MARCH 2021

Welcome to March!  It has come in rainy here, but should improve as the day goes on.  Hopefully this counts as 'coming in like a lion' so that later in the month it will go out like a lamb...


The cartoon above is to inspire me to get on my horse more often.  

Oh boy, that's a good one, ARK..............it's so true.

TRUDY, your gang looks great...............and, of course, Ace looks so handsome.

I'll return this afternoon to report in............

Meanwhile, have a great day everyone............

Great cartoon picture, Ark. I like the donkeys in the header too.

Today, I went to Ft. Wayne to Sam's Club to get some of the supplies I buy in bulk. Met Friend Sherry there, and then went to McAlister's for a long lunch. We ate and visited for 3 hours. We finally decided they were going to make us pay rent if we stayed any longer.

There is something wrong with the lake today. There are big patches where it is blue and moving, instead of white and not moving. Spring is doing it's best to break through.

Just checking in again as I said I would.  Nothing new here, just blabbered all day with friends.
We mostly talked horse shows as the Arabian Show was in Scottsdale as usual without spectators,
just contenders.  The quarter horse show is as usual with spectators and is swamped with people, contestants,
and people madly driving golf carts everywhere. Ranch riding is the big hit this year and the youth classes went off
this week end.  There are a lot of vendors and some of the gals shopped til they dropped. I wasn't there so have nothing
else to report.  I will know winners as the week closes, but, I'm out of it now, so am not current on the "buzz".

Hope everyone had a good day.

Donnie and I got our first Covid 19 vaccine shot today!! Hurray! It was an interesting process, well set up. It was kind of like going to Disney World with lines that wrapped around corners so one couldn't actually see how long the line was, but the line moved along quickly and the prize, while not a fun park ride, was a shot to escape the pandemic. The people in line and those working there were all happy acting and it was a much more pleasant experience than it could have been. It took us about an hour from start until finish. Not bad! Next shot at the end of the month.

Most of my cousins have been vaccinated, so we ARE getting together for EASTER!!! Hooray!!!

It's a beautiful day in Indiana! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the snow is melted, the fence is fixed and the horses can get back in the field they've been shut out of since the first of the year. This field runs along the side of the road. There were some girls out walking their dogs last night when I got home from work. One was a big Doberman and the other was a little yappy thing. Tiberius was up close to the road because he likes to check out walkers as sometimes they stop and give him a treat. The little dog started yapping. Tiberius took off running and bucking and farting. I don't know what was funnier. Tiberius goofing off, the girls laughter from the farts, or the little dog strutting like he had saved the girls from certain death. The doberman was just looking around trying to figure out what he had missed.

LOL. Animals are so funny and delightful to watch.............

INDYAPP:
 That is so cute!  I bet that little dog thinks he is hot stuff!  


ELLEN:
 That's so nice that your family is getting together!      My sisters and I are renting a cabin on Claytor Lake, along the New River, this coming August for a week.  It will be nice to see them, too.    Thanks for the animal pix you sent me, I will save some of them for posting here later!  

BEECH posted to me on FaceBook talking about her experience getting her vaccine shot.  She said it was actually fun and she realized it was because it had been a year since she had been around a bunch of people.   I think we have all been so isolated that we have realized how important it is to occasionally be around other people.  She wrote a good post.  Wish she would post it here!!  


We had good news today about Daisy and Areion!  The vet called today,  their blood tests came in and both have improved dramatically.  Daisy is actually in the normal range now for insulin resistance at 37 (it was 90 last fall), and doesn't have to lose any more weight.  She also does not have Cushings, which the vet thought might be a possibility.  Her feet are the best they have been in years.  Areion wasn't tested for Cushings.  Her I.R. is still a little high, but down from  200 to 50, normal is at 40 or below.   Areion still has to lose about 200 pounds, so she is on a stricter diet than Daisy.   I am not sure how I end up with horses who gain weight on air, but that's what we have.  Areion will be in a grazing muzzle for the little bit of time she goes out for pasture.   Our grass is already starting to grow a little.   Poor Areion.  Diets are so un-fun.  

It was pretty here today,  but very windy.  Donnie raked the arena for me and hopefully Ivan and Areion will be getting some exercise now.  Ivan and I are going on a trail ride next Tuesday!!

It's been a beautiful mid 40s day. But the lake ice is very slow to give up. Not quite half of the lake is open. The remaining ice is very very thin, and a big wind would probably tear it up and take it away.

The party kids across the street are here for the weekend. They don't seem to have too much consideration for the disturbance that their yelling causes. They have music on and I can hear the beat with their doors all closed and mine closed too. I can only imagine how it must sound in their house.

ELLEN:
Sounds like deaf people in the making. Sad they have so little consideration of their neighbors.


It has been in the 40s here, but the wind blowing has made it feel cooler. Sunny, though!

