Up the Mountain

It was a beautiful, winding drive up the mountain to the Ridge that even included a tunnel. (Jan's head in the mirror.) There were wonderful vistas off in the distance each time we went around another bend in the road, that we would stop and look at. There were trees everywhere, sometimes obscuring the views. We even saw a mama deer and her fawn. The fawn is in this shot with a moutain behind it.

Hurricane Ridge

We have finally made it to the day when we will see Hurricane Ridge. Hurricane Ridge is about 20 miles from Port Angeles. You wouldn't have thought of a high mountain being that close to a port with huge ships coming into it. There is a visitors center that had an old cabin like was used back in the days when Lewis & Clark first came to this area. The only totum pole on my whole trip was there as seen in this photo, and it was an old one, as well as an old dug-out canue. There are some nice photos of Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge at this web site http://www.portangeles.org/phototour.html

Rowdy Hotel Guests

Photo of old ship's bell on the warf in a small park.


After deciding to spend the night in Port Angeles we had a bit of trouble finding a hotel. We finally did and it was a nice hotel, or would have been if it hadn't been for the other guests being so rowdy, noisy, and just down right rude. My thanks to the hotel staff that did their best to keep an obnoxious bunch of boys under control when the chaperons of the boys decided to let them take over the hotel. I think they were a group of some sort of ball players - baseball, basketball, football- who knows. I'm not good at ballgame sports. My son was into cars, horses, and snowmobiles. The boys took over the swimming pool (which was fine, boys do need to run off excess energy) but they then decided to try to run all the adults out of the hot tub. That was just down right rude. And their chaperons didn't seem to care. Thankfully someone complained to the manager who made them get out, but as soon as it would be empty, in they would go again, not allowing any adults time in the hot tub. These same hooligans played ball in the parking lot, throwing balls against other peoples cars, and the next morning at the breakfast bar they tried to take everything offered by the hotel, not allowing other guests to have their share. Again,my thanks to the hotel staff for doing the best they could under these circumstances. We did have a nice room with comfortable beds and got a good nights sleep.

Raccoons

We did see some of the wildlife in the area while walking along the warf in Port Angeles. Of course there are raccoons in all areas of the U.S. - or so it seems, but they are kind of cute, even if an unwanted pest most of the time. This mama coon was teaching her 2 babies how to beg behind a cafe. Not a good idea but we couldn't resist taking their photos. We, also, saw several Canadan geese flying over the water.

Port Angeles

A few miles above Lake Crescent we came to the city of Port Angeles. Port Angeles is one of the northern most citys in Washington. From there you can catch a ferry, cross Strait of Juan de Fuca, and dock in Victoria, Canada. Regretably we did not have the time to take the ferry to Canada. I will save that trip for another time. (Remember it is another country, and now you need a passport to go there. Even for just a day visit.) In this photo you can see one of the ferrys. They were huge. We wern't able to get real close but did get some shots as some came in on there return from Canada. We visited some gift shops, had a bite to eat, and decided we would spend the night in Port Angeles as it was to late in the day to see Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Park, which was to be the high point of the whole trip.

Lake Crescent

After leaving the Hoh Forest and River we went north, again, for a very pleasent drive along Lake Crescent. It seems to be a long, sort-of narrow lake as you make the drive along it on the highway. It shimmers and looks like it has jewels in it in light to deep blues and greens. The lake is a glacier lake carved out by a glacier many many long years ago. I simply could not get over the colors in the lake. It was so clear and beautiful. But we were lucky that we had a nice blue sky making for a bright day to bring out the colors. I had never seen glacier waters before and now I understood why everyone raved about them. There were mountains all around the edge of the lake making for wonderful photos.

Here is a cute sign we saw near a gift shop close to the Hoh Forest and River. Farther down the road was a park-like setting that begged to have me take it's photo.

This is an odd shaped part of a tree trunk we found while on our hike. We couldn't decide if it looked like a huge bat, or a weird bird. And it was really big. About 8 feet tall and just as wide. There are lots of animals in the Hoh forest and Olympic National Park. We did see some birds, squirrels, and deer. But I didn't get to see any of the Roosevelt elk that live in the Hoh and Park. There are also bear, mountain lions, bobcat, martins, fishers (like a martin) chipmunks, squirrels, snow moles, (that live under many feet of snow in winter) salamanders, trout, salmon, and of course the banana slugs. (I didn't get a photo of the slugs. They were to gross.)

This is my niece, Cyndi, and I taking a break on a wooden bench. We had been on a hike but were about to decide we had gone for enough. Cyndi and Jan had been in a car accident just 3 days before I got to Oregon. Both of them were having a lot of back, shoulder, hip, and neck pain from when they had been rear ended. It was a bit upsetting to them that they were unable to do as much walking and hiking as they would have liked to do. I, also, wasn't able to do as much as I wanted to. I always have back pain do to having scoliosis and sciatica. But I try not to let it get me down and do as much as I can. Regardless of our hurts and aches we were determined to enjoy our trip. And we did.

More Hoh

Here is a photo of the tool shed covered in moss, ferns, and lechen. Most of the trees in the Hoh Rain Forest are hemlock, spruce, Douglas Fir, maples, alders, and cedar. It has almost a tropical feel to it. A lot of the trees are old growth trees making them ancient; even older than I am. Some are thought to be over 500 years old. But if you plant one it will grow faster than any where in U. S. due to the rainfall, which can be over 100 inches a year. (And here in New Mexico we are thankful for 3 or 4 inches a year.) A couple of the trees we saw were over 100 feet tall. There are all kinds of other plants - huckleberry, blackberry, trillium oxalis,

Hoh Rain Forest

We were up and on the go again. Still heading north but with a long side trip into the Hoh Rain Forest. The rain forests in Washington are the only rain forests in the continental United States. And I was disappointed as it wasn't raining. But still it was very enjoyable and beautiful to see. Everything, and I mean everything was covered with moss, and ferns. Everything was green, so very, very green, an almost jewel-like green. It was so different to the forests we have here in New Mexico. I was almost afraid to step off the trails because the undergrowth was so thick and I was sure I would get lost. The trees were so tall and the plants and scrubs so thick it was hard to see the sky and sun, so that you could tell the four directions. Even the pay phone booth and a tool shed were covered in moss and ferns. We followed the Hoh River on a lot of this journey and it was a clear, sparkling river, not running real fast as it was August but neither was it wasting any time.

