February 2023

Yes, I did ELLEN...................on TV in my comfy chair, LOL. It was a good game for sure. I just didn't have
$6000 extra this year.............

That's the way I watched the game too, from my recliner sofa.  It was a good game.  I didn't have a favorite team so it was fun to watch two good teams go at it.
I was especially pleased to see Davan Hamlin able to be there along with the two teams of medical professionals who saved his life.

Glad you all enjoyed the SuperBowl! Neither Donnie nor I are football fans, so we didn't watch it. Sometimes I have tuned in to see the funny commercials, but didn't do that this year. What we did do was fun, though. It rained ALL DAY here on Sunday, so we binged on The Mandalorian on Disney+. We just subscribed to it and Hulu and have lots of things to watch. We watched 6 Mandalorian episodes! We felt decadent.

Today, after cleaning up the barn with two days worth of crapola in it, we hauled Daisy and Areion to Va Tech for trims. They were nicely behaved, although had rolled in the mud and looked embarrassingly dirty. So, of course, a very well turned out TB gelding came in who has never seen mud in his life. His owner, an older lady, was also very well turned out, but was nice. She said the TB was the son of a KY Derby winner whose name escaped her, but it sounded like Geronimo or something similar. Anyone know of that horse? Nice looking bay.

It was sunny and 50 degrees this afternoon. I think we got about 3 inches of rain yesterday, so our mud is lovely. People in the counties above us got snow, so I won't complain...too much. You can see the mountain tops to the north of us with snow on them.

It's gradually warming up around here.  The lake ice was almost gone last week, but a couple of cold nights and no wind and it was back.  As of today, the other lakes are mostly ice free but this one still has considerable ice on it.  That will probably go away in the next day or two.  We haven't had a lot of precipitation this winter, so I expect that spring will be wet.

Ark, go to Equibase, then horse search. I looked for Geronimo. There are some listed, but I'm not sure I found one that was of the right age. Some were bred in other countries.

Right back to you, Thunderpuff.

ARK, Awwwwwwwwwww, that's so cute..........HAPPY VALENTINES DAY to all.

AAAWWW, ThunderPuff is adorable.

Blech. (To quote Snoopy)  It snowed again last night.  Not much.  Just enough to say that winter isn't over yet.

We had a huge rainstorm here Tuesday to Wednesday.  No damage, just windy.  It's now sunny and about 60
degrees...............

There are all kinds of predictions where water will come from in the desert...............almost anyone you talk to
thinks they are an expert...........I admit, I'm not...................I do know it will become a serious problem
at some point.
We have just cut way down on water usuage.

"Experts" seem to appear from everywhere, most of whom know nothing. Anyone who can pronounce the key word becomes an expert.

Woohoo! Warm weather for a few days. I'm off to Florida to visit with my snowbird neighbors. I'm sure they will keep me busy.

ELLEN:
Have lots of fun in Florida!! Where are you going there? I watch an eagle nest in Fort Myers, partially to see the weather there in winter. It looks very nice right now. Breathe in some ocean air for me. I miss that.


The photo at the top is of an endurance ride held last weekend in central Florida. Looks nice there.


It's been on again, off again rain here for the past few days. At least it isn't too cold. Donnie has been learning how his new tractor string trimmer works and clearing off some fence lines.

The weather has been just perfect here in Florida.
Today my friends have planned for us to go to the Ocala Equestrian Center. It is a huge complex with facilities for all kinds of horse activities. I'll tell you more when we get back.
I'm having a wonderful time.

HAPPY. BIRTHDAY, ARK, and thank you for all you do for us.  Hope you have a great day............

Snow here in AZ.  Our day here will be nice.  I'm having a lunch day here with friends.............we're
celebrating our other friend's new born filly.  She's a lot younger than we are and can well deal with
a new baby ...........

Everyone have a good day.............    

Happy Birthday, Ark!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!

I'm home. Wish I was still there. It's cold here, and beautiful there.
On Wednesday, my friends did the nicest thing for me. They are not horse people but they know I am. We drove to the new Ocala Equestrian Center. Talk about a GORGEOUS facility. 4 HUGE show barns, a beautiful outdoor arena, lots of shopping and places to eat. There were some lower level jumpers showing while we were there. The weather was simply perfect, and we sat in the shaded stands to watch for a long time. They will be able to have all the top class events at that place, along with dog events, and probably concerts. There is also a spectacular hotel along one side of the outdoor arena. A person could sit in their hotel room and see the whole thing.
The whole place is only a short distance from the race track.
Definitely a world class facility. There will be a Grand Prix event tomorrow night and I'm going to try to stream it.

