The cat door is done! Iggy used it right away, and ran into Barley, pretty much the worst scenario. She used it to run right back inside, so that's good. Barley now spends her Outside Time standing at the cat door begging Iggy to come out. So far, Iggy hasn't taken her up on the offer, but it's nice to give her the option.
- posted by Colin @ 7:45 PM

 
Man, things have been happening quickly. Sorry about the lag in posting. We're both using the same laptop, so "k" is acting up on me, too. I'll have to send the laptop in for repair, thank god for applecare.

Lessee, today, was hot, as has been the case for the past week or so. The temp tops out around 5pm, and today, it hit about 102. Humidity is only about 30%, so it's not so bad. I picked a bunch of blackberries yesterday, but that really sucks. It took about 30 minutes to pick about 20 oz. I bought 12 oz more of raspberries and made a cobbler. Yum. I think I'll plant some blackberries of my own on the slope above the arena. It'll help stabalize the soil, too.

I'm making french onion soup for dinner. It's time consuming, but smells really good. I hope it works out, because it's one of Susie's favorite dishes.

I started working on a cat door for Iggy. I'll post my plans and the finished product. I just have to hook up my scanner :-) She likes to go out at night, but also likes to go in. And out. And in again. It's a pain in the ass. I'd like to put the choice in her hands.

I played with my first team in the platinum league last night. Pretty rough, but I felt like I held my own. There was one good brawl for which I had the misfortune to be on the bench. The rest of my team are a bunch of highschool kids. I learned some interesting slang. When a player skates by everyone and scores, he "pees on" everyone. Heh. The play isn't quite as fast as I've grown accustomed to, but the skill is pretty good and the officiating gives a defenseman some lattitude to play :-)

I'm going down to the bay area tomorrow for two nights. I am really looking forward to getting back on Thursday.
- posted by Colin @ 7:22 PM

 
Well now that we're settling in and things don't seem so new anymore, I find myself blogging less (duh.), but I know our friends and family are interested in knowing what is going on, so here I sit and write.

Just so you know, the letter "k" on the laptop is not firing very quickly, so if you read a word that just doesn't look right, try putting a "k" in there somewhere to see if that helps. There, now that I've said it, I don't feel so compelled to hold down the "k" button so hard to mae sure I get it right.

What is new? Well, I'm doing the same-old, same-old - moving rocs and dirt and dead leaves and whatnot. I decided to work on a different section of the big pasture and have mostly been moving big sticks and dead oak leaves and twigs, etc...I lie maing it loo neat.

We had Colin's friends, Ed and Linda, for a visit on Friday night - we had a lot of fun and really enjoyed their company. On Saturday morning after breakfast, Ed asked what was on the agenda and I came up with the brilliant idea to move the "run-in" covered pipe corral from the big pasture to the cement pad next to the pump house. I've been wanting to do this for a while, but Colin has such a long list of things he wants to get started on that I didn't want to bother him or push for it. Buuuttt, now that Ed was here, I thought I'd throw it out there. I thought it would be a quic and easy project, but I was wrong. They started at 9:15 a.m. - Ed & Linda had to leave at 10 a.m. to go to Sacramento to his sister's birthday party. The boys finished the project two hours later - oops! Of course, MY tractor came in quite handy and after the boys figured out the best way to dis-assemble the structure (which involved rolling it over on its side twice so that they too it apart while it was upside-down). They then loaded each of the side panels on the tractor and drove them over to the pad. Then they went bac for a second trip to get the roof. Ed is such a superstar - first he helps us move, then he helps Colin with my horse project. Of course, Linda and I made excellent field supervisors! Ed & Linda got cleaned up and left and Colin and I went about with our day.

I assumed that the the structure would remain in its dis-assembled state for at least a couple of wees, but Colin was amazing and put it together that night - all by himself! Well, of course, he used MY tractor to help him, but I didn't lift a finger! Wow, he sure knows how to mae me happy!!! I spent the time sitting on the couch and doing online research about keeping my horse barefoot.

While Ed & Linda were here, Miles lost a shoe - his right front. I new he would lose it because he's been stomping at the flies and the shoe was getting pushed bac farther and farther (or further?) on his foot. It wasn't exactly loose, but it wasn't exactly where it was supposed to be, either. So when I came out and saw it missing, I wasn't entirely surprised. I brought him into the small pasture, gave him a nice grooming, and put an EasyBoot on his foot. Then I called the farrier to see when he could come out. So far, I still haven't heard bac from him. Which is one reason I'm considering having Miles go barefoot (and Monty, too). I'd lie to be able to learn how to care for my horse's feet, and I'd like to not be at the mercy of someone else's schedule when it comes to hoof care. It seems that out here in the country, we're on a different time schedule and there's not a lot of urgency to getting things done. Plus, living outside 24/7 on this hard and rocy ground, Miles is pretty hard on his shoes and I'm always worrying about him losing one and ripping half his foot off, or losing one half-way and stepping on a nail or some other problem that I'm not equipped to fix myself.

So I spent hours on Saturday night researching barefootedness. I found a couple of contacts of people in the area - one person who gives clinics and does trimming herself, and then another woman who is a horse owner with two barefoot horses and she learned how to trim herself. If I can learn how to drive a horse trailer and a tractor (ok, ok, they aren't that hard to do), I'm sure I can learn how to trim a foot (which I know will be a lifetime journey). One of my goals in life is to be what I consider a "complete" horsewoman - not just a rider. I want to now how to best care for my horses and bring out the best in them (bratty attitudes not withstanding). And I really enjoy being self-sufficient and learning as much as I can about complete horse care, and I've been interested in nowing more about feet for a long time, but have never really been in a position (boarding, woring, balancing time with family, friends, Colin, dogs, horses, etc...) to have the time to spend to learn.

Amazingly, both the women I contacted were online at 8 p.m. on Saturday night, and were ind enough to exchange emails with me. I'm going to do a clinic at the end of August to learn more about it and we'll see what happens from there.

In the meantime (did I already mention this?), the farrier still has not called me bac, and Miles has lost the EasyBoot twice. Guess he doesn't want to wear it...and he doesn't seem to be lame without it, so I'll leave it off. Oh, but this morning he was bulling Monty around and clocked himself on his RF lateral ankle, so now he is a bit sore and has some swelling. I iced it twice, slathered some EPF on it, and debated about wrapping and eeping him in a stall tonight, vs. eeping him outside as usual. Knowing his ability to tae off and/or destroy anything he doesn't want on him (standing wraps, turnout boots, fly mas), I opted to eep him out as usual. I gave him some bute in his dinner and checked on him around 9 p.m., and the swelling seemed to be down a bit. We'll see what it looks lie tomorrow morning.

Colin got a call from the hockey dude, and there was an opening in tonight's game, so he's off playing right now. Since I was a bit bored (there's not much on TV that is interesting on Monday nights), I looked online for horses for my friend who is looing to buy. Of course I find one for myself - a 3 yo TB/Connemara (which is one of the horses that is on my list to have in a lifetime) for a good price. So now I sit here thining - "could I afford to eep another horse", etc, etc, etc.... If it is meant to be for any reason, something will happen to make it so, I think. I really don't need another horse - right?! And I actually know who the trainer is and when I was shopping (when I found Miles), I tried a horse of her client. Anyways, I'm not really looing. I shouldn't do things like that anymore.