Icky Party

By now we were tired and in Forks, Washington and ready to find our hotel. My guide, (Jan) had made reservations at the Forks Motel. It was a nice room, and there was a swiming pool. Since we had been wimpy about swiming in cold ocean water, we were determined to swim in the pool. It was fun and relaxing. After the swim we went back to our room and Jan promply demanded first rights to the shower. That was fine by me even if I was a bit cool and clammy. Surprisingly Jan was out in a flash, or so it seemed. And then she insisted that Cyndi had to have hers next as 'she wasn't feeling well'. OK. Again I agreed. I was thinking of myself anyway. If I was the last one in, I could take as long as I wanted. As I waited for Cyndi I flipped through the channels on the TV and wondered what we would have for supper, and what had become of those birthday cakes. But I was so relaxed and enjoying my trip I wasn't going to let anything bother me. Ha! Ha!

As I came out of a long, soaking, relaxing shower and was totally at ease with my self and the world I heard Jan and Cyndi yell, "ICKY PARTY!!!!!!!!". (Remember it is my birthday.)

OH! NO! I hadn't heard that cry in many years. We had icky parties when we were kids. And now I knew I was in for a evening of fun, jokes, and silly gifts.

While I had showered Jan and Cyndi had set out the picnic left overs for supper - ham, salads, fruit, chips, ect as well as the 3 little birthday cakes. But first we had to put on party hats, and blow silly whisles, and do dumb party games for dumb party favors. Then I had to open my gifts. A small black beany horse, some material that had horses on it, and a Grow a Pony. (You put this itty bitty pony about 1 inch in size in a big pan of water and it grows. Took about 4 days but it was about 600 times bigger. It actually worked. Then when you take out of water it takes about a week and it srinks back to original size.) Most were stuff form the dollar store except the materianl which was from a garage sale.

For an icky party nothing can be expensive.

At long last the day had ended and I got to go to bed. With a tummy full of cake.

(That is Jan, my sister, and myself in the photo. Remember we had been traveling all day, and had showered but not done anything with our hair, ect.)

Me

Me at Kalaloch Beach

Riptide

You can find several of these signs on all the beachs warning about the logs coming in out of the water.

More of Day 3

After the picnic on day 3 we traveled on north to Kalaloch Beach (my guide informed me it was pronounced Clay-lock) - from the mossy trees to the open coast. I am finding out that the trip up the Washington coast has some very unique country and is very interesting.

It was the first time I had seen the ocean in about 4 years. I was thrilled. We took the short hike down to the waters edge, sat on an old log, pulled off our shoes and rolled up our jeans. I couldn't wait to wade into the ocean. But was I surprised! Now I understood why Jan said we wouldn't need our swim suits at the beech. That water was way too cold to get more than our toes into it. There were people who had on swim suits or shorts and were getting wet. Jan said they were probably local people who did it frequently and were used to how cold the water was.

But regardless of the chill (and remember it was August) we waded, made tracks in the wet sand, and looked for sea shells. The tide was coming in and we didn't find anything but broken shells. I took lots of photos of the waves coming into the shore and of the sun just starting to think about sinking toward the west, as well as a few brave kids playing in the surf and building sand castles.

Interestingly there were big, tall trees that came almost down to the shore, leaving only a few feet of sand that varied from 3 or 4 feet up to about 50 feet for the beech area. I was intrigued by this as most of my visits to the beach had been in Florida and southern California where there were usually houses down to the shore or beach's. I had always seen photos of the trees and cliffs by the shore and always wanted to see it. Now I was.

There were lots of logs laying everywhere. Great big logs that had once been great big trees. My guide said that sometimes trees fall off of cliffs and get into to the ocean. Other times the logs are lost from logging operations near the shore, or from barges that carry logs on them or they might have been sunk in the ocean for hundreds of years. With the changing of tides and storms they are unburied and wash ashore.

Every year a few people are killed when they are playing on the beech and don't notice that there is a log coming in to shore. They are very heavy but the waves and water can throw them tremendous distances making dangerous missiles out of them.

Chores

My many many chores have distrated me from writing about my trip to Oregon. I will try to continue with the tale. But a reminder - sometimes chores do get in the way of things we want to do. Chores like feeding, cleaning out pens, refilling water buckets, cleaning house, playing with horses, dogs, and cats, and putting a jigsaw puzzle together.

Foal in Jacket

Here is the foal in the jacket.

Baby Horse

I'm not writing about my trip today. On Saturday my neighbors had a surprise waiting for them when they went to feed their horses. They knew the mare was expecting but didn't think the baby would come this soon. She has some strange markings on her face but is really cute. It was cool and there was a storm coming so we put a jacket on her to help keep her warm as none of the feedstores in our area had regular foal blankets. She and her parents are probably more Mustang than anything else

Picnic

Jan fixing our picnic lunch and Cyndi helping.

Trees

Day 3

My trip really began on Day 3. And to top it off it was my birthday. Yes, August 3 is my birthday. But you have to guess what year I was born in. I'm not tellin'. Jan was playing tour guide and had planned a special trip up the Washington coast to the Olympic Peninsula with stopping spots at various points in Olympic National Park.
We were up early and packed a small suitcase for each of us as we planned to be gone over night. Maybe two or three nights. Plus we had an ice chest, picnic basket, and snacks. It would be a long day with lots of driving. First stop was at the Happy Hound to drop off Paddy. Then it was on to a grocery store where Jan and Cyndi picked out 3 very small birthday cakes. Yummy! We decided three small ones would fit better in the ice crest than one large one. Plus everyone got to pick out their own flavor
Leaving Clatskanie and Longview behind we headed north across Washington on Highway 5. Just beyond Centralia we turned west on state road 12 until we caught Highway 101 at Aberdeen.
Lunch was to be a picnic where ever it looked good to stop when we reached Olympic National Park. We found a nice little camp area as soon as we entered the Park and right off the highway. We are all three starved. Cyndi led the way to a picnic table under some huge old trees and we had ham sandwiches, chips, potato salad, and cold drinks. It was warm being the third of August so we were hitting the water and sodas hard. But it didn't seem that warm to me as at home, in New Mexico, it would have been down right hot.
After living in the desert for years it was wonderful to see the green of moss on such big, beautiful trees. There were ferns, and what looked like a wild shamrock under some of the trees. Some huge logs made hiding places for fairies and elves but I didn't see any.

Down Town

One of the main streets in Clatskanie.

Clatskanie, OR

On the second day of my trip my sister and I spent the day visiting the little town of Clatskanie, Oregon. It is a very small town or maybe village would be a better would for it, and on the cute side. It looks like a typical northwestern community. Lots of older two story homes with tons of trees, scrubs, and flowering annuals everywhere. It is just barely large enough to have it's own school system. Cyndi and her brother Joe graduated from Clatskanie High School. There is a couple of grocery stores, fast food places and some more sophisticated restaurants. But it was the thrift shops and antique stores that held our interest that day, although the only thing I bought was an old book on horses. We did go to a reality office and looked at some homes for sale but nothing really caught my interest. Jan wants me to move there but at this time I don't think it is a wise idea. And I am not sure I could handle as much rain as they have there.

Cherry Tree

The cherry tree si on the left. The deer come here to eat grass.

