Here's your sign

Third time's a charm, right? Not if your name is Lynn. Once again she has bought WOMEN'S underwear. The first pair (above) are funny enough. She doesn't want her underwear to touch her. ??? Weird, I know. The second set were even more humongous. All of us could have fit in them and they wouldn't have "touched" us. She didn't let me take a picture of them. I told her--you are not as big as you think you are! For Pete's Sake! She asked Shirley, "Am I 'misses' or 'womens' sized?" We both told her NOT women's. She ordered her last ones from a big lady catalog. I almost bust a gut laughing when she showed them to me.

Nevertheless, she did it again. First Walmart. Second Roman's. Third Target. This time she says she is going to sew them: "Zip, zip, zip" she said. But are they as cute as these?
Good grief.

BBBs: Buckwheat, Bees, & Blood

Although this is not a great picture: this is Buckwheat. It really doesn't do him justice. He has good withers and seems tall next to Jupiter. (: He is 8-years-old and Lynn says he knows nothing. She is a good friend, so she brought him home last weekend and has been riding him all week for Toni. I went with them on Tuesday evening and he learned a lot about water and mud crossings. He spent some time learning about downhill with someone on his back (not his favorite). One night Lynn took him up on the "trailer court" and the two of them sweated off a few pounds. Not only was it hot, he was a nervous wreck and she couldn't stop until they had something positive to stop on!

Today we all went up the Hennessey. It was Toni's second time ever driving the truck and trailer and she did super--even with a flat tire on the way back home. Lynn rode Buckwheat and Toni has been riding Buster. Midway through our ride, the two of them switched and Toni spent some time with Buckwheat. He did really well all day. Buster doesn't really care about him and spent some of his time worrying where Jupes and Star were--he wanted to be with them. He went down the hill backwards because he knew Star and Jupiter were behind him on road and not on the trail (on accident no less--you can't let me and Shirley in the front, we'll miss the turn!). Anyway, Lynn had fun on Buster and got him all wound up on the way down. They jumped over logs and did some cutting and turning. Poor Zigs is feeling jealous and abandoned already, I hope Buster doesn't tell Ziggy how much Lynn said she liked him.

Once again, I was the cheap entertainment. On our way up the trail just past the torn up meadow on the back side, Jupiter began humping, twisting, bucking, and generally having a fit. As I was clamping down and pushing myself off his neck, I was yelling for him to "KNOCK IT OFF!" Finally it sunk in that Shirley and Lynn were yelling at me to "GET OFF!" because there were bees attacking Jupes. You know it's hard to get off when you've been trying so hard to stay on. But I managed to slide down him on the downhill side. I told him, "Come on!" and we took off running down the hill.

He got stung a few times, but I managed to get most of them off him. He has a couple of welts. I got stung on the ear and the belly. I also tore open my thumb on the buckles of the breast collar so I had blood everywhere, too. But we're fine. I think Jupiter was really tired of fighting the horse flies and bees that followed us down the road as we finished our ride--I know I was. He rolled as soon as we got home and then went for water. It was a tough day for the rookies today. (:

Riding at home can't be beat

We had a nice day today--we went up Underwood and tootled around. We rode on dirt roads, made our own trails through the brush and trees, found trails we liked from last time--just generally had a fun day. Shirley rode Buster, who I think does better each time he goes. He likes to trot and be up in the front. He goes everywhere she wants him to and even when he is a little nervous. It is obvious he likes her. He puts his head right next to her and looks at her with love in his eyes! (:

Ziggy really likes to be the lead horse when we are bushwacking. He likes that everyone follows him and I think it has given him a leg up in the ranks. He is confident and capable. Jupiter had a tantrum today and crow-hopped at least twice, maybe three times, and I did not go off. He is going to think his other name is DOG-GONE-IT!! I just wrapped my legs around him and pulled him up, yelling. He doesn't like to be in the back going uphill behind Buster. He likes to be behind Zigs. Well, I'm going to copy Lynn and say, "Get over it!" Do I really have to wait until he's nine years old before he'll behave?

