• Tuesday - 1 May - Letters From Horses
• Wednesday - 2 May - Chooks
• Thursday - 3 May - Girths; More Chooks
• Friday - 4 May - Riding at Cronin
• Sunday - 6 May - Less Chooks :(  Shots, Excursion for Jack, and Fat Legs
• Tuesday - 8 May - Jack Goes to Stay with his Betrothed
• Friday-Monday - 11-14 May - Washoe Valley Ride
• Saturday - 19 May - Lucy's Birthday
• Tuesday - 22 May - Exploring with Provo
• Sunday - 27 May - "Fun Ride"
• Monday - 28 May - Tile

Back to April 2007 • Forward to June 2007

Tuesday - 1 May
Letters From Horses

 

Dear Elly, You are quite correct about the Maid Slave. That said, lately she has been riding with someone who is Evil. She pays no attention to my head bobs, weaving- with- exhaustion, stumbing- from- fatigue, etc. It is MOST annoying! She even makes me walk and trot *fast* using a *huge* whip <gasp>. Unfortunately she rides a gelding who is not as good at training his human as I am, although he does seem to be picking up some hints from me. Why, he was actually walking at a reasonable pace (ie: slow enough to grab bites) the last time we rode. At least until the Evil One made us all wake up and pay attention and ride, sigh. I do so love it when the Evil One works the Maid Slave equally as hard. And occasionally they will leave me tied up to the trailer to eat Good Trailer Hay while she makes the Slave run uphill and down. I find that VERY amusing! Now THAT is the way things should be! I will have to work on encouraging that behavior.... All the best, Fancy

 

Dear Fancy and Elly You ladies are so clever. I employed the mysterious periodic head-bob with my mistress since she tried to take me out for a long ride on Saturday. I've heard her mentioning another REALLY long ride in a few weeks.... I trying to get out of it. I also resorted to pulling both of my brand new front shoes off within the first 5 miles, in an attempt to further get out of work. Unfortunately my lady took me back to the trailer and put my red boots on, so that didn't work as planned. I did act REALLY super tired though so I made sure my lady had to get off and walk up the longest steepest hill. At the top I decided to employ the head-bobbing trick so she walked all the way back down and to the trailer as well, even when I gave up on the limp. Haha, serves her right, she should get off and walk for miles on end like that more often. Less weight for ME to have to pack around right? I would also appreciate more tips on how to eat a diet of just carrots and alfalfa. I don't know about this Knight fellow but does he have the secret for this? Would it work for me? ~Sinatra

 

Dear Sinatra, You are correct to consider us clever. Please remember that Mares Are Always Right, period. Do that and we shall get along splendidly :-) That said, it sounds to me like you are quite clever yourself. Not the shoe thing, of course. That is too easily remedied, as you discovered. But you must have quite perfected the head-bob maneuver to avoid up *and* downhill. It also was quite sensible to abandon it once you returned otherwise your lady would have called in the Sadistic One who would force your leg into torturous positions and then act surprised when you limped. There is no cure for this Wicked Behavior, but if you stand on his foot he will also limp, which will afford you some satisfaction. I have yet to perfect the alfalfa/carrot diet. However, if those are the only things you eat away from home, then your slave will happily feed them to you at rides when you refuse to eat anything else. The same maid slave who starves you at home becomes obsessed with stuffing you at rides, so take advantage of this odd compulsion. Forget Knight. Once upon a time you might have had something in common with him, but you can't learn a thing from him now, so sorry. But don't worry, I will love you anyway, trust me. Fancy, aka The Floozy

 

Fancy, I have NO idea why you go on and on about that Oregon loser, Knight, when right in your back yard you have the gods gift to girls. He's tal..., err, dark and handsome and ALL of Ann's girls are fighting over him. Since I met HIM, my life is forever changed. Why, since he came into my life the muscles that used to be used to pin my ears have been instead redirected. And the teeth I lost from biting the steel rails are growing back.  Think about it, do you really want to worry about your kids losing it completely and careering out of control down the highway every time you cross 395?  Anyway, give me a ring, the maid is busy running poor stupid ROO boy up and down the training hill <snicker> THOSE gelding haven't EVEN a clue. I mean, REALLY, we live together and I have shown him the head bob trick over and over but does he get it? NOOOOOO, poor sad thing......  CA Zinfandel

 

That Zini is such a bitch!!!! We're not talking to her anymore!!!! Elly

 

