Postcards From Arizona

Planning and waiting

2012-02-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

today is the first day in weeks

I've not had to be somewhere

it's divine

doctor, dentist and vet appts

plus regular life

and now planning this wedding

it's been a little much

there's so much to do!

I think it finally hit Wade

when we had to hold up our right hands

and solemnly swear for our

marriage certificate yesterday

we were giggling and grinning

like a bunch of kids

I think this will really be fun

oddly enough

I love his crazy family dearly

they provide all the entertainment

one could ever want

if no one gets shot

bucked off

or a big brawl doesn't break out

I will consider this wedding a success

one of his family members caught me

at the post office the other day and said

"You're not bringing your dogs, are you?"

geez

sigh...

it looks like show season is starting up again

this year I'm going to lay off

mostly because my back pain is intolerable

and we're going to concentrate on Mercy

Smoke is still a work in progress

but it looks like she will show Grandpa Ron's horse

while they are here

and I think that will go very well

I've tried to concentrate on having fun this year

and while I do go out and ride and play with her

sometimes I have to be the mean mom

the other night was a huge blowup

after I'd told her 3 times to pick up

her wet and sandy clothes off the floor

and then I found her valentines for her classmates

on the floor

I had a fit

bagged it all up

and pretended to take it to the garbage

this included her riding boots

which weren't put away

and I told her there would be no more riding

I was mean

she cried

but that night and the next day

everything got put away

she earned her stuff back

and we proceeded to clean the whole room together

including the closet

which is now the plastic horse barn

I found all kinds of strange things in the closet

including 20 yr old photos that I had to post on FB

and this poster

which promptly went on the wall

the rest of the room looks like this

horse crazy kid

while I was working on all this

I also got the pleasure of attending online driving school

anybody done that yet?

I got caught by photo radar

hadn't had a ticket in 7 yrs

but they got me

and the option was driving school

so I waited till the last minute

thus entailing a flurry of calls

when it wouldn't let me register online

and 5 days of back and forth with this office

emailing, signing and scanning forms

with 24 hours remaining

I finally sat down and did the dang thing

thinking

"Oh, I'll just have to read and test

and since I'm a fast reader I'll get it done

in less than the four hours they say it will take"

well NO

it reads to you

it's like a big lecture

and you have to pay attention and write down

the 25 random images that come up

in this four hours

good heavens

this worked on me

I will never speed again

trying to get 4 hours around here

where you can FOCUS without distraction

just does. not. happen.

but I got it done

I passed

no higher insurance rates

no going to court

no big fine

never again

**************

it's beautiful weather here

nice and sunny

I still have to trim the donkey's feet

I'm procrastinating getting beat up

Gold Rush Days is this week

and the Scottsdale Arabian Show starts up too

wonder if Paint Girl is running around there?

seeing her would be like a rare bird sighting

there she is! and there she goes!

I want to be everywhere at once

more to come soon

Playing Cross Country with Mercy

2012-02-10T16:40:00.000-08:00

when I was a kid

a little older than Mercy

I had a best friend named Susan

she and I would ride all day long together

and one of my favorite things

was to build a "cross country" course

whatever we could find

we'd build it up and jump it

since Mercy doesn't have a full size arena

we took to the desert today

and I vowed I would set something up for her

in a nice sandy area

off we went

I did all the work

dragging old logs to make "jumps"

you start small

then build them up higher

it's great practice

here's a little video of her doing her "course"

overall

she was thrilled

and Smoke got tired

so we wandered around

then we played the game

where I try to grab her and

pull her onto my horse

which never actually happens

but it's fun to play

enjoy the bouncy video below

as I chase her

riding bareback

videotaping

and trying not to fall off

back at home camp

Bob Barker uses the stock tank as his personal hot tub

Updates

2012-02-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

it's the usual state of crazy here

busy

the sick horses

one week later

are sort of still sick

Racer continues to cough

but not near as bad

Blue seems to be back to normal

Monte and Nina still have slight snot nose

and the occasional cough

Olga had snot nose for a day

but doesn't seem sick

my fingers are very tired of crushing pills

we remain on self imposed quarantine

and while at the vet's yesterday

I saw that other horses were coming in

with the same symptoms

so it really is going around

sometimes I feel like the vet's office

is a second home

we had Pancho

Mercy's biting chihuahua

in for a dental

he had a pocket of tartar on his snaggle tooth

that I couldn't get dislodged

we also took Grandma's new little dog

named Tanner

the one we found on the highway

in to be neutered

he weighs a whopping 7 lbs

funny thing

I had "looked" at him

ascertained he had testicles

and judged by his teeth to be a year or so old

so he was fine to go in, right?