I'm going down for my first trip to the Peninsula on Friday night, and we're going to have a girls' night, which I'm very much looing forward to! Unfortunately, I'll miss my parents on this visit. I will get to see my friend Margie and do some photos for her. I hope I don't forget my camera!!!

- posted by Susan @ 10:30 PM

 
Ok, the peer pressure is getting to me. Colin blogged, therefore I must blog. You should know that I have "From Justin to Kelly" on the TV right now, so if I start typing nonsense it is the fault of HBO. (Speaking of HBO, did you see "Six Feet Under" last night? That was probably the best episode ever!)

So much has happened in the past couple of weeks, but I don't want to bore you to tears. The tractor is the number-one, most fabulous thing that has happened at the farm so far. It is so much fun to drive and work with, despite the dangers (insert picture of various and assorted dangers here). I've been using the tractor to drag the arena, move dirt, dump rocks, scrape manure, and be a general farm-girl-badass. Let's see. I should note the work I've been doing in the arena, because I need acknowledgement of my hard efforts. The first Saturday that we had the tractor, we used the harrow to drag it. That broke up the hard ground, and brought up a lot of rocks (the arena is just dirt right now). I tried to use the bucket to scrape the rocks off the surface, but that didn't work very well. So back I went to my primitive tools - a pitchfork, a rake, and a shovel. Mostly what I am doing is "sifting" the big rocks out (or is that the little rocks and dirt out?) with the pitchfork. I went through a lot of different techniques before I found the one that I thought was best. What I do is push the pitchfork forward, scooping and tossing the big rocks forward a few feet. I do that in a row across the arena (80 feet), then I go back and scoop the rocks into the tractor. It helps best if Colin is in the tractor and follows me, that way I don't end up walking back and forth so much, but he has other things to do, so I mostly walk back and forth too much. After I fill up the bucket, then I drive it over to the edge of the arena and dump the dirt/rocks down the side of the hill. Then I go back and do it all over again. That first Saturday, I probably worked on this for 6 hours. I really wanted an area I could ride in by the end of the weekend, even if I didn't finish the entire arena.

So I've got enough area to ride in and I didn't finish all of the arena yet. But I have enough space for now, and I continue to work on the arena, but now at the rate of one hour or two rows per shift. We're hiring contractors to put in a proper base and footing, and hopefully that will be done in 6 weeks or so, so I'm not going to put TOO much effort into continuing on this sifting spree.

In the meantime, there's plenty of other work to be done with the tractor. I'm working on hand-picking the rocks out of the big pasture (I put them in the bucket, then drive them over to the side of the arena and dump them), and scraping the rocks/dirt/manure out of the small pasture.

I've slowed down the intensity of my work, because I can't go balls-out (especially considering I don't have any) every day for hours and hours a day - especially when it is so hot outside. I generally wake up, feed the dogs, eat breakfast, feed the horses, shovel poo (which now that I've got it under control only takes me 30 minutes or so) and then do farm chores until 10 or 11 a.m. (which, considering I start them by 7:30 is plenty of time). Then I come inside and do other chores (dishes, vacuuming, making calls, running errands) until lunchtime. Then Colin and I eat lunch together, I read for a little bit, we take a nap, and then I do some more stuff, feed the dogs, maybe move more rocks or something, feed the horses, do yoga, ride, take a shower, then we eat. Hmmm, I'm having deja-vu. Did I write this before?

Barley is farting right now. I swear, it isn't me. Peee-ewwwww.

My friend Cynthia came over yesterday with her daughter Sophie. We had a nice visit. It is nice to live near her, and I hope I get to see her frequently. We grew up together and she is a good person and is my oldest friend. I'm sure it is in our favor that we are both Libras - Libras are the best!

Miles and I are starting to get into work again. We work for three days, have a day off (or a trail ride), three days on again, one day off. I had another lesson with my neighbor this morning and it was really good. I thought about some things she brought up in our last lesson, and I've been doing my homework, and we had a better performance today. I'm going to do a cross-country school with her and her students in a few weeks - it will be my first, and I'm so excited!

Barley and the cat still haven't made friends. All Barley needs is one good sniff, but the cat won't have any part of it.

Kenya is still going crazy in the pond. It is the one thing that makes her truly happy, so how can I deny her that? I try to limit her time, though, so she doesn't drive the neighbors nuts.

One of the neighbors came over and introduced herself today - very nice lady. She's retired and she and her husband have been here for a year and a half. I must brag that she asked about Monty (the sellers had asked her if she would take him) and said that he looks really good. I love seeing the transformation in a horse from not engaging with people, and/or having not had the best care (not that I wish that on any horse, mind you), to showing a personality and blossoming in mind and body. Monty is doing really well and is putting on weight and seems very happy, despite his lameness.

Speaking of his lameness, I had the vet out last week to take x-rays and it turns out that Monty has navicular problems. He has lesions and scar tissue between his navicular and his DDFT. He suggested a wedge pad to start, and then we'll take it from there. After he pulled the shoe to take the x-rays, I put an easy-boot on Monty until Scott could come out and put the shoe back on. Stupid me, I put Monty in the big pasture with Miles so that I could work with the tractor in the small pasture. Well, Miles being the brat that he is pushed Monty all over the pasture and ran him around and Monty lost the easy-boot. I spent at least an hour combing the pasture looking for that damn boot, but never found it. Stupid me, I felt so bad for Monty. Ug. I just can't have them together in that big pasture - Miles takes advantage of the situation too much. I bought a new easy-boot and put it on and Scott came to put the new pad and shoe on, so everything is ok now, but that was a stupid mistake on my part. Miles and Monty like to be together, but I can't have them together all the time, so I'm still trying to work that out.

I've got lots of magazine reading to catch up on, so I best be signing off now...

- posted by Susan @ 7:48 PM

 
Sorry, it's been a while since we updated our blog. We've been busy, of course. First of all, the tractor arrived! Lessee, this was on the 9th. Naturally, there are about a bazillion little controls and levers, all for making fun things happen. More on that later. Naturally, we took turns driving around in it. Since then, Susie has been busting her little hump cleaning the pastures of poo and rocks with our new orange friend. I've been thinking about names, because all things of significance must have names. How about, "Julius?" Hmm...

So, what else. I went down to the Bay Area for my first visit since moving last week. I was there for Sunday pm through Tuesday afternoon. Not too bad. I stayed with Susie's folks, who were very kind to put me up. Mr. Altman was having a little situation with one of his computers, so, in an effort to impress and earn my keep, I offered to help. It should have been simple, just add a new USB adaptor card to his win2k server. Nope, didn't happen. I spent a couple of hours reviewing my adult language vocabulary before calling it quits. I guess I'll have to fall back on my chocolate chip cookies and sparkling wit. Maybe I should just focus on the cookies.

We got the invisible fence up and working. Actually, our role in the whole thing was doing a little dog training (we called it Army Training) and putting up with the dogs inside the house until the training was complete. Thank god for all concerned the training is over, and the girls have figured out they can't cross the line or they get the shit shocked out of them. I love technology :-)

Whew, more blogging to come. I just want to throw another picture from the Altmans' very pleasant visit. Man, what a pair of beauties!

