I Want--------

I Want….”“Mikey, don’t touch that.”

The little pre-school age boy pulled his hand slowly back from the bag of chips he had been reaching for.

“Michael, Mommy says don’t touch ANYTHING.”

Again the little boy pulled his hand back, this time from the box of cookies, watching his mom as she moved on down the isle of the grocery store. She added some snack crackers to the shopping cart, while talking baby talk to the fussy, whining baby sitting in the seat of the cart. “Come on, Mikey.”

After a moment Michael followed.They turned down another isle, moving by and around other shoppers. Several things were added to the cart. The baby cried.

“I want cookies,” demanded Michael.

“No,” said his mom, picking up a can of green beans, and then a bag of noodles. They moved on.

“I want cookies – cook-ies – cook – kook-eyes, cook-ies,” sang Michael. “Want cook-ies – kook-eyes.”

“Mikey, please be quiet. If you’re quiet I’ll get you some cookies. Okay, Mikey.”

His mom was getting more flustered as she tried to finish her shopping. Michael knew he had her going now. “Goodie, goodie, goodie,” he sang. “I’m going to get cookies - cook-ies, kook-eyes.”

“Mikey, be quiet,” wailed his mom while the baby echoed her. She checked her list. “Need to get milk, juice, and baby cereal. And some hamburger.” She added a jar of pickles to the cart, and crammed a pacifier into the mouth of the crying baby. She wished she could give one to Mikey, too.

“Cookies, kook-eyes. I want cookies – kook-eyes, more kook-eyes. Kook - .” Michael stopped singing. “Mommy, Mommy. What’s that? Mommy, are those eyeballs.”

Michael pointed at a jar. “Those look like eyeballs, Mommy.” He took a step backward. “Mommy, that jar there. The eyeballs are moving. Their rolling around in the jar, Mommy, how do they do that.”

“Of course not,” said his mom, hardly glancing at where he was pointing. “Those are olives, Mikey. Come on.”

“No, there not ‘lives. Their eyeballs. Kook-eye balls. There looking at me. Make them stop looking at me. I don’t like kook-eye balls.” Michael grabbed his mom around the leg and hid his face, then peaked back at the jar.

“Stop that, Mikey, those are only olives.” She pried him loose from her leg.

Michael looked back at the jar. “Don’t look at me, kook-eyes,” he yelled, and flung a small fist at the jar, barely grazing it. It was just enough to cause the jar to fall to the floor, where the glass shattered and the contents rolled here and there, helter-skelter.

“Mommy! The kook-eyes jumped off onto the floor.”

“Now look what you’ve done, Michael!”

“They jumped, Mommy! Honest they did!”

"You’re going to get it now, Michael. Do you hear me? Your in ….in….trouble….now,……” her voice slid to a halt, as she took in the sight of the broken glass and the still rolling ---- jumping, ----- and rolling ----- eyeballs.

There were hazel eyes, blue eyes, brown eyes, and green eyes; some with the eyelids still attached. And all those many eyes were staring at her. As she watched back, her mouth still open, she gave a little screech. When she did one of the eyeballs winked at her.

Horrified at the sight she and several other customers screamed some more as they began to move away from the wildly, rolling eyeballs, and toward the exit doors.

An excited stock boy yelled for a manager, wanting to know what he was supposed to do with the run-a-way eyeballs.

“Mikey, we’re leaving. NOW!” shouted Mikey’s mom as she grabbed the boy by the arm, and drug him with her, while pushing the cart with the screaming baby, toward the nearest door.

Eyeballs continued to roll after her while Mikey sang about Kook-eyes.

Halloweeen

Halloween is just around the corner. Do you beleive in ghosts, goblins, spooks, witches, vampires, werewolves, and other things that go bump in the night? I have always like the supernatural stories. Shows like Twilight Zone, X Files, The Night Stalker, Lost, ect. And I remember sitting around the kitchen table, or the campfire, or fireplace in the late fall listening to 'ghost stories' told by my parents, grandparents, and other relitives and friends.

Notes

Hoping to break my writers block, I have compiled pape after page of notes, outlines, and ideas for new stories. Hopefully I can now put some of them to use.

To All Who Read

My biggest fantasy is that some agent, or publisher will see and read the stories I have posted on my blogs and decide to represent me.

And I utterly tired of these two stories. I have been over and over and over these two stories, or novels, so many times I am throughly disgusted with them. I have sincere hopes I never have to read, or edit them again. Or at least not until someone wants to be my agent or publish them.

For that reason I am taking Josie's suggestion and trying to write a new noval in one month. Again it is a contest. Go to www.nanowrimo.org to sign up. You are expected to write a novel in the month of November. You start on the 1st and end on the 30th. You must reach the goal of 50,000 words. But if you don't, so what. It is all in good fun.

Check it out.

words

If you remember I entered the contest at Contest Junkies, and of course, I didn't win. But I did get a fair amount of comments from the other readers at my email address.

Several people have asked me which were my stories. They were the ones entitled Cowboy Snapshots, and Life Change. I am putting the same thing I entered on my other blog, Wonderin' Words, so you can read it. If you want.

Chores

Does eveyone have as much trouble getting the household chores done as I do? What a drag it is to wash dishes, do laundry, vacum the floors, dust and any of the other 101 jobs that taking care of a home involves.
And its never finished.

Bull Riding Finals

So what do you think? Will Justin McBride win the champian ship this year? Or will it be one of the other 45 riders that will be competing at the finals the last week of October? I haven't decided yet. It looks like it may be a toss up. Remember last year when Adriano Moraes was sure to win after Justin McBride had broken his leg, even though he was still competing. Then Adriano injuried his arm and suddenly it was Mike Lee winning.

For more about the Professional Bull Riders go to www.pbrnow.com

Butterfly

This is one I took last week that I want to share with everyone.

Dalia

Had to let everyone see the photo my sister sent to me. Thanks, Sis.

2005

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family isthat they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see ifanyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of thescreen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't havethe first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause forpanic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward thismessage.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 onthis list. AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.Go on, forward/send this to your friends ...you know you want to!

Great Comment

After all the bad comments it was so great to see a good comment. Many thanks to the person from the midwest with the old horse. You want to live here? I want to live where ever you are. Wish I had more land as you do, and I am sure it has grass on it, instead of sand. Take care of that old horse, all horses deserve good care. They are such wonderful creatures.

Comments

I tried leaving a comment now that I have the 'word verification' on.
And it's really easy. It may not stop all of the nasty comments but should stop the automated ones.

SPAM

AAAAAaahhhha. That was a big sigh.

It is so terrable that in this day and age that regardless what you do, someone is bound and determined to find a way to try to make money off of you. I am referring to all the unwanted spam-type advertizements that are popping up in the comments section of these personal blogs.

I am being forced to fix my blog so that machines cannot leave ads, spam, and/or unrelated site information in the comments, as well as some other individuals who only want to leave messages that I wouldn't want to be seen by anyone, let alone children.

From now on if you want to leave a comment you will need to do a

'word verification'. I am sure you have seen them before. A little box where you have to tye in the letters and number shown. They have been popping up on some of the email sites when the site thinks you might be spamming. (Like when I send several emails to family and friends with the same subject line, like at holiday time, but make each one a little bit different so it is more personal.)

So I apoligize to any one that might be offened that I am doing this, but I wish to remind you that you did not want to see some of these comments.

Bull Riding

Let me know if your intersted in bull riding. I really like to watch it. From highschool rodeos all the way to the professional bull riding. Check out the site www.pbrnow.com

Mountain Top

From way up on top of a moutain mesa looking down into San Diego Canyon where the village of Jemez Spring, New Mexico is.

Tuffee

We took our Border Collie, Tuffee, with us when we went woodcutting. She loves to go, and is really good at staying close. I certainly wouldn't recomend Border Collies to just any one. They are a really high energy dog, but with the right training make a wonderful pet. I had always been interested in Border Collies but knew they needed a lot of room to run, more than we had when we lived in town. But then we moved to a rural area, and then my nephew's girlfriend found a puppy, and the owner couldn't be found, and they were moving, and I got the puppy which became Tuffee. Such a round-a-bout way to get a Border Collie.

Dead Tree

We discovered this dead tree had fallen across a moutain road. We cut it up to use for firewood and did a service by clearing the road for other travelers.

