Note, since our last crazy conversation was so popular,... I included our dinner conversation today for your reading pleasure.
I was chopping vegetables from the garden in the kitchen and sauteing them in a pan.
The smells of fresh garlic, kale, kolrabi, onion, and green beans filled the air.
Him: Wow, smells great! What are you making?
Me: Stuff. I don't know, just putting a bunch of stuff together.
Him: What do you call it?
Me: Stuff Cooked and Put Over Noodles.
Him: Spaghetti?
Me: Close enough!
I don't really know what I am making except that I had a bunch of fresh vegetables and thought it would be fun to toss them together in a pan with some olive oil and spices to see what happened.
I continue to cook and saute the items together.
Him: Yum! I can't wait for supper, I am getting hungry!
Me [adding some canned tomatoes because I don't have any fresh yet]: Soon!
Pretty soon the noodles are cooked and I call him in from the porch.
Me: It's ready!
Him: Great!
He comes in and stares at the plates.
Him: What IS that??
He is pointing to the Kale that I didn't bother chopping into microscopic pieces. I've done that before with soups and other dishes.
Me: Kale.
Him: ...And what is that? What do you call this?
He is pointing at the pan, and making a face.
Me: I told you, it is called Stuff. Or Veggie Mix Up. Or Stuff Over Noodles.
Him: Oh. Don't give me much of that Stuff.
We sit down to eat and he is tentative about eating the 'Stuff', but samples it along with the noodles.
Me: So?
Him: So? Um, you can keep the Stuff, although it isn't bad. It would have been better with meat though and more sauce."
Me: Duly noted. Next time I'll add more sauce and put some spicy sausage in it.
Him: Lots and lots of sausage.
He thinks for a moment. Then goes for another plate of noodles without The Stuff.
Him: You aren't trying to make me a vegetarian are you?
Me: Nope.
Him: What are you making tomorrow night?
Me: Meat and 'Tators.
Him [Big Smile]: Good!
So when the 'new' basement was put in, I moved some things down there to store them.
I quickly realized that the basement was going to need a dehumidifier. On warm days moisture would show up enough to make those items I stored for the duration of construction smell musty.
Me: "Honey,we are going to need a dehumidifier down here."
Him: "No, let's just see how things work out after they insulate."
So a month passed. On days that got warm the concrete floor would dampen in certain areas. The plastic milk crate of items I'd stored on the floor under the steps that contained items such as Murphy's Oil Soap and other cleaners all had moisture on them.
Me: "Look honey, we need a dehumidifier!"
Him: "It just needs to get used to the temperature, then it will be fine."
I brought up some items I'd stored. Potholders. They had mildew on them.
I took them over to the trash can and said:
"Honey, I THINK we need a dehumidifier in the basement!"
Him: "Oh just wash them up and they will be fine."
I dumped them in the trash.
Then came some extremely humid and hot days. The humidity outside went up into the 80's and maybe 90%.
Oh you guessed it.
Me: "Honey. We. Need. To. Dehumidify the basement or what we have down there will be ruined. Ruint!"
Him: "We looked at dehumidifiers while we were at Menards and they are expensive!"
Me [smacking forehead]: "Yes they may cost a bit of money but I guess it is cheaper to use a dehumidifier than to replace everything I plan on putting in the basement. Or have stored already in the basement."
Him [going down the basement stairs to stare at the damp floor]: "I dunno."
Me: "I do. I'll pick one up today."
Fast forward.
We take the new dehumidifier down the stairs and he opens the box.
Him: "Looks kinda small."
Me: "Want me to return it and buy the really expensive one?"
Him: "No."
He struggles to put the caster wheels on and then mutters some curses. I walk over to the box and take out the instructions and read them to him.
Him: "Go get my glasses."
I return with his glasses and he peers at the casters and then snaps them in place.
I refrain from saying. "Perhaps you should use your glasses more often!"
He plugs it in. The digital read out blips and then goes dark.
A bit of cursing.
I point to the Power Button.
He pushes it.
It turns on and the read out says 76.
Him: "What does that mean?"
Me [I read from the manual]: "The digital read out tells you the current humidity in the room. You can use a timer, a delayed timer, or if you wish you can leave it run with a hose attached so you will not have to empty the tray."
Him: "Timer what? I don't want it timed!"
I think calmly about ripping out my hair. Instead I reach for the broom nearby and sweep up some sawdust that the contractors left behind.
Me: "Hmmm, looks too damp yet to sweep up."
Him: "But I don't want it to run on a Timer, how much time is it on?"
