as if there was a horse eating monster behind her. I was just shocked at her behavior, shocked I tell you!!!

Fortunately her idea of spooking is not that bad and I managed to maintain a balanced and correct seat at all times, well most of the time anyway.

It is sad with the high gas prices people are not getting out to ride that much.

More big news, the clinic "Savvy By The Sea" was canceled, Joan and I are going anyway to ride the beach and do our thing. We are all set up to go, so go we are!!! Hopefully this will be Joan and I in two weeks. I have to go do laundry and get ready to get my chores done. I also need to clean out the tack room in the horse trailer a bit.

So Much Has Happened

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:29:42 GMT

So much has happened in the past week or so it is hard to know where to begin. Garry mentioned that I have not been keeping up with my blogging. Right now I am finishing the newsletter and doing this at the same time.

My Aunt Sybil passed away on the morning of August 20th. Bev (our house sitter) called us when we were just entering Spokane on Hwy 395. Joan Sach, my Aunt's neighbor and very good friend, had called the house to tell me. Bev told her that we were driving back from Eastern Washington and I would call England in the morning. I do not have the capability to call overseas on my cell even though I did have Joan's phone number. I had not spoken to Aunt Sybil for several weeks as I was away from our home phone on the days I was due to call and then would forget on the days I was home until it was too late to call. They are 8 hours behind us. The last conversation we had was pretty good, but I feel guilty not calling when I should have or shortly thereafter. Joan called to see if I had heard from the solicitor yet and I have not.

Another bad thing is that my friend's husband passed away. It is sad, but the cancer had spread and they had to stop all treatments and just make him comfortable. He was on a morphine drip. They were planning on bringing him home for his last days and he passed before they could move him.

Some good news is we bought 26.6 acres in Chewelah. We are about 40 minutes south of Colville and the same distance to Spokane. The property is hilly but manageable for the horses with a lovely 1.5 or so acre bench for buildings. There is a good well installed, septic, power and phone. I am hoping we can go over next month. The plan is to stay in the camper as we will only be over for a long weekend. We will take the horse trailer with some panels to make two corrals and electric fencing materials for a small pasture. Garry had bought us a solar electric fencer some time ago and it works well. We are talking about putting up a shop next year and we can section a portion of it to stay in when we are over there. We can also start bringing things over when we are getting close to Garry retiring. The view from the bench is amazing and on Google Earth it looks as if we can ride over the top ridge and go for miles. No fences were in evidence. There is enough grass to keep the horses happy but not enough to founder them. No I did not take any photos. I will take a bunch when we go back. The closing is this Friday. Garry is out of town but will be home Friday evening. I can wire the funds and he can sign when he gets home. I had called and left a message with the Title person, but she as not gotten back to me. I am not going to worry about it. We have our funds ready to go so I will wait until she gets in touch with me. That will be difficult as I will be out of the house most of the week, but we will work it out.

I have been taking my lessons with Ronni and having a great time and making progress with Miss Minnie. Duchess will not load now, so tomorrow Ronni is coming here and we will trail ride on and possibly off our place and do some trailer loading as well. Today my neighbors are coming over to help me put the camper on. Joan and I are getting geared up for our "Savvy By The Sea" clinic in 2 1/2 weeks. I have several trail rides planned this week as I want to get Miss Minnie back into shape and get myself in better shape for the clinic.

Garry and I went to the fair at Monroe on Sunday and he bought me a new Aussie coat from http://www.gearupnorthwest.com/. They have a booth there every year and over the years we have bought some outer wear. I bought the Snowy River Coat as it is not as heavy as the Driza-bone coat and more supple but will keep me dry and warm. With the jacket I bought from Eddie Bauer and the poncho I have to keep in my cantle bag, I am in good shape for our Washington weather.

I need to bring in the horses for their breakfast and get my things ready for the post office. I have sympathy and birthday cards and memorial checks to get to the mail.

8/14/2008 Great Two Days But Hectic

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:59:50 GMT

I have had a couple of great but hectic days. Tuesday my long time friend Arlene came up with her 9 year old Granddaughter, Emma. Emma is a darling child. She loved the dogs and the Ferrets. I had brought in the horses late for their breakfast so they would still be in when Arlene came. We went down and I introduced them all to Emma. We decided Sarge would be a good one for her to ride. We took him out and I brushed him, Arlene said to put Emma on bareback, so I put my helmet on Emma took Sarge outside and boosted Emma up. I then walked her around a bit so Arlene could take photos. Emma was very brave and seemed to really enjoy it. We then went into Granite Falls and had a wonderful Mexican lunch, which Arlene treated me to. When we came back I took Emma on a Gator ride around the property. Arlene thinks that is going to be the highlight of Emma's visit! We had a nice visit. Emma was on the floor with the dogs and Harley was giving her lots of doggy kisses and hanging out with her. Arlene is my very first friend that I made in Washington State. This was over 30 years ago. Now that we are both retired we get together once a month and have lunch and a wonderful visit.