Wood Cutting

We go wood cutting every fall so that we can heat the house with wood in our wood stove and save a little on heating fuel. I really prefer the warmth given out by an old fashioned wood stove in comparison to our natural gas furnace, or any other kind of furnace. It seems like the heat from the wood warms you up faster than any other kind.
So we went up into the Jemez Mountains yesterday and cut a load of wood. What we got was mostly pine. Dead and down, as it states on the permit that is required by the forest service. Anotherwords it must be a tree that had died and fallen down. You are not allowed to cut down a dead tree that is still standing. A dead standing tree is still useful to the forest. It's roots are still holding soil that might otherwise wash away. And the top it home to many birds and small animals.
Lee, my husband, and I always look forward to wood cutting. It give us an excuse to go to the mountains. It is lots of work, and I mean hard work, but always worth it. He does most of the chainsaw work and I lend a hand at loading. We usually get mostly pine, but if we can find a good, dry, hard chunk of oak, or spruce so much the better. And we don't object to throwing in a piece of two of aspen either, although aspen does burn faster.

Black Cloud

We had rain here on the desert today. It started at about 6 am when it woke me with a heck of a thunder and lightning storm with a little bit of rain. When I got up I couldn't see the Sandia Mountains, just a big cloud hanging over the mountian. It cleared off but came back again this afternoon. Or anyway a big black cloud did. It came from the west and moved east over Albuquerque. I watched as it came in. It was a very big, very strange, weird cloud. It hung very low in the sky and moved quickly. I was sure we were in for another storm. And we were. It dropped hail and rain for about ten minutes and then moved on. Not near as bad as I expected.

Bad News

We should never take life for granted. I do it all the time and I am sure that most of you do, too. Yesterday I got the news that a friend of mine has cancer and is not expected to live for more that a few months at most. She is only in her mid sixties, just retired and had expected to have several years to travel. Her only symptons were feeling tired. I feel tired all the time and the doctors tell me to suck up, that everyone feels tired in our fast paced life.
Maybe we should all take a second look at what is going on in our lives. Especially the doctors that only care about the money they are getting everytime we come to the office and complain about feeling tired.

Knee Wraps

I'm still at it. Wrapping BlackJack's knee twice a day. I can not figure out how to put the bandage on it so it will stay. Of course I understand that with each step he takes it loosens up and then falls down around his hoof where it does nothing except irritate him. I have to addmit he has been very good about the whole situation. I expected him to get upset and fight me each time I had to re-do the thing. He has fussed some but not near as bad as I expected.
I ordered a whole case of stick-to-its-self leg wraps that go on top of the the bandage this morning. I had no idea that first aide supplies were so expensive. Especially for horses. I went to the store yesterday thinking I could use people stuff for the horse and it is even more expensive!

When it Rains it Pours

As if to make bad matters worse it decided to rain last night. First time since last spring, or at least first time at my house although I have heard of rain in other parts of state and Albuquerque. We needed it despertately ---but----it could have waited until BlackJack and I were feeling better.
Nothing like feeling yucky, having an injured horse that has to have a new, clean bandage about twice a day, and now a muddy, sloppy, pen for him to be in. So of course the cooler weather made him feel better and when I let him out to walk around the field for a few minutes, he decided he had to run around the field about 10 times. I ended up giving him some hay to get him to stop. With my luck he will have made it worse.

BlackJack's Knee

Well, while I am feeling terrible my black horse decides to ram his knee between the gate to his pen and the big fence post that holds up the gate. He got his knee back out but it wasn't in the greatest shape. And I didn't like having to call the vet at 8:00 am when I decovered what he had done. I heard a noise when I was in the hay shed getting their morning hay, and it looked so fresh that I am sure that is when he did it. He has a ugly gash on the knee and scrapes on all four legs. Not sure how he did the other scrapes. Vet came, cleaned and bandaged the bad one. Wouldn't do stiches because it was in a joint. But did give him injection of antibiotics and several packages of more antibiotics to add to his grain over next week. We can only hope that he gets better with no complications.

Ill Health

Please forgive me for not writing for a while. Have been down with some sort of bug and feel like crap. Not good for creative writing. Very good for writers block. On all kinds of yucky medicine. And have no interest in doing anything.

AUTUMN

Hip, hip, huray. Shout for joy, have a party, and be kind to everyone. It's the first day of autumn, or as some call it FALL. It is the best time of the year. The days will get shorter, which means not so much of that blazing hot sun. Cooler days are such a relief if you live in the desert. We can hope for a few days of rain, as well. We sure need it. The pumkins are turning yellow, and the gourds are putting on their mixed colors of yellow, orange, brown. I noticed this morning that the tree leaves are getting the first bit of color to their leaves. That is the only bad part of fall, the trees loosing all their leaves. The birds are beginning to migrate. There was a pair of gold finches eating seeds off the wild sunflowers. The dogs, cats, and horses, are shedding out their summer coats to put on the long warm coats of winter. Star pony is loosing her spots as she does each fall. She will be just a sorrel pony for the cold months, and next spring her appoloosa spots will come back. We are trying to get in a huge supply of hay for the ponies, and wood for the wood stove we use for heating in the winter.

Okay, everyone. Another one is on it's way. Don't panic, but do take steps to protect yourself, your family, and your pets.

Please Help

Please, please, please don't forget to help all the pets that are now as homeless as the people that survived Katrina. They, also, need our help. You can contact your local humane society, plus many newpapers, TV stations, and radios have listings of places that are excepting donations for the dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, horses, cows, goats, and all other animals that need our help.
Give what you can even if it is only a few pennies. If you can take an extra pet into your home, even if only tempory, it will help. Or adopt a local animal from your humane society or animal controll to make room for one of the Katrina victims.

Remember that pets give a lot more love to us than we ever have the right to expect from them.

The heat is finally dissipating a little bit here on the desert. It is getting cool enough at night that I can turn off the air conditioner and still be able to sleep. But still need the darn thing in the day time. Be glad when it freezes and kills all the flys and bugs. Don't think it will for a while. Remember it freezing once in September but it is usually toward the end of October. I have two pumkins that have turned orange, and one that is still very green. Have lots of zucchini squarsh, and cucumbers this year. Didn't get any last year, but had tons of tomatoes. This year only a very few tomatoes.
Anyone got a really good recipe for zucchini bread or zucchini casserole?

Computer waits

What should be on the tomestone of every dead computer.

"Hurry up and wait."

If I had a penny for every minute of time I have wasted waiting on a computer change to another site ----- well I wouldn't be rich, but it sure would be a good start.

The Sandia Mountains in the evening. But in the mornings the sun always peaks up over them to let me know a new day has arrived.

Night Night

It's 11:00 pm and I know I won't go to sleep even if I did lay down. So here I sit in the old, green metal, two seat glider that I bought used 25 years ago. I swing gently back and forth, back and forth, while I watch lightning play along the top of the Sandia Mountains. It's not the violent, zig zags of lightning but the softer kind that simply lights up the sky. The Sandia Mountains are a major landmark here in New Mexico. They are the southern most tip of the Rocky Mountains sitting just to the east of Albuquerque. If you know much Spanish you may wonder why a range of mountains are called 'the watermelons'. A very long time ago some Spanish conquistador thought that they looked like a watermelon when the evening sun shown on them turning them a pink color. And they still get the pink color in the evening to this day. In fact they were pink tonight as where the clouds over Albuquerque. The lighning flashes again, highlighting the TV, radio, and communication towers that abound on one little peak of the mountains at the tip top of the range. Here in my yard I am at approximately 6500 feet in altitude. The towers are at about 10,500 feet in altitude if I remember right. That is way up there in the clouds. The Sandia's range from desert at the base of them, to alpine flora at the top. Much of their landscape is straight up and straight down. There is a ski resort on one part and the Sandia Peak Tram is another part. The Tram is a small cable car that takes you 2.7 miles up the side of the mountain on a cable that you are sure will brake before you reach the top. For more information and to see photos go to www.sandiapeak.com

The lightning has quite. I hear the soft hoof falls of two of my horses as they come to the fence to see why I am sitting in the swing in the yard. One of them blows it's breath out in a little snort. I get up, pet them for a minute and decide it is finally night night time. I hope.

