Cherries Planted & Some Extra

We planted the final two fruit trees today.  This one is the Black Tartarian Cherry.

   

This is the Rainier Cherry.  I really hope these cherries grow well. Rainiers are like eating candy!

That leaves just the Sugar Maple left to plant.  I'm still not 100% sure where I want to put it.  The place I have in mind (where my trail splits at the loop) means I will probably have to put a deer protection fence around it until it gets big enough.  

And so it is still in the pot (in the background of the first picture) while I try to make up my mind.  That was the extent of our outside work today because it was significantly cooler and windier.

A good day to make bread!  (This is Farmhouse White Bread from the Farmgirl Fare blog.) 

And lest you think we're all work and no play here's Star and me out having a little fun last Sunday!

As I sit here writing this the clouds have opened and it is now pouring rain.  The weather looks to be improving by the weekend so we'll be able to get back outside soon.

Pony Problems

We had been planning to go for a little drive today but when I fed this morning Flora was foaming and drooling at the mouth. My immediate thought was that she ate something noxious. She dug into her breakfast so I wasn't too concerned.

A couple hours later we were getting ready to leave and I went up to check on her. She was still drooling (but not foamy) and now her neck was slightly extended and she was holding her mouth open and her tongue was kind of hanging out. Now I was concerned!

I checked on-line and it sounded like she had something stuck in her throat, or she was choking. It sounds worse than it is. Apparently in horses it's not as serious as it would be in humans or cattle.

So I put a call in to the vet. An hour later no one had called back so I called again. The office person got the vet on the phone and he was unable to respond. So they contacted the other vet who was in the field and he called me back after a while.

He listened to me describe the symptoms and assured me it would not be life threatening and in fact often resolves itself. He wouldn't be able to come out until about 3pm (which was 2 hours from then). He said if it didn't resolve itself, then he would come out.

Sure enough, she was still drooling and seemed uncomfortable. The vet showed up and started an examination. Flora was being uncooperative so she got a little relaxing shot. Upon initial examination the vet determined that she probably just needed her teeth floated, which he did. Then he had me hold her tongue out to the side while he looked a little closer.

And it's a good thing he did. He found a large ulceration on the bottom of her tongue. Then he found a small twig or thick weed or something wedged in-between some back teeth. It was sticking out in such a way that it was the likely culprit of the ulceration. He actually had to get some pliers to pull the thing out.

I am happy to report at this time that at feeding time Flora seemed much better already, and she was not drooling at all.

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Side note:

I haven't done any more wallpapering yet, but the two rows are still up and don't have any lumps or bubbles!

Super Super Bowl Sunday Ride

It was such a pretty day today so in spite of the slight chilliness and little bit of breeze I decided to saddle up and take Star out. We went up the hill towards the spot my hubby was yesterday. Near the top it started getting a little steep and very rocky so we stopped at that point and enjoyed the view (I'll bring a camera next time). We slowly made our way back down the hill and eventually did a loop or two on our property.

This is us coming back from the hill. I didn't know we were getting our pictures taken. Notice the smile on my face and look how pretty and relaxed Star looks.

Funny how small the jump looks from this angle!
I think we both had fun today.

More Fence Fun (Not!)

Our solar electric fence has been a total failure so far. It never worked right from the start and we just thought it was a grounding issue. After trying to work on that and it still didn't work right we just about gave up.

Then after one particularly windy day we noticed the charger unit was showing in the red (not green like it's supposed to) indicating some sort of failure. My husband walked the fence line and found a branch laying across the wire. In spite of removal of the branch the unit still didn't work.

So we turned it off, thinking maybe the charge had run out and it just needed to be recharged. Every time I go out to feed I turn it on, hoping to see the needle jump from the red to the green, but no such luck.

Hubby is out of town for a couple of days so today I decided to walk the fence line and see if there was another branch or something on the line.

Here's what I found.

It's obvious that something got snarled up in the fence and did some damage. The yellow clips along the bottom are the neighbor's wire.

I decided to do a little more investigating and the culprit wasn't hard to find.

If you click on the pictures you will clearly see the barbed wire shred on the side in the above picure and the shoulder rip on this picture.

With my keen powers of observation there's no telling how long it's been like this. At least it was just the horse blanket that got a bit shredded and not the horse.

My Loop With Jumps

I have a couple of jumps on my "loop" now. I was going to do a little video of me on Star jumping them but I think my Nikon Coolpix camera has suffered serious damage from being stored for so long. Plus it had gotten knocked around quite a bit before that, so... Besides that I was going to ride today because it's really pretty out, but it is a little too windy. Anybody who rides knows that windy + horseback riding = not a good idea.

We are going to take the tour first going counter-clockwise. This is the jump I showed when I built it in the shop. It is not permanent so I am able to move it to any location if I decide to. This would also make a good stadium jump if I ever get an arena built. I will eventually!

Next is this tiny jump. And by tiny I mean narrow. It's only about 2 feet wide and about to the top of my knees. These are some railroad ties I found in the brush and dragged out. They may have been part of fence posts at one time?? I am thinking I would like to place a wall of rocks from the rock pile on either side of these. That would make it look more like a "real" jump.

Next up is this simple jump. I made it using scraps from Dakota's plywood walls. Obviously it is also very portable. In fact the wind had pushed it over and I had to pick it up for the picture.

And around the bend starting up hill is a couple of sticks I put together. I can actually just step over this one. I think it's about 8". Truly baby novice size.

At the top of the loop the next one is a little bit more substantial than that last one.

At first I had just piled the "logs" up but the other day I went out and actually tied them together so it looks more like a real jump rather than a pile of brush across the path.

Now we turn around and go clockwise.

Around the corner going down hill and you can barely see the sticks near the bottom.

There they are!

Around the bottom corner and heading uphill again.

The narrow r/r ties and the first jump behind it.

The made jumps will eventually be painted, and the others (r/r ties, logs/branches) will be left natural. I'm trying to make my jumps jumpable from both directions so I have a little more variety.

Priming And Riding

Today I painted primer on the side of the plywood sheets that go on the outside of Dakota's shed. First I got everything ready and lined all the sheets up. Then I got started.

4/9ths done.
2 more to go!
All done primering. Primering? It only took about an hour.
Hopefully it will dry overnight and I can put the color on tomorrow.

Afterwards I actually went for a ride on Flora! This is the first time I've ridden since we've been here.

Flora was very feisty on the way out. At the end of the property we followed the fence line up towards the road. By the time we got to the top she was huffing and puffing, kind of like I do when I walk up the hill. She decided to take it easy and just walk at that point.

But the rest was mostly even going back towards the house. It felt good to go for a horseback ride again. I can see all the potential for trails and my very own cross country course but I'll definately need something to help clear the rocks and brush. Like a tractor. ☺

Last Day Of Summer

Yesterday we were supposed to have a showing in the evening. Originally they were supposed to have been here Saturday, but they had a family emergency and couldn't make it. So yesterday we're sitting here all ready and waiting and our realtor called to say they had cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday. This time apparently it was a "soccer" problem. Arrrrgh!

I decided to take today "off" and went to spend time with my horse. What better way to spend the last day of summer?

I thought I'd first pretend to do some dressage, since it's been forever since the last time I dabbled with it. When I first mounted I checked my watch. It was straight up noon o'clock.

We walked around this way and that, then moved to a trot. We did some circles, serpentines, and direction changes. Then we did some cantering and mixed it up with tempo changes. I was pleased to find that Star knew how to do a walk to canter transition. (I already knew she could do the canter to walk.)

When I thought about 15 or 20 minutes had passed we headed out of the arena for the river. I looked at my watch. It was 12:06. I am obviously out of shape!!!

We crossed the river and were heading up the bank when we saw a truck with a box utility trailer and *gasp* horror of horrors, a mini-horse pulling a little wagon! And then suddenly the truck pulled forward and dropped the trailer with a big BANG! and you would think that was the end of the world!

Star spun around and tried to head back across the river. Fortunately I didn't get unseated and I was able to urge her forward. We went a few feet but then she stood stock still staring at the anathema before her. I could feel her heart pounding! We had quite the power struggle with us going back and forth for a while before I was able to get her calmed enough to move forward. I felt very lucky not to have come off.

By this time I think the truck driver and the mini-horse driver noticed the commotion and decided it was in their best interest to move along (and thereby not be witness to any tragic calamity).

We eventually moved past the now abandoned trailer with just a bit of blowing, prancing, and bit chomping and finally got to the main trail. I thought it best to take a sedate pace and we just walked the entire way around. We met up with our farrier who was on her way in. So we stopped and chatted for a bit before moving on.

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. As we got back around and within 1/4 mile of our stable the wind had picked up a bit. A blowing wind can be a bad thing for horseback riders. It seems to give the horses license to act up. With that in mind I became a little more vigilant and tried to keep Star relaxed, even though a horse from a neighboring stable was calling and she felt obligated to keep answering.

We finally got home and I brushed her down and put her away. I thought I'd take the opportunity to clean my tack and spent the next thirty minutes cleaning and oiling my leather.

So in spite of all the hullaballoo I still enjoyed myself on this last day of summer.

We have two showings scheduled for tomorrow evening, one at four and one at five. I hope the First Day Of Fall brings good news!

Horseback Riding On A Hot Day

This afternoon the baby went for a little ride on Flora around the backyard. (I was leading and holding on to her.) It was 97° with 23% humidity. After about 10 minutes Flora wanted to stop. I wanted to stop. The baby wanted to keep going.

We went for another five minutes and I told her we could ride more tomorrow.

We found her mother's old helmet and guess what? It fits her great. I always like to see riders with helmets on. I've gotten to the point where I don't feel right if I don't have my helmet on while I'm riding. And I've come off frequently enough in this last year that it's definitely worth it.

I know I did tell her we could ride again tomorrow, but it's supposed to be 103°. We'll just have to see about that ride.

2 Down

No pictures today, just a silly story.

My sister and I went out for a ride. It started out very nicely. Then SHE decided to go down an overgrown trail we hardly ever go on. That trail was really close to the river which is running pretty high. So that means there were some puddles down the middle of the trail. Her horse does not like to walk in water and was leaping from side to side of the trail in an attempt to avoid stepping into the puddles. Well, as I said, this trail is kind of overgrown and very close with trees. As her horse was bouncing around inside the tunnel-like growth of the trees she was getting scraped and poked and jostled around until the horse suddenly spun around and started heading back to the open area we had just come from (for those of you in the know they call it "the beach").

The problem with that is that I was right behind her. So now my sister is about to fall off her horse, her horse is now bumping and running into my horse which causes my horse to spin around. Now we are really in tight quarters. All this is causing me to lose my seat and before you know it my sister and I are on the ground in the mud listening to the thundering hooves of our swiftly retreating horses.

We verified that we were okay and started out. When we got to the open area we couldn't decide which way to go. We were one and a half way around the loop we make when the river is low. The river is not low. So our options were: go right towards Hack 'n Tack about a mile away and hope someone there has caught our horses and we can just ride back? Or go left, back towards the way we came but a much, much longer way? Left was the weir/bridge, right was a shorter walk but we would possibly have to cross the river. On foot. (Make that "swim" the river to cross.) We chose to go right towards Hack 'n Tack and hoped for the best.

Once we got there we saw a lady who said she had been there for the past thirty minutes and no horses had come by. Great! We got to the river crossing and decided to go for it. After stashing our cell phones and her car keys to our upper bodies (our helmets) we held hands and walked into the river.

With each step we took the river got deeper. We had only gotten about three feet from the bank and already it was to our thighs! We retreated to the bank to rethink our options.

Just then my sister's cell phone rang and it turned out to be someone she knew who had received a call from Billy, the owner of where we board. He had seen our riderless horses and was trying to track us down.

Eventually a kind lady from our stables drove over to pick us up and bring us back. In the meantime some other riders had picked up our horses and brought them back.

Good grief! What a day. Other than a few bruises and some embarrassment we are all (my sister, myself, and the two horses) alright.

Wonder what's going to happen tomorrow! ;-)

Horseback Ride In The Back Yard

Carli was off work today and the baby has a bit of a cold, so they are spending the day together. It's been a while since either of them went riding. We had a bit of sprinkles earlier but for the most part it's cool and sunny outside so they tacked Flora up and rode around the back yard.

(PS--I'm not happy about neither one of them having no helmets on. I strongly recommend wearing a helmet ANY time you horseback ride.)

Here's a little video of them going around. At the end it looks like the baby may be crying but she is saying "my picture, my picture".


