Random Friday

1.  Lucy and I love to canter and we both like to fly up the long side.  I can only indulge when Lucy is relaxed otherwise it turns into a high-headed careening mess.  Earlier this week, we had a lovely ride.  Lucy was a bit slow in her transitions at the beginning; relaxation wasn't an issue -- she was tired, a bit sore, and not awake.  We're riding a lot more often this month and getting in shape is hard work. We did our warmup and then a bit of canter.  I asked her to extend on the long side; she opened her stride and we flew.  Brett said he could hear me laughing from the other end of the arena where he sat on Mufasa, watching us.  As we approached the corner, I sat tall and engaged my abs -- she came right back into a nice working canter.

2.  Jackson continues to integrate well into the mare's pasture.  Pistol is happy to graze next to Jackson and to engage in mutual grooming sessions.  Lucy tolerates Jackson for the most part but she does feel the need to boss him around on occasion.  We give him a separate pile of hay at feeding time but it can be close to the girls without incident.  Lucy will trade positions with him, just because she can, so at times she is solo at the hay pile and Jackson is at the feeder with Pistol.  The other evening the three of them were together at the feeder for a few minutes.

3.  We had some thunderstorms up in the Sierra this past week which translated to some light rain for us on Tuesday and Wednesday.  It was just enough to dampen the ground; not enough to wash the fences or water the trees.  Nevertheless, we were thankful for the cooler temperatures.  The reprieve was short lived -- we are back to the 90s at home and over 100 in Sacramento (where I work).

4.  The Cuckoo Maran chicks are doing well; eating, drinking, peeping and growing.  We have the brooder box in the hen house and the rest of the chickens are already bored by their presence.  This is good.  We like to introduce new chickens in this way -- so there is no hen-pecking behavior when we turn them loose.  The chicks will be segregated until they have all their feathers and have grown up enough to eat regular food.

5.  I've been alternating between Blue Apron and another, similar, company called Plated.  One of my frustrations with Blue Apron is the lack of flexibility with the menu.  Sometimes, I like two of the menu choices but not the third.  There are a total of six meals available each week.  Unfortunately, the menu composition is pre-set.  So, for instance, if I like meals 1 & 3 but not 2, I can't select meals 1,3 & 4.  Nope, I have go with a different pre-selected menu which seems to always contain 1 OR 3, but not both.  So, I get 1, 4 & 5 or 3, 5 & 6.  1 is always meat, 2 is always poultry, 3 is always fish, 4-6 are vegetarian.  So I end up with either meat or fish and two vegetarian; not meat and fish with one vegetarian which is our preference. Plated lets you select any combination of 8 regular priced meals -- plus two premium chef specials.  Plated is $2 more per plate so it isn't my first choice.  The servings are a bit larger but Blue Apron is plenty large for Brett and I.  I am still primarily ordering Blue Apron -- I usually love the menu -- but its nice to have the option.  Plated sent me some free weeks to give away if anyone wants to give them a try.  My last box contained a tomato that had gotten squished -- they gave me a credit of $8 which I thought was very generous.

Random 5 Friday

Passage has been complaining that she isn't featured enough in this blog.  She's joining us today.

1.  Theresa asked if we have considered a wireless fence to keep Kersey inside the property.  We had two neighbors at Aspen Meadows who used those systems.  When they worked, they worked well but it seemed like they rarely worked.  And a smart dog, like Sedona's boyfriend Zeus, can figure out how to evade the shock.  Kersey found a new spot to wiggle under the fence yesterday, Brett suffered numerous puncture wounds from the wire, and the horses scraped the tractor with their teeth.  I tried to mitigate the damage with dinner.  All his favorites: salmon, potatoes and sauteed mushrooms.

2.  Today they measured the snow pack in the Sierras.  We are at 20% of normal for the first of January.  We are at 7% of where we need to be by April 1st.  The hills are still brown and we should have turned green in December.  We desperately need rain.  Restrictions on water use have been imposed in many counties.

3.  I saw this quote today.  I think it is equally applicable to life in general and to riding.

The inner struggle is extremely difficult for all of us,

because we all have faults,

severe ones, that we will struggle with forever...

It's wise to accept that faults are inevitable.

Factor that in and keep going.

--Alice Walker 

4.  We have been putting the dogs in the barn at night.  They don't bark.  They hate it.  Last night, Sedona tried to avoid following me into the barn at bedtime.  Once inside, she took her treat and then ran to all the doors to see if she could get out.  We've had comments from four other neighbors telling us that our dogs don't bark anymore than anyone else's, that we live in the country, and that we shouldn't worry about this neighbor's complaints.  We are torn.  It does seem silly -- the dogs bark and chase away raccoon and fox but are otherwise quiet.  We like that they chase off critters.  But we don't want bad feelings between us and the neighbor.

5.  Katy has invited me to sit with her and a group of local dressage folks at the California Dressage Society annual meeting symposium in a few weeks.  I'm so excited to be linking into the horse community (and perhaps making some horsey friends), it isn't even funny.  

