Ranch Life – Page 84 – The Hermits' Rest

Why Yes, I Have Joy

Earlier today when I was writing about the Phosphorescence book, I said that being with horses was the exercise that brings me joy. Yesterday and today certainly proved it to me. After my lesson with Apache yesterday, I was so happy that I smiled my way down the dirt road, and when a big ole roadrunner ran across in front of me, I laughed aloud, all by myself in the car. What makes me so happy?

Yes, making progress with my riding skills and relationship with Apache does make me happy, but I think it’s hard not to be happy when you’re outdoors, surrounded by the trees and water Julia Baird talked about as bringing joy, and with people who are full of positive energy and care for each other. Even though I’m not able to be around people much, I can be with Sara and Tarrin outdoors (masked near Sara) and working on something with friends is another thing that lifts my mood.

For more cheer, I brought out my very happy steel-toe boots for the day.

Yesterday’s work with Apache was really uplifting. He made it very clear that he feels much better after the bodywork he received last week. When Tarrin was riding him, he almost floated at the trot, with no head tossing or making of faces. He seemed happy to be working with her. He even started learning how to walk with his haunches in.

And when I got on him, it felt as good as or maybe better than when he was younger and following Spice around. I guess it was better, because he followed my instructions at a trot, even, and not a scary trot. I think he also feels better about trotting than he did before.

That’s me under the giant (warm) coat on a calm horse.

THEN, I got invited to go out of the round pen and do something he wasn’t expecting. First, I was supposed to turn left and walk around the outside of the round pen, rather than going into the arena area. Ooh, he wasn’t interested in that, but I was able to get him to do what he needed to do pretty easily. After three times doing that, we were supposed to turn right and head toward the trailer. Oh my, he did not want to do that.

I have no pictures of Apache battling on the turns, but here we are trotting, thanks to Sara.

However, Tarrin coached me on how to deal with his shenanigans and I kept at it. Much backing up on his part and much calmness on my part led to him eventually doing what we were asking him to do. By the third time, by gosh, I was in charge. I was so dang proud of him. We then went back in the round pen, circled, then stood nice and quiet. This is the kind of progress I’d hoped to get from all this training.

And Today

Today it warmed up pleasantly (though there was a LOT of frost this morning), so I made time for both of the horses.

Drew was so happy to get to do stuff. He is like a little doll sometimes. I managed to get the Western saddle on him (I’m supposed to saddle him for exercise, but last week was too hectic for me to do it) and off we went. He ran in circles, did his jumps in both directions, then went on a walk, where he was surprised to find out that he had to do more work. I finally found a spot to do his hill climbing, next to the arroyo. He circled up and down in both directions then reluctantly backed up the hill, so his back will stay okay. He is so much fun to work with. I love our time together and am so grateful for his training!

He went back and I got Apache, who pretended not to want to come to me, but then did. The scamp. He’s so much happier still. I didn’t plan to do much with him, since he worked hard yesterday, but I wanted to build on the success. Sure enough, we had a good ride in the round pen with lots of controlled trotting, turning and changing directions like we’ve been doing it forever. I felt a lot more in control using the Western saddle, which surprised me. And I figured out that the leg aid I was trying to use to move him to the side of the pen was an invitation to trot to him. I figured out what to do with my leg and after that all was well.

Then comes the funny part. I was trying to leave with the tack and grooming supplies when the gate opened up more than I intended and both horses, who’d been bonding and breathing into each other’s noses and rolling around (Drew), both took the chance to dash out into the yard. They seemed so happy. I said to myself, fine, enjoy yourselves. I got the food bowls, took the tack back, and then came to find Apache and Drew.

Drew was happily grazing in his favorite spot by the RV. I just walked up to him, asked him to raise his head, put on his halter, and off we went. He seemed just happy to be with me. He exudes joy.

Of course, Apache was hiding. He was behind the chickens, I guess thinking no one could see him. I went over to him, and he bolted in a most spectacular manner, wheeling, and flying (see he, feels good). I just watched to see where he was going. I just started laughing. He ran straight to the gate leading into the pens. I walked over to the gate into his feeding area and opened it. He came over and just walked in. Obviously, dinner is more important to him than freedom. What a guy.

No matter how irritated I am that we still have to be confined to the house and that none of the pool projects that were supposed to be finished today were finished, I have the joy that comes with being around the spirits of horses. Life is good, and I’m reminded of that repeatedly these days, even though they are dark days in many ways.

We Face TV Challenges and WIN

My goodness was yesterday a total pain in the butt and other places. Today, however, we kicked our challenges in the butt.