Yesterday I was pretty tired as I have not been sleeping well again. My left leg hurts and keeps me awake at times. I had my lesson with Ronni and so I got ready. I went to load Duchess in the horse trailer and she would not load. I tried for about 20 minutes. She is just too large for me to manhandle. I put her back and grabbed Miss Minnie, let the herd out for the day and headed over to Lyn's arena. I was a little late but Ronni was excited to see Miss Minnie as she has heard so much about her from Lyn and myself. Ronni rode Miss Minnie first and I explained the crow hopping when I tried to get her to canter. After Ronni worked with her she realized that Miss Minnie does not know how to run with a person on her back. She was not crow hopping but lunging forward to get a head start. She worked her for a bit and then I got on and had a lesson. It was amazing. I am learning how to use my legs properly and got Miss Minnie to do things that I have not been successful with. I did not canter her but did jogging, extended trotting and we worked on her backing up. I was really really tired after all that. Ronni cantered her a bit more before we ended. It is so amazing to be able to learn and do these things. I am really really really enjoying working with Ronni. Joan said she would help me this winter when we ride indoors, so I should really improve. Ronni commented on how relaxed I am on MM. I told her I was in my comfort level with her, with Duchess my comfort level is fleeting.

Today Harley gets groomed and I get my nails done and have a few errands to run. I have to finish tweaking the mailing list for Jenny for the Prize ride and need to get spreadsheets etc e-mail off to the Realtor for this trip. I am a bit behind on that. It is hot here and I just feel exhausted, though sleeping through the night last night has helped a bit.

8/11/2008 Good and Sad

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:00:53 GMT

This morning I received an email from my friend whose husband is very ill with cancer. He had to be hospitalized on Saturday and apparently will not be coming home. She was supposed to go camping with the other two gals we ride with and they were leaving last Friday. I was going to call and talk with her, but do not want to wake anyone else that is there. I so wish I could do something other than being here for her, but I know that is all I can do.

On a better note, I rode with Jenny, Scott and Theresa (a friend of Scott and Barbara's) yesterday clearing some trail for the Prize Ride next month. It was a gorgeous day and we had a ball.

We only rode and worked about 3 hours, but it was getting hot. The woods were nice and cool, almost too cool, but being out in the open it was warm. It is nice when we do this as we get to drive our rigs up to the top and park there, which saves about 1.5 hours of riding to and from the parking area by the road. Jenny is a great person to ride and camp with as she has many many miles under her belt and has camped all over the state. I was hoping to go on the weeks ride this year, but was not able to go. I really want to get miles on Miss Minnie so I can start going to new places and using my wonderful little camper. Jenny's horse Cesar is a gaited horse and walks out pretty fast. I finally got Miss Minnie walking out a bit at the end. You can tell by some of the photos that I was trailing pretty far behind. Theresa lives near the van pool parking that my husband uses. Her husband also works at Boeing. Boy it sure is a small world.

I need to go and feed. I am working Miss Minnie and lunging Duchess before Arlene and Emma arrive today. I love the name Emma. My handy Lunging accessory arrived and I will use it today. Garry left me the rental truck as I need to buy feed and some wormer for the horses. Bill comes this Friday to trim and shoe Prin. I worm them every eight weeks when he comes. I also ran out of Program for the dogs, so I need to get more of that. We will be driving past the feed store on the way to lunch so I can just stop.

