September 2020

Welcome to September.  The Kentucky Derby is coming up..... such a strange year!

Let's have a happy month!

The above photo is how a horse would look if it were born looking like what a child drew. Pretty cute....sorta...

I love the photo of the race...........all horses, all 4 feet off the ground, all 3 running their hearts out. Really cool.

As for the horse that was drawn..............that's a riot. If they really looked like that not many would get bought or sold.

It's September 1st................good griffon where does the time go?

Today was the post position drawing. Tiz the Law drew the 17th post. So far, he is the big favorite.
I sort of like the story of his jockey, Manny Franco. He is an up and coming jockey and was given the ride on Tiz the Law for his first big race, which he won. Instead of switching to another of the big name jockeys, Barkley Tagg stayed with the new kid. So far, that has been a very good decision; he's won every time.
He's been riding at Saratoga all summer and has a pretty good record.

Today is Kentucky Oaks day. The undercard races are being televised on FoxSports2/FS2 all afternoon. NBCs will show some of them. The Oaks post time is 6:12 EST.
FS2 is showing all the races of the day from Saratoga and Churchill.

Hello All,

I've missed keeping up with you all. 2020 has not been a good year for my family and it has kept me away from the computer except for work. Things are (hopefully) settling down now and getting back to the new normal, whatever that is. Actually it started 4th quarter 2019 with my brother having neck surgery in mid September that started out ok, but then went down hill. Just as he was starting rehab when had complications from not taking care of his diabetes. Short story is he went into the hospital the end of October, lost his lower right leg by Christmas, no rehab for his neck during this time of course. Because of that ended up loosing most of the use of his left arm. At one point he was in ICU. Finally came home from hospital, nursing home just in time for CoVid to hit. He was on short term disability while in the hospital. Coincidently when he came home his short term disability ran out and converted to long term. What nobody tells you is that all the money you have paid for short term deductible does not carry over to the long term. His prostectic (sp) did not get delivered until 2 weeks after the short term disability ran out so he has this new deductible to cover. My brother lives week to week as it is. I have been taking care of his finances and working with the insurance companies. I HATE INSURANCE!!! This is my first real experience with insurance. I've heard the horror stories but never dealt with them first hand. I discovered that you have to watch the hospitals, nursing homes, etc like a hawk. I don't know how many claims were filed incorrectly as work related when they weren't. He is now finally starting to get rehab for his neck and arms. On top of that, he ended up nearly blind for most of the year due to cataracts. He didn't have the best sight in the world before all of this started, but I think his diabetes definitely contributed to the cataracts. He has had the cataract surgery done finally (couldn't be done earlier because of CoVid) and can get around now.

Wait, if that isn't bad enough, my boyfriend of 16 years house burnt in July. Oh, and he DIDN'T have insurance. That's another long story. Bill has huge collection of Civil War stuff. I currently have a 20 foot and 40 foot portable storage units in my back yard storing what we were able to salvage. Slowly working on cleaning stuff up. Bill now lives with me. I have a little house. It will be interesting to see what we do with everything. We will get through it, but geesh. Needless to say the horses have not been ridden this summer.

I have been fortunate that I have continued to work through all of this, a lot of it from home. So it's not all bad. Just a bit overwhelming.

I'm looking forward to getting caught up on what you all have been doing.

Stay Safe, Stay Well.

Wow! Indy, you've sure had a bad stretch. 2020 will be remembered, but not happily for you and lots of others. I hope things will slow down a little for you and that you'll be able to check in here more often.

Today's races will be on FS1, FS2, and NBCsports. The Derby will be on regular NBC, starting at 2:30 est. and continue until 7:30.

Oh boy, INDY, I sure pray things improve for you............that kind of stress is too much on a continuum. Take time
with your horses and relax..........just stroke their necks and enjoy. Caretaking is a big job...........

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))))

INDYAPP:
Man. 2020 just doesn't give up. I hope the rest of it goes infinitely better for you, your brother, and your partner. wow. Big hugs.....


ELLEN:
Thanks, I am tuned in...



We are in the midst of hay making. We finally got a few dry days and the upper field is mowed and drying. Donnie did have an interesting moment when his mower ran over three cans of unopened beer that one of the people who hit our fence threw out to avoid the cops discovering it. We didn't discover it until those 3 cans blew up and sprayed Donnie, the tractor, and the hay being cut. He came in smelling like he'd been on a bender somewhere.... Unfortunately, they also threw out some glass bottles and we won't be able to use that area's hay because there may be glass in it. The tractor ran over that, too, and crushed it.

Then Donnie mowed the barnlot area where the horses graze while we clean the barn and we discovered a hole in the ground that one of the horses had stepped in and collapsed. It was more than a foot deep and about 8 or 9 inches round that went off underground on the side. It may have been an old groundhog hole, but would have been over 20 years old. He filled it with gravel and dirt as far back as he could. We are so lucky we didn't have a broken leg, we don't know which horse stepped in it.

That's horse racing..............

It was a safe race and a good contest. I was sort of hoping for Tiz the Law to get it. He put up a good effort; it just wasn't quite enough.
Maybe next year for the triple crown.

