My turn

That's what I get for waxing nostalgic about morning chores – this morning I got to do them all by myself!

We all got to bed after 1:00 this morning after a little visit to the ER, but as usual, I woke up first. I decided to let my guys sleep and headed to the barn. Hello, my beautiful wool-bearers!

It's "all about that fleece." ;-)

After feeding, watering, and cleaning stalls, I decided to cut Breezy's tail. What's left needs a good soak and soaping to get all the cancer gunk out, but that will be a more manageable task now.

Yes, Lance, I see you waiting in the wings. A friend gave me a feed ball to help keep my mouthy mustang occupied, so I filled that next. I think it's a hit!

We didn't do any schoolwork or practice today, so I got a LOT done. Laundry, scrubbing and vacuuming floors, cleaning out flowerbeds, making a big kettle of tasty soup – even cleaning and re-bedding the Sheep Sheraton with Rick's help. (That's twice in as many months, a new record!) Now I think I'd better hit the hay and try to get enough sleep to function tomorrow at work.

That's it for today from . . .

Follow-up Friday

From oldest to newest, are updates on various topics.

My frozen shoulder and bum knee: I don't even notice my shoulder any more (unless I try to reach up my back with my left arm), and my knee is good for everything but jogging or extended standing. The road to recovery for both started with a good physical therapist, who not only treated both but gave me exercises to do at home and showed me how to tape them for support. Doing things that abruptly challenged my shoulder's limited range of motion hurt like the dickens but always resulted in improvement. I also took naproxen sodium preemptively as well as remedially. For the last month or so, our family has been playing volleyball or basketball every Saturday night, and it feels great to be that active again!

Horse health (even though I keep most of my horsey news on my horse blog): After two different ligament injuries, I am back to riding my mustang Lance several times a week at all three gaits. Our show season was a wash, but as long as he's sound and we can still school dressage, I'm happy. The news about Brian's old pony Breezy (above) is not so positive. As I mentioned on my horse blog, she has been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. The first chemotherapy Rick tried made things worse instead of better; this week he injected the tumors with a different drug. If treatment #2 isn't effective, there probably isn't anything more we can do for her.

Fencing: Brian continues to learn – and love – fencing. He started with four weeks of "Learning to Fence;" now he's taking four weeks of Beginning Foil and Beginning Epeé. We picked up a used underarm protector, his first piece of fencing gear, at the urging of the salle; Brian was so excited I think he wore it to bed.  ;-)

Vienna's lameness: She is still a little off on that left hind leg, but it's much improved. I think I must have strained it in putting on her coat.  :-/

Artesian: I didn't get far before I realized I'd really messed up the set-up row. Unfortunately, I had to throw it in the frog pond; fortunately there wasn't much to rip out. I hope to cast on again tonight.

That's it for today from . . .

Sometimes the best-laid plans...

...WORK OUT!

After having to forego a picnic on the beach Sabbath, and coffee with a different girlfriend yesterday, I was getting a little worried about whether or not today's plans would happen. But hallelujah, a long anticipated beach ride with Wanda Jenkins came to pass! She arrived around 9:00, and after meeting the dogs and sheep we loaded up our stuff along with Russell and Breezy and headed down the road to Lincoln City.

It was a cool, grey day, with a mere whisper of a breeze. We wore light jackets and were comfortable. It's been several years since Russell and I have been to the beach and we don't know Breezy's history, so both horses were extremely reluctant to get anywhere near the water. The tide was coming in, though, so there was no firm sand to make the going easier for our mounts except at the water's edge. Eventually Russell was plodding along in the shallows, with Breezy following behind at Wanda's steady encouragement.

We played dualing cameras-

acted as horsey ambassadors -

and enjoyed watching a surprising number of these -
along with a seal and a couple of intrepid surfers.

It was a wonderful excursion, thanks in large part to Wanda's most pleasant company. Conversation was easy and uplifting, with lots of shared beliefs and experiences.

And just in case you were wondering, I also took delivery of a (yes, another) lovely Jenkins Turkish spindle. Photos later; my camera's battery died at the beach and is recharging. Now I must go and do the same (recharge, not die!).

