A Beautiful Day

Bob and Diana's drive day was simply beautiful.

I loved seeing the variety of horses and vehicles.

This big guy is a Clydesdale-Hackney cross.

He's one of four in Eric and Mary's 4 up.

This pretty mare is a Holsteiner-Morgan cross.

This mare is a Friesian with a tiny bit of Arabian blood.  Gere competes in marathon driving, and he likes a little Arabian in his horses for endurance.

Oeds is a more traditional Friesian.  Years ago I used to horse-sit him and his herd, so it was wonderful to see his handsome self again.

Oeds pulled this 1902 trap.  Sharp!

I like this lantern!  (oops, I'm not sure what this vehicle is)

(another oops - my camera and I missed a few horses and vehicles)

Diana and Boomer were stylin'!

Diana's lunch took the cake!

The End

The Class I Am Taking Is...

Beginning Spinning!  No, not the stationary bike type of spinning, but spinning wheel spinning!  It's something I've always wanted to do.  Class began with the eight of us dividing up a fleece.  We each took our fleece portion home and washed it.

We learned how to tease it and card it

and form it into rolags, as light as smoke.

Then it was time to spin.  We started on drop spindles (that wasn't pretty!), and now we're using spinning wheels.  My yarn has fat spots, thin spots, slubs and kinks, but I'm spinning!

Our group has a wide range of experience.  There's only two of us in Beginning Spinning that are ... beginners!  Everyone else has their own wheel, and one lady is in a guild.  The good thing about being a wheel-less beginner is that you get take a variety of wheels home and see which you like best.  I started on a Lendrum wheel, and now I'm using a Ladybug.  I have two more wheels to go, and lots more to learn.  I LOVE class!



Primping

Bob and Diana are hosting a driving day this weekend!  What fun!  We have started prepping their Clydesdale Boomer.  David has been taking him for drives, and I have been playing beauty shop.  I love playing beauty shop with horses.  Humans?  Forget about it! 

Diana is admiring Boomer's newly trimmed face.

But look at that fly-away mane!

Back to the beauty shop, Boomer.

There, that's better!

The big guy will get a bath Friday, and then he'll be ready.  I usually get to do the bathing because I enjoy it, but I have class Friday, so David and/or Bob will be doing the honors.  What class, you say?  Tune in next post and read all about it.  Hint - I love class, and (gasp) it has nothing to do with horses!

Ladyslipper

Our friends Diana and Bob have a new addition to their family!

Meet Ladyslipper, aka Lady.

Lady is a Borzoi pup.  Mickey was overjoyed to meet her,

and to see her big sisters again.

"Hannah, you are looking lovely"

"My Gossamer, I kiss you."

"Do not be sad, my Hannah.

I kiss you too."

"My little Lady, it's no use hiding behind your Mama's skirts pants,

I kiss you too!"

"Goodbye, my lovely Russian ladies.

Until next time..."

 

Pot of Gold

We had a bit of rain yesterday.  It didn't do anything to get us out of our extreme drought status, but it was most welcome.

I've seen this rainbow pattern before.  One end seems to be at a neighboring ranch, and the other end looks like it's at our barn.

Bad Bunny

Turkish Veronica before bunny -

So pretty.

After bunny -

Bad bunny.  Bad.

Horse Chatter

Hey Boomer, look at me!

I'm meeting Dennis!

He's a Vice Chancellor!

Oh yeah, Ben?

Well, I'm taking David and Terry for a drive.

Can I come?

No.

Hey, Boomer!

Hey, pretty Mia mare.  Dang, you lookin' good.

Thanks.  I sure love Kate and Mike, and all the good eats I get

since they rescued me.

Hey horses down the road.  I'm Boomer.

You scary.

Hey everybody.  I'm back.

Hey Boomer.  Did you have a good drive?

Yeah, it was fun.  You should try it sometime, Paj.

Na.  Looks like work.

Glorious Rain

We've had rain!  Two days in a row, our neighboring towns had heavy rain, and we had a few drops.  Then on the third day, we had rain for about half an hour.  The pastures are less crunchy.  Happy dance!  We even had enough rain to bring out a special visitor.  On the evening of our rain, I went down to the barn for bed check.  I left the porch light on, and when I walked back to the house, this spadefoot toad had come to the light to feast on the bugs the light drew.  I know toads and frogs are common, but in this arid country, it's rare to see one.

Spadefoot toads are pretty interesting.  See that long toe on the hind leg?  They use those toes to burrow backwards into the ground in a twisting motion, like putting out a cigarette.  They live underground, and only come to the surface when it rains.  Normally, they live up to 10 months of the year underground, but they've been recorded staying underground for all but 2 weeks.  Looks like ours had quite the feast on his visit.

Emergency Preparedness

Let's face it.  This state is a tinderbox.  We aren't in imminent danger, but we aren't going to feel safe until the snow flies.  The hall closet has become the emergency closet, stocked with prescription cat food, dog food and animal medications.  We can snatch and go.  While the CR102 fire burned, we hitched the trailer and packed it with water, hay and bedding.  We've decided to keep it hitched and packed throughout the summer.  We've practised loading with all the horses.


Walking onto the trailer on a lovely day is a far cry from loading in a tense situation, but we've tried to prepare.

Did you notice the blue box between the trailers?

It's a mounting block.

It's standing on it's side

so David can hop on Boomer

bareback!

But I digress.  Colorado is entering the monsoon season, so maybe we'll get some rain, and get that trailer unhitched!



Happy Birthday US of A!

Is there a better way to celebrate the nation's birthday than with a family trip to one of America's natural wonders?  I don't think so!  We started out at Bob's house (sister-in-law Pat's father), just blocks from the Waldo Canyon fire evacuation zone.

Brother Tom and sister-in-law Pat

Pat's father Bob is 98 years young

Tom took a picture of me as I took a picture of him!

Then we were off to one of my favorite places - Garden of the Gods.

I love this park because it's absolutely spectacular, and because people of all ages and fitness levels can enjoy it.  Want to drive through?  You can do that.  Want to take a leisurely stroll?  You can do that.  You can take a hike or rock climb too.

We opted for a leisurely stroll.

Many of the rock formations have names.

The one at skyline and just to the right of Pat's head is called

Kissing Camels.

  

Can you spot the rock climber?

Cathedral Valley

After our trip to the Garden of the Gods, we went to a local brew pub.  Pat's brother Mike joined us for an evening of stories and laughs.  What a fun day.

Blogger made me crazy today.  The pictures I really wanted to post showed up sideways!  So frustrating!  And spell check isn't working, and we all know I can't spell!  Grrrr.