End of my Rope

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.

by Franklin D. Roosevelt

I feel as if I am at the end of my rope lately. Nothing seems to be going right. I have writers block. Big time. As you can see by this blog I haven't been doing much lately. The best thing that I can manage is to put in something written by someone else. Maybe it is the mess that the United States is in. It is depressing to everyone. And maybe I can just blame it on the hot weather here in New Mexico. Or I can blame it on the full moon that was a couple of weeks ago.

Naaaaaa

Maybe it would be best to just blame it on my self, tie a knot in my rope and hang on, while I make my self get with it and do what needs to be done.

Time

Most of us have heard this one before. But it is so true after the fury of Katrina, as well as everything else that is going on in the world.

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

Animal Sayings

I am getting a lot of emails and comments that include some very cute sayings, or jokes, or poems. This is one I like.

We work like a horse.We eat like a pig.We like to play chicken.You can get someone's goat.We can be as slippery as a snake.We get dog tired.We can be as quiet as a mouse.We can be as quick as a cat.Some of us are as strong as an ox.People try to buffalo others.Some are as ugly as a toad.We can be as gentle as a lamb.Sometimes we are as happy as a lark.Some of us drink like a fish.We can be as proud as a peacock.A few of us are as hairy as a gorilla.You can get a frog in your throat.We can be a lone wolf.But I'm having a whale of a time

Going Home

Headed home for the Tumbleweed Crossing. Sandia Mountains in the back. Albuquerque, NM sits at the base of them.

Why we have Children

This was sent to me by a friend. Don't know where it came from to start with but it was to good to pass up.

> To those of us who have children in our lives,> whether they are our own> grandchildren,> nieces,> nephews,> or students...> here is something to make you chuckle.> > Whenever your children are out of control,> you can take comfort from the thought that> even God's omnipotence did not extend> to His own children.> > After creating heaven and earth,> God created Adam and Eve.> > And the first thing he said was> "DON'T!"> > "Don't what?"> Adam replied. > > "Don't eat the forbidden fruit."> God said.> > "Forbidden fruit?> We have forbidden fruit?> Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!"> > "No Way!"> > "Why?"> > "Do NOT eat the fruit! "> said God.> > "Why?"> > "Because I am your Father and I said so! "> God replied,> wondering why He hadn't stopped> creation after making the elephants.> > A few minutes later,> God saw His children having an apple break> and He was ticked!> > > "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? "> God asked.> > "Uh huh,"> Adam replied.> > "Then why did you? "> said the Father.> > > "I don't know,"> said Eve. > > "She started it! "> Adam said.> > "Did not! " > > "Did too! "> > "DID NOT! "> > Having had it with the two of them,> God's punishment was that Adam and Eve> should have children of their own.> > Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.> > > > BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!> >
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give> children wisdom and> they haven't taken it,> don't be hard on yourself.> > If God had trouble raising children,> what makes you think it would be> a piece of cake for you?> > THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!> >
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
ADVICE FOR THE DAY:> > Be nice to your kids ...> for one day they will choose your nursing home.> >
AND FINALLY:> > IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION> AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,> DO WHAT IT SAYS> ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:> >
"TAKE TWO ASPIRIN"> AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!> > Quick,> send this on to ten people> within the next five minutes. > > Nothing will happen if you don't,> but if you do,> ten people will be laughing> >

Again

Again I have been either to busy or to tired to think about writing. My son, Dustin, called last night to tell me he was coming up from Los Cruces, NM this evening to pick up a horse for his boss and take it back tomarrow. One of those big, fancy, paint saddlebred stallions that his boss has. Well I guess seeing Dustin for a few minutes is better than not at all. That is how our life seems to go anymore. Thank goodness for cell phones and email.
Sometimes I wonder how we used to be able to do things without these modern conviences. And to think that by the time my son has children and they are grown cell phones, computers, and such will be outdated.

Katrina

Here at the Tumbleweed Crossing our thoughts, sympathy and good wishes for a safe recovery go out to all those affected by the hurricane Katrina. We will help as much as we can, although I am not sure what we can do at this time.

Wild Sunflower

Sunflowers help brighten up my day.

Rats, Oh, Rats

Matmouse, and Mickey Mouse, Miney Mouse, Jerry Mouse, and even Pixie and Dixie Mouses are all good mice. Especially Mighty Mouse. But then there are the real mice. The little tiny creatures that invade your hay barn, and my junk shed. They are so tame they sit there and stare at you with those beady little eyes, just daring you to invade "Their domain" . And I do. But it doesn't make them leave. They just dive into those tiny little hiding places they have discovered, and wait for me to leave. As they are sure that I will.

Well, here is fair warning to all you mices.

I am declaring WAR.

So for the count is mice - 7. Me -2. And my cats - 4.
Sigh - seems the mice are winning.
I have been setting mouse traps but have only caught 2. I have 5 cats but they haven't bought me but 4 mice. Hopefully they are catching others that I am not aware of. Oh, and Codee, my German Shepherd dog was chasing one out through the tumbleweed this morning. But she let it get away.

More on the WAR of the MICE later.

(I hate those mices to pieces.)

Flowers

It may be hot here at the Tumbleweed Crossing but the summer wild flowers are doing fine. Blooming their little hearts out. The wild sunflowers are huge. Some as tall as 6 foot and as much as 12 foot in diameter, with hundreds of small sunflowers covering the bushes. Blossoms are usually only about 4 inches across which is very small compared to their hy-bred cousins. But I think they are much more cheerful to look at. And the small birds love the seeds.
My wild four-o-clock is even bigger this year than last. It is trying to choke out a lilac bush and some iris that were growing near it. It is covered with small fushia blossoms every evening just as the sun goes down. About a 20 x 20 mass of green leaves and blossoms. Surprisingly there is a clump of comas near by that are the same fushia color. Who says mother nature can't think about how to plant her flowers for color combinations.
I, also, now have morning glories blooming as well as marigolds, and a few struggling roses. I love the big yellow/orange blossoms of the pumpkins and guards, and squarsh. I have more zucchini squarsh than I can eat. Wish I knew some one who liked it as much as I do to give some to.

Writers Block

Heres hoping those little emails complimenting me on my entry to the romance writers contest will help bannish the writers block I have been experencing over the past few months. It seems like either I don't have time to sit down and write or if I try to I can't seem to write. Even my blog has been suffering. I won't promise to write more 'cause it won't happen, but I will think about it.
Shame on me! Write! Write! and Write! Even if it don't make since or no one ever reads it.

Self Esteem

A little bit of praise can go a long way in upping my self esteem. I was so thrilled when I received so many emails from the readers of the contest junkies site. I couldn't beleive it. I appoligize to for not getting back to all the readers yet. Now I can't wait to see who wins the contest. More on it when the winners are announced sometime in Oct.

Contest

Don't forget to go to www.contestjunkies.com and vote for this weeks stories. There are some really good ones.

Long Time No See

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post anything for a while. Hope I haven't been completely diserted by my faithfull readers, but work and life caught up with me. Work is driving me crazy but I'm sure you are all saying yours does to.
My walk in closet is full of little, tiny, very hungry moths, or millers, or some sort of flying bug. They don't do any thing but eat. I am dismantling everything in the closet and cleaning throughly. Then while outside putting a rough, sort of deck/porch/walkway around the hayshed and tackroom this little whirlwind came by and took the roof off of one of the horse shelters/shed. So we're in the process of putting it back on.
If life settles down again I will try to write more.

MattMice

I found out what a matmice or rather who a matmice is. A stuffed mouse named Matt. You can see him at www.emilyboyd.com/whois mat/
He reminds me of a stuffed bear named Cindy that my niece used to take with her everywhere. Oh, do I remember the days of looking for a lost CindyBear. And my son, Dustin, had to stuffed animals. A seal, and a rabbit. Although his infatuation with Sealy and Rabbit didn't last as long as Cindy's did with CindyBear. (Yeah, you got it right. She named her bear after herself. At about the age of one year. And yes she is still that vain.)

Sean's Site

Josie from Josie's Journel has helped her son Sean set up a website. It is really a good site. www.matmice.com/home/king_ghidorah
Even if I don't know what a matmice is. Where we live we have field mice that like to try to get into the barn. My black cat Murphy is proving to be a really good mouser.

other blogs

Don't forget to keep trying other blogs. Here are some I really like.

