Category: Ranch Life
A Hermits Christmas Eve
As the years pass and our circle grows smaller, the holidays have stopped being about visitors, travel, and togetherness. Television commercials keep saying that’s what we should want.
But Lee and I are happy to spend time with just each other these days. We have plenty of animals to stand in for friends and family, and they’re certainly entertaining. The dogs have been going all out to make us smile!
The horses have been playing a lot, as if the cold weather makes them frisky. They do have really thick coats right now.
It was a beautiful day, though, so I did the usual bird watching (highlights were cranes and a butcher bird) and weather observation. All the ponds iced over, but melted when it got above freezing. I have new inexpensive base layers that made being outside okay. Nice!
It was lovely spending time with myself, giving myself holly nails, watching football, cooking dinner, and working on a present. It’s important, I think, to be comfortable enjoying each phase of life, and each new situation. That’s the way to inner peace.
Tomorrow and next week will bring more people to the ranch and that will also be enjoyable. You can’t hermit every day! it will be good to celebrate with people.
I’m hoping you find peace with whatever life hands you this time of year. Maybe you’ll find comfort in traditions and maybe you’ll try something new. Just remember that we’re all dealing with “stuff” and doing our best. I sure remember that and just want the members of my own circle to know they’re loved.
Still Cold. Alive.
We are all alive! Me, Lee, the rest of the local family, horses, dogs, and chickens. It’s a lot worse in other parts of the US, so I’m thankful for my knowledge of how to dress for really cold weather and that it only got down to 10° F last night.
I brought the chickens fresh water and received cold eggs is return. The horses appreciated me opening up their water troughs and giving them some energy-filled food. My snow gloves made that hard, so I ditched them. I’m glad Fiona has extra food dishes, because hers blew into the next field. Yow. So much wind.
Our heat stopped working, just like last year, so I went up to the landing and finished my work where the sun was shining. It confused the dogs. Then we went shopping for holiday food in the warm car. We had fun!
We figured the propane would get better soon as it got a little warmer, which it did. We weren’t alone. The same thing happened all over the area. It’s not like we suffered! We have dogs and many handmade items to keep us warm. And whiskey.
So, I went in the kitchen to pour myself some medicinal Jameson’s Irish whiskey with a little water. Then I sat down to crochet on my unfinished Christmas gift. First, I checked Facebook. Guess what the first damned ad I saw was for? Jameson’s!!
Can one of my conspiracy theory friends explain that? I didn’t SAY what I was doing. I haven’t mentioned that stuff, perhaps ever, except when Lee tells people he prefers Clontarf instead. (Which is why I am drinking the perfectly adequate other stuff.)
That was today’s mystery. Tomorrow’s big agenda includes cooking pork chops. I lead an exciting life when the polar winds blow.
Yep. Cold.
Today started out at 50° and now it’s 20°—what a drop. Plus it’s really windy. Not the best day to get my hair cut, but it had gotten rather unruly. No way was I putting a hat over my new hair!
Of course we had to go out and do stuff, which included picking up Lee’s new mobile office, which he’s been talking about for a couple of years now. I’m glad the search is over, and I know it will be nice to be able to go places and still work, and Lee can work when I do horse stuff.
The wind made driving the large vehicle a challenge but I enjoyed taking photos of the scenery as we drove through the crisp air.
Yes, winter came in with a vengeance. But we didn’t get snow. It’s bad all over the country! I just have to take care of the animals. After tomorrow it should start warming up.
Stay safe if you’re experiencing this polar blast!
Yuletide Musings
Hi everyone,
I’m sorry I haven’t been posting much lately, but there hasn’t been much going on except rain, mud, and cold. But what do you expect this time of year? I understand why ancient folks in the northern hemisphere lit lots of fires and tried to make things look cheery at the winter solstice. It can be bleak, and it has been for many of my friends and family. So, bright, warm hugs to all!
We have been focusing on just getting by every day, feeding animals who need to be fed and dealing with things that have broken. It’s fine, just not terribly bloggable.
The biggest excitement around here is those winter bird visitors. Two of my absolute favorites have been here for a couple of days, a pair of hooded merganser ducks. These are among the most unusual ducks, at least in appearance. They have excellent head feather arrangements that make them unmistakeable, even from a distance. That’s good, since they will not let me get close enough to take a good photo.
They are having a nice time hanging around with the egrets and catching the chilly little fish in the back pond.
As I was watching the ducks and shivering, I heard a distinctive cry, followed by much zooming and swooping. It was a common yellowlegs trying to decide whether to land in the pond or not. The decision was not to land, so all I got were some photographic blurs, which I confirmed since I know what they sound like and know they like it here in the winter. Enjoy my pond bird buddies:
As I write, I’m listening to the Ukrainian President speak. You know, that’s a brave and reasonable guy. And he reminds me things could be much worse, and we need to be sure our fellow citizens are all safe and secure. We need to be able to celebrate the seasons in our personal traditions and feel safe. After all, we live under the same sky. Peace. It can happen.
One More Nice Day
Today was cold, but the sun was shining, so I spent as much time as I could outside. It’s gonna get icky again, so I wanted to enjoy one last nice day for a while.
The horses were out in the far pasture, where there is plenty of grass, apparently, since they’ve ignored their latest hay bale. Drew has been mowing down bur clover, which I’m ok with.
Apache doesn’t like clover, thankfully. It wound probably make him sick. He’s moody this weekend, anyway, and he managed to find more burs, but he was easier to groom than last week!
I looked at a lot of birds today, too. All the savanna sparrows were using the new pond as a bird bath this morning. It was so charming to watch them wading and splashing. Too bad my photos don’t show them well. It entertained me, though.
It was frosty, too. I love the shiny grass. The winter here can be wonderful. I can see birds better in the bare trees, I’m not sweaty, and it rains some. Droughts are no fun.
You can’t miss the mistletoe in the trees, which is our main seasonal decoration this year. I laugh when people say they are looking for it. We have plenty to share!
The moral to my story is enjoy your good days, and don’t take them for granted. Enjoy a few more pictures from yesterday and today.
Why American Football Makes Me Laugh
I wasn’t going to write today, since mostly I looked at Ruby crowned kinglets and enjoyed sunshine and horses. But I wanted to share why I laughed so much today.
There were three professional football games on television today, covered by the second tier of broadcasters on the NFL Network. (Yes, I watch pro football and yes I know it’s violent and hurts players and all the other negativity — it’s a guilty pleasure.)
The team doing the pre-game, post-game, and halftime coverage were three ex-players and a woman I didn’t know. It was like watching a family discussion of the games and players that just happened to be sitting outdoors in Buffalo NY in December. There was much bickering, bantering, and teasing.
(I finally found out who they were: Colleen Wolfe, Steve Smith Sr., Michael Robinson, Maurice Jones-Drew and Mike Giardi who was on the sidelines.)
The woman kept going on and on about how she loved the weather and was enjoying herself. The three men had endless weather comments and complaints, all of which were really funny. They kept having to remember to talk about football. It was so unscripted and natural.
Then the game in Buffalo started. The fans had needed to wipe 8 inches of snow off each seat. Some made snowmen. Others made snowballs. Many, many snowballs. It was fun to watch them toss them around when their team scored.
Of course, they started pelting the other team and the officials, so they were asked to stop. I guess the broadcasters got pelted, too. At halftime one of the guys had put on protective ski goggles. I laughed. That’s entertainment.
Not Too Bleak Midwinter
Ooh doggies, it was nippy today. It wasn’t that cold, really, but the wind was fierce. And it kept drizzling all day. What a great day for horse lessons, right?
It hadn’t felt too bad in the morning, but it got worse and worse. By the time Tarrin got to my house, I think she was glad to go in the tack room and warm up a bit. I needed to defrost from scraping the layers of mud off Apache. He literally had mud balls hanging from his mane and scattered across his coat.
That was the least pleasant grooming session I can remember. And he was not a happy guy at first. As you can see, he was physically great. But mentally he appeared to be elsewhere.
It was pretty hilarious when I rode him. The wind was whipping through my layers and my teeth were chattering, but I soldiered on asking him to walk briskly then stop, a thing he is normally fine with. Nope.
He got to do it a lot until he deigned to stop like he should. Then he got to do something else. Hooray. Funny boy.
That’s Drew in his new fancy rope hackamore that Tarrin re-tied after I botched it. Knots are not either of our strong suits. It’s pretty, though! I now know how to loop it and stuff. What a cowgirl.
It was not ideal to learn to use the new bridle and two pairs of reins with frozen hands, but now I figure it will feel great when it’s nicer outside. Drew was very patient getting his chin strap put on (it came from my surplus collection from when I got the trailer, so it doesn’t match yet), then with me putting the bridle on and off repeatedly.
