Next Up: Riding with Rachel

 

Rachel and Lynn's first outing. Rachel is riding Jackson and brought her dog Derby.

Big Zigs' First Ride 2025

Once a "fancy mule" always a "fancy mule." LOL,  Unfortunately, we never get pics when he's wild!

 I paid to have shoes put on Zigs.   He has not been ridden in a year.  Thought I better get him out.   He comes and I halter him.    Tie him up, go get the pickup to hookup.   Figured I'd go make a turn around the ranch.   Zigs was all alone.   Poor baby.   He lost his brain.    He did 5 miles before I even got him saddled.    He went back and forth, leaping into the air.   Whinny for his buds.    I had the saddle on him for a moment.   Then I grabbed the latigo as it was going over the other side.   I got it to the ground and he of course went right over it.   I got the saddle moved, picked up the saddle pad.    Looked at him like you moron.   This went on for 30 minutes or so.   I just looked at him.  On the plus side, he looked good being stupid.    I thought he was getting worse.  I put a rope halter on top of the other halter, which is not small enough.   

I was tired just watching him.    I thought he'll wear himself out.    Nope.   I had an idea.   I'll go get one of the others and tie up beside him.  That way maybe he can find his brain again.   It's getting late now.   But I am riding him.    Tied Toby next to him, saddled him and loaded him up.   Took TC back to the field.  All the while Zigs is wearing a hole in the trailer.  Wishing I was riding TC.    

I drive up Hennessey to ride the ranch.   I leave the halter on.   I walk him up the road to get on.   I'm on!  Oops, Alisa stirrups.   Get back off.  Fix them.   I walk up the trail to a rock to get back on.    We go back down to the road and across down into the ranch.    

We are going along, everything is fine.   Then I hear something.   Stop.   Listen.  Coyotes!    I keep going.  Kate is listening.   I told her to stay close.   Not sure how much she knows, but she never went further than 10-15 feet from me.  A digger squirrel even crossed in front of her, like right in front of her.   She turned to me, I said no, stay with me.   She was listening to the coyotes.   She sensed it was dangerous.   Her tail was tucked most of the time they were howling.    We had a good ride.   We saw 2 deer in the meadow, that's rare.   I thought maybe because the coyotes are close.   A few coveys of quail, lots of young ones.     We went out the steep west side past the old homeless camp and down our trail.   He was perfect.   I got off and as we got close to the pickup he started looking for buddies, he whinnied for them.   I said you idiot, you came alone.    Boy was he sweating.    

All in all it was a good ride.   No more to the ranch, until it rains.   The star thistle is horrible and has bad grasses.   

Zigs and Lynn

Smoothin' it out

 After all the bee incidents, we needed a ride that was smooth and stress-free, so went up Underwood. It was a little weedy and overgrown, but a great ride. We did it backwards and honestly, did a lot of ground watching here, too. We have only encountered bees here twice ever and I always really pay attention in those two places, but it's been a long while. It was a fun ride and we did the extra loop portion on the end. It was a good day and I think all our nerves were soothed.

Next time we rode around the ranch. We went through the deep mud and trickling creek and although he hesitated, TC powered through. He has grown so much in confidence and trust. Lynn and Shirley always say, "Pretty is as pretty does." Well, he is a pretty boy who looks good doing it. :)

We saw the cows and were happy to see that there was a young one. They gave us a wide berth and we laughed to see how you can't tell it was ever weedeated! Sheesh! Blackberries will eventually cover the whole world!

We got new shoes last weekend and already rode some of the shine off. :) We loaded up some bee spray and hiked up the spot where Jupes first got into them. Dang cowboy boots are slick and not made for that kind of walkin'! I think I went up one step only to slide back to where I started at least four times. Lynn sprayed one spot that looked ominous, but we did not see them. It's been so hot that we know from experience the bees are active and mean--another good reason to go out early. We spent a lot of the ride looking for bees and we agreed that some of the joy is tarnished with ground watching vigilance and ear straining for overhead buzzing. But any day a horseback is a good day, so no complaining.

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!