Me: "There is the Timer Button, is it off or on?"
Him: "I don't know, where are my glasses?"
Me: "In your pocket. And..." [I hand him the manual] "here are the instructions."
I leave him to stare at the Mystical New Machine that we now have in our little basement addition.
It hums quietly and sucks mildewy moisture out of the room.
It befuddles my husband who stands for about 20 more minutes watching it.
I'm not sure what he expected it to do.
Run off?
Spew water?
Make Magical Unicorn Dust?
As I get to the top of the new stairs the urge is just too much.
I flip off the lights.
Him: "Hey!"
Me: "Oh. Sorry!"
I flip the lights back on and walk into the kitchen with a big smirk on my face.
Sunshine comes in from the Merry Meadow pre dawn and is followed by her sister, Sundance.
The farrier arrives later today and sometimes it can be a pain to try and separate these girls from the rest of the gals.
However the red sisters came right to the gate together and I was able to put them in a nice shady pasture next to the Meadow.
They were happy but the other ladies and donkeys were slighty perturbed.
The Red Mollies tossed their noses up at them and went to grazing.
I didn't realize that things would go this way when I walked out before dawn to watch the sun rise over the Merry Meadow.
It was worth it in more than one way.
The girls seemed happy enough, so I left them to grazing. The farrier will be here this afternoon and they can enjoy the extra shady area until them.
Looks like a busy day in store for us, the contractors showed up and I've got to scurry around and move a few items.
Doors and trim come today. Also they will be trimming out the windows.
My adventure pal for the past week is gone and now the house feels.......
Empty.
Morris is feeling the lonely too. He is spending a lot of time on the sweatshirt Ariel wore while she was here. He keeps going up the stairs and looking for her.
Well the focus has been on riding. Ariel has ridden Fred every day this week. She has come a very long way with her skills.
Before riding I have had her take Fred into the round pen and work a bit with him.
Here she was getting Fred to 'Heel' off from her shoulder.
It took a bit, but since he already does this with me, Ariel was able to get him to do it with her.
It helps enable a new rider's confidence when they don't have to touch the equine and the equine mimics their every move while not on a lead line.
Fred has never had any formal training on lunging and since he is about 30+ ish years old, we aren't going to confuse him. He has done such a fine job with Ariel this week.
We started out the week just sitting on Fred and learning to balance and move with the mule.
I can't tell you how many hours we worked with that because I didn't keep track. I just wanted Ariel to learn how to find her seat and feel light and airy on top of Fred.
When we moved outside to a small paddock, she felt confident in her abilities. We keep working on a better leg position for her, but I feel as though I need to try a different saddle.
The stirrup fenders in this one are so stiff, okay for my husband, but not quite what I'd like to see for a new rider.
Taking care of Fred before and after riding is as important as the ride itself.
Learning that you need to stay focused and confident is all about learning.
Well, at least that is my opinion. I am not a trainer, I've just done informal work with 4H kids over the years.
Yesterday we got dressed up for our All Two Mule 4th of July Parade.
I put my camera on a tripod and used a remote with a delay so we could get this shot.
We rode together along our gravel roads but kept the mules on the edges of the hay fields to avoid any traffic if it were to come through.
We never saw a car. And we still had a wonderful time.
After 'the parade' Ariel's folks showed up. We weren't quite ready to stop riding. Ariel didn't want to get off.
[Not a surprise, I didn't want to at her age either. I was always sad when my rides with my cousins ended.]
So we set up some obstacles in the large empty paddock. Hula hoops, balls, a 'bridge', and a black door mat.
We tested our own confidence with this exercise. Ariel learned that if she believed she couldn't get Fred near the balls, then Fred wouldn't do it.
However, I talked to her and said that no matter what people say, a mule can tell what you are thinking and they feel your confidence in them through your body language.
If you see nudging the ball with the hoof as something you can't do, then Fred will believe he can't either.
We ended up playing kickball with our mules. Not a wild game but where we'd take a few turns getting our mules to bump the balls with their hooves.
Ariel and Fred have made a good team. I think this shot says it pretty clearly.
I am pretty impressed with Ariel's focus and attention to detail. She listened all week as we progressed daily with Fred.
Even when Fred gave her a hard time, she was patient and didn't lose her poise.
Her week of learning to ride is ending and I'm pretty sure that this will be the thing she misses most.
After Ariel finished, her brother was given a ride by Grandpa.
He wants to learn to ride too.