Katy demonstrating the work she's been doing with Winston

I've been thinking all day about those of you living back east.  I hope you have power, I hope you are warm, and I hope you don't have to do much more shoveling (Lori).

Random 5 Friday

1. My favorite post of the week comes from A Work in Progress -- even though Shannon and Spider ride at third level (some day, please God), they still work on keeping those basics solid. In this particular post, Shannon talks about the importance of riding every step. I found myself nodding in agreement (and smiling) the whole way through this post.

2. You may have noticed that I don't post much during the week. By the time I get home from work, my brain is jello. I typically make dinner and then crawl on the couch with my iPad, playing mindless games like Spider Solitaire. In answer to Lori's question, yes, I do still like my job. Very much.

3. Sedona did not kill the neighbor's chicken. Phew.

4. Autumn has been splendid this year. The light glows in the evenings and the trees are crimson, sulfur and flame. Rain came three weeks later than normal, giving the trees time to develop more color. I've been told by locals not to expect this every year. I consider the splendid display a housewarming gift of sorts.

5. Our new kitchen cabinets were delivered today. The garage is full of big boxes marked "Alder with coffee stain." Let the chaos begin! (Monday).

Random 5 Friday

1. No questions this week so we're going full on random. I'm going to use this forum to share with you, each week, a post from one of the blogs I follow. There are always one or two posts that really stand out; that affect me emotionally; that challenge my riding; or give me a great idea. This week, I want to share a post that Carolyn, at A Glowing Ember, wrote today. She is participating in a writing workshop and has been posting her assignments. The posts are powerful -- especially this one. The post is beautifully written; it is also very courageous. There are things in our lives that we would prefer not to look at so we leave them under rocks. Carolyn is tossing boulders aside; she's an amazing woman.

2. We haven't gotten any rain yet this month. November is supposed to be when the rain starts in earnest, when the grass turns green and our creeks fill with water. We are dipping into the high 20s at night, there is frost on the grass, and I hug my arms in close to my body in the mornings when I dash from the back porch to the garage. My car is small, and it warms up fast. I am thankful.

3. I counted 20 deer on the lane coming home from work one evening. Soft eyed does, dancing youngsters, and a buck with six points. Hunting season ended last Sunday. I hope that buck makes it through the winter. Tonight, there were two does bounding next to the road, in a ditch, next to the car. From the corner of my eye, they resembled dolphins jumping through waves.

4. I haven't seen turkeys on the road this week. A large flock had been hanging out with the deer for the past few months, and I enjoyed watching them change from all legs and skinny neck to fancy tail feathers. I'm wondering if they didn't survive hunting season.

5. There is an old hen house sitting by our well, between our gate and the road. The door hangs by one hinge, the white paint is peeling and the interior is chicken poop, old straw and crusty dirt. Why there is a chicken house sitting next to road is a mystery. I asked Brett to move it up to my garden so we could use it for chickens in the spring. He said it will fall apart if he tries to move it. With a new door, new paint and a good blast from the power washer it could be perfect. Well, I think so. Brett thinks otherwise.

Read more Random 5 posts at A Rural Journal.

Random 5 Friday

First answers to questions and then a few random things to fill out my random 5:

1.       Gunner asked what brand and color the blue paint is in our great room.  The paint is Clark-Kensington (Ace Hardware stores brand) and the color is “Uptown Girl.”

2.       Juliette wondered if we are able to ride among the vineyards at wineries behind our property.  Hmmm, would that be cool or what?  I’m guessing the wineries wouldn't be thrilled with us in there but it sure seems like a question worth asking.  …if I ever get confident enough to take Winston back out on the trail again, that is.

3.   Achieve1Dream asked for a link to Inger’s post about deciding not to have kids and her thoughts about it now that she is in her grandma years.  She kicked off quite a string of reflective posts in blogland.

4.       We had a great time at the wedding in San Diego of our nephew Pete last weekend.  The wedding was large, with a traditional Catholic mass.  But not dull.  Oh, no.  The priest brought a stuffed monkey into the pulpit and we clapped while it played “if you’re happy and you know it.”  Not to be outdone, one of the groom’s sisters arranged a flash dance as part of her toast.  The wedding party and family had dark glasses stashed which we whipped out and wore while line dancing.  Well, most people were line dancing.  I mostly crashed into people in the back while my husband was shaking his hips in the front.  Did I mention it was a really fun wedding?

Our nephew, Pete, and his lovely bride, Jen.

Brett's brother, Kurt, and his wife, Krista.

Kurt and Krista's son Carl, and his girlfriend Rachel

5.  My daughter, Camille, dressed up like a zombie for Halloween and went with her friends to West Hollywood.  I can see why she opted to stay in Southern California when we moved up here.  There really isn't anything like West Hollywood around us.  I do miss her though.  A lot.  I think she did an awesome job with her costume.  The bloodshot contacts make it extra creepy.  I told her that her grandmother reads this blog and would be impressed with the costume.  Right, mom?

LLinking to A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday.