Ah, I’m answering this question rather than sharing my current thoughts. They’ll be more refined tomorrow.
No AI here! It’s a clouded skipper.
For certain, what my husband will tell you makes me lose track of time is nature walks. I just disappear and re-emerge with no idea how long I was gone. I’m completely enthralled by the sights, sounds, and smells of new places or new things in familiar places. I don’t want it to end.
Here’s a new thing I found in the driveway! It’s delicious common purslane, a portulaca (Portulaca oleracea) just like the cultivated one below. Look at the beautiful Texas Striped Sweat Bee in my volunteer portulaca/moss rose
Hanging out with the animals also can make me lose track of time. I’ve just spent twenty minutes thinking about how beautiful Carlton is to me. My love for this guy never ends.
Carlton the Dogman
I ended up spending more time with Drew today than I’d intended, too. I’d walked to the next-door unused mailbox to drop something off, and decided to come back through the horse pasture, you know, in case there were any interesting plants or insects. So, I was concentrating on plants when I got a feeling I was being followed.
Hmmm. (Re-enactment)
I kept going until I felt something hot on my neck.
Ehhhh
Then I realized Droodles was sneaking up on me.
Hi, Mom!
We ended up hanging out for quite a while just enjoying each other’s company. He didn’t push me around looking for treats, just rested his head on me and asked to be scratched. It’s so good to get along with each other again!
Mostly. That ear is showing some mischief is afoot. Yes, I’m not much of a fashionista in this weather. That shirt is very orange and the head covering looks silly but keeps hair out of my face.
Not surprisingly, the other activity that leads me to lose track of time is reading. I’ve been reading Sibley Birds, Second Edition since I bought it in New Mexico. It’s only 600+ pages. I can’t stop looking at all the birds, learning new things about familiar ones and finding out what else might be out there in Texas (and wherever else I go).
Bonus Carlton again.
I will admit to skimming Arctic residents and ocean birds. Otherwise, I’m reading it all. But I’m in the oriole section! I’m almost done! Do not worry. I have a nice long book about animal tracks lined up. That’s what happens when people stop mailing me novels, I guess. (I’m fine for novels! I have some enqueued.)
If I’m repeating myself, forgive me. I’m working on changing my mindset and that can wear me out until I’m through the hardest part (letting go of an unproductive mindset).
Thanks for being there, friends and family. You are appreciated even when I don’t show it well.
A little wiped out so I can’t write something long about comfort. So I’ll be brief but positive! This blog needs that, don’t you think?
I’m just pleased as punch to be able to announce that I’m in the best relationship yet with both my horses. That’s taken a lot of work and patience, but sure feels good. I’m glad my trainer works hard and is patient, too (plus she cares).
These are her filly and new calf. They have become playmates. It is extra cute.
It’s become a true pleasure to work with Apache. Funny story: I asked Tarrin if maybe something was wrong with him, because he’s been acting so laid back and agreeable. She laughed and said maybe I’m meeting my horse for the first time. He finally feels good and is showing his friendly and fun personality all the time, and he’s calm. We’ve both come a long way in that department. Dang, it’s fun to get better together.
I don’t have a photo of him today, so here are two more friends. They are good to each other.
And Drew is back to the horse I enjoyed so much before. Whatever he was angry about has passed, and he seems to feel better, too. I guess his shots are helping. I’m enjoying him rather than just working with him because I’m supposed to. I guess we figured things out.
Me riding Drew wherever I ask him to go. It was fun.
The good stuff plus today was that I managed to actually bring myself to reach out to someone about how bad I’ve been feeling lately. She listened, came up with ideas, and made some plans. It just felt good to explain how I feel and be listened to. That’s all I needed.
And look, we had a nice sunset!
I’m going to have to find something fun to do this weekend, because we aren’t going camping as planned. The bedroom slide isn’t working in Seneca (Tarrin’s son looked at it but the easy possibility of a loose wire didn’t pan out). And I don’t want to leave the animals alone with just someone feeding them. At least I can ride the horses. My friendly, well behaved horses!
This female roseate skimmer reminds us that some change is good.
I guess my experience with being in a vocal trio with a Kerrville Folk Festival devotee, volunteering at a monthly folk coffeehouse for years, and living with a rock/country guitarist for three years or so doomed me. I became pretty fond of Americana music. What’s that?
