Life is like a box of chocolates, ya never know wut yer gonna get

Life is like a box of chocolates, ya never know wut yer gonna get

Monday, January 24, 2011

it's been a long time...

i'm not sure why i stopped writing on this blog.  oh yeah, i remember - i thought it was a stupid self centered waste of time.  yeah.  well, perhaps it is - but then again, maybe there is some merit to journaling, eh?

so.  here we go again.

much has happened since last we communed.  the chickens lay eggs consistantly, however,  we've lost two as of yesterday.  one to neighbor dogs in the yard and one to ??  dogs or coyotes.  i think coyotes.  coyotes ate three of our neighbor's chickens last week.  there were a few months when i did not hear or see the coyotes - but they are back.  i am worried for the baby goats who should be born soon.  frankie is very pregnant with two kids.  her husband is a fearsome protector - but i think if the yotes worked together they could take him out too.  nature is awesome.  i say that with a sarcastic submission.  we can try to keep things orderly - but nature will win somehow.  just like jeff goldblum says about all female dinasaurs in jurassic park - nature finds a way.

we have a neighbor named willie who is interested in keeping his horse here.  the 9 year old stallion is not very big - i'd guess it is really a pony.  (14.2 hands and smaller is a pony).  willie's brother in law died and left the horse to willie's wife.  they brought him from mexico.  i will be sure to get copies of the vaccination records and identification records to keep on hand.  we put up two mare motels and have been changing the fencing layout in order to accomodate a couple of horses.  willie will feed his horse and pay us $75 per month to rent the space and use the trail around the yard.  we will probably have an arena space leveled out sometime this year also.

i've been taking horseback riding lessons for about 4 months now.  i love it.  the horse i've been riding is named Cash.  he's a lazy one time rodeo horse who is very laid back.  he will take advantage of me when he can.  i've learned that being 'nice' and asking him to do things does not work.  i have to be serious and apply pressure (the proper riding 'aids') to him - so he knows i am the boss.  it is a very different feeling for me.  i tried to use respect in the workplace, as my supervisor tool  - and with people it has mostly worked.  but with a horse it is different.  in order to have Cash perform the way i want him to, i have to exude honest, straight-forward power.  a confidance along with follow-thru - using the training aids appropriately.   my leg and butt muscles have grown stronger.  and i can now stand on one foot and not fall down.  my balance has improved like crazy.  getting coordinated enough to do so many things at one time (don't look down, sit up straight, quiet hands, more heel pressure, shorten those reins, turn your head more,  change your diagonal etc....)  has been difficult - but not impossible.  i'm sure i am a slower learner than the kids Sara (my teacher) teaches, but I am learning - deep, core learning.  which is good.  i like it. 

the garden is being turned under soon.  i learned alot from it...like do not plant everything all at once - stagger your plantings so you can enjoy your fruits all summer long and well into fall.  otherwise you have to figure out what to do with hundreds of pounds of cucumbers and pumpkins in the same week!  when we stopped producing tomatoes and i had to go back to the produce department, i must admit, i was tempted to stop gardening.  the produce department is well stocked and organized and the fruits and veggies are fresh and beautiful and don't cost much really.  BUT there is nothing like the flavor of home grown food.  those tomatoes were the best!  so i will replant - but i will be choosing some different things this time - and re-organizing the layout, etc.

i recieved a dozen grape rootstocks for Christmas.  I am putting them in a line out front, where they will receive good sun- and it will look awesome i think!  they are eating grapes, not wine grapes.  i also have 3 blackberry bushes that are going in.  last year's strawberries have multiplied - i have many more strawberries this year.  i am thinking about keeping all the berries together.  not sure yet.  i also put in 4 trees - apple, plum, apricot and peach.  :)

the sun is shining and the air is a cool 65ish this morning.  time for sunscreen, a hat and a shovel.