Anyway, it was a cool July morning and we saw a deer and lots of flowers. No bears this weekend, but I kept my eyes peeled. No riding for me tomorrow or next Saturday, but I hope to back in the saddle on Sunday. I hope Jupes does not throw himself down and have a fit when the boys go without him.

A Two Bear Day

Usually I am the last one to arrive--everyone is up and at 'em before I get there. Lynn runs and catches everyone, sometimes has to saddle all of them, and then waits around for me and Shirley to show up and just ride. Not today! Lynn said 5:30, so I got up at 4:00 in an effort to be on time. I kept asking myself, did she mean ride at 5:30 or be there at 5:30? I got up and got everything together so I could get out of the house and hopefully split the difference--

There were no lights on in either house. No one seemed liked they were stirring. I walked up to the trailer and left my gear and grabbed the halters--still no Lynn in sight. I looked all around the barn area and in the pasture. Nope, no Lynn. Finally I walked down to the house and called in the back door window, "Lynn. Are you in there?" She finally answered me, she would be there in a minute. It's a day for the history books--I got up and out before Lynn! (:

Jupiter heard my voice and came to me. So I crawled under the fence and haltered him. I called to Ziggy, but he only looked at me. The only one besides Jupiter who was interested in me and talking back was Buster. (Well, that's not exactly true--Brady came and had a carrot and then of course, Indy did too.) By the time I got to the gate, Lynn was there. I passed off the other two halters and off she went to catch Star and Ziggy. Shirley showed up after everyone was saddled and called herself "the cow's tail." I was happy it wasn't me. As we walked to get into the truck, Lynn said, "I bet we see a bear today."

We had a great ride today--we went up the hill on the road, which took us down and around through the woods. On the other side of the mountain, as we were coming to the road crossing to go on down the trail, Lynn said, "What am I looking at it?" Then she got excited. "Oh! Look to your right, your left, oh over there!" as she pointed to our left."There's two bears--a cinnamon one and a black one!" Then she took off on Zigs to chase them. "They were just little," she said as we stopped on the road and turned back to go on down the trail. As we dropped on down a bit, suddenly they were there again. This time I got to see them, too. Only they weren't little after all. One of them was pretty big. Lynn chased them up the hill a little then she said, "Oh, okay, that's probably far enough," as the big momma gave her the impression maybe she wasn't too scared and was ready to turn back around and defend her baby.

It was fun to see them. We saw evidence of them by the pond as well. Lynn put her two hands together, heel to heel to show the size the bear's back paw. Yeah, she turned out to be bigger than anyone's first impression.

Happy also had an adventure. She didn't tell us about it, but she disappeared for quite awhile. We backtracked, calling her. She showed up, thankfully, and then dragged herself along with us. She was tired. None of us know when exactly she lost us, but I think she made the loop ahead of us and thus did it twice. No matter what, we were all happy to find her--Shirley even said she was about to cry when she spotted Happy on the trail ahead of her. "I just love that dog," she said. Well, she is a "good 'un" as they say.

Wet blankets and happy girls today: no one got thrown off; no one got lost; Zigs did what Lynn wanted him to do (chase a bear) even though the poop just ran out of him; Jupiter stood still and let me get us unstuck from a mess of downfall that ensnared us; Star behaved like the perfect horse. Another day in paradise!

She flies through the air. . .

well, not quite with the greatest of ease--at least if that means gracefully!

We came home from our camping trip (can we even call it camping?) and took a day off to do laundry and rest. On Saturday we went for a ride on our home turf: the Hoop-De-Do trail--everyone's favorite. It was a beautiful summer morning and I was late of course. I arrived at Lynn's to find all the horses saddled and ready to go. I was feeling a little off-kilter already.

We took off and as we started up the other side of the road, Jupes kept stopping and turning around. I thought maybe he had "to go" and was not comfortable. Lynn finally said to get off and we would move the saddle back off his shoulders more--a problem we had solved earlier this year. It seemed to fix it and we moved on to our granola snack place to hang out before turning around.

Coming back we rode at a good pace; there was jumping and trotting and little loping. Shirley was happy with Buster's pace, but "anyone can ride him" thus making him too boring for her. Anyway, coming up the meadow Jupiter was high as a kite. He wanted to move out. I am not sure if he is heading for the trailer as in "Woo hoo, we're done," or "Yay--we're having fun now!" Whatever the reason, Lynn called ahead and said let's go through the woods to our right and then come out on the meadow and off we went. I let Jupiter have his head a little (probably my mistake) and off we went on the trail.

When we came out onto the meadow, Ziggy was ahead of us doing his pretty, stretched-out, long-legged lope or trot. Jupes and I had done some loping/cantering kinds of riding this morning and we were in pretty good sync, so I let him pick up his pace. Ha! The next thing I knew, I was on the ground looking up at him. Shirley said he had bucked for the sheer joy of it. Well, I am happy someone was feeling some joy! Anyway, I guess I landed on my head; I think maybe on the side of it because my helmet came off and I feel a little torqued, but I am fine at any rate. I told Lee I was glad he had made us buy helmets! I am not sure really how it happened or what it all looked like, but Lynn said she saw me fly through the air above Jupiter. He must have stepped on his rein because it was broken. Maybe that is why he was just grazing right near me. Thank goodness he didn't run off.

As I write this, it is the first day of the work week following a holiday and a pleasant 10 day respite from work. I am mentally refreshed and ready for whatever work throws at me! Even from the ground looking up--any day ahorseback is a good day!

New trails, new adventures

Well, it's been a great week of horseback riding and hanging out with friends! First of all we traveled to the Cracker Jack Ranch and met two extremely nice and knowledgeable people, Lew and Jeanee. We hung out with their dogs and saw beautiful scenery. Lynn got to ride to a store and buy ice cream; the only part of her "I always wanted to do this" story that didn't measure up was that there was no hitchin' post. Thankfully, the owner understood her disappointment and said he would try to have one installed.

The OC & E trail is mind boggling; it stretches from beyond Sprague River to the east all the way into Klamath Falls. Unfortunately, riding on gravel roads works better for carriages than for stalwart trail riders like us. We rode all over the northern part of the area on mostly Forest Service land. We came across squatters who were growers (imagine, even in that arid, dusty place!) and we saw a big buck and lots of hawks. There were big and small holes everywhere in the soft dirt and Odie gave us quite a scare when he stepped in one. Both he and Alisa kept their heads and he came up out of it unhurt.

There was a lot of downfall due to beetle damage that killed trees that were then susceptible to lightning fires. It was good training for Jupiter since he does not like stepping over larger trees, but he didn't even hesitate. He and Ziggy did really well sharing a corral; Zigs is asserting his dominance over him, though, and moving up in rank. Star fell in love with CT, a liver-colored, near black mare that Jeanee rode. She defied all the mare stories with her sweet temperament and easy-going ways. When Ziggy came up next to her, Star bared his teeth and sent him right back. Jupes was just concerned that anyone might be prettier than him.

It rained the day that Alisa left so we spend the entire time in Klamath Falls shopping in consignment, thrift, and antique stores. The last store we went to was Shoe World where we innocently caused a rift between the women working there. Oh well, we didn't spend as much money as they had hoped after all!

Alisa had to leave a day early because she was so sick and we left a day early just because, but our vacation included lots of laughter, a new card game, lots of good food (even with very slow bar-b-que-ing), dust, baby birds for an alarm clock, and a dog who made it home amid much worry. Cabin camping makes everything easier--no fighting the bugs, good lighting, easy dishwashing, and generally less putting away and concern for bears getting into our danish! Not to mention the peace of mind knowing the horses were in a good place and safe. A good time was had by all!