Elvis

Jan moved her horse Elvis home today.

Jan, Elvis and David

Elvis

Isn't he gorgeous?  He's a 5 year old Dutch Warmblood.  He's as sweet as he is beautiful, and he's a fantastic mover.  He settled right in to his new home.

Lakota and Zan

Jan's other horses were enjoying grazing too much to come say hello.  It was wonderful to see our old buddy Zan looking so well and content.  We miss him at Moondance.

I'm sure David was thinking "Hmmm.  Her back hurts too bad to do the barn chores, and too bad to do house work, yet here we are, welcoming Elvis home.  Hmmm."  He really is the best husband in the world.

My Stupid Back

My stupid back is out.  I was putting iodine on Reggie's soles, went to stand up, twisted a bit, and felt shooting pain.  Now I'm in bed with a hot pack.  It's just so-o-o frustrating.  I can do heavy work, but a little twisting action takes me out.  ARG!  Thank goodness for poor David, who now has to do all of his work plus my work, and has to take care of me.

I had started to worry about Reggie.  He has always been our "Iron Man" horse.  Where Paj is a delicate tropical flower, Reggie never gets hurt or sick.  And he likes to gallop.  So to see him sedately grazing gave me pause.  Was he starting to show his years?  Or was he just too busy enjoying the spring grass (which of course put thoughts of laminitis in my head) to romp?  About the time I started worrying, Boomer had a date with his farrier.  We asked him to check Reggie's feet, and it's "just" soft soles from all the snow.  So we painted his soles with iodine to toughen/dry them, and I hurt my stupid back!  I clean feet twice a day, so my stupid back should be used to it!  Stupid back!  Bad!  Oh, my poor "to do" list!

It's Blowing a Gale

It's not a good day to be in Colorado.  We are having high winds for the third day in a row.  The state is under high wind warnings, tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, hail warnings, fire danger, and freeze warnings for tonight.  Really.  Here, it's just wind with a drop to 33 degrees tonight.  I have the horses closed in the barn to protect their eyes.  I'm sitting in the house, listening to it howl.  I told myself that it's a perfect day to do indoor work, but it isn't happening.  It's too fascinating watching the shingles blow off the shed.

We made a temporary fix until it's safe to get on the roof.

So to cheer myself up, here's a prairie flower from yesterday -

Ground-plum

 Astragalus crassicarpus

To quote from "Wildflowers of Red Rocks Park", "the round, fleshy fruit is around 1 inch in diameter and turns from green to reddish as it matures.  The Lakota and Montana Indians ate the fruit and the Chippewa used a compound decoction of the root as a stimulant."  Let's hope the horses don't eat the roots!

Chuck

Our neighbor Chuck is an amazing rider.  His chosen riding discipline is the National Reined Cow Horse Association competitions. 

Chuck and Boss Man

One of the pleasures of living here is watching Chuck ride.  In a western saddle and riding cross country, he executes half-passes, tempi changes and canter pirouettes with the greatest of ease.

Chuck is a retired jockey.  He was the leading rider at Pimlico, Laurel and Bowie for four years.  He set a record that stood for 33 years at Laurel by winning 7 races in one day.  He rode in the Preakness and the Derby.  And he rode the great horse Foolish Pleasure.

Best of all, he's a great guy and a truly good neighbor.

'Twas a Dark and Stormy Night

Photos from last night -

Yep, it Snowed Again

It's not so bad.  Really.  The forecast was for 18"-24", and we just have a good dusting.  Paj is stuck in his stall and run until it dries out.  He's already bored.

Boomer is helping by entertaining him with some extreme grooming.

After I finished the morning chores, I took a walk down to Chuck and Elisa's.

Chuck and Elisa's Ranch

I spotted this little guy as I returned to the house.  The aspen have started to leaf out.

Spotted Towhee

Awakening

The weather is glorious.  I feel like I'm awakening from a long winter's nap.  There is so much to be done!  The boys spent their day grazing in the sunshine, interrupted only by lunch.

Boomer

Did somebody say Lunch?

I was mighty glad to spend my day working on the pastures.  Those prickly pears gotta go!

Weeding Ranch-Style

Here's today's prairie flower -

Chimingbells

Mertensia lanceolata

Prairie Flowers for Jan

Our friend Jan has gone back East for a bit.  Jan is a botanist, so I am sending her photos of the tiny prairie flowers I found blooming today.

Easter Daisy
Townsendia hookeri

Sand Lilly
Leucocrinum montanum

Pussy Toes
Antennaria rosea

This is a particularly poor photo, even for me.  But I am using it because it's of pink pussy toes, and I haven't seen pink pussy toes on our property before.  We have some large patches of the white ones, and I'm not sure I could find these pink ones again to take a better photo.

The next two Jan will have to identify for me.  I included my fingers for scale.  My, those are some knobby knuckles!

Wallflower

Erysimum capitatum

False Dandelion?

Jan, we are thinking of you and your family.  Your spotted horses and itsy bitsy dogs are fine.