It was great, until it wasn't

 

 Last Friday, Scott Pickering and I talked turtles. He had a three-legged turtle story. I said we try to sneak up on them at the turtle pond, but with the grass so tall and taking over the water, we haven't heard or seen one in long while. WELL! Today there was one in the grassy area 10' from the edge of the water. Neither the dogs nor the horses saw him. We couldn't tell which way he was headed, but we didn't mess with him/her. Go where you're going, turtle. Do what you're doing. It was awesome. That was the great part of the day. We left there with big smiles on our faces and sunshine in our hearts.

Five minutes later, things were not so fun. We headed up from the turtle pond and took a sideways, steep deer trail up to Indy's frog pond. Suddenly, Jupes was crow hopping like mad. Bees! Doggone it! I was trying to get his attention and get him to listen to me. I wanted him to run and get away from them. Instead he was trying to get them off him. I didn't see them or hear them. I was desperately trying to get his head up so we could get away from there. Lynn was up the hill a ways from me, but I could hear her yelling to get off. There was no way. One the landing was treacherous and full of downed limbs; two, tough to dismount when your legs are alternately wrapped around his belly or kicking to get him to move (forward, rather than up and down). I think I made the eight second ride. Anyway, he finally brought his head up to rub it against the tree directly in front of us (another reason why I was not considering getting off). I pulled for all I was worth and headed him up the hill. 

We ran toward where Lynn was just as Katie decided to come and help me. She ran toward us barking, but thankfully did not get close enough to get in the bees or kicked. Ziva missed them, too. When I slowed down near Lynn, she said, "Geez. You gotta get off up here." I looked down and my headstall was broken and only around Jupes' ears and neck. The rest of it was swinging free. I figure he broke it on the tree, but it could be why I could not get his head up--maybe I pulled so hard the leather ripped; it is old. Anyway, zero steering/head control.

I got off, pulled off a leather string I keep tied on my breast collar for emergencies or to tie something on with (like a my halter on a long ride, or my shirt on hot ride), and checked Jupiter while Lynn fixed my headstall. He let me just hold his head and rub and his ears. I checked all around, but there were no more bees on him. 

So this was the second time. Neither time did I see or hear any bees. This also isn't how he used to react to them. We have been in bees lots of times. We've both been stung. Usually I can get him to listen to me and run away. Both of these times he just stayed in place and crow hopped with his head down by his feet. So I asked Lynn whether she thought this was a new way of misbehaving or if there really were bees. She was stymied, too. I wasn't sure I saw any lumps or bumps that could have been stings. He's been so perfect that I although I am very diligent about watching, I think I just missed seeing the nests. 

Then we took off down the hill. I was in front and we turned to get off the excavator road to join our old trail. Jupes humped up again and started kicking out. I hurried and got him lined out and headed down the hill just as Lynn yelped and TC did some hopping. This time she not only saw a bee, it stung her on the cheek. I hollered for her to hurry up and get back on the excavated road with me. She's allergic. So she pulled out the liquid Benadryl from her pack and swigged some. She fished out some ice from her thermos and put it in a paper towel and road home holding it on her cheek. It was swollen and "twingy," she said, but no throat closing or scary reactions. Well that answered my bee/behavior question, I guess. 

We decided to just road ride down the hill, which makes for a boring and longer ride, but safe from active, hot bee nests. Our plan was to cut off once we reached the lower trail that we rode up without incident. But no Ziva. I'm calling and calling. Lynn said, "I'll bet she took the trail. She knows where she's going." I rode back up the road calling and whistling for her. I couldn't hear her "jingle-jangles." Lynn asked me if I just wanted to go ahead and ride down the trail. Not really. It's steep and if we hit bees, it will be disastrous (for me). lol When his head is on the ground, AND his butt is in the air, gravity will take over! Sheer will and legs like clamps are all that will keep me from being a projectile! And then where would he go? I don't want to think about it. But YES, let's go down the trail. 

Sure enough. There was Ziva looking at us like, "What? I'm right here." I did see one hole with bees circling it near the trail, but I moved Jupes out quickly and everyone was okay. We made it off the steep part without incident and then down the trail we had already ridden. Lynn's bite was swollen, but she was okay. 

Back at The Place, I gave Jupiter a thorough going over. Yep. Swollen patches where he got stung on the belly. Maybe a stinger hole on his nose. TC had a couple swollen places where he got it, too. Jupes did not do a good job of teaching TC how to run quickly away from them. Dang! Lynn said it seems too early for this many hot bee nests. But it has been the right kind of weather. . . 