Another Sunday

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:51:09 GMT

Here it is another Sunday. Before I get off on a subject I want to tell everyone about the terrific socks I have found They are Carhartt socks. They have them for men and women. They are a wool blend, but do not make my feet feel hot when I wear athletic shoes or my Romeo's or cowboy boots. I have mainly the Crew socks but did buy one pair of the shorter ones to wear with shorts. I am going to get a few more pair of those before we leave next Saturday. They are really comfortable and I think they will last a good long time. I have some Thorlo socks that are finally wearing out after 7 years. It is hard to find them and I found the Carhartt's in the Skagit Farmers Co-Op in Stan

Here are some photos of the gravel after it was smoothed and when we started putting down the ground cloth. Duchess thought she could eat or play with it. We locked them down in the corral for a few days so they could not get up to the barn. They only walked in and out to eat. We had the sand delivered on Friday morning and Garry was out raking it over a bit today. Bob may bring his smaller dozer over to move it and smooth it for us. Once we get it all smoothed out Garry is taking off the bottom outside stall doors so he can brace them better and then will rehang them. I do not want the horses to mess up the paddocks so I will keep corral panels across the doorways and the panels will also keep the tops closed.

Tomorrow I hope to ride with Jenny. We are meeting a few other folks to work on the Club Prize ride next month. Joan and I will be gone to the clinic, but I want to help set the route. It is neat as we get to drive up to the top, where the shelter is and then work out from there.

The first photo is Miss Minnie tied to my trailer in the meadow where the shelter is at the top. We were getting ready to work on the 2007 Prize Ride. The photo to the right is Toni playing at dragging her old horse Leon away from the hitching rail. There are two Sani-Cans that are maintained weekly. There is a Sani-Can at the Bracken Parking lot also. This is a really great place to ride. It is the Pilchuck Tree Farm and is privately owned, but fortunately we are able to ride there.

I am going to continue on some bookwork. I have been cleaning and organizing a bit the past few days. The weather cooled off so I am feeling much much better now.

I almost forgot, the Bronco Saga. After two weeks I finally got to talk to the other insurance company after repeatedly calling and leaving voice mails and then asking to talk to a supervisor. We now have a rental truck and I was promised last Thursday that a Claims Adjuster would be out soon, but as of today have not heard from them. The Rental place said it was indicated we would have the truck until August 20th. I informed him that we would be out of town on that date and they would have to wait for us to return. I cannot believe something so minor has escalated to this point. The other person's insurance company is really pathetic. When this is done I am writing them a letter telling them how awful their Customer Service is.

8-6-2008 First Lesson on Duchess

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:40:14 GMT

This morning at 7:30 am I loaded a horse that was not too willing. I did tie her to the horse trailer first so I could brush her. She will need to learn to stand tied at the trailer when we trail ride. I did get her in OK. We then headed over to Lyn's arena to meet with Ronni. I was so worried about being late I was about 20 minutes early. I visited with Lyn's Mom and her friends for a bit and then went out and unloaded and saddled up Duchess. By then Ronni had arrived. She very nicely led Duchess back to the arena. After lunging her for a bit, Ronni got on and walked, trotted and then cantered her. It was my turn then, I got to use the new huge mounting block I put there.

Duchess may not look that tall, but trust me she is. I am still not giving her the right signals all the time, but Ronni says I get better each time. I did trot her today and we did well. Ronni got on her and rode her through the barn (That is a major no no and she knows that) and then around the yard a bit. Duchess was totally unconcerned. We then untacked her, wonderful Ronni carried that heavy saddle for me and hoisted it up on the horse trailer saddle rack for me. It was a good morning. I am going to lunge her at home a bit before the next lesson and then she will have a break while we are gone. She has lost weight so I am going to up her beet pulp a bit. She did not want to get back in the horse trailer but did after a moment or to. I will not haul another horse with her unless I have the need to. She will get too dependant and that is not good.

Weekly Update

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:40:11 GMT

I am not sure where the week went! I went to ride Duchess on Tuesday last week as Ronni had some personal business to take care of on Monday. I mentioned to her that I was thinking of getting a Dressage Saddle to use on the filly in the arena this winter. She put the one she uses on Duchess and told me to get on. When I got on I went into panic mode. The leg pads were not were I needed them to be and the saddle is so light I could feel every little twitch Duchess made. Ronni made me sit on her for 5 minutes, which was good so I could calm down. She then rode Duch for a while then I got the Circle Y and then I rode her. Thursday I took the rig so I could bring Duch home. We put the Western saddle on her, but my left knee was giving out on me. I almost fell on my face walking from the truck so we decided it was not good for me to get on. Duchess seems to be over her cold and the hives are going away. We are pretty sure she was getting the hives from the shavings in her stall. She was in the stall more than she was outside and she is not used to that.

The picture on the left is Duchess going after Chub, Princess has her head turned to me and Lady is looking the other way. The photo on the right is Ronni on Duchess on July 31st before I brought her home.