My Dear CA Zinfandel, How lovely to hear from you. It's been so long! As I remember you excel in Maid Training. Why the last time we went out together, the maid rode Provo while you were able to romp free (after that clever under-the-tail-rope maneuver). Excellent, excellent work! Your are right, the boys are hopeless. Just the other day I heard my friend Monte's maid gushing over how much she loves geldings because they are so steady and predicable....sigh, will they ever learn? I am interested to hear about your not-so-tall, dark and handsome boyfriend, but I'm afraid I've fallen hard. This time for a True California Beach Boy [dreamy eyed sigh]. He's a golden palomino foxtrotter with *dreamy* flowing tresses. Let me tell you, he has some *very* smooth moves and I admit to be quite attracted to him [batting eyelashes]. So for now he is the Stud Of My Dreams, sigh.... Keep up the good work, and let me know if *you* need a set of those cunning halters that Lovely Elly just ordered :-) Strategy wishes and alfalfa dreams, Fancy

Wednesday - 2 May
Chooks

• the red frizzle is indeed going to be a frizzle - their arm feathers are just coming in and they are on backwards. (The red one was the one I suspected was actually a silkie, so this is good news - silkies are too likely to get eaten around here).
• The white one (currently "yellow easter chick coloured") is also showing distinct frizzle feather tendencies - I'll be able to tell for sure tomorrow (they grow that quick).
• The black one must be the youngest of the lot (which I suspected, as he was also the wimpiest), so his feathers are still too short to tell.

• The blue cochin has the mostest feathers and pecks at my hands if they go near him, so I have no worries about his robustness.

Thursday - 3 May
Girths

After Roo's bucking at 35 miles at Buck Meadows the other day (Hmmm, maybe I should have paid more attention to the name of the ride?), I tightened his girth one more hole for the last loop.

In retrospect - looking at the two poofy lumps that came up either side under the girth - I'm guessing it was maybe a bit too much.

He's prone to chafing in the armpit area anyway - not so's he's gotten sore (yet), but enough that it makes his skin peel a week or so later, so I was thinking about alternative options. When I rode on Tuesday, I tried out a 26" mohair girth that I bought a while back. Given that the neoprene waffle cinch I have been using is a 24" and a bit long, and that I was shopping for a shorter one, I had to punch yet more holes in the billets to make sure I wouldn't run out of tightening opportunities with the mohair.

With Roo's spooking abilities, I'd hoped that maybe the mohair would make the saddle extra-secure, but I can't say I noticed much difference. However, I did notice that tightening up a non-elasticated girth isn't nearly as cheerful-making for the horse as the elasticated variety, so I'm not sure how often I'll use the mohair one.

So in conclusion, I either need an elasticated mohair girth or need to think of something else.

More Chooks

When we were at the feed store last week getting chooks, the lady said she was getting some old english in today - so we bunked off work early to see what they had... ...and came home with five more tiny chicks. 

Except for screaming all the way home, they are now happily ensconced with their slightly older new siblings:

Here's my lil' golden seabright (left) with the much larger, but probably  the same age, barred cochin

So in my cardboard chook palace, I've now got:

• Frizzles:
  http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGD/Friz/BRKFrizzles.html
  • A Red
  • A White
  • A Black (may not frizzle)
• Old English Game Bantams: http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Games/GameBantams/BRKOEGBantams.html and http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Games/GameBantams/BRKOEGBantams2.html
  • A Blue-breasted red (I think)
  • A Spangled
• Dutch Bantam:
  http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGD/Dutch/BRKDutch.html
  • A Black-breasted red (I think)... of maybe golden?
• Cochins:
  http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Cochins/BRKCochinStd.html 
  • A Giant Blue
  • A Barred
• A Golden Seabright:
  http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sebr/BRKSebrights.html

Friday - 4 May
Riding at Cronin

Managed to get a ride in at Cronin with Gail and Dana - we only went <7 miles, but did a little bit of uphill trotting, so it was a good workout. Tried Roo in the mohair girth again. Still not convinced. I'd been riding for about 45 mins and reached down and found it totally loose. I don't like the way it's hard to tighten, having no elastic. I think I'll put the neoprene waffle one back on and try bodygliding his armpits for Washoe next weekend.

Chili didn't get to come because she's been nursing a poorly leg for about a week now (RF) - think maybe she tweaked it chasing the cats, as she was limping a lot, but is getting better.

