Just Keep Moving

It's hard to stay home when it's this nice out.  We've been doing some exploring.  I sure love where we live!  You can drive for hours out in the mountains and not see many people at all, especially on a weekday.  

Do you see the little fish here?  And of course you can see the pretty garnet sand.  This is near the Emerald Creek Garnet Area, where you can use the sluice to find your own garnets.

I got bored one evening and figured I had three saddles and three horses, so why not?

Standing patiently.  Bella is on a diet again:

Duncan on a lazy woman's high line (tree branch):

Scout really wishes he could eat that grass:

They all stood quietly for at least an hour while I did some chores inside.

I just thought this was cute.  Tight knit.  Duncan is there too:

We found this cute/creepy miner's cabin on our last trip.  I think I know the guy who owns this claim.

Collapsed.  If you look closely on this side of the bright spot you can see the tiny railroad type tracks that carried the mine car across the trail to the creek.  I wonder if they found much gold.

I'm not sure, but I think they're telling us to jump off the mountain:

Lots and lots of lupines:

Bald Mountain Lookout.  You can rent it for the night but you have to bring your own bedding and supplies.  I think it's a bit steep at $45 a night. 

A couple weeks before my car got totaled we bought my parents' old Prius.  It gets around almost as well as the Echo did on the back roads, but the ground clearance is a little lower.  We had a group of 4-wheelers telling us we shouldn't continue on these roads in our tiny car, but we did fine.  We hiked the last bit to the overlook but maybe we could have driven it.  Maybe...

We had intended to have the Prius for John to drive, and of course the Echo for me to drive, keeping gas costs low and leaving the truck only for hauling, to keep it young.  After the accident we weren't able to replace the Echo with the tiny settlement, and now the truck keeps having little issues.  Glad they're little.

I got a SCREAMING deal on this saddle.  It was supposed to be for Scout but it fits Duncan like a glove. It's nothing fancy but it's decent quality, has been really well cared for, it's not super heavy, and it's comfortable to ride.  Not that I'm riding Duncan.  I took it on a trail ride with Scout and it was a great fit for me but not for him.

My great big custom saddle that does fit Scout is hurting me since the accident, so I'm on the search for a saddle again. Not complaining, I love saddle shopping.  I'm going to sell the barrel saddle I bought for Duncan now that I have the saddle pictured above, and try to find a wide treed saddle with a narrow twist to ride Scout in.  Until then I'll keep riding even if it hurts. :) I just have to get down and walk sometimes, which is probably better for me anyway.  And that's what I'm off to do right now. Happy Trails!

I dont know why

Pedro has gone away from us.

He fell down trying to get up on Wednesday, and then he seemed pretty okay, but in retrospect I don't think he was laying down at all. On Friday he lay down and couldn't get up anymore. He beat himself up trying. I gave him some oral sedation and fed him gobs of treats until the end.

I can't tell you how much I loved him. He was one of the special ones. It's going to take a while for this to sink in. I can't believe I'll never kiss his nose again.

The day of the donkey is done. But, as they say, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. I'm sad, but I'm also happy to have had a great time and an even greater love with him. It was something else. What a guy.

Another lovely ride

Yesterday's ride was very peaceful. John walked Duncan and I rode Scout. We went on the Old Samson Trail, which used to stretch at least from Canada to Boise, but now is just a short stretch. It's a nice trail, wide enough that you don't have to worry about getting caught in a tight spot, light and airy, not too closed in. Scout finds the cedar forests a little creepy, but not too bad. There was a definite animal stink a couple times, but we didn't see anything.

I might have to share John's horse with him from here on out. He's been hiking to get ready to climb Mt. Adams, but the climb is almost here, so I'm sure he'll want to ride soon.

Duncan is so steady on the trail, it's amazing. All he needs to do is learn how to be ridden. Sounds simple enough. :)

I had to deal with insurance issues yesterday too. Now it looks like maybe the guy who hit me did have insurance. I have to make some more calls if I can find time today. I had to cancel any future physical therapy appointments because I hit my limit through my car insurance. My health insurance will cover it, but with a pretty steep copay.

Meanwhile, my neck is still killing me and my headache is pretty constant. Ah well, life does go on.

Riding again!

We had a great ride the other day. Scout was a rock star. And I think he enjoyed it as much as I did.

We're going out again today, without the guys on bikes. I'm so glad I can start doing this regularly again.

Meanwhile poor Duncan is begging for attention. I wish I could send him to a trainer while I enjoy the riding season. But I spent most of my training money on hay, and now will have to spend more on the farrier. Would be nice if I got some cash from insurance to cover all the stuff I can't do because of the accident.

Turns out the other guy didn't have insurance. He handed the cops his brother's insurance card at the time of the accident. So I now have to figure out where to go from here. This morning will be dedicated to phone calls. This stuff has taken up too much of my time.

Oh well, it is what it is. At least I can enjoy riding!

We had a pretty hot spell here, and my hay guy got the timing just right, so now we have all of our hay for the year!

Last little load

But that means the horses have been on the back burner. Especially Duncan.

I did take Scout out for a short ride in a thunderstorm on my birthday. We got really wet, chased a cow, and went home.

Scout is a super cool color when he's soaked.

Today we're going on a big family ride with 2 other horses and a bunch of motorcycles or 4 wheelers. I'm already hurting so I think this might be stupid but I'll take a pain pill with me.

Oh, and my dang dogs got in a rip-roaring fight again. This time Winston was even in on it. I wasn't here. Apparently Winston held on to Blue while Huckleberry kicked his butt. Huck has some slobber and blood on him too, so it wasn't as one sided as I was told. Blue has a hole through his skin on his inner thigh, but I think it'll heal fine. His scruff area is super bruised too. Maybe he'll stop acting like cock of the walk now, and they'll all just get along. That's probably wishful thinking.

Alright, well, wish me luck! I need to suppress my inner humbug and embrace the ride! I'm sure it'll be fun.

Not Well

Scout and I went on our first trail ride of the year on Monday. It was kind of crazy, not at all relaxing, and very short. Scout was a good boy, and it was nice to be riding again. Someone I didn't know joined us and her horse wasn't prepared for what we were doing. Nobody got hurt but we did cut it short. I felt bad for the lady. And her horse. 

That's my boss lady the equine dentist ahead. She's got a new mustang! He's a super cool guy.

So before all that, and before I got a migraine last Thursday, I though I was on the mend from my concussion. But now I have an almost constant headache, am dizzy most of the time, and my neck hurts a lot of the time too. I'm tired of it.

We're getting 9 tons of hay this weekend. That's a month earlier than usual. And I can't help other than doing the driving. :/ 

I guess I just have to be patient. And do my physical therapy. That I can do. The patience - now that's a lot harder.