I’m lucky to have lived in Austin, Texas (or thereabouts) for 30 years or more. There is a lot of Americana music to watch. I watched and listened to a lot of it with my music friends. I loved this part of my life.
Americana! Featuring my friend Jeff.
Oddly, I don’t listen much anymore. I think it has to do with the loss of my older son, who is a wonderful mandolin player (he’s not dead, just refuses to speak). And some unpleasantness happened to my other son in the music scene. Plus, my vocal cords are now damaged and I can’t sing certain notes now. It has taken away the pleasure of music.
My kid at left.
That took a dark turn. Of course there were wonderful musical moments in my life. And music moves me when I do listen. And not just Americana! I love classic rock, classical, and Celtic especially. and the music of nature, naturally. Heh heh.
Suna sings to me sometimes.
Eh. I’ll stop before I go on and on about favorite artists. Enjoy looking at Fiona and Drew.
I had to skip the blog prompt again, because it would have caused me to go on and on about my fears for the future. I’m living day by day right now, so hooray for birds and horses! Their only agendas are to eat more delicious food, and in the birds’ case, reproduce. No babies for the horses (Mabel is secretly glad, I’m sure).
That’s why she isn’t in this picture. She’s galloping around, thrilled to be foal free.
My highlight of the day came in my morning walk, when something white flashed in the sky. It was a shimmering white flock of birds heading dead south. It’s weird to see migrating birds in summer, but there they were.
Sparkles in the sky
I figured it was the local group of cattle egrets moving from one pasture to another, but they were pretty high. But even from far away I could see heads sticking out, which is not how cattle egrets fly.
Hold on, what’s that black?
When I looked at the pictures I took, I saw black on the wings. So, not egrets. Snow geese? Their black is only on the tips and you’d hear them honking. These birds had lots of black on their underwings.
Off they go
In fact, I heard no sounds from these birds. I thought back to the white pelicans I saw at Tarrin’s not too long ago. They do have black on their wings. But they made noise and you could really see their heads. Not these. So I concluded these are wood storks, which are occasionally seen here (by me, in the back pond, twice). They must be late migrants.
Or I’m wrong. However, Merlin did suggest the stork as possible here this time of year and not the pelicans. A good mystery.
We will be talking about it for weeks, say the swallows.
Today was another horse lesson—due to vacations and other travel, they sort of clump together. It was extra hot again, but we figured out how to cope. I was very proud of Apache today. He was a real trooper, even though he wasn’t enjoying the heat either. He is getting SO easy to ride, and is willing to keep working on his weak areas.
Just a relaxed walk. With a stick.
We’ve found a short bamboo stick is just what helps him move off his left side. And I can use it now that I ride well enough I can use one hand on the reins. It’s what I used to do a long time ago but needed more skills. He and I are really progressing, doing things that require more finesse than effort (perfect in summer).
What’s going on here? He had to pee. He very rarely does that with a rider on. When they pee, you lean forward to relieve pressure.
And at least I got to ride Drew today. He has been doing better on the ground at honey, so I wasn’t too worried about it. First we practiced me being the boss a little bit. He’s getting the idea. Then we did some leg yields and figure 8s. In the SHADE. That part was nice.
Shade.
It’s a bit challenging, but interesting to see how Drew and Apache need different techniques. No long reins for Drew! But after some pawing, backing up, and “complaining,” I was able to get him to do as requested. He worked hard. I think he sweated more than Apache.
Drew behaving well.
I think we are back on track, though. Tarrin got him even hotter by reminding him how to behave when I got off, so when we were done I rinsed him off while Tarrin messed with Apache’s hooves (farrier is delayed). Drew really enjoyed the hose and I enjoyed watching him play with the sprayer. He just sucked the water right down. He can be so cute!
And that ended my day on a happy note. Hooray.
The morning glories are cheering!
And there’s a good chance the upstairs air conditioning will be fixed soon! It’s bearable, though.
If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?
I’m tired from four hours in today’s heat, so I hadn’t planned to blog. However, I can handle this question and want to know your answers, too. Here’s what I could wear every day:
Ani I look thrilled
No, my Bitmoji avatar doesn’t look much like me. But it has a red t-shirt, blue jeans, and red shoes, probably in my old age I should trade the cowboy boots for Skechers slip ons. I would accessorize with turquoise jewelry. Under it would be my extra comfy MeUndies bra-like thing and matching soft, practical undies, tie dye print. I’d be fine.
