All Together!

Yesterday I had a lot of fun with my beasties, and I took way too many pictures.

First I put Scout and Pedro together to play, then I thought, "What the heck," and put Joseph in with them.

Joseph says, "What kind of ugly horse ARE you?"  Pedro would prefer if Joseph keep his unkind thoughts to himself.

Then Bob was feeling really left out, so I went and got him.  The lead rope slipped off my arm as I was closing the gate and he thought he had really gotten away with something as he hurried off to join his buddy.

A gaggle of goofs:

Bob could use a date with the clippers.  I think he's got some Poitou in his background.

After that I figured there's no time like the present, so I let Bella in too.  I had been concerned about how she'd treat the donkeys because she really didn't like my sister's mules.  Turns out it's no big deal.

 My first photo ever of everyone together.

I often feel bad for Pedro when Bob latches on to his neck and won't let go.  But then Pedro gets all annoying and does stuff like this and I figure he's asking for it.

 

They formed 3 distinct groups.  Bella and Joseph, Bob and Pedro, and Scout.  Scout was kind of a peripheral member of the jackass group.  He figures they're his buddies, but he grazed alone a lot too.

 Beautiful, Wonderful Bella honored me by leaving Joseph and making me part of the Bella and Andrea group for a while:

Later on Scout discovered the trough in this pasture was dry.  He's a dork.

 So I hosed him down really well, gave him a drink, and tied him up for a couple hours to dry.

 Blue thinks life is just dandy, all the time.

 

Joseph and Bob made friends really quickly!  Bella was extremely jealous.  She'd try to get Joseph's attention and when that wouldn't work she'd run in between them, squealing and fake-kicking.  They'd calmly walk a few feet away and start grooming each other again.

I caught Scout being handsome instead of dorky for once.

In the evening we went on a short ride on Gold Hill, through some old mines.  Here's a tumbledown old shack we found.  Just after this Scout got stung by a bee.  The bees in the forest are BAD right now.  He was fine though, and he didn't buck or have a fit, just shook his head a lot.

I have even more pictures, but they're not horse related and I'll save them for later.

Taking it Slow

I don't get much time off this week, and I've been feeling pretty sick, so I've been moving real slow and trying not to do too much.

This morning Scout and Pedro got some play time together again.

This afternoon I let Joseph check out a fly sheet while I fixed a few insulators on the fence.

Then he had to wear the killer fly sheet.  It scared him.  I figure it's a good desensitization exercise, since it kind of hugs him all over and he can't get away from it.  Unfortunately it's too small for him to wear for long.

Bella has big beautiful eyes.

Scout wanted a bite of the sheet.  Joseph didn't put up with that for long.

I took off Joseph's sheet and decided to have a lie down in the pasture.   Scout thought maybe I had treats in my pocket.

Then he finally took a bite of the fly sheet and just about turned me upside down.  Butthead.

The only thing this photo is lacking is a unicorn in the light on the right.  :)

Crazy-cool spiderweb.

Oh!  I also made huckleberry jam today.  Yum!  I want to pick lots of berries and make lots of preserves to give out for gifts.  Might even try adding ginger or jalapeno to some.  Not to the huckleberry though. :)

 

This is one of my favorite photos.  Moving on toward fall at Kamiak Butte.

Just looking for something to blog about.  Don't have much nice to say so thought I'd share a picture instead.  :)

I am dog tired

Gonna go crawl in a hole and sleep until I have to get up again.

What happened in your life today that made you smile?  

Boys Just Wanna Have Fun

I put Pedro and Scout in a pasture together tonight.  I've been having thoughts of ponying my Pedro, but these two have never even lived together, so I didn't know if they'd fight when I was trying to go somewhere, or what.

Scout took charge of the situation right away, which I was happy to see.  I didn't want Pedro grabbing hold of him again and scaring me.

When I went to catch them I wasn't sure, but I thought Scout positioned himself between me and Pedro.  Didn't take long and I was certain that Scout had decided Pedro was HIS donkey and he wasn't going to give him up. 

There was a lot of fancy-pants running around, back and forth, with me trailing.  I got my exercise.  But so did they, and that's good for all of us.  (By the way, I think Scout is looking more fit after all of our riding lately.)