Josie's Journal at http://menfreya.tblog.com

Hold Yer Horses at http://holdyerhorses.blogspot.com

http://www.instapundit.com

Rain

We had rain yesterday. Blessed rain. Rain gage had about a half inch in it. And it cooled things off here today. Even if it was humid, it was so good to have rain. Parts of New Mexico got even more and there was flash flood warning out. Can't beleive anyone is stupid enought to drive into a creek, or arroyo, or even down some of our city streets when we get this much rain. Here's hoping the firefighters get some to help with all the fires.

writing contest

One of the readers sent in a site that is a romance writers contest site. I think I managed to get in under the dead line and entered one of my stories. If you are interested you can go to the site and read the first chapter and vote on the ones you like. Or don't like. At least it is fun to see what other people are writing. I'm not supposed to let you know which one is mine, and the reader didn't let me know which one is hers - so it would be fair.

http://www.contestjunkies.com/

Fire Danger

Hope no one is to close to all those horrible fires that are going on in so many of our states. I here on the news that they are really bad in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and Colorado. I watched at least a dozen slurry planes take off from the Albuquerque airport, circle to the west, come over my place, and then circle to head north. Not sure where they were going but I hope they help with what ever fire they were headed for. At this time I haven't heard of any here in New Mexico but with the lightning we are having today it is only a matter of time.

Please everyone be as careful with any kind of fire as you can be, burning weeds or trash, firecrackers, matches, or campers. We can't do much about lightning but we can watch what we do. Our forests, homes, and country are to precious to put in danger.

BlackJack

BlackJack is the second horse that I bought. I have had him for almost three years. He is a twelve year old Morgan gelding, and as you may have guessed he is black. Or almost black. Some might call him a very dark bay, as he does have some brown on his muzzle and flanks but he is black everywhere else. Except for the star on his forehead. I seem to have a thing for solid horses with stars. I didn't purposely chose these colors, it just happened. But I do like them.
Jack has had some really good training in the past, I think, but he has also had several owners who were not as smart as he is, and he has learned to think of what he can do to get out of doing what his owner/rider wants him to do. After I bought him, I was told that he had laid down and rolled with his owner and saddle on him. The owner wasn't quick enough to stop him, or didn't know how, and just jumped off in time to keep from getting rolled on. The saddle did get rolled on. So I was prepared for him to try this with me, but it was several weeks before he did. I had riden him for about an hour, and he was getting a bit tired and sweaty. I rode out into the center of the field and felt him start to drop to his knees. I kicked him hard in the flanks. Boy did he seem surprised, and took off at a trot instead of trying to roll. He never has tried it again with me.
But the past few days he has decided he wouldn't come to me, nor let me walk up to him, when he is in the field. Instead he takes off at a trot or a canter. Today I had had enough. I spent a good hour letting him, even incourging him, to walk, trot, canter and even gallap around and around. Ever so often I would let him stop, and try to get him to come to me. Nothing doing. I though he would never give up and let me put the halter on him. It took a long time. He tried to stop and roll as he was getting sweaty. He tried to stop and get a drink, but I wouldn't let him do that either. He never did come to me, but finally he stood still and let me walk up and put the halter on.
I wonder if that will be the end or if I will have to spend more time getting him to come to me as he used to do. I know it is just another of the games he dreams up to play with me. Games that he likes and I don't. Games I have to learn how to not play with him.

Star

My First Horse

I wanted a horse ever since I could remember, but I was well into middle age before I got one. And of course I did exactly what all the horse books, trainers, and long time equine owners tell you not to do. They say don't start with a young, untrained horse, no matter how cute and inexpensive they are. It is much better to get one that is older, gentle, and above all, well trained. The additional expense is worth it. And I totally agree. But who is practical when buying their first horse. I fell in love with a yearling, sorrel filly with a star on her forehead that was being offered by a man who bought and sold horses. She was a lot smaller than the others he had but something about her caught my eye. Part of it might have been that she was a lot cheaper, but I think most of it was that I thought I saw something special in the gentle, brown eyes that gazed at me and pleaded that I take her home. It turned out that he had purchased the filly at an auction near the town of Gallup, NM. It was thought that she had come from one of the Indian reservations near there. The seller was quick to inform me that she had never been handled and didn't know how to even be lead. He emphasized that basically I would be buying a wild horse. Determined to do all the wrong things that so many first time horse buyers do I bought that wild, untamed, baby horse.
Actually everything went better than could have been expected. The seller helped my son and I get her into a trailer and to her new home where we already had Dusty’s yearling Quarter Horse, Goldy. Dusty had bought Goldy just a few months before. We were both doing the brand-new, first-horse ownership thing and were proud of it. Thrilled, delighted and ecstatic would describe it even better. It didn’t take Dusty and I long to teach her that good behavior resulted in food. In just a few days we were able to take her halter off and put it back on, lead her around, and brush her, except for her tail. It took me a long month to get all the burrs, brambles, snags, and snarls combed out of her ratty little tail. Being still a baby it really wasn’t much of a tail yet. She quickly learned her name – Star. I thought and though and tried dozens of names but kept coming back to Star even though it is such a common name for horses and it stuck.
I always want to name my animals something unusual and unique but invariably seem to finally settle on something common and simple.
It soon became apparent that Star wasn’t the gentle, easy-to-train horse that I would have preferred. She was to smart for that. She was quick to try her darn’est to get out of doing anything she didn’t want to do. That is typical horse mindset. But Star seemed better at it than the average horse. Maybe it had a lot to do with the fact that she was a wild horse, and had never been around humans for the first year of her life. She had apparently learned the wild horse way of life well from her mama. We have even suspected that she might have a lot of true mustang blood in her. And of course she was a lot better for Dusty - a big, strong, young man, who could man-handle her if need be, rather than me – a middle-aged, not-so-big and strong woman.
Time passed, and Star and I fell into a semblance of a way of life. She would lead really well most of the time but when she didn’t want to there was no way I could get her to go in the direction I wanted her to. She would plant her feet and not move or run off dragging me behind her. Of course food was usually the main objective. She was sure to stop at the first clump of grass or weeds that was with in her sight. Eventfully she was taught to wear a bridle, sort-of; and to carry a saddle, sort-of, and to let me ride her, sort-of. But I don’t ever expect her to be a really great riding horse.
For one thing Star never got very big. In fact she really isn’t a horse. She is what is considered a large pony. Equine critters are measured in what are called hands. Many, many, many moons ago, somewhere over in Europe, when not everyone carried a tape measure or ruler in their pocket, horses were measured by the width of a man’s hand. A hand is now considered equal to four inches. The different in a horse and a pony is height. A pony is an equine animal up to 14 and a half hands. A horse is an equine animal over 14 and a half hands. Star is only 13 and a half hands, which makes her officially a pony.
But then you have to consider the fact that I am bad, really bad about calling all my horses ponies. It is just a slang way I have of referring to my equines. And remember Equine is the Latin term for all single-hoofed animals – horses, ponies, zebras, donkeys, mules, ect.
Star is now about seven years old, and is no longer a filly but a mare. (I will add this information as I have so many people who ask. A baby horse is a foal, then called a weanling from about six months to a year old. At a year they become a yearling. Males are called colts (sometimes ‘colt’ can refer to either sex) and a female is called a filly. At about three years of age a filly becomes a mare, and a colt becomes either a stallion or a gelding. A gelding is a male horse that has been castrated.
Star is a stubborn, pony mare. But she is still much loved, petted, feed, pampered and spoiled. She is just one of three in my small stable. Join me for more about Star and her friends at this blog.

This is Nita, my Quarter Horse mare. The quality is not that great on these photos but at least I am getting them on the blog.

This is Star. She was my first horse. She is a Mustang/Appy cross. In the winter she is a sorrel. In the summer she gets a lot of little white spots all over her chest and neck. But very few on her butt where most appys have them.

http://ponytracks.myblogsite.com

http://www.horsecity.com

Readers

Gosh! Am I ever surprised and delighted at how many readers I getting to the Tumbleweed Crossing. It is just thrilling. I will try my best to keep finding interesting tidbits to let you know about. As you may have noticed I finally figured out how to get a photo on my site. Eventually I will figure out how to post links to some of the sites/blogs that I read.