We will have to plan for the bees next time, but once we were back in the truck we focused on the turtle joy. 

Out Early

 

This is the "Yellow Brick Road;" it's always golden through here.

The days are heating up again, so we were out and about not much after 6am. A local woman was supposed to meet us for a ride, but she overslept. Too bad! If you want to hang out with Lynn, you have to be an early bird. :) She sent Lynn pictures of her solo ride in the heat of the day--it looked like she ponies one and rides one and has two dogs. It turns out she's an endurance rider, so we would probably be too slow for her since other than running up a steep hill, we only trot in a few places. 

So off we went. We watched for that one lone bull that we've seen on trail since we found some fresh cow splats, but didn't see him or any of the others. Neither of the boys acted like something was out there, so, who knows. I think Jupes and I got into some bees--I never saw them, but he acted the way he does sometimes when we hit them. I finally got him to listen to me and we were able to move away from the site. Ziva was also rubbing at her face, so I checked her, but again no sign of bees. I even checked for snake bite on both of them. All was fine once we moved away from there. Of course it is the steep part just below the road where we join up below the top. There was a paper nest in a tree there last year, but we could skirt around it. We will carry some bee spray up there, but we'll have to ride the road around the corner to look for them instead of coming up the trail. Bummer. It was nice to cut off that road riding.

At the top, Lynn said she had an idea. Usually, that's a scary sentence that sometimes leads to a funny situation. Lol. This time it was just that, a good idea. We rode Cobweb Alley to Lynn's Trail, all the way to the Turtle Pond, and then out before it heated up too much. Cobweb Alley to Lynn's Trail

Along the way we ran into a guy and his dog out cutting wood and placing his game cameras up for deer season. He said he always gets a buck here. Hmm. We never see them, but he said he already saw one on his camera. It turns out he is Awok Skeeter's cousin. Seemed like a nice guy. He showed us a picture of his Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse. 

This week I have jury duty, so I don't know when I'll get to ride next. It's supposed to get really hot today and tomorrow and then cool off again. Fourth of July is Friday. Maybe next Saturday (or maybe I'll be dismissed from jury duty early!) we can go back up to Little Happy Camp and ride the other side.

This log used to be out in the pond; we used to see turtles jumping off into the water as we approached. now it is out of the water. The pond got really high this winter and the log moved, then the water receded. With all the grass, we can no longer see the pond water--only the black mud the dogs carry out with their feet! lol Sometimes we can see a bear wallow over on the south end.

There are still wildflowers blooming and the burrs and stickers are holding off a bit, so the dogs are happily tape free. We have to check for foxtails after each ride, but it hasn't felt like summer riding, yet. It's still spring on the mountain. :)

Pure Joy

Today we rode Little Happy Camp. On the way up, we saw our big bear again! This time we jumped out of the truck and watched him run down to Grove's Prairie Road, where he just sauntered along. He is huge and beautiful. Little Happy Camp 6/25/25

We also saw a big turkey hen with a bunch of babies and more deer than we could remember to count. lol Katie ran 20 miles to our almost seven. We saved the secondary loop back to the campground road for next time. Ziva does great, but she is turning 12 in a month and we don't want to overtire her. We're retired! We can come up again whenever we want! I just wish the road was better so one: it wouldn't take so long and two: it wouldn't be so stressful looking for dang pot holes. I am the official rock kicker, but I don't mind!

Unfortunately, we also saw the residue of the pot culture we are surrounded with. It makes me sick to my stomach! Lynn called the USFS, but since the WC office is permanently closed, will they drive out from Eureka and clean it up?

 

After we both grumbled and worried over it for a bit, thankfully we had lots of other things we could focus on: dogwoods still blooming, more lupine than I've seen in years, some kind of yellow flower we weren't sure of, bright orange columbine, the love of a good dog, and slobber of a good horse. :) I'm not sure life can get any better.

 

 
 

Juneuary, June Gloom, Just a June to Enjoy

Always on the hunt for wild flowers, but these might be my favorite. 

Well, I got behind! It's one month later and we have been pretty consistently riding every other day. What more could a girl ask for?! June's weather has been unpredictable, but we have stayed true to our summer hours of being on the road between 6:00 and 6:30, which gets us home around 10:00 before the heat hits. 

