Time in the Saddle is Always a Good Time

 Hennessey short ride

Sunday Lynn waited for me to go for an afternoon ride. Talk about spoiled: I dropped Ziva off at 8:00am and Lynn groomed her; I showed up at 1:15ish to find Jupes saddled, the trailer hooked up to the truck, and all our tack in the trailer (we've been keeping it in the tack room). All I had to do was load my boy up and get in the truck. :)

We went to Hennessey. I had hoped maybe the rain and sun had brought out the flowers, but I guess it's still a little early and cold. Well, cold through the night and early morning, because it was over 70 as we rode. The wind was just starting to kick up in the tops of trees when we started back.

Unfortunately, this good weather brings out the motorcycles, so we did not go down to the meadow where we could hear them. We went right on the upper road, down the trail, to the next road, and then up one of my favorite trails by the big pile of rocks with moss that leads to the granola bar meadow. Did you follow all that? lol

Silly Toby/Coby forgot he wasn't afraid of water puddles and started all over again with his jumping and attempts to go around. He did go through quite a few of them and seemed resigned to the ones that he had to slog through. Jupes is now 17 and I told him he had to lead by example. He was good. Of course he's fat, so we had to stop and breathe quite a bit. :) T/C has some hair on him and is itchy. He continually goes over cedar tree to scratch his belly (sometime even manzanita!).  I am trying to get a picture of him, but usually it is after I put away my camera. I guess I might have to try keeping where Lynn keeps hers! lol

The dogs had a good day and had plenty of water to drink. It is nice to see water flowing everywhere. I am so glad I got to get a ride in. Jupes' shoes are still like new! The trailer is off to be fixed on Tuesday; hopefully he will do a great job and quickly, too.

 

Shoeless and wet blankets

 

Katie is becoming a good trail dog. She stays with Ziva most of the time, but sometimes she is out front sniffing her way back home. She now has two rides' experience. She's gets a little nervous, but stays right with us.

We have been fortunate enough to get in a couple rides this month. Jupes is shoeless, but we have only gone a little way up Underwood. We don't want Katie to get over tired. Yesterday, we put boots on his front feet so we could go a little further so we could check on our old snag. It's got some new bends in it and looks dangerous, but still standing tall!

For years, Lynn tried to get Haley to put her feet on the stirrup to reach up for a treat or to get a burr off or whatever. She's trying to Katie to do the same. Katie is still a little leery of the horses, but when I wasn't paying attention yesterday, she put her front feet on my boot and stretched up for scratch under the chin (I didn't have a treat.) She even walked back a little and had her feet on Jupiter's belly. He just kind of looked back like "What are you doing?" but it was obvious he was fine with it. Lynn called her over to try to give her a treat, but there was a little bit of wood right there and she couldn't get close enough. So she tried to stand on top of Ziva, who was not going for it at all. But how smart! She's something.

Both Toby/Cobie and Jupes were pretty jumpy coming out. Jupiter did not want to be in the back where whatever it was could get him first. He kept stopping and looking over his shoulder. 

Best story of both days is silly T/C. He gets itchy! REALLY itchy. Last year, he started going over little cedar trees; sometimes he even would stand over them and rub his belly and privates. This year must be worse. Maybe it's the winter hair. Last week, he went over a dead, scratchy, pokey tree. It was probably six feet tall. That wasn't enough, so he went over a live tree that was over Lynn's head. He bent it over and let it run between his back legs. This week, he chose another big tree that I wasn't so sure would bend! It did, but his foot also slipped on a log and it looked like he might go down or lay down or I don't know what he was doing. Lynn was conflicted, "Do I get off? Do ride it out?" but all I heard was, "What are you doing?" Geez, Louise. He is a weird horse. Jupes just looks at him. You know he's has been his whole life avoiding that kind of thing! LOL.

Tired girls riding home.

When we got home, Barry had been there working the excavator. The clean up will take years, but he is getting started so Lynn can get a barn built.

This is the old oak tree by the back of the barn.

I am so glad we are riding. I have missed it. Last year, we barely got out at all. I really wish it would rain, but if it isn't going to then I'm happy to ride now, before we have fire season again.

Big day at The Place

 Today Ziva and I went up to The Place and she got a much needed haircut. Katie could not have been cuter. She put her front legs on the table and stretched up to touch noses with Ziva. Lynn says she get treats when she is on the table so she will equate haircuts as a good thing. 

This doesn't even begin to show what it looks like.

This is the trailer court.

Then we went for a hike on the hill. OMG. It is heart breaking, amazing, and leaves you speechless. The power and magnitude of all those trees falling. Imagining how afraid the horses had to have been. And finally, the devastation is overwhelming.

Katie did great. She went over logs, under logs, around big messy logs. :) She and Ziva played and played and kept up with us.

Then I stepped on rolly stick or slipped in the mud--whatever--anyway, I went down and kind of caught myself so I was on all fours, like a table, belly up. Katie crawled up on to my stomach and lay down like, "Oh good. Let's rest for awhile." LOL. Ziva, of course, was putting her face in mine and I was laughing too hard to get up. It was too funny.