well that morning while dropping Mercy off at school

I had the dog on my lap and I copped a feel

I. know.

way to embarrass my child if anyone saw that

but then I thought

"I think I only feel one ball"

uh oh

I decided to not pursue that

and just hope I was wrong

I was not wrong

at the vet's

they had me hold Pancho

little biting devil dog

while they did pre-sedation and exam

Doc said

"YOU open his mouth so I can see his gums"

and danged if that dog didn't growl at me about it

geez

when they got to Tanner

Doc gave me the look

and I knew before he even said

"He's a cryp"

ugh

but all turned out ok

as his missing testicle was found

in his flank

and easily removed

Pancho

poor old dog

had four more teeth pulled

leaving him with a grand total of 5 molars

4 canines and a couple front teeth

he now gets soft food

forever

**********

Wade made me go with him on

what we call

"Bad Donkey Day"

he goes out to a rescue regularly

and when they come due

this herd of donkeys has to be done

they are some kickers

and most refuse to be caught

in the conventional manner

here I am trying to convince Penny

that we can do this the easy way

or the hard way

I hate arguing with animals smarter than me

cause I don't win

I didn't win her over

but she did get done

it actually goes faster than you'd think

but that's probably because

Wade does all the hard work

what makes it even more fun

are the buffalo

they are the funniest animals to watch

very quiet

until you go to rope a donkey

then they bounce up and down

and run the fence like maniacs

making buffalo noises

I find it terribly distracting

but charming

I'm just fascinated by them

and this guy

Norman

those who remember City Slickers

this is what Norman grows up to be

and he IS BIG

he's also ridiculously friendly

*************

after my morning there

I came home to get Mercy

and we rode

my favorite horse was sick

Mercy was riding my 2nd favorite

I didn't feel like dealing with Quinn

or Honey or Kat

but SMOKEY

the old grey mare

I decided could use a tune up

she says "I'll show you tune up"

oh boy

she was naughty

running away 3 times during grooming

until I snapped a longe line on

she realized she couldn't run off anymore

faced up wide eyed and ears perked

she wasn't done though

she tried it 3 more times during our session

where I reminded her she does indeed know how to longe

both ways

then we saddled up

and after a few tense moments

I did step on

we just went in a circle and called it good

I feel like her back is out of shape

and she's not up to all the weight

of me and a saddle

she is in her 20's

so I probably won't mess with her again

for a while

but it doesn't hurt to work with her

just to remind her to have manners

***********

I'm now working for the local

snake relocating service

it's still a little too cold

for a whole lot of calls

but it's about to get busy

I got all my paperwork in order

and spent a Sunday traipsing around

with the owner/my boss

learning about snakes

and their behavior

I know a bit

from my own experiences and observation

but I need to become an expert

and I'm working on that

Latin pronunciations are killing me

I also had to prove myself

and darn it

I have no pictures

because I was focused

and paying attention

to the diamondback my boss brought

it was a nice snake

and I learned some new tricks

I'm pretty excited about the whole thing

no snakes were seen while hiking

despite our best efforts to find them

I looked under a LOT of rocks

but I found an outcropping with natural geodes

that I thought was pretty cool

neato, huh?

I'm all kinds of happy to be outside

enjoying the wonderful 70 degree Arizona winter

so off I go on more adventures

this year is going to be ridiculously fun

Vet says...

2012-01-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

not strangles

lymph nodes aren't swollen enough

just a virus

and I'm doing everything right

should run it's course in a week or so

total relief here

The vet comes today

2012-01-30T09:42:00.001-08:00

I'm up to four horses sick now

and I'm more than a little worried

all are on antibiotics

and the vet comes in a couple hours

I want him to tell me this isn't strangles

so far my stats are

Racer the pony

first one to be sick

had a 104 temp

bad cough

then snotty nose

fever gone the next day

and he seemed a little better

but the cough hasn't gone away

and now the fever is back

at 103.5

and his lymph nodes are slightly swollen

I'm worried he has pneumonia

his cough is worse than anyone else's

his roommate Blue

has no fever

no cough

but swollen lymph nodes

and snot nose

all the snot noses

are white and/or green snot

then we have Nina the bucker

2nd to get sick with noticeable cough

then snot nose

no fever at all

then Monte came down with it

snot nose

no cough at all

but 102 fever this morning

slightly swollen lymph nodes

hmmmm

we've isolated the pairs

and are hauling out their old hay and manure

no sharing of water buckets

and so far no one else has caught it

*fingers crossed*

but damn!!

this is insane

I'll leave it up to the vet to tell me

what the heck is going on

what's odd is that we haven't been anywhere

no horses in or out of here in weeks

and the first 2 sick are

both horses we rarely do anything with

I can't figure out where this sickness came from

but at least the humans are over their bug

I've rarely had horses catch a cold

and I've never dealt with strangles

so I'm not sure what's going on

but biohazard procedures are in effect

and until things are better

no one in or out

period.

I'll keep you posted

Tonight's Sunset

2012-01-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

A Chorus of Coughing

2012-01-27T08:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know what virus this is

but it's a doozy

I'm not sick (yet)

just everyone around me

I stood on the back porch last night

and listened to two horses coughing

and two people in the house coughing

outside seems like a good place to be

Mercy caught hers at school

she told me everyone is coughing

so much so that the teacher had to wait

for the coughing to subside before she could teach

isn't that lovely?