- posted by Colin @ 11:10 AM

 
We had a nice visit with my folks on Monday evening. Or, rather, they had a nice visit with us! They and their friends Jan and Dennis came by for a tour of The Farm and Colin's home made sangria. Jan and Den had to leave, but my parents stayed and we went out for dinner to a restaurant in Nevada City that just got bought and is under new management. I think it is the Creekside or something like that. I think the owners are Italian (or at least the owner we met was, and he has a few partners). The bread was like dinner rolls that you buy at the grocery store, but I like those so it was ok by me. My salad was good, but my entree had competing flavors. If they had just stuck with a simple tomato sauce, it would have been good. But they put green onions in it which made it a little bitter, and the description said there was pesto in there, but I didn't taste any basil at all. We had to get two chocolate desserts to see which one was better. They were ok. I mean, all chocolate is good, but when you have a wonderful chef like Colin in the house, your standards are raised quite a bit. The evening was very enjoyable, though, due to the company. Of course we had a lot of booze and that always makes for a fun night. Let's see, I had two glasses of sangria before we left, then between the four of us we had two bottles of wine, then when we came back to my house, my dad made mojitos. Then I had to go to bed. I just can't drink like I used to...

The next morning, I did some chores around the barn, my mom helped Colin unpack in the kitchen, and my dad worked a bit. Then we went to a diner in Grass Valley for breakfast...a real greasy spoon, and it hit the spot. We went to the grocery store, came home, chatted a bit more, and my parents left. Then it was naptime!

Monty got his new shoes on Monday, and it was the hottest day and the hottest time of day for the farrier to be out! But I think he did a good job and I liked the way he worked and he took a lot of time and was very careful. He's coming out to see Miles next month.

Last night when I fed Monty and Miles, everything was going great until Miles finished his food and decided to come into Monty's stall to lick his bowl clean. Being the bottom horse, Monty just stood aside as Miles bullied his way in. But I didn't want Miles to eat Monty's food, so I grabbed a crop, asked Colin to get me a halter, and took Miles out of the stall so that Monty could finish. We stood near the barn doors for a while, then Colin left and Miles and I had a little stand-off lesson in manners and who bosses around whom between the two of us. Obviously when M&M are together, there's got to be a top horse and Miles is the one. But when I'm around, I'm top dog and so we had a little discussion about that. Nothing "big" happened. I just stood between Miles and the barn and wouldn't let him in Monty's stall like he wanted to be. If he raised his head at me, I raised the crop higher until he put his head down. Then there were scratches and good boys...if he stepped near me, I made him step back and again praise for his good behavior. Finally he just stood there and sighed and relaxed his head and I kind of put my arm over his nose and scratched the side of his face, and that was the end of our lesson. So I walked away from Monty's stall and Miles chose to follow me instead of trying to go back in to bother Monty. Good boy and good lesson. Miles went in his stall and I called it a day for the boys.

This morning, I put the fly sheet I ordered onto Monty. I don't know why, but it seemed to cause Miles to chase him around a bit and I figured that I'd start separating them so Monty doesn't get moved around so much. It must be hard on him, considering how lame he is. So I brought Monty back into the small pasture and left Miles out in the big pasture, and everyone got to eat their own breakfast, but in sight of each other. That was a good plan and I think I'll do that most days - keep them apart at least for breakfast and maybe bring Monty to the big pasture for the afternoon, bring him back to the small pasture for dinner (where everyone eats their supplements separately), then bring Miles to the small pasture and they can "overnight" together.

I also decided to bed the stalls, after all. Someone does pee in there even though it isn't bedded, and it is very hard to clean up. Plus they do it overnight and it smells and attracts more flies and is just gross. So I'm going to get Woody Pet. There's a distributor a couple towns over and I hope to go pick some up tonight or tomorrow.

Counting the days until the tractor arrives...I think I'm going to use the bucket to scoop up all the extra dirt/manure that the sellers "spread" and drive it over to the arena and dump it there, then we'll rake it over the side of the hill. We'll do that with all the rocks we collect, too. There's just one small area of the arena that I'd like supported with a little more dirt on the slope, and hopefully that will do the trick before the contractor comes out to put the base down.

We should be getting an estimate by the end of the week for doing the base work, and I think they won't be able to start until the end of August. But in the meantime, I should have my harrow so I can at least drag and ride in the dirt. The people at West Coast Footings have been very helpful in figuring this out.

We went to visit the neighbors yesterday afternoon - remember the redneck incident of Saturday night? Colin went with me and he and the guy had a nice chat about the situation, and SR and I had more chats about riding, showing, training, and arena building. We're all on the same page and hopefully will continue to get along well. Colin and "P" talked about building kickboards for the arena, and we went up there again this afternoon to check their kickboards out. I'm going to go up on Saturday morning and have a lesson with SR, so at least I can get some real riding done - I haven't had a lesson in almost a month, I'd guess. The most I can do with Miles until we get the tractor is "trail riding" on the roads. At least we're getting some good hill work in, and he's staying somewhat fit by walking around the pasture all day.

Colin and I had an exciting trip to the dump today. The sellers had left rubber mats in the stalls, but they were shitty rubber mats, not "official" stall mats. They were like strips of rubber that were probably 2'X12' and I can't imagine what their original, intended use was. In any event, Colin had pulled them out of the stalls to put the good rubber mats down, and in the meantime these had just been laying in the barn aisle. I asked if today we could take them to the dump and Colin agreed! Yay! So after lunch, he loaded up the back of the truck with some recycling items to take also, and we drove down to the barn to load up the mats. I dragged them out and Colin put them up. When we went to close the door to the bed of the truck, it fell off. Oops. Poor Colin hadn't loaded them in far enough and we couldn't force them in any farther by using the bed door. So we had to take them out, and put them in one by one, properly stacking them along the way. That way worked out fine and we didn't break the door again and off we went. The dump was a popular place to be today. In case you've never been to a dump, the way it works is that you drive on a big scale with your truck full, then you dump your stuff and drive on to be weighed again and you pay for the difference. I think it was $.00344 / lb or something like that. So, can you guess how much the rubber mats weighed? And remember that we moved these things once from the barn to the truck, then up into the truck, then off the truck, then back on the truck, then off the truck again. 800 lbs!!!! Which only turned out to be $25 or so for us to dump. We decided to treat ourselves to a milkshake. At least it wasn't 108 degrees today like it was yesterday.

So far there are some things I've learned from being on the farm: things take at least twice as long as you think they will (in the case of the pump house, about 6 times as long - Colin is almost done, bless his heart, then I get to paint!), there are always more chores to do, more rocks will always show up, it doesn't make sense to take a shower in the morning, gross bugs are a way of life, and people are generally friendly. I've started to slow down a bit in my race to finish the chores. Not because I don't want to work hard to get them done, but because I realize they will be there tomorrow and the day after and I need to slow down and enjoy my new life with Colin.



- posted by Susan @ 4:24 PM

 
Happy Fourth of July!!! Since I'm no longer working outside the home (geez, right about now I'm almost wishing I did and that the poo would magically disappear), July 4th isn't the great holiday off from work that it used to be. There's no one to tell me to stop working, so work I continue to do. It has got to stop at some point, right? Am I bitching and whining too much? I mean, to an extent I knew what I was signing up for. But as I was telling Colin last night, I guess I didn't bargain for this much up front to get us settled. Oh well, that is my full-time job right now so I have to roll with it. I keep reminding myself that the tractor comes next week and hopefully that will make my job a LOT easier. I hope. I hope. Did I say I hope?