Jan's Home

It really doesn't sit at an angle like this photo makes it look like. But her land is mostly up hill and down hill.

Clatskanie

After crossing the bridge and entering Oregon we went to Clatskanie, Oregon, the small town where Jan and family live. They have a beautiful, old re-molded farm house. It is thought to be well over a hundred years old. At one time it had been at a different place and was moved onto their propery. I think she said it had been a schoolhouse at one time. But a few years before they bought it the previous owners re-molded and modernized everything.
From the back door you enter a short hallway that leads to the kitchen with off shots to the downstairs bathroom and the pantry. To the left of the kitchen is a large diningroom that is mostly used for an office and junk room with a washroom off to the side of it.
From the kitchen you can enter either the livingroom or TV/den room. The front door is in the livingroom but isn't used hardly at all. The livingroom also has the staircase to the upstairs. Upstairs there is two bedroom, a very large master suite for Jan and Jim and a smaller room used by Cyndi. Off one side of the master suite is a large bathroom. Off the other side is a sunroom/sewing/craft room.
Now that isn't all. Going back to the pantry. There is a trap door raised by a pulley that shows you stairs leading down into a huge basement. At one time my nephews had a bedroom down there but as both have left home it is just another storage area full of mostly my moms stuff that we couldn't bare to part with.
Around three sides of the house is a porch with a railing. The roof extends out over the porch and makes for a wonderful area to get outside when it is raining as it does so much here. Jan had big pots of petunias in full bloom, hanging from the roof over the railing adding brilliant torches of color. In flower beds around the porch were several roses, also in full bloom. One rose was the last surviving 'child' from a rose that our granddad had brought from Texas when he moved his family to New Mexico in 1936. Jan had worked hard at taking a cutting off of the one Mom had at her home in Silver City, NM, took it to Oregon and convinced it to sprout, grow and bloom. I hope it lives until I can get a cutting off of it. The house in Silver City has been sold.
Jan and Jim's property is fairly large - about six acres. And they haven't done much with it. That is the way they want it. It looks like you have walked out into a forest miles and miles away from civilization. It is almost impossible to see any of the neighbors houses for the trees and brush. There is about an acre fenced for Paddy to play in. There is a large shop/garage for Jim and his tools and an older camp trailer, and in another area is what used to be a small barn and is now a storage shed for a couple of older Broncos.
A small spring pops out of the ground in the trees up on the hill to the east of the house. It creates a small creek that almost divides the property. It isn't a very wide or deep creek but in the past has created a fairly deep bank down to up and then back up the other side that makes it difficult to get to the far side of the property. If it was mine the first thing I would do is put a bridge across it.
All over the property are trees. Trees and trees and more trees. An apple tree that looks to be older than the house sits near the drive. There is a huge cherry tree out in a small meadow. There are maples, and pine and a huge Douglas fir, and an old Hemlock and tons of other trees. They have a small garden with lots of iris, some lilacs and several Rhododendrons that are very popular in the Northwest.
To the south side of there property is a huge rambling thicket of blackberries. They had been blooming and were just starting to put on fruit while I was there. Boy, did they taste good. Each year Jim makes blackberry jelly to give to all their friends and relatives.
I'm not the only one that thinks the blackberries taste good. So do lots of birds and deer.
There are a couple of does that live on Jan's property nearly all the time. They are gentle enough you can see them a lot in the mornings or evenings. There are several small meadow-like areas where they come to graze on the grass. They had fawns and I was able to see them while I was there and get a few photos.
GRASS and TREES
Oh if I could only have a little grass and a few bigger trees in my yard.

Entering Oregon

Lewis & Clark Bridge

Going south from Washington state to Oregon state.

Oregon

I have been very lax about putting information on by blog about the trip I took to Oregon and Washington last August. So I am going to tell about it in the next few postings and add a few of the 1000 or so photos I took.
On August 1, 2007 I flew to Portland, Or. It was the first time I had flown in 35 years. It was quite an experience. Needless to say I was scared stiff when we took off from the Albuquerque, NM airport. I didn't want to look out but had to. It seemed all I could see were the Sandia Mountains, and they looked like we were going to hit them. As you may remember I can see the Sandia Mountains to the east from my home. I watch them every day when the sun comes up over them, the clouds float over them, the snow covers them, or the rain obscures them, until the sun setting in the west causes them to turn pink, and to live up to their name of Sandia which means Watermelon. Then I watch the moon come up over them. They are a wonderful mountain range that I have seen all my life but I did not want to crash into them.
We didn't.
It was off to Sacramento, CA where I was able to stay on the plane, and in a few minutes we were off again, (this time not so scary). I was thrilled to watch the mountains under us, the clouds we went up and down through, and finally to get a glemse of Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helen's, as we suddenly were flying right up the Columbia River. I was amazed at that as my sister and nephew had never mentioned doing that when they went into Portland. (I found out later they never had.) I could see several boats, and barges, and a bridge I took to be the Lewis & Clark bridge (also known as the Longview Bridge) that spans the Columbia River between Longview, WA and Clatskanie, Or (where my sister, Jan, and brother-in-law, Jim live.) I thought I could see the paper mill that Jim works at which I knew was near the river and the bridge.
Minutes later we had landed at the Portland, Oregon airport and I was met by Jan and my niece, Cyndi. It was the first time we had seen each other in three years. After finding my luggage and the car in the parking area we had a quick lunch somewhere. I forgot where now. Fast food is fast food. Then it was off to the Happy Hound in Longview to pick up Jan's dog, Paddy (a Lab and hound cross) that had spent the day at Doggy Day Care at the Happy Hound which he is always happy to go to. It was the first time I had met Paddy, as he was only about a year and a half old. He is a wonderful, sweet dog and acted like we had always been friends.
Finally we went across the Lewis & Clark Bridge that I had seen from the plane, going from Washington to Oregon. There is even a sign in the middle of the bridge saying you are in Oregon. I had been across the bridge lots when my husband, Lee, and son, Dustin, drove to Oregon about 5 years before. It was sort a like going to a place I had been away from way to long.

Glad

I am glad to say I have not heard of anyone being injured by a bullet shot up into the air this year. Hopefully no pets or livestock were hurt either. I have heard that there were a lot of crazy drunks out on the road that caused several accidents and deaths. Seems like drinking is a legal way to kill someone.

New Year

Happy NEW YEAR

Please make it a safe and special one. Full of color, especially the color Green

And, Please, be safe. Remember shooting off a gun for the heck of it on New Year's Eve can be a very dangerous thing. Even if you think it is safe by shooting it off into the air. Remember what goes up must come down. Even one person or animal being injured or killed this way is one to many.

