Scout's lesson Part 2

So, once Maia was done working Scout in the round pen, she took her down to the arena and that's where the 'tude showed up!  ...sigh...Scout is getting worked EVERY week and I see a lot of progress, however, she is still hard headed and stubborn!  See the 'tude?

Scout's lesson

Scout's lesson started out pretty well.  She didn't crowd the gate, she stood tied quietly, she did everything in the round pen.  However, at the far end of the arena, she'd had enough!  Here are some pics from the beginning of her lesson last Tuesday.

Bridgeport fences~Friday's Fences~062912

Another fence from near Bridgeport, CA.  Friday's Fences for June 29, 2012.  We always enjoy driving through Bridgeport.  We drove up to the Sierra Nevada one time in February for Presidents' Day (I had a 4 day weekend) and this entire valley was completely FULL of snow!  I got snow blindness!  It was amazing!  So, it was nice to see it green and full of water for the cattle.  To visit Friday's Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Tuesday lesson

I had a good day today with my trainer, Maia, and three of our horses~Scout (who gets an hour a week), then Cali and Gigondas.  Out of all the horses, Cali has made the most progress.  She WANTS to please people and she is very easy going.  She'll be my riding horse for sure!  She does what is asked of her and doesn't complain (unlike Scout, who can be ornery!).  Scout showed some 'tude yesterday and didn't want to lunge AT ALL in the far end of the arena.  So, she didn't get any treats.  Gigondas was fine and walks very nicely now.  She was the last horse that Maia worked with and by then, it was 11:00 and HOT, so Maia didn't do much with her.  I was, however, able to put a fly mask on Gigo and if you know her, you remember she has had head issues.  In fact, when I moved to shoo flies away from her eyes, she flinched.  But, I was able to get the fly mask on her.  I won't go up tomorrow because I have errands to run and food to buy (our fridge was empty when we got home after our trip to the Sierra Nevada)!

Bridgeport Barn~Barn Charm~062612

Horses outside a barn near Bridgeport, CA.  Barn Charm for 062612.  To visit Barn Charm, please go to:   http://bluffareadaily.blogspot.com/

Bridgeport and surrounding area (for Mikey)

We always enjoy driving into Bridgeport and we especially love to eat lunch at the Bridgeport Inn (see photos), but now we found a little meat market right across the street...Albert's.  He carries all kinds of meat, including venison.  He also makes the BEST sandwiches we've eaten on the trip!  We'll be back up to visit Albert's again.  Once hubby told him his stepfather had been a butcher, Albert warmed up to hubby and opened up!  I always enjoy looking at the cattle around Bridgeport, although even the young ones are already tagged.  It's such beautiful country!  We were up here in February a couple of years ago as I had a 4 day weekend for President's Day and the whole area was completely covered with snow.  I believe we both sufferered snow blindness!  But, on this trip and for this winter, the snowfall certainly didn't set any records.  The only snow we saw was way up on the higher elevations and there wasn't even much up there!  We returned to Bridgeport yesterday, bought sandwiches, and ate them at the cabin.  I promptly fell asleep and took a 2 hour nap (I have a NASTY cold!!!) We drove out to Mono Lake and the south tufa yesterday afternoon and today we leave for Lone Pine, and then home.  I'm going to miss the Sierra Nevada and I hope we can return later this summer!

Only in Bridgeport!  Interesting, eh?  Hubby found a little meat market that reminded him of his stepdad's butcher shop back in PA when he was a kid.  He bought a porterhouse steak there last night.  It was $34.00!!!!  But, I swear, it is the largest porterhouse I've ever seen!  I bought a turkey sandwich and it was the best turkey sandwich I've ever eaten! Sometimes the little shops are the best, right?  I took this photo in Bridgeport as we headed out of town to visit Twin Lakes there.  After that, we drove up the Sonora Pass (partway).

Mountain fencing~Friday's Fences~062212

Yesterday hubby and I took off for Yosemite National Park.  We spent the morning in the park and that afternoon we decided to drive up to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir.  The HH reservoir fulfills the water needs of the city of San Francisco.  Unfortunately, the dam completely ruined the second most beautiful valley in the Sierra Nevada, the Hetch Hetchy.  It was really sad to see it completely full of water.  John Muir vigorously fought the building of this dam, but after the earthquake of 1906, it was full steam ahead to develop it.  The park brochure has a photo from the 1890's of the Hetch Hetchy valley and it was very similiar to the valley in Yosemite~lush grass meadows with high granite cliffs.  The cliffs are still there, but the meadows are submerged now.  Anyway, on the road to the HH, we saw a couple of abandoned farms, including this one. Of course I had to stop and take photos of the fences!  Friday's Fences for June 22, 2012.  If you wish to visit Friday's Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Tuesday

