Moving right along...

It was a 'week'. Charlie is feeling 100% better. He seems more chipper and brighter since his surgery. I am now thinking that the teeth had been bothering him for a while and he just didn't know how to tell me.

He wants to go on walks and he is more attentive and playful. I'm so happy! I keep reminding him that he is on light duty. 

Sunday evening I went riding with Kristi. She rode her daughter's mare, Willow.  Willow is Haflinger and pony cross. I absolutely adore Willow as does Sunshine. Sorry, I didn't get a shot of Willow.

Willow looks much like a small horse I had called Lily. 

Lily was Halflinger and Arab which meant she was small, tough, and had a go get 'em attitude. Rich rode her in team penning and I rode her trail riding and she never missed a step and had so much stamina!

Willow is Halflinger and pony cross and is the same size as Sunshine. Willow and my old horse Lily were caramel colored with flaxen flowing manes and tails. If I was to keep a horse from this point forward, I would definitely want one just like Willow.

Here is Sunshine after our ride. Yeah, I took scissors to her bridle path and did a crap job of it. I'll need to roach her mane again. 

Monday was saddle cleaning morning for me. I am pretty convinced that these saddles hold no huge value as they are not even made anymore. They weren't top of the line when I purchased them. 

The one in back is one of my favorites. It has a name on it 'El Dorado' and is a 13" seat. I've had it for 36 years. I've kept it clean and oiled. 

The one in front is a Circle Y with a 14" seat. 

I used it mainly for trail riding. I took it to the Amish for a good oiling and they really screwed up by getting oil on the suede seat. Honestly it wasn't a top notch saddle but it is 31 years old and Rich bought one to match for our wedding. I still have both saddles.

Who has wedding saddles???? 

I'm keeping Siera off from the pastures with clover and she has stopped gimping along. She and Sundance are browsing on some of the weeds and are getting hay on the side. They are not happy about being confined to this area, but it seems to be helping Siera. 

Mr. Pony is doing yard work for me. Every few weeks I graze him on this hillside next to the shed, he picks out all the delicious stuff first and then goes back and works on the grasses leaving the weeds for me to mow.

Once he finishes this section, I move him to the next. You can't see his water pan, but he has water available which is refreshed twice a day. 

If I recall right, this guy has been doing yard work for us for nearly 30 years. He eats, fertilizes, and provides us with constant laughs.

Here is Little Richard and Mr. Morris 19 years ago hanging out together. Little Richard loves the gravel driveway, he can lay down and itch his back and so many times he'll sleep on it.

He also serves as a guard pony. 

You cannot pass ... unless you pet me! Photo taken in 2009.

Chill out

 

Charlie and I took a very different walk yesterday. We went to the ridge and decided to hike the cropland hayfields. This way we avoided slogging through mud. We could have walked along the gravel road but one neighbor choses not to watch their dog.

This dog has attacked but has not yet hurt Charlie and I just don't want to risk it. The last time this dog attempted to get at Charlie, I held him and sprayed her with Pepper spray. She got a snootful and wouldn't leave us alone....
Anyway...

We walked this high ridge and kept to the fields. It was much more interesting for Charlie because of all the critter tracks. So many good smells for a dog.

I left my camera at home and just walked with my cell phone, and was a bit sorry that I did not bring my camera with a long lens. We reached the road across the ridge and stopped to admire the fields for a bit. I heard a chirp that I haven't heard all winter.

And there they were! Bluebirds! [sorry the picture isn't very good!]

We headed back along the fields and came to a patch of trees in the middle of this cropland. It is in a slight dip where water runs. I got to the deer trail and walked in among the trees. I looked back and Charlie was sitting just outside of the trees. He refused to follow me.

More than likely it would have been the fresh scent of a coyote that lingered on the trail that deterred him.

So we detoured and walked up one of the waterways and decided to just sit down and enjoy the warm afternoon sun.

From here we could see the intersection [if you want to call it that] to our dead end road and the other gravel road that crossed the ridge. 

When we got home the two of us sat on the porch bench and listened to the world around us. 

The antique wash table got the addition of some real flowers to mix in with the Lego Wildflower Bouquet.

I'm enjoying the bright colors!

Meanwhile

Twila went home and I think Charlie was either bummed out or just very tired. He took his spot on the couch and napped most of Sunday and Monday. I think it was a little of both. 

He does like other canines and enjoys the company. He also likes his laziness.

By Monday evening he returned to his normal self and enjoyed being the ruler of the house again. Such is a dog's life.

Honeysuckle
[invasive but pretty]

Suddenly, it is October and I am wondering where the year went and what the rest of the year will bring. 

This fall hasn't affected me like other years for some reason. I have always felt anxious and strange when the days got shorter and the trees started to turn. Maybe it is because of the unusual heat we've had these first days of October.

The cosmos I planted are loving it though. They are producing like crazy. I'm gathering seeds from all the varieties. The plants did produce flowers as early as late June, but now they are tall and well....

intense!

These are from two different spots in our yard. The third area I have with cosmos is out further with the morning glories that are also producing like mad.

I'm washing up the siding and getting things ready for the cold weather that we will eventually get. It could be as soon as this weekend when we get our first frost.

For now? I'm going to enjoy the weather and the rest of October. 

Bored but busy

What on earth can I do when it is screaming hot out and it is raining every day? Monsoon time! 

Dog Days of August. 

Monster Skeeters. 

And very scary storm cells...

This one actually just had wind in it and blew right through. The temperatures dropped for a bit and then the sun came out and the heat went back up to miserable.

I did go out for a walk up through the woods to drop off some mail after the storm passed with Charlie. In a few spots, the bugs weren't too awful, but in others?

.......OHHHH my!

You may be able to see the swarm of very hungry skeeters attacking the netting. My father in law gave me this head net so it is pretty old, but very useful. I have about 4 others too, as I've tried different kinds, but this one works the absolute best.

I did find some cool fungi, but I'll get to that later.

I needed to 'do' something. 
The other half was watching boxing on Showtime at Full Volume.  I couldn't deal with the constant noise. 

Mowing was out, his mower still needed to have more hydrostatic oil stuff in it and the ground was still mushy. 
I needed some 'porch' time and some peace and quiet. 

I am so pleased that we had outlets put in on the porch. Charlie and I can sit on the porch and enjoy a nice breeze from a large fan. He can sleep and I can read or do something else.

I wanted to 'find' a small chair appropriate for my larger Teddy Bear. Something I could carry into the woods for doing 'stuff'. 

I checked out some online shopping sites and was horrified at the ugly stuff they had for sale. The choices were cheap looking plastic chairs that were pink, ugly, and overpriced.

I gathered down branches from the last storm and some bark.
I whittled the bark off from the sticks and instead started to figure out how to build a tiny table for the tiny bears. 

I am not a woodworker nor am I much of a carver. But I can peel sticks and use imagination. I wanted to concentrate on something other than running amok in the woods with the heat and bugs.

With a glue gun, I was able to make the 'table' just high enough for Lil Bear to sit on a bark chair.

I'd made a stick chair once before and it fell apart. 

I have watched videos on line and have decided that I am not talented enough to use all sorts of the woodworking tools hubby has. I'd cut my fingers off for sure.

These little bears can be found in the kid section of most toy places.
I think they are called...Calico Critters. I am lucky to get hand me down toys. 

I looked up little houses for them out of curiosity and was not pleased with the plastic cheap houses.

I am forming a plan to make my own little bear house. Every fun idea starts with a notion.

After all, I started on the primitive furniture and it isn't turning out so badly.

I even encased some flea bane flowers and chicory in the table top to imitate an epoxy topped table.

Oh wait, why on earth would a person like me put an effort into toys? Well, I think of how we played as kids. We made 'scenes' with our toys. We called them Set Ups.

I mean I could pick up a hobby that was meaningful. Like sewing or perhaps doing something practical like putting an effort into baking or ... some such thing. Maybe I never lost my love for creating and playing, right? [Generally, August is my month of putting up produce, but this year we only grew sweet corn, and that is coming on late..]

I figured if the Bears had a table to eat at, they might want to invite friends over for a meal.

I took out the leftover Model Magic I had tightly sealed in a ziplock bag. I dabbed some drops of paint on my fingers and made some tiny bowls with a couple of dragons watching over my work. 

Sorry, crappy picture...pointing below....

I did get a couple of great books, I'm reading one right now about the disappearance of Geraldine Largay on the Appalachian Trail. Geraldine was a woman after my own heart who met a tragic end when she got lost. 

One of my dreams is to take on a long hike. Not the AT but perhaps parts of the Ice Age trail here in WI.

Good Morning.

With all the horrid news that we are seeing today and this past week, I thought I'd offer something a bit more positive.

Farm Life is pretty quiet and peaceful.

Sunday morning I drove to Jersey Valley to watch the sunrise. I really thought I'd messed up because the sky was absolutely brilliant with unimaginable reds as I drove to one of my favorite spots to watch a sunrise.

I kicked myself a few times thinking I should have stayed at home and simply watched it from the ridge.

However.
Somehow, Jersey Valley didn't really disappoint.

While there I heard an strange noise, it sounded as if a truck was rolling down the steep hill dropping gravel.

However it was a flock of black birds that swirled above the lake and landed somewhere on the north side.

~~~

Morris is doing pretty well. He absolutely adores the Kidney Diet food he is getting and seems ravenous. He still has very slow mornings, but is lively and annoying for most of the afternoon and evening. He is eating better and feeling better. He is staying stable at this time.

Most mornings he just mopes around and doesn't do much or seem to have interest in things. However he still likes to go for walks and enjoyed seeing the kids at the bus stop last Friday. He did tire, but I did give him a lift too.

He has become somewhat of a 'lap' dog with a cling-on attitude. I am okay with that also.

~~
Rich is doing better also. Last week we got the okay from the neurologist. Rich can start driving with limitations. He is really good about being a compliant patient.
Yesterday he drove to the river and went fishing. He handed me the keys later and said he was tired. Could I drive?
We still are doing things as a team. Need to run to the hardware store? We go together.