Last weekend we rode both days again. Mary Ann and Goldie came both days. Saturday was uneventful and fun. Goldie prefers to ride in the back and having Jupiter back there made her nervous, so back to the front for us. That makes Jupiter happy and Ziggy happy because he wants to be by his girlfriend. He rolls his eyes at her, but he has gotten back to normal and letting his tongue hang and stopping to pee. If she's going be his girlfriend, then she needs to accept him the way his is!
Gary says Goldie watches for us to drive up to the trail-head and then looks for the horses when she gets home. She likes being with them. :)
Sunday started out rough with Shirley upset and yelling at us about our dogs having no manners. She left her threats dangling and unfinished, but it won't be good if one of them hurts Happy. From now on, we are to put them in the pickup or keep them in the house until Happy can get into the truck safely. It set the tone for the ride. :(
Coming up the road, right before the dumping/shooting area, Ziva was on the little hill and I called her to come with me since I was in the front of everyone. It still makes me a little nervous that she might get kicked by Goldie. Well, she is a good girl, so she bailed off the hill and came up the road to me. I heard a little commotion and then Lynn cried, "Oh my gosh! She's off!"
The mule, and thus the horses near her, all shied when Ziva jumped down on to the road. Somehow, Mary Ann went over sideways on her mule--her stirrup was left on the saddle. Maybe mules aren't as smooth when they shy--Heaven knows we've all been through some big shies. Anyway, that road is hard-packed! Mary Ann said she was sore, but she climbed right back on and away we went.
We went to the turtle pond and down and around. I have decided that bears are my best friends--there are lot of diggy holes that look like they could be ground bee nests. All around the mountain, our trails are torn up and scratched up. We have decided that the bears are taking care of our potential bee problems. We have had a lone dive bomber pester us for long stretches, but no problems with bees in the ground. Yay! I hope the bears are enjoying them, because I am happy, happy for them. :)
Overall, it was another good ride and a new trail for Mary Ann to experience. This weekend, Lynn got to take off Friday and head over to Quincy Thursday night. She and Alisa and Alisa's friend are out and about having a great time, making wet blankets in eastern CA. Next weekend is Labor Day and Alisa's birthday. She is coming here and we are going to explore our new Gray's Falls trails with her. I can hardly wait.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Monday, August 15, 2016
BEAR!
Sunday, Lynn and I rode alone on Underwood. First, we pulled out or kicked out star thistle. Both of us thought of the weedeater about the same time. We made a plan to go back one evening (when it's not so dang hot) and eradicate it from our parking spot. Anyway, we spent some time pulling weeds before getting the horses out.
There was a big, fresh pile of bear scat right by the trailer. It was obvious, somebody had been eating the berries right there. Luckily, we both managed to avoid stepping it while we were getting the horses ready to ride.
It was a good ride. We rode along looking for bear, but not seeing any. We actually didn't see any wild animals. Both dogs stayed pretty close and came when called--a positive. The horses behaved and there were bees flying around, but we did not see any ground nests. We trotted and had a pretty good pace most of the day. On the last leg of the trail, Lynn said she wanted a picture of the pond. It was full of cattails and whatnot. So instead of turning we rode along it toward the south side.
Right when Lynn stopped near the water's edge, I heard a deep, warning growl. It brought me up quick as Jupes was stepping through some down branches--I wasn't sure what I was hearing. Lynn said something about how unusual it was, but at the time I didn't realize it was Haley. She was far enough ahead of me that I thought it came from the thick underbrush. I just knew that it wasn't the sound of Jupiter's feet on the wood. The next time I heard it, it was a definite growl. I still didn't realize it was Haley, but I said, "I think we should get out of here." So we both turned the horses back toward the trail and rode back to the trailer without incident. We trotted and swooped around the trail--it was fun. (Alisa picture the spot where Keota always lopes so prettily.)
Walking down the dirt road back to the trailer, Lynn told me that it had been Haley growling. She said, "Haley doesn't do that." So we decided it probably had been a bear having a snooze in the brush by the pond. After brushing the boys, but they were still tied to the trailer, I started brushing Ziva, I love Underwood, but dang! the burrs are awful! I was near the trailer tire, when Ziggy whirled around, eyes and ears pointed out toward the brush to the east. Jupes followed suit. I looked at both of them--high alert. So I thought, I probably shouldn't be down near their feet brushing my dog. I called her to come over to the road and I continued to brush her. Haley was near us.