Yesterday I mentioned it was really windy and that the satellite television receiver was damaged. Today it finished falling over. So, we had to call DirectTV. Lee couldn’t find the customer support number, so I found that. Much dialing, redialing, cursing, and knitting on hold ensued. Finally a guy answered. And after some combined effort and cursing, we actually got a repair scheduled for tomorrow.

Next, I wanted to watch football. The customer support person just said, in a chipper fashion, you can use the app! This set me off toward many hours of trying to figure out how to log in.

Then I discovered I needed to sign on to AT&T to get to the television app. No password or user info I had worked. So I got to enjoy another customer support person. At least they answered fast. After 20 minutes explaining that I’d give them my 8 digit passcode if I had any idea what it was, I got many things reset.

Next, I tried to log in with all the various numbers and letters I’d gathered. Everything I did required a text or email verification, half of which went to me and half to Lee. By this time, even I was getting testy. They make things so damned secure that legitimate users feel like they’re being interrogated. I kept typing in the special secret passcode the nice lady had set up for me, but I could not get in. Turns out they needed the shorter passcode that had reared up way earlier in the day.

At long last the DirectTV and AT&T accounts are merged. I know the username and password, not that dang passcode or the other passcode. I watched football. Ironically, I watched it on Paramount+ not the thing I took hours to set up. Can’t watch live TV on the app without the upgrade. Crap.

Today I also wanted to watch football. We had been unable to get the phone to stream to the TV on Bluetooth yesterday, also frustrating. So, today I got the game on my laptop. Woo! Then Lee moved a shelf into the house, found an HDMI cable, and got the thing to work. Ta da.

You may be a millennial or younger person, which means you’ve been watching television on many different apps for years. You may find our challenges funny. But I have an excuse!

We never watch streaming services here at the ranch, because we don’t have good Internet. We can’t stream without using up our limited data. No 5G. No cable internet. No fiber. No nothing. So, we never had to set all this up before.

Now I have some choices for emergencies. I’m not gonna get Netflix until we have something more viable. But that was sure a lot of work.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Both the hot tub and the satellite dish should function! And maybe our sick relatives will be on the mend?

Knittin’ and Readin’ and Regerts

Today it is windy as all heck. All my chairs, all the barrels in the horse area, and everything else that isn’t tied down has blown to new and interesting locations. Lee and I had tried to put together a storage shed yesterday, and placed it against a wall, where we thought it would be safe. It took a little jaunt around the corner of the patio.

Nothing here is where it was yesterday except the lovely water trough.

Even worse, the wind blew the satellite dish around so we can’t even watch something on television. But Lee says it’s a good opportunity to get the dish moved and bring in wiring to let me have a television in my office/den for when I want to cocoon. No complaints about that!

The show “Window Reflections” is not very entertaining.

This is the LAST day I wanted to be trapped inside. It is my annual Day of Regrets (or “regerts” as the apocryphal tattoo someone got said), where I mourn the loss of my older son on his birthday. He’s 31. Happy birthday to a person I still love.

Distraction from regrets: These barrels blew about 50 feet. They are not light.

Obviously, I need to have stuff to do to keep my mind busy, but I sure as heck am not going out there to mess with horses. I did go out and stand in the shelter with them and provide some love, even to Mabel, who stood with me for five minutes! And, of course, the chickens are taken care of. I just don’t want to linger.

So, this morning I got out my hair toner stuff to make my white ends more silvery. And you know I was bored, because I took pictures of the entire process using Snap Chat filters. The good news is that the bit of longer hair in front that was somewhat discolored now looks beautiful, and the dark part sparkles.

This was my goal hair, the 60s diner wait staff look.

Well, that wasted a whole half hour or so. I needed more distraction. I decided to find something to knit. What I truly want to work on is some unspun beautiful Icelandic yarn my friend Mike brought me from Iceland (duh). It’s all natural sheep colored and everything. But, I do not need a sweater. So, I spent an hour looking through Ravelry for ideas, then gave up. I think I have an idea now, which I can do next. Stay tuned.

I decided to make something with two beautiful yarns that were hiding in my closet, instead. They are a gorgeous wool/silk hand-painted yarn in coral tones and a natural-colored baby llama yarn. Baby llamas! Crias! They are so cute. And their first haircuts lead to dreamy softness.

So, what to make with those? That was easier, because I am making my favorite plain striped shawl that I have made before using Noro Silk Garden (it’s a hand-painted Japanese silk/wool blend all the knitters will know). I got a slightly different version off Ravelry and started going.

