Friday

I wish I knew how to add the pictures and write about each one instead of them all loading in a row.

Here it is Friday already. Bob is away all weekend at a Search and Rescue weekend training. The bottom picture is what he accomplished with Rusty before he had to leave this afternoon. She did not mind it at all. Looked a little surprised at first but it was really no big deal. I have been messing with her mouth and that is no big deal either. I wish I knew about teeth and age of a horse. She is cutting teeth just a little behind the ones she had. Mares don't get wolf teeth do they. I think I heard that. I need to google it and see if I can figure it out. The bars of her mouth are much longer than our older horses. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The second picture is Tyler resting (dozing). He is not the most ambitious 20 year old I have been around. It was sunny and warmer today and I did not blame him for catching a few winks while Grandpa was working the horse. He is good young man and Grandpa works him pretty hard most of the time.

The last picture is what Tyler was doing before he rested. My raspberries that I have asked for for several years. The people where the cows have been on pasture gave him a bucket full. I must remember to water them tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our Mustang Club sponsored ride. Ride any kind of a horse you have. We just are putting it on. Bring your lunch, a snack or whatever and come ride in Riverside State Park. Its free, just to have fun before the weather gets too bad. We will live the Trail Town Trail head at 11:00 AM. I wanted to get a trail map but that didn't happen. We will have a great day. Dress warm. See you there.

A new me

My shoulder length hair went away today. It was giving me some bad headaches. I pulled it back in a clip most of the time and I woke up with a headache. This will be easier to take care of. I am not too talented with hair. My hair is so terribly thick and heavy that growing it long just does not work. So anyway, this is the new me.

Dixie and I went for a little trail ride by ourselves this afternoon. She did not like going by herself at all. She kept stopping but went when I touched her sides with my heel. Didn't have to kick at all, just touch her. However coming home was a little more challenging. She wanted to hurry but I wanted to walk quietly. The quietly did not happen but we walked. She did not jig, just walked but she didn't want to. She can toss her head pretty good. When I was ready to cross the road to our driveway a car was coming so she had to stand for a minute and she pawed the ground and did the mustang snort but she did what I asked, just did not like it.

I put a different saddle pad on because it was on the top and we were only going to be gone a little while. I put my hand in under the gullet of the saddle to check it for some reason and found that saddle pad will not work. It is a cut back pad and the saddle was sitting on her withers. I felt bad. Her regular pad is thicker and the front six inches are built up. I will have to be really aware of that. She has high withers and has not put all her weight back since her teeth were done.

And I tried to 45 minutes to catch her. Tyler had to help me catch her. She is in a stall tonight. I was really mad at her. She has always been good with me. Not today. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I made a big pot of potato soup for supper tonight. It just felt like it. Its my favorite food I think.

Wednesday

This hangs on the corner of my house. At the start of the deck. I got it for Bob for Christmas a few years ago. The grand kids have fun ringing it.

A day of not accomplishing much. It was a very nice day and I should have gotten outside. Tyler and I drove over to the Riverside State Park ranger office late this AM to get a trail map. And, they were not there. There were other people that drove up and were as surprised as we were when no one was there. I wanted a map so we don't get lost Saturday. I don't think I will but then Bob didn't either one day he was riding there alone and ended up at Rivermere when the truck and trailer were on Old Trails Rd. I just wanted to be sure.

Then I brought Tyler home and I went to the Safeway in Cheney and got my flue shot. Last year I fiddled around until it was too late. I did not get sick over the winter but was worried. I have not been sick bad since I started getting the flue shot each year. With my tendency to get pneumonia even with the pneumonia shot that I will do what I need to to stay well.

Bob went up to Fruitland today to get our three steers that have been up there running with their mothers. They look great. The guy bought the cows a few months ago. The market is so low I think we will feed them this winter and sell them for meat. Have people asking us all the time for meat. We don't feed any commercial grain. We buy our grain right from the mill in Davenport. No additives at all.

No much with the horses today. Katie came and rode Abby. She is doing so well with her. She has been working with Abby on respect and cues. She even trotted her today without me having a lunge line on her. I was proud of her.

A Tuesday in the life of.........

Nothing to do with horses but we got a new back door today. I took the picture before the trim got put up. Our oldest son Steve came and did it for us. Bob is not a carpenter and does not have the patience. He always gets mad in the middle. So, Steven came and did it for us. I look at him and its hard to remember as my round little brown eyed baby boy. He is now 49. He broke his leg really bad on Fathers Day cutting wood. He still is having a hard time walking.

I worked with Rusty today for a while and groomed her. I brushed her all over, clear down her legs to her hooves and I used a mane/tail brush and brushed her mane free of snarls and then I brushed her tail. She stood there and let me. I was so proud of her. Her tail touches the ground. I got all the tangles out of it. The only part of her she objected to all all was brushing out that long forelock. Did not get it done as thoroughly as her mane and tail but did get it brushed some. She did not like that purple brush coming at her back. I kind of brushed it all to one side. When she let me do it once without trying to leave, I quit. I was pleased with our progress. She still does not like me but is tolerating me better.

Later Bob went down and she gave him both front feet and he used a hoof pick on them. Cleaned them out good. He will work on getting the back feet now. I did the hard work first. LOL. She was so glad it wasn't me she would have let him do most anything.

Monday, Monday

I got a big laugh today when Katie brought Abby up to the front door show me something and Skeeter darted out and was going to protect me. He is a small poodle who is a clown and loves me a lot. Abby was really quite bored with the entire episode while Katie and I had a good laugh.

I had the scare of the year today. I did it to myself but it was still hard and made my legs shake. Praise God for honest people. I went to the Walmart in Airway Heights to pick up a few groceries this afternoon. I was worrying about some things and not really thinking. I got the groceries, paid for them and went to the car. Put the groceries in the car came home listening to an old CD of Emmy Lou Harris. When I went to get out of the car my wallet was not there. I had not taken my purse, just my wallet. My insides went into a rumble and I headed back to Walmart. I was sick at heart. All my credit cards, medical cards, all the stuff one carries. I went straight to where the cart had been left and they had taken them inside. With lead filled feet I went to customer service and asked. The manager came to the place I was and asked me to write my name out and anything else that may be of use. She smiled at me and took me over and got it out of a locked drawer. All my change, the 10.00 bill and everything else was just as I had left it. She was not sure who had turned it in but I am so grateful they did and my guardian angel was watching over me and mine even though I was careless and did not pay attention when I put the groceries inside the car.

So that is my story of the day. This was house day. I did my walk this morning. Am up to 2 miles in a little less than 2 hrs. It wasn't so cold and it was a fun morning to walk.

Our 51st. Anniversary

When I think how young I was and now naive I was really about like 51 years ago when Bob and I were married in a large wedding. Many of those folks who are still with us were at our large 50Th. anniversary party a year ago. Now we are still going strong.

Today after church we went up to Greenbluff which is the apple center of this part of the state. It is Harvest Festival month. We went and looked at some very large pumpkin patches, laughed at the kids, saw some of the most beautiful produce. Picked up some large wooden crates under a free sign. Don't know what we will do with them but I will think of something. Then we went and looked at the new church building that our church is building. And went to dinner at the casino that is close to us. It was disconcerting that they are raising their prices tomorrow 2.00 a person. It was good.

Came home and lay down for a while and went out and cleaned a couple of stalls. They have not been used much of the summer but wanted them fresh cleaned and bedded. Next week Dixie and Ditto will come in for the night and get special feed. Dixie needs some additional weight and Ditto is old. When it starts to get really cold day and night, she has a winter blanket she wears.

Bob worked with Rusty for a while. Mostly on her off side. She thinks that is untouchable. He can touch her pretty well and she will lift her foot at the command "foot" but wont let him touch it. She will stand with it lifted for several seconds. Its kind of funny. Just time and patience.

This evening earlier we went to visit our friends Terri and Kurt Carstens who live in Reardan. We had a nice visit and we will be getting Target back in the spring to tune her up and maybe Blondie to start. Bob is a little leery but maybe by spring he will be over it. It was good to see them. Their children were have a wiener roast outside. Brrrrrrrrr. We declined and came home.

A good day, very pretty but cold.

A busy Saturday

This morning I drove to Ellensburg to the WSH Board meeting. I had been talking about mustangs for a long time but it took someone with a larger mouth and who everyone knows to get it going. As of January 1, 2009, there is a Mustang division in Washington State Horsemen.
All the details need to be worked out but the initial OK has been given. Now we need to find sponsors for year end awards. It will be a good thing for those who have mustangs and want to show their horses. The opportunities to show are pretty endless - Dressage, Western/English which includes reining, western riding, ranch horse classes - Gaming = Competitive Trail and Trails and Pleasure. All with year end awards that range from trophies to saddles. How fun is that. If you want more information, please get in touch with me. I would love to tell you all about the organization. As far as I am concerned, its vital, not just for the awards but we do have a legislative person who represents the horse industry with all the ups and downs that seem to plague us.

So now I have preached my little "sermon" today. I just feel passionately about the organization.