Desert Horses

Welcome to my horse blog, Desert Horses. We live in the desert southwest, near Palm Springs, CA, but board our horses up in our local mountains where it is cooler in the summer. I have 4 horses, all rescues. Here is the ranch up the mountains where the horses stay.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Still here!!!

 We are still here, although we both seem to be moving slower these days.   Hubby pretty much stays indoors most days and watches the news and baseball.   I stay in and work on journals.   I did get outdoors in July and start my porch side garden, then we all got hit with watering restrictions, so half of my plants died.   I AM recycling kitchen sink water and even shower water, however, so the rest of the plants are struggling to stay alive.   Everything pretty much dies in August each year.   I did buy some vegetable seeds which I want to put into containers this fall and crops are exempt from water restrictions.

The birds are happy here and we have 3 feral cats who come into the yard, mostly to check out the gopher holes and leap up into the air to try to catch a bird (they don't...).   The gophers out front are pretty much OUT OF CONTROL.   I gave up for about a month and just let them run and dig wildly, but now I'm back on them.

Speaking of gopher holes, I looked out back 2 days ago and...a  big, fat GROUND SQUIRREL was sitting up next to its hole, surveying the back yard.   Now, Bodie, our dog, has caught 3 gophers, but I'd never seen this VARMIT before.   I absolutely HATE ground squirrels.   The horse ranch is full of them and their holes are EVERYWHERE!   So, I'm going to borrow a trap from the ranch owner and hopefully catch this one.   And, this is in spite of the fact that Bodie goes out back about 4x a day and I've even seen one of the feral cats in the #RIGGING  back yard!!!!!   THIS MEANS WAR!

We joined our daughter and her family over Memorial Day, up in Idyllwild.   Hubby, Bodie, and I had a small cabin and they had the big one 2 doors down.   The grandkids had a blast.   We haven't gone anywhere else (just too expensive), but they've gone up to Crestline a couple of times, and Arrowbear.   We are ALL staying home over Labor Day.

Our monsoon season this year is a real dud.   We got some sprinkles ONCE.  But, we haven't had days of 120+ ALL SUMMER!   Yippie!   And, it doesn't look like we will this month either.   In fact, next weekend, it is supposed to be "down" to 99 degrees here!   YAY!   Double digits!

Horses are all find except for Gigondas.   We think she has Cushings.   We all brush and brush her and she's still full of hair.   I'm going to have my vet look at her in September when all needs their shots and I'll have to make a decision about her at that time.   She's had a good, pampered life. While I would miss her, I DO NOT want her to suffer or be uncomfortable.   

So, that's all for now...just taking one day at a time.   The arthritis in my knees is so bad some days I can barely walk.   Getting up to the horse ranch is difficult, too, because of my lack of energy.   Hubby and I are pretty sure we both had COVID back in February of 2020, before it was widely known or suspected, and our energy levels since then haven't been the same.   We also BOTH suffer from brain fog some days.

Take care of yourself!

~Cheryl Ann~


Sunday, May 15, 2022

Summer's COMIN' !!!

 Still here.   Summer's heat is coming.   All my plants and flowers are really struggling this year, due to the heat and drought.   Fortunately I did not plant a garden.   My hollyhocks came back on their own and I've just been watering them enough to maintain them.  I have very few sunflowers.   We had horrible winds in March which almost took out all the hollyhocks.   We also have fewer birds this year, but my resident hummingbird population seems to be stable, at about 5.  I go out now and clean and refill their feeders almost every day.

Gigondas seems to have developed Cushings.   She is a shaggy wooly beast now.   I went up Saturday, brushed her, and her hair just came out in clumps.   I'm going back Tuesday and brush her again.   I'm also picking up some supplements for her.   I always wanted a big, chestnut thoroughbred mare and she is my dream.   The ranch owner says she'll be fine as long as she isn't in pain, which she isn't.   She kicked up her heels in her corral Saturday and nickered to me and even nuzzled me!   Gosh, it's only taken 18 years to get to this point!   She wasn't real fond of people when she first came to me, but she has learned that humans give treats and rubs.

Grandkids are growing.   I pick them up a couple of days after school each week and we spend one afternoon here at our house.  Their school year is soon coming to an end.

Just a few random photos.  I'm sewing tote bags, journal covers, and keeping busy.   I enjoy still being able to have some quiet mornings outdoors (so far) with my coffee.

Pretty Gigondas in 2016...
Anza got SNOW!
Our local mountains got snow in March...view from the Toro Peak webcams at 8,500 feet.