Home sweet home

Man, am I glad to be home.  I've been trying to write a post since I got back, but haven't had much inspiration.  I've just been enjoying the nice weather, my pets and of course the hubby.  Being out in the world a bit more than the norm was interesting/stressful, but it sure makes me feel grateful for what I have at home and being able to be at home.

The first 2 weeks of May were unseasonably cool and this first week home has been unseasonably warm - like almost 30C, which is approx 90F.  Which is pretty nice when you are working from home and can work on getting some chores done in the early mornings.  We got our pool opened and the back pasture is all cleaned up and open for business. 

The first few bits of sweet, sweet grass. LOL

I'm working the horses up to being out on grass full time but I'll need another week maybe before they