April 2024 – Page 3 – The Hermits' Rest

Can I Eclipse the Eclipse?

I know that people not in the parts of North America who didn’t see a total solar eclipse today are sick of hearing how awesome the one today was. And I admit that, having seen the annular eclipse last October I was pretty blasé about it.

Who could be blasé about this? Photo by my friend Jeff Tveraas. He has a good camera.

But, awesome is the right word. I was in awe during totality and couldn’t decide what was more fascinating, the corona and visible flares or how dark it got. The solar pool lights came on and I could see stars. Now only the aurora borealis remains on my weather bucket list.

We had to watch from my house, because I now have to take tomorrow off work. I can’t lose two days of pay, since I’m a contractor. But I think we got longer totality at home than where I was going to go.

To commemorate the big event, I did a project where I tried to photograph every flower blooming today. I missed the ground cherries by the horse pens because the rain arrived just as I was trying to feed. Didn’t want to ruin the phone! But, for your pleasure, here they are. I’ll break them up by color. Let’s start with white.

On to yellow. There’s always lots of yellow.

Let’s see what we have that’s pink.

Is there anything orange? Red?

Since blue flowers mostly look purple to me, I’ll put those two together.

This may not outshine the eclipse, but 32 types is sure a lot of interesting flowers (and insects). Thanks for indulging me.

By the way, the birds were indeed quiet during the eclipse totality, and I heard my first dickcissel of the year today. Auspicious!

Book Report: The Promise of Unbroken Straw

I started to read The Promise of Unbroken Straw, by Ken Steele (2024) because I know the author and want to support people who are brave enough to publish their writing. I finished reading it because I was fascinated by the people and the setting of the book. Most important, Steele is a very good writer and I didn’t get annoyed by any amateur errors like you sometimes see in books you read to be nice to your friends.

Ken and his wife, Cathy, who I met in an online email group decades ago.

I’m here to tell you that if you are a fan of historical fiction, you’ll enjoy this book very much and become totally immersed in the setting, which is Oklahoma during World War II (and some of today as well). You’ll become fond of many of the folks you’ll encounter, as well, and dislike the villains just as much. There’s a lot of angst, sadness, failure, and trouble to be found, but of course some ultimate redemption.

I loved the way Steele portrayed his protagonist, Paul, as a somewhat clueless young teen who really didn’t understand a lot of what was going on around him, but kept trying his best, anyway. You can take a good lesson away from Paul, which is that sometimes what you think is happening and how you perceive events in your life may not be exactly what you think. At least Paul eventually figures that out.

The book resonated with me, because part of the drama revolves around oil being discovered on one’s property and trying to figure out what to do about it. That all played out down with my family here in Texas not so long ago, too, and the feelings are all-t00 familiar. I had a lot of empathy for Paul’s father and grandfather as they tried to do what is right but were tempted by visions of dollar bills dancing in front of their faces.

Ken took this photo of me being colder than I’d ever been in my life.

I’d recommend this book even if Ken weren’t the greatest host in Colorado, but I’m thrilled to be able to encourage all of you to check it out.

It Pays to Have a Backup Horse

Whew. I was so tired last night that I couldn’t write anything. But a good sleep works wonders. I’m here to share about coping with the unexpected and my favorite obsession, personal growth.

Flowers are another obsession. This buttercup is white!

Ha, you thought horses and birds were my favorite obsessions! I’m just so effing happy to have achieved my goals of being centered and flexible in the face of challenges and changes! That’s hard work for the chronically anxious!

I’ve been mentioning that Apache, my horse who’s always on the verge of some issue, has had trouble walking since the farrier came last week. The good news is that he seems to be doing a bit better and is walking normally. But he certainly wasn’t ready for a horse show yesterday.

But, I had a backup horse who is slightly less lame than Apache and who happened to already be at the trainer’s place for rehab. Drew goes to the vet to get his back worked on Tuesday and is still touchy on this right side, so I couldn’t ride him.

But we did shows in hand all through 2022, so Tarrin suggested we do that. Ok…

I woke up yesterday and realized I no longer remembered the pattern for the Functionality/Dressage part of the show. So I printed it out, put on a patently unflattering shirt, and gathered up by show halter and some food. I’d just wing it.

I studied while Sara and Aragorn brought me to the show, found Droodles, and got him ready. I did some warmup stuff and he seemed fine. I should have walked him around the arena area a bit more. I was avoiding it and the judging area, because I thought you were supposed to do that, so I just walked him through some familiar obstacles to get used to working together after two months of not interacting.

