Saturday Stroll

A moment of silence for my old
$10 plastic Payless boots
that belonged to my son when he was 10 years old.
He'll be 25 this year.

I think I got my $10 worth, don't you?

Ta-daaaaa!
They are so comfortable.
Steel toes.
Jaz stepped on me once
and I've been stepped on multiple times
by babies at the farm.

It was a lovely day to
give those ponies a run for their money.
Look at that dirty lil grey horse.
I'll bet it took me 45 minutes to clean him up
so I could saddle him.

Lathering himself up once again.

And then it was his turn.
Love the rockstar mane.

I walked him down the road
a short distance
before getting on.
A lady jogged by and said,
"Shouldn't you be on him?"

I said,
"If you knew this horse,
you'd know that I'm right
where I should be."

He wasn't too bad,
but I really had to hold him back.
He wanted to go a lot faster
than I did.

The other one stayed behind and hollered.

After that, I headed up to the farm to see
the horses that arrived from New York this week.
Didn't take pictures because
they were both muddy messes.

Then headed to Gainesville
for groceries.

And this was the view from the driveway
by the time I got home.

I'm whupped.
A couple Coronas
and I'm calling it a day.

One Word Wednesday

Prepared
(I ordered all the dewormers we'll need for the 2010 rotational schedule)

The Boyz Hit the Jackpot

Poco, why are you looking so guilty ...
and, uh, fluffy?

Some idiot
umm, that would be me
left the trailer door open.

Those two helped themselves to
an entire bale of alfalfa.

Oh yeah.

Well, I won't be worrying if you two
are warm enough tonight when it snows.
You're loaded up on high octane fuel.

I know how it happened.

When I grabbed the flake
for them to split last night,
it crumbled and fell apart.
I used both hands to carry it,
rather than hold it in one hand
while closing the door with the other.

By the time I was done
playing cafeteria lady,
I had forgotten all about it.

You've got to be kidding me —

you're so not getting any dinner!

I was over here the whole time, Mom.
It was Poco, honest.

I might believe that, Jaz, but
I can see your fluffy belly from
way over here.

Proof that I closed it tonight.

I just check them again.
So far they're none the worse for it,
except seeming a little stupefied
from their magnificent feast.

I sure am glad
it wasn't the grain locker.

Heather, if you're reading this,
I've got 2 candidates for
boot camp.

Soggy Sunday

Wee Walkabout

Jaz and I went for a short
walkabout this morning
after I finished my chores.

It was gray and breezy.
He was jumpy and wide-eyed
even as I was saddling him.

Don't pull that
"I'm a spooky, highstrung Arabian"
crap with me, Bubby.
We're going, y'hear?

I walked him 1/8 - 1/4 mile
to let him chill out,
then hopped on.

We went 1/2 - 3/4 mile further,
then turned around and
headed back,
past all the scary, noisy
equipment in use at the McMansion
under construction next door.

Trotted a little.
It was ugly.

That fence across the road is ours.
This property is undeveloped.
There's a big dirt mound that
has the only lush grass I know of
this time of year.

Just one of the perks
(besides all the cookies in my pocket)
available to a pony
after giving me a decent ride.

That, and watching your fool buddy
pace and holler himself into a sweat
inside the fence.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

One Word Wednesday

Tired

The Boyz Celebrate Fat Tuesday

Disculpe, señor, que hasta el Barrio Francés?

Huh?
Oh, right.

Excusez-moi, monsieur, quel la voie au Quart français?

What A Difference A Day Makes

Remember how pretty it was yesterday?
Today, not so much.
At least the entrance to the man cave
is visible again.

Just off the front patio.

Look, I found the driveway.

And my round pen.

I get to slog around here at feeding time.

Turn up the volume — it sounds so pretty!
Normally, this is a dry creek bed.
Today, it's a babbling brook.
Note where Poco is standing.

Mr. Prissy Feet leapt over it like a gazelle,
when he saw I had cookies.

Poco wasn't buying it.
But I had all the time in the world
and was wearing muck boots.
I walked back and forth across the water.
I let him smell the cookie.
I let him touch it with his nose.
But he had to walk across the water
in order to eat the cookie.

I whispered to him and coaxed
him for close to 10 minutes.
Finally.

Yup, I'd say he has a more relaxed attitude about it now.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Fantastical Friday

8-10" of snow

I get to work from home today!

Dude, where's my driveway?

The man cave — the entrance disappeared

Oh well, we'll stand outside

The silence is amazing

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep ..."

Don't give me that look.
You're toasty in that blanket.
I know, I checked.

Pawing at your bowl and licking out the snow
will not magically make food appear.

Passages

I learned on Sunday that I lost a friend that I never got the chance to actually meet. Sigrid "Sig" Ricco of Knight Creek Farm, Clayton, NY, passed away in her sleep February 2nd. She was 58.

I met Sig on the Happy Appy Yahoo forum, the same place I met my friend and mentor, Heather. Sig was very active in ApHC and App politics. She always had a kind and encouraging word, sometimes emailing me privately to pass along some of her considerable knowledge or an extra word of encouragement. There were plenty of people early on who told me I should get rid of Poco, but not Sig. She celebrated my small victories and gave me useful advice when I needed it most.

Sig bred foundation Appaloosas with more modern bloodlines, and created some beautiful horses in the process. She strongly believed in responsible breeding, only producing stock that was HYPP or Herda N/N, and she only bred one foal every 1-1.5 years. Before I knew what any of that meant, I knew her horses were special. I've often thought that if money were no object, I'd love to have one of Sig's horses. I have the pleasure of knowing several that live at the farm:

Dream (Olympic Dream)
CFS Olympic Hope x H/W Dream Station)

Dove (Olympics Dove)
(CFS Olympic Hope x SS Sabrina Ria)

Arden (Quagga's Ardent Sun)
(JKS Regal Quagga x SS Sabrina Ria)

There is another lovely mare called Shadow, but I don't know her registered name, and I don't have a photo.

Heather was the one who called to tell me of Sig's passing, and a windfall — Sig left Heather 2 horses:

Quagga (JKS Regal Quagga)
(Regal Contender x Alotta Finesse)

Quagga is a true fewspot.
His show career was cut short
by a breeding accident in which
he broke a stifle.

Station (H/W Dream Station)
(Dreamers Fancy x Bostons Depot Co)

Quagga and Station arrive at the end of the month, and I can't wait to meet them.

Rest in peace, Sig. You know your babies are in good hands.

One Word Wednesday

Neighbors