Friday's Fences~horse ranch~092713

I love the little wooden fence in the front of the ranch and the old wagon there.  I try to take photos of it at different times of the year.  I took all these photos last weekend.  Look how green everything is.  Ah....but autumn is upon us and the maple will soon be red and the sycamores will be brown!  Friday's Fences for September 27, 2013.   To visit Friday's Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Random 5 Friday

Well, it's almost Friday (almost TGIF!), and I found this on Facebook, so I decided to join in the fun!

5 random facts for Random 5 Friday:  (To visit Random 5 Friday, please go to:  http://networkedblogs.com/PuCo0)

#1.  My black lab, Ripley, is now 6 years old.  I just got her birthday card from the vet's office!  :-)

#2.  Quad and Sunni are both 9 years old and next January 1st, they will be 10 years old.  Gosh, WHERE did the time go?  I got Sunni as a goofy 2 year old.  He's still goofy, but he has matured somewhat.  Quad?  He's just GOOFY!

#3.  I found a neat group on Facebook:  First Settlements in the Americas.  It's FASCINATING!  As a history major, I love this kind of stuff!

Here's the link:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/301783323296595/306876206120640/?notif_t=group_activity

I have a de Welles (Welles) ancestor who was one of the first colonial governors of Connecticut:  Thomas Welles, who was governor in 1658.

#4.  My old, white male cat, Loki, likes to share the dog's meal bowl.  He and our German Shepherd, Lady, share meals together.  Well, he eats whatever is in her bowl first.  She patiently waits for him to finish!  I'll have to nab a photo before he dies.  He's now 17 years old...(the cat, not the dog!)  Lady is only 7...

#5.  We have school on Monday, but a teacher inservice day (NO KIDS!) on Tuesday.  Heck, that's almost a day off!

Now, go out and enjoy your weekend!

~~Cheryl Ann~~
Photo shows Lady on the couch of one of the cabins up in Idyllwild last November.

Scout and Maia

Maia is my trainer and she comes once a week, during the week, to work the herd.  She ALWAYS starts with Scout because, well, frankly, if she doesn't, Scout has a FIT!  She's impossible to work with if she isn't first.  She awaits her time in the arena and her training sessions.  I tell you, these two have a serious love-fest!

Fall has arrived! :-)

I found this cottonwood tree, along with others, up in Anza last weekend.  And, there are signs of autumn down here in the desert, too.  The nights are getting cooler...it was 65 here last night.  And, we have days in the mid-80's this week.  No more 100+ days, THANK GOODNESS!  And, coming home yesterday afternoon, there was a breeze and leaves were blowing down the street...always a sign of autumn!

Busy weekend

I called up my trainer and asked if she could come over to the horse ranch on Saturday, since she usually comes on Tuesdays.  She was able to switch a couple things around on her schedule and out she came!  I also wanted to ride Lucille, so we were able to work that in, also.  It was a beautiful fall day...the wind was a slight breeze and leaves were blowing.  NONE of the horses spooked!  Their ground manners are very good now, I must say!  And, Sunni is now standing quietly (but nervously) at the tie rack.  He has broken two halters while tied and we are SLOWLY easing him back to being comfortable there....It is a LONG, SLOW process with lots of pats and nice words.  He still has a wary eye and doesn't cock his leg...I don't know WHAT is his problem!!! ???

I took more pics of the hummingbirds up at the ranch, since there are so many of them.  It was nice to have a pleasant, cool morning up there!

Scout and Maia

I tell you, these two really like each other!  That's my trainer, Maia, with Scout, who now waits in her corral to be let out and then quietly walks to the arena, and then quietly waits for the command to go.  Quite a different gal than she was.  We both think she has matured.

Lil' hummers

The ranch has 4 different hummingbird feeders and last weekend, ALL of them were full of hummingbirds!  They were diving and darting everywhere.  According to the ranch owner, some of them stay year round.  The babies stay and then some leave the next year and this year there were a LOT of babies!  I always walk over to their porch to see the lil hummers.  They are so cute!  Here are some pics of them...I could watch them for hours, but then I wouldn't get my horse chores done!

