Little Flower

Ok, according to one report the little yellow wild flower is a horrible weed, (name still unknown) that will take over if allowed. The leaves are horrible as they stick to everything and will not come off of clothes and gloves even in the washing machine.
But - one man's flower is another man's weed. I only have one of the little yellow flowers. I have millions of tumbleweeds, and way to many devils claws, and other un-named weeds. As well as a surplus of marigolds. So for now I will keep the little yellow wild flower - weed.

Riding

Due to surery and weather I hadn't been riding in what felt like ages. So yesterday I decided it had to be now. I saddled up BlackJack and away we went. Considering how long it had been we both did fairly well.

?Winter?

Winter seems to have arrived in New Mexico, Colorado, and a few other states on the day that Fall officially begins. Colorado has had lots of snow, and New Mexico has had some in the higher elevations. I really don't look forward to a hard, cold winter but it looks like we might be in for one. I have informed the horses they should grow long, thick winter coats as it look like it will be a lot worse than the mild winter we had last year. So far it doesn't seem as if they are growing much hair. I have upped their ration of grain adding some corn oil and other vitumins hoping it will help. The fact that the hay, and alfhala crops this summer have been very poor isn't helping either. The best alfhala hay I can find has very little leaf and way to much stem in it. And so far I can't get any decent grass hay. I really don't look forward to buying blankets for the horses, but may have to. We haven't been cold enough for years to need them.
Maybe this is just a weird system of weather going through for a day or so. We can hope so.
Guess I should go out and try to get some of the house plants in before they freeze.

Wilf Flower

Thanks for the comments and suggestions about the wild flowers. No, it is not a columbine, although it looks simular. The leaf is completly different. A long narrow leaf with scalloped edges, in a gray-green color. It is almost sticky on the back side, and wants to cling to your hand and especially your clothes. I have checked all my books, and the internet. It has been such a wet summer it could be anything. Maybe not even a wild flower, as we have such violent winds here, the seed could have come from who knows where. May be some type of hybred garden flower but I don't find it in any of my gardening books. I'll keep looking and let you know if I find out what it is.

Found these cute little flowers in the yard. Any one know what they are?

cool & windy

We went to bed last night to a bit of wind. Don't like that but it does help keep the flies off the horses. Was cooler last night than it has been being. And a lot cooler today. Feels much better. I was able to clean the horse pens with out thinking I was going to have a heat stroke. And the horses were feeling frisky. Running and playing, instead of standing like the heat was to much for them, too.
Had a small covvy of quail in the yard. Hadn't seen any for several weeks. It was a pair and 4 youngster. Good to see them and know that a few babies might survive the heat, coyotes, hawks, roadrunners and cars. They were eating a lot of seeds on some native grass that had sprouted and matured with all the rain.
Got out the ATV and used the blade on the front of it to scrap a path around the horse fields to get rid of about a 4 foot path of tumbleweeds. The horses think they are better than candy, and will lean on the fence trying to get to them. The fence will only last so long with 4 1000 pound critters pushing on it. If we have a path so tumbleweeds arn't right against the fence they don't push on it so much. Of course we had to throw the ones we pulled out to the horses. I couldn't stand there begging. Worse than a dog under the table.

My son, trimming the hooves of my horse, BlackJack.

Horses

I decided I had to get out and work with the horses this afternoon. I put all 3 through there paces on a lunge line. Working the 7 games as taught by Pat Parelli. I was very pleased with them. It had been so long since I had time, and felt like it, and it wasn't raining or the wind blowing. They all did very well, and showed me that they do remember this stuff once we teach it to them. I really like the Parelli method of training. It really works.
www.parelli.com

I took this photo of a nasturusm after a rain and there is a relfextion of a leaf in one of the rain drops at the bottom of the center petal.

Talking to Strangers

And another thing about talking to strangers. It seems that when I try to ignore strangers that want to talk to me, or tell them I am in a hurry, or what ever excuise I use to try to get away from them because I a leary of them. No telling what kind of weird nut-case, criminal, or worse that I suspect they might be. Then they seem to get so mad at me for not wanting to talk to them. Don't they ever think that I might be one of those crazy, moon-mad fools that they don't want to have anything to do with?
??????You just never know, do you????????

Who Am I?

Do I look like someones long lost friend? mom? sister? or what is it that makes people want to stop me in the store or a parking lot and talk to me? Do I look like the answerperson to all your troubles?
I am really getting tired of having peopl come up to me in the store, as if I work there, and ask me were some product might be. Or they might ask me what the time is, or once someone asked me to watch their kid while they went to the restroom. Would you leave your child with a complete stranger?
Really what are people thinking of? Or are they just that dumb?
Have I tried this or that? and what did I think of it? do I go to such and such a church? or school? or do I work someplace I never heard of? did I hear the sermon last Sunday? am I going to vote?
These are questions I have received from total strangers. Don't you know that I don't want to talk to a total stranger about mundane things, or things that are not the business of someone I don't know. Usually I am to busy, and in to much of a hurry to want to get to know you, or hear about your thoughts or troubles since I don't know you. And know I don't want to make friends with every stranger I see/
Don't you know that talking to stranger can be dangerous to your health, or pocket book? Didn't you mom and dad tell you " Never talk to strangers!"
So why do you think I want to talk to you, when you walk up to me and try to start a conversation with me as if we were old friends?
Don't you realize I could get mad and start yelling that you are trying to hurt me, steal my purse, or car, or call the cops on you?
Don't you realize that I might think that you are going to mug me, or even stab, or shoot me, even if all you want is to talk to someone for a minute?
Think again, next time you try to talk with a stranger, especially in a parking lot. The Crimes that occur so frequently make us all have to be more aware of what we are doing.
Remember - Saftey First

Grimlins in my Computer

I had a feeling I would get that on twice, and the next one didn't get on. Sometimes I am sure there are little grimlins, or bad elves, faries, or demons that live in my computer and make it do things that I don't want it to do. There are certain pieces of machainery that have minds of their own. Cars are the first, but they aren't usually as bad as computers. Of course anyone that has acomputer knows that their printer has more grimlins in it than the computer does.
And even worse are sewing machines. Everyone in our family knows that sewing machines are made to quite when ever they want to. I can also list several other items that come with their own family of grimlins. - Toasters, blenders, mixers, drills, cameras, and of course telephones.

I have had several comments about my photos that are nice. Here is one I took recently that I really like. It is in the Jemez Mountains, and on a cloudy day which is unusual here until recently when we have had so much of that much needed rain. Hope you like this one, too.

The Blaaaa's

I seem to have the blaaa's lately. It seems that I am always busy cleaning house, working in the yard, cleaning horse pens, barn, and hay shed, but nothing ever gets finished. And then there is work. Or that is my job that I have to go to - work. It seems I never have time for working with the horse - or rather playing with them as I don't consider it work. And with the dogs.
We did get to the mountains again last Sunday and got another load of firewood for winter. One more and we should have enough.
There were still people camping but they seemed to be the kind that go because they enjoy it, not like over Labor Day when it seemed as if they went because it was required of them.

Holiday Campers

How I spent Labor Day Weekend. I didn't go camping like the rest of the world. I did go to the mountains, tho. I went with my husband and we got a load of firewood. We do this every year starting on Labor Day weekend because we both have it off, and the Forest Service says we can do it now, and it is cool enough. I hate to do it when it is to hot. Anyway we got the permit and got our first load of wood. We will probably do it at least twice more to have enough wood for winter. We perfer to heat with wood rather than expensive propane.
But what really amazed us were the number of people up there camping. It wasn't just people up for a picnic for the day. Most of them (oh, a hundred or so) had brought in these huge, and I mean really huge campers. First I would never have wanted to send that kind of money on one that big and drag it into the forest on our little two track, (one way roads where someone had to find a wide spot to wait for the other vehicle every time you meet someone going the other way on the road). A lot of the campers looked as if they had been banged into a lot of trees and rocks to get them parked where the people wanted them. Not good for trees and rocks. Then there were millions of tents, with trillions of people using the campers and tents and fire pits.
Now mind you this was on a road only about 15 miles long.
What really got to me was that most of these people who had gone to all this trouble to bring home, food, clothes, and the family dog out camping - didn't look happy at all. Most of them were frowning, repacking to get out, yelling at kids or dogs, or each other, kicking at the tires of trucks and campers, and worst of all - dumping all their trash right there in the forest where they had gone - because it is outdoors and oh so much prettier than at home.
A little reminder.
Pack it in, please, pack it out.

Labor Day

It's Labor Day Weekend. A big holiday here in the USA.
Have fun but be safe.