Duchess loaded like a dream and rode fairly quietly. I did stop at the Starbucks in the Stanwood Haggens for my mocha and a slice of coffee cake. Yummmmmmmmmm and Duchess stood nicely in the horse trailer while I acquired my snack. I will download all the photos soon.

It is nice to have Duchess back home. She is really looking good. Getting out will help her now also. I will try and work with her later today.

I found some great socks by Carhart at the Stanwood Farm Store. They are a wool blend but do not make your feet sweat. I am wearing them constantly.

The Bronco was hit on Thursday July 23rd and we still have not heard from the other insurance company. It took me until the middle of last week to get copies of the police report. I have talked with our insurance company several times and they are trying to contact the other insurance company. It is getting old driving Garry to and from Van pool, but it works. I hope we get something resolved before we leave. We would like to get a newer Bronco and there are lots for sale now.

The Faithful Bronco Has Bit The Dust

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:42:05 GMT

On Thursday afternoon when the Van Pool was to drop Garry off at his Bronco, the police and a crowd where there. In fact the Bronco was up on a lawn into a small tree. Apparently some young gal left her little Toyota running with her Rottweiler in it and the dog "drove" her car down a hill into the Bronco and then into the Retention pond at the entrance to the housing development. The car scrapped down the drivers side of the Bronco then pushed it up over the curb, over the sidewalk and up a little rise in the lawn to the tree. Her car then went down and missed a larger tree and a stone sign for the development and went backwards into the Retention Pond. We feel she had to have been in the car as it could not have achieved enough velocity to damage and move the Bronco on its own just rolling. I will be driving Garry to and from the Van Pool for a while. I am also going to look at newer pick ups since we cannot seem to get anyone to put towing mirrors on our 1 Ton. Very frustrating. The clip on mirrors do not work and the mirrors that are on the truck need to be larger.

New Photos

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:51:39 GMT

I finally loaded up the photos from Duchess and last Sunday and the photos from our work last Saturday. We now have the gravel in and are raking out the lumps. The ground cloth will be here next week and then we can put the sand in the paddocks and put the corral panels back up.

I will load the gravel photos soon.

Busy Week Again

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:15:54 GMT

Joan and I went to the Dressage Test last Sunday. It was a lovely sunny day, but it always windy and cooler in the Stanwood area. I am still labeling the photos so have not downloaded them yet. Duchess was disqualified as she did not have a nose band on. There is not any large horses in the stable so we could not borrow one. Duchess was very well behaved for Mckenzie and at least she had a lot of work and some good exposure.

The down side was that Duchess got sick. Monday she was pretty listless so we gave her two days off to recuperate. Ronni called me Wednesday morning and said I should have her look3d at by a vet as she had a nasal discharge and had some labored breathing when Ronni asked her to canter. I got the barn vet out and he gave her a shot My Thursday morning she was feeling much better.

Joan and I went for a 2.5 hour trail ride on Tuesday. It was cool and sprinkled every so lightly on us once or twice. We had a great ride. Miss Minnie is too attached to the shelter area at the top as if she thinks we are going to go by it she lets me know that she wants to go in that direction.

I hope to ride Duchess next Tuesday and hope she is ok. I will be bringing her home on Thursday after the lesson/training session and the following Wednesday I start my lessons/training. Things are looking good.

A couple of photos of Duchess and Mckenzie. Mckenzie is about 14 years old I think and she is into vaulting. Her Mom raises Fjords.

We got the dozer work done last Saturday and on Thursday afternoon we had 72 yards of gravel delivered. Garry was working with it today with the tractor and the bulldozer.

Duchess the Magnificent

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:54:37 GMT

Duchess has a bit of a following at the training stable. Ronnie the trainer that has been working with her this month, seems to like her a lot.
Ronnie has one of her students a young teenage girl that is into vaulting riding Duch at times. Peggy, the girls Mom, asked me this morning if we would consider selling Duchess. She thinks she would make a good Vaulting horse and Mackenzie (the daughter) really like Duch. I told her we were not interested, but she said to keep it in mind if we change our minds. Peggy had taken some really cute photos of Mackenzie riding Duchess. I told Mackenzie she could ride her as much as she wants while Duchess is at the barn. I am bringing Duch home on July 31st. We will have our last training session at the barn and then the following Wednesday I will start hauling her over to Lyn's and Ronnie with work with both of us there. I had to go out and buy a 3 step mounting block so I can get on her. I am going to get another one to leave at Lyn's as they are too big and unwieldy for me to take back and forth.