Ranch fence~Friday's Fences~092013

A view of the ranch fence last weekend.  I'm going up tomorrow for the horses' lesson.  More pics after that.
To visit Friday's Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Our temperatures have dropped about 8 degrees and are expected to drop over the weekend even more!  WHOOPIE!

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Apparently there is NOTHING like a good roll, as Sunni and Lucille show you from their time in the arena yesterday (not together)...separated!   :-)

Thunderheads~SkyWatch Friday~091312

Often when I'm up at the horse ranch, I'll glance up at the sky to the east.  I have to return home that way and if there is a mountain downpour, the road can be dangerous.  There have been many rock slides on it recently from all the rain.  So, when I saw thunderheads building up last weekend, I knew it was time to GIT HOME!  These are photos of some of them...SkyWatch Friday for September 13, 2013.  To visit SWF, please go to:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Messy Quad!

What a messy eater!  He and Sunni (my two geldings) are THE MESSIEST EATERS!  The girls are much neater!  :-)

Want to see how I spent my Sunday morning?

Yup.  The herd was completely OUT of pellets.  Good thing I checked.  They get these every day (a scoop) while Mr. Ranch Owner cleans out their stalls and another scoop every Tuesday when my trainer, Maia, comes over to the ranch to give them their weekly lesson.  This will last about a month...not the birdseed!  That's for the birds at home.  :-)

Heads~Sunday Stills Challenge~090813

Scout and my trainer, Maia, Quad, Lucille, Gigondas

and shy Sunni!  Sunday Stills Challenge for September 8, 2013.

Farmers market and I bought a VITAMIX

Yesterday, for the first time, I went to the Palm Springs certified organic farmers' market.  What a treat!  Flowers, produce, honey, soap, dates, sprouts, bread...It was amazing!  There were a lot of older people there with their bags, enjoying all the fresh and pesticide-free produce!  There will be one here in Palm Desert starting in October, but it is on a Wednesday morning!~ SAY WHAT?  I won't be able to make it there...sigh...There's also one in La Quinta starting in October on Sunday morning, so I might drive down to that one.  I bought a shot of fresh wheatgrass, some sunflower sprouts, and a bar of goat milk (vanilla).  Our daughter drove us and she bought fresh basil, some honey, and a couple of other items.  She sliced some tomatoes for dinner last night, put a slice of mozarella cheese on the tomatoes, and a basil leaf, and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar.  YUMMO!  (and a pinch of salt and pepper)...Anyway, here are a few pics from the farmers' market.

More thunderstorms!

Well, I made it through the week!  :-)  And, today, our daughter is going with me to the Palm Springs certified organic farmers' market!  I CAN'T WAIT!  AND...I am going to buy my Vitamix today.  Remember those classes I attended over the summer?  Well, I got an extra paycheck for attending and I'm going to use it to buy the Vitamix at COSTCO.  YES!  Hope, aren't you proud of me?  I can't wait to make my OWN green smoothies!  I'm hoping that they will help my immune system.

It rained again yesterday afternoon as I was driving home from school and I took these photos.  We have had thunderstorms and rain now for 4 straight days and the desert and washes and mountains are all saturated.  The washes are constantly full of runoff water, especially from the big fire burn area.  The water is black from all the ash.  Ugh.  Not a pretty sight.  The clouds are pretty, but the humidity is...OYE VEI!  And, thunderstorms are scheduled until next Wednesday, EVERY DAY!!!

COPD

I've been down & out ALL weekend and yesterday.  I'm going to straggle into school today and see how it goes.  The kids go home an hour early today (thank goodness).  Apparently the change in weather DOES aggravate COPD (chronic bronchitis) and that's what happened to me.  I have a huge, rolling cough down in my upper chest (NOT pneumonia...yet!) and I knew something was happening last Wednesday when I got a sore throat.  Oh, boy!  I've spent 4 days resting and not going out.  Wish me luck!

Backs of Things~Sunday Stills Challenge~090103

Yup...that's Gigo on top and that's Lucille on the bottom.  See how different they are?  Gigo is always running.  Lucille is very calm and laid back.  Guess which one I ride?  HA~not Gigo!  Sunday Stills Challenge for September 1, 2013.   To visit SSC, please go to:   http://sundaystills.wordpress.com/