Information on Mars

You can find a little more information on the Mars event this month at this website http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/marsopposition.html

I haven't been able to spot it yet but our night skies have been full of clouds lately. (But no rain). Hope you have better luck where you are.

Thank You

My many thanks to all of you who leave your comments. It is so wonderful to know that someone, anyone, is reading what I write.

This is BlackJack, my Morgan gelding. He had just enjoyed a bath. For the next few minutes he will look very handsome, then he will be a mudball, as soon as he can roll in the dirt.

Summer

Summer has fully arrived. It is hot, and I mean hot. I can't seem to keep the horse buckets, dog buckets, or the bird trays full of water. Neither can I keep enough water on the trees and garden. I finally was able to pull a zucchini squarsh, and have another one coming on, but no tomatoes yet. I do have some very tiny green ones but nothing showing any sign of red. By this time last year we had more tomatoes than we knew what to do with. I was giving them away, and eating them at every meal. Still not sure I would want to eat fried green tomatoes yet after all we ate last year.
The flowers have finally started blooming a bit. Have a very nice hot pink zinna that is doing well especially since Tuffee, my border collie, broke it before it ever started blooming. Didn't figure it would survive the break, but guess it repaired itself, and has had three nice blossoms since. Actually the best zinna I have ever grown.

Morning glories are sort of blooming. And so are the roses. Have a couple of goards coming on. But my two small pumkins are already turning yellow. Very strange.

We have had hints of rain, and a lot of the rest of state has had some, but not here. Could really use it.

Corny Thoughts

One news channel gave a brief blurb about the fact that it is estimated that 30 percent of the US corn crop was already lost. Don't know if this is a fact yet or not but I can see the price of anything with corn in it rising as we speak. And have you ever considered how many products have corn in them?
Corn on the cob, corn in the can, and frozen corn in the bag.

Corn Flakes, (and all other cereals that have corn in them), corn tortillas, tamales, cornmeal, cornbread, corn fritters, corndogs-----and speaking of dogs, have you looked at the ingredient's in the dog and cat food lately? Corn is usually the number one item in that sack of food for your pet that you thought was mostly meat products. Then there is corn in the grain for your horse, cow, pig, sheep, and goat. And yes, that means the price of meat will take a jump as well.

Mars

My email pal sent me this information. Don't know how true it might be. I have been trying to find out more. If you know anything about it let me know. I know if it is true I want to see it. And hope it will be more specticular than Haley's Comet was.

Mars The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification. Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.\ By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN
this is a once in a lifetime experience.

Good Advice

Old Farmer's Advice

*Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, bull-strong.

* Keep skunks, bankers, and lawyers at a distance.

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

* A bumblebee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

*Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

* Do not corner something you know is meaner than you

* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.

* Every path has a few puddles.

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

*Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

* Don't judge folks by their relatives.

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

*Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain’t botherin' you none.

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

*Always drink upstream from the herd.

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence;

try orderin' somebody else's dog around.·

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God...· Mother Nature......

and the Great Spirit.

From Friends

Some times I have an email friend that seens me something that is just to good to keep to my self. Recently that has happened quite a bit. Here is one I got today. I had a good laugh when I read it, hope you do to.

Women & Men

Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse."So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked. "No," she replied, " but my husband refused to come shopping with me,
and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."UNDERSTANDING WOMEN
(A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE) I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax,
pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root,
and still be afraid of a spider.
MARRIAGE SEMINAR While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication,
Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor,
"It is essential that husbands and wives know each other's likes and dislikes." He addressed the man,"Can you name your wife's favorite flower?"Tom leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's Pillsbury, isn't it? CIGARETTES AND TAMPONS A man walks into a pharmacy and wanders up and down the aisles.
The sales girl notices him and asks him if she can help him.
He answers that he is looking for a box of tampons for his wife.
She directs him down the correct aisle.
A few minutes later, he deposits a huge bag of cotton balls and a ball of string on the counter. She says, confused, "Sir, I thought you were looking for some tampons for your wife? He answers, " You see, it's like this,
yesterday, I sent my wife to the store to get me a carton of cigarettes, and she came back with a tin of tobacco and some rolling papers; cause it's sooo-ooo--oo-ooo much cheaper. So, I figure if I have to roll my own .......... so does she. ( I figure this guy is the one on the milk carton! )
WIFE VS. HUSBAND A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and
neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs,
the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

W O R D S
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day...
30,000 to a man's 15,000.The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men... The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"

CREATION A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be
so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. " The wife responded, "Allow me to explain.
God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!
WHO DOES WHATA man and his wife were having an argument about whoshould brew the coffee each morning.The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first,
and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee." The husband said, " You are in charge of cooking around here and
you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible
that the man should do the coffee."Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament
and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says.........."HEBREWS"

The Silent TreatmentA man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving eachother the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day,he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.
Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it.The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AMand he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go andsee why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper bythe bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

God may have created man before woman,
but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.SEND THIS TO SMART WOMEN WHO NEED A LAUGH AND TO MEN YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT !

Cats

Cats know exactly how we feel.
They don't give a damn,
But they know.

Ain't that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Visitors to the Crossing

I was surprised to see a goldfinch eating sunflower seeds this morning while I was watering my tomatos and trees. Can it be migatory season already? We never see these tiny golden finchs except for their breif appearence as they dart through on their migatory route either north or south. They are such a pleasure to watch. You can get within a few feet and as they are feeding on sunflower seeds, cosmas seeds, or wild grass seeds. I don't think I saw any going north this spring and this one seemed to be a bit early for southern trip.

I have seen several large jack rabbits that have taken up residence in the two acreas behind my place. There is nothing there except sage, tumbleweeds, and wild sunflowers. A perfect jack rabbit home.

Kacie, my gray and white cat was watching the rabbits from atop one of the corner fence posts. I told her not to try to take on one of those big rabbits, that they were bigger than she is. When they stand up on their long legs, these jack rabbits look to be as tall as my Border Collie, Tuffee. Tuffee, Cody, my German Shepherd, and Niki, my lab cross, always chase the rabbits that come in the yard, but the rabbits are faster than they are.

DisneyLand Birthday

Happy Birthday To You! DisneyLand!
Yes, Disneyland is having a big birtday party this month. That most wonderfull of all theme parks is 50 years old. I wanted so much to be part of the celabration. But it was not to be. But my sister and my neice that I brag on so much and my nephew were able to be there. They said it was fantastic.
Horrors! With all that the news media has to report on there was almost no mention of this wonderful event. Or not that I say.
Again I want to say Happy Birthday to Disneyland, and Mickey Mouse. They have helped us to keep young at heart.

Supreme Court Judge

Recently Sanda Day O'Conner retired as a Supreme Court Judge. It is our right to have a person who will represent us propertly as her replacement. Make sure you let your senators and others in political offices know who you want to fill this important possition. Remember it is a possition that is appointed and that person may be a Supreme Court Judge for many years. We need a person who will support our country and our ways. Not someone out to support himself or herself.

Additonally remember this possition may have to be filled twice this year. We need the right people as our highest Judges. I make no suggestions. I leave that up to you. But do let your senators and President Bush know how you feel.

Socks

Did you ever notice that if you buy a pair of socks and really like them that sure as shottin' one, and I say again, just one (1) of them is bound to disappear. And believe me you will never find it again. It doesn't matter how hard you look for it. I have come to think that there must be little, bitty, tiny gremlins, or elves, or space aliens that live in my house and they have a great fondness for just one brand, new sock. I have yet to figure out what they find so great about one sock or where they take it to.
And if that isn't bad enough; if you have a pair of sock you don't really care for they will hang around for a life time. Oh, those awfully socks may straight all out of shape, fade into really weird colors, and srink to a smaller size, but you'll always be able to find them when you can't find any other socks in your sock drawer. And you will be forced to wear them.