Drew was way more cooperative than Apache, since he’s used to riding in bad weather. We even side passed better. I’m working on reins, but getting there. It’s fun learning with him. He tries and so do I!
After Tarrin got to go home, we took a road trip to look at yet another potential mobile office for Lee. The weather was spooky. That’s what got “In the Bleak Midwinter” going through my mind. It was gray on gray.
Nonetheless the day was saved by the treat of going to dinner at the famous German restaurant in Wahlberg. We hadn’t been in years. I sure enjoyed my Hefeweizen and the sauerkraut. Ahh.
The place wasn’t too crowded, so it didn’t feel all germy and they had a huge fire in the fireplace. I even enjoyed the Wahlberg Band, which featured much excellent yodeling. No, honest, it was good! What a pleasant change of pace.
Tomorrow should be sunny, so it won’t be so bad riding and exercising. Maybe Apache will act like his mature self! If not, I’ve always got crochet and football.
PS: hi to my step-sister and spouse. Loved your card.
What’s Wrong with Normal?
Today was a normal day. Nothing stressful other than software glitches, and repeatedly sending out the wrong minutes for a meeting, today was low key and calm. I love calm. I got all my to-do items done. I’m cooking dinner. Ahh.
I got to spend quality time with all the horses in the calmest possible way as they got their feet trimmed. So much time spent petting soft noses. Ahh. I love farrier day.
I’m not sure what I think about it, but Drew’s new fancy bit arrived today. I believe we don’t use the chain part. It’s just like the one he already uses at Tarrin’s. Who knows if I’ll master it or not, since Apache is bitless and likes it.
I got to enjoy the cranes flying by. These must be stragglers. Never a bad day if you see them! And I’m hearing all the winter birds in the woods. That’s the best part of winter!
And finally, my day was made by the arrival of a nail polish strip box. It was all gold and black, with art deco accents. I gave no idea why I’ve always loved nail polish, unless it’s just that it reminds me of my mom. My one ultra-feminine affectation, I guess. (Shut up, people who know me, don’t tell the readers about all my shoes and turquoise jewelry; guess I’m more femme than I think.)
Happy Tuesday. There’s nothing wrong about normal at all!
Roller Coaster of Love
I didn’t take pictures of the wonders of today, so check out my very silver nails. They nearly blind me.
I was wondering if the highlight of my day was going to be learning about a new kind of moth, the plume moth. These look like flies, but nope, they are weird looking tiny moths with small, plumed wings. I’m not sure what kind the one that flew into my napkin was, but it was cool.
It turns out, though, that I’m on a LOVE HIGH this evening, after feeling like my emotional roller coaster of horse love plummeted. After struggling with teen Droodles yesterday, I wasn’t looking forward to today’s lesson. Plus it was raining.
But, we showed up anyway, and I got lots of good information on how to deal with anxious and boundary-testing youngsters. Tarrin told me I had to be tougher and not let him do stuff just to try to get through stuff. That’s what I did at Sara’s, not wanting to delay her filming. I should have stopped and worked with Drew until he was calm. Next time!
Then we worked with him, and that’s when the roller coaster started heading back up. I got some stuff figured out during ground work, as Tarrin kept reiterating that if he messes up, nothing’s wrong with performing a reset and starting again.
She got on and repeatedly stopped and started as he fussed around. In the end he looked great, and she said he was much better than last week. My work with him had helped!
I wasn’t looking forward to getting on him and struggling to make progress. But I got on! And lo and behold, we calmly walked three barrels in small circles. Then we did bigger circles. Wow!
I kept stopping every time his head went up or he started to go off track. By the end, we were smoothly trotting the circles. Tarrin asked how the last one felt, and I said, “It felt like riding a horse!” I was thrilled.
After improving our hill climbing circles with me on him and doing better on side passing and leg yielding, we very calmly walked back to the trailer, even though one of Tarrin’s horses was in our butt. It felt like riding Apache in a place he feels safe. It was fantastic. What a roller coaster. Patience paid off.
We also made him much happier on the ride home with a longer trailer tie and hay to eat. He pooped less. I’m so grateful that Tarrin helps me problem solve. I want to give Drew and Apache good lives and that helps.
Ready for more ups and downs!
The Hermits' Rest 