That's my report on a wonderful day, from . . .

Welcome to my world

Brian and I went for a short ride this morning, and were treated to an incredible view from the lane that leads to our house (click to biggify):That's Mt. Hood due east, the clouds streaming from its south side looking almost like an eruption. Between us, the lovely Willamette Valley, the "Eden at the end of the trail" to the weary settlers who came west. On our hill, acres of wine grapes have replaced many other crops like prunes, cherries, hazelnuts and timber.

I feel like we own a little piece of paradise here. It is not perfect, unlike God's Paradise, but it'll do for now. :-)

That's it today from . . .

Week in review: something for everyone!

Three little ram lambs - and then there was one.

Good dog, Jackson. (He's not allowed to follow me through the arena because of the amount of sand he can collect and bring into the house, so he's waiting while I take the ewes out to pasture.)

Weeds and roses along the road in the late afternoon sun on my way home from the airport.

The harvest is ready at the bottom of our hill.

Why has no one made a horror movie featuring chickens? They really fit the part sometimes!

My favorite Celtic band at Thursday's Brown Bag Concert.

Brian decided to go English on Friday. That pony is earning her keep!

I think these actually qualify as socks now - or at least footies! :-)

Happy Sabbath from . . .

Barebacks

Rick's mom loves it when her visits coincide with flowers and/or fruit (I'd accuse her of coming JUST for those, but I know better. :-) She's been out picking berries in our garden every day, and yesterday she decided to look for any remaining good cherries on the tree on east side of the house.

When she recruited Brian to help her, he decided he needed a "boost," too - only Breezy would be a lot more fun than a ladder!

He didn't last long; soon it was more fun to carve on a stick (note Breezy tied to the gate in the distance).Then it was back on Breezy; he even gave Grandma a ride!

I have been disappointed that Brian hasn't shown more interest in riding his pony since Cowboy Campmeeting. Then I found out that he has been going out and riding her around the pasture bareback with her halter and lead rope! Not long rides, but he has been enjoying her nontheless. Today with my help he was able to bridle her by himself twice (Grandma helped him yesterday); I predict he'll have even more fun with the control the bridle gives him.

That's it for now at . . .

How now brown...?

Someone recently asked in a comment why our grass is so brown now. It wasn't that many months ago that some of my readers were turning green with envy over the lush grass my sheep were feasting on - and our horses were carefully being kept from! Well, contrary to popular belief, it is not rainy and green ALL year here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. And most of the grasses, as least here on our place, are "cool-season" grasses. They flourish in the spring, fall and winter, and go dormant, turning dry and brown, in the summer.

To illustrate, here is a photo taken from our deck on Friday.In the foreground you can see our greenish lawn (a mix of warm-season and cool-season grasses that we don't water, badly in need of mowing), the middle ground is part of Russell's pasture, and in the distance is the ewe pasture.

Yes, that is Breezy you see in the ewe pasture; I guess it has become the "girls' pasture" now. Such are the results of bringing a fourth horse to a too-small place with established horsey dynamics. Sigh. Kara said in her comment on my July 8 post, "I find that it is not the number of sheep, but the number of 'groups' of sheep that can be challenging." How true - and that goes for horses, too!

To break up the monotony of brown, and redirect my frustration over too many horses, here are a couple more photos of current blooms at Boulderneigh:
That's it for now from . . .

Home again, with a Breezy bulletin

We got home (later than planned, as always) last night from Cowboy Camp Meeting safe and sound. We had a great time and I took lots of photos, but I know there's only thing any of you are really interested in. In short, we bought the perfect pony, and if we hadn't recognized it, a dozen people were happy to point it out to us - and take her off our hands if we'd been willing to part with her!

Here Brian is showing off his new pony to some friends, who were impressed with her - and her tack! (The gentleman is a saddlemaker.)

Here he is ready for his first trail ride:
Heading out:
Showing the confidence and independence we hoped Breezy would give him:
Thrilled with the newest "B" at . . .