Miles and I had our first ride two days ago. We went down the NID trail, then up the street to the left and down through the neighbor's farm. I wasn't sure if I should do that or not, but I thought that since I gave her permission to trail ride through my property that the gesture would be reciprocated. At least I was hoping to run into her to introduce her to Miles, but no such luck. Oh well.

At that point, Miles and Monty hadn't met yet, but Monty was agitated that we left. He called out and ran (hobbling) through the pasture to where he thought we'd be (in the arena). When we got back from our trail loop, we did go to the arena, and Monty was pacing a bit at first. Miles and I did some basic circling work and just general arena-getting-used-to exercises. We actually trotted and cantered a bit, but the footing is hard enough that I don't want to do that for more than a few minutes. I just wanted to see what it was like.

Miles is a superstar pony from heaven, I love that little guy (insert cute picture of Miles here).

Then I untacked him and turned him back out. I don't quite have my "system" down for working around the barn. The way it is set up isn't very conducive to having horses in that pasture and working in the barn at the same time, since they always want to see what I'm up to. I should either put them in the other pasture or put them in a stall and close the doors. But what I really want to do is move some of the portable panels to the outside of the barn so I can make "runs" that they can each go into. That way when I'm in the grooming stall, one can either be next door or across the aisle, but have access to the outside and be able to move around. I'll put that on our to-do list for once we get the tractor. Maybe it won't be too hard to do.

Let's see, that was Friday. Then yesterday, Saturday, I introduced Miles and Monty into the same pasture for the first time (insert pictures of Miles and Monty meeting). There was minimal snorting, stomping, squealing or other various potentially aggressive behaviors. Mostly what happened was Miles moved Monty around the pasture for a little while, then they settled in and ate hay and drank water and scratched backs and now they are for the most part inseparable. I was pleasantly surprised that they shared hay; I assumed that Miles would be aggressive and kick Monty away. The weird thing is that they'll both go into a stall together and hang out. They'll eat hay or drink water or just hang out. It seems odd to me, but oh well.

April and Shayne (the sellers) stopped by to pick up their hay feeder (for which they brought along their friend Bob and his hoist mechanism thing), and April and I chatted about the horses. She said when they were there, the horses would always go into the stalls together. Weird.

Just as we were standing there watching, Monty came out of the stall, then Miles came shooting out after him but caught his back left leg on the "lip" and when he landed he was on three legs. Great. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. He hobbled around on three legs for 30 seconds or so, then they both settled into the hay and he gradually put weight on it. I didn't want to rush to him, but give him time to get the sting of it out. April and Shayne left, then after about five minutes I took Miles into the grooming stall to check on him. At that point he was putting full weight on the leg and walking fine. He has a superficial scrape on the front of his pastern, and I cleaned it and put Swat on it and put him out again. He's fine.

Later in the day I got on again for another walking adventure (insert pictures of me and Miles here). This time we went down the NID trail and turned right and walked to the end of the street. On the way down, a car drove by and commented on how pretty Miles is. Yes, he is!!! He's such a champ - we just walked along as if he's been here his whole life. The land and acreage around here is so pretty.

We turned for home once we got to the intersection of the main road. We were only out for about 30 minutes, but we did some good hill work so at least he got a bit of a workout. Most of this has been on the road so I worry about his feet hurting so I don't want to over-do it at first.

When I got back, I made them dinner and they were smart enough to go to separate stalls for feeding time. Monty sure does like his Strategy and supplements! I think he's starting to look better already (insert picture of Monty here).

Colin and I were having a lovely quiet evening until his aforementioned red-neck-run-in. I'm trying to get over it. As of today we haven't had any more problems and the neighborhood has been quiet. Colin and I will go talk to the neighbors sometime this week.

So that was yesterday. Today I worked on more rocks, but the BIG ones this time. I moved them from the pasture to the other side of the fence outside of the pasture. Boring but necessary work. I'm thinking of writing a song (or at least a poem) about sweat. Because I have it everywhere...between my boobs, between my butt cheeks, running down my face, dripping off my forehead...amazingly enough I seem to have it everywhere except under my armpits (although they do stink).

I decided to ride early today, just in case the retards were out (this is a reference to the conversation I had with the neighbor. She said everyone here is either retired or retarded - what does that make me?) later with their firecrackers and booze and ATVs. We rode down our street, then explored the other streets that go off the main road leading into the neighborhood. It was fun. We saw a couple of people, got a couple of waves, and had a nice meandering, exploring jaunt through the area. Of course Monty was screaming and running the fence as we left, but when we got back he was quiet. While we were walking around I could hear Kenya in the pond barking at the rocks. What a goofy dog.

I decided to finish cleaning the walls in the upstairs bedroom, and I also cleaned the bannister upstairs which was amazingly dirty. That took me to almost 1 p.m. I sat down to read my People magazine, then Colin came in and we folded laundry and took a nap. It is so nice to have the washer and dryer (insert picture of luxury items here). Now we need the tractor...have I mentioned that already?

Post-napping I fed the dogs, fed the horses, cleaned more poo, and then came inside to read more People. Colin went to the grocery store for dinner fixins. He made a yummy sole and we had corn on the cob and cheese and crackers and whine. I mean wine.

Now I'm sitting here typing and Colin is having a fight with the local ant colony. They decided to make our espresso machine their home base, complete with eggs and everything. He just got out the vacuum cleaner and said "how do you like me now!!??" And then he just asked for Q-Tips to get them in those hard-to-reach places. He's probably been working on this for 30 minutes now. Every now and then I hear him mutter "fuckers". I assume he's talking about the ants...

The dog and cat interactions continue to go well. Barley will get excited about the cat for a little while, then mellow out and lay down to nap. A tired dog is a good dog, as far as I'm concerned. I don't know if the cat has left our bedroom all day, though. First she knocked my sweaters off the shelf in the closet so that she could take a nap. Now she's on the windowsill in our bathroom. Kenya is napping away on the living room floor (insert picture of Kenya napping). Barley is upstairs for some reason. Colin is still after the fucking ants.

Let's hope our redneck friend doesn't show up tonight and that is the end of that. I suggested to Colin that we at least contact the Sherriff's office to see what protocol is for trespassers, that way if we see him again we can say we talked to the Sherriff. I also suggested we document every conversation we have, just in case something comes of this. Which I hope it won't.

Grass Valley is having fireworks from the Fairgrounds, and we're hoping we can see them tonight...

And I must mention that Colin was a superstar today and continued work on my tackroom in the pumphouse (insert before and after pictures here). Maybe he'll finish tomorrow and I can start organizing it on Tuesday. Now that he conquered the ant colony, he's unpacking kitchen boxes and will make cookies - yum! What a lucky girl I am...

I need to eat more for the time being. I've lost some lbs in the week that we've been here. If you want to lose weight, come to The Farm and I'll set you up. It is the all-natural weight loss plan. Commune with poo - I mean nature - and lose weight. Of course you have to carry your fair share... I'm now 18 lbs lighter than I was at this time last year. I actually don't want to lose any more because I want to be strong for my farm work. I've been weighing myself every day. And today I weighed myself a.m. and p.m. and the scale showed me as 3 lbs lighter at the end of the day. Which is why I need cookies. I can't think of anything else that will sustain me. ;-)

Willy Wonka is on TV now, so I'm going to watch and wait for my cookies...mmmmmm....