Today was a good day.  It started out extremely windy.  And, I mean WINDY and COLD!  There were white caps on Silver Lake.  We drove down to Mammoth to do some grocery shopping and picked up stuff for lunch.  Ate at the cabin and watched the blue jays and squirrels fight over sunflower seeds.  The squirrel actually ran off the blue jays until he was outnumbered 4 to 1.  Then, he just gave up.  Drove back down to Mammoth tonight as there is no hair dryer in the cabin.  Took a ride out Pumice Mine Road and I spotted a deer by the edge of the road.  I did get a couple of photos of her.  Next we drove out to the Inyo Craters, but the road split and we couldn't figure out which way to go...Finally, we drove up to the high lakes above Mammoth~Horseshoe Lake, which is extremely low, Lake Mamie and Lake Marie.  Horseshoe Lake, in case you don't know, has signs all around it warning of extreme carbon dioxide levels.  You aren't supposed to stay in that area because of this, but there is a hiking trail which leads up to the Pacific Crest Trail and some horse trails.  It was windy up there, so we weren't too concerned.  But, the lake level is very low because of the low snowfall this year in the Sierra Nevada.  All photos taken at Horseshoe Lake, which is above Mammoth Lakes, CA.

My new BFF (or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5...)

Okay.  I drove into town and bought a bag of peanuts and a bag of sunflower seeds and sat back to watch the show on the railing of the porch right outside the kitchen window in our June Lake cabin.  Actually, this cabin is halfway between June Lake and Silver Lake, so it isn't near the water.  But, it's near the woods and I've seen a deer come out of the woods right onto the road here.  I went for a short hike yesterday afternoon and didn't see anything.  There's a guy with a dog right down the street and it ran out right in front of me onto the street as I was heading to the store...(shaking head...) He finally caught it and chained it up.  Anyway, I awoke at 5:30 this morning.  The blue jays were chattering, the squirrels were chattering...everybody wanted their breakfast!  So I dutifully put out peanuts and sunflower seeds.  One blue jay took a peanut, flew off, and came back with it, and traded it for another one!  I've never seen that before.  There are two squirrels who live in this territory.  They chase each other up a nearby pine tree and then the blue jays swoop in for the goodies!  (silly squirrels!)  The squirrels aren't the least bit afraid of people.  In fact, they seem to associate us with food (DUH!)...I haven't seen any hawks around here, but I'll look and listen for them.  So, here are my new friends.

Update from Bishop, CA

I'm so excited to announce that hubby and I saw several hikers off the Pacific Crest Trail today in both Lone Pine and Bishop, CA.  In fact, we were in the JC Penney in Bishop when a couple walked in and asked me if I knew the bus schedule in town.  I told the girl that I didn't, but she should ask the sales clerk.  Apparently they got the schedule and soon walked out the door.  I felt for them...they were hot, exhausted, the girl was carrying a liter of water.  We didn't have any water with us, or I would have given them some.  Another hiker was hitching a ride along 395, but we didn't have any room in our car!  Altogether, then today, we saw 6 hikers off the trail.  We are staying in a cabin near June Lake and the blue jays have already discovered the peanuts which I put out on the porch!  I'll post some photos as soon as I figure out how to upload them onto hubby's laptop!

Laptop

Well, my former laptop has been wiped clean, all photos removed to the hard drive, and it's on its way to Ben's mom.  She needs it for a statistics class she's taking and I have another one which needs a new cord ($9.99, BUT...we have to send it to Chicago to get it!).  I can't wait to get this other laptop, which was hubby's old one.  It has a 10 key keyboard on it, which will come in handy when I have to do grades next fall, AND it is PHOTOSHOP!  Whoo, whoo.  Frankly, I'm happy with BeFunky!  If you haven't gone to BeFunky, take a look.  I posted some examples on my other blog and you can see them here:  http://desertsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2012/04/befunky-photo-editing.html  On another note, I did a quick trip up the mountain to check on the horses yesterday.  All were fine.  It was windy up there and I didn't want to take any of them out.  I refilled their pellets, checked Cali's fly mask, and brushed out Sunni.  I left 2 gallons of water out for the Pacific Crest Trail hikers, and came home.  I took 2 two-hour naps as I let down from last year.  We're heading up to the Sierra Nevada on Monday for a few days, and I'll be posting along the way.

