Monday, July 30, 2007

Early to bed, early to rise ... and fall

Hoping to get a good start on the week, I went to bed around 8:30PM last night. I didn't fall asleep right away, but it was good to know I'd wake up refreshed and ready for my Monday morning. That was the theory anyway. At 1:24AM, I woke up to hear beeping, running feet, and slamming doors. It took me at least a full minute to put together that Sky was having her foal.

No worries, I thought, Christie is already out there. Oh wait, Sky wasn't in the barn, so the baby is probably out in the pasture somewhere. Ugh, time to carry another 100+ lb. baby to the barn. When I got out there, the baby, a jet-black colt, was already born and trying to figure out about standing up. Well, there was a lot of squirming, but not much standing.

Christie helped get the little bugger standing so I could get my arms around it. I had just hoisted the baby up into my arms and taken the first step toward the barn when some horse's ass blind-sided me. It was Sky's ass, she evidently took exception to my carrying her baby off. She spun around and did a full-body check on me and baby. Baby went down and I landed on my back a few feet away, with new respect for hockey and football players.

I know my brain was rattled because I momentarily confused Sky's species, calling her a female dog instead of a female horse. Christie got a halter on Sky, and we tried again. Michal helped Little Bit up and I got him up into my arms. Luckily Sky foaled right across the bridge from the barn so there was only about 100 feet to stumble to the barn. I laid Scooper down in the fresh straw and promptly went back to bed. But not without taking some aspirin first.

Sky and her colt are doing fine this morning. The little bugger is very cute, I think he's going to grow up and break all the ladies' hearts.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Crazy Day

Yesterday was a bit much, here's some of what happened:

  • Blackie tripped on her lead rope and went down. Stayed down. Had to be coaxed back to her feet. Poor old girl.
  • Christie took Michal and Brianne out for a ride. All horses came back with riders this time.
  • The young horses, including Dancer and Ghost decided the grass was greener in the yard.
  • I built up the fire pit (aka Friendship Circle) with more rocks to make a deeper pit. All agree it looks nice.
  • A neighbor had family in from out of town. They came to see the critters. They stayed to ride the golf cart, the lawn tractor, and anything else with a motor.
  • A mare and her foal got tangled in Ryder's electric fence. Everyone is fine. I used enough adrenaline to last a week.
  • My sister made kabobs for dinner over the campfire. They were yummy.
  • Two mares arrived for breeding with foals at side. They don't appear to have been handled much. Christie setup a temporary round pen for them.
  • All the yearlings got groomed. There is a prospective buyer coming today.
  • Horses were moved around to make a stall available for Sky to have her baby in. Sky didn't have her baby. We are all waiting to exhale.
  • Christie and I made a quick trip to Frenchtown to make a deposit at the bank and get groceries for today.
  • We filled water tanks for all pastures using the irrigation pump.
  • Jarred hauled more wood for fencing down from our hillside.
  • Michal worked with Cairo in the round pen.
  • A temporary fence was setup by the round pen so horses could be left there without them being able to chew on Janice's car.
...oh yeah, and I worked my normal 7-4 shift for the bank.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Guests, invited and otherwise

My sister, Ruth, arrived yesterday. Her roommate Beth, and Beth's niece, Brianne came with her. They were at the end of a fairly long road trip from Omaha that included seeing Bon Jovi in Wyoming, and spending a day and a half in Yellowstone. Needless to say, they were grateful to fall into bed last night, even if it was just the couch and a blow-up mattress.

Now because I'm so dedicated to my work (i.e. there are bills to pay) I was up at 6:30AM today. As I emerged from the bedroom, I distinctly heard Beth say "Peacock go away!" In any other household it would have been safe to assume Beth was dreaming about some real or imagined childhood trauma. I however, knew immediately that she was wide awake and lucid, because there were indeed two peacocks strutting around the room. It seems they have discovered that our screen door has a peacock-sized hole in it. Furthermore, this is not the first time they have been inside.

It was easy to herd them out of the house, but I'm sure they'll be back. I'm also sure that our invited guests will be wondering what other manner of uninvited guests will be poking their beaks, noses, muzzles, or snouts through that screen. What I'm not sure about is whether Beth really believes she can talk to peacocks. City people sure are strange.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Puncture Wounds

When we decided to move up here, it was quickly apparent that we would need tougher tires. We currently run 10-ply off road tires on our Silverado (most street tires are more like 4-ply). However, even with the added protection, we have had what I would call an extraordinary streak of bad luck.

On the 4th of July, we ran to town to see a movie and grocery shop. While unloading I heard a hissing. A little investigation revealed a 2" nail jammed into the tire. Bummer. Two hours later in the hot sun, I managed to get the tire changed. I did, however, have to RTFM (Read The Manual) GASP!!, to figure out how to get at the spare tire. The next day, Christie took the truck to Les Schwab where they fixed the flat, free of charge (which is their policy)

This last Saturday, we went to town to hang out with Katy, Paul, & the girls. When we went to leave, we realized we had another flat (different tire than last time). It was already late, and I didn't feel like spending another two hours, so we called the roadside-assistance service that came with our warranty. It took them about 45 minutes to get there, and then about 5 minutes to change the tire, including all the paperwork. This time the culprit looked like a small bolt. Fine, we were on our way.

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful, I'm sure. I don't actually know because I slept until about 8AM. When I looked outside, I thought I'd parked in a hole, but closer inspection showed another flat tire. What a pickle. We didn't even have a chance to fix the flat from the night before. We only have one spare, so it looks like we're calling for help again.

We waited until this morning to place the call. This time, at least, Les Schwab is open, and we can get the flats fixed right away. However, they are going to have to tow it down there. The automated system called and told us it will take two hours for them to get here. I just feel sorry for the driver that has to come all the way up here. I hope he has plenty of spare tires for his own truck.

Friday, July 13, 2007

The rule of halves

Sometimes I can be a bit of a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy. However, when I see a horse come running back to the ranch without its rider and with the saddle dangling underneath its belly, I feel it is justified. This happened yesterday afternoon, and I knew my day was shot.

A few moments later the other horse showed up, with its rider this time. "Where's your partner," I quizzed, and learned that she had gotten off the horse to recover a water bottle, and the horse made a break for it. OK, good, there would be no blood or helicopter rides in the near future. The horses had obviously had enough excitement for one day, so we quickly settled them into a small pasture, and I sent the lone rider back in the golf cart to retrieve her stranded comrade. I then fetched Christie, something I should have done first, not last.

I filled Christie in on the details and went back to work. Awhile later ... I don't know how long because I was working and you know how time flies ... Anyway, awhile later, the duo hadn't returned so Christie decides to go looking for them. Another while later -- don't ask, I still don't know how long "awhile" is -- the golf cart comes back with only one person on it. Oh boy, here we go, time for the blood and helicopter rides.

Well, it turned out that the other half of the pair didn't wait to be rescued, she started walking home ... the wrong way. I called Christie on the car phone, and we regrouped. She and Rider#1 would retrace the route in the Chevy, while I would take the Dodge and check other nearby roads. We kept in touch via walkie-talkies, and after a sun-soaked and dusty hour, we had very few leads and had searched all the back roads.

At that point we caught a break. Right near where Bear Creek meets Mill Creek, we found some shoe prints that likely belonged to Rider#2. The only problem is they were heading away from the ranch. I headed back to the house to leave a note while Christie followed the tracks. When I arrived home, Rider#2 was sitting on the couch eating ice cream! It seems she hiked toward Frenchtown until she met someone on the road who kindly gave her a ride back to the ranch.

As to whether the glass was half full or half empty, it was kind of a tie. My day was indeed shot, but there were also no blood or helicopters. Worse than I hoped, better than I feared. In the end, everyone, human and equine, was home safe and sound, so I may have to go with half full.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Rite of Passage

I feel as though I have passed an important milestone on my journey from Software Engineer to Rancher. No longer can our neighbors look down on me as a poser, pretender, wanna-be, or goat-roper. Now, I don't think any of our neighbors actually did look down their noses and call me names, but the point is that they could have and they would have been right...until now.

My rancher credit is now certified, justified, and bona fide. I have everything I need to be able to fit right in. I no longer have to worry about what everyone will think of my pale skin and baby-soft hands because I have ... a John Deere up on blocks!

Now, technically, it is a tractor up on block, but I have all the technical skills required to add an additional block, so I'm not really concerned about details.

No applause, please, just throw money...