Never Boring

There's a very good reason that my smart phone is never far from my hand: because it's my camera, and without a camera handy you'd doubt my retelling and I'd probably doubt what I'd actually seen at times. Like, you know, when Scrappy starts fetching sticks at dinner time.  And trying to feed them to his fellow Rushcreek, Rory. As one does.

Oh hay, just hanging out with my stick, no big deal

c'mon, try it, it's good

Scrappy and his stick cigar..

Of course it'd be a shame to miss the doings of the Beggars of Kitchen..

..or a noble wiener on water

the sunrises rock, when not fogged in!

Meanwhile the weather has still been playing at coastal here and there, but Scrap and I (and the girth!) made it out to the lake for some miles the other morning. My mind was on moving out forward, focused, and even, with all body parts committed, and more or less in a straight line. 

The terrain of our regular riding doesn't permit a whole lot of sustained mileage trotting unless you really make it, and in the last few months I've been very aware of (and slightly entertained by) how difficult it is for us both to hold it together in unison for prolonged rated trotting. So that's what we practiced, along with my endless pursuit of remembering to be consistent in diagonal changing throughout.

sluurrrp

I suppose it's a fair enough time to say that we have sent in our entry for the Eastern Mojave XP 4 day ride down South, only about 3 weeks away now. Hopefully the pony gods will smile on us as I am so excited to get out and do some 50s and see some stunning country.  Cross your fingers for us on that! 

 Meanwhile, my girthless hike with Scrap the other day inspired me to spend a few hours this morning hauling Sheza to the lake and just cruising around with her on foot, taking in the sights and covering about 3 miles all told. She reassured herself with lots of eating, took an epic pee, pooped like a trooper, and just generally did all the things brave good little coming 4 year olds should.

trot out practice

 clopclop across the bridge

hmm, strange, better eat to be safe

so much to see

scary noises, better eat!

 back safe to the trailer greeted by my dog crew

As much as it should be raining to hopefully boost us from this drought, the weather really has been phenomenal and I'm pretty proud of my ponies. It's supposed to be even warmer over the next few days and my grand plans include baths for the herd and some quality time under the old oak with a good book. Wishing you all a happy weekend!

Adapt to Enjoy

My old plastic station wagon has been keeping things interesting lately, trifling with me and bidding me adeiu from the back of tow tuck at least 5 times in the last year and a half. Wednesday afternoon encompassed it's latest bid for freedom from humanity, and after abandoning it at the mechanic's for the weekend I was seriously ready for a proper long ride at the lake this morning. And so of course, in the spirit of keeping things Interesting, I threw everything but the kitchen sink in the trailer and headed out for the lake. Everything but the kitchen sink--& a girth!

the weather has been coastal the last few days, some humidity and fog

hanging out with fillies is making him buff

Since I was wearing new hiking boots that needed breaking in and my cardio needed more work than my bareback seat I figured Scrap and I could still go hiking and it would be a worthwhile trip. The next immediate obstacle was how to carry water along, as I'm a dry-mouth-overheater-must-have-water type. After a futile search I nearly gave in but remembered the little stringy backpack bag I got for attending Lake Oroville ride in 2009. Never used it, never moved it from corner of the trailer tack I crunched it into, and just like that the hike was totally doable. I stole the fuzzy tubes off the bottom of my stirrup leathers to make the shoulder "straps" more comfortable and with water, keys, carrots, and my phone on board, off we went!

Scrappy thought I had brought him to the lake for a seriously quality grazing session

No 20 miles recorded but a good few for the human, including jogging hills, and I still got a "between the ears" shot!

 lead on, Scrapperton

 I was seriously entertained by the reactions of the weekend warriors we encountered along the way. They'd first see a "tackless" grey coming toward them through the trees, then see me on foot, wearing a pack, & sweating more than the horse. The women mostly managed to mumble something about how dirty my grey was while the men seemed singularly struck by the notion of hand walking a horse and both getting exercised. Meanwhile I realized this was the *perfect* thing to be doing with coming 4 yr old Sheza. Mimicking this day with Sheza would include leaving the herd, trailer time, trail time, different things to see, people and horses to encounter, variable loops to take, a round pen partway to use as necessary, fitness for me to be gained, bonding time for the 2 of us, and no escort needed!

You know you've been "endurancing" a while when things go totally south --often because of your own decisions--but Plan Z comes to mind and is utilized quite successfully enough, with enjoyment, work, and something to learn along the way.

The Herd at Work

Certainly work is a relative term, or should be, depending on age and expectations of the critter. For a fabulous blog post on the concept of work, rest, and recovery, please do go read this piece by Mel. (but do come back!)


Now that you've had some brain protein, here's dessert ;-)

kinda derpy but LOOK, her very first own tack 

(halter bridle, padded breastcollar & reins by Distance Depot)

Electric royal blue is her color <3

Sheza has been working the mature angle lately and she couldn't move through

 her willies to answering all my requests correctly quickly enough.

sometimes she almost rolls her eyes at me,

 "Yeah, see, watch me do it perfectly, what ELSE mom"

On Sunday my husband dropped me at one end of the trails and picked me up 

with a picnic at the other end. Perfection! 

Scrappy yoga

 Scrap was forward & went well in the Kimberwick on snaffle setting 

started on the cold side with ice in the puddles

let's go climb that! 

 12 barefoot miles later made it to the sunny side

quick toe roll with the rasp at home and BOY did his feet look pretty

gorgeous January sunrise, as the full moon set behind me

The humans must work tending the herd too, so yesterday pm we 

drilled holes & cemented in a few new fence posts to replace ones gone wibbly. 

that didn't take long

Rory was predictably helpful while Scrappy cared not and Sheza hid behind Scrappy

Rory is rather like a seventh dog--she's got a nose for trouble rather like a Doxie, too!

My beefy 3 yr old princess! Sheza didn't check things out til the tractor and 

tools were well away, with proper haat girl dignity 

The weather has taken a sudden turn for the sultry. That portion of the fence project will be finished by tomorrow, and it's on to the next thing that needs fixing. I can't say that there is much of anything more rewarding to me than tending the land and the herd. Certainly I enjoy adventure and am looking forward to all sorts of new challenges this year with the horses as well as launching our solo guide business; undeniably, the grounded country girl in me wakes early, eagerly, sipping hot tea as the sun rises over herd and heart, and is content.