That was a mistake, as Sara pointed out later.

The new friend who was doing in hand with her beautiful leopard Appaloosa did really well with the pattern, and I reminded myself where to turn for the second big circle.

Angie and Newt do fine by the judges table.

When it was our turn, my plan was to see if he’d trot, and otherwise walk. He didn’t trot, but that was fine. When we went to make our first big circle, a gust of wind came up and he spooked. The judges’ table had Tarrin’s annoying flappy tablecloth on it, and Drew didn’t like that. We didn’t even make a circle and got a 0. We preceded to fail at the next two instructions, but made it to where we were supposed to back up.

From the video Sara took. Not a happy guy.

That was directly in front of the flappy tablecloth. I got to demonstrate my ability to calm a horse down for what seemed like the longest minute of my life. I was mortified when Tarrin started helping me rather than judging, but I kept calm, and he eventually backed up a few steps.

Off topic, but look! A huge flick of migrating pelicans flew over!

I was able to do a couple of turns with him, but then started the second circle the wrong direction, even after trying to remind myself earlier. I was very proud that I just said “oops” to myself and did it right, with Drew cooperating! We got a 7 on that, and were able to finish the course correctly.

What was so good about that? I didn’t fall apart or get upset at Drew. I just kept going. I think we actually may have done worse early on, but I was pleased with my 47% score. It means we didn’t get all 0.

I got to relax while the advanced people did their stuff.

I won’t write out the Trail part of the show in excruciating detail. The above was so I’ll remember. I put Drew away and loved on him, then enjoyed everyone else. It was especially interesting because there were a couple of new participants and one experienced rider brought a new horse. Of course, Sara and Aragorn were magnificent.

The Trail part was a fresh start, and while it remained incredibly windy, Drew was fine. I realized my old horse was back, right from the start, abandoned my plan of walking the whole thing, and went for it! We had lots of fun, and most mistakes were all mine! We got a 67% with a couple of 9 scores on obstacles, including our favorite, the jump. That’s a great score.

That just shows how much it pays to not give up. It was a great experience, plus I got to enjoy watching others, like my friend Jackie doing what I would have done with Apache as well as can be done. They are only in Beginner because Jambo can’t canter anymore. But whoa, can he walk and trot. It was beautiful and a great role model of what to aim for.

Seeing all the horses try their best, and especially watching Sara’s level where both horses have overcome health issues and are now thriving, was really a pleasure.

I was Aragorn’s “groom” while Sara called obstacles for other riders.

I like that our little group is such a warm and supportive community. It makes showing fun, even when it’s a little stressful.

Maizie showed two horses, her palomino, fresh out of rehab, and Tarrin’s personal horse.

I sure was tired, though. After being a tour guide on Friday and sitting for hours in the wind, I was a zombie all evening! Glad for a break today.

Nothing is better than looking at pretty horses.

Thanks to anyone who read this!

Wandering with Visitors

It’s always fun to show off where you live to visitors, and there’s so much to show off these days! So today I took my intrepid visiting friends on a walking/driving tour of our small town. I also got to visit some places I wanted to go!

After a peaceful morning, we headed to the bakery for what I guess was brunch. We sat up in the mezzanine to watch the “action” around the square, of which there was none. But that’s okay.

Next we headed to the antique shop where I got to chat with the folks there while Patty found a celluloid thimble to buy. In ZX I got some wine and David got an eclipse shirt, while Patty found a really cute top. They enjoyed all the art and memorabilia We peeked in the windows of the Venue to see the work our family members helped with.

I got Sherrie Jo and Patty to pose in front of the restored signage.

We wandered to the old jail, which really is an impressive building. I forget how cool it is!

Both the architecture and the grounds are quite beautiful. It’s very well kept.

Of course we visited the Chamber of Commerce, where everyone was friendly. At this point I’m sure the visitors must have thought I knew everyone in town, which was further confirmed when we went in the Bling Box. I got my yearly pair of Corky’s flip flops.

Finally we hit the museums. I hadn’t seen the railroad museum since it moved. They did such a great job on rebuilding the train layouts. The ceiling is a sky, too. I need to go back and read more about the local railroads.

Cameron and its environs. Volunteers have done amazing work.

Finally we went into the local history museum, which is a lot more fun now. We identified a strange object that looked like a bulldog holding a tuning fork as an old curling iron, and next figured out what the item pictured below is.

It was warming up, so we took a drive around town to see the sights. I got to see Anita’s house with its new paint job. It looks sharp! I’ll have to get a photo. We got food for dinner and headed home.

