Sunday, January 2, 2011
Tonight we are in Morro Bay after dropping off my son and one of his friends back at the dorms in SLO. After they tumbled out of the truck with their bags of belongings, we drove to Morro Bay so Brett could get taffy. There is a little candy shop there that has been making salt water taffy for 50 years. It's a sentimental place for Brett and the taffy is darned good too. We got there just as the sun was starting to set and the light on the rock was amazing. Of course, by the time we found a place to stop and dug out the camera, the lighting had changed. Drat! Here's what I got:
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Good Start for 2011
Last night, after yoga class, Brett and I went to a New Year's Eve party at the home of one of our neighbors. We don't normally do anything on New Year's Eve -- I make dinner, something festive, and then we are asleep well before midnight. We didn't expect to stay at the party more than an hour, and certainly expected to be home well before midnight. But there we were blowing noise horns, wearing funny hats, and hugging the people who share this equestrian community with us. It was so not us. But so much fun.
This morning we weren't exactly up at the crack of dawn. We finally dragged ourselves out of bed and down to the barn. Actually, Brett went down to the barn. I sat on the couch in my pajamas with a cup of coffee (the first of many) and watched the Rose Parade. We spent the rest of the morning nursing the after effects of too much champagne last night.
This afternoon I tried to fix the horse trough/pond. It's an elaborate set up with a smaller trough balanced above a big one. The smaller trough acts like a waterfall to keep the water circulating. I have a filter and UV clarifier attached so the water circulates, the germs get killed and the water stays clear and tasty. Water has been pouring out of the overflow on the filter. I did the usual rinse of the filter yesterday but that didn't work for long. So today I took apart the filter and flushed the whole thing. My fingers were frozen -- there are still puddles of ice everywhere -- and the stupid thing is STILL leaking. I'm going to turn it off and wait for warmer weather to muster my next attack. We don't have snow at the moment, this is an old picture, but it gives an idea of the setup:
After that, we rode Flash and Jackson. The arena is still soggy at one end but 3/4 of it is in good shape. We started out going around the block on a loose rein. Jackson was a bit sluggish and he's put on weight over the past few weeks; watching the rain and eating. And eating. Once we got into the arena, I decided to incorporate canter work early in the hopes that it would wake him up a bit. Bingo! He was awake and happy. We worked primarily on re-establishing the basics of bend, consistent contact and forward energy. We also worked on our trot-canter transitions. Jackson thought they were trot-gallop transitions. He's so silly. And fun. Oh, and my boot zipper stayed up during all the canter work. I know it's because the yoga has helped open my hips so my leg lays more correctly on Jackson's side. Two classes and results already. Woo-hoo!
This morning we weren't exactly up at the crack of dawn. We finally dragged ourselves out of bed and down to the barn. Actually, Brett went down to the barn. I sat on the couch in my pajamas with a cup of coffee (the first of many) and watched the Rose Parade. We spent the rest of the morning nursing the after effects of too much champagne last night.
This afternoon I tried to fix the horse trough/pond. It's an elaborate set up with a smaller trough balanced above a big one. The smaller trough acts like a waterfall to keep the water circulating. I have a filter and UV clarifier attached so the water circulates, the germs get killed and the water stays clear and tasty. Water has been pouring out of the overflow on the filter. I did the usual rinse of the filter yesterday but that didn't work for long. So today I took apart the filter and flushed the whole thing. My fingers were frozen -- there are still puddles of ice everywhere -- and the stupid thing is STILL leaking. I'm going to turn it off and wait for warmer weather to muster my next attack. We don't have snow at the moment, this is an old picture, but it gives an idea of the setup:
After that, we rode Flash and Jackson. The arena is still soggy at one end but 3/4 of it is in good shape. We started out going around the block on a loose rein. Jackson was a bit sluggish and he's put on weight over the past few weeks; watching the rain and eating. And eating. Once we got into the arena, I decided to incorporate canter work early in the hopes that it would wake him up a bit. Bingo! He was awake and happy. We worked primarily on re-establishing the basics of bend, consistent contact and forward energy. We also worked on our trot-canter transitions. Jackson thought they were trot-gallop transitions. He's so silly. And fun. Oh, and my boot zipper stayed up during all the canter work. I know it's because the yoga has helped open my hips so my leg lays more correctly on Jackson's side. Two classes and results already. Woo-hoo!
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