We've ridden up Underwood twice, once without the dogs and once we did the Pond's Loop and checked out all our old trails we haven't been on in awhile. I am happy to report that the wild duck houses are still up! On the day without the dogs, we saw a covey of baby quail. At first we thought it was a momma calling them and getting them to catch up with her, but I think it was too small for a momma--it must have been a teenaged babysitter because she seemed small. lol. They were so cute. We actually cut our ride a little short because not only was it cold, it was windy and neither of us like being out in the woods when the branches are creaking and pinecones are flying!  Underwood

June has been full of flowers; the show keeps on going. We have seen flowers we've never seen before and carpets of flowers that are usually pretty sparse. 

 Cool orchid/fungus flower! 

We rode Lynn's favorite trail backwards one day and on our way back down the hill, we scared up a grouse. He was pretty close to us and both horses were surprised and gave us some a pretty good shy action. That always makes me laugh. We rode Brushy Balls and there were lots of detours around down trees and the brush seemed even more thick than usual. We ended up on the skid road on the south side of the creek and had to make our way back across to the regular trail so the girls could get a drink. We did some much needed trimming on Cobweb Alley and we have ridden forwards and backwards. I have been bonked on the head with limb I did not see, adding to my neck pain; Jupes slipped and jarred my back in a way that was new and continues to be a little achy, but all worth it in the long run.

Next it was time to take the side by side out to Little Happy Camp to do some trimming and make sure the road was open. We wore our chinks to protect our legs from the spines on that awful tree. It was cold, so we had coats on as well. Crazy that it's the day after the Summer Solstice. :) 

I had my camera in my hands ready to catch a bear and we did! My pics aren't great, but I was snapping as fast as I could. He was beautiful and shiny and a big guy--probably 400 lbs. 

Look for the dark spec.

That's his big hinny going up the bank on the left.

I wish I would've got him running up the road. He was gorgeous.

We also saw a huge grouse--up close and personal. So fun.

It was a good day!

 

May Flowers

 May has been a beautiful month. Every time we go up any trail on the Hennessey, it seems like there are more irises than before. Carpets of them, clumps of them. Some have spaghetti flowers intermixed with them.  If purple is the first flower, irises are the longest blooming flower. I am watching for our tiger lilies, but so far the only orange we have seen are Columbine flowers. We are so blessed.

May 7: we backtracked looking for my bracelet. The time before was a crazy, boonie-crashing, good time, but I broke a lot of branches across my shoulders and head. Somewhere, I lost my little gold bracelet. With Lynn's hawk eyes, we will probably find it one day. Bracelet 1, Riders 0

May 8: the young mother from the trailer met us once we parked. She had news and wanted to give us the heads-up--coyote babies and parents yipping all night and very close to our trail to the ranch. We heard them as we got ready to head out. Not going that way! I worried a little about big Z for a mile or so. She is always behind and not as fast as she once was. 

We rode around on the other side and had a great time. I wanted to see the Turtle Pond; it was dried up enough to use the get-on rock. T/C is doing so well! He barely even gives mud, puddles, or little creek crossing a second thought. Amazing. Turtle Pond

May 10: Lynn said, let's ride my favorite trail. Or at least let's try and see how far we can get. It was clear and easily navigated. The top where she put a few sticks to mark a sort of fence, still had one upright marker and we scooted though the brush to the road. It was fun. Lynn's Trail

On the way up the east side, there is a bit of a mess where we by the road (near last year's bee nest). She wants to clean it up and grabbed a branch to break and yard off. Well, it was bigger than she realized (6' long and two hands around). She grabbed it and it fell on her head, leaving a pretty good hole in the screen of her helmet and giving her a headache and jammed her neck. Not good.

Later, we were crossing a downed tree and she decided to move the pieces of wood that the motorcyclists had put up to use as a ramp over it. Nope. Put back down. Scorpion! A big one.

May 20: Solo ride I had a dentist appointment, so Lynn, T/C, and KD went for ride up Hennessey by themselves. She said T/C did really well, but he wanted KD right in front of him for security. 

May 21: Clinkers! Pablo was supposed to put on new shoes last Saturday, but broke down. Jupes has been needing them and today I am surprised we made it all the way back without losing one. We took a short ride so I wouldn't have to walk too far back if he lost one (or two). lol Like I always say--it doesn't matter to me how long we ride, as long as we ride. 

Hobbit's House Trail (coming down the east side)* Now also known as the Live Oak Spur.     

April Rides

Roller Coaster Section  

Coming down from the top

Saturday, Apr 12:

We headed up the Hennessy and went to the turtle pond. It was amazing!! There are several new logs that fell into the pond and the water is way past the get on rock. Indy's frog pond is also full of water and boggy around the sides. The streams are running everywhere and the big puddles on the road toward Deadfall Ridge are huge. TC barely hesitates and went right through them. KD ran everywhere and Lynn said it was "shades of Hailee." :)

Wednesday, Apr 16:

We decided to try Cobweb Alley. All our trails are new adventures because we don't know if there are going to be trees down and or bushes to cut back, but we thought we’d try. I was concerned that it would be slick right by the spot where it is deep and I thought the creek would be rushing and the idea made me a little nervous. However, it was not bad and Jupes was super confident. Lynn had to get off and cut down a small tree that fell across the messy part of Cobweb Alley--but that is so normal for us. There were waterfalls, trillium, and purple and yellow flowers everywhere. Again TC just plowed through all the water and boggy spots.

Saturday, Apr 19:

Lynn asked me where I wanted to go, so I chose Gray’s Falls. It was dark and cool. I was wishing I had worn my chinks! There was a lot of fresh bear scat, but we did not hear or see him. We took the boys out before breakfast and on the way home I could hear Jupiter’s belly rumbling. 

Tuesday, Apr 22: We rode on the ranch. We did a lot of boonie bouncing and I have the bloody facial wounds to prove it! I think Jupes forgets I’m taller than he is and he just wanted to get through the trail where the tight branches touch him as quickly as possible. We had broken, snapping branches all around us. Crazy new thing: the blackberries have been weedeated (not completely, but a wide swath along the creek). We wondered why and who?

Thursday, Apr 24:Tired Horses

Cold! 45 degrees at my house, 41 at the trailhead and 46 when we finished our ride. Definitely chink weather and like knuckleheads, we did not put them on. Before we left The Place, Lynn said the horses ran and ran. They're out on the grass by snack bar full-time now. They were having fun--turning on the afterburners and didoing in the trees. When Lynn went to catch them, they were just standing there breathing hard, already sweating and spent. Jupiter must have thrown himself down and rolled; he was a mud mess! They looked at us like, “What? It’s Thursday--our day off!” We didn’t ride real long because they were tired!

April is ending this week. It’s been a fun month! Unfortunately, I am working at school these last few days and we are taking them to the vet for shots; then I am getting my new stove and finally, I have a meeting in LA, so my riding days are done until next week (hopefully Wednesday). We’ve had some April showers, so there should be some new May flowers!

Easy Eight

Tuesday, we met Cathy and Roany at Jelly’s Ferry. When I got to Lynn’s, she already had TC and Jupiter tied up to the trailer. Her plan was to take TC saddled already and then unsaddle him and brush him out over there. He seems to have a bit of a “cold back” and does better going saddled. Trying to brush him out would have taken too long and it wasn’t really light enough to see just how bad he really was. Lol

Jupes met me with pinned ears and a pushy attitude. I guess none of them found the breakfast hay. They were running around in circles. When they finally saw her and realized the hay was out, they settled a little. She grabbed TC and tied him up outside the gate. Jupes was HANGRY. He put himself around the side of the board by the gate and locked his legs. He was not, NOT, going. FORGET IT! Lynn got him out and he was not happy. Once it was time to put them in the trailer and he saw the hay bags, things got better. 

Once we got to Jelly’s Ferry, we all brushed out our muddy, hairy boys. I was a little worried about how Jupes was going to behave. This is one of his spots where he sometimes misbehaved.  We think it is probably the wide open spaces and he’s not used to it. Thankfully, he was great!

TC was a water warrior!! He did so well. He did jump over one little creek, but mostly he just powered through, even drinking some several times.

The trails were nice and no snakes were visible. Definitely an answer to prayers! We enjoyed a pleasant temperature and were able to wear tank tops. The grass was green and plentiful and Roany and Jupiter enjoyed snacking.  

Dusty, Kate, and Ziva had a great day. There was a lot of water to drink and some shade and easy trails. Dusty and Kate ran and ran. Ziva conserved her energy, but did really well. 

Jelly's Ferry Relive

These are the kind of days I hoped we'd have once we were both retired. It's the best! I am so glad we have Cathy and Dusty to join us. We are looking forward to riding much, much more.