Wade came home yesterday

fell asleep on the couch at sunset

and woke up sick a couple hours later

he's now down for the count

I got to be sweet and baby him this morning

feeding him NyQuil

rubbing his back, neck and head

then tucking him into bed

like a BURR EEE TOE

same as I do for Mercy

I'm sure I won't see him for the rest of the day

he was incoherently mumbling

the way sick people do

as I closed the door on him

Racer the pony fell ill last night

at 9 pm I was debating on calling the vet

and hauling him in

but I figured they'd give him antibiotics

and some Banamine

so I went ahead and did that here

he'd coughed the day before

but not like he did last night

he also quit eating

stood there jerking his head oddly

and coughing so hard he'd lift a back foot up

I got him out

took at temp that read 104

tried to listen to his lungs

but he's so furry I can't hear a thing

gave him his meds and watched him

finally the banamine kicked in

he quit coughing so much

and rested

at the same time I was watching all this

Nina the bucker started coughing too

I had Wade come outside and listen

he cursed and went back inside the house

shaking his head and coughing

lovely

this morning I haven't heard Nina cough yet

Racer sounds like an old man wheezing

and he's got a horrible snotty nose

but the fever is gone

so I gave him more antibiotics

and I'll keep watching him

while I baby the people around me

and hope I don't catch this

cause I have to work this weekend

I'm thinking French Onion Soup for lunch/dinner

with garlic french bread

I'm also patting myself on the back

for going to the store this week

and remembering to buy more NyQuil

and cough drops

psychic or something

I also craved, bought and ate

A LOT of spinach

tomatoes, lettuce, and tuna fish

I built myself some great salads the last few days

and I hope that was my body saying

"I'm not going to get sick"

if you say it enough

it becomes true, right?

This, that and the other

2012-01-24T08:59:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to start

it's been crazy busy

I've just now really sat down

and it won't be for long

I'd like to say I'm planning the wedding

but I think I pretty much have

and it's just pulling it all together now

there's no big backstory

sorry folks

we'd talked about it for years

planned on how we'd do it

and the time was just finally right

Wade's parents will be here

on their annual trip

it'll be springtime

it's a lucky day and all that

it's going to be fabulous, fun and crazy

as it should be

**********

I'm still working on selling Quinn

but not as hard

I've had to cover in town working at the vet's

and I just haven't. had. time.

I'm a little discouraged

but not too bad

all in good time...

************

Wade was finally home this weekend

for two whole days

that just never happens

boy did I hit him with the Honey Do List

he spent most of the day changing tires

on the horse trailer

and putting the wiring back under the diesel truck

where Bob Barker thought something was hiding

and tore everything up

I thought Wade would stroke out over this

but he managed to not lose his cool

and kill a dog

then we all cleaned and cleaned and cleaned

pens, dog poop, kennel (thoroughly)

house, windows, porch, dog beds and blankets

floors and walls on my hands and knees

oh man do I hurt

all the laundry and dishes done

we all put forth effort

into getting all those little jobs done

that needed doing

it was nice

and we did get a little fun time in

Mercy posed with ol' Reba

she's still fully retired from riding

her back just can't take the weight

and the stuff Mercy wants to do

as you'll see in a minute

Reba still gets thoroughly groomed often

and doesn't lack for attention

***********

Mercy picked a sunny

but VERY windy day

and she had to ride

I swear if she doesn't get to ride

she gets crazy

I have a friend who refers to it as

"going all Spider Monkey"

and that's an apt description...

so I went out and sat in the chair

and supervised this

while Wade was finishing up the truck

first she rode Monte

bareback

he's very easy to ride bareback

has a lovely trot

then she wants to "jump"

so I let her

it's very boring in the yard

but I didn't feel like hitting the desert

it was so windy she was lucky I came outside at all

anyway

what she's jumping is a 4x4 on the ground

but to a kid

it's jumping

excuse the dust flecks in my camera lens

I need a new camera

they need to make something dust proof

so pretty

also these are all SOOC photos

I rarely photoshop anything

what you see is what I see

teaching her to be completely off his mouth

Monte is just SO not into this

he's not a jumper

and you can't make him

he's good to gain confidence on though

he'll go around and around and around

she asked me to make cross rails

so I did

and it was the same thing

Monte won't actually jump

he'll slow down and maybe trot over them

eventually they both grew ~~disgusted~~ tired

and I suggested she switch horses

Wade demonstrated how we all feel

while Samba comes to offer her sympathy

Mercy traded Monte for Smoke

Smoke who always starts out with that nose out

and head up

after a bit he settles down and gets tired

I do feel sorry for these horses

cause she just makes them work

it's this below

over and over and over

enjoy the crazy wind

background soundtrack

PartyRock Anthem on Wade's phone

and a view of me in my slippers

wearing 2 pairs of sweatpants

and a winter jacket

while Mercy rides in short sleeves

and seems oblivious

and lest I forget

a final picture of my pink

bedazzled rattlesnake tongs

for this summer

I'll actually be one those snake relocating people

and you know I have to do so in style

aren't they fabulous?!

Gettin' hitched

2012-01-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

for those who don't know

Wade and I are not currently married

but we intend to change that

March 17th

St. Patrick's Day

this will be a horseback wedding

and everyone who would like to attend

is welcome

email me for details

if you do plan to attend

we're very excited!!

A quick update

2012-01-14T12:56:00.000-08:00

time is once again a hot commodity

I've had no Internet since yesterday

and not much time all week to be on it

465 posts to read in my google reader...