I met the new neighbors, briefly, yesterday. They seem quite nice. They have 2 quarterhorses that they are fencing a field for today. It will be interesting to see how Ivan reacts to horse neighbors. He doesn't like geldings on his property, but I don't know if these horses are male or female. Forgot to ask....

To my surprise, the kids quieted down early last evening and I didn't hear a thing from them.

Wow! What a nice day! The temperature got up to 65° and almost all the lake ice is gone. I saw somebody's paddle boat floating away. It must have been parked too close to the water.
Everybody was out and about on their golf carts.
My old flag was looking rather battle worn, so I took it to the American Legion for proper disposal, and bought a new one. It is now proudly flying from my pole down by the lake. Almost everybody has a flag near the water.

Interesting ELLEN, I just bought a flag also. Hence, I took ours to the Mormon church as they dispose of
them properly through American Legions. I think they look regal flying in the wind.

Today here was beautiful, too..........

Our local American Legion has two drop boxes where people can put their old flags.  It's very convenient to dispose of them properly.
I was going to repair my old one, but it was too badly damaged to fix.

Today is another super nice day. Warm enough to open one of the sliding doors for a while. The lake ice is all gone, and I saw the first boat of the year.

Where did everybody go? Did you all leave town and not tell me?

Oh brother. Last night I typed quite a long saga and never sent it.......so this AM when I discovered it,
it wouldn't go............the saga was about the rain we did not get, so that was a bust. Today is damp
and cloudy and yucky.

Nothing else new. We're trying to help with the local Easter egg hunt........we'll see.

ELLEN:
Didn't go far, but did take Ivan to Pandapas Pond Park on Tuesday and had a really nice ride. It was the first trail ride of the year and the weather was so nice. Ivan did good. We had six horses, only one a mare.
Then I spent two days so sore that every movement was a torture, !. I am finally able to move around without pain killers again. This makes five rides for the year, the rest in the arena.

Our new neighbors have a small field fenced in for their horses. I don't know when they will arrive, but soon I imagine. That field won't have grass very long. I suspect they will fence in another section next to our barn pasture, too. At least they have our fence as one side of their enclosure.


The time changes this weekend!! WooHoo! My favorite time of the year! I love the time between now and the summer solstice when the days get longer and longer.

It was 70 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday!! It felt like spring had sprung. It's in the 60s today. I can't believe the snowstorm coming for Colorado.....

Ark, my cousin and a friend are going to a guest ranch in Wyoming this summer.  I'm guessing both of them will be too sore to walk for a couple of days.  Cousin is going to try to find a place to ride before they go to try to avoid that.  
It's so good that you have a place to ride and people to ride with.  I am very envious.

We've had a rather nice week of weather.  Today isn't quite as warm, but still sunny and pretty.

Three of us are going out to dinner tonight at one of our favorite restaurants.  

A few hours later: The ribs were outstanding! There is plenty left for tomorrow. It was so nice to go to dinner and have time to visit.

ELLEN, you could join your cousin and friend, an adventure you would never forget.

I'm confused. America is in such a mess, who can count on anything?
Now we have 4200 kids without parents coming into America through the back door...............that's just Arizona.

Today as I was gazing out the window I saw a pretty palomino walk by.......of course, I immediately thought
it was mine.......I couldn't figure out how he got out. It wound up being a new horse from across
the street very similar to mine.............my heart was still racing when I figured it out. It took the neighbors and friends
about ten minutes to catch him after chasing him.

I'm falling asleep so best go for now.

Everyone haven and enjoy the life we live.........it's still the best in the world.

Graymare, while I would love to go along, I know that I wouldn't be able to keep up with them. I'd ride one day and then be so sore I wouldn't be able to move for the rest of the week. Besides, this is a trip for two horse-loving good friends to enjoy a long time friendship without husbands or kids.

We had SNOW, yes snow, yesterday. It is just barely enough to say snow but it's still here this morning. Later today it should warm up enough to melt if off.

ELLEN:
I'd love to do one of those dude ranches some time.  I would definitely ride at home as much as I could before going to the ranch.   It would be terrible to be so sore and miserable from the second day on.  It takes me three days to recover from saddle soreness after not riding much for awhile.  That would be most of the vacation..

I briefly rode Ivan, Areion and Daisy a couple of days ago.  It's the first time I have been on Areion since I broke my leg dismounting her two years ago, and the first time on Daisy in at least 3 years.  Last time on Daisy, she tripped, face-planted, and threw me half way across the arena.  Luckily I wasn't hurt, but it did slow down my urge to ride her for awhile.  She is doing so well lately that I thought I'd give her another try.  She was great!  Areion was, too.  Ivan was good, too.  

 

Then this evening I rode Ivan a little longer in the arena.  It was such a nice afternoon and he was in a mellow mood.

 

This makes nine rides I have for the 2021 100 ride challenge I entered. Each horse is a different ride on one day.

Good for you, Ark! Riding three of them will definitely make those rides add up quickly.