Suddenly a big bear stuck his head and shoulders out onto the road about 50 feet from us. Haley saw him instantly and took off running, with Ziva hot on her tail. I yelled, "Bear!" and starting hollering for the dogs to come back. Lynn came flying over, but the bear had already retreated back into the brush he was coming from. Both dogs stopped and looked at the spot (maybe they could still see him) and then ran back to us. Yay!!! Both horses remained on high alert, looking at the area where the bear was headed--maybe there was more than one? Yay, I got to see a bear--well, half of it, anyway--AND, most importantly, everyone was safe.
Another perfect day ahorseback!
There was a big, fresh pile of bear scat right by the trailer. It was obvious, somebody had been eating the berries right there. Luckily, we both managed to avoid stepping it while we were getting the horses ready to ride.
It was a good ride. We rode along looking for bear, but not seeing any. We actually didn't see any wild animals. Both dogs stayed pretty close and came when called--a positive. The horses behaved and there were bees flying around, but we did not see any ground nests. We trotted and had a pretty good pace most of the day. On the last leg of the trail, Lynn said she wanted a picture of the pond. It was full of cattails and whatnot. So instead of turning we rode along it toward the south side.
Right when Lynn stopped near the water's edge, I heard a deep, warning growl. It brought me up quick as Jupes was stepping through some down branches--I wasn't sure what I was hearing. Lynn said something about how unusual it was, but at the time I didn't realize it was Haley. She was far enough ahead of me that I thought it came from the thick underbrush. I just knew that it wasn't the sound of Jupiter's feet on the wood. The next time I heard it, it was a definite growl. I still didn't realize it was Haley, but I said, "I think we should get out of here." So we both turned the horses back toward the trail and rode back to the trailer without incident. We trotted and swooped around the trail--it was fun. (Alisa picture the spot where Keota always lopes so prettily.)
Walking down the dirt road back to the trailer, Lynn told me that it had been Haley growling. She said, "Haley doesn't do that." So we decided it probably had been a bear having a snooze in the brush by the pond. After brushing the boys, but they were still tied to the trailer, I started brushing Ziva, I love Underwood, but dang! the burrs are awful! I was near the trailer tire, when Ziggy whirled around, eyes and ears pointed out toward the brush to the east. Jupes followed suit. I looked at both of them--high alert. So I thought, I probably shouldn't be down near their feet brushing my dog. I called her to come over to the road and I continued to brush her. Haley was near us.
Suddenly a big bear stuck his head and shoulders out onto the road about 50 feet from us. Haley saw him instantly and took off running, with Ziva hot on her tail. I yelled, "Bear!" and starting hollering for the dogs to come back. Lynn came flying over, but the bear had already retreated back into the brush he was coming from. Both dogs stopped and looked at the spot (maybe they could still see him) and then ran back to us. Yay!!! Both horses remained on high alert, looking at the area where the bear was headed--maybe there was more than one? Yay, I got to see a bear--well, half of it, anyway--AND, most importantly, everyone was safe.
Another perfect day ahorseback!
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Hobbit's Wild Ride
Wowza! It's been three weeks since we've ridden. Lynn has had lots of unfortunate and blessed events that kept her from having "wind in her helmet." But today we were ON. We rode Hennessey backwards. No not backwards on our horses, the trails, silly. First thing we noticed is that a lot of our regular trails have new down fall and many hanging branches that used to be up and out of our way. I don't how Shirley stays so clean and unscathed, but Lynn and I had branches across the face, cedar down our shirts, and Lynn's shirt got hung up on a branch and ripped two holes in it! At the regular granola stop she had to shake the tree detritus out of her helmet.
Jupiter led most of the first part of the loop and he was on high alert today. The first scary thing was my helmet got scraped by some branches and he coiled up and sprung out away from the sound. Next I scraped my boot on a tree--again, he coiled up and sprung away. Then there was a big, gray bush. I think it's been there all along, but remember, we were going the opposite direction. He whipped around and told Star, "You go first old man." He was willing to go up and sniff it once Star walked by it.
It was an overall great ride. Although Lynn said more than once, "Geez, this is Hobbit's Wild Ride!" It took me probably an hour to realize why it sounded it familiar: there's a children's book called The Wind in Willow and it has a chapter called "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." (And there's a Disneyland ride by the same name! That's probably how crazy our ride was today.) We even had a jack rabbit! It stopped and looked at us then took off again. Thankfully, Haley did not catch it and all the dogs came running back without incident!
Looking forward to tomorrow. . .
The end of a great ride: no bees, happy dogs, wet blankets.
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