I am on my way down to move the truck and horse trailer up into the front yard. I had ordered truck mirrors that were supposed to be for towing and they do not stick out as far as they are supposed to. Garry's friend, Bob, is going to somehow extend the existing mirrors so I can see when I have the camper on and haul the horse trailer.

Ronnie took this photo of Mackenzie on Duchess. Unfortunately she cut off most of the horse. I appreciate her giving me this one.

Ferrets and Tagged

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:01:57 GMT

Our Ferrets really entertaining. I try and give them some time in our bedroom each day so they can play and get more exercise. They are getting really good about me picking them up. At first they thought I was a predator and tried to hide, so I will cover them with a towel and then scoop them up. Bandit seems to think socks on feet are critters to jump on and bite. Bare feet are OK and shoes on over the socks are OK also. The sometimes come when I call them but I have not worked on this very much. Bandit is much livelier than Smokey. Smokey reminds me of Mr Magoo with his myopic looking eyes!

This morning I thought Chief had wandered off when we were in the barn. After I got done with the chores I was going to leave and decided to check the hayloft. He had jumped up on the hay that is stacked in Chub's stall and was scared to jump back down to the narrow walkway left in the hayloft proper. He really wanted to get down. I finally got him and was going to lift him when he leaped. He was a very happy puppy.

We are having some warm weather though it cools off nicely during the night. I actually wore my sweatshirt over my t-shirt to do the chores this morning.

I am on Tagged and right now we are all buying "pets" which are other Tagged members. At the moment it costs $85,338.00 to buy me. A new friend from Oregon, Barbara, has been buying me back whenever someone else buys me. I wish I had the money for real!! We have been messaging and laughing over the whole thing. Each time you log onto the site at 4 hour intervals you get $2,000. I just bought a bunch of pets, so my cash is just under $57,000. It is amazing the things that are thought up to do.

Another Great Ride

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:32:49 GMT

I am happy and proud to say that I had my third ride on Duchess today. I am feeling much more relaxed and Ronnie says it shows. Ronnie is working with me and I am giving better cues to Duchess and had her stopping quite well. Ronnie is going to take her on a trail ride, but probably not until we bring her home in August.

Saturday Garry and I went up to Harry O and I worked at the Regional Prize Ride Fundraiser. This money is used for maintenance the the toilets that BCHW was instrumental in having put in and trail head/parking area repairs. It was very hot. There was not a great turnout and we think it couild be because of the price of gas. Toni and Joan each give me money when I haul their horses which makes it good for me. They are both on the way to the trail-head we ride at.

I may be doing some riding here tomorrow if I cannot scare up a riding partner.

For some reason today I FEEL GREAT very little stiffness and hardly any pain!!!!!! Great Great Day!!!!!

Riding A Mountain And Surviving

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:43:27 GMT

Monday morning Joan and I headed off to the Training Facility loaded with my Circle Y saddle that fits the Belgians, my riding helmet and riding gloves. Ronnie (the gal that is now riding Duchess) moved a large wooded mounting block into the arena. She had been working with Duchess to stand by this so she could mount and dismount Ronnie was using the reins I had taken with the bridle with are 1 inch wide and split. They are so long that they drag the ground when used on Princess. Duchess is much taller. They do not drag. Besides her being so high I kept thinking that Duchess is only a 3 year old, which is a very young horse. I was pretty nervous and would not let Ronnie turn me loose. She lead me around for about 10 minutes and then she got on and rode Duchess some more. Today I took some not so wide reins that buckle together and are not so long. We were using them on Princess. I felt much more comfortable and managed to ride by myself. Ronnie is teaching me the correct signals to give Duchess and to stay off her mouth. I went trail riding with Toni and Joan yesterday and that helped get me in a good frame of mind to be brave and get on Duch. I was hoping to feel secure enough to trot, but did not. Duchess has a nice swingy ground eating walk and at first I thought she was going to run with me. I am a bit nervous about that, but so far so good. I will ride her Monday and Wednesday next week and will hopefully do better

The 600 bales of first cutting came in last night in three loads. We now have just over 900 bales of hay, 800 new and what is left from last year. The barn smells so nice right now. It is worth paying a little extra as these buys deliver and stack for us. By the time we pay field price, pay a crew, gas and our time to do it, this is cheaper. The hay is wonderful. The horses are happy.

A Quick Update - ok I lied a long update

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:19:49 GMT

We made an offer on the Kettle Falls/Orient place and they wanted more. I think it is worth it, but Garry did not want to go any higher. That is OK. We have found several other places that look very promising also. I am keeping them in mind for when we go over next month.

We have had some really hot weather (for Western Washington). Our first 200 bales of second cutting hay was finally delivered yesterday. Really nice looking hay. It cost us $1300.00 for the hay and to have it delivered and stacked in our hayloft. The next 600 will be first cutting and that will cost $3,000.00 for the same. They did not stack it exactly the way I wanted. I may move some of it before they come back in 10 days with the rest. We are still using last years hay and will be for a couple of months yet.

I let Bandit loose on her bed yesterday. I was running (OK just moving quickly as I cannot run any more) from side to side to keep her from getting off the bed. Yes I did have the bedroom door closed to the chagrin of the dogs. Ferrets do not see well, in fact many times they resemble Mister Magoo! She apparently just saw this looming shape and got panicked. I went to grab her and she jumped on her back and opened her mouth as if she was going to bite and got defensive with her paws. She got off the bed and ran back and forth underneath it. By then I was in a panic. I popped into our bathroom, it is off the bedroom, and grabbed Garry's bath towel and then threw it over her. I was able to safely pick her up and get her calmed down again. She was very happy to get back to her house with her buddy. Even though the great Ferret Poo experiment is a bust, I am attached to these little creatures, so they have a forever home with us. Bandit and I both had our workouts. I was really sweating when it was over but of course it was probably more nerves than anything.

It has also been very muggy here. Last night counties around us had severe storm warnings. I did see some lightening one of the times the dogs woke me up. Midnight is very scared during storms and I have had to tranquilize him. He gets Harley going and then they are both breathing hot doggy breath on me if I am facing the closet when it bed. This morning we could see it had rained a bit last evening. By the time I went down to bring in the horses for their breakfast it was pouring. I am soaked as I had to walk out to open the corral gate for them to get out when I let them loose.

I am getting my bangs cut today. I have decided the no bangs look is not good on me. My hair is getting long enough to put in a pony tail again. Sometimes I stuff it up inside my baseball cap when I am outside working. I have to be careful about a lot sun on my head as I had sunstroke in Okinawa years ago.

I have the newsletter done (yeah I am early) and also had to print and get an emergency mailing out to membership for a July 8th deadline in responding to some strange DNR proposals that do not make sense. I am going to feed the dogs and then finish stuffing my mailing and proof the newsletter. I get my bangs cut at 8:45 by a neighbor that does hair out of home. I have to have Harley (Dingy Dog) at the groomers by 10 am and then get my nails done at 11:30 am. This will be another no lunch day as in between Harley and my nails I will get the newsletter printed and get the stamps. Michael is coming over at 4 to put in some fence posts so Leanna and I can get Chubs new home ready. I want him in it tonight.

I want everyone in their routine before Duchess comes home. Monday I will ride her. A gal named Ronni that does dressage is riding her now. Joan and I watched on Tuesday. Ronnie is getting Duch used to standing by a larger mounting block they have and also having someone lay over her back and sliding off for the dismount. I am not sure if I am ready for this, but I am doing it. Ronnie said she will stay with me until I feel secure enough to go off on my own. She also said she will ride her on a trail ride with me and then go on one while I am riding Duchess. I have to use the very very heavy Circle Y that we bought for the drafts. It has a suede seat that will help me stay in the saddle. I use a seat cushion in the Circle Y that I use on Miss Minnie. I am rambling. Had better get off and running.

I did not make it clear about the property we made an offer on. Since Garry did not want to pay what they countered with, we have moved on and are collecting information on other properties to look at next month. I feel that it was not meant to be and we will find the right place.

Busy And Hot End of June

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:31:55 GMT

We put an offer on the kettle Falls/Orient property Friday. Starr e-mailed me the papers and I printed them off. I tried to scan them back onto our computer after we had signed and initialed and I could not get the scan to work. I frantically drove down to the Mail Zone at the end of 84th and had them Fax 18 pages for me. After I got back I found that I had left the first page still in the scanner. It was hot and I was tired so I played with the printer/scanner/fax/copier and got the darn thing to scan. Even did it in PDF format. I then attached it and sent it in an e-mail to Starr (she is our Colville Realtor). I also called her and let her know that I had faxed all but the first page.