Lightning Fires

Just so that no one worries I thought I should let you know that the report on Good Morning America was wrong. Don't know if the same report was put out on any other news shows or not. They said that there were fires in Albuquerque and homes had to be evacuated. Not so. We did have a fire on Kirtland Air Force Base and one in the Bosque near Bernallio (town) but no one had to leave homes. Golf course at Kirtland was all that was evacuated. Some people in Bernallio were ready to but never had to. Stupid news reporters never get anything right. We did have a heck of a sandstorm that day here in Albuquerqe and lots of lightning. Lightning causes those two fires plus one in a house in Albuq. and some small fires in National Forests. None of them were major. One at Kirtland was about 500 acrea in the flat land area on part of base that is never seen by non military and from the pictures on the news we saw there was nothing on it but tumbleweeds The one in Bernillio was in a Bosque area (wild native area) near river and about 200 acreas. The smoke from both was bad. We could smell it real heavy in the call center where I work as it came through air conditioning unit.We did get a lot of lighning again yesterday but no fires (unless there were some in forests that weren't mentioned) and we got some rain. Supposed to do it again today. I sure hope so as we really need the rain. Humity is high today but at least there isn't that big puff of dust with every step I take in the yard. Horses look a bit cleaner, too. Just wish the dogs didn't insist on rolling in either the dust or the mud. Everyone take care where ever you are.

Animal Abuse

Go to www.ahdf.org This is the site for the American Horse Defence Fund. It tells of the horrible things done to horses at slaughter and of the Sweeny/Sprat Act to stop it. But it is not enough. We can't stop now. This is the start. No animal- horse, dog, cat, whale, or human deseres to be killed simply to fill the need of people who want to eat a so-called delicasy. Neither do any of these animals ever need to be abused in any way. Slaughtering horses is the worst. What will it be next? Slaughtering dogs and cats for the people in countries that eat them? Keep sending those letters to your senators. And don't forget about the need to stop the abuse of racehorses, showhorses (especially the paso finas, saddlebreds, and any others that are made to do gaits that are unnatural) grayhounds, dog fighting, and abuse of children. If a person will do one they will do the rest. And get the cattle off of our public lands. That will not only save the wild horses, but deer, elk, songbirds, fish, eagles, hawks, buffalo, all wildlife, and our natural grasses, wildflowers, and soil.

I have 4 horses. They looked so terrible when I got them. They came from different places. One is a wild horse, two are QH's, and one is Morgan. Now they are good riding horses. I have three dogs that where thrown out as puppys. Now they are good pets in all ways. I have 5 cats -same thing. They were thrown out as kittens. They are great company for me. We all need to educate the public on the love and uses of pets.

Don't let America become a nation of intentional cruelty to animals and people.

New Job

I have a new job. Can't say much for it. It is a call center. And what can I say about call centers, except that ---- well I guess they don't want me putting that kind of language in my blog. But it is a job. And I will keep plugging along at it. Just that I hate to be treated like a 6-year-old. Or else they treat you like you get treated in the military. And yeah, I know about that too. And I got out as soon as I could, a long time ago. So if you call in to a call center you might just get me. The one I work at services several different products.

Where is Clatskanie?

One reader wants to know 'where is Clatskanie?' It's in Oregon. Yes, I understand that everyone might not know where such a small town with such a strange name might be. It is my understanding that the name comes from an Oregon tribe the Tlatskanai. It is just to the west of the big city of Portland which means it is in the northwest part of the state.

I got to go there once about four years ago. I have to say it is the exact opposite of the desert country here. It is GREEN. All year round it is GREEN. Except when it snows, which isn't that offten. It is a very small town about 1800 population. Most of the homes seem to be on large, country type lots. Everywhere you look are trees. Great big beautiful trees. All kinds of trees. It does rain quite a bit there, and many days you can't see the sun for the clouds. But I think that would be OK. At least they don't have as much wind as we do and not near the blowing sand. Some day I hope to visit there again.

Check out www.clatskanie.com and www.clatskanie.com/chamber/

The Boys

And not to leave out the other three I will brag on them for a bit. You can read about my son, Dustin in my story about my trip to Cloudcroft. Dustin is in college at New Mexico State learning all about horses. (One of my favorite subjects, too). He is an inturn at the ranch where he is working.

And Cyndi's older brother Eric just returned from six months in France as an exchange student. He was able to visit many other countries while he was there. Eric is studying film and acting at a college in Orange, CA.

Cyndi's oldest brother, James, graduated from New Mexcio Tech last year and is now helping to make design vehicile saftey air bags in Moses Lake, WA. He is married to a wonderful woman and they have two adorable little boys.

My sister, her husband, and my husband and I are very proud of our four children.

Still Bragging

Well, to top off everthing else she has done, my neice Cyndi now has her picture and an article on the front and last page of her home town newspaper the Clatskanie Chief. Her grade point average of 4.0 and her work on the school newspaper, as well as the Clatskanie Chief, and other things has earned her a Presidential Scholarship from Southern Oregon University where she will start this fall. Way to go, Cyndi!

Cloudcroft - Continued

That evening Dustin and I spent some time visiting with Eve. She owns the property where Dustin keeps Emme and CW. Eve is a wonderful person to talk to. She is in her 80’s and was recovering from recent hip surgery. She talked to us about a lot of things in the Cloudcroft area. She had moved there in the 50’s, saying that as soon as she saw it she knew that was where she wanted to live from then on. I hope I will be doing as well as she is when I am her age.

The next day I went with Dustin to visit more of Cloudcroft and the surrounding area.
In the late 1800’s lumberjacks were logging the area around what is now Cloudcroft, and a railroad was built to take the logs down the mountain. Soon the hotels, gift shops, and restraints were built to accommodate the tourists that were finding Cloudcroft a great place to visit.

We played tourist and went to many of the little gift shops along the main street of town. You can walk on the boardwalk there and sometimes watch artists hard at work. Then we had lunch at a café, and then on to the gift shops in the huge lodge near the golf course. The Lodge has a spa, as well as fine dining, and a live in ghost, named Rebecca. I didn’t see her but some people say they do. It was there that I bought a postcard to mail to my sister in Oregon and a necklace as a high school graduation gift for my niece. I didn’t get much on my shopping trip but it was fun. Most of my souvenirs are always the ton of photos I take everywhere I go.


It is a wonderful place to visit, but you need to remember that it is at about the 9000-foot elevation, which can cause some people problems. If nothing else you may find climbing in elevation can cause you shortness of breath and to want to sleep quite a bit until you become used to the change. But the climb to Cloudcroft is well worth it. The area is covered in tall, stately spruce and ponderosa pine trees as well as aspen and oak. Even in mid-May it was still cool enough that we needed our jackets and the oak hadn’t leafed out yet. The grass was green and a few wildflowers where just starting to peak out. I knew that within a few weeks there would be wildflowers everywhere you wanted to look. Since we were driving the Jeep, Dustin and I took one side trip down a dirt road meant only for 4-wheel-drive vehicles. It was rough but gave us a great look at the true wild life of the Sacramento Mountains. Not only did we see the trees and plant life but we saw several elk. It would be a great place to go hiking. We saw some patches of snow left in shady spots and remembered that Cloudcroft is a great winter playground for skiers, and snowmobiling.

While we were out we saw the turnoff to Sunspot, NM. It sits on Sacramento Peck, a high moutain, a few miles from Cloudcroft. I had never heard of it. After doing some checking I sure wished we had gone there. Sunspot is an astronomy center. It is well regarded as having one of the most air pollutant free places in the United States. There is a big visitors center and you can look through some of the impressive telescopes and see the stars. I will certainly go there the next time I visit Cloudcroft.

That evening we went to feed Emme and CW and there were three deer in the field with them. I had seen six deer along the road near the ski resort when I had first got to Cloudcroft. Dustin told me of several big, bull elk that had hung around the ranch all winter. There is much more wild life there including raccoons, skunk, bobcat, bears, squirrels, and rabbits. I saw a red-tailed hawk floating over the ranch one afternoon as he tried to spot a mouse or mole in a field.

I took many photos of all the beautiful horses at the ranch. All together I think there were about twenty-five horses there. The babies were so cute and precious, the yearlings adorable, and the stallions were stunning. Dustin took the time to groom Arte, and then worked with him in the round pen for a bit, letting him run, buck, and play.

