Wet Weather

3:30 am on Wednesday...

Hannah started to growl and do some quiet 'woofing'. She was standing at the foot of the bed looking out the window.

I woke up and was surprised to see lightening and heard thunder. I grabbed my cell phone and checked the radar and the weather.

Thunderstorm warning with hail was expected shortly. I ran outside and moved my car into the machine shed.

After day break, I moved the car back out. The weather seemed to have passed over.

Two hours later? I moved the car back into the shed. Another line of heavy storms were on the way.

The dogs and I enjoyed some time on the porch with the cooler temps that the storms temporarily brought.

I had to deal with some little dog that once again tried to lick open her incision. She went out to go do her morning business and ended up chasing a rabbit through the mud with her pink shirt on. 

I grabbed Charlie's Hawaiian shirt [he used to wear that shirt when visiting nursing homes]. 

Charlie didn't care as he is not a dog who likes dog clothes.

She is darned cute with it on and doesn't seem to mind it at all.

I just want her to heal up and we can get back to our normal exciting life.

It was still muggy and humid, but I went to Kristi's. I wore shorts and decided to ride bareback. I found a blanket in my totes of horse blankets that Kristi really liked. Since I had one for Rich and one for me, I gave her this flag blanket. It looks amazing on her Black Bay horse.

Since we'd had so much rain we decided to ride along the dead end road to one of her pastures. I don't often try to take any photos while riding unless I have my point and shoot camera along. I don't like messing with the cell phone while riding. Especially bareback.

Halfway around the field Johnny was surprised by something and leapt sideways in a spook. Sunshine jumped to her left to avoid being bumped into. I caught some air over her back and amazingly settled where I was supposed to be.

The incident lasted less than a second and we humans looked at each other with surprise while our mounts just moseyed along as if nothing had occurred. What caused his momentary spook? We won't know but we were down in a field next to the forest.

I laughed and told Kristi that the ground there was soft anyway and I was riding a short mule. 

Despite the glitch, we had a nice quiet ride that felt so good. 

When I got home I found that I'd gotten a surprise package.....

How lucky can I be that I got a visit from a very good blogging friend!

Say hello to my friend Mary. She even brought a bench along so we could visit in comfort.

Thursday:

Overnight we had some rain. Okay, that is an understatement. By 6am we had 4 inches of rain, by 8am we had 5 inches.

The Sheriff just announced that there are roads that have had mudslides on them and that another local highway will be closed soon for water over the road.

Thursday seems to be a good day to stay home and go see what happened in the valley if the rain ever stops today. However, the forecast says that it will rain until some time on Friday.

If this keeps up, I will have to go empty the rain gauge. We are creeping above 5 inches and it is only 9am.

A Little Sunshine....

Decisions, decisions.

I've come to a final decision.

I'm supposed to take Siera next week to my friend's place for summer riding. Siera needs to stay home until we figure out her lameness issue. Is it an abscess occurring, arthritis, or something else? 

I cannot in good faith take a mule that has issues to a friend's place.

Kristi would stress out  worrying that it could be her fault somehow. 

[Even though the mule would be on pasture]. 

She is a worrier. Kristi cares for her boarded horses as if they are her own children.

I know Siera's vitals are all perfectly normal. Siera is a wonderful animal with a good mind. However, I need to figure out what is causing her troubles and see if she is to be permanently retired or what.

So tonight I took Sunshine out and saddled her up to go get the mail on the ridge. My trail cam in the driveway caught us leaving.

Naughty me, I was in shorts and tennis shoes with no helmet but it was a last second decision and we just mosied up to the ridge, took a look around and grabbed the mail on the way back.

Sunshine acted as if we'd never stopped riding for the past two years. Good girl.

When she was first in 'training' to be a trail mule, I rode her nearly every single day for doing something. Checking fences, looking for mushrooms, taking the Jack Russell out for a jaunt. Giving the grand kids a ride on her -- leading them of course.

We trailered her all over. Sometimes Rich would ride her and sometimes I'd ride her. 

From 4 years old to nearly 20, she was ridden often. I'd trade between her and Siera.

When Rich got sick the mules became pasture pets. Still, kids would sometimes come and take rides in the yard.

Tonight we just went. It was short, but it was sweet.

I felt more relaxed with Sunshine than I was with Siera. 

Maybe it is because Sunshine was born in my lap so many years ago.

Maybe it is because I can walk out into the pasture with a lead rope and halter and sit down. 