I've been working on selling Quinn

to no avail so far

politely rejecting emails

from people who will not suit

and yesterday had a 12 yr old girl

come out and ride him

she blew me away

the kid could RIDE

she hopped on

kicked into a trot

then a canter

and was popping him over my one little jump

she liked him

I liked her

we'll see if they go for him

they did say he was the first horse they looked at

that wasn't skinny

too many things going on at once

trying to get him ridden and tuned up

while driving Miss Daisy

working a bit in town filling in

and all the other things that go on here

in addition to all that

Bob Barker decided there was a rabbit or bird

in the engine of the diesel truck

so he tore wiring out to get to it

I thought Wade would have a stroke

and he hasn't had time to fix it yet

meanwhile one truck is getting new tires

plus 2 tires are off the trailer being replaced

Wade was driving on tires showing wires

so it was pretty imperative that it get done

it's just nonstop madness

and let's add to it, shall we?

FB friends

I apologize cause y'all already know this

but going to town yesterday

Grandma sighted a little dog

right as it ran across the hwy

she screamed STOP!!

and I did

I was looking the other way and hadn't seen it

until it was behind us

another car stopped but didn't stick around

I burned rubber in reverse

then ran out in traffic screaming and waving

people kept asking

"Is that your dog?"

and I'd shake my head no

I managed to get to him safely

as he was wolfing down a piece of bread in the median

and he let me pick him up

tiny min pin/chi mix

not neutered

skinny and starving

no collar nada

rib and hip bones sticking out

no one nearby claimed him

so we took him with us

buying him a hot dog

and then checking local boards for notices

he is friendly

used to being handled

doesn't know what dog food is

or the words "Good Boy"

but he was out in the hwy

so it looks like we'll keep him

or shall I say GRANDMA will keep him

he goes to get shots Monday

that's all I have time to write

Wade's gone south to the ranch

and I'm holding things down here

as best I can

more later

Donkey/Mule/Horse/Goat Lovers, this place needs help right now!

2012-01-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

It's been hitting the Internet that

Marley Farms here in AZ is closing

the latest is that the animals have to be gone

by tomorrow (Mon)

here is a link to the FB that has all the animals

if anyone can help them

maybe you'll see something you like

goats

mini mule

mini donkeys

some nice sweet animals on there

Changes in the New Year

2012-01-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

with the New Year

I've vowed to make some changes

haven't we all?

and one is to cut back on horses

seriously

I have a billion excuses as to why

but it's mainly not enough time

to do it all in a day

so I'm putting Quinn up for sale

as much as it pains me to do so

he's been a good horse for me

the past 8 years

but I don't ride him as much as I should

and he should be ridden and shown off

these are some pictures I'm going to include

and the tentative ad is written below

plus one video you might like

I'm posting it here first and probably on FB

before I resort to Craigslist

if you know anyone who wants a horse like Quinn

please forward this on to them

if there's any pictures I should leave out

or anything I should add

speak up!

10 yr old bay gelding

16.1 hh QH no papers 1300+lbs

ride english, western, bareback

arena or trails

shown english flat classes and hunter hack

always in the ribbons

LOVES to jump, was last jumping 2'

dressage prospect

very floaty extended walk and trot

lovely collected canter, flying lead changes

so much potential to do more

western - rides nicely in a medium port with curb chain

used to gather and sort cattle many times

great in all kinds of different terrain

4wd horse that really covers ground

not a rope horse but good around cattle

for intermediate to experienced rider

no buck, no rear,

but he's a big horse with plenty of energy

clips, loads, stands great for farrier and vet

you can do all kinds of stuff around him

fire cap guns

pop balloons next to him (see video below)

good around dogs, strollers, ATV's, deer, mini horses

not much bothers him

mounted shooting prospect?

Very personable, willing, good minded horse

who needs lots of love and attention daily.

I have to many horses and can't give him

what he needs and deserves.

Asking $2,000 obo

to good home only!!

I really want him to go to a good home

where I could follow his progress

so help me out folks...

he's a good horse

let's find him a great home

Freebies due to the economy

2011-12-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

I think everyone who loves animals

has seen what's going on with our economy

people can't afford to feed their animals

animals are starving

since he goes out to a lot of animal homes

Wade sees and hears things

and he told me yesterday about this

little bull that a guy wanted to get rid of

free

a 3 yr old Brahma bull

I was mildly interested in this

and then he showed me these pictures

what a cute little face

wait...

that's a 3 yr old Brahma bull?

I said

"Honey, I think you need to go get him

RIGHT NOW"

and I pretty much insisted

he called the Rancher

who said he'd take this bull

and had his stock trailer all ready to roll

so 15 minutes later they were gone

and this little bull is now being fed well

at the Ranchers house

**********

Mercy wore me OUT yesterday

she also wore out several horses again

but I thought I'd show you guys this picture

and you can remember all the times

your instructor made you do this

and how hard it is

english at the trot

we did A LOT of this yesterday

I feel so sorry for lesson horses everywhere

who put up with bouncy kids

and loose legs

kids who fall down on their neck

and pull mane

those horses deserve a special place in Heaven

Silly sunny days

2011-12-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Wade picked up the camera today

mostly because he thought funny things would happen

and he'd catch them

thank heavens he doesn't catch them all

Bo and I played around

he's my star pupil

follow me at a trot

he's a handsome lil bugger

and very into this stuff

let's go

and stop

he's such a good boy

take a bow for the people

that's a good boy

Mercy worked Smoke

Bo still following me over obstacles

another bow

we're still working on "how low can you go"