To my great disappointment no other foals were born while I was there. On the last day I watched as Dustin and the ranch manager brought in first one Saddlebred stallion and then the other to collect semen from them that was to be shipped next-day-delivery to mares in states far away for artificial insemination. After that the local veterinarian came by to do an ultrasound on one of the mares that had recently foaled to see if she was ready to breed again. She was, so some of the semen that had just been collected from a stallion was used to inseminate her so she would have a baby about 11 months from then. That is how long it takes horses to have their babies. Many horse breeders are using the artificial insemination process with their horses because it is so much safer for both the mare and the stallion.

I didn’t want to leave the mountain hideout that I had found but knew I must so early one morning I left for the low country. I followed the same route back to Albuquerque and wasn’t disappointed in the sights even though I now felt familiar with them as I went from high mountain country to low desert. It was all beautiful. I plan on going there again soon.

If you are interested in learning more about Cloudcroft and the other towns I have mentioned you can visit these websites.
www.cloudcroft.com
www.golbalhemp.com/News/2000/December/discoveries_in_cave_speak.html
www.alamogordo.com
www.townofcarrizozo.org
www.socorro-nm.com
www.albchamber.com
www.belennm.com
www.chacaro.com
www.newmexico.org
http://nsosp.nso.edu/

Trip to Cloudcroft

Trip to Cloudcroft

In mid May I packed a few things into my Jeep Wrangler. Things like a small ice chest full of water and sodas, small mechanical tools for working on the Jeep in case it broke down (thankfully I didn’t have to use them), a bag with a few snacks in case I got hungry, a jacket for the cool weather still in the higher elevations, and a small suitcase with enough clothes for a week. Oh, and did I mention the two, fifty pound bags of horse cookies requested by my son. He can’t buy the kind he wants where he is living near Cloudcroft, NM. So he had asked me to bring him some. And did I mention that two bags of horse cookies doesn’t leave much room for anything else in a Jeep Wrangler. It was a good thing I didn’t plan on being there very long.

I left Albuquerque, New Mexico about 9:00 am. It took me about an hour to go through what is called the Westside part of the city, then out South Coors past Isleta Pueblo to catch highway I-25 south to Los Lunas, Tome, Belen, Bernardo, and Lemitar. Then came Socorro, population 18,000 and where last year at this time I was attending the graduation of my nephew, James, from New Mexico Tech. From Socorro I went a few more miles south to the exit for San Antonio, New Mexico home of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge where thousands of sandhill cranes can be viewed each winter along with lots of ducks, geese, turkey, deer, coyotes, hawks, eagles, quail and once in a while a rare whooping crane. I have visited the refuge often and really enjoy going there, but it is not my goal today. At San Antonio I turned east on New Mexico State Road 380.

I love all the names of the town in New Mexico. I have heard these names all my life but hate to admit that I don’t know the meaning behind most of them. I decide I will look them up on the Internet when I get a chance. Some of them are cute, or quaint, or catchy. Most come from words that are of an Indian (Native American) or Spanish background. Many have been corrupted from the original pronunciation, and are really different from the orgional meaning. But what I really like about a lot of them is how they simply roll of your tongue when you say them.

Heading east I was on a simple two-lane road instead of the four-lane interstate. I couldn’t go as fast but it was a much more pleasant drive. It was desert country and the desert was in bloom on this fine spring morning. Coming around one turn I caught my breath at the sight of a golden yellow field of wild flowers with a rocky ridge pushing up behind it. Right along the edge of the road was several clumps of light pink penstimmons that were about three feet tall in full bloom surrounded by bees and other flying insects. When I stopped to take a photo a blue-tail lizard darted away.

South of this area of New Mexico is a place called Jornada Del Muerto on the map. It means Journey of Death. If you have ever read any New Mexico history you will remember that this was a section of the country that all travelers learned to avoid if it was at all possible. It covers several hundred square miles, and there is nothing out there. And I mean nothing (or at least that is what I have read, as I have never ventured out into it). Oh, there is cactus, sagebrush and a few other desert plants but nothing else and this includes water. Especially water. Even in this day and age it would be suicidal for anyone to try to cross the Jornada Del Muerto with out plenty of water and food, plus extra gasoline for their vehicle, if you can even find a road through it. I have to add that a lot of it is government land and only the military are allowed on it. Since this is the 'place of death' it kind of seems like that might be one reason that the government decided that was where they should set off the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945. I saw the gate to go to the Trinity Site near a wide spot in the road called Bingham. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should take one of the tours that are offered at the Site twice a year, the next time one is available.

Just before the next town I saw an area called The Malpais, meaning The Badlands. This is a common name for very old, long-cooled rivers of lava flows. There were large collections of the state flower of New Mexico, the yucca, over much of the lava. I was disappointed that the yucca weren’t in bloom yet. The tall flowers of the yucca were referred to by the conquistadors as the candles of the lord and were thought to light the way at night. The white, waxy flowers do stand out even in the dark. I pulled into the tiny little community of Carrizozo, population near 1000, about noon No I didn’t misspell that name. It refers to a type of native grass in the region. I stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and grab a snack. There was Mexican music playing inside, and the people were friendly, and the smell of burritos got to me. I bought one and went on my way savoring the rich, spicy chili, cheese, and meat inside the flour tortilla.

From Carrizozo I went south on New Mexico State Road 54. There wasn’t much to see on this stretch of road, except very flat desert, a few cars and pickups and numerous big rigs. I did get a faint glimpse of the white sands in the White Sands National Monument. Or it may have been part of the White Sands Missile Range, which is not open to the public. I made Tularosa about 1:00 pm. Tularosa means reeds or cattails, and the population is about 2,800. I didn’t stop, as I wanted to get on to Alamogordo. I was unable to find out the meaning of the name, Alamogordo, but the population is about 35,000. Near by is Holloman Air Force Base, which is the home of the Stealth Fighter planes. Again I didn’t stop but took the east turn on New Mexico State Road 82. I did stop for a moment when I reached the tunnel that is about midway between Alamogordo and Cloudcroft. I took pictures of the tunnel, a bit longer than a football field and the canyon beside it that has a sign saying it is part of the Lincoln National Forest. It had another sign saying that the canyon was home to the Fresnel Shelter Site which is two caves that archaeologists first found fifty some years ago. The caves had many things in them like arrowheads, hemp sandals, baskets, brooms, bedding, and a 3000-year-old corncob thought to be from a native culture of gatherers before the time of the Anasazi. Lincoln National Forest is, also, famous for being the home of Smokey the Bear. Smokey was found as a tiny cub after a bad forest fire. He went on to become the symbol of the Forest Service for fighting fires. He was fond of saying, “Only you can prevent forest fires,” which is still very true.

It was about 2:00 pm when I reached the town of Cloudcroft, meaning a croft or meadow in the clouds, population about 800, with an elevation at 8663 feet. Another words its way up there in the clouds. It is a beautiful little town with several motels, restaurants, and lots of gift shops. I stopped long enough to call Dustin, my son, so he would be out at the corner of the road I was to turn on to get to the small horse ranch where he works, which was my final destination.

Six more miles down the road east of Cloudcroft I saw Dustin standing beside his truck and waving at me. He jumped in it and led the way to Chacaro Oh-So-Black Arabian and Pinto Ranch. The ranch is a small one as ranches go so don’t go thinking in terms of cowboys, as there isn’t a cow on the place. It is a horse-breeding ranch. The raise Arabians and Saddlebred horses.

The first thing we did was put my suitcase and stuff in Dustin’s small apartment in one end of the main barn. The next thing we did was go to see Darkan’s Mystic Art or as he is better known as Arte. It is pronounced Art-ee. Arte is the yearling colt that Dustin’s mare Emme had last spring. I had seen him once before at about five months. Now he was a bit over a year old and just gorgeous. He is a handsome, fine-looking colt. But then I might be a bit opinionated. Arte is half Arabian and half Saddlebred or National Show Horse as the half Saddlebred horses are called. He is black with his mama’s long white stocking, and two lightning bolt stripes down over his left side and flank. He really has a pretty Arabian head like his sire Black Lord Darkan.

Next it was off to see the two mares that had recently foaled. Both off them were black Arabians that had been bred to the two Saddlebred stallions owned by the ranch. Both babies were adorable little fillies. Both were black with white stockings. One had a white splotch on her withers, and the other had a large white band around her middle. I couldn’t help but want to hold and love them but they wouldn’t stand for that. They were curious and wanted to nibble on everything they could put their mouths on, but have to be taught not to bit on humans.