I did get an e-mail from her this morning saying the papers had been presented to the sellers late yesterday afternoon. We have not heard anything yet as to a yes or no. I told her that we will go any higher no matter what their counter offer is. It is a great place but some new properties with raw land and or buildings have come up in the past week that look good. If we do not buy this place we are going back in the middle of August for a week and check out what else has shown up. When I e-mail the MLS number to Starr she is great about sending me the Realtor listing which gives us much more info.

I hose the horses off late in the afternoon. Miss Minnie and Sarge love it. After they get all nice and wet they go roll in the dirt. This keeps the flies off of them, though we do not have a bad fly problem. We get the Fly Eliminators once a month and I spread them down in the barn area. Little fly eating bugs are released. We have had a few folks mention how fly free out barn is.

It is close to 90 yesterday and today. I gave each Ferret a bath today hoping to cool them down. I do not think they appreciated it.

I have been waiting for days for the hay guy to call and let me know he is bringing our hay. I just talked to the hay guy and it may be a week or so. He is doing second cutting on one field and first on another. We are getting 600 first and 200 second cutting. The second cutting is more expensive as it is a finer hay and richer. I wanted to have some of that for the really cold and wet weather.

I have to go feed the dogs and then the horses.

A Better Mouse Trap - NOT

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:51:24 GMT

The great Ferret Poo experiment is a bust. At first it seemed to work and then the mice starting have nightly parties in Miss Minnie's feeder. I have never found poo in Sarge's feeder, but the 4 outside stalls all have poo in them. I cannot pre-mix meals for the horses as the mice get into the food while the bucket is hanging. This is really annoying. Oh well, the Ferrets are great company and very entertaining. They did not even get up this morning while we were having breakfast and getting Garry off to work.

I feel somewhat better today, so hopefully Toni; and, I hope Joan, and I will go riding. Bill comes tomorrow to do the horses tootsies. I let the hay guy know they cannot be here between 10 am and 1 pm. I am hoping to ride with my friend Lyn on Saturday, but again it depends on the hay.

The ferrets had a distinct odor when we first got them, but since they have settled in and are getting used to us it is not noticeable anymore. They have been descent-ed.

On our trip to Colville over Father's day weekend, we saw 3 wild turkeys and 2 camels in a small herd of cattle. The Turkeys were in two other places. We always see deer and there was a coyote close by.

When Toni and I rode last Friday we were heading down a logging road that goes around a clear cut when a deer was standing in the middle of the road. She would not move out of the way. Miss Minnie was eager to get to her, but I got nervous. I figured the deer was protecting her young. Toni and Buddy took the lead and MM and I followed. The deer finally went into the wood, but only about 30 feet in. Years ago I had one follow Chub and I for about 1/2 mile. I kept yelling at it to go away, but it wouldn't leave.

Finally it did.

Duchess the Large

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:43:21 GMT

Yesterday my good friend, Joan, and I went over to watch the trainer work with Duchess. I was not feeling well and getting up and out that early was hard for me.

The first photo (courtesy of Joan) shows Ken cantering Duchess. The second photo he had taken the reins off the bit and put one rein around her neck and rode her essentially bridle-less. Joan took a video and sent me these stills. We have enjoyed going to watch her once a week. We stop at the Haggen's in Stanwood on the way home and take turns buying each other hot coffee drinks. I usually run some errands on the way home and Joan has been very good natured about me dragging her around. I have been very lucky to make some very good friends down here and fortunate that most of my friends from up north still keep in touch and some come down to see me occasionally. I was hoping to ride Duchess this week, but want to wait until I am off the antibiotics and feel better. She looks great and I notice improvements each time I see her. I am also learning a lot from Ken the horse trainer. He shares information and really talked to us a bit yesterday. Joan said that she can tell he really like Duchess. She has boarded her horses there over the years from time to time during the winter months. Joan is a great source of good information about the stables and trainers in the area.

The Ferret's are wonderful company and very entertaining. They know my voice and my little female (Bandit) seems to like me holding her. The come over to the cage door and try to get to me. I really did not think I would enjoy them as much as I do. For someone with an apartment or small living quarters they are great pets. We love watching them sleep together and play together. The dogs go to their cage and everyone touches noses.

Our last trip over to look for property went well and we learned more about the area and like it more and more. We did find a place we loved but it had an offer. It is back on the market so we shall see. Our Realtor is working on our offer today. We will not be moving over there for a few years, but we can go over occasionally and work on the place. The house will need to be remodeled. I have the photos up and it is the Kettle Falls/Orient place. Great location, view of the river, hot tub (YEAH), fully fenced, horse shelters, dog kennel area and lots of great grass. I hope eventually we can get someone to bale the grass for us.

