Mules and Veggies

Eddie and Megan brought me veggies from their garden! How lucky can a mom get? I got these wild colored carrots along with Swiss Chard and garlic! Oh...YUM!

Today I blanched the carrots and froze some and put a variety of them in the little dehydrator along with another tomato and an apple. 

My thought is...I won't run the little dehydrator with just one tray of anything. I like dried apples while hiking so I chopped one up and tossed it in along with the tomato that needed to be processed. The carrots will become strange twisted colorful shapes as they dry.

I'll put some onions, carrots, tomatoes, and green beans together in a packet for dumping in a stew or soup later this fall or winter.

My morning was fun. I did the grocery thing at 7AM then chores, and this afternoon I'll be introducing my neighbor Olive to our mules. She is a master Chef and also a mom who works for MOSA with is an acronym for Midwest Organic Services Association. I think she can work from home. 

She and my ex neighbor Terri work together. 

Any...way.... 

Olive spent time cooking and doing the Master Chef thing all over Europe and I imagine .... everywhere? I don't know much as we haven't had time to talk about all of that. However, she used to be a groom and rode/exercised horses in Europe. 
I'm thinking this could be a really great friendship in the making.

She is my neighbor on the ridge. She likes foraging, hiking [night hiking or day hiking], riding, and cooking. 

Could I learn something from her? Oh yeah.

Face it. Being a Caregiver for a very difficult spouse is tough. So I'll forge friendships. Those friendships KEEP me sane.

~~~~~ 
2pm rolled around and Olive came trotting into the yard. I had gotten my two gals, Sunshine and Siera out and had saddled them. 

It is that time of the year that they somehow find burdock and manage to get it in their tails. So I was finishing that.

Olive fit in my Simco saddle just fine and we went over the 'how' to operate Siera. She's easy. She is very lazy, so a whoa works well.

I got up on my little red mule and we headed towards the hay and oat fields to ride in between the strips of corn. 

Siera did her normal thing like turning towards home when she thought Olive wasn't paying attention. I let the two of them work it out. Siera won't bolt or run off, it isn't in her nature. She'd rather stay with the other mule.

Anyway we circled the fields and then I asked if Olive would like to try some hill work. We went down into the neighbor's woods and rode down the steep trail and into a dry run. We sat on the girls and chatted down in the deep woods for a bit, then returned home.

We were so busy chatting and talking Mule/Horse Talk and getting to know each other...that I only took one photo.

I think this sums up everything.

Olive asked if we can do this every Tuesday. I'm like....um, yeah! Of course, with weather and schedules permitting.

It will be nice to exercise The Fat Bottom Girls together with another enthusiastic person.

Totally Unexpected

 

I was having a very hard morning. The end of the year blehs. The things I couldn't to do because I am the sole caregiver to a person with frail health were weighing on me. Maybe it was just the culmination of so much sameness in the past year. Or...perhaps even deeper yet was the question I'd asked myself the night before.

 ~ Who am I?~  [Deep thought is not for the faint hearted in the middle of the night!]

Today I asked Rich if he'd mind if I hike the Valley of Ice. That is what some folks call it. I hadn't really explored it yet. 
I set off. The day was dreary. Dreary.
It fit my mood.

I hiked the trail and noted fresh human and dog tracks. 

I started exploring and found my way to the first ice cave. I wondered if the tracks weren't from someone who had tied the blue ribbons up. But as I climbed around a snowy hillside and over downed trees, I heard a woof. And a "Hello there!"

I met a younger than ME fellow. He used to be a Geology teacher in Madison. Eventually we ended up in a larger Ice Cave where we sat down and talked about rocks and rock formations. He told me about his dog, who doesn't love talking about their loyal pets? He explained to me the history and make up of the  different layers in the rock that were were sitting in.

There was an area at the bottom of the ice where other older icicles had formed and dropped because of warm weather.

And as we admired the rock formations and the ice, I set up my camera to take a quick time lapse of the water seepage over the ice. The video is at the top of the blog and is 12 seconds long. I shot that just in front of where he was sitting.

I enjoyed his conversation and it was pretty fascinating. He explained the geology of this place in a way I could grasp it. Although, truth be told, I won't recall all the terminology he used.

We both joked about liking Lichen. He knew Lichen too! He didn't mind me taking his photo while he sat in the cave just enjoying nature. He said it would provide good perspective for the cave. He was right.

He is exploring all the Wisconsin State Natural areas and noting their specific and interesting formations his intent is to map them out so others can enjoy their natural beauty.

Eventually we parted and I went on to explore more of this valley. It is steep and rugged. 

I found the third formation.

There is a 4th but I didn't have enough time to climb around the deadfalls  to take any photos. I found an old equine trail and followed that on the ridge while stopping to peer down on the Kickapoo River.

By the time I reached my Subaru, I was the only vehicle around. My phone went off with weather alerts for our area. 

Just in time then.

By the time I got home, I was UN-bleh. I'd met another nature lover and interesting person.

I still hadn't answered that nagging question from the middle of the night.

But I figured I'd get to that ... next year.

Serendipity

I got a text earlier this week asking if Briar could come and spend some time with me, my friend and ex neighbor was in a pinch and couldn't leave her 10 yr old at home alone.

Me? I jumped at the chance to see Briar. I used to babysit for him at one time when he lived in the house at the top of the driveway. His sisters are older now. We used to pal around together quite a bit until they moved away.

We went on hikes, explored the creek, and even gardened together.

When they moved away and the 'new' neighbors moved in I settled on knowing that I'd see the old neighbors once in a great while but not often. I'd have to drive 30 minutes just to go to their house.

So today I had to meet with my neighbor to walk the dogs and to go over instructions on how we were going to think of ways that Lauren could 'check' on Rich without being obtrusive.

I asked if I could bring Briar. Then Briar informed us that he wanted to become and Entomologist. I quickly texted Lauren. Her daughter is 10. Her daughter studies insects and collects them, she wants to become an Entomologist. 

So the boy who used to live in the upper house met the girl who now lives there and the two hit it off so well that we adults were ignored while we walked the dogs.

Allie's younger brother joined in and the trio could not be separated for the rest of the day. 

After dog walking and exchanging info, the kids asked to walk to the creek and look for insects.

I only went along for observation it seems. But if filled my heart with so much joy to see them hunting berries and bugs.

This was perfect for me. And Rich too as the kids visited with him then went on to sit in the other room and excitingly talk Bugs, swimming, hiking, and gaming.

Rich beamed and literally glowed. He really did.

Old neighbors and the current neighbors. Who would have guessed they'd become fast friends with the same interests?

Truly, it was serendipity.

By Thursday evening these three had connected on the internet and are playing games and talking together.

My old neighbor said her kids could come out to play again any time I wished. 
The old neighbors now live much closer and it is only a 15 minute drive to get to their house....

And Rich said he was happy I found someone my own age to be with.

Charlie is pacing, he knows something is up. He's only done one long car trip so far. 

Hot Cocoa & Making Friends

Sometimes I get a notion and just go with it. 
Chores were done hubby was napping and Charlie was looking for his early afternoon walk. 
It was dreary and overcast.

So I had a notion to try something with one of the Teddy Bears.  

Off we went.

It was cold and damp in the valley so I decided to stop and have some Hot Cocoa.

The past 10 months haven't been easy. Isolation makes a person feel a bit lonely. 

I asked Bear to join me.
He didn't complain.

Bear may not be the best conversationalist but I can tell him anything and he won't tell my secrets. He says he can keep mum. That's the sign of a very good friend.

I tell him I like poetry and I adore the woods. He points out that bears like woods too but he could try to like poetry.

We drink Hot Cocoa and listen to the creek making music over the rocks behind us. It is okay. 

We just sit and watch as Charlie trots around smelling things under the snow.

I ask Bear if he knows Winnie the Pooh. He tells me of course he does. I smile and  think of Winnie the Pooh. Bear is quiet.

When it's time to leave the valley Bear asks for a favor.

I consider it, and then decide it is only fair.

After all, he is such a nice new friend.

Meet Molly

Molly is 18 and just graduated from High School.

In the fall Molly will be starting an Equine Science program at a Tech School in Iowa. How I wish they'd had a program like that when I was her age! She says she will learn to ride, train, AI a horse, collect from a stud, be present at the birth of a foal...and many other cool things. When finished with her program I hope she will be able get a great job.

A few weeks ago I was lying on the ground trying to clean grass gunk out from under the riding lawn mower. I was full of grass goo, dirty, hot sweaty, and frustrated. I'd just learned to change the oil in the simple little mower and had wet juicy grass to unclog under the large mower.

Molly came walking down the driveway. When she walked up to me, she smiled and stuck out her hand to introduce herself and let me know that she and her family had just moved in on the ridge to the house that had been empty since last spring.
I stuck out a gooey hand and we shook.

Molly explained that she'd heard there was two people on the ridge who owned horses was I one of them? I laughed and said I had one horse, but I owned mules.
She commented that she'd never met a mule and that her dad said they were stubborn and mean.

I laughed and immediately took her to my mules. She was surrounded by the red headed sisters and Siera, all who were curious and wanted to a pet.
I took an instant liking to this 18 year old and decided to ask her if she wanted to learn a bit more about equine before she went off to school in the fall.

Last week she came out and helped me curry some winter coats. I introduced her to some of my basic safety rules to have around the mules. We quickly went over body parts and I showed her how to saddle Siera.

Sunday morning she arrived along with my neighbor farmer Linda. Linda had been checking her field for planting above our place on the ridge when she'd seen Molly walking and offered her a lift.

We visited and then got to work.
Molly hadn't forgotten her saddling lessons, she did everything properly. I explained what a crupper was and why we used both a crupper and a breast-collar while riding in our hills. Most flat work doesn't require it, arena work doesn't require it... but we were not going to be on the flat or in an arena. I was going to show her a different aspect of riding.
Hill riding. We first worked in the relatively flat area of the pasture in front of the house.
Molly had learned mount and dismount and how to softly drop into the saddle. She had to combine that with making sure that Mica didn't walk off while she was mounting or dismounting.

Mica can be a 'creeper' when she wants to.

Her posture in the saddle was nearly perfect. And once we worked out all the commands, I took her on a small trail ride. Mica had been a roping mule at one time and she was a 'heeler'. She'd also been my husband's team penning mule as well as his speed event mule. 

I didn't take any photos of us down in the woods other than a view from the top of Sunshine...who really needs a trim on her mane! That will be one more job that I will inherit. Rich says he won't be able to do it.

We ended up doing a bit of brush busting so I could locate the path that takes me to the neighbor's ridge top and snowmobile trail. I hoped to take Molly on a ride through the neighbor's land one of these times.

I told her that what I was introducing her to would be a lot different than the riding she would do in school so I hoped I was not teaching her any bad habits.
I also told her that she can share her knowledge that she gains!

Since Molly works part time at a Dairy Farm, she will now have Fridays and Saturdays off. I know she has duties to be done at home but we are hoping to spend a bit of time each week to work with Sundance and some riding.

I'm pretty happy that Molly came walking down my driveway.

What a great young lady.