Goats dominate the day

This morning we rushed through chores, gobbled breakfast, and headed down the mountain to meet two of our new goats.  They aren't weaned yet, only three weeks old.  We will get them for keeps in three more weeks.  The goat breeder lives out in the wine country of Temecula and we got so distracted by the rolling golden hills and vineyards, that we missed our turn and just kept on going.  We finally re-focused, made a u-turn, and arrived.

First up:  Little Bear

Followed by Thistle.  We weren't able to put Thistle on the ground as he comes from a different breeder and she drove him over to the house.  He is also about 3 weeks old and has never been on a leash.  So, we just held him in the driveway.  He dozed off in my arms...

When we got home, Brett went to work painting the goat palace.  I love, love, LOVE the color.

I think the color of the shed in the background matches the shrub roses perfectly.  

While Brett was painting, I took my new weight loss program Kersey for a walk.  We didn't get far before meeting a new neighbor.  Dogs and children are the best way to meet people.  As it turns out, she recently got some goats so I had to meet them.  Kersey went for a swim in her pool.   After a long visit, Kersey and I continued on our way.

I let Jackson graze around the property for awhile this afternoon.  The pasture is still half mud and half hard-pack so he can't go out there until it completely dries and he is no longer sore.  Bucking and racing around on the hard pack is a sure fire way to have a gimpy Jackson.  This evening, I turned him out in the arena for his "chill" time.  He was hyper on the lead, even faked a nip at my arm.  He jerked back before making contact (I am very firm about him respecting my space).  I chased him around a bit and he was running, bucking and grinning from ear to ear.  Seriously.  He'd run to the end.  Turn and face me, ears pricked, neck arched, and chew.  It feels good in my gut.  I think I may have my horse back soon.

Dinner tonight was crab salad.  I have put on some serious weight and I am seriously wigging out about it.  I didn't weigh this much when I was pregnant!  So, dog walks and more salads until I can ride consistently again.

Progress on all fronts

Today the sky was blue with no clouds to block the sun.  This morning Jackson was sound despite working on the longe yesterday at trot with a few laps of yee-haw canter.  I decided to ride him and see how that went.  We started in the arena and then took a walk down the back driveway.

When we got to the gate and turned around to go back to the arena, he slowed waaaaaaaaay down.  I called over to Brett who was in the arena on Flash and we went for a walk around the block.  I kept Jackson on the bridle path, on grass when possible, and avoided gravel.  He did great.  It takes about 24 hours for gimpiness to show up after overdoing things, so I won't be able to declare him okay for bridle trail work until the morning.  I put Jackson away and he thanked me profusely for letting him escape the confines of his stall and the arena. 

Brett continued working on the goat shed.  He has almost completed the siding and will be ready to paint soon.  In the meantime, I think he has gotten a little too comfortable out there. 

He has to re-build the dutch door somewhat.  We want to be able to close the top and open the bottom so the goats can go in and out with protection from the weather.  The way the door was built, you can close the bottom leaving the top open but not the other way around. 

I puttered around in the garden; deadheading flowers, pulling weeds, mourning the baby pears on the ground - the tree dropped 80% of its crop in the last rain storm. 

Hummingbirds are everywhere.  They love Jupiter's Beard (one of the reasons I planted it). 

Most of the ranch critters were sleeping in the sun, including Sage and Basil.