but safe to say he gets it

as I put him away

we looked over to see this below

absolutely NOT staged

I don't know what to say

End of December riding the desert

2011-12-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

the weather has been so nice

Mercy finally convinced us all

to go on a long desert ride

her favorite thing to do

she rode in her western saddle

I think she's not ready to navigate big washes

in the english saddle

she wanted to ride Honey

and have me pony her for a ways

but I decided that wasn't a good idea

as Honey may be broke now

but she lacks outside experience

so Wade rode her

the desert is greening up after we finally got enough rain

this pasture was also heavily used by the cattle

so it's interesting to me

to see how it grows back

a nice picture of Mercy and Smoke

that horse is a saint

because she trot, trot, trotted him

all over the place today

not to mention crossed every wash

she could find

and he just went right along with whatever

Honey with her pouty face

she wasn't terribly happy to have to "work"

and she was still learning how to navigate washes

with a rider on board

so today was super good for her

right after this picture was taken

she spooked a bit at a Rhino that came down

a nearby road

and there was later an episode where

a dog got under her

and she jumped around

so I was right in not letting Mercy ride her

but Honey did good all things considered

riding a fence line to a dirt water tank

these are some neat washes that feed into it

they're great fun to ride through

Mercy whooped it up the whole time

exclaiming "this is the BEST day!"

that always makes a parent feel good

this country reminds me of the movie

Young Guns

desolate

we stopped at the corrals to play in the water

9 dogs with us were happy to see water

I left the little dogs and fat YoYo at home

but I let Shady and Samba

my old girls come with

and I knew better

but they were so happy...

once we got home

they were so stiff

we had to make a sling to get Shady up

and into the house

I gave her pain meds

and she hasn't moved since

next time the old girls have to stay home

here's a perfectly blurry picture

every time I ride out in the desert

I find something I've never seen before

and wonder how I missed it

like this arrow pointing the way home

Wrapping up the end of the year

2011-12-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

whew doggies!

it's been a long year

I saw Dom did a great review of her year

I wish I could do that

but it would require me sitting still

for more than 5 minutes

the last 3 days

that's how it's been

Wade and I sat down briefly yesterday

and less than 30 seconds later

Mercy opens the front door and screams

"Bo has a leg over the fence!"

Wade went flying out the door

we'd let Bo

(our Bo, our Xmas guest horse Bo has gone home)

out to play

but his playing is out of control

he wasn't hurt

but no more unsupervised playtime

it's just been like that

I came home from somewhere

Wade was trimming horses here

and I noticed Shady the dog

pawing her mouth

blood everywhere

so I got hold of her cranky self

and finally pried her mouth open

her growling the whole time

to fish out the hoof trimming stuck

to the roof of her mouth

that's about how it goes

I'm working on an Etsy store

which would have been nice to have up

oh... 4 months ago

I'm working on it...

meanwhile

I want to write on my book

Grandma says

"You have to write something every day,

even if it's just 5 minutes"

that's nice and all

but some days I don't get 5 minutes to myself

WHEN DOES SCHOOL START BACK UP?!!!

***********

so the question is

how did Mercy like her english saddle?

I will show you

first off

we stayed up super late

we went shopping Christmas Eve

all of us

and had stuff to wrap

plus cleaning the saddle

and I forgot to wash the pad

so I was doing that at midnight

Christmas Eve

we buried the saddle under presents

and went to bed for a few hours

I was prepared to hop up and feed first

Mercy got up too and helped

then we commenced to opening presents

she was very good that she didn't say a word

that it looked like there was no saddle under the tree

she opened up her presents

this one being a beautiful bracelet from friends

that I had to steal from her already

a big book of horses

then I directed her to the corner presents

so she would uncover the saddle

and she went berserk

she was SO happy

nothing else matters except when can we go riding

I told her after the horses finished eating

telling Smoke he's going to go english today

as soon as he's done eating

Bob wants to know what english is

off she goes!

I think the stirrups need to go up maybe one more notch

but she just loved it

Honey got to wear it too

I had those stirrups up

but they kept coming down

so I just left them to flop

Honey doesn't care

here I was sitting

but it didn't last for long

Dan took a moment to hug my leg

Thelma and Dan

as close as they can get to me

Wade says hold this horse

while he goes to get something

Hi Honey

I like this pic

learning the ropes

I had Wade keep them on the line

since it's new to both of them

such good girls

around and around and around

meanwhile Bo was on supervised playtime

but he was out back while I was out front

I heard banging

so I came around the house to find this

Bo teasing everyone else

as usual

shortly after this I went inside

and Wade came in saying

"Bo's standing at the back door looking at me"

I said

"That's cause he wants his carrot, duh"

the horse has me trained

so he got his carrot

and I came out to say

"Teach him a trick for that carrot"

my goal in the next year

is to have more FUN with the animals

and teach some fun tricks

it didn't take long

and now

Bo can bow

************

lots to come in the new year

I'm going to revamp this website

so stay tuned for it

bigger, better,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Merry Christmas to all!