It was a big day; the last two pictures say it all. Everyone at The Place is tired. 

Good-bye 2021

 Well, I always ask for a white Christmas and we got one. What a doozy. Lynn said she would never ask for snow again. It was super scary up at The Place. She sent me a text saying she didn't know if the horses were alive. She couldn't get to them. Trees were falling as she wrote  me that scary message. 

Finally about 9am--three hours past their breakfast time, she and Lee made their way past the oak tree on top of the hay barn and up to the fence line. Lo and behold! Jupiter and Cobie were in the field! We still don't know how they got there--I said, surely the two fattest could not jump the fence; there must be a tree that pushed the fence down for them. Anyway, they got separated from the rest of the herd.

Thankfully, the others were close by and okay. They were all whinnying for each other and scared to death. Lynn and Lee cut the fence where they were trapped. They were all high-headed and wildly circling around. Lynn finally got Star to put his head down and got him underneath the phone line that is hanging about 5 feet off the ground. As soon as he got through and started on a run down the hill to the Jupes and Cobie, the other two put their heads down and ran right past Lynn to join them. Lynn said then she and Lee ran right behind. They could hear trees going down as they ran.

This is the little barn. Lynn fed all the alfalfa that Nancy left from summer. Good hot food for cold horses! 

That barn used to be how tall? 20 feet?

The beams were twisted and pulled off the pillars. Some of the concrete blocks the pillars were attached to in the back were shifted forward about a foot.

This is the front of the barn. The hay is firmly wedged in. We are expecting rain and wind this week. Although I didn't take a picture, Lynn is feeding from the back of the barn where the roof is a little higher.

 This is so scary looking up close. The horse trailer was parked about where the four wheeler is. The roof landed on the back end of it.

I didn't take any more pictures of the general damage. It is horrific. Thankfully no one's house was damaged and everyone is healthy and safe. The horse trailer has some damage, but hopefully a trip to Oregon will fix it.  We cancelled the vet appointment for shots and we won't be riding anytime soon. We will be calling Adam to take their shoes off. :( We spent a lot of money for one ride. Dang it. That's two sets of shoes we have not gotten to use.

Lynn and Lee measured off the size of the new building they want to get. All the trees around the area have to be cut down before they consider buying one and getting it up. The good news is it will be dry for the hay once it's in place--no more tarps! The bad news is its expensive and we might lose the hay we already have. There is grass on the field so the boys are eating, but they won't be going up on the hill for possibly years. That's how bad it is. This storm is going to be expensive in so many ways. But again! They horses are alive and both Lynn and her mom still have their houses.

I finally got power back after only six days. We were told it would three weeks, so it was a blessing. We were told no water for a week; but that didn't come to pass either. So although my house and property are a mess, we are all fine, too. Mom and Gene stayed with me for about eight days. 

Another storm is predicted. We had wind last night. Lots of rain is expected this week. It will definitely complicate things. I pray for the PG&E guys who work such long and difficult hours. I sure appreciate them. 

I am so glad to see the end of 2021! It was a year of tears and hardship. My personal bright spot was retirement and that has helped me with the hard stuff. The new year, 2022, has started. I hope it will be truly a NEW year full of better things: health, love, joy, and RIDING.

A Fall Sunday Afternoon

Lynn and I got to go ride after church today. Some nimrod left a recliner at our trailhead with a free sign on it. It also had an empty jar of peanut butter and a spoon. I took Jupes over to check it out so it wouldn't be scary when we went by it. He thought maybe he should lick the spoon. I said, no way! We don't want any cooties.

There was a guy with his motorcycle who was nice and said he would go up to the ridge so we could have the ranch to ourselves. Yay! We took the same trails that Alisa and Lynn got to ride last weekend. It was pretty cool and slippery, but we all did fine. Well, except that Cobie shied big time at a deer that was running from us. BIG TIME. I laughed. It's fun to see what they look like instead how they feel. :) lol

I like the trail that we created back to the road through the trees when we come out. It was a nice ride and although it got cold on us, it was worth every minute.

 

Maybe the third time IS the charm. Maybe it's the company you keep.

As I opened up my Blogger, I saw I had started a post on July 24. I think that is when everything blew up and we started dealing with fire. So although we rode quite bit before that, we did not ride again until last weekend. Lynn took Cobie out on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed herself. He let her get on, he went through mud puddles, and he seemed comfortable alone--no whinnying. He got a little nervous on the last two trails toward home and thought maybe something was out there; all of which could have been true since it's hunting season and we have seen fairly fresh bear scat.

Sunday, I got to join her. Jupes was a total pill. It was work to get him to go. He threw little fits all along the way and finally, coming down the last steep trail, I walked. He really wanted to let  me know he was unhappy. We had chosen to ride early. Lynn said, "Let's go at 6:30." Well, it was dark! So we waited until 7:00, but it was still too early for Jupiter; I think it was because he left his breakfast in the feeder and knew it would be gone when he got home. He took most of the joy out of riding, but like I told Lynn: a bad day riding is still a good day.

This weekend, on Saturday, we waited to go until 9:00. The boys were standing in the sun having finished their breakfast, so I was hoping Jupes would be better. We rode our new exploration area. I don't think I wrote about it before. I really like the boonie crashing trails that we "found" in July. Lynn remembers them from a long time ago and there are some obvious trails in addition to the tree-scraping, bush-slapping ways we worked our way over. It opens out and leads down to someone's farm, but the road is pretty nice and makes a fun loop that the motorcycle riders have not yet explored. It dumps us out above the turtle pond.

We looked for a way to get down to the pond from the road. There is a definite seepage and there was good grass and lots of ferns. It was a pretty spot. We got fairly far, but had to turn around and come back up to the road because it is simply too steep to navigate. Jupiter had been being pretty good, but once we got up on the road it was all about trotting for him. We trotted everywhere for the rest of the ride. Trotting is better than having to fight him to go, but it is wearying because I can't relax the reins or he will speed up. Who's in charge? Hmm.

The turtle pond is low, but still has water in it. Both dogs got in it and had mud caked up to their elbows. When I washed Ziva's feet, there were little balls of mud caked up under her toes. As you can imagine, my tub was a mess!

Coming out was a quick ride. Unfortunately, when we went down the steep part that I mostly walked the weekend before, both Cobie and Jupes acted up. Twisty necks and bowed up. We are wondering if there were bees maybe? Anyway, we got through it. When we got to the "get off spot," I told Lynn, Jupiter and I are going to the meadow. So we trotted up the road, trotted around the bush, and trotted back through the path to the road. He stopped a few times for me to get off, but I told him, I'd get off when I was ready. :) 

Lynn's Relive video

Yesterday, Lynn said, "Let's go after church and leave the dogs home." So it was about 1:30 when we unloaded. We rode the Hennessey Ranch. It was so peaceful and nice. The colors were gorgeous and we found that a fire break had been cut through part of our trail, so it was wide and clear. Lynn rode Ziggy. She wants to make sure he is in good riding shape and attitude for Cathy when she comes over. The difference in Jupiter was amazing. He was relaxed and didn't balk, didn't trot unless he was asked, and my ride was simply joyous. Now was it because his partner was with him? He didn't have to be the big, brave boy? He likes to be with his calm friend Zigs and that young whippersnapper, Cobie, is wound a little tight, too. I don't know, but it was nice. 

Funny story of the day: we went looking for apples. We found one pear and two apples on one side of the creek. Then we went down to a tree where we had found them later in the season before and wa-la! There were apples. Lynn rode Zigs under the low branches and into the bear cover of black berry bushes to pick about eight apples. She tossed them out onto the meadow. Then we let them eat. Zigs picked up an apple and bit it in two. The other half dropped to the ground next to a big piece of poop. Not cow poop. Not horse poop. Something like dog poop--maybe coyote? Anyway, he sniffed the poop all along the its length. Nope. Not eating that apple. I said, "I bet Jupes will." We went over. Sniff, sniff, sniff all along the poop's length. Nope. Not eating that apple. :)

It had been breezy up in the tree tops all the ride, but it was really starting to kick up as we headed down the road to the trailer. We were almost to the end of the blacktop when Lynn was commenting that she was glad we weren't up on Widowmaker Ridge right then. Suddenly a branch from one of the trees fell right down the side of Jupiter to the ground. It didn't touch him and he didn't even flinch! If he had jumped, he would have knocked me under Zigs' feet or possibly worse--tangled me up in his. I think living on the hill helps all of them to be more immune to stuff like that. Thankfully it did not hit either of us and our Sunday ride was perfect from start to finish.

I'm glad to be back in the saddle again and out about on our trails.

One Bear, Two Deer, and Squirrels Everywhere!

Memorial Day weekend--whoop! Whoop! Summer is almost here.

Saturday we drove to Little Happy Camp; we will have to cut trees again. Sheesh. We saw a big bear on the way, which made it a great way to start the day. Lynn rode big Zigs again and we went up to the ridge and down and around. It was so nice. We sat on the picnic tables and had granola bars and came home. It was a short ride, but fun. 

Relive Ridgetop 

Sunday, we rode Hennessey again. So far, so good--we can see signs of the motorcycles, but they have not been out there when we are there. Yes, they have ruined many of our trails and it's beyond sad, but we are creating new ones and trying to go places they cannot. We only rode to the turtle pond and back because Ziggy's injuries were bothering him. But like I always tell Lynn, it truly does not matter to me how long we ride--just that we get to do it. Jupiter has become such a good partner; I love being with him. Being in the mountains with Lynn and Ziva and Haley on horseback is as good as it gets.

The big event of the day were the flowers!!! It was a carpet of irises. Millions. It was like no other day. The pictures do not do it justice. We were in awe.