My shadow would look just like this, other than the bare foot.
What would you wear?
Otherwise I had a good day of work and helpful horse lessons. Apache is doing so well and is really becoming Mr. Reliable. Drew was a bit sore and jumpy. He got so sweaty he looked black.
Here he is indicating his opinion of moving left correctly.
I did get a few nice photos of the horses today. My favorite is Dusty and Mabel enjoying a drink together.
That’s Fiona behind them.
And here’s the whole herd wishing you the peace and abundance they have, mostly.
Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?
Surprise! As a child I was very fond of, you guessed it, horse books. I read every horse book in the Sidney Lanier Elementary School library by third grade. The last book the librarian found was Steinbeck’s The Red Pony. She soon learned that sensitive young girls should not be given that book, even if they have advanced reading skills. I cried a lot and had nightmares.
I didn’t like the thought of horses dying gruesome deaths.
I’m glad they now have books for young people with high reading levels that are still children.
My favorite childhood book, Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, also depicted bad things that happen to a horse, but after I’d read it once, I knew there would be a happy ending, so I let all Sewell’s animal rights propaganda seep into my future Master Naturalist brain by reading my poor copy dozens of times.
This was the 1955 edition I owned. Goodness, that horse has small eyes.
I can tell you what the cover looked like, and how I regretted that I let the plastic coating on the cover peel away. I can smell the book, even. It was the most beloved of a set of beloved horse books, a few of which I still have.
My second favorite. I still have this.
No wonder it was so important to me to find a trainer who was kind to horses and understood them. It’s probably a good thing I waited until I was getting on in years to start formal lessons, so that natural horsemanship could become a “thing.” I wouldn’t have been good at the showing the horse who’s boss by beating them school of training nor the cruel bits/painful sours tack they’d use. Black Beauty didn’t like that either!
That stuff’s for the birds, says Mr Cardinal.
Today was a great example of how Tarrin Warren, my horsemanship coach and horse trainer, works with each horse and rider pair differently, according to the needs and skills of both the horse and the human.
Check this out! Me and Drew happily riding outside of the arena! Happy faces.
I had lessons on both horses, and doing the same exercise I used different techniques to bring out Drew and Apache’s talents and help with their issues, all the while building my skills. This helps me with my confidence in other areas, too.
This horse right here calmly walked by neighing horses, a loud RV, and the previously hated trailer.
Horses are good for people. And looking at Apache’s shining eyes and willing body makes me think maybe they get something from us, too.
I love you, Suna, in my horsey way.
Drew is completely back to his normal self, too. It’s like the past few months never happened. We have fun and I feel perfectly safe with him, even when his leg collapses under him. Heck, today I gave him his shot like a pro, and had ZERO issues bridling him. Those are two things I’d never have believed I could do before.
Calm and happy horse and rider.
So yeah, as much as I loved learning about horses in books as a child, I’m loving it even more with actual horses. Yup, even with all the ups and downs.
Here we are, looking forward to the future. Or looking at Tarrin’s new house.
Tomorrow I promise to write about something other than horses! Or birds. I’m getting rather stuck on topics, but it helps me avoid controversy.
But we birds are fascinating, says the Red-Bellied Woodpecker. I’m also interesting! (Giant Walking Stick)What about me? I came in Suna’s house and she rescued me before dogs found me. That’s interesting. (Gulf Coast Toad)
I’ve been very healthy most of my life, other than being incapable of pushing babies out and having a messed up gall bladder removed. I don’t become ill very often, either. Now that my slightly low thyroid and lady hormones have been adjusted, I’m one healthy elder.
And I’m a great photographer! It’s a katydid at sunset
But today I found out I have a condition! Here’s the story.
Yesterday the guy adjusting my back said I should get it x-rayed to be sure I hadn’t cracked a bone in there. That made sense— it was probably just bruised, but who would want to mess with it if you weren’t sure?
Not me, says Carlton.
So today I thought I’d go to the doctor to get it looked at, but they don’t have x-rays there. So I went to a nice standalone ER place as soon as I got my important work stuff done. It took longer than I’d hoped, especially since I’d forgotten to eat anything.
Goldie never forgets to eat.
Once the doctor found out I’d been thrown off a horse he went into covering all the bases mode and decided to get a CAT scan of my head and back. So, now I know what one of those is like. It’s not bad. Sort of fun, probably expensive.
The bubbles in the draining water are like my money draining away.