Ark, I hope you can find enough of the glass to make it safe for later. Drunks rarely have any good sense.

Well, that was an interesting race. Watching two people get knocked down by horses was different. No fancy hats or crowds was certainly strange. I voted for the favorite and Donnie voted for the winner. If we ever get to a real race, I am going to have him pick the horses to bet on!

Thank you all for the well wishes. They help. Here is a funny story for you.

Who doesn't love being pulled awake from a sound sleep at 3 a.m. to the sound of running hooves outside the bedroom window? Anyone? That was me last night. Grabbed my glasses (a must have) a bath robe and jumped into my shoes and out the door. All is quiet. Looking around for the horses and trying to make things out in the dark. I think I see them across the road at the neighbors. Then I think I see them on the other side of their own pen. I don't know what the heck I'm seeing. It's been lightly raining, but not now. Distant lighting flashes and a pretty strong breeze blowing and making the trees sway. First things first. Go grab halters. As I am opening the gate into the horse area here they come meandering in from their pen. "What cha" doing Mom?" "Any Snacks?" Obviously the horses aren't out running where they shouldn't be. I don't know what the heck I heard, must have been dreaming. I can do without those kinds of dreams.

It's pretty nice out now, but suppose to get rain this afternoon. Got to go pick poo out of the round pen.

Everyone stay well.

INDY, I've had scares like that.......I call it thundering hooves /empty halters in my hand scare.  It has always been neighboring horses
in reality it's still a scare .  Glad you have today to have your own time.............

I hope everyone has a good day...........

You probably won't be seeing me for the next few days. Tomorrow morning, I will trade in my old worn out hip for a brand new one. It's been an increasing problem for the last couple of years. I am so hoping that this will help me get back to being more active, and more comfortable.
I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I am able to put two words together.

Good luck with the new hip ELLEN.  I'm beginning to think there is a sale going on for hips and knees.  I know a number of people who have or will be getting new joints this year.  Those that have already had the surgery have been very pleased with the results.

The family tale of woe continues.  Bill's son was working on a ladder yesterday boarding up the windows on the second story of Bill's house when the ladder fell.  He ended up with a broken ankle that he will have surgery on Thursday to repair.  I am so over 2020.

ELLEN:
I will be thinking happy thoughts for your brand new hip!!! Donnie likes his new knee, I am sure your new hip will be great!!


INDYAPP:
Yep, 2020 is not a good year. Poor guy, I hope he heals up fast.


We spent today loading 124 bales of hay into our hay building. The upper field looks nice. Now we have one more field to do and it looks to have more hay in it. Let's hope for some clear weather!!

Don't you just love that feeling of getting the hay in? Last year was a lousy year for hay around here and I actually ran out. I ended up going to the hay auction twice before my hay guy was able to get me any. I was fortunate and was able to get good hay for a decent price as the farmers were cleaning out their barns getting ready for the new hay. This year's hay is really nice and I already have my barn stuffed. I won't be running out of hay this winter.

Anyone have any insights how to go about finding a reputable real estate appraiser? I know you have to be licensed to be an appraiser, so I'm guessing there is some kind of oversight organization that tracks complaints and things like that, but I haven't been able to find it. I really don't want to throw a dart at the cyber yellow pages. I don't have any real estate contacts to ask.

INDYAPP:
 Sorry, I don't know a thing about real estate appraisers.  Good luck with that!!!  Are you moving or selling your partner's former house site?

It is a great feeling having hay in the barn.  I bought too much last year after we put up what we made, it was a poor year here, too.  So I am still using up last year's leftovers and getting ready to buy new stuff after we get that last field done.  I hate that feeling of not having enough and having to search in the spring for more.  It has happened too often in the past.  

It is a cloudy day here, but no rain so far.  We need some nice dry days to get that lower field done.  Donnie is fairly exhausted from all he did to get that hay done.  At 67 years of age, he is slowing down a bit, but doesn't want to admit it.  We will need to find some help with that lower field.  



Donnie yesterday loading hay into the new hay building.

ELLEN:
 Hope you are doing well this morning!  





Hope you feel better FAST!!!

Ellen, I sure hope you're coming out of the anesthesia well by now.  Please check in when you can........

((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))

That gazelle is a riot ARK.....................

I am HOME! I am doing pretty well, although I'm not supposed to put any weight on that leg. As long as I don't move it doesn't hurt. Percocet is doing it's job.
After nurses coming in my room several times during the night, I am ready to a good night's sleep in my own bed.
I was very well treated and the food was good. If I'd had to stay longer, it would have taken a forklift to get me up.
So far, it was a good experience. Now I just have to heal for 6 weeks or so.

I am HOME! I am doing pretty well, although I'm not supposed to put any weight on that leg. As long as I don't move it doesn't hurt. Percocet is doing it's job.
After nurses coming in my room several times during the night, I am ready to a good night's sleep in my own bed.
I was very well treated and the food was good. If I'd had to stay longer, it would have taken a forklift to get me up.
So far, it was a good experience. Now I just have to heal for 6 weeks or so.

Wooooooooooohooooooooo. You're home............You'll sleep sleep sleep tonight................