There I did enjoy the finished roof on the tack room. It looks quite snazzy now. I also have Apache pain meds and his normal meds. He was walking, but not yet normally. So it’s Plan B for the show tomorrow.

We had hot tub time, a fun dinner and lots of conversation through the afternoon and evening. Lee showed Patty lots about bookbinding, while all us women crafted (Sherrie Jo was embroidering pillow cases, Patty was crocheting a rug, and I finished another row on the 2024 temperature blanket.

After dinner we fired up the fire pit, which was quite beautiful. So was the sunset.

The only things that marred the evening were a big ole dog fight (in which Carlton and Harvey both got owies) and Apache breaking out of the dry lot into the small paddock. There he proceeded to call to the other horses and race back and forth along the fence line. Hmm. Racing. I guess the pain meds kicked in. He’s staying home tomorrow anyway.

I sure enjoyed having guests and hope they make it to their eclipse destinations safely. Who’s next to visit?

Sportsing and Friending

What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?

Two topics today: visitors and Olympic sports.

Since the prompt is about sports, I’ll answer that first. I’m not sure I’d decided on a favorite Olympic sport, but upon reflection, I realized all the sports I like most involve twisting and flying in the air. I also figured out that I like winter sports the best.

So, in summer Olympics, I enjoy gymnastics and skateboarding. I had to check to see if skateboarding was still going to be in. Yes. Much twisting. I also like equestrian jumping.

In winter sports, I like ice skating, ski jumping, and snowboarding. Very twisty. I just love watching those sports, none of which I can do myself.

As for visitors, I’ve been looking forward to some old friends from my LLL days to come here for months now. They arrived from different directions within five minutes of each other!

So nice to have a guest motorhome, and space to park a guest’s motorhome.

My friend Patty from Arizona drove here in her very cute travel van. She’s already visited some interesting spots and will continue her adventures at a ranch in the best part of the solar eclipse on Monday and then on to parks and sights on the way back.

Sherri Jo and David are here from the Seattle area. He was skiing in various mountain areas until heading here after picking Sherri Jo up in Dallas. They’re going to a cool house on Lake Travis to watch the eclipse with friends. That also sounds fun!

We talked a lot and sat in the hot tub. Well, I didn’t, because I was checking on Apache constantly. He’s walking but not well. I knew it was time for another setback, darn it. I gave him pain meds and took him off the grass. Hoping that helps.

Work started on the fence that will let me manage grazing more easily.

After swimming, we went to the Central Avenue Bistro for the longest meal ever. Wow the service was slow. The food was good, and it was nice to have Anita join us. I got the bonus of seeing friends, too. It’s sure nice to have guests occasionally! I treasure time with dear friends.

I drove them around after dinner and showed them the town at night. People invited us to drink wine as we drove past the ZX place. It sure made Cameron seem friendly!

I look forward to tomorrow. We will do more Cameron activities, such as they are followed by dinner. And maybe I’ll get in the hot tub.

Cowgirl Kendall Is Tired

That might be my first and last Beyoncé reference ever. Between work, running to pick up new glasses (yay for vision), and yet more horse issues, I’m tired as heck, so this will be short.

Apache seemed sore yesterday, so I put his boots on today. It’s good he’s patient, because I’m not very elegant about putting outfits on horses. I put my back out with all the bending, crawling, and tugging, so now we’re both sore.

Here you can see the new glasses have a wee bit of Suna excitement by being purple.

Later, he stomped on my foot with an unshod hoof. That’s always the human’s fault. My foot should not have been there. But now that’s bruised, too. Not a lot of riding occurred today (I did get on, but he said, “nope.” Since he’d moved around and trotted with me on the ground and he was very polite in his refusal, I took his word for it.

Dang, I hope he’s better soon, since there’s another show Saturday. I’ll give him (and me) pain meds tomorrow. His will be delivered in applesauce since he also now only eats grass. It’s always something to keep me on my toes!

Tomorrow starts a fun and busy few days, so I’m gonna wrap things up. I don’t want to disturb Carlton; he’s also tired.

Drew’s Reform School Report Card

You may remember that my beautiful gray gelding, Andrew or Drew or Droodles had some behavior issues brought on by an undetermined injury, so he had to go back to the trainer for remedial education. I’m just kidding, Tarrin and her team have been working to rehab him.

Note that he is still beautiful and much lighter than last year.

I’ve seen him when I take lessons with Apache, and of course I’ve been getting updates, but today was my first time seeing his progress. Tarrin wanted me to see how he’s doing and make sure I’m good with the next steps.