I was getting worried I wouldn’t make it home in time for my lessons with Tarrin, but eventually the nice doctor came back and told me that my head and back were okay, which I thought would be the case.
That lifted some dark clouds off my head.
But there was more. I have a splenic artery aneurysm. I guess they really look at you when they scan! It turns out these things are usually found when looking for something else. Mine is 1cm and they get concerned when they are 3cm.
I’m supposed to not fall off things, get kicked in the spleen, or get in a car accident. I told Drew and I think he’s holding off on the naughtiness. Just kidding. I’ll be in touch with my primary care doctor on Monday to see what to do.
Appropriate meme
My guess is they will want to check again in a year. Or they will yank out my poor spleen. I’d like to keep my organs.
Of course I’m still riding. Carefully. Both horses did well today at our place for lessons. It had rained a lot again last night, but we managed a lot with mostly walking. I’m so glad Drew is treating me normally again. That took a while!
No picture of me riding, so here is Tarrin schooling my handsome guys.
Hope you enjoy these sunset photos. There were colors I truly wish I could paint in tonight’s!
Just a quick blog today. After a nice afternoon hanging out with the horses I realized that for the first time in months, all the equines are healthy, happy, and calm. It’s about time!
Apache now comes up every time I call, probably because he loves the feed I hide his pill in. And his appetite is normal. We must have spent 20 minutes after he ate just hanging out. He loves having his poll rubbed after some nice grooming.
Happy horses noshing away.
And Drew is well on his way back to normal as well. I can groom him, though today he pitched a little fit before I got him groomed. The helpful bamboo stick came to the rescue. Earlier in the week he did fine. And I can ride him and get his bridle on. Whew. I’m proud that I have no trouble riding him after the fall I took. And he’s affectionate again. I’d missed that.
Not his most flattering angle. He’s not much fatter. I felt he deserved some nice grass after all his ground work today (the riding was just walking and trotting and stopping.)
I’m relieved none of them got hurt in the storms, too. I can’t even find a cut.
They were supposed to get their dental work done today, but the poor dentist accidentally dropped her expensive bottle of sedatives and it broke! You can’t do teeth safely without sedation. We will try again!
See. We are back to a good relationship. I do wish I could wear a helmet straight.
I fell really well, I hear. Oddly, I feel more confident about Drew after getting bucked off in my first attempt at cantering than I did earlier today. Who’d have guessed?
But look how cute he is with his graying mane and tousled effect (he had just stumbled hard).
Since my last lesson with Drew, I’d been really cautious with him. I admit I mainly took him out and exercised him, avoiding grooming, because I was having trouble keeping him from trying to bite or kick me, even with a riding crop to make my bubble larger. I needed help.
What don’t I need help with? Befriending bunnies. These young cottontails no longer pay me any notice.
But I had an ego boost today that buoyed me up. I felt irrationally good about myself because at the conference sponsored by my previous employer I was called out for an award as someone who is helpful to their users. This was given by the director of the group that tried so hard to get me to leave, and I was nominated by former colleagues. That felt good, because Dell can’t give contractors awards or bonuses. I’m happy that the hard work I do is noticed!
I’m as cheerful as the color of this Gulf fritillary.
So, I was more confident when I went to get Drew for his lesson. He was so good, coming up to me to be haltered and being friendly as heck until I tried to groom him. He even bit my riding crop in two. But I got it done. That pleased me.
When we got to Tarrin’s he was sweet as pie and let me get all the little burs out of his mane. I felt better already. I just had to figure out the grooming thing.
Oh it’s figured out now. Tarrin gave me the Tough Love speech about how I had to stop moving away from him and rewarding his behavior or I’d have to sell Droodles. I felt really bad about being scared after being kicked but it’s a human reaction. I just had to get past it.
After that unpleasantness, she showed me a great technique for encouraging him to keep his teeth and hooves to himself. I managed to finish grooming and even get his mane and tail done. He is not fond of the bamboo stick I was semi-competently wielding to bop him. He was quite the gentleman thereafter. He even took the bit politely!
In fact, other than one stumble while we were nicely trotting, he was perfect during the lesson. I think we both were having fun together. He was doing so well that Tarrin thought we might be able to try a canter (have I mentioned before that I’d never cantered on a horse? Never got that far in lessons with Apache because he has canter “issues” having nothing to do with my skill set).
Just some nettle leaf noseburn to break up the tension.
She set it up so that she had him on the lead rope and I was in the saddle holding the reins in one hand and the saddle in the other. It all went fine. He started to canter but something happened that made him buck me right off. We were all surprised.
There was NO WAY I was going to fall in such a way that my cesarean scar would get re-injured like it did on my old hybrid saddle with Apache. So I went off to the correct side to not be trampled and somehow successfully rolled like I was doing judo or whatever. It went butt, back, head in such a way that I’m only bruised and have a headache.
THIS is why you wear a helmet when riding a horse. It protected me. In fact, I was wearing the helmet I had to buy after Apache bucked me off (which led to me starting lessons with Tarrin.)
Apparently after I landed and had the wind knocked out of me, I said, “I think I’m dead.” Tarrin, being pretty smart, figured out if I was talking I was alive. She and Drew came to see if I was all right. He was quite concerned that I was on the ground, as horses tend to be.
Once I was up, Tarrin got on Drew to firmly remind him how to behave in canter.
He was not thrilled at first.
After a little squabbling, he was fine. We went back and practiced grooming his sweaty little self. Lee came up and Tarrin said I got an A+ and Drew got an F. That’s a great reward! She is not pleased that this little hiccup occurred, because she considers it her job to keep her students safe. But I think, in the end, everything worked out fine.
He settled down. Yes I took pictures. I was a little nauseated but sitting down to recover.
Honestly, I’m proud of myself for how I handled the events of the lesson. Getting thrown from a horse was a concern for me, since older people don’t bounce as well as young ones. But I coped well and mainly feel sad to have caused Tarrin concern. I feel good about Drew, the best I have since he got hurt. We are on the road back to a good relationship.
My wrinkles and I are intent on telling you I’m fine. I have perky pajamas and strong drugs.
Tomorrow won’t be fun. I guess checking out my bruises will be interesting. My back is a bit tweaked so I’ll do stretches and hope I don’t need a chiropractor. But yes, I have appropriate medications, analgesics, and medical professionals to contact if I get any concussion symptoms. Honest. No need to post medical advice!
Enjoy my best question mark photo yet.
Maybe I’ll ride Apache tomorrow. Hee hee. He looked bummed that he didn’t get to go to lessons.
What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?
I’m not very big on holidays, but I enjoy observing the changing seasons. May 1 is Beltane in the tradition I follow. It’s the big fertility celebration where all the flowers are blooming and you dance around the maypole, a thing I’ve done many times.
This cheerful day flower welcomes the changing seasons.
I like a holiday that’s all for fun, isn’t commercialized, and provides a chance to be as wild as you want to be. I’ll probably pick a May basket full of flowers and make a nice bouquet tomorrow.
Lots of flowers to choose from.
That will be after my doctor appointment, where I have to get tests done to be allowed to continue my thyroid medication, followed by the equine dentist, another yearly traditional event at the ranch. I hope I can worm the horses while they’re sedated. That should end the parade of horse health expenses for a while.
We’re worth it, even when we snub you.
Today was a first for me in a couple of ways. First, Drew kicked me for daring to try to groom his right side. He really doesn’t want me grooming him, so I guess I’ve been a bad horse owner and traumatized him.
I feel pretty awful about that and confused about what to do. On the one hand I’m supposed to be firm and set boundaries and on the other I’m not supposed to react. I’ll keep trying. My thigh sure hurts. Interesting that he doesn’t mind me cleaning 3/4 of his hooves, and is happy to be haltered and walk with me.
Second, I gave a living being a shot of medicine. Yes, this was after getting kicked. Drew was fine about that. He gets a shot a month from now on for arthritis pain. I’m proud I remembered how to do it. Maybe Tarrin will think I still have some potential as a horse person.
Speaking of pain and meds, Apache is feeling lots better. I’m pleased that he’s walking and trotting well without the boots on. He volunteered to canter but I had him stop. It wasn’t going well and he was hopping. Still, good news that he tried. He seemed energetic.
Also good is that he is now taking his medication like a champ, thanks to the magical cookies Sara made for Aragorn. Aragorn didn’t like them, but Apache seems to look forward to them. I guess I’ll have to get the recipe!
No new Apache pictures, so enjoy this very large mushroom.
Kathleen says this is my week for challenges, after getting stuck in the mud yesterday and kicked today. I’m trying to adopt her attitude of laughing the challenges off and staying positive.
The Hermits' Rest 