In the end they were both caught (Scout first, surprisingly) and we went for a walk to the barn.  I didn't know if they'd get along at close quarters, but they did fine.  Pedro got ahead of Scout at one point and that made him (Pedro) feel unsafe, but if I kept him slightly behind he was great, and didn't try to bite.

 I've been down in the dumps, tired, and cranky for a couple days but I fell much better now.  These guys make me happy!

 

We went on another family hiking/biking/riding trip yesterday.  It was a new trail and I have to say after the first mile or so it wasn't anything worth writing about.  I probably feel a little disappointed in it mostly because it was too hot.  There are other trails out there that we could still explore.

 

Scout and I were tired but we went out again today.  

The morning didn't start out real well.  I heard my brother-in-law's truck was totaled but he and my nephew were fine, so I was worrying about what exactly happened there, and whether I should really be heading home instead of going riding, but my friend was already there so I was kind of committed.

THEN I heard a hissing noise as I was getting Scout groomed by the trailer.  There was a half-inch tear in the trailer tire, so I had to change that before we could ride (it would be too darn hot later). 

Then halfway through our ride I realized we'd lost an EasyBoot, and we couldn't go back very far looking for it, so we'll have to go out again soon.  I couldn't go this evening.  Normally I don't bother with boots, but the ride yesterday was rocky and Scout seemed ouchy.  I didn't know what we were going to run into today so I wanted to be careful and protect his little feet.  Turns out I didn't really need them.  And the one that flew off wouldn't have come off if the gaiter hadn't been torn by some naughty horse and then not replaced.  I tried to secure it with Vetrap and obviously that didn't work.

Blue got to come this time.  He's a good dog.

I lost my boot somewhere before this point in the ride - took this pic to mark the location on my phone's EveryTrail app.  So hopefully one day after work this week I'll be able to find it.  If it didn't fly off into the brush.

 

Oh, but I'm without a trailer because that tire couldn't be fixed and I can't get a new one right away.  So I'll either go pick up my sister and her horse and trailer (she's without a truck right now because of the accident) or we'll just go hike it.  

Everyone seems to be okay after the accident, although I think there will be some serious soreness tomorrow.  Also, they were not at fault and insurance will cover the totaled pickup.  Thank goodness nothing went seriously wrong today - just a lot of miniature disasters and minor catastrophes, and a lot of stress.  Although I still really wish they hadn't had that accident today.  Too scary.

Death, Neglect, Trailspotting, Huckleberries and Magic

Work today was rough.  We started early with a couple emergencies.  The first was like a scene from ER - quick and bloody and desperate.  She didn't make it and it was devastating.  This woman has lost two of her dogs in the last two days in completely unrelated circumstances. 

I had plenty occasion later to think on the unfairness of it all.  She loved those dogs so much.  And some people who shouldn't even own a pet rock somehow skate by with a few minor bumps in the road. 

After work I went for a drive.  I was upset and needed some time to unwind and think it out.  I went out a forest road and looked for trailheads.  And came to terms with the fact that it's just not fair because it just isn't, and that's all.

We went up a different mountain after that, searching for huckleberries.  I think we were a bit late.  There weren't a lot of berries in our favorite picking spot.

 On our way back we found absolutely the most magical place!  A stream running down the mountain with moss and ferns and millions of tiny waterfalls and beautiful rocks.  I can't even begin to describe it, but it was magical, and refreshing, and wonderful.  It was too dark for pictures, but you can be sure I'll be going back!

Housekeeping

Today I trimmed Bob's hinds, Scout (all 4) and Joseph's fronts.  Then I caught Bella to put fly spray on her.  She didn't appreciate it as much as she should have, considering how she was plagued by horseflies.

The rest of the morning was dedicated to helping my son clean his room.  He hasn't cleaned it all summer.  Oh, the things I've seen...  I did find one of my missing spoons though!

Laundry is never-ending and takes a while since we're mostly hanging stuff out on the line to dry.  No sense using propane, and I love the smell of sun-dried laundry.  I also enjoy hanging it out unless I'm in a hurry.  Then I did some dishes.  Random fact of the day - we don't have a dishwasher.  I forget how weird that is in this day and age.  I don't miss it at all.  Never had a dishwasher that worked all that well anyway.  Wouldn't mind having one to sterilize milk pails, if I had a milk cow.  But I don't.

