It’s only kind of weird, but it works for me the problem is that my phone thinks I look hours and hours at it, when, in fact, I’m not even near the phone. It’s hard to doomscroll if your phone is nowhere nearby and the computer you’re using is only connected to LinkedIn (and honestly, ten minutes is plenty to determine who’s been laid off lately).
I’d rather just look at this guy
I still enjoy social media, but do a quick Facebook check in the morning, play with my Finch self-care app for 20 minutes, see if I got any personal email, then walk away.
Also doing my nails creates at least an hour of phone-free time.
That’s because I leave the phone outside listening to birds once I have to stop birding with my own eyes and ears. The phone may think I’m staring at Merlin Bird ID, but no, I just check in periodically. Any texts or other messages just have to wait.
Today’s bird was this Ruby-crowned Kinglet, as photographed on the phone. blurry.
I can work undisturbed by my online social life except in breaks. That’s helped me from going down rabbit holes and letting myself get upset.
But it’s nice in here! (AI image)
In the evenings, I read other people’s blogs and news sources that don’t try to get me all upset. This all works for me. I can still stay informed and keep up with friends without it consuming my day. This gives me time for horses, birds, domestic fowl, and wildflowers, not to mention friends and family!
She’s talking about us. We are domestic fowl.
So, my social media trick is to get your phone all busy doing something for you and ignore it for a good chunk of your day. It makes checking for messages and updates a fun interlude, not the whole day.
Morning fog on the window screen. It got very foggy this evening, too.
Today I enjoyed many things while the phone was ignored. I took some autumn photos, for one thing.
Pretty day! The yellow is a willow trees.
I watched a new run for the chickens and Connie get worked on. Connie was not impressed and tried to scare away the noisy dudes by gobbling and displaying her magnificent feathers. I didn’t even know hen turkeys could do that!
Stakes show outline of the new space.
I also ended up with time to work with horses a bit longer than usual, so I picked out all the burs in Drew’s mane and tail. He was a true gentleman during the process. I think he’s feeling better.
No burs on me!
In the evening Lee and I got a new coffeemaker, which is exactly like our previous one, only not worn out. We look forward to coffee tomorrow. I also got a slightly better toaster that should be less likely to burn my thick bread. These are our holiday gifts to each other.
So clean and shiny
We treated ourselves to dinner in a “real” restaurant and made our server very happy by forgiving him for not realizing we were his table. I had a magnificent beer and some salmon, which means I had a great Saturday with little phone time…until now, when I’m writing this.
Where to start? The day started out good and kept getting better. Look at this sunrise!
Hello to the day
And I was happy to see yesterday’s new calf and mama cow looked much perkier this morning and nursing was going well. I think they’re fine.
Thank you for your concern, humans.
I also felt better today, after a slow start. Maybe my head is healing. I’m at least able to do complicated tasks at work.
This strong singer helped wake me up.
After work came the best part of the day, very healing and gratifying. Jackie came to do bodywork on Apache, and I decided to see if she could maybe help out Drew, too. He’d been pretty good recently.
After grooming my sweaty Paint boy, I brought Drew out and proceeded to groom him. He was fine. So, as we waited for Jackie, I got to work on his tail, which, sigh, was full of burs, thanks to the horses grazing in the only spot that still has them (I couldn’t even see them when I called them in to eat; I just heard thundering hooves until they came around the pond). With no trouble at all, I got that tail all smooth and shiny.
See? Nice.
After Jackie arrived and started working on Apache, who she says is doing very well, I bravely approached his mane, sprayed detangler, and started brushing. There weren’t too many burs, but they came out with no issues. THEN he let me get burs out of his forelock! And asked to have his head rubbed!! What the heck?
I’m all groomed.
That was the start of a wonderful afternoon with Droodles. Perhaps the Adequin (or however you spell it) really kicked in and he feels better. But we had a nice bit of exercise in which he walked, trotted, and cantered pretty calmly, followed by some hand grazing and bonding. I could stroke him, rub his head, let him nuzzle my hand…no scary biting or kicking! Wow!
Zzzz. This is relaxing.
And he did a good job with the bodywork. When he wanted to say he was uncomfortable, he did, but Jackie could calm him right back down so he could stretch or whatever she asked him for.
This is Drew all relaxed getting worked on.
Afterwards, she showed me how she used calming breaths and distraction, while keeping herself safe. My mind was blown. I can do that! And it’s more how I’d like to work with him. This information was invaluable and encouraging.