Zero

Yesterday when I went to feed the thermomater read at 0 (zero degrees) first time I have ever seen it do that here. Lee had to go out and break the ice in the big water buckets with a sledge hammer so we could dip a little water to put in the smaller heated buckets. We were afraid the hose would crack if we tried to use it. Today it was at 19 degrees - much better, at least I was able to break the ice. The horses are doing ok with this cold. But sure wish I had better shelters for them. Who would have ever guessed that it would get this cold and stay that way day, after night, after day. Has only been getting up to about 30 degrees in the day time. Albuquerque gets a bit warmer due to lots of buildings and concrete to hold the heat but out here it is cold.

Cold Weather

I've had enough of this cold weather. This morning when I went out to feed at 8 am it was still only 20 degrees. AGAIN. It has been at about 20 or so for the past few weeks. That isn't normal for here. Usually it is freezing at night. But just barely. Maybe at the 30 degree mark. These 20's are usually normal for maybe a few weeks in Feburary or March but not December and it is driving me nuts. I am cold and can't get warm. Neither can the water the horses need to drink. And I can't keep the idiot birds from sitting on the edges of the horse buckets and pooping in them. Anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of these yucky black birds? Don't know if there a type of small crow, or a cowbird or what. Don't think their starlings. But I don't like them.

Merry Christmas

Size

There was a comment from Donna about the difference in size on my ponies. And we are hoping that the pinto, Traveler doesn't get so big we have to seperate them. Trave is a yearling and Stormy is a 2 year old. As I said in a previous post when I first got them, they both were from the same Shetland mare, but both had different sires. It is amazing what a difference that can make. Stormy had a Mini stallion for a papa, and Trave had a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion for a papa. At this time Stormy is 40 inches at his withers, and don't think he will get much bigger if any. That makes him to big to be considered a mini and to small to be considered a Shetland. We just think he is really cute and love him dearly. Now Trave is 50 inches at his withers at this time, which makes him a lot talker than a Shetland but a lot smaller than a Walker. We are thinking he might get a bit talker as most yearlings aren't grown. And yes, anyone that would breed a Shetland mare to a Walker is nuts, but my understanding is it was one of 'those accidents'.

Full Moon

There will be a full moon on the 23rd of December. AT this time it is so bright here at night that you could read a book by the moon. Any time there is a full moon the horses get fussy. They don't want to be cooped up in their shelter areas, and pick fights with each other, as well as trying to find things to do some pretend spooking at. Of course we hear more coyotes howling then, and my dogs, especially my German Shepherd, Codee, likes to go out and bark at the moon. And the rabbits - I'm not sure what the rabbits are up to. They seem to be having rabbit conventions in our driveway every night. You can go out and see a dozen or so out in the yard messing around. Maybe it's just that they learn that the coyotes don't come in our yard and the dogs arn't out at night, and there is always a bit of hay left laying around that is good to nibble on. And I don't sleep very good during a full moon. Does anyone else see a different during this time?

Winter Solstice

It is the first day of Winter and the day of Winter Solstice. Hope it's a good one for everyone.

Ponies in the Snow

This is both ponies playing in the snow. Traveler and Stormy. Stormy is the hairy beast. He took after his shetland moma and has tons of hair including the beard on his face. Traveler had the same mom but a different dad. His hair is thick but not as long.

Time for Play

Here is a photo of Traveler playing in the little bit of snow we got last week.

again

The Thanksgiving storm came and went. On Friday we had another one come in and terrize the whole state. Horrible winds as well as cold rain. We had about a half an inch in the rain gage. But it sure caused a muddy mess in the horse pens. Winds were the worst. Sounded as if the roof of the house was coming off. Gates kept banking even though locked tight. Horses survived. The shelters kept them sort of dry and protected. What gets me is that we can have that much rain and with in 8 hours the ground is dry enough for the sand to blow with the wind again. You guessed it - the pens are dry again.

Cold Snow

It is the day after Thanksgiving. And it is snowing. Ponies are standing out in their pens chowing down on an extra ration of grass hay that I gave them at noon. Not a lot just a little as eating hay is what helps keep them warm. We don't use blankets here. Usually it isn't necessary. But we do have the three-sided shelters in their pens that does help cut the wind and cold. Usually the wind comes from the west, and maybe a bit from the south. Today it is from the east. And cold.

BlackJack

Jack's Name

At first when I named BlackJack I didn't think of the death of President Kennedy (1963) but someone mentioned to me it was the name of the horse that was the 'riderless horse' in his funeral. Several people have said that his name, color and shape remind them of that famous horse. The death of our Present made a lasting impression on me as a 13 year old at the time. Being a horse lover and growing up in the Air Force that horse made a big impresion, too. I do remember watching him on TV during the funeral possession, and behind the casket. There is a photo of him at this site.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/kennedy/kennedy-assassination-24.htm

At another site is more information http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3776

He was used as the 'riderless horse' at the funerals of President Hoover (1964) and President Johnson (1973) and for General MacArthur (1964). Blackjack was thought to be a Morgan/Quarter Horse. and lived from 1947-1976. The Army used a lot of Morgan horses until horses were not used in the military anymore.

My BlackJack is, also, a Morgan.

This is Sonny. He has been fighting a series of abseses in his hoof over the past year or so, and we hadn't ridden him much since we got him. He seems to be over the problem now and we rode him for first time in a long time yesterday. He did great and no sign of a limp today.

Nita

Nita, the mare that got caught up in the fence is doing fine. I rode BlackJack on Monday and she and Star got very upset that I took him off the property and down the road for a ways. They ran around in their pens and bucked and jumped like the silly mares that they are. At least it gave them some excersise. I hear of all kinds of ways to teach a horse how to leave the barn area when they are what is called 'barn sour'. But what about the stable mate that doesn't want them to leave? We will work on lots of coming and going in the near future to see if it will calm the mares down. Another words - ride out for a few minutes them come back, doing it over and over to let the mares know that their friend will come back.

New Links

I have added Donna and Simply Marvelous to my blog links. They have great blogs about horses.

Names

Thanks for all the kind comments about the scarey moments. I still shudder when I think about it. Nita is doing fine. She is still sort of stiff in the injured leg but it has only been a week and will take more time. When I cleaned it today she wanted to run round and round on the lead but didn't think she should yet. I think it was Simply Marvoulous that asked the name of my black horse. (I was admiring her black horse and felt so bad that she lost him recently.) That is BlackJack, and he is a Morgan gelding about 14 years old. I didn't like the name he came with and that owner had only had him for a short time with that name and didn't know his previous name. I was having a hard time finding a name for him and a friend said he looked like a BlackJack. So it stuck. He is a great horse. Likes people and a good trail horse.

Nita is short for Bonita Rascal, her registored name. She is a 7 year old quarter horse. We, also, have the black 2 year old mini/shetland who's name is Stormy. Stormy's half brother, my pinto pony, is Traveler, also, known as Trave amd Travey. Traveler is Walker/shetland, and only a yearling.

Not to be forgotten is my first horse, Stardust. She is about 8 and is probably a mustang cross. I do know she came off the Laguna Indian Reservation. She has a brand but have been unable to trace it. Several people have told me it is an Indian brand. A lot of the horses that come off that reservation are crossed with a group of mustangs that are in that area of New Mexico. Actually Star is a pony, at only13 and a half hands. She is a red sorrel, or a chestnut with a star but gets Appolossa spots in the summer on her neck, belly and chest. She looses the spots in the winter. I have had her since she was a yearling.

Last but not least is Sonny. He is about 20 years old. A brown and white paint that looks to be mostly Quarter Horse. He was left with me while his owner moved to another state until he could come back and get him. But he never did. And that was 3 years ago.

Two by Two

Ok, we have six horses. Four are normal size and two are Shetland crosses so they are much smaller. I would really like to put all of them together so they could socialize as I hear that horses like to do, but it seems to be impossible. We will always have to keep the two Shetlands crosses away from the big horses. If they had a super large turnout area we might could put them with the big horses but I know what kind of bullies my big horses are so I won't even consider that. It's the four big horses that create a fuss. You would think that four horses, two mares and two geldings could get along in a pen that is about a half acre in size or a little larger. But NO! Star was my first horse, a small Mustang-type mare, sorrel with a few appy spots on her Then I got BlackJack, a black Morgan gelding. I had them at a stable for almost a year before we moved here, and they were used to each other. After moving here that became close stable mates. Almost like an old married couple. Then we got Sonny, a brown and white paint with quarter horse bloodlines. Sonny did not like Star and Jack and they didn't like him. He had his own pen. Then we got Nita, a bay quarter horse mare. Nita did fine with Sonny, but was madly in love with Jack. Jack liked her but still preferred Star. This seemed to make Star jealous, and caused frequent kicking matches between her and Nita.

Now after three years we can put the four of them together some of the time. But never at feeding time. Then it is two by two. Star and Jack in one pen, Nita and Sonny in another, and the little guys in their pen. It may make life a bit more difficult, but is better than having horses fighting with each other.

Horse Slave

I swear that Nita is enjoying playing the part of an invalid to much. I really think she went to sleep today while I was running cold water over her hurt leg. She even closed her eyes. But her leg is much better. She barely limps at all, and most of swelling is gone. Still keeping her and Star apart so no one gets hurt again. I am not thrilled with playing nursemade to an equine.

I really think that horse vets should teach classes on equine first aide and all things a person needs to know about how to take care of an injured or sick horse. Like how to wrap a leg, how to get a pill down an equine throat, or how to give powered meds that are so fine they want to blow away when a horse breaths on them. What to do for colds, horse flu, or diarrhea, and the proper feed for all those 'easy keepers', and those you can't seem to get any weight on. (If you have ponies and quarter horses like I do, you might find you have fat ponies, while the quarter horses ribs are showing even thorugh you feel like you don't do anything but feed one horse, and you feel like you are starving the ponies and they are still fat.)

And another thing - how did horse people wrap legs before 'vet wrap' was invented. I think I own stock in the company. I use it on the dogs as well as the horses, and a couple of times on my self. And it really works great when you need to wrap the willow tree thats dripping sap where it is missing a chunk of bark because hubby backed into it.

Nita, the mare that got caught in the fence.

Scary Moments

I have heard it said that 'a horse is an accident waiting to happen', and it would seem to be very true. Last Saturday, November 3, 2007 started out like any other Saturday. Lee watched the Nascar race and then we both watched the PBR or the bull riding event. About 10 PM I went out to do the late evening feed for the horses as I do every evening. I had taken about 3 steps out the front door when I heard horses screaming, squealing, and raising a heck of a commotion in a very dark corner of the pens. I had the gate open between the two turn out pens so that our 4 horses could have more room to roam around in and socialize as horses like to do. Of course that is the time that my 2 mares, Star and Nita decided to have another disagreement. Why these two mares can't get along with each other better I will never understand.

All the noise of horses fussing, and then the banging of the gate in that corner was very scary. I opened the door again and yelled at Lee that I could use some help grabbed a flashlight and headed out. Of course the flashlight decided that night that the battery wanted to die. Lee came out and we got Sonny, our paint gelding out of that pen and over to the other pen. We were able to see the other gelding, BlackJack and my mare, Star but couldn't see the other mare, Nita. I was trying to keep Star and Jack from going back into the far corner where Lee was trying to get Nita out of when he started yelling for a rope and the wire cutters.

Horrible thought lept through my heart and head. Wire Cutters????? Wire cutters meant she was tangled in the fence, which probably meant wire cuts, and possibly broken legs. I ran, and at my age with my medical problems I don't run good to the hay shed for the wirecutters we use to open hay bales with and a halter. By the time I was half way back I had to slow to a walk and was having trouble breathing. Lots of trouble breathing. I finally made it to the dark corner where Nita and Lee were and by the light of his small flashlight could make out the mares head and slipped the end of the lead rope around her neck. I could barely see Lee supporting her left hind leg stretched out at an odd angle behind her. All those horror thoughts came racing back as I handed him the wire cutters. While I held her head and spoke soft words that I hoped would help sooth her I heard him clipping wires. Then I felt her put her leg on the ground. Lee played his little light over her leg reveling a long gash in her lower leg. My heart was in my throat as I glanced at it while working the halter onto Nita's head. I was already making plans for calling the vet.

As she was able to walk we made our way slowly up to the hay shed where there was a decent light and into a small pen. The additional light showed the gash wasn't as bad we had at first thought. And we decided to wrap it with gaze, cottonwrap and vet wrap for the night. Thankfully all the fuss hadn't affected her appetite and with her feed I added some Bute I had left over from the last time she and Star had had one of their kicking matches.

With all the horses fed, and Nita's leg bandaged Lee and I were able to start calming down and went to take a look at the fence. Apparently the mares and wondered into the corner and began fussing with each other and in the process of kicking at each other Nita had stuck her foot through the fence and the wire had wrapped around her leg. In pulling to get loose she had broke one of the wooden 4X4's that we had used as a fence post. We were glad it had broke. We thought that if it hadn't broke, Nita might have broke her leg.

On Sunday morning we unwrapped her leg to see that the gash was maybe more of a scrap and decided the vet could wait till Monday instead of paying weekend rates. We ran cold water over it, dried it and re-wrapped. On Monday the vet said we were doing the right thing, but advised us to give her antibiotics as well as the Bute. By Tuesday she seemed much better.

All of this makes me wonder how horses ever survive in the wild, where there is on one to get them out of the messes they can get into and give them the care they need when they do get into problems.

The Desert

This is out on the desert near where I sometimes ride. On this day I walking my Border Collie Tuffee. You can see the Sandia Mountains in the distance. Albuquerque is hiden between us and the mountains down along the Rio Grande valley.

Jack

After I had my surgery last summer I never got back in the 'groove' of riding much. This week I decided I had too. That has always been my life's goal. To have and ride horses. So three times I saddled up BlackJack and we rode around the turnout pens and the round pen. Jack has always disliked being riden in arena type settings. He preferrs going out on the trails. But it had been a long while since we had done that. The first time I tried riding out onto our road he acted as if he had never done it, and it took a bit of persuation to get him to even set foot onto the road. Mind you it is the same kind of dirt that our drive way is made up of. So we spent that day riding the dive, and just going a few yards down the road. The next day he did a lot better when I took him out the back side of our property and down the ATV wide path that we keep cut there that is about 300 yards long, and connects with the next road over behind us. He seemed to think that was great. Next time out we will go on over to the arroyo and ride it if he is still doing OK with leaving our property.
The worst problem is that just this week some big rigs started hauling dirt from one construction site to another and go by our house about once each half hour. So far they don't go fast but I really don't want to be riding out there when they go by. Not sure how Jack would react on such a narrow road to such a big truck. He ignores when when he is in his home space on our property.

Thanks

Thanks to Donna for her comment and for her blog at html.donna-justme.blogspot.com . Donna has a great blog with lots of 'horse talk'. Which us horse lovers always need. She, also, has some great photos. Take a look at her blog when you get a chance.

Travey

Traveler at full gallap around our turnout pen. He was having such a good time. And I was so lucky to get this shot of him in full motion and have it turn out.

Forgetful?

Sorry I haven't been writing in my blog for a while. I seem to have had other things on my mind. Am I getting forgetful in my old age? or just there is so much to do and so little time to do it in? or is it just the stress of our life and times? Take this morning for instance - I got up, dressed, fed the horses, dogs, and cats, and sat down at the computer while I drank a cup of coffee to get me going. Well, my feet got cold as I had kicked off my outdoor shoes when I came in and didn't put on my slippers. Cold feet means finding the slippers which were in the livingroom, (computer is in the bedroom) and my stomach growled so decided to go to the kitchen for a bit of 'something'. Kitchen reveiled that I hadn't done the dishes last night, so decided to put them in the dishwasher first, which I actually acomplished and filled the sink with hot soapy water for washing the cast iron skillets, that can't go into the dishwasher, and that hubby leaves in such a mess after frying hambergers. Ok, so far, not to bad. But I discover that the trash never got out last night either. So I wander around a bit collecting more trash so I only have to make one trip -HAW HAW. Out to the big trash can outside, and of course I have to check on the horses. I'm outside, right. Horses always have to be checked on each and everytime you step out the door. But this time, instead of just looking out at the 3 pens to see if everyone looks ok, I decide to go and pet Stormy. Stormy always needs to be petted. As does Traveler, BlackJack, Nita, Star and Sonny. Hummmm - now thats a thought. I have 6 horses and 3 have names that start with an S. I wonder how that happened. Anyway after petting all horses, the dogs need attention. By now my tummy is saying that I really did forget about it, and would I please put something in it. So back to the house, and off to the potty room before eating. I pass the computer on the way, and see that I never did write a note for by blog. I sit down and write, forgetting tummy is hungry.

Me, Stormy, Traveler, and Lee

Sweet Ponies

Ok, don't make fun of me for calling my new ponies 'sweet', but they are. So far they are doing really good and are cute as well as sweet. Now they are looking for us to pet them and give them treats and are leaning to leed really good. They are excepting fly spay even if they don't like it, and are sort of learning to pick up their hooves to be cleaned. Traveler seems to learn things really fast. More photos to come.

Ponies

New Ponies

Ok, OK, Ok, I know. It's been a long time since I have posted. What can I say, except I have been busy. We have 2 new ponies. Yes, these two are really ponies. One is a 2 year old Mini/Shetland cross named Stormy, and the other is a yearling that is Tennessee Walker and Shetland, named Traveler. At least those are their names for the time being. They had those names when I got them. I don't know if I will change them or not. Both are actually half brothers on the mom's side and she is the Shetland Pony. But they both look really different taking after their sires. Stormy is solid black and Traveler is a tri-color pinto. Neither of them had been handled much when I got them so we are starting at the most basic of basic training. At this point they are finally letting us pet them and taking treats from our hands. They will sort-of lead after we get halters on them. Sometimes that is no problem, other times it involves all kinds of ways, mostly treats, to catch them and get the halters on. But it is fun. I think they will make really good pets in the future, and possibly Traveler will be big enough to ride. I think it would be loads of fun to get a cart and teach them to drive. I have never driven so it will be a learning prossess for me, too. Of course I can't afford a cart, so may see if we can build a very simple one. I hope to post lots of photos of them.

Weather

Weather in the land of enchantment is always changing. We have had several days of horrible winds, but today the wind was followed by a nice, cooling drizzle.

Cars

I see all those horrible photos on the news channel that are taken of the car wrecks, and I am thankfull that so far I have never been in a bad one. Then I watch the car races on TV. They have wrecks just has bad and very seldom does a driver get injured, let alone killed. If the race cars can be made that safe why can't the average cars we are expected to drive be made safer? I know a lot of it has to do with the seat and harness and what the driver wears, but I would think that just the addition of a good roll bar would save many lives.

Dirty Dog

I finally convinced myself that I had to buy a carpet shampoo machine and clean the carpet. So I did. Well it came out better than I expected. It had been several years since it had been done and I was pleased with the results even if the cleaner did make he have a few extra algeries for a few hours. But - Tuffee dog, my Border Collie must have been displeased with the clean carpet. She went out found a nice fresh pile of horse poop to roll in and then came back in the house. Needless to say Tuffee got a bath.

Drink?

Cool Pets

I figure Memorial Weekend is a good time to remind everyone that Summer is here, and our dogs, cats, horses, and other pets may be feeling the heat as much as their humans are. I know I am. The heat and hot sun of summer bothers some people more than others so we need to remember that it could and does affect our pets. Please make sure that all pets have plenty of water both inside and outside. Inside pets are used to inside heaters and air conditioners. So outside water and shade is very important when they are enjoying summer. Remember that all animals drink more when it is hot, just as you do. Use big containers for water appropriate for you cat or dogs size. I don't care for the small dishes sold in stores for water. Try a new, very clean bucket, or bowl that is short enough for the pet to get it's head into but that will hold at least a gallon of water. And dogs frequently slurp lots of water with a good amount going onto the floor or ground. The extra amount is needed for them to get enough liquid. If putting out water for kittens or small puppies a large but shallow dish is best. Made sure it isn't deep, and that they can get out if they fall in. We don't want them drowning.

As for horses and other live stock. Again they need lots more water in summer. Horses need at least 20 gallons of clean, fresh water a day. They can get sick it the water is contimated with dirt, or hay.

Please take care of your pets. They are important to all of us.

Rude People

It amazes me how many rude people there are in the world. Yet I see and hear them everytime I go anywhere. At the grocery store they like to stand in the isle so that no one can get by them while they take their good old time about selecting what they want off the shelves. Or worse they stand there and gossip with a friend, or worse talk on their cell phone. Why can't they at least move to one side to let other shoppers shop. And when you ask them to move they scream and yell that they were there first. At the checkout isn't any better. They all seem to want to push into line in front of the other people who have already been standing there for ages.

I see the same displays of rudness at all stores, at gas stations, while driving, at schools, and even where I work. I was not raised to be this rude. What has happened to the human race that now we consider the streets, job, schools, stores, and anywhere the place to test our ability to

"HUNT" for our food or necessities in life, or our ability to "FIGHT" for our place in the world.

What is this teaching our children. It almost seems as if we are at war with everyone we encounter, regardless of who they are.

Bear In My Town

http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3605&Itemid=2
this is the link to the Albuquerque NM Journal story about the bear that terrorized Rio Rancho NM on Friday morning. Since they say it was seen at the Wal-Mart it was only about 4 miles from me and may have come in across the desert close to where I live. I thought it was a funny story but with a good ending as the bear wasn't killed. It was tranquiliezed then taken by Game and Fish to where it could be tagged, cared for and released in near by mountians where it could find a better home. The med center where it was tranquilized is one that I used to go to a few years ago, until my Dr moved. For those of you familiar with Rio Rancho it is near the Bank of the West or the Auto Zone or the Walgreens Pharmacy on the corner of Southern Blvd and Highway 528. It traveled about 5 miles to get from where it was first reported to be running through peoples yards to where it was finally caught.

Kind of makes you think what can walk right in through those automatic doors that are everywhere.

Fat Pony

Here is Jack and my mare, Nita having a confab about not getting enough attention. Yeah, I agree, BlackJack is over weight. All of my horses seemed to suddenly get over weight in the past month or so. No, I haven't been riding enough, or doing ground work with them. Either I don't feel like it, or it is raining, or muddy, muddy, or I am busy at my job, or cleaning pens, and making sure water buckets are clean and full. It seems there are never enough hours in the day.

This Morning

This morning I spent a pleasent hour riding my 14 year old Morgan gelding BlackJack. You can see his photo to the right. I have had Jack for about 4 years. He the perfect horse for me. At only about 14 and a half hands he is easy for old worn out me to get on. He is an easy going horse that isn't bothered by much except plastic shopping bags. He is the kind of horse you can get on after several weeks of not riding and he isn't going to try to buck you off. But he is always trying to figure out how to get me to let him do what he wants to do. Of course he wants you to get off and give him treats. He doesn't care for riding in our small turn out field and prefers to ride around the yard or out on the dirt road in front of the house.

May

So since it has been a while here is what I have been doing. Working! At home and at my job. The job is still just a job. At home things have really changed. Spring has sprung and there has been lots of rain, especially for here. Almost every day this past week we got a good shower in the evening. That is good but makes lots of mud that now needs to dry out a bit. Hubby retired. So he is home all the time. But he has been getting a few of the odd jobs done around here that needed doing. And we planted a garden. We always have a few tomatos but this year decided to go all the way with a garden. About 20 by 40 square foot area. I planted corn, beans, onions, carratts, watermellon, squarsh, cucumbers, and pumkins, as well as the tomatos. Most are up except the onions, and we need to get some sort of trellis or something for the beans and cucumbers to grow on. I just hope the harvest is good.

ages

Ok, I'm sorry. I know it has been ages and ages since I have posted. I keep saying it won't happen again and then it does. My blog just keeps getting put off as I have so much to do.

Shooting

I just saw the news on the TV about the shooting at the V. Tech campas. It is horrifing. And then I considered that our US goverment is more concerned about the problems of other countries than they are about what goes on in our own country. Granted we were attached. And But now it is time to let other counties take care of their own problems so that we have the money and manpower to take care of our selves.

Updates

Sorry to all who may have been looking for a new post here at the Tumbleweed Crossing but there has been to much going on. Had an eye infection from sand getting in my eye. We are having our typical never ending spring winds with the sand blowing in the wind. Then there was a lot of computer work at work and taxes to do and I just was trying to avoid looking at the computer for a while.

Callie, I am sorry to hear about your big storm. Not sure where you are but hope the one over the weekend wasn't as bad for you as for most of eastern states. We got about an inch of rain early on the morning of Friday the Thirteen. But no thunder. My rain gage said right at an inch. And then it froze that night. It took some of the tender new leaves on the trees but didn't seem to affect the cherries. I am still hopeful that we will get a few cherries off young trees.

Rain

We had about 3 days of a wonderful spring rain. Or at least wonderful for the land and the plants and trees. Not for the town of Clovis that had about 13 tornados go through on Friday that did lots of damage. Not fun at all. Here we had a heck of a thunder storm on Thursday night that caused our dogs to get really upset. Especially our German Shepherd Codee. She has always been afraid of fireworks but never the thunder until this storm. We didn't get her to calm down at all until it was over.
Strange thing was that on talking to several people the next day, they, too, said that their dogs were real upset by the storm. Dogs that didn't used to be bothered by storms. Weird

Another Border Collie

Thanks Callie for your comment. Always glad to hear about another Border Collie. We had a cat named Spot once. An old, common name but I like it. Tuffee went back to the vet this week so they could read her micro-chip and make sure it hadn't come out. Thankfully it hadn't. I figured it would be my luck to have a dog who would reject it and have to pay for another. So now she is officially micro-chipped. We thought of changing her name to Chip, or Micro or Mikey.

Tuffee

Tuffee is our Border Collie. She is a rescue dog and is now 3 years old. She loves to herd the horses, and Codee our German Shepherd and the cats. Today I took her in to get her yearly vacaniations and a micro chip. I keep hearing so much about them I decided to do it. It seems like such a good idea. Tuffee seems to be having a little reaction to either the chip or her shots. Not quite up to her usuall self this afternoon. Normally she is up and running full blast at the least hint that I might be going outside to do something with the horses or what ever else I have in mind. I have taught her to be a house dog, but she prefers to be outside where she can keep an eye on the horses, and all that is going on around her.

Codee

Codee is my 7 year old, female German Shepherd. She is the 3rd purebred German Shepherd I have had. I consider them to be one of the best of the dog breeds. First bred as a farm and herding dog, later they became well known as a guard dog. They have been used for police and military work more than any other breed. Not only are they good watch dogs but they are great family dogs. If treated and trained right they are the gentle, loving, and loyal. I would never want to be with out one of these wonderful dogs.

Micro Chips

I took Codee in to get her yearly rabies and vacintions. She did real good. For once she didn't throw up. Just drooled everywhere. I was going to get her micro chipped but they had run out. So guess it will have to wait a bit. I think micro chipping pets is a good idea. I am sure a lot of lost pets could be returned to the greaving owners if they had been chipped to start with. I understand it will be required in some areas. A lot of people are complaining about added expence and trouble but it can sure save a lot of headaches in the longrun.

Where is Spring?

We had a couple of warm days so I have the erge to plant some seeds. I know it is way to early. But I did pick up a handfull of morning glory seeds at the store anyway. Altho it is warm I am sure it will turn cold again. March always had to throw another storm or two at us before it will allow Spring to arrive. My roses are starting to think about putting on leaves, and the flower buds on the trees are getting bigger each day. It will be so good to see green leaves on all the trees, and srubs, and plants again. In the mean time it is clouding up again. I guess it was just the barest of hints of the spring weather to come.

New Neighbors

We have new neighbors to the south of us. The old neighbors were asked to leave a few months ago. Apparently they weren't paying there bills. So far the new people seem like they might make better neighbors. At least that is the impression I got after talking to them for a bit this past weekend.

But they have a lot to learn about living on the desert. They are planning to put down landscap rock to help keep down the sand that blows. Little do they realize that the sand will just cover up the rock.

They will live and learn out here the same as the rest of us have.

Candle

Playing with the camera.

Weekend

We had some decent weather over the weekend. It was greatly appreciated after a week of high winds and blowing sand and cold. I spent as much time as I could - most of the daylight hours actually working with the horses and giving them as much attention as I could. We set up a makeshift round pen and worked the horses in it. Then I decided to ride BlackJack, but he acted as if he was real tired already or was he just lazy. Anyway I was tired after roundpenning four horses and we made it a short ride. But it was a ride - first time in a long time. He may have been just trying to get out of it because it had been at least a month since I had ridden him. He is a smart horse and always seems to be tring to figure out a way to get out of doing what I want him to do.

Links

I am finally able to add links to my blog. You will find some links about horsemanship, plus my son's site for his horse business - Gold Stud Stallions. And there are links for my email and computer friends - Cindy, Josie, and Cyndi. Also, some links I have found that I like.
Check them out - you might find something you are interested in, too.

Eye Dr.

Talked to the eye Dr. about these tri-focal glasses I can't use. She agreed to redo them again. This will be the third time. Why do my eyes have to be so screwed up? I had a detached retina about 4 years ago, and had to have lazer surgery to keep my other eye from doing the same thing. Now everytime I go to get new glasses it seems to be a long fight to find what I need to do the work I do.

Tumbleweed Crossing Time

We had snow last week and now the spring winds have arrived. The left over, dried up, tumbleweeds are blowing across the crossing here where our place meets the intercection of I St and 10th St. here on the Mesa west of Albuquerque, NM.

Snow Pony

This is BlackJack in the 6 inches of snow we had last week.

Tri-Focals

I was told by the eye doctor that I needed tri-focal glasses. After a week of wearing them I am still having trouble seeing through them, especially on the computer.

change

These times they are a changin'.
Words to an old song, and how true. My blog may be changing it's looks.

change

OK everybody things everything has to change. Nothing is good enough, it's got to be made better. All right I'll try this new blogger look. If this blog goes away, or changes or what ever it may not be my fault.

Sandia Mountains

Photo of the Sandia mountains from my home when the snow had started to melt, after the big storm of December 30, 2006

Melt Down

Now that the snow is over it is time for it to melt. The sun has been nice and warm past couple of days so there is plenty of melting snow. Have you any idea how much water two feet of snow makes when it melts. And even worse is how much ice it makes when it freezes each night. I watched my mare Nita go skating yesterday and it was a horrifing sight. Being a quarter horse she made a mad dash around the turn out field as she frequently does and then come running up to the gate to make her sliding stop. Only there was a big patch of ice where the horses like to stand and wait for there feed, treats and anything else they might wish for. This time Nita was unable to stop her slid on the preverable dime, as the cowboy saying goes. She slid about ten feet and did some fancy footwork to stay on her feet, hit the gate a glancing blow, which helped her stay up, then looked back as if to say "what happened".

Needless to say I have not encourgaed any running or trotting. It is not necessary at this time. And I won't be riding until the snow and ice is gone.

Yesterday I also saw several kids riding their horses on slick icey roads. Don't they or their parents have any brains at all. Those horses could easlly slide down, injuring themselfs or the children riding them.

Tumbleweed

Even after all that snow we found a tumbleweed hanging on the fence. There was a sunset the night of the 30th that was really nice. But anywhere I try to take a photo of a sunset from my property there is always someone elses house. This one is across the street from us. And our street happens to be a dirt road.

Snow Storm

The picture below is one I took on Saturaday, December 30, 2006. It shows my dogs, Codee and Tuffee running and playing in the snow storm that we had that day and the day before. On Friday we had 8 inches of snow. By Saturaday morning when this was taken we had about 2 feet of snow. It took us all day to plow out the drive way, using our ATV with a blade attached. We did not even attempt to leave the property until Monday January 1, 2007. This snow storm was the worse that had hit Albuquerque, New Mexico in about 50 years. It was certainly the worst in my memeory and I have lived here about 30 years. It brought the northern half of the state to almost a complete stand still. Many travelers and truck drivers where stranded here, as the highways going west, north, and east were closed to all traffic from Albuquerque to the Texas border, and the Colorado border and the Arizona border. It was open going south but still snowy and icey in a lot of places while trying to get out of the metro area. The airport was shut down for about 3 days. Sometimes due to fog as much as snow. The airport reported only 11 inches of snow which was a record. but most places over the city had more. Near the Sandia foothills it was nearer to 3 feet of snow.

As of today most things were open again, although most stores where still waiting for their shipments to arrive by truck.

What a way to start of the New Year!

Updates

Its been a while. I almost decided to let this blog go to where ever it is that blogs go when they die. But I thought - what the heck - I'll give it one more chance. Just incase there is anyone out there that might read it. And because it is a kind of a journal.
So - the last time I wrote in my blog/journal was on November 21. And now it is December 29th. It seemed like December was a bad luck month.
First the well decided that the motor and pump should quite. Had a couple of days with out water and then it cost an arm and a leg to have it repaired.
Next it was the hotwater heater. Then the vacum cleaner.
Finally by Christmas we had everthing repaired.
Oh, and did I mention that we had to have a new clutch put in my truck. And it was a good thing we did as it is four-wheel-drive. The 4-wheel-drive was needed when the storms hit. One right before Christmas (the one that closed down Denver, and most of Colorado and New Mexcio.) and now we have another snow storm. We only got about a half inch last night, but have had 4 inches since 8 am this morning. And it is now 11:32 am.
Don't know if I am going to be able to go to work this evening.