Sunshine walks up to me and puts her head down to mine as if to say. "Hi, long time no see!" Her half brother Badger used to do the same thing.

Sunshine may be a better choice anyway. Kristi needs some confidence building while trail riding and I have a little red mule that has been there, done that and is mostly unflappable. 

I feel better about this decision. 

I can take time to figure out what it happening with Siera and take a good little red mule to her house.

 If we get a handle on Siera's issues, I can always swap out mules.

But tonight brought some deep emotions to the surface.

I recalled sitting in the pasture with Sunshine's mother during Sunshine's birth. I recalled all the miles I put on with Cheyanne her mom and then all the years with Sunshine. 

How I thought at first she'd be too short, she wasn't stunning enough, she wasn't a blazing drop dead beauty like her mom. But she was steady. And to her credit, Sunshine still thinks I'm her mom. She will follow me to the ends of the earth.

I've posted this photo before on my blog. For those who didn't know, this is how Sunshine came into the world nearly 29 years ago.

I think it is appropriate to recall that this little red mule is on this earth because of the Muleman I met on a Wagon Train.

I've been so busy with everything the past few years that I've forgotten the incredible relationship I have with this little red mule.

You 

are 

my 

Sunshine....

Sunshine and Changes

The end of July is here, that means I start to think only of riding. It seems that I spend the spring and part of summer tending to everything else but riding.

I had hired Molly to help me with things around the farm and sadly that only lasted two weeks. She stopped coming over and then after the lost dog incident she took off to who knows where.

[The dog was found alive 5 days later in a creek bottom about 1/2 mile from their house!]

With Rich's PT schedule which is 3 times a week, I have to rethink my whole weekly plans. 

Thankfully with the nicer weather and the yard and gardens all doing quite nicely, I turned to my other summer project. I dove into saddle and tack cleaning.

Most of our tack is kept in the horse trailer as the tack room Rich was 'gonna' build in the shed never happened. I have 3 saddles that I do use. So I keep all my gear for Siera and Sunshine in good shape.

The saddle shown below was a custom built saddle for me. It even has my 

name stamped on it. 
It is a nice mule saddle. The only drawback is, it is heavy.

My Mule Saddle is always ridden with a britchen as the places I ride are steep. This saddle would slide forward on those steep downhills. I use a crupper on the lighter saddles but am thinking of using a britchen on the other western Simco saddle too.

While I was cleaning and inspecting the gear, I tried to think of how old these items where. The britchens are well over 30 years old. The Simco saddle I purchased in 1991 at Midwest Horse Fair in Madison WI.

Anyway the Mule Saddle looks like this when being used:

Old photo from 2009 with me on Siera at Wildcat parking area

What britchens look like on our mule Mica who is fully retired now:

So I got off track with all the saddle stuff.

In the evening I caught up Sunshine and planned on taking her out and about on the ridge to visit some neighbors.

So, the little mule herd decided to run, buck, fart, and carry on when I came out to catch my red mule.

The turds! I caught up Sunshine and tied her to the shade tree just as I always do. As soon as I walked off to get a brush and other grooming tools, she brayed and started to paw and shake her head.

She calmed down when I groomed her and saddled her but was all wiggly and sketchy. 

Hmmm. I decided to do a bit of 'ground' work with her to check her attitude since this was so unusual. Her sister didn't help by running the fence line in another area and screaming.

Finally! After a few commands on a long line, she was ready to listen. I got on and sat. I explained to her that behaving stupidly was not in my best interests. 

We rode to the ridge to get the mail. Once we reached the mailbox, she was all mule business and eager to ride. 

I kept it short and simple. We stopped to watch deer.

She went back to her calm and chilled little self. 

When I got home I put her in what we call The Jenny Craig paddock. I put Siera in there too. Both Siera and Sunshine are super easy keepers and probably a bit on the fat side. If they are handy and not out back where it is harder to get them, it is easier for me to grab one for a ride. Be it a short one or a longer one.

I plan on evening rides and exercising them. 

At least, that is my goal.

[Separated from their buddies, even just by a mere hot wire, they both are now self exercising by walking back and forth. Rich said they are self lunging. In a few days, they will get over it.]

As I was putting gear away after our short ride, I saw my neighbor walking with a young couple that had a baby and a young one around the edge of the woods.

I guess the house at the top of the hill must be for sale. 

Huh.

Eventually I will have to break in yet another set of neighbors?

Changes. 