- posted by Susan @ 7:07 PM

 
Susan spotted a visitor first on our back wall, then in our pond. We both took up our own vantage points and watched as it stalked around our pond looking for a meal. That is, until our next visitors arrived.

Three kids rode by on an atv, passing over our NID easment and into the neighbors yard. The heron flew away, and the peace of the very pleasant evening was broken. We decided that this wasn't something we wanted, so we waited a little while to see if they would come back. We decided to close the gate across the NID easment path to indicate our preference with respect to such visitors. As we were headed back to the house, we heard them coming back. I headed up to have a little friendly chat with them.

When I got to the gate, the atv was back, but there was an adult male this time with two little boys. I walked over to have my chat, waving first and trying to broadcast cheerful friendliness. We all just wanna get along, right? Wrong. Not Brandon, as the mother of this asshole decided to name him. But wait, I get ahead of myself.

I said, "Hi!" (imagine cheerfulness here) "I sure would appreciate it if you wouldn't ride through here." Nice tone, I thought, friendly. He said, "Oh, you would, huh?" Not a good sign. I took up position on my side of the gate, he walked up and put his hands on the top of the gate, as if to open it up. I explained, still politely, I thought, that we didn't mind the occasional horse or people traffic, but that I thought the motor traffic wasn't what we wanted. "Why?" he asked. I said that it just wasn't what we wanted here. "Why?" He said again. Hmm, still not getting through here. I realized that what I had here was a prime example of Redneckus Idiotus, and I would have to try to use smaller words and put my foot on the gate, too, just to get he message across.

He explained that the NID easment was public property, and he had the right to pass through our land across it. I have to admit that I wasn't sure what the legal situation was about the easement. I was sure, however, that I didn't want this joker ripping it up and disturbing our heron guests. I agreed that I didn't know exactly what the legality of my request was. He said that I sure ought to find out before I come up agressively. He said, "You just don't do that," referring to my request for him to turn his shitbucket around and go home.

He shook the fence and said, "This fucking shit is illegal, right here. This is fucking public property." I explained that there were many gates across NID easments, we weren't the only ones with this idea. He said, "Well, I'm just going to ride on through here," referring to our land, "and you can take it up with my friend," pointing up the hill to our neighor. I repeated my request, "I'd just as soon you didn't do that." "Oh, you do, do you?" Crap, right back where we started.

I have to stop and explain that I found this silly man absolutely ridiculous. He actually wanted to throw down over riding his silly ass little crotch rocket. I swear, men are what's wrong with this world. Back to the story.

We discussed, again, the finer points of real estate law. I conceded that I wasn't making my request from a firm foundation of legal research. I asked him to just take it as a personal request. We discussed where I was from, how long I had been here, and the fact that he was a better welder than the guy we bought the house from. OK, now the signal was coming in pretty clearly. Did I mention he was shorter than I was? I thought that he was next going to drop his pants to show me how exceptionally large his wang was. Luckily, I was spared the trauma.

I pointed out, "It doesn't have to be like this." He missed the point, "That's right, you don't want it to be like this." Not sure how this would play out, if it went down. The problem was that I wasn't particularly mad at this silly guy, I thought he was comically pitiful. I said, "That's ridiculous, that's not what's going to happen here." Man, it was just like back on the playground. What a tool.

He repeated his assertion that my understanding of the law was clouded. I stuck with my request. Eventually he turned around and went back the way he came (yay!). No wonder Rough and Ready seceeded from the union. They might well have been too stupid to remember to maintain their subscription.

So, to wrap this up, I went back home and we looked at the title insurance report (ok, I guess that damn thing is useful after all). I don't remember the exact wording, but essentially, the easement is granted for NID to install and maintain a ditch for water transport. It is not a general easment to Brandon and his LMS (Little Man Syndrome). Hooray, now I have the Man on my side, too. Oh, yeah, the easement goes the other direction, besides. I'm sure that, if there is a next time, Brandon will respond quite favorably to my new found legal research.

Never a dull moment...
- posted by Colin @ 10:08 PM

 
Once again, I am completely exhausted. Did I write yesterday about how Colin and I spent time picking rocks out of the arena yesterday? So I thought that "rocks" would be my project of the day. We went out to feed the boys and I started cleaning Miles's pasture. Then I got sidetracked, as I am frequently wont to do, and started sorting for rocks instead of poo. Next to Miles's pasture, along the fence line, is a trench for drainage. I was working in the corner closest to the end of the driveway (or is it the beginning? the part closest to the street), and I'd use my pitchfork to sift the dirt out, and then throw the rocks into the ditch. I worked for 30 minutes or so, then Colin called me in for a pancake breakfast - yum! Except I had only about 30 drops of syrup left in the bottle so I ate them dry...which wasn't bad because they were good pancakes...but I like my syrup (and not maple, mind you - I hate maple syrup. I like the Knott's Berry Farm Boysenberry).

After breakfast, we made a grocery list to include syrup and coffee. Even though I drink decaf, I like me some coffee in the morning.

I went back out to the pastures and finished the corner in Miles's pasture, then went to clean Monty's pasture of manure. That went fine and I decided that it was time to start my big rock project - the arena. So I called out to Colin to release the hounds, and we went into the arena. Boy the ground is hard in there. I spent some time sifting the dirt/rocks in the pitchfork and put them in the wheelbarrow. Rocks weigh a LOT more than poo, that is for sure. I only got one load done (and the w.b. wasn't even full) before the Invisible Fence guy arrived.

We had a nice visit with the I.F. guy and drafted a plan - now we just have to review the cost and decide what to do.

I had a list of calls to make afterwards (and thankfully the farrier wasn't one of them - he finally called me back last night and we have an appointment for Monty on Monday), and the first order of business was footing for the arena. I talked to the woman at West Coast Footings to find out how I get a base installed (knowing full well that I don't want to do it myself). She said the best type of person to do it is a contractor who does road work. So I looked in the Yellow Pages and made two calls. I had to leave a message for the first guy, but the second guy said they just did this for someone else (that's good!) and we made an appointment for someone to come out Monday. I have NO idea how much this is going to cost. Not an arm and a leg, I hope, because I REALLY don't want to do this myself. And I'd like it done soon. I remembered from a conversation with the sellers that the neighbor is an instructor and has a nice arena, so I decided it was time I introduced myself. Armed with pen and paper, I walked up the trail (there's actually a trail that goes between our two properties, and she's very close by...even though if you wanted to drive there you'd have to get in your car and go about 5 miles). Her students were getting ready for lessons, but one of them was kind enough to show me inside the house where "SR" was making lunch. She was very nice and I'm very happy to have met her. She's going to do some schooling on an XC course next month and I may join her and her students. She boards and teaches at her farm, and also teaches Pony Club. We had a nice long chat about the local geography and building an arena. She and her boyfriend did it themselves! Whew, I can't imagine where they'd find the time. They also built their barn themselves and are building another one. I'm amazed. She had to teach, and I was getting hungry, so we parted ways. I asked if I could ride in her arena until mine gets set and she said sure that I could work it off or pay some arena fee. I'm down with that. I think her arena is a bit smaller than mine, but it is nice to see that it is workable.

As a side note, I'm trying to think of farm names. While I was digging for rocks (why can't Kenya help with the rocks that are in the ground??!!), I thought "Quartz Hill" because there's so much of it here. Or I also came up with "Wild Hare Farms" or "Jack Rabbit Farms" because there are so many rabbits here - yesterday there were four of them in Miles's pasture at dusk. They are so cute! Of course, I guess "The House on Poo Hill" is still in contention.

Colin and I went to town for lunch because he had some downloading to do for his computer, which is having problems. He can get a faster download at the cafe than at home, so we thought it best to at least buy something in order to use that service. After lunch, as he was working, I shopped for a white bookshelf for "the purple room". Amazingly enough, white bookshelves are hard to find. But I did find one at an antique store - that can be made to order in 5 weeks...at an antique store. Maybe it isn't really an antique store and I was just confused.

Colin and I then met up again and took my riding boots to the local repair shop. In Palo Alto, I was quoted $120 for replacing the zippers. Now for that money, I could go buy new boots (these are just for schooling). But I held on to them thinking I'd try another shop. So this guy quotes me $35 for new zippers in both boots - sold.

Colin drove me back home and then went out again for errands. He got materials at the hardware store to finish the walls in the pump house which will become my permanent tack room. Right now my temporary tackroom is in the barn. I decided that while he was out, I'd get to work on the arena again. I grabbed a rake from the barn and a shovel from the garage and made my way out there. I lasted about 10 minutes. The work was so hard and I was so overwhelmed by the task that I just gave up. The tractor should be here next week and then the work will be much easier, I'm sure. Plus, if the contractor can start right away then that ground has to be compacted anyways so maybe I shouldn't bother.

So I went back to poo and rock shoveling in the pastures. I decided it is easier to actually turn the pitchfork over and "rake" the rocks vs. trying to scoop and sift them. I can rake them to the fenceline, then just scoop them over. Very efficient. Miles tried to help, and while I was raking he'd stand there pawing, clearly trying to assist me with the task at hand. It was cute...for about a minute. Then he was just crowding my space and getting in my way. Then he made his intentions clear - he thought it was playtime and nipped me, so I had to jab him with the end of the pitchfork and yell at him to knock it off. Then he moved away, but reared. Butthead. It is always a hard decision (and it has to be so immediate) as to what to do in that situation. I didn't sense aggression from him. He likes to play. If I engaged him any further, it might escalate. So I just stood there and looked at him and he quickly got the point and walked away and ate his dinner. I finished raking the rocks, cleaned up a little more poo (geez, I thought I was done...it is like deja vu...) and ran inside to get carrots and apples for dinner. I mixed up their supplements and Miles was funny. He knew where I was but couldn't really figure out how to get to me. He walked into the stall next to me (he walked in from the outside, but the inside door is closed so he can't get in the aisle), and knew I was on the other side of the wall, but knew that he didn't solve the problem because he couldn't see me. So then he walked around the barn and found his stall that was across the aisle and watched me while I made the dinner. Fed the ponies, came inside and drank two big glasses of ice water.

Then I sat my tired ass on the couch and took a short nap while Colin finished some work on the couch next to me. I didn't intend to take a nap, I just couldn't help myself. I took a shower, Colin made dinner, and while we were eating, I saw a bug on the wall outside so I had to take its picture to show how gross and creepy the bugs here are.

After dinner, Colin was kind enough to do some houseboy chores and while he was in the bathroom putting bathrobe hooks on the back of the door, he called to me to bring the camera for a nice dog/cat moment. Of course, as soon as the moment started, it stopped and Barley started barking at the kitten so she got excused and the cat got to relax by herself.

I had to run outside to take a picture from the front porch of the lovely twilight and the horses in the pastures. Now we're sitting on the couch watching a movie, and kitten is taking turns at lap warming.

Oh yeah, it finally got hot enough for us to decide to turn on the AC. Colin can't stand to be hot when he's sleeping.
- posted by Susan @ 9:37 PM

 
Ok, even though I posted earlier today, that was actually a note from Tuesday night. Today was its own adventure, but a good one, and I really don't have much bitching and whining to do. Hope I don't dissapoint.

I drove down to the Peninsula yesterday afternoon to pack up my barn stuff. Sopas, the groom at the barn who looks after Miles for me, had pulled out my stall mats and met me in the afternoon to help load them up in my truck, as well as my trunk and feed bins. He is so fabulous, bless his heart, I will miss him. He said he will always remember Miles and pulled up his shirt sleeve to show me the bruise (which he showed me the other day) of where Miles bit him while he was putting his turnout boots on. Oh Miles, he's such a naughty pony!!! I ran to the bank and got some cash to give him as a tip, which he tried to refuse. I insisted, because I am so thankful and grateful to him for all he's done for me. (And as a side note, the barn cat that he said we could take home with us got squished by a horse last week. Too bad, he was the best mouser there was and he was sweet and Miles really liked him.)

Laura and I then went to dinner and a movie (The Terminal which was at best OK, but considering it was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Tom Hanks, I would have hoped for more. I really don't think there was more they could have done with the story, though. Not a bad movie, but definitely for renting, not seeing in the theatre.) She was kind enough to host me at her house last night and she helped me set the alarm for 4:30 this morning.

Just before 4:30 a.m., I heard the tick-tick-tick of her clock (really, it is a wind-up and makes a loud ticking noise), and then the bell went off. Last night I was debating on really leaving so early, but once the alarm went off, I figured I should just do it. So I got out of bed, put on a bra and t-shirt and jacket, but left my jammie bottoms on because it was so cold last night. It was dark but not too cold and I left for the barn. Amazingly, I was able to back up my trailer and get it hooked up in the dark. And it took me no longer than it does in the light. Actually, I did it in three tries and sometimes it takes me as much as ten. So I figured that was a good indicator for how the trip would go.

Miles loaded like the champ that he is, I grabbed the last of the items from his stall, and off we went. I left at 5:19 a.m. by the clock in my truck. I tried to think of where I could stop for coffee and a chocolate croissant on the way, but knew it wouldn't be until I went over the bridge that is on highway 80 - Solano, maybe? Traffic wasn't bad at all, but it was tiring to drive on 880. I hate that freeway - there are too many on-ramps that have to merge with the traffic, and people don't realize that I can't just slam on my brakes to stop. I felt like getting a sign for my truck/trailer that reads "I will not slam on my brakes for you, so if you cut me off, prepare to get hit." But all in all it was fine. That drive just requires a level of alertness that is hard to come by at 5 a.m. with no coffee. But I found a Starbuck's somewhere between the bridge and Vacaville, and all was right with the world. Really, nothing can compare with coffee and chocolate in the morning.

Nothing exciting happened, thank goodness, on the drive. Except that the vet called me. That really was exciting because I needed to get a vet and Miles needs his flu/rhino shot. We made an appointment for July 13th. Aren't you glad you know that?

I called Colin on the way and asked him to leave the girls inside while I got home and unloaded Miles. The last few yards up the street were tough - I tried putting the truck in 2nd gear with 4WD, but I think regular Drive is better. We made it up the street and into the driveway and Colin came out to meet us. We moved some things in from the pasture, threw some hay in a stall, filled up a water bucket in the stall, and brought Miles in. Oh, first I let him and Monty sniff. Miles is always very well-mannered when meeting other horses. He never squeals or strikes or does anything rude. Monty, on the other hand, did both! So I brought Miles up to the barn (Monty was in the big pasture), put him in the stall and let him eat hay and get a bit settled. Colin went back to work, and I unloaded part of my truck and trailer and set up my "feed room", with Miles munching hay in the stall across the aisle, and sticking his head out the feeder window to check on me. It was really cute (insert picture here of Miles hanging his head out). I love getting organized and getting things set up, so even though this was "farm work", it was really fun for me.

After about 45 minutes, Miles seemed to be a bit more settled so I took off his shipping boots (Dover's, I highly recommend them) and opened the door from his stall to the pasture and out he went. At first he just looked around and wandered a bit. I got the pitchfork and wheelbarrow and worked in the small pasture cleaning up old manure so I could keep an eye on him. All was quiet until he went to the front of the property and something got his attention so he spun and farted and bucked and ran away. Then he snorted, turned around and ran back. He's so cute! This will be a different experience for Colin to watch than Monty is...Miles is only 6 - I'd say Monty is 26...and lame. So there's a big difference in their behavior and energy level. After Miles seemed settled in the pasture a bit, I met Colin inside and we put the dogs on their leashes and took them out to meet Miles. Miles loves all animals and is very friendly and he put his nose down to say hi to Kenya and she snapped at him!!! No barking, at least, but still!!! So he said "that smarts!" and tossed his head and trotted away. He came back and I had Kenya on the leash and tried to teach her some horsey manners. Maybe he scared her, I don't know. When the Invisible Fence gets set up, we'll keep that pasture off-limits for the dogs. If they just ignore each other, that will be good enough for me. Colin brought the girls to the big pasture, Kenya went nuts with her in-the-pond-rock-digging, and Barley just roamed around while I shoveled poo (do you see a theme here?).

Kenya is so funny with her rock digging - I swear she has ADD! She digdigdigs in the water, barking all the time, and you wonder what is going on...just when you think she's lost her mind, out she comes with a rock. She deposits it on the bank of the pond, then goes back in for more. I swear she could do this for hours, and I'm pretty sure she'll do it every day. Next time, I'll get pictures. It is pretty funny, actually. She got two rocks today.

Miles just seemed to settle in. I put a hay feeder up on the fence and gave him a flake (in addition to the flake he had in the stall) and he ate a bit, then wandered around a bit. I showed him where the salt block was, and he found the trough and actually drank! I was surprised that he drank right away, considering this is different water than he's used to. But it seemed to be no big deal, thank goodness.

I was satisfied with how he was settling in, so I parked the trailer and went inside for a snack and other chores. And eventually a nap.

After nap time, Colin helped me unload the rest of my trailer and I put Miles in the stall again while I fed him his num-num dinner (Purina Strategy and supplements), and I fed Monty some of it, too (but smaller amounts since I don't know if/what he's had before), and he lapped it up right away. While Miles was eating, I cleaned my tack and organized my trunk and temporary tack room (insert picture). Colin was a champ and put the stall mats from RV out in the pasture under the hay feeders (insert picture). Then I took Miles into the "grooming stall" and realized that the cross-ties are too short. I made do with one cross-tie and a lead rope, covered him in fly spray, and turned him out again. I cleaned up in the barn and went inside to check on Colin who was very busy with work today.

A bit later I went out to the arena to check it out, being hopeful that I could ride tomorrow. It is so rocky, that I spent a lot of time tossing rocks over the side of the arena and stressing out. That is the one thing that I'm stressed about with this property is the rocks. We're going to have to do some clean-up in the rock department, and unfortunately Kenya's specialty is under-water rocks. She doesn't work in the "in-the-dirt" rock category. Barley is a good digger, though. I will call the footing people tomorrow so I can get started on that.

Colin made a fabulous dinner, the girls are in the garage being quiet, and the kitten is enjoying some freedom in the house right now.

I have 75% of my stuff unpacked, and I feel much better now that Miles is home.

Miles seems to be totally comfortable here and really happy with his outdoor lifestyle. I may not do the shavings-in-the-stalls until winter. There's no need. He doesn't want to be in there, and likely won't go in there unless his num-num dinner is in there. He probably won't even go in there for shade, since there are trees in his pasture. I'm glad he can be outside roaming around...that is the whole point of us being up here. Well, maybe not the whole point. I mean, I know that Colin has his reasons, too.

So the next steps are getting the washer and dryer (Saturday), getting the tractor (sometime next week), and finding a contractor to help me with my footing (I'll make some calls tomorrow).

So far life on the farm is pretty sweet.


- posted by Susan @ 8:46 PM

 
Please excuse the formatting for this entry, but I sent this message in an email to my friend Shawn, and I thought it worthy of posting here.

________________________________

Move #2 was a nightmare!!! U-Haul sucks, don't EVER
use them - EVER!!! I made a reservation in May for
this move, for a 24-ft truck to pick up somewhere on
the Peninsula, preferrably Palo Alto. I called the
day before to confirm, and they said that they didn't
yet have a truck for me. Nor did they later in that
afternoon, or the next morning. Apparently when you
make a reservation, you aren't actually reserving a
truck. It is just a suggestion, I guess. When I
called them on Saturday morning (which is when I
assumed we'd have the truck), I told the girl on the
phone "I know this isn't directly your fault, but what
am I supposed to do? I have 8 people moving my
belongings out into a parking lot because I have to be
out of the apartment today." She gave me the "Ma'am,
I understand this must be frustrating for you spiel",
blah, blah, blah, but that didn't help me at the time.
So I started calling other moving companies, and
Colin tried calling U-Haul back to see what kind of
solution we could come up with, and they hung up on
him TWICE!!!

The minutes/hours were ticking by, Colin had 8 friends
who WERE moving his belongings out of his apartment,
into the parking lot in anticipation of the truck's
arrival, and he and I were frantically trying to
contact other moving companies. Of course, no one had
any trucks available at the last minute, but when I
told them all my sob story, they all knew it was
U-Haul who we were having a problem with without me
even saying.

My brother actually DID have a truck from U-Haul
because he was coming to my house to pick up a sofa
and chair and two oriental rugs that I didn't want
anymore. So I called the local U-Haul to see if we
could at least keep Bill's truck for the move (and
we'd have to bring it back vs. a one-way which is what
we "reserved"). The store manager was nice enough to
try to help me out, but it would have been costly
since their mileage rate is so high and this would be
rented out as a "local" move. In the meantime, Colin
had found a truck from Monarch in San Jose and so our
problem was solved. It was a bigger truck than what
we had "reserved" from U-Haul, and the cost was
actually a little cheaper, even considering that we'd
have to drive it up and return it the next day.

So around noon Colin and I drive to San Jose (with all
his belongings in the parking lot and a friend
standing watch and drinking a beer) to pick up the
truck. I go to get us lunch (the rest of his friends
took a well-deserved lunch break), and we meet up in
the parking lot. His friends load up the truck (I
toted a couple of boxes) and then I went over to my
house to start bringing my stuff out into the front
yard for loading. Bill and his girlfriend Constance
showed up to help and then Colin and his friend Ed
came. Colin had to re-arrange things in the truck to
make better use of the space and to make my stuff fit.
We bet $20 that he couldn't get it all in there (I
said he couldn't, but he did). We found a lunge whip
in the garage and all took turns trying to make it
"pop" in the front yard. The neighbors must have
thought we were nuts.

I must admit, I don't think I did all that much. I
brought boxes out, then I directed other people, then
I swept up the house, then I brought a couple of boxes
out. I think everyone else worked harder than I did,
frankly.

Oh, so U-Haul called me at about 4 p.m. to say they
had a truck for me - a 17 footer (I ordered a 24
footer)...in MILL VALLEY!!! What the hell? They might
as well have said that they had a truck for us in
Grass Valley for all the good it did us. Colin and I
are just hoping that they dare to charge us for the
reservation so we can write them a scathing letter and
call the press and get their scheming asses on TV for
being such assholes.

So we finally finished around 5 p.m. and headed off
for our new home. Colin and Ed drove the rental
truck, Bill and Constance drove up in his car, and I
was solo in my truck. I wasn't planning on stopping
for food until I hit Sacramento, but just as I got to
Dixon, something made me pull off for Taco Bell. I
was sitting in my truck eating my tostada, and who
pulls up in to the parking lot but Colin and Ed? I
made good on the bet and gave Colin his $20 for a
gourmet dinner, then hit the road as they went inside.


As I pulled into the driveway, twilight was just
ending and the sky was beautiful. I was hoping
everyone else would make it in time to see it, but no
such luck. I took some time to start emptying my
truck, and I got all my hanging clothes set up before
everyone else arrived.

Finally, around 9 p.m., I hear the "beep, beep, beep"
of the backing-up of the truck. It was like a car
wreck - part of me wanted to go watch, but the other
part of me couldn't stand to see what was happening.
Colin was backing up our driveway in the dark - an
1/8th of a mile - and there was no room for error.
I'd watch for a minute, then I couldn't stand it and
went inside, then I'd get curious and go out to see
again. Ed did a fabulous job of directing Colin. I
think it would have only been better if he had the
orange flashlight things that the people at the
airports have. Monty, our pasture horse, was totally
freaked out. And even though I'd say he's a 5/5 on
the lameness scale, he managed to gallop to the other
end of the pasture.

It took the 5 of us until midnight to get unloaded. I
put together Bill and Constance's bed so they'd have a
nice place to sleep. Poor Ed was stuck with the
couch, but thankfully it is a comfortable one. We had
to take some time to have beer at the end of the night
to congratulate ourselves for making it through the
Day From Hell. We started to watch SNL, but I was too
tired so I went to bed. Colin joined me, but Ed, Bill
and Constance stayed up chatting. And they even
finished the not-so-fresh beer that had just been
moved from PA.

So that was the move. Oh, and Colin and Ed had to
take the truck back on Sunday morning. They left at 7
a.m., drove back to my place in PA to pick up my car,
then Ed drove the car while Colin drove the truck to
Monarch. Then Colin had to drive Ed back up to his
house...in Tiburon. Then he had to drive home. Ed
had this brilliant idea that Colin should take highway
37 to get to Vallejo. Unfortunately, Colin took his
advice and got stuck in Nascar traffic from Sears
Point. It took him almost 2 hours to go 30 miles. He
didn't get home until 8 p.m. Another Day From Hell
for Colin. I spent my time that day doing the usual -
cleaning dirt off the walls, unpacking, moving manure,
etc...

Yesterday I drove back to the Peninsula and spent the
night with Laura so I could pick the dogs up today.
They were so good, they exceeded our expectations for
getting acquainted with the horse and the cat. They
couldn't have cared less about Monty. They sniffed
him, said hello (on leash at that point), then we took
them for a walk around the property and down the trail
where they splashed in the NID waterway. Then I let
them off leash to help me clean manure in the pasture.
Colin got in my truck to go to the feed store and get
a water trough for the upper pasture, and Barley went
nuts and got anxious wanting to follow him. I held
her by the collar for a while while she wiggled
around. After what I thought was an acceptable amount
of time to wait, I let her and Kenya go, thinking we'd
just go back to the pasture to clean manure. NOPE -
they took off running in the direction that Colin went
and I had to chase them down through two neighbors'
yards. When we got back to the
manure-shoveling-at-hand, they discovered the pond and
that kept them occupied for quite a while.

Colin came back, we set up the water trough, did a
couple barn chores, then came in to get ready for
dinner. Barley was sniffing around the house for the
cat and finally found her. We found them by following
the barking - Barley was upstairs in the closet with
the cat. Thankfully, Barley was just laying down
barking and the cat was about 4 feet away laying in a
suitcase. It was now or never so we took some time to
introduce them. Kenya was actually a super-star; I
think she's been around cats before and knows what
growling and hissing means because she just laid down
and put her head on her paws and let Barley and Iggy
play out their roles. Kitten was very good - she
hissed a bit and swiped at Barley once. At which time
Barley barked at her. Colin took Barley out of the
closet, Kenya and Kitten and I sat in their quietly
with "good girls" all around. Then we slowly brought
Barley back in to meet Kitten and had about a 20
minute introduction, with us making Barley sit and
telling her what a good girl she was and the Kitten
just sat in the suitcase. Barley ended up getting
very close and we were pleased with the result so we
called it a night and got ready for dinner.

We just got back and Barley hunted down the kitten
again and barked at her a bit, but she doesn't chase
her - she just stands there and barks. Which is the
best I could hope for at this point, I guess. Colin
just put the girls to bed in the garage, and the
kitten came down and she's at my feet.

Now we're going to bed.



- posted by Susan @ 11:25 AM

 

Flying solo at the farm. Cousin Tammy suggested we name the farm the House at Poo Corner or just the House of Poo. That seems apt. There sure is a lot of poo here.

Susan drove back down yesterday with her trailer to pick up Miles, the Primary Horse (I hope the Emergency Backup Horse, Monty, never reads this part. Shh, don't tell him I called Miles the Primary Horse). That leaves me in charge of two dogs, one cat, and one horse. Everybody needs feeding and cleaning and petting and brushing. Whew. Luckily, the dogs were kind enough to point out my mistake when I gave them hay and Monty dogfood. Monty just looked at my funny: out of one eye, like horses are wont to do.

So far, the interaction between the cat and the dogs has gone surprisingly well. We both thought that Kenya, the Rhodesian mix, would be the problem as she has always had a special spot in her heart for cats. Wait, I said heart, but I meant tummy. At least that's the way she's acted back home. Barley, the Weimaraner, on the other hand, if she met a warthog with its tusks dripping blood, she'd just want to play. One of their first interactions, the dogs and Iggy, found Kenya creeping up to Iggy on her belly with eyes downcast. Kenya really hasn't been that interested since.

Barley, on the other hand, well, perhaps this characterizes their interaction best. When they meet in the house, that is. The one time they've all met outside, ended a little differently. Once that happened, we decided to pull up a seat and wait for things to settle down. I remain optimistic.

Susan gave me instructions on horse grooming on Tuesday (if today is Thursday, that is). I added a little grooming to my morning horse feeding chores. Today, it went like this:

• Get up around 6:30


• Feed the cat


• Feed the dogs


• Open the garage door and Release the Hounds


• Feed the horse


• Groom the horse, which entails currying, brushing, and picking out the feet


• Spray the horse with fly spray, which, contrary to the what the name kinda implies, actually keeps the flies off


• Finish putting the stall mats in the barn


• Find the dogs (whoops, don't tell Susan!)


• Clean the dogs with a stanky towel, cause they just spent the last 20 minutes running around in the muddy pond


• Begin work for which I actually get paid

Just had to run off and break up a shouting match between Barley and Iggy. Iggy has happened upon the perfect defense.

- posted by Colin @ 7:41 AM