Stretching exercise. She let him move around until he was able to bend. That must have felt nice.
We also had a great talk about how long it takes to create a great partnership and a great horse. Her story of Jambo, her horse who just retired, has inspired me. Maybe I can keep going slowly with Drew, work on the ground some more, make sure his pain is managed, and we can go forward.
Look at us all happy. He is not biting me.
I just have to get both horses to the vet to get assessed. Now that I feel less head pain, I will get to work. And maybe I can go back to enjoying both horses. It was SO nice to have a good day with Drew.
I had fun, too.
And one final good part of the day: IT RAINED. I think it was enough to measure, and will know more tomorrow. It was so exciting that Kathleen and I ran out to check for raindrops in the pool. We hope more substantial rain comes tomorrow, since it’s badly needed.
It’s supposed to be autumn. It was even down to 61°F here this morning! But it warmed right up and by the time I stopped working on my magnificent SharePoint page and went to the horses to get ready for a rare Friday lesson, it was decidedly toasty. I don’t think I’ve sweated as much in my life as I have this year.
I did get to enjoy this young doe as I had my morning coffee.
I’m not the only one who’s been all sweaty and icky this week. Apache has been encrusted with dried sweat all week, mostly mixed with dirt. I didn’t take a picture of it because I was concerned. I’d brush it off when I groomed him, but it came right back. And he didn’t feel happy all week. He told me in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want to move faster than a walk.
So when we got to Tarrin’s, I told her he’d sweated a lot and was grumpy. She felt along his neck and got salt crystals off it. He was drenched already and he’d just ridden in the trailer for a while (it’s not bad in there when it’s only in the 80s).
See all the strips of dried sweat? That’s after I rinsed him thoroughly.
I knew she was concerned when she started looking stuff up on her phone about extra salty horses. It turns out he’s probably losing a lot of electrolytes with all that salt, which can lead to muscle cramps and stuff, just like with people. His metabolic issues aren’t helping, even though he takes his medication and is not eating the wrong kind of grass.
Again, this is him looking better.
It’s fun to watch Tarrin research issues. By the time she was done, we had a plan to feed him extra electrolytes (I forgot I’d done that last year) and keep him exercising moderately.
Mabel has some sweat marks but nothing like these.
We are also going to take him (we is probably me and Vicki) to the vet when we reschedule Drew’s appointment just to get his hocks looked at and other stuff.
Drew really needs that vet appointment. Even the shots of Adequin aren’t helping with his hind leg. But he tried his best for Vicki today. She’s not going to lease him though, because he’s too unpredictable.
He is either so sweet or so touchy.
I don’t blame her at all. It’s probably not a good idea to sell him, to be honest. I’ll keep working with him after he goes to the vet and see if he ever gets better. At least he only sweated like a normal horse today.
Camena sweated like a dog. Pant, pant.
By the way, even though I couldn’t sleep last night from making web pages in my head, I ended up doing a fine job on my work project. I really enjoy a good challenge in a supportive environment.
Ok! Cute things here we come! This morning I found where all the false foxgloves were hiding this year? And they were right next to a hawthorn tree with lots of fruit.
Prairie False FoxglovesAgalinis heterophyllaThere were many honeybees and bumblebees Downy Hawthorn FruitCrataegus mollis
No matter how well I think I know the woods at the ranch, I keep finding new things. I ventured around to see what else I could find. There were many spiders!
Yellow garden spider Argiope aurantiaSpiny backed orb weaver Gasteracantha cancriformisJust a sweet violet RuelliaSumpweed Iva annuaPrickly pear fruit (tuna)Woods in late summer
After all that nature stuff it was time for our horse lessons. Both horses did their best. So did I, with much practice at riding with the reins in one hand and cantering. I have stopped gripping the saddle horn with a death grip. Progress.
You did good. So did you. Mmm, Apache, that diaper cream on your nose smells great.
Vicki and Drew definitely had their best lesson so far. Drew showed some of his good side, even with the precious foals racing around and distracting him.
Running foalTrying to ignore that cute foalTrottingIndicating he’s tired of trotting.
The best thing was that Droodles walked around the round pen with very little drama. It shows he’s gaining confidence in Vicki! I’m very proud of their progress.
I conquered the tall weeds.
After I got home we had a lovely green chile stew made by my friend Martha. She, Mike, Lee and I had a wonderful conversation on the porch as the sun set.
You see, it’s always a little blam-blammy on the first day of any season, but dove season is extra loud because they just keep shooting. There are lots of doves: Mourning, Inca, Eurasian Collared, White-winged, and Ground Doves are here in Milam County.
MourningIncaWhite-wingedEurasian CollaredCommon GroundAll photos from Merlin Bird ID.
No doves are harmed on our acreage, so we won’t run out any time soon. The harvests keep the numbers in check.
After the early morning festival of shooting sports, Vicki and I took the horses for the lesson that was postponed from yesterday. The weather was pretty nice, and only Apache got overly sweaty.
Here’s why he got sweaty. Tarrin made him canter under saddle after much previous canter work.
Apache’s just doing great, even improving on his leg yields. He now has to do three circles in canter on the ground, too. The good news is he’s happy to do it.
This is cut off because it’s supposed to be a photo of how nicely he stopped.
Suna has also improved! I was able to get him to canter off my aids instead of only doing it after a jump. I appear to be getting more comfortable going fast.
Trying to catch my breath after my triumph.
Drew is also showing good progress. He had his best lesson with Vicki so far, and she had him trotting so beautifully! They are moving forward in getting used to each other. I’m proud of them both.
What a pretty pair.
Vicki may start him back on his pain medication now that he’s working harder. I should have thought of that!
Getting his bend.
With the new month comes new color fun for me. My hair became smoky sapphire today. It should fade nicely.
BeforeAfter
Nails will be dark blue this month. I like the sparkles I put over a Greek blue. The extra layer helps my one broken nail grow out.
This was taken by the blue pool, while bluebirds were singing. Very thematic.
Hey, everyone gets to have a frivolous hobby if they want to! And it cheers me up! Back to a busy work week tomorrow. I’ll be all blue!
Just a quick note to say how much fun Vicki and I had with our horse lessons today.
I have finally gotten Apache back in shape enough to run like the wind, or that’s how his fast trot feels to me. That led to cantering in the round pen again. Neither of us liked going through the weeds in the pen, but we did it. I’m sore and I bet he is, too.
He got to wear his new accessory today. Snazzy.
And Drew showed big signs of improvement and glimpses of his old personality. Just working a bit more consistently with Vicki has helped lots. She’s really good with him and today let her see his potential. We were happy riders today.
No photo of Drew, but here’s a pretty late afternoon sky.
And we got to meet a new puppy. She’s a little bundle of curious Rottweiler energy! I look forward to getting to know her as lessons go on.
The older dog is thrilled to have a young playmate. (Picture from Tarrin)
I’ve been resting and thinking about many people I care about. I’m enjoying every pleasant moment.
I woke up this morning struggling with some of my “areas for improvement,” and I wasn’t feeling well at all. I’m grateful that I e trained myself to find the good around me, and after adding up all that fine energy, I ended the day with a smile on my face.
This heron caught something tasty in the middle of this pasture. That’s a good little thing.
I struggled a bit with what I was working on this morning, thinking it just wouldn’t do. But I went to lunch with my friends and ended up enjoying two new people, and chatting with them about their lives helped me out of a downward spiral. Another good little thing!
It was slightly cooler, so I enjoyed my morning bird walk without becoming soaked. Small win!
I went to a meeting after lunch and was able to brainstorm solutions to a problem and then got help on what I was working on. Just a little feedback and collaboration and I felt more confident. The collaboration and support we give each other in this job is gratifying!
The soapberry trees are blooming now and they smell great. Another small thing.
I sent my draft document to the person who’d requested it, and he liked it! I got quite happy about then. Plus I heard that (after much effort by me and my nurse-practitioner) my thyroid medication was approved by my health insurance, and I managed to figure out why I couldn’t enter my expenses from my trip and got that done! Win win win!
Green Heron preening. It was joined by ibises flying overhead today! Wow!
And to top off the list of small but good things, Vicki came over and we rode horses together. The weather was unbelievable for August, very pleasant with light cloud cover. Only the horses got all sweaty.
Ready to ride
Apache was in good form and practiced all his tasks very well. The best part for me was that because we went to the round pen so Vicki could ride Drew with some boundaries, Apache and I had lots of time to practice our walk-trot transitions. At some point I realized we were having a great time together. Drew was a challenge, but Vicki handled him very well. She is far more confident than I am on him.
I’m just in need of exercise. Yeah.
I could have ridden for hours in that lovely weather, but we ended at a successful point. I even practiced getting correct bends with Apache on the way back.
I’m kind of smart.
Oh, one more Apache story. Today I figured out why he was refusing to jump over the cavalettis. After he refused three times again today, I went over there and found a large Yellowjacket nest. He was trying to tell me! There was also a nest on the mounting block, and I eliminated both nests. Moral: listen to your horse.
I’m glad I paid attention today! Those were so many fine little things.
You may remember that for the past couple of years we’ve had a problem with cockleburs in the horse pasture. I spent hours and hours removing them from manes and tails, and had a horrible time with Drew, given his dislike of being touched on his head.
Drew last winter with his bur-head
This year we Hermits’ Resters have decided to do our utmost to rid the pasture of these plants, which weren’t here before. Step One was me going around with loppers and getting rid of most of the plants around the horse pens. More came up, but I’ll get them this week.
You can see them by the gates. Made it hard to open gates.
Step Two got interrupted when a piece broke on our shredder (a mowing apparatus pulled behind a tractor—you may see them on roadsides and median strips. Part of the hill created when the pond got cleaned out hadn’t been de-burred when that happened.
Now it’s more of a scorched-earth look.
However, yesterday Chris braved the heat and made the repair (welding in a Texas summer is brutal) and he was able to finish shredding as much of the “tricky” parts of the pasture.
Looking much better
That left Lee with the job of finishing the job and shredding the rest of the pasture. Goodbye to burs, dove weed and ragweed. The horses eat giant ragweed, but not the small kind.
Horses still have stuff to eat.
This project takes a ranch family village to accomplish! The next step will come next month when broadleaf killer is applied. Carefully. I don’t want it on my wildflower areas.
What are they doing here? Grazing in the few areas the tractor couldn’t get to. Burs are still there. This calls for loppers.
Then a few weeks after that, seed and fertilizer will be applied to get the pasture back in shape. I’m hoping to get grasses that are more native, but the horses’ need to eat may mean some sacrifices. Luckily we still have all the yard and field in front of the house that still has good natives.
I assure you, I NEED to eat.
I’ve also been asked to do some horse moving, which will happen next week. Some lucky horses will have new grazing areas. Poor Apache and Fiona will stay in the area with worse grass, due to their metabolisms.
We get new grass?
That’s good with me, since I like going over and hanging out with Apache multiple times a day. I think we both enjoy each other’s company. Today we hung out a lot, because I was so happy with how well he’s doing with his ground work and trail walks. It’s so much fun.
I know I post lots of pictures of him, but he’s such a fine equine friend.
I repaired his new breast collar (Vicki helped) so tomorrow I may try to put it on with his saddle to see how it looks.
I’ll take a normal saddle, please.
Hmm, this was not my planned topic. Oh well, I hope you enjoy my horse pictures as much as I enjoy the idea of a bur-free winter.
Itch timeBird supervisor Drew had a good day todayMabel is having issues, but I have a plan. She eats only soup. Spice is doing just great. The welcoming partyTwo buddiesThey circled the hay bale while Lee shredded. Protecting it from the tractor!Tractor didn’t phase Apache
I didn’t write yesterday, even though it was a good day, all in all. I felt useful at work and had a good time doing horse stuff with Vicki (other than getting stepped on by Apache when he was in a “spooky” part of his path). Walking on the paths was a great way for Vicki to practice leadership with Drew, so I’m glad we did it, even though Drew wasn’t thrilled.
Laughing because we were trying to get Drew to look cheerful.
Today I had no plans, Lee had a sore toe, and we were just blah. So, he said, “Let’s just go!” And we spontaneously went somewhere. Spontaining has a lot going for it! We drove around Texas to see what we could find.
One thing we found: free-range cattle. That’s Texas.
First we drove to Buc-ees because I really wanted one of their sandwiches for lunch. I also got over-priced watermelon but it was so good! I got a new large water holder to replace the previous one whose straw disappeared then the lid shattered in one of my more-frequent “accidents.” I’m pleased.
It has a horse and flowers on it. Good.
Then we meandered our way through the dangerous roads between Temple and Copperas Cove, Texas. You are inevitably passed on all sides by small, audibly-enhanced sporty vehicles driven by young people with very neat haircuts. Those would be folks starting their military careers at Fort Cavazos who have purchased their dream vehicles and want to go zoom zoom. We survived and made it to our random destination, a “metaphysical shop.” There are actually TWO in the area, down from three.
My souvenir was a cutting of a fascinating pothos plant with curly leaves. The shop owner has a jungle in the back of the store.
This store has all kinds of fascinating stuff in it, like dead things in jars, homemade spell candles, and what I think were some homemade oils. This was not one of those goofy crystal stores. They are serious and have some interesting classes one could take. I liked their tarot candles, so I got one for me and a Hermit for Lee. Lee gave me a VERY nice Bridget goddess statue to go with my collection. This makes me sound very woo woo. I assure you, I’m just out here sending Lovingkindness.
This avatar sucks.
After chatting about dogs, horses, and plants with the proprietor, we headed for our next destination, which we picked at random. Mostly we enjoyed the drive through rolling hills and (recently flooded) river valleys. We ended up in Lampassas. We tried to go to a nature park, but it was closed. That was a theme for the day, thanks to the floods on July 4.
The clouds were cool all day.
My big discovery in Lampassas was a huge factory that makes Ajinomoto. That’s MSG. I always thought it came from Japan. I stayed clear due to my sensitivity.
I see.
We saw a sign for Colorado Bend State Park, so we decided to go there and check it off our list. It’s a good thing, since it turns out our RV would have no place to go there.
Flood-damaged bridge to get to the park. Had to drive very slowly.
Much of the park was closed, but I did get to go on a little trail walk in a meadow with Ashe Juniper trees and lots of silver bluestem. I was hampered by my footwear choice of shiny sandals, but remember, I didn’t know where I was going earlier today.
My dumb shoes. The scenery on the trail. Pale YuccaCommon Checkered SkimmerSome kind of bee assassin bugThere were still a few clasping coneflowers.
The weird thing about my walk was the eerie lack of birds. For most of the time there was one persistent Field Sparrow, who sang very well, it all alone. At the end I finally heard a Bobwhite Quail, a Cardinal, and a Red-winged Blackbird.
It was so quiet. Even Lee noticed.
We then drove to the camping area, which was the only riverside area you could get to, and there were normal birds there in usual numbers. Whew. I’ve never been so relieved to hear wrens, titmice, and buntings.
Ridge above the Texas Colorado River Not a honey bee! It’s a northern plushback, whatever that is Pecan treeGlimpse of the River.
We left the park and for no good reason drove to San Saba, another typical town of the region. I enjoy the town squares and small shops you find. The big business here is pecans. Some of the pecan businesses have beautiful buildings. Of course, a pecan plantation is also lovely. Wish I had a photo.
The nearest place we could find to get a free hotel on our Hilton points was in Brownwood, so off we went through more scenic byways until we suddenly were there, not the way we came here last time when camping. The best thing about this Home2 Suites is that it’s next door to a Tractor Supply store, where I need to go to replenish horse food.
Hotel sunset, looking away from TSC.
It’s almost like we planned the day!
A good day needs no plan when you can spontane.
Tomorrow we get those supplies then see if this is the town with the amazing Japanese restaurant that used to be Pizza Hut. If so, that will be lunch before hitting a different bunch of Texas cow-towns on the way home.
Crude map of trip. We live due east of Temple 40 miles or so.
Tarot card of the day
Yesterday I drew the 6 of swords, which is about having a supportive community. I drew it right after chatting with my supportive Friday morning friends. I forgot to take a picture.
I didn’t draw a card today, but was impressed to see that the woman in the metaphysical shop was doing a good business with readings. Interesting!
I said I’d draw a card from my new deck daily for a while. The one I drew today sure fit! It was the Ace of Water (cups), and it has my favorite Celtic symbol, the salmon of knowledge.
Yesterday I drew the 10, which focuses on the return home. The Ace is about starting a new path to your heart’s desire. Spot on!
Today my neighbor, Vicki, and I had our first lessons together with Apache and Drew. I know for her it felt like restarting her desire to work with horses, and for Drew, it was a start working with a new human.
Drew discovers he has to do what Vicki says.
We all ended up very tired after many hours in the sun, but we were happy. Drew was happy to be back at work, especially since he’s so tubby he can’t even buck properly when he can’t canter right. There’s work to be done!
It was a beautiful day, though.
Apache is doing better, too, and everyone survived the trailer experience with Vicki’s vehicle. I look forward to finding out what’s next on this journey. May the salmon grant us emotional fulfillment and knowledge!
The Hermits' Rest 