After meeting all the horses, Dustin and I went to feed his two mares that he was keeping at another place a few miles away. There I got reacquainted with Emme, and CW. Emme is Arte’s mom and is a beautiful black and white pinto. CW (Charging Walk) is a big, bay Thoroughbred mare that is very, very pregnant. I have hopes that she will have it while I am here but she is not due for about another month.

To be Continued---------

Comments

Thanks to any one who has taken the time to read my blog, and thanks again to those of you who have left comments. Maybe someday I will figure out how to add links to your sites, and add photos to my blogs.

Newspaper Article

I'm still bragging on my neice. The Longview, WA newspaper wrote a great article about her. You can see it at http://www.tdn.com/articles/2005/06/09/area_news/news02.txt
But you can't see her picture on the online version. It was in the paper. Maybe she can help me learn how to add pictures to my blog.

Flip Side

Today I watched as a sudden rain storm rumbled and clattered in from the west causing all three dogs to follow me from here to there with fear in their eyes, ears dropping, and try to lay on top of me if I sat down. Thats a lap full of German Shepherd, Border Collie and Lab mutt. Today I thought of the mud that would be tramped into my house that I had just cleaned so well. Today I watched three horses take cover in their shelters and one, BlackJack, stand out in the field as close as he could get to the electric power pole. Today I heard the snap, crackle, and firey pop of a power pole being hit. I expected to find Jack lying dead on the ground but, thankfully it wasn't so. It didn't matter that for two hours we had no electricty, and my computer had lost the paragraph I was writing to post on this blog, since Jack was Okay. The lightning had hit a pole about a quarter of a mile away. I rewrote the blog, then slogged through the mud to feed the horses with the dogs following, as they still expected to hear more thunder. But that was alright since Jack was Okay. As he eats his hay, I stand beside him put my arms around his neck and whisper into his ear. He flicks the ear and shoves his nose under my arm for a moment . Its as if he is telling me that everything is Okay.

Rain

As happens frequently in New Mexico there were thoughts of rain. That usually happens when a cloud covers up the sun for a few moments, and usually it then goes on it's way to where ever clouds go. First of all today there were big, white, fluffy clouds that looked like you could reach up and pull one down to use as a pillow to take a nap on. Then those big, white, fluffy clouds begain piling up one on top of another until they were making thunderheads. Gradually they got bigger and darker, and bigger and darker. Gradually there was a low grumble of thunder off to the west. The west wind picked up, came sailing in and rattled the leaves of the trees and ruffled the new, feathery growth on the native gray sage that grows so well here.

Today big drops of rain splattered down onto the dry, thirsty dirt to bring that wonderful smell that only a person who has lived in the desert and prayed repeatedly for rain can understand. Today the rain came and washed the dust off the trees, sage, and a few roses. Today there was the sound of huge splats on the roof, the concrete patio, and the metal chimney in my fireplace. Today the dust was washed off my red Jeep Wrangler making it red again. Today I savored the sounds, smells, and sharpe splashes of lightning that split the sky. Today I relished the sound of thunder crackling, and rumbling as it passed overhead. Today I watched as the rain storm came at me and mine, drinched the land, and moved to the east to do the same to other thristy parts of New Mexico.

Midnight

I couldn't sleep last night and the dogs wanted out so we went outside to visit the horses. Apparently they couldn't sleep either or else they just thought it was a treat to get petted at midnight. At first it was still and quiet, then I began noticing all the traffic. What is it that has people up and going someplace at midnight on a Sunday night? Or should I say at midnight on a very early Monday morning? I was amazed as I counted all the cars and pickups coming and going at the Tumbleweed Crossing. It wasn't just a few it was dozens of them. Some of them going south on the street to the east of me, others going south and north on my street Tenth, and other east and west on I St. Or should I say on our dirt roads. In a bigger comunity I would have expected this much traffic. Even more. But here we are in our small, rural area with all these comings and goings. Doesn't make since. But then what was I doing up at midnight out walking the dogs and petting the horses? Maybe it was a night of no sleep for everyone.

other Bloggers

I recently found to other blogs that I like. Check them out if you get a chance.
http://holdyerhorses.blogspot.com is about horses, and http://menfreya.tblog.com is Josie's Journal; Josie is a writer.
Also don't for get to try http://wonderinwords.blogspot.com
and http://ponytracks.blogsite.com

No Punctuation

I have been trying to read other blogs and I am finding it very difficult. What is with this idea that you don't have to punctuate what you write any more? I refuse to read blogs or anything else on the net that has no capitalization, punctuation, and can't even spell the most simple of words. I'm not saying everything has to be perfect, but come on, why should I have to figure out where one sentence ends and another begins. Reading what someone else wrote can be to much of a chore when it is punctuated. Why can't you, the writer capitalize the names of people, cities, countries or your pets names? To my way of thinking if you don't capitalize these few things it means you do not care for them. This is just another way of saying you are not educated, and do not want to learn. Voicing your opinion is a good thing, but if no one can figure out what you are saying what good is writing it? Again I will simple refuse to read your blog, no matter how intersting it might be if it doens't have some punctuation.

Bragging Rights

I have to brag. My neice graduated from high school today. You say thats nice but nothing special. Maybe so, but she graduated with all A's. And not just in highschool. She had all A's from kindergarden through 12th grade. 13 years of all A's on her reportcards. Yes that is something to brag about in my opinion. She will start college in the fall, and is planning on majoring in journelism. Someday you will be reading her articles in the newspapers or here on line.

Roses

My roses are blooming. I have three yellow ones and two red ones. I am very proud that I can raise roses in the desert. My secret, if anyone should want to know it, is that I feed them bananas. Yes, you got that right bananas. Along with a can of beer and a handfull of epson salts, and another handfull of horse manure. (Thats 'cause I got all the horse poop I can use, and then some). I make a bucket of the beer, epson salts and a gallon of water and pour it on. Then I shove a shovel down about six inches and about twelve inches away from the base of the rose. I then shove a ripe banana into the hole made by the shovel and cover it up again. Next scatter a good handfull of well dryed horse manure around the base of the rose. Never, never put it up against the trunk of the rose. And always make sure it is well dried. If you don't have your own supply of manure, get some steer manure from your local nursery. If it says heat treated, so much the better. Make sure you never over do it with the manure. It is so easy to burn up plants, roses, and trees by using to much manure or fresh stuff. Water well, and I mean well. At least a couple of gallons of water every other day. Oh, and if your just planning those roses, don't forget to add some top soil, and a good multch.

Only in America

This has been a better day. Wind is only breezing today. Don't feel as if I am going to be blown away, all the way to Kansas, or at least to somewhere else. And no offence against Kansas, in fact I have never been to Kansas. Wouldn't mind going as it is one of the few states I have never been to.

At some point I would like to be able to say I have at least been in all 50 states.

I have lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Pampa, Texas; Burlington, Vermont; Los Vegas, Nevada; Tampa, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; Sandpoint, Idaho, back to Albuquerque, New Mexico; Chandler, Arizona; San Diego, California; Waukegan, Illinois; Honolulu, Hawaii; Silver City, New Mexico; and back to Albuquerque, New Mexico again. That is 10 states, and 12 cities.

With all that traveling and even more what with vacations. I have been in

Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Hawaii. Thats 32 different states. I am hoping I didn't leave anything out.

I really do hope I can add the other 18 states to the list sometime in the near future. And I would like to meet someone who has been in all 50 states. I am sure there are some politicians out there at least that have been in all states. But what about the common, everyday type people.

Ut - Oh! Maybe I just goofed. What are the common, everyday type of people?

Anyway if you have been in a lot of our great 50 states let me know.

Things that don't make since

Someone emailed me this. I just had to share it with everyone.

If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?

Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. . but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call?

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out!"

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

When your photo is taken for your driver's license, why do they tell you to smile? If you are stopped by the police and asked for your license, are you going to be smiling?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

What do you call male ballerinas?

Can blind people see their dreams?

Do they dream?If Wyle E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Is Disney World the only people trap operated by a mouse?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?

Do you ever wonder why you gave me your e-mail address in the first place?