	Sunday - 6 May Less Chooks :( Sadly, two of the little tiny chooks didn't survive - one died on Friday and I found another one this morning. Not sure why they don't thrive - possibly they are too easily stressed or I haven't managed to get the box warm enough (I've got a heat pad in there now, which has helped, but the thermometer still only reads ~83°F and I think they do best at 95°F).  It was the two darker ones that died, maybe the blue-breasted red and the spangled? The pale one seems to be doing well, as is the seabright (who's either doing really well or is just larger than the others). On the flip side, the red frizzle is a feisty active thing and jumps around happily, as does the barred cochin. Shots, Excursion for Jack On Saturday I took Jack, Provo, and Zini in to Cool to get their shots (WNV, 4-way, and rabies). They were all good children - especially Jack, for whom it was the first excursion off the property since he arrived in October. He took it all in his stride, jumping eagerly into the trailer (which he knows will have hay in it, so he's perfectly happy), and hopping out at the other end. He wasn't too sure about being jabbed in the butt, but didn't notice that much. Zini fussed as usual and Provo was a big baby - worrying about the shots, but not actually noticing when they went in. I got a spare WNV for Mouse. Afterwards, I took Jack for a walk around (a deserted because of the 24 hour mtn bike race) Cool staging area. He was a bit alarmed by the big white sign outside the pizza place, and by the big stump and the rocks, but after we played rock slalom for a while, squeezed between the big rocks and the metal trash container, and inspected the portapotty, the picnic table, and the wooden tie-up posts, he settled down really well and was so busy stuffing himself with grass he didn't even notice the bicycles whizzing past.

Fat Legs

Went to practice putting Provo's new Size 1 Epics on this afternoon, only to find out that he was totally stocked up in all four legs, as well as his sheath. I'm guessing it's a reaction to his shots, although it could have been something he ate, since he spent about an hour grazing in the orchard while I went and fetched two loads of hay when we got back. He seems cheerful enough, so I hosed him for about 20 mins and took him for a wander, and he was moving well (well, apart from tripping over his EZ-booted-feet).

Roo is still due his 4-way (I think) and his rabies.

Was a Tired Tim all weekend - not sure if I caught Ann's nasty cold (without it turning into a cold) or what, but I slept large amounts all weekend.

Tuesday - 8 May
Jack Goes to Stay with his Betrothed

For excursion #2 this week, late this afternoon I took Jack over to Ann's for him and Abi to "get to know one another a little better". He rode in the big back stall in the trailer for the first time and apart from stomping around in there, he didn't seem any worse for wear when we arrived.

Abi was still down on the 60 acres with Mouse and Mecca, so we went down to get her. All three girls are looking very good on the grass out there (read "they already look pregnant"). Ann was astonished just how fast Mouse had assumed blimp proportions <grin>.

By the time we got back, poor Jack was doing laps, no doubt having a small panic attack at being on his own for the first time in his life. As soon as Abi appeared, he rushed over, did nosie sniffs and off they went. He was very interested in her bottom until she suggested that he not do that, and after that just a "look" from her dissuaded him of further investigation - so he has learned some manners.

We're going to leave them in together until the end of June to "see what happens".

Friday-Monday - 11-14 May
Washoe Valley Ride

Saturday - 19 May
Lucy's Birthday

Still dopey from the whack on the head, so I spent today sleeping mostly. Not the world's most exciting birthday, but I needed a break.

Here are the latest chook photos (clockwise from top left) red frizzle, giant grey cochin, white frizzle (doesn't it look like a fairy?) and golden seabright:

Tuesday - 22 May
Exploring with Provo

Provie n' me went and rode from the "Old Bus Stop" (the equivalent of Third Gate). Haven't ridden Provie in *ages* and he felt very funky for the first minute or so. He's so fat at the moment that he felt immense compared to narrow Roo. I had to stop after the first few minutes to let down my stirrups, feeling like a jockey.

We rode up and down San Martin Mine Rd, exploring and trying to find the trail up towards Greenwood Lake without success, so we ended up going back and crossing the road through Potato's place and down Cuz's Trail. We took a right turn and ended up scaling a ridiculously steep hill trail that I think goes up to the Larkin's place, but the sun was setting so it was time to turn for home.

Provo is so unspooky - he just gets on with stuff, trucking along like we always have. It's nice to have him back.

Sunday - 27 May
"Fun Ride"

Drag rode the 12 mile portion of the "Fun Ride". It took us FIVE HOURS behind the last riders. Ack. At least they had "refreshments" at the half-way mark - margaritas on the trail is very civilised.

At the end, checking Roo's back, the less worrisome mark of the two had developed into a lump, so no more using the Barefoot saddle on him. It seems when I two-point (which I do a lot), the leather where the stirrups attach is pulling tight across his back and rubbing. I had every single piece of padding in my Skito, so it shouldn't have been able to do that. I'll need to try him in the SportSaddle this week. That's what Rusty was riding him in, so it should be OK. That, or I'll get the Sensation and be able to try that maybe.

Monday - 28 May
Tile

After a year of procrastination, I finally got around to doing the tile in the hallway. Now I've just got the fiddly bits to do - and for that I have to rent a tile cutter. These pics were taken with the spiffy new camera. Today I also played with the video part - took some lil' videos and spliced them together for a short 7 MB video (of the pones, of course). Unfortunately, they seem to be in a Windows "WMV" file, which it won't let me plop down here, so I'll have to investigate further to figure out how to pop videos on a web page.

Ah, I think I've got it... this, my first ever video is about 7 MB in size, so may take a while to buffer: