Tuesday, September 03, 2013

September sanity

After last week, I'm hoping my title isn't just wishful thinking!

Morning light across the meadow
Breakfast time for our horses
Laura and her mare Tang
Have spindle, will travel (and spin!)
Laura's spinning project

Range cattle
Pronghorn antelope!
In spite of getting to our destination at 10:00 Friday night, and getting home last night well after dark, we had a good weekend. Some parts were even WONDERFUL! ;-)  My young horse was a trooper, doing great on the high-line (the first night), in a single-strand electric-tape paddock (after the first night), and on the trail. It was great to have fiber-pal/horse-friend Laura there to spin, ride and chat with; she was a welcome distraction from the oft-times challenging task of parenting a rebellious pre-teen. The weather was nice, the scenery beautiful, the flora and fauna fun to photo-stalk; the only real problems came from people. There was the aforementioned parenting challenge; the group of idiots who partied a mile away on Friday night and through their carelessness started a small forest fire; another family who drove away from their hunting campsite in the middle of the day, leaving a big campfire for a group of horseback riders (us) to notice and put out with limited resources; and another group of hunters camped near us who put out their campfire but left a small truckload of cast-offs behind for others to clean up (three chairs, a canopy, a large wire dog crate, an archery target, etc.). Sometimes it makes one ashamed to be a part of the human race!
Laura and I rode by the still-smoldering result of carelessness or indifference
Good thing forest service personnel were still onsite!
When we rode up, this campfire was still blazing!

So now I'm working my way through Mt. Washmore and a couple clients' jobs while thinking about the trees begging to be relieved of their bounty of prunes and apples. The water is running in the garden since we are still dry and dusty here, and I'm sure there's produce to be picked there as well. I'd best get back at it!

That's it for now (don't be surprised by more photos of our campout) from . . .


10 comments:

Theresa said...

Oh Michelle, The hunters everywhere seem to be such a careless lot. I can't begin to tell you the idiots that come around here during hunting season. Between the fire danger, the noise of 4 wheelers, the dopes that can't seem to read no trespassing signs every 12 feet, the other dopes trying to shoot deer from their truck windows with no thought if there is a house or barn in the woods they are pointing at, and the general trash they leave everywhere. I suppose one would think me a misanthrope if I suggested a short open season on hunters....;)
Glad to hear your mount was a good boy!

Nadine said...

It looks so peaceful in the first picture. It is sad how careless people are when it comes to nature....I dont understand what is so hard about picking up after yourself...But hey luckily there are people that care that pick up after lazy careless people.

Michelle said...

Trust me, Theresa; I was thinking there are good reasons to carry a sidearm other than for predator attacks or having to put down a hopeless horse patient!

Nadine, I was wishing I had big, empty saddle bags in which to stash all the trash I saw on our rides!

Tombstone Livestock said...

Don't you wish you could put all the idiots in a box and lock them in there. I went to Walmart today, not my favorite place to shop but needed dog food, watched a woman walking from the bakery thru the produce section with a bag of dinner rolls, and then just toss them into a deli case. On another aisle there was a Dr. Pepper bottle left in canned food section someone had drank and just left it. It's all I could do to keep my mouth shut over the dinner roll toss. Hopefully forestry found those responsible for the fires.

Florida Farm Girl said...

Oh, yes, the idiots are on the loose. I'm just glad there were some responsible people around to contain the damage. Take a deep breath and remember the good parts!!

Laura said...

It was fun! I'm thinking I'll have to explore some of the other trails in this area - turns out there are quite a few!!

I'm glad we had the time to ride - just us girls. I think we both needed it!!

Susan said...

Glad you guys came upon the blazing fire and were able to handle it before it took off. Laura told me about that when she got home, and it's too bad you couldn't get a license plate number to report those idiots to the Forest Service.

Mary Ann said...

Boys will be boys, Michelle.

It amazes me that after all the fire headlines this summer, people are still so thoughtless. Kudos to your group for helping prevent any further disasters!

I am so glad you had such a great weekend!

Susan said...

Ah, there's nothing so, um, 'exhilarating' as the onset of teenagehood. For both child and parents! Yes, thank goodness you were there to douse that fire. I'm with Mary Ann - with all of the terrible fire devastation in the country, what's with these people? And trash? I don't even want to get started. I'm glad you were able to enjoy two of your passions - riding and spinning - in good company. Let's hope that your headline proves true...

C-ingspots said...

Glad you guys had such a good time. Looks like the weather was just about perfect too. It is very frustrating and sad that there seem to be so many people who just don't care. We all need to be responsible and take care of our beautiful natural resources so we can all continue to enjoy them in the future. Thank you for stepping up and handling the situation!