It was very windy today, which made him look glamorous.

One good thing about today was that, since I didn’t have an Apache lesson, Sara was able to bring Jhayati, who’s now 11 months old and learning manners. I arrived early for my lesson with Drew so I could watch how they work with the filly.

I’m pretty sure she’s as tall as Drew. Still mostly black, she’s getting gray.

They’re making lots of progress with Jhayati, who had a lot of stimuli and new experiences today, like being in a stall alone, wind and dust blowing, and other fillies to neigh at. I was happy to see how she’s doing in lead line and impressed with how well Sara is dealing with childish antics. It will be fun to watch her in the coming months.

As for Droodles, his report card shows that he’s improved a lot, but still has back pain that causes difficulty in turning right. His neck is much better, and he had another bodywork session today, which confirmed continuing issues.

He can relax while walking, but still snaps his head around sometimes.

He received a dose of a horse anti-anxiety drug whose name I can’t remember. It helps with serotonin uptake, and should let him be calmer around other horses. The combination of pain and horse hormones was making him quite annoying.

Tarrin rode him today and explained it’s mainly walking in straight lines with a little trot, to keep his muscles in shape. Turning right he had issues, and his left leg still shows signs of weakness, but he wasn’t pawing and asking to stop today, which he had been doing.

Because he’s still not 100%, Tarrin has made him an appointment to see the fancy vet in Bryan to look into whether he needs a shot in his back to ease pain until his damaged vertebrae fuse (damage caused by being ridden by heavy people at too young an age). She will also get his head looked at from where Fiona kicked him, and get his necessary vaccinations and Coggins test. That sounds like $$$$$. But, it may be what we need to get him to graduate back into a rideable horse.

Mostly I want him happy and comfortable. I e missed being able to groom, stroke, and ride him. He’s not going to be a hunter/jumper candidate, but Tarrin thinks once we get past this hurdle, we can have a long relationship. I hope so!

Meanwhile, I have Apache, whose feet seem a little sore after his trim. Tomorrow I’ll put his boots back on. It’s always something!

By the way, did you know grapes have flowers? Of course they do! But also, they smell wonderful. The little things mean a lot!

Morning Ritual Snooze Fest

What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?

Whoo-ee! What a boring question. I know that will attract readers galore. Since I did an April Fool thing on Facebook today (I said I’d given up blogging), I’ll just stick to the snooze-worthy facts.

Maybe our first winecup Mallu’s of the year will be more enticing. Look at all that pollen.

What do I do when I wake up? What most people do, I assume. First I find my glasses, phone and watch. Then. I relieve my poor bladder. Next, in an exciting twist, I turn on the coffeemaker, which Lee usually sets up the previous evening. I make sure to completely shut the lid, which he doesn’t do. That’s my contribution.

Also, the first Engleman Daisy of the year blossomed.

Then, if needed, I shower. I shower every 2-3 days so my hair doesn’t dry out. I use things that smell like roses: shampoo, conditioner, shower gel. I like roses. In summer I swim daily.

Next on the agenda is tooth brushing with the annoying electric toothbrush I hate, and flossing. Yes, I floss. If I didn’t wash my face in the shower, that’s next. I use rosewater mycellar water, however that’s spelled.

Off to the closet I go, where I determine which cutesy undies and bralette from my friends at Me Undies to wear, and which jeans, t-shirt, coordinating socks, and shoes (probably Skechers) to wear. If I wear jewelry I’ll choose that as well as glasses of the day.

Now come exciting anti-anxiety meds, turmeric, and probiotics. On Saturday I also get Vitamin D. What a rush!

Hmm, I then apply serum and facial moisturizer. If I’m going somewhere I put on foundation to cover my red face. It doesn’t cover the wrinkles, so I’m only slightly vain.

I got ducks that look like my horses. It’s done Jeep owner thing.

That covers the first 30-45 minutes. It’s followed by pouring coffee and going downstairs, where I fire up the computer, write in my bullet journal, check the Facebook, and start to work.

After an hour or two I take a walk to feed chickens, listen to birds, and check on horses, then I eat something. But that’s later.

Is anyone awake? I’m not.

Today was also just fine. The horses had their farrier time, and everyone was quite well behaved. No horse complaints.

Kathleen escaped being attacked by scorpions and was able to make dinner, so I had time to goof off and chat with the menfolk in the evening. Ah, as my high school buddy Jeff N. pointed out, every day’s a good day when you get to be this age.

Waking up and doing your routine may be boring, but yay, you’re alive!