I rode last Friday with Toni. Buddy and Miss Minnie get along really well. MM was acting a bit odd on the way home. She would stop and not want to go and then want to trot. Going downhill with her wanting to trot was not good. For the little bit of work she has been getting she is amazingly mellow. Miss Minnie turns 7 this month. I am still very happy with her. Now that the corral has dried out I need to start working her at home.

Name Update 6-8-2008

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:20:16 GMT

Garry decided to call his Ferret Smokey. We now have Smokey and the Bandit. They sleep most of the time which is nice. I am going to bath them this afternoon. I may have to have their scent glands removed as it is starting to bother me. We took them out and held them for a bit this morning. all three dogs were outside. The Dogs go over and sniff and the Ferrets sniff back. So far no signs of aggression. I have been putting the Ferret Pooh in strategic places in the barn and am hoping that this will drive off the mice we have down there. I will know later today if there are mice pooh leavings in Lady's feeder. All was quiet last evening. I have not told Bev yet, our house-sitter about them. She is in Eastern Washington this weekend for a graduation. I told Garry I want to have harnesses for them so we can keep hold of them if we let them down on the floor in the house. They are incredibly curious and our home is too large with too many places for a Ferret to hide.

We are off to breakfast then groceries. We are buying a dish pan to put their towel in as Garry said his like that better. They burrow in the bath towel now to sleep. Once in a while a head peeks out. They chatter sometimes under the towel with an occasional squeak. Really funny to hear. The photos aren't great but all I have at the moment.

Photo Album: 8/27/2008

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:13:35 GMT

8/27/2008

Princess, Adam, Kathy, Barbara, Wendy and friends

Mel with Zeus by his rig

Adam getting ready to lead Prin

Folks visiting

Mel on Zeus

The Hardy riders

Well fed and happy people

Ella and Duchess 07-20080001

Photo Album: Miscellaneous Recent Photos

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:24:16 GMT

Miscellaneous Recent Photos

7-2008 Front of Tara and Aaron's new home

Aaron cooking

Aaron's truck parked in back

Back yard

Colin and Tara's cars parked on their road

Corner of back yard

Miz Moka

Miz Moka coming out to see what Aaron is cooking

Gate to the back yard

Other side of front yard

More Photos...

Photo Album: Dressage Test on 7/20/2008

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:20:58 GMT

Dressage Test on 7/20/2008

Duchess Show - coming towards us

Duchess Show - Duch loves attention

Duchess Show - Duch watching something

Duchess Show - giving Duch a pat

Duchess Show - going back towards the stable

Duchess Show - John Patrick not being nice

Duchess Show - look ma no front hooves

Duchess Show - Mckenzie memorizing pattern

Duchess Show - Mckenzie riding Duches from the stable

Duchess Show - moving nicely

More Photos...

Photo Album: Dozer Work 7/19/2008

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:41:51 GMT

Dozer Work 7/19/2008

7-19-2008 taking more panels apart

Adam in the dozer with Garry supervising

Adam the dozer man

Adam with his tractor doing close work

Barn looks abandoned

Before we started dozing

Garry carrying wood chunks

Had to move lots of panels

Moving more panels

Moving Panels

More Photos...

Photo Album: 6/17/2008 June House Hunting

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:05:01 GMT

6/17/2008 June House Hunting

6-14-2008 Chatteroy back field

6-14-2008 Chatteroy back pasture

6-14-2008 Chatteroy shed

6-14-2008 Chatteroy shop

6-14-2008 Chatteroy side door

6-14-2008 walk way to front door Chatteroy

6-14-2008 View from Chatteroy place

6-14-2008 Starr and Garry at Chatteroy

6-14-2008 KF-Orient horse in pasture

6-14-2008 from front yard to field KF-Orient

More Photos...

Photo Album: 6/7/2008 Smokey and The Bandit

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:14:10 GMT

6/7/2008 Smokey and The Bandit

6-7-2008 Ferret House in Living room

6-7-2008 Bandit wanting to play

6-7-2008 Bandit watching me for treat

6-7-2008 Bandit, she looks better in person

6-7-2008 Bandit

6-7-2008 Smokey checking out the bottom of their carry all

6-7-2008 Smokey taking a drink

6-7-2008 Smokey