I'd say that canoeing the Kickapoo is pretty easy, yet by the time you've gone nearly 9 miles on the river, your skills will be brushed up quite a bit.
We chose to use Titanic Canoe Rentals because the website said specifically that they were dog friendly. We thought Morris would like to do an adventure with us.
The owner of Titanic was pleasant and thought it was great that we were taking Morris. We soon pushed off and 'went with the flow' as Bill told us to.
Morris kept an eye on the other canoers and kayakers. Having a cute little dog made us very popular. One girl especially kept asking to pet him and of course Morris was accommodating.
Morris Navigates!
Morris Naps
Morris is Captain!
The river was very low and slow and in places of course the current was swift and went around sharp bends.
When we started Ariel had no idea how to hold a paddle. Soon though she began to figure things out.
For the first 4 bridges, the river was crowded and as the owner of Titanic told us, the river would have some idiots on it.
We were not surprise to round the bend and hear a dad yelling at his son NOT to stand in the canoe EVER again!
We floated past as then righted their canoe and when the dad tried to get back in he went ... ker-splash! We went on as they had a ton of people helping and we never saw them again.
We continued on and found a quiet place to eat our sandwiches. We stopped in other places to let Morris explore the 'beach' and Ariel wanted to wade.
The water wasn't too cold as the Kickapoo is muddy and stays a bit warm. Our stops were pleasant.
When we neared the Wildcat area near the canoe launch there, we realized that we might be running a bit late on our time.
However.
With this scenery, we couldn't just paddle on by.
It is not recommended to take a 'good' expensive camera on this trip. I can see why. But I think renting a Kayak this fall would be an awesome way to see some fall colors.
I would recommend also that if you were to canoe the Kickapoo, do it during the week. Weekends can get crazy.
If you can spare the time canoe to Bridge 7, 10 or 12. Once you get past 5 most of the party folks are left behind.
Bring water, lots of water. Bring a lunch. Make sure everything that is valuable is in a zip lock bag with air in it. [Helps things float if you capsize.]
And ... well you would have to try and capsize your canoe.
If you have a good pet you want to bring, Titanic advertises that they are pet friendly. And the owner and Shuttle Bus driver were exactly that. Everyone that we met, even the fellow from Drifty's was polite and friendly.
Of course this is their summer business.
My grand daughter is 12 and will be 13 in August. How did she like it? She did!
She never complained, she never whined, she was a trooper. She learned to paddle and even learned to read the current ahead of her.
Morris? I think he was happy to get back on land when we finished. He was tired, after all, he is 12 yrs old now too.
I am thinking that a kayak adventure is in store for me this fall.
I've always wanted to try it.
This whole day cost us $30. Was it worth it? Yes. Yes.
Yes!
We waited until the afternoon cooled off a bit before getting Fred out for ride number two.
Ariel and I cleaned Fred up and just talked about mules and equine safety. Something I usually do with kids near these large animals.
Ariel has ridden on and off since she was pretty small.
We started working on riding in 2008 with my mule Badger.
Badger left our world in 2012 and we sort of let things go by the wayside.
We didn't have extended periods of time with the kids and so we really didn't have enough time to really get into riding.
At Grandma & Grandpa Camp in 2014 everyone got a ride on Fred.
And Fred seemed to take to being with kids very well.
Fast forward to the present.
We worked hours on balanced and calm riding with quiet hands and gentle hands. Towards the end of this ride Ariel started to hold the reins.
"Ride like you are a ballerina, with poise and confidence at all times." I told her. "You are a dancer on top of a very powerful animal who is willing to take his cues from you. If you are relaxed, he will relax."
In a round pen or small paddock, I've gotten Fred to 'heel' me off a lead rope. I showed this to Ariel yesterday. I walked along and made serpentines as he heeled at my shoulder. Fred stopped when I stopped, he stepped out when I stepped out. He backed up when I backed up.
Again I made a reference to working with animals and dancing. "It is a dance between partners. Fred is my partner," I told her, "He knows to mimic my movements."
Ariel watched for a bit and then said, "Siera does this for you too!"
Indeed Siera does.
Then we started working on light hands and reining. Ariel is extremely calm with animals. It shows in this shot where Fred decides to cry out and bray for his mule buddies.
She waits it out unfazed and continues riding.
We move outside as Fred gets bored with the round pen. Mules do get bored and need a challenge.
We practice mounting/dismounting and emergency stops and dismounts.
Ariel nails all of it quite well and we move to riding in the larger winter paddock.
The next step after another warm up and review will be fun. I will get Siera and we will ride the paddock together.