2011-12-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas countdown

3 days to go

including today

last year I started shopping in August

and was all done by Dec 15th

this year I've left shopping till the very last minute

at least I got cards done in proper time

we decided we'd get Mercy one "big" gift

and then the usual clothes and stuff she needs

the big gift this year being an english saddle

yes I'm kicking myself for selling the Stubben last year

so this saddle I've been shopping for

for a few months

Ebay

online stores

local stores

and Craigslist

I'd finally decided on a new looking one

in a local store

it wasn't great quality

but it looked brand new

for $225 we figured it was doable

but a little more than we wanted to spend

not knowing how much she'll ride english

the night before

I was going to go get it

I saw this one on Craigslist

better quality

older

broke in but well cared for

perfect size

and came with girth, bridle and 2 bits

for $75

a MUCH better deal

I fell all over myself to get to it first

and I did

Thank the Good Lord

it did take some doing to figure out

when I could go get it

how I could hide it from Mercy

and do it when she wasn't contagious

so grandma could watch her while I snuck off

and drove 2 hrs round trip to get it

not stressful at all

no pics of it yet

because it's hidden in the tack room

and I'll have plenty of pics in the future

I'm sure

besides that

my DirectTV receiver just up and quit

and upon calling them

they told me both my receivers need replacing

they sent me new receivers

and I've managed to get one replaced so far

adding to all that

I let my propane tank get low

and I stressed that we would run out

before I could get it filled up again

they only come out one day a week in our area

so you have to plan ahead

which I obviously haven't been doing

but it all fell into place

meanwhile I've been sick

with some fantastic dizziness

it's been lovely

as I write this

people are in and out of the house

and stopping by for this and that

it's more chaos than I'm used to

and I have to take a shower

so I can take Mercy shopping this afternoon

sigh

why is Christmas so nuts?

since I haven't done anything noteworthy

or exciting this week

I noticed another blog talking about

their morning feeding ritual

and I figured I'd document some of mine

boots

2 pair of pants on

2 long sleeve shirts and a jacket

I forgot to get a pic of my holey gloves

but I meant to

the line for the door

it's been cold out

so I let them inside at night

I only have to vacuum twice a day

Samba and Ben share a kiss

Bob Barker

who every morning sits on this old broken chair

and holds his paw out for me to shake

how can anyone resist this dog?

horses thru the screen

waiting for me to hurry up and feed

ponies fed

dog rolling in the background

carting mash buckets back to the tack room

Monte waiting for me to bring him a handful of grain

the mess in the tack room

which I need to clean out

after Christmas

and mash started for evening

Monte still wanting that grain

alfalfa hay

$16 a bale

I'm kicking myself for not buying a couple stacks

when it was $12 a bale

start filling the wheelbarrow

for my run "down the line"

we feed about 3 bales a day

where did the wheelbarrow go?

I promise you it's under there

after this I couldn't take pictures

and run the wheelbarrow too

Bo is last in line

then put the wheelbarrow away

and back to the porch

Shady waits patiently

8 on the porch

3 inside

and one in the kennel

that's the routine

every morning and night

I'm just glad I don't have to do it in the snow

Maggie here agrees

she is not a snow dog

she is a snuggle on the couch with Wade dog

if I don't get another post up before Christmas

I wish you all the biggest Merry Christmas!!

Horsey Exercises and such

2011-12-11T15:06:00.001-08:00

I've been spending much time
cleaning and tending to the quirky critters here

frankly I'm exhausted
between that and the holidays
and I'm woefully behind on Christmas shopping

anyway today we played outside with the horses

I was showing Mercy how to get a horse
to hook onto you and follow you
Monte shown above
does this very well

Mercy's horse Smoke
not quite so well
so I was showing her what she needed to do

Wade was riding Honey
but he stopped to come over and play too

each horse got a turn on the lunge line
each horse having their little quirks
but all worked out

Mercy hopped on Smoke
and they went around high headed for a bit

until we decided to stop and work on bending
Smoke actually wasn't too bad
I've worked on his flexibility a bit
since Wade's brother told me it would be best
and he's right

I don't pretend to know everything about horses
but I do know when my horses don't turn or bend
and I consider this like a stretching/yoga exercise for them

Wade is a big showoff on Honey

she works off the lightest tough
and just goes right along with whatever

meanwhile Monte could bend to the left
but this is as far as he'd go to the right

mmmmm...

off went Mercy to walk/trot poor Smoke to pieces

still high headed
but you'll see that change

and here we are
braced

not gonna give to the right

but we're great to the left

Wade says hi

so I'm thinking about barrel racers
and that Martha horse
who can bend around a barrel
better than any horse out there

and I get this idea...

let's circle the barrel
at a walk
tight enough to keep my stirrup on it

this was a good idea

harder than it looks

Wade came over and did it on Honey
and proclaimed it a good little exercise

lo and behold
by the time we were done riding
Monte could flex his neck around again

I'd do this barrel thing for a bit
then go off and ride around
then come back

meanwhile...
look who's head came down

Smoke starting to get a little tired of the walk/trot

Honey standing by

Wade was tired of using his legs to get her going
he ends up using his whole body with her
because honestly she is a lazy, LAZY horse

she goes along
but she's pokey about everything

Mercy and I do "jumps"