And I think the smile says it all.

Similarities

Yesterday was a fairly nice day, compared to the overcast, foggy, cold, and just plain dreary days we've been having. I took advantage of that to get the baby outside and put her on Flora, her mother's old pony.

Here's a chalk drawing a former neighbor made. This is Carli on her first pony, Madera.

Notice the similarities? PS-Notice the nice form (legs down, toes in.)

Here's what she looked like after we made a few spins around the back yard.

I'd say she enjoyed it.

Horseback Ride With Carli

Today was a very satisfying day for me.

It started out with both of my kids being off work. I took advantage of that to drag them out with me to the cross country jump area to drag some rail road ties around and make a new jump or two and maybe sturdy up a few of the jumps already there.

When we were done with that Carli said she wanted to go for a ride so we came back home, hitched up the trailer and brought Flora out to the stable. As soon as I pulled up I realized I forgot my tack room key. We called Wil to bring the key and about 20 minutes later he pulled up. It cost me a tank of gas for his truck.

Carli brought the little camera so we could record our adventure.

She was in charge of carrying the camera.

Maybe I should have taken control of the camera. Yikes!

Unfortunately the batteries in the camera ran out. Unfortunately they didn't run out before that unfortunate shot was taken. ☹

Next time I will take control of the camera.

Horse Injuries

My trip to Cambria was a bit fortuitous. The weather is perfect right now and both my horse and my sister's horse have little injuries. Nikki's injury is worse than Star's because I can still ride her, but Nikki can't be ridden at this time.

It all started about a week or so ago with Nikki. It was during the time when Star and Nikki were still getting to know each other and truthfully, we don't even know for sure if Star is to blame (but I suspect she is). Nikki has a good cut on her back leg that left her swollen and sore and initially she could barely walk.

I am happy to say that after tender loving care from both my sister and the very generous stable owners who helped with the daily care of this wound Nikki is most definately getting better.

Not long after Nikki was first injured I noticed a small bump on Star's back. We thought maybe it was Nikkie biting back, or a bug bite, or a scrape from one of the trees.

She was a little tender to the touch but it seemed far back enough that I could still ride her. The problem was that it wasn't getting better.

So I had to call the vet. He thought it looked like a pressure bump, probably from my western saddle. He said if I rode it should be with my English saddle. I had been waiting for a new girth to arrive anyway.

So hopefully with my not riding her for a few days the bump will go away and everything will back to normal when I get back in a few days.

Autumnal Equinox Ride

Today is the Autumnal Equinox. That means that today we have equal amounts of lightness and darkness.

To celebrate I went for a ride on Star around noon. I don't really need an excuse to ride because I celebrate any time I go riding! I brought my little camera along to show you some of my favorite things when I ride.

One of the things I enjoy about riding during the week in the middle of the day is that I'm usually out by myself. That means I can do any wacky thing I choose. The weekends bring out all the other riders so I have to be on my best behavior.

Don't get me wrong though! I love riding with my sister too. We always have a lot of fun when we ride together.

Here are a couple of ducks in the river.
A heron. Sometimes I'll see the equally elegant white egrets, but not today.

One of the winding paths along the river in the overgrown trees. It's about 5-10 degrees cooler in here.
Now comes my favorite part on the other side of the river.


It seems that some time ago there must have been an event rider in the area. They went to a lot of effort to construct some cross country jumps. Some of those jumps are still standing. This is some sort of L complex. If whoever built it was jumping it as built then they were definately upper level riders.


To make this more novice friendly *someone* rearranged a few logs here and there.
And *someone* added a few jumps by dragging fallen logs and branches out.

The "L" is behind the big bushy tree on the right.

In the background of this picture you can see a small bank built by the unknown eventer with a small log recently dragged out in the foreground.

Now check out this image from Google Earth. It was from July 2003 so we know the jumps were there at least that long.

Here is that bank jump today.

Here are a pile of logs and boards that look like they may have been a jump of some sort at one time.And the final jump is this natural fallen log. You can plainly see that my sister and I are not the only ones who jump every little stick in our path. One of several river crossing spots. The water is rather low today. It would be interesting to know who built the little course out there and when. Today that property is part of the Panorama Preserve. You can read a little about it here and here.

I, for one, am very glad it's there!