It will look better when it’s farther along and the Freia starts changing colors. Who cares what it looks like, anyway, because it feels so good on my hands, which have been hurting lately. I can look forward to finishing this quickly and sitting by the pool wearing it (keeping it away from dogs). Speaking of whom, of course they are always with me when I’m doing my projects.

The rest of the day of super-confinement will be spent reading my wonderful book, listening to music, and making a nice dinner for my sickly family and Lee. (And not rearranging the holiday closet; sorry, that brings up regerts.) Please continue to keep our ranch residents in your thoughts! The COVID is hard on them.

Celebration, a Little

I haven’t been going on about blogging achievements much (mainly because the blog is mostly for me…more on that soon), BUT, I am happy to see that I now have 800 WordPress followers! That combined with the 1500 or so people who get the blog by email, means somebody’s out there! So, thank you for reading, however you receive the blog, and that goes for you Facebook fans of the Hermits’ Rest, too!

I’m aware some followers aren’t actually people. But I appreciate the real people a lot.

I appreciate your comments more than I can express, whether here, on Facebook, or in person. I am always surprised when someone brings up reading this blog as I’m talking to them. I’d love to follow YOU, too! I need stuff to read when the wind is raging and I’m trying to block out my regrets/regerts!

Poo on Pandemics

It’s been a rough week over at my house, with half the occupants down and out from the coronavirus, and the rest of us staying home, since we weren’t sure if we were asymptomatic but sick or not. It’s made me really glad we got some flowers last time I was at the grocery store, since I’ve needed the cheering up.

I’m glad there’s so much to see and do here, because it’s made things a little easier. We even have separate seating areas by the pool for the sick and the non sick. And to think I thought those areas were for basking in different angles of the sun.

I have some things I really want to do this weekend (outdoor things), so I went to get a COVID test yesterday at the Cameron Fire Station. So did most of the rest of the county. I’d say by the time I arrived, the line was half a mile long or more. It took about 2.75 hours to get through the line, which seems a lot longer when you have to pee, I assure you. Plus I got sunburn on my nose and arm! I had not planned ahead with sunscreen. If there is a next time, I will remember, but I hope my home tests arrive before the next time I need to test.

Lots of cars in front of me (and behind)

But, I did get in, finally, and endured the nasal swab thing. Ugh, now I see what people were talking about. That’s right, I hadn’t had a test before this, since I just stayed home the couple times I was exposed. The best news is that they called me less than 24 hours later to tell me I’m negative. Woo hoo. That probably explains why I feel fine. I guess we’ve done a good job separating ourselves, or my vaccinations worked. I’m relieved, in any case.

I am NOT the Germ Police in this neighborhood. Just the Coyote Patrol.

The book I’m reading, which is called Phosphorescence, talks about the importance of being in nature for your physical and mental health. I’m so glad to have so much woods and water to spend time in here at the ranch. (I was also lucky at my Austin house, since it was surrounded by greenbelts and had a view of the pool.)

Today the whole sitting around and looking at nature thing got a lot better, because we now have two lounge chairs with cushions on them, which makes sitting by the pool and blogging a heavenly experience. It helps that the temperature is perfect, in the low 70s. What could be better?

I’ll tell you what! It would be better if I had a hot tub to sit in (not while typing). And there’s good news on that front. I called the propane company myself and talked to the woman there (who was chatty and fun to talk to about heavy equipment we each own). That got us ON the schedule to get the hot tub all hooked up on MONDAY! It’s conceivable the pool will be completely finished by then.

Until then, I can just enjoy the animals. Vlassic and Gracie Lou look so cute together. Our small doggies deserve some time in the spotlight, or sunlight.

Lunch hour is over, so I have to drag myself back in and work on some training material. Then Drew gets to jump over jumps and have some fun. This is not a bad place to endure a pandemic at all, nope. Not at all.

Bonding with the Funny Equines

It was a horsey day yesterday, which is good, because we are now quarantined other than outdoor stuff. I’m so glad the horse work is outdoors!

Right. As I was saying the horse day started early. I’d asked Lee to put the bale of hay that was on the tractor out, since the horses need it and he’s the only healthy person who can drive the tractor. Well, he went in through Drew’s paddock but didn’t realize Drew was there (because no one knows my horse schedule but me).

Drew made his escape, but didn’t go far, since he found green grass. All I had to do is put his pretty new halter on him and lead him back. He was curious about the “this is an equine facility and you might get hurt” sign. But then he said bye and headed to the hay, where T chased him around.