Wade and I also did this side by side
but there are no pictures of that

Smoke is tired now

you can tell because all the pics look like this

that child can wear out every horse here
I swear

so she begged to ride Honey
and since Honey seemed ok to go
we let her

using the railroad ties as a step up

she stayed on lead until she proved herself

backing up

being ponied

finally loose and following

Mercy said she wants to make Honey
her horse too

kid better get to scooping poop is what I say

around and around they went

you just can't wear Mercy out

will Honey be her "other horse"?

only time will tell

Wordless Wed - Beached

2011-12-07T09:14:00.001-08:00

Quirky critters and a lost dog

2011-12-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

I took Mercy to school this morning
and stopped at the PO to get the mail
then realized I didn't have the key
it's in the other truck of course

so I had to wait 9 minutes for the PO to open
sitting out in the truck
I watch my neighbor drive in
get his mail and leave
obviously he had his key

after he left I looked up
and there's this black lab standing there

?????????

I thought
"I'm pretty sure that's not his dog"
and she was looking around
like she lost her ride or something

now this PO is right next to a busy hwy
so I got out and said
"Hey Mama"
and she came right over
happy as can be
wearing a collar with 2 rabies tags

I let her in the PO
and 2 ladies were working
I announced I'd let a dog in...

they jumped up
and gave her pats
got her a cup of water
while I took my phone out
and speed dialed the vet
cause ya know I've got vets on speed dial

got my friend Ali on the line
who was more than happy to run the tag #
even though it was a 2008 tag
she was able to give me a name and phone #
in all of 10 seconds

she said
"You have Gracie SoandSo"

soon as I said her name
that dog wiggled all over
so happy that I KNEW her

hung up with Ali and called the owner
who answered promptly
I said
"Umm, your dog, Gracie? She's at the PO"

I hadn't given thought as to what to say
so I'm sure I sounded like an idiot

he said
"Oh good!! We were just out looking for her.
We'll be right down there. Thank you ma'am"

the PO ladies listened in
said they'd watch her until he got there
and I was off on my way again
I even remembered to get my mail

if only it was that easy every time...

*************

yesterday was a nice day
although a storm was rolling in
I turned a few animals out
to soak up the sunshine while we had it

I notice the odd things they do
and I finally caught this one with my camera

I let Jack the old donkey out
he's got a bad leg (tendon damage)
and he's nearly blind nowadays
but he still likes to get out and wander the yard

back in the day
he has been known to be
super obnoxious
kicking and biting other animals
so I'm careful when he's out
he's also not gelded

but lately
he seems to be settling down
and not acting up so much

so one day he was out
and so were the old mares

I watched this closely to ensure
there would be no problems

well oddly enough
Jack isn't the problem
Olga is

do ignore that I hadn't cleaned pens yet

it's not so much a problem
as it is a nuisance

she follows him
constantly

what the deal is
I don't know
but she loves to just be near him

Jack does not care for this
AT ALL

"I'm trying to sunbathe here!"

she never touches him

she's just there

it drives poor Jack bananas

he pins ears
shakes his head
throws a half hearted kick at her once in a while

and still she shadows him

poor Jack

finally I poked my head out the door
and said
"Olga, what are you doing?"

that's the look of innocence

I said
"Olga, you have to leave him alone"

so she does this

"Olga!"

and she does this

Fine. Whatever.
I give up.
Just quit being a pest.

How many pictures does it take? Christmas madness

2011-11-30T15:43:00.000-08:00

since y'all wanted to see the out takes
here they are

it took about 17 tries to get the photo on the header

first we start with Grandma and a couple dogs
while I line up the shot from the tripod on a barrel

no I have no idea what Shady the dog is doing
but she does that
she presses her head against anyone who will let her

if you notice
she's doing it in the header pic too

I asked my vet about this
and he finally witnessed it
and said
"What's wrong with that dog?"

???????

the question is
what's wrong with everyone who lives here?

putting the only Santa hat we could find on Mercy
where did all my Santa and Elf hats GO?!

what's not shown
is while lining up horses
that short little sorrel 3rd from the left?
that's Bo
who has an abundance of hormones

he couldn't be next to Kat on the end
they started squealing and being silly right off

aware of what might happen
and how THAT picture would look
I stuck him in between the two geldings
Monte and Quinn
who he enjoys tormenting over the fence

I wish you could have seen his
"Oh sh*t" look
when I parked him there

lucky for him my boys didn't take the opportunity
to pay him back for all the times he's started trouble with them

adjusting..
almost ready

Ok, everybody SIT!
Thelma? What are you doing?
Sit over here!

I didn't make the timer
couldn't get past Thelma sitting where I told her to

too many dog butts in the air
I said SIT
and face the camera

I haven't taught them that part

dog in Grandma's lap

almost
except for Ben's big brown butt in front
and half the dogs on the right

Samba? What are you doing?!

close
but Kat the horse has her head down
and I'm too far forward

dog in my lap

I need to sit back

in hindsight Grandma and Mercy should
have been in the middle

or maybe next year I'll get smart
and fly a professional like
Crazy M Ranch out

again
I'm too forward
but the dogs are starting to give up
and just lay down

so close
except for YoYo the fat dog
looks like she's sniffing Maggie's crotch

cropped and lightened way up
this one was a finalist
but I look huge
and Quinn has his head down

next year I'll find all the halters for everyone
ahead of time
that's why every equine isn't in it

and I'll buy some real Santa hats

or maybe I'll just build a ramp
and line them up on the roof

put a dog on every horse....

who knows?