At least I still have my beautiful girls, Charlie, and of course, hubby.

Our days of riding together are gone, but I still have the memories of all of our fun adventures:

As though I had Wings....

I think there are a lot of sayings about how good a horse is for you.

I think they should include mules don't you?

What can I say?

I had a friend who was going to come riding with me. I had visitors who were going to come and visit this summer and distance themselves...who wanted to come riding with me.

So far none of that has worked.

So I walked out to the pasture yesterday to see who would come to me while I was holding a halter and lead rope.

Sunshine.

She is my all around go anywhere little mule. The mule we tried so hard to sell at one time. 

The mule we nearly gave up on when she had a severe injury.

When Rich and I started riding her at parks and other places, people started to notice her. Some even offered us a small price for a small mule.

She isn't a pony, but she isn't tall either.

She is just right for me now. Easy on easy off, and a mature mindset.

Well, put all that aside.

I've been really nervous about riding solo. I was spoiled last summer with Molly coming to visit and ride at least once or twice a week.

I realize now, I'm back to just me.

I took Siera last week on some of the steep hillsides after we toured the ridge top. She did fine.

Nothing like those long ears!

I guess I am tired of waiting and I have no one but myself to blame.

I weighed the risks of riding solo in the WildWood and decided that I can safely do it with these two.

Accidents do happen, I know that.

However.

The calm I felt after riding yesterday was immeasurable.

I felt a peace so overwhelming.

I want to think again of dangerous and noble things,

I want to be light and frolicsome,

I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,

as though I had wings.

~Mary Oliver

Outta here ...

I used to only ride and talk about mules. Mules were my entire life as was riding.

Here is a morning shot of the 'herd' sleeping and lounging.

Here they are in the afternoon. Fred is peeking out from behind the red headed sisters. He is 33-ish years old. Mica is the white-grey mule, aged also. If my calculations are correct, she should be 20ish. Sunshine is 19 which isn't old for a mule at all.
Siera is somewhere around 14 years old.

Holy Cow. Can these mules all be so old?
Sundance is only 9 and she was to be Rich's mule. I don't think it will be too difficult to make her into a saddle mule. She is always eager to please and seems to have a fantastic temperament.

I had Charlie yesterday when we came back from our adventure in the creek. I put Charlie on his little line and started to carry him through the mule pasture.

He wanted down. The red heads saw us and it happened again. Charlie glanced up at the huge creatures and ignored them.
Sundance, Sunshine, Mica, Siera, Fifteen, and then Fred all lined up single file behind Charlie and I as we walked the pasture.

Our mules have touched many lives over the years...

I won't bore you with all the pictures.

But this one was from last year.

And then there was this last August.

Well there you go. Mules and horses have always been such a big part of our lives.

I'm finally catching up on things around the farm...I think, and can concentrate on our equine.

This weekend I hope to take some friends on their first real all mule ride.
We will be celebrating two June birthdays and Father's Day also.

I will be stashing my laptop this evening and leaving it hopefully until Monday.

I will leave you with one of my favorite evening shots from a sunset ride with hubby and Fred... in 2009.

Have a great weekend.

Moving right along

Sunshine thought it would be fun to take a little jaunt. After all it has been December since we last got out for any time together.

On the ridge things looked pretty good. It was a bit muddy but we went before the ground got too soggy.

My clever little red headed mule wasn't fazed by the icy snow mobile trail. She moved alongside the trail where the ground was good and solid.

When we go to the normal creek crossing area we just sat a bit and watched the water roar on by. Sunshine was happy to just watch and then after a bit we returned home.

My day didn't end there. I had watering to take care, Dixie to play with ... and then I couldn't resist the urge to go back to our creek bottom.
I could hear the waters tumbling and crashing from the house.

I was already muddy. I gathered up my back pack and set off. Rich was sleeping and I had supper in the crock pot.

This is a shot of my neighbor's pasture. This water comes from the area west of us and runs down towards the creek. There is a Dixie head in the right side of the photo.

This is the nice quiet little pond that marks the end of my property and the fence-line that should mark my neighbor's land.

Further downstream I stopped for a quick look around and then headed back home. I was wet and very muddy.

I had to take my pants off on the porch and leave them to dry. My sweatshirt and vest had mud splatters on them also.

I think that meant I had an awesome day.

The venison roast tasted quite wonderful. I think it is one of the best ones I've made.

Note to self though. Plant more green beans, carrots, and corn in the garden next year.