Back to work I went until late afternoon when Trixie was due to work on Apache and his body issues. I spent quite a while grooming the filthy Apache, which took longer due to Fiona also wanting grooming.

She also had lots of those giant burs on her front legs and was trying to get them out with her teeth. I found the hoof pick was a great tool for getting those out. She now has nice, smooth, hairy legs.

Apache did great with his body work. He seemed really happy with his head and neck treatment, and made such cute faces!

He was less thrilled with the work on his adhesions near his hips, but wow, it made a difference. I’m hoping this will make our training easier on him and help him develop good posture. Enjoy some fun faces now!

This morning I went out to let Drew back into the big pasture. It’s cool but sunny out, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to find him napping in the sun. But of course, I thought he was dead.

Of course, he’s fine and in a playful mood.

He happily walked with me to the gate, but not without stopping to play with Vlassic. He wanted the squeaky toy, but not enough to fight the dog over it! That just made my morning.

It’s good to have these sweet animal friends to bond with while you’re confined. And writing about them gives you something to do in an endless line to get a COVID test.

Try to stay safe, friends. It’s hard, but we can get through this!

Today Did Not Go As Planned

It hasn’t been an ideal day for anyone in my house, and I’ll just say that this is not a great time to participate in the health care system. So, no one slept last night.

Of course I had a 7am meeting, which ended up being the highlight of my day. And it was so pleasant outside this morning that I had visions of doing a lot of horse stuff later.

It got darker and darker outside, and I got the idea that maybe I actually wouldn’t get my new horse obstacles set up.

I was writing a training outlying my head so I got the last Christmas stuff put away and added lively linens to the tables.

I even set up a little tea party using Lee’s mom’s china with roses on it (I unpacked something!).

The blue stuff was found in a house we renovated.

Yeah. I’d planned to write all day but got stuck. Home decorating helped me get back on track, and I did get my outline done.

This is Lee’s Bruns grandparents’ 50th anniversary china. Two big plates broke, but they were not packed real well.

As I was finishing up and getting up the energy to go mess with horses, Mandi texted from down the road. It was sleeting at her house. Oh, poop. Yes, it was sleeting here, too.

Go ahead, people still digging out of blizzards. Laugh at my tiny ice cube. (That’s it on my shoe,)

No dogs enjoyed the weather, especially the artistic Harvey. By the way, he has no more open wounds, and is shaped more like a dog and less like a burrito.

Nope, these two aren’t thrilled either, and I can’t even FIND Carlton.

Alfred is fine. He’s happy that shedding season is over so I just pet him instead of pulling clumps of hair out.

I’ll just be flexible and glad my family are taking care of themselves. Y’all do, too. There are lots of germs and allergens roaming around right now! Maybe tomorrow I will be interesting.

I Find Ranch Citizens Fascinating

Another day of horse lessons has come and gone. And while my lesson with this innocent student was enlightening, I would have come away happy just having watched Sara.

I should have known friskiness was ahead when he galloped up to me this morning, mane and tail flying.

Apache was very frisky this morning, probably because a front came through.

We started out sweaty at 9 am and ended up shivering by 1! I did round pen with him before we left, and ooh he was jumpy. And once we got to the training ranch, he was not interested in human agendas.

He did ok until the trainer got on, at which point he decided he didn’t want to do anything. It was so fascinating to watch her work through his stubbornness. There was lots of backing and angry horse faces. I didn’t take pictures, because I was watching so hard. She did stuff I am not capable of yet. And eventually he did fine. I even rode him better than last time and dealt with his issues.

The dogs here would prefer you pay attention to them, please.

He’s not easy. He hurts and has been ridden poorly. By me. But we are progressing. I ended my essay with a smile on my face, happy with all my progress and the support I got.

We were all glad for the lesson to end. But Apache was still antsy. I was glad to leave him to eat some hay and deal with calmer animals. That included Christmas the bull. Sure, he looks intimidating.

I had no idea he was tame, but he came up to me and licked my hand clean, then requested that he get some pets on his forehead and between his horns. Then, his cow companion came up and wanted a turn. This love fest was just what I needed.

As always, I enjoyed Sara’s lesson as much as mine. She learned some really complicated bending stuff and I was proud of how well she did. And Aragorn, too.

Aragorn didn’t even notice the fake bull that had startled Apache earlier. He was concentrating and throwing in fancy dressage moves so he wouldn’t have to bend the opposite way from how he was turning.

I was distracted by two things: a biting wind and cute animals. Between the dogs, the baby horses, and the donkey, I had a lot of entertainment! Who cares about the cold when you have ranch entertainment?

What’s There to Do around Here?

It’s not as cold today, but the rain and fog have been with us all day. So, since everyone needs food, Kathleen and I went off for a scenic trip to stock up on provisions. It felt like Farmer’s heading into town for our monthly visit.

The scenery, such as it is out here, was hard to see.

We had a good omen upon departure, as I heard the interesting bird call I’ve been hearing all week and finally spotted a belted kingfisher! I was all excited, since I’d never seen one at the Hermits’ Rest before.

Blurry, but they have an unmistakable silhouette.

We wandered over to Temple, and after a few navigational challenges due to looking at birds and farm houses too hard, got some healthy lunch (no photos, it was too good). I was glad I’d brought my fancy new mask, since we had a bit of a wait.

Next, it was serious provisioning. You know we live in the country when a trip to the GOOD grocery store is exciting. I mean, the H-E-B has actual, fresh fish! We bought a lot of shrimp for a fancy meal tomorrow. Our cart was so full!

I remembered this owl stack is a vase, so it got the lovely tulips.

It was exciting to me to get fresh flowers for the house. Kathleen said Happy MLK Day to me.

Dak likes the purple flowers, even though they will make it hard to see himself on television later.

The car seemed full, but we’re we done? Heck no. The horses need to eat, so off we went to Tractor Supply to get 200 pounds of horse food, half Apache and Fiona’s low calorie food and half the stuff Kathleen’s four eat. Drew has plenty of his muscle-building alfalfa stuff.

Fiona would like to point out they are also low on hay. The pile no longer looks like this.

So, that stuff plus a storage bin and some straw for the chicken coop filled every other spot in the SUV, right? Nope. We had to make another stop!

The drive between the ranch and Temple heads straight through the heart of Czech Texas. And when you see the sign for Zabcickville (sp) you feel compelled to stop in for some traditional fare at Green’s Sausage House. They make all their own sausage and process all the meat they sell on site.

There is fresh local mill, too. What? The official milk of the Dallas Cowboys? Dang.

While we didn’t get the milk, we got plenty of meat products. And you cannot go to a Czech establishment without purchasing some kolaches! So soft and yeasty. Made on site!

We were finally done, and headed home, with so much to see. Farm houses, cows who climb, hawks…we did manage to mostly stay on the road while the Mexican eagles, kestrels, and huge flocks of grackles tried to distract us.

By the time we got home, we were amazed at how much we had done and seen out here in the middle of nowhere. And everyone has enjoyed their food. We will be FINE for a month or so, other than milk and bananas (must get those often at the sad Cameron stores).

Carrying Heavy Objects Around

It appears my new exercise routine is moving barrels. I’ve now moved the nephew’s barrels many times. Today they became part of my new horse playground. I was told the old playground was on the septic field, so no plodding horses are allowed there. Okay!

The barrels are for a project, but until Anita’s house is done, I get to use them. I made two circles that can make a figure 8, with a central barrel, a slalom for trotting and turning around, and a jump thing. The last was not made of barrels. It includes my fine new horse jump making stands, in red, of course, combined with some of my wooden poles.

Both my poles, which had been in the round pen to annoy Apache, and the cones were dangerous objects, as well as heavy. There were healthy fire ant nests under the poles. Worse, there were entire nests IN the cones! That made them hard to move. But I did it.

The horses just watched and waited for their food. I got finished too late for actually using my fine setup!

Pool of Dreaming

So, it’s 2022. Is that swimming pool finished? Of course not, but as the daylight grows stronger, it gets closer and closer.

Today the intrepid pool guys braved biting winds and chilly temps to finally finish with the landscaping. They had a wheelbarrow and a bucket, but filled in all the gaps at last.

It really looks complete now. The Pool of Dreams looks like a dream oasis in a desert with all the natural rock.

In addition to the rocks, the guys labeled all the valves, installed the thing that will eventually dispense salt, and got us our remote control.

They also tried to do work on the fire pit, but their drill wasn’t long enough. And that’s what’s left: the hot stuff. I was happy to hear that we are on the list at the propane company to get hooked up. I’m dreaming of a hot tub in winter!

Lee took advantage of the fence being open so the pool truck could get in to bring dirt in to smooth out behind the pool. Progress!

So, between working hard and getting stuff done, things are good, except my favorite ring fell apart! When I woke up this morning, the beautiful inlay was gone. I’m sad about that. Maybe I’ll find it one day.