Plumber coming today!

Not much going on here today. Yesterday it was just too darn hot to even venture outside from the air conditioning in the house! The humidity was incredible. I noticed it right away when I let the dogs out first thing in the morning. ACK! So, I stayed inside and watched the Food Channel most of the day! Oh, and hubby and I found that season 1 of Rome is now on HBO, so we watched the first two episodes. And, we had salmon dinner with our daughter and SIL. A plumber is coming today because we absolutely cannot get the cold water turned off in our shower! It leaks and leaks and I'm not talking about just a drip! Today the temps should drop down to about 111, from 114. Phew! And, "normal" temps of 108 by mid-week. I thought if I posted these pics from January, it would help cool me down!

Thunderheads

Tis the monsoon season. Our daughter was born on July 25 and believe me, July and August are our monsoon months. The thunderheads are beautiful to watch, but they can be dangerous. I took these photos on Wednesday and that afternoon, lightning started 3 fires down in Hemet, CA, which are still burning. We got some sprinkles in the desert (the rain evaporated before it hit the ground),but up in the mountains, the horses got a good soaking! More thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon, so I'll go up to the ranch early this morning!

The HEAT is here~NOW!

Well, yesterday it was 113 degrees here in the desert (actually, when I peeked at my thermometer on my porch, it was 116). I'm meeting a fellow blogger for coffee this morning, then I'll head up the mountain and work with Scout and Cali again. BRIEFLY, as a heat advisory is in effect for the desert. It is supposed to be 115 today and it is already 90 degrees. I ventured out into our garage a few minutes ago to look for a book that our son wanted and I nearly passed out!!!! This is the reason I don't board my horses down here in the desert. I decided it was easier for them to deal with the mountains' cold temps than the desert's heat. Some people actually have misters at their boarding places, but not everyone does. I know some people who have the big sprinklers and they move them and turn them on their horses in the afternoons. So, we "desert dwellers" run our errands early in the mornings and then hibernate all day! My dogs don't even want to go outside and the birds disappear mid-afternoon from my front yard! Apparently some tropical moisture is moving up from Arizona and Mexico this afternoon, so the mountains may get a thunderstorm or two. Here are some pics of Cali doing "stay". She is so good! It's hard for her to "stay" when Ms. Prissy is on the move, as you can see, but she did!

"STAY"!!!

I drove up to work with the horses this morning. It was HOT here in the desert today. I honestly don't even WANT to know how hot it was! I got up to the mountains early enough to work with the two mustangs Scout and Cali. I haltered Scout and we worked on "STAY"! and leading WITHOUT trampling over Mom! I tell you...Scout is the smartest horse that we have! She learns so quickly! She is getting better with "stay", as you can see from the pics. I decided to sling my camera over my neck (keeping my fingers crossed that she wouldn't take off!) and try to get some pics today. Here she is doing "stay". That's a hard command for her, as an alpha mare, because she constantly has to chase off Cali and then go chase off the two horses in the corral next to her, so I sent her around the corral until she did join up with me. From that point on, she did very well! I was even able to pick up her front two feet .... yeah!!! I went all over her body with the lead rope and she didn't even flinch. What a great little filly she is!

Quad closeup

Quad wanted to hang around me on my last visit and he pretty much just followed me around his corral. That's really a first. Most visits, he's pretty aloof. Yes, he tolerates me, but on this visit, he actually seemed to want some attention! So, he got groomed and got lots of talking and touching! And, he got some SWAT on his face. The flies, as you all know, are HORRIBLE this year! ACK! I put on an Avon sunscreen with bug repellant and got bit by a fly! Hmmmm..... I'll be driving up to the horses early this morning as it is supposed to be 112 degrees here in the desert today and 114 degrees by Friday. ACK! The humidity from the weekend is gone and it is dry here this morning, so it should be a good day to do "horse chores". I'd like to take him out for a bath as he insists on rolling in his manure pile!

Good visit with the horses today!

Home at last! Phew! We awoke to the desert awash with clouds and humidity this morning. We noticed that Los Angeles was covered with fog and clouds yesterday and that it seemed unusually cool. Turns out, yesterday was the lowest "high" in Los Angeles since 1928, a new record! And, as I drove up the hill to the horses, it was sprinkling in some places and there were downpours in others. By the time I finished up with my "horse chores", it was raining up in the mountains! I emptied and scrubbed the mustangs' water trough, swept off all the rubber mats for the horses, gave them their sweet feed, and let Sunni stretch his legs in the arena. First, I worked with him and went all over his body with the lead rope. He didn't even move an inch! GOOD BOY! And, I was able to put fly spray all over him. He is learning that not everything is going to eat him, especially with Mom around! Of course, he just wandered around the arena while I had my camera, so I put it back in the car, and then he took off and I was just too tired to walk back and get it! He is such a goofball! When he heard the klunk of Quad's feed dumping into his feeder, Sunni was ready to go back into his corral! There were downpours all over our mountains on the way back to the desert and it was nice to have some rain! It wasn't too hot here today as the clouds kept the hot sunlight at bay, so it was a pretty decent day! This is our typical July/August monsoon weather. Storms come up from Mexico into our valley and dump their moisture. Sometimes we even get a tropical storm and if that happens, we are all watchfull because the desert can only soak up so much water and then it floods.

Almost home! 5 hours to go!

This has been the LONGEST vacation that hubby and I have taken in years. Our usual vacation length is about 5 days. We've now been gone 11 days and we are 5 hours from home this morning. While I've enjoyed waking up to the fog of northern California, and it has been 112 down in the desert, I'm ready to be reunited with our cats, dogs, horses, and the blue jay who has settled in our neighborhood! This trip has been a good break from the desert and we got to see some new territory up in Medford, Oregon! Hubby is already planning our next two trips, both of which will be back to northern California and a lot shorter! Fortunately, a neighbor boy is feeding the animals and watering my newly-planted desert trees and our son is checking up on the house cats. But, I'm ready to return home and get back into our daily routine. And, I REALLY miss my horses! I'm ready to spend some time with them and start working with them again. Unfortunately, last night while we were unpacking the car, I somehow sprained my ring finger on my right hand and I can barely move it today! OUCH! I have tons of laundry to do and things to sort and put away, but it was a fun trip. Here are some pics from yesterday's visit to the wine country near Paso Robles, CA. Yes, those are WILD turkeys~a whole flock of them! And, a deer crossed the road right in front of us on our way back to the hotel.