A dog's life

2011-11-30T14:53:00.000-08:00

yesterday I was at the ranch
looking for a particular sick cow

I took my oldest dog, Samba
along with Dan and Nee Nee

once I got out in the pasture
I let the dogs ride in the back of the truck

you'd think Christmas was here already

what is it with dogs and the back of the truck?

I used to let them ride that way all the time
but I think it's illegal in Arizona
because dummies put their dogs in there
when it's 110 out
and burn their feet

I don't do that
and I don't drive fast
but I can't help but let them ride
when we're on the dirt roads
cause they are SO happy about it

now that it's winter
we go to the bus stop every day

it's a big adventure you know

ps
I didn't find my cow
which made me cry
and I'm still upset about it

Christmas photo time

2011-11-27T13:38:00.000-08:00

this is the only one I'll show for now

7 horses, 12 dogs, 4 people

the horses were the best behaved
you put them somewhere
and they stay

unlike the dogs...

A nice Arizona Saturday

2011-11-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was nice
it was just the 4 of us
but we still bust out the silver
set a nice table
and pretend to be civilized

we nearly went to the ranch in Benson
but I've made an effort to cut stress out of my life
and I thought the trip would just be too much
taking dogs, horses, etc
plus I had to fill in at the vet's yesterday

I have to say
I love filling in
because they are all SO funny there
and I love all the animals
and weird things I see

we're also taking time
to do projects and fix the
wave of flat tires we've had

seriously
if I'd known the amount of tires to be fixed
in my life
I would have invested in one of those tire machines
so I could fix my own flats

*************

today Wade took Mercy on the quad
along with 7 dogs
for a morning cruise in the desert

I've learned to keep the old, fat and little dogs at home
so I don't have to give out pain meds
when they come back stiff and limping

but for the young dogs
it's the best thing in life
nothing better than running with the pack
and swimming in mucky cow ponds

when they came back
I could hear Mercy screaming with laughter
and the dogs were lagging way behind

I got quiet time while they were gone
it was lovely

Mercy did stuff all day long
including riding Blue

with her little dog watching

I did explain to her

that this is what got Mommy bucked off and hurt
but Blue didn't seem to care one bit
and I'm not worried about Pancho hopping up
on any horses by himself
so I let them go ahead

plus she's wearing a helmet
and on that nice sand base that we didn't have
back then

he's pretty much resigned to whatever

so long as there's a carrot at the end

look at his poor face when the carrot is gone
there's the big bottom lip out

all the ponies got turned out
while I poured more cobblestones
which I'm not taking any more pics of
until I have a big section done
but I'm getting there

then ponies got put away
and we swapped the horses in the big pen
out into the yard

Nina, Honey and Smoke go wandering

the junk to the right is blocking my
freshly poured cobblestones
from paw and hoof prints

Bo got turned out in their big pen

sometimes I like to just swap them around for a day
cause the same ol' same ol' is BORING for horses

he went ripping around
showing off

Mercy just loved it
if you can't tell from the video

it was a nice day spent outside with the critters
we fed lots of treats
gave lots of love
and just puttered around

Arizona is so nice in the winter....

Happy Thanksgiving and goodbye to a good dog

2011-11-24T07:38:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all

my 23 lbs turkey is in the oven
and I'm super excited to eat

I'm thankful for everything
family, friends, freedom
and every one of you reading this

it's a happy day here in Arizona
and I hope it's the same for all of you

************

I ran to the country store this morning
picked up the newspaper
and read that an old friend had passed away

around here
a good dog gets an obituary
that's how it is and I wouldn't have it any other way

It reads : Peso Dollar, age 8 years and 10 months, died in Wickenburg on Nov. 15.
Born in Eagle River, Alaska, on Jan. 1, 2003, Peso arrived in Wickenburg on Feb. 9, 2003, was "found" by Lou and Suzi Disser on Feb. 10 and the rest is history. His mother was Kodi Kodiak and his father was Stachia Stash.
Following his growing up and completing the obedience training classes, Peso qualified for membership as a Therapy Dog with Therapy Dog International.
At age 4 Peso Dollar was adopted by the United States Marshal's Posse as it's official mascot. He then led this unit in parades throughout Arizona - including the annual Gold Rush Days parade in Wickenburg.
Peso loved to travel and was the "co-pilot" in trips across the United States. Before his 1st birthday he swam in four of the five Great Lakes. He loved horses as well as people. A few years ago Peso found a girlfriend, her name is Missy and she lives down the road.
Peso was officially approved by the Board of Trustees of Wickenburg Elks Lodge 2160 as a member of said Lodge in 2008.
There will be a "Celebration of Life" ceremony at the Lodge on Nov. 29th at 1 pm.
Adios Amigo.

below
my own photo of Peso at a local event
sporting his Marshal's Badge that he wore so proudly

an exceptional dog who will be greatly missed

**************

be thankful today
for every. single. thing.

hug your critters!