After eating some outstanding grouper, and other good food, it was a busy 5 days and couldn't have been better.
(I will definitely NOT be getting up early tomorrow. LOL)

Glad you're home and safe, ELLEN............

Thanks GRAYMARE and ELLEN:
I had a nice birthday. We had a late lunch at Macados, our favorite restaurant.


No snow here! It was 72 yesterday, but only 52 today. Tomorrow promises to be colder... There are daffodils starting to appear on south facing hillsides and I saw a pair of robins yesterday in our pasture. Spring is trying to get here.

ELLEN:
I like the Ocala area a lot. We stopped in at the equestrian center when it was just getting started and it was nice even then. I bought Zippy's snaffle bit at one of the very fancy tack shops in town. Back then, finding a bit to fit a mini-horse was not easy. I still have it.

I may have found a farm sitter for times we want to get away. I miss the teenagers we used to have, but they are all grown and have families now. The new farm sitter is coming for a meet and greet next Wednesday. Donnie and I haven't been anywhere in ages, mostly because of animal issues.... and a bit of pandemic stuff, of course. I hope this person works out!

Good grief, my computer is giving me fits, sorry. This is a test.........

Gray mare, it seems to be working. I see your post.

Thanks ELLEN.............

My it's been quiet here. My brother is once again in the hospital and has been for the past week. Between trips to the hospital, working and caring for the horses, there hasn't been time to do much else. He has a raging infection in his left arm that popped up literally over night. When I got to his house on Saturday morning to do his pills etc. he was having difficulty breathing and his hand was swelled up like a balloon. Called the ambulance immediately. He's been in the hospital ever since. It progressed to include his entire arm and has had 3 surgeries so far. Yesterday was the first day I could have a conversation with him that I felt confident he knew what I was talking about. While his arm is still very ugly to look at, it is much better than it was.

The horses are not happy with me because their feeding schedule has been messed with. Some nights they haven't been feed until 8:00, oh my. You would have thought they were starving. Yesterday we had a lot of rain and I locked them in their stalls for the morning. I came home at noon and let them out and you would have thought they had been locked way for days without food or water. What a bunch of drama queens.

Spring is not far off and I for one and really looking forward to it.

INDYAPP:
I am so sorry about your brother's health issues. Did they have any idea what caused the infection in his arm? Poor guy, if it's not one thing, it's another. I hope he gets better very soon.


It has been fairly springy here lately. We didn't get any of the snow storms, but have had a lot of rain all winter. There are daffodils blooming and the willow trees are greening. Our grass is growing and the horses are not happy being locked away from it more and more. Seems every spring Daisy has a laminitis attack, so this year we are trying to stay ahead of it. It increases our barn work, but hopefully will keep Daisy healthier. Areion is so fat, she doesn't need the grass time either. So far her feet are fine, but after years of dealing with laminitis, we hope to prevent it in her. She gains weight on air.

So while I look forward to spring, it sure gets complicated when it arrives.

Indy, that's really tough for your brother, and you who is taking care of him. I hope they can get it under control soon.

My neighbor had to have a heart valve replaced yesterday. All went well and he should be home today.

It rained ALLLLL day yesterday. The water level is up, but since there aren't many docks in the water, it won't hurt anything. I did see a pedal boat floating happily down the lake. People park them on the beach in the fall not thinking about the possibility of high water. It briefly stopped on a beach before continuing on its sail down the lake.

ELLEN:
 How is your neighbor doing with the heart valve?  I can't believe they send people home so soon after heart surgery.  Scary stuff!  I hope he is fine.  
 

INDYAPP:
 Is your brother feeling any better?  I sure hope so!  
 

GRAYMARE:
 How are your friends doing that just moved into the nursing home, the one who had the brain tumor.  I hope he is doing better, too.
 

             

March is here.  It has come in like a lamb, it is 62 degrees and not too windy.  Nice day.  Time to change the calendar, go to:
https://horsefriends.forumotion.com/t141-march-2023#14929