At the park

I need to get some photos posted on my blog this morning because hubby will be moving them all to our portable hard drive.  They tend to get lost on that thing!  So, anyway, one morning last week (the LAST week of school, whoo, whoo!) I went to the park early.  I saw lots of interesting things like a heron stalking 3 turtles.  It turns out, it was going after some fish in the water right next to them.  The Canadian goose with the broken wing is still at the park (she's recouperating) and I found an interesting duck with a cotton ball on its head.  It turns out, several of my students go to the park and feed the ducks, so I gave them a baggie of duck food.  One little third grader wants to be a vet and she loves the duck with the cotton ball!  Now that summer vacation is here, I hope I run into them at the park over the summer.

Can you identify all these peppers?

Good luck!  Here are the peppers which were at our daughter's party last weekend...a "pepper" party!  Oh, and that's their dog, Wilco, and the grandson having cool whip and strawberries!  :-)

Quad gets some R&R

Quad is really good about letting me know when he wants some R&R in the arena.  He'll come up behind me and nicker softly and nuzzle me.  Then I know he wants out.  So, Sunday I took him down to the arena.  He tried to bolt, but I held on and said, "NO!"  So, he stopped and looked at me and settled down.  Apparently he's also been doing this with my trainer...sigh...So, I lunged him and worked him for a while and then let him go.  Off he went!  I didn't do much other than just hang out with him.  3 more days of school and I'm DONE for the summer, although it's a short one, only 8 weeks.  Gosh, we used to return to school after Labor Day.  Not it's August 22nd!  We're heading up to the Sierras for a week, then back home, and the nights up there are in the low 30's!  It was 107 degrees here yesterday and today should be 109...ugh!  Summer's here...

Pepper party

Our daughter and SIL had a pepper party last night.  Everybody had to bring a dish with some sort of pepper in it.  Hubby went to COSTCO and spent 2 hours slicing and dicing celery, onions, peppers, and I don't know what else for his!  Some kind of "deconstructed" Greek salad.  Don't tell him, but it was AWFUL!  (...gag...) He put WAY too much dressing on it and it was kinda bland.  However, I did try some gnocchi with a pepper sauce which was delicious and brownies with peppers in them!  :-)  It was fun, but it got so loud that the hubs and I left about a couple of hours.  They have done this kind of theme dinner before.  One time it was a garlic party.  Ohhhhh....I would have liked that one!  Anyway, our mouths were on fire and I'd only had water to drink all night (designated driver), but hubby had a beer and 2 when he got home!  I'll be heading up to the horses today and I can't WAIT!

I'll Have Another is retired

Surprise, surprise~!  (...not!)...I'll Have Another is retired from racing...sigh...

Really, WHAT can I say?

40th wedding anniversary!!

Yes, can you believe it?  Today is our 40th wedding anniversary (it hasn't always been EASY!)...anyway, we're having dinner with our daughter and some friends.  I'll post pics tomorrow or next week...salmon, Bobby Flay chipolte sweet potatoes, German apple cake, and a salad.  Oh, and champagne!  We drove up the hill to buy horse pellets this morning and to check on the horses...all are fine.  Cali looks really good and shiny and sleek!  She does have to wear her fly mask already, as the flies really bother her.  Quad nuzzled me and squealed for his extra meal!  He's SUCH a big goofball!  I really enjoy him!

Two days of 114 degree temps!

We've had two days of 114 degree days here in the desert and it's been rough on all of us and our pets and animals.  I leave the hose on out front so that the birds can get a drink of water in the afternoons.  Believe me, they need it!  I immediately let the dogs inside in the afternoons and they appreciate it!  PE was cancelled at school in the afternoons, so everybody took the kiddos out in the morning, when it was only 100 degrees!  I understand that the last 2 days have tied the heat records for this time of year in Palm Springs...ugh!  That's not a record I'm proud of!  Today it is only 103 degrees and believe me, that's quite a difference! The birds are out eating and drinking but they aren't panting!  The dogs are asleep on the tile next to the front door, but I'm completely out of energy.  One teacher at my school went home with chest pains (either due to stress or dehydration)...I'm really NOT looking forward to this summer.  First, we have only 8 weeks off, then back to school.  Second, it has been a L-O-N-G school year with this group of kids and I'm exhausted, even after a 4 day weekend in Idyllwild last weekend.  I told hubby I'd drive him up there for breakfast tomorrow morning and he agreed.  Only two more weeks of school and then I'm DONE!