Went to the chiropractor - much needed. Took forever since he had a "talker" in there before me.  I could hear the guy through the door - he was seriously good at telling a story.  Couldn't tell what he was saying but his inflection and tone were pretty engaging.

Meant to go grocery shopping but that didn't work out.  At least I got milk.

Spent the rest of the afternoon feeling a little icky (allergies, I think), then did more laundry and started mowing one of the pastures.  Strangely, I was actually enjoying mowing.  Normally it's so mind-numbingly boring doing circles in such a big areas.  I'm hoping that maybe if I get the trefoil mowed down the grass will take over again.  Doubtful, but worth a try. I also have some really weedy areas I need to knock down before they go to seed.  Fun, fun, fun.  Need to remember to pick up more diesel for the tractor and some grease.

The garden is doing well. So far we've enjoyed spinach, turnip and beet greens, zucchini, and three cherry tomatoes.  I have a picture on my phone but I forgot my phone out on the tractor.  It's time to pickle the beets but I am so not ready!  Another thing I need to do tomorrow - find and wash all my jars.

So, now you see why I don't blog every day.  Pretty tedious stuff.

Anyone know of a good complete feed (for an old donkey) that isn't too concentrated?  Thinking of senior feed for Bob this winter.  Would be nice to add some "filler" so he gets more than a tiny scoop of Equine Senior.  I'm not against beet pulp but part of me wouldn't mind skipping the soaking this winter.  Soybean hulls?  Wish they sold chopped hay in bags, rather than just pellets or cubes.  He still has teeth, they just don't work very well and I don't want him to choke.

Enough of my rambling!  To bed!

Another good day

I slept in this morning, it was nice.  Then I went out to feed the donkeys and trim Bob's hooves.

Pedro was hungry.  I need to get a better picture, he is looking nice now that he's mostly shed out.

I only got two of Bob's hooves done because my sister called in the middle of it, wondering if we wanted to go riding/hiking.  I couldn't talk Katia into it but John and Liam were game.

 Here are my son and my nephew, waiting on us slow horse folk.  Tristan and his dad brought their motorized rides, John, Liam, and Sierra hiked, and Amy, Ariel and I rode.  It worked out pretty well although I think the guys on their machines ended up waiting around a lot.

Here's Scout all ready to go.

He worried a bit about being left behind today, but other than that it was a good ride.  He's beginning to neck rein.

Never can get a good pic of the forest.  Need a real camera...

 Heading down the trail

Up above, in sunnier country:

  

Liam had petered out and rode to the end on the back of the four wheeler, so it was just Sierra and John hiking to the last.

 

 Here at the end Scout was kinda tired.  I just set my reins on my saddle horn and relaxed.  Played around a bit with steering with my legs, which worked unless he was overly distracted.  Mostly he just went down the trail without any input from me, but he was also enjoying rubbing up against the brush on the sides of the trail.  I wonder if it feels good because he's hot and itchy?  I really don't think he had any ideas about brushing me off.

I think maybe I ought to stick with evening rides.  I'm so tired by the time we're done that I'm worthless for the rest of the day.  Doesn't help that I got overheated.  I don't know how the hikers did it!  I hiked one stretch - the one very steep part - and I got too hot.  But I never have done well in the heat.

Anyway, I'm off now to drink more coffee and try to be more productive.  I have more hooves to trim, darn it!

3 creeks, 2 horses, 2 dogs, and 1 parade

Today was busy but pretty darn good.  If only all days could be like this.  :)

Started off getting stuff done early so we could head to the farmer's market.  Then we went to watch my niece in a parade.  She does a good princess wave.

 Fun stunts

And an absolutely wonderful ride on an increasingly incredible trail horse.  :)

Blue got to come along because he sticks with me and doesn't chase cows.

My friend's dog Dixie looks a lot like my dogs but she's much more sedate.

At the beginning of the ride Scout was lagging behind.

A nice little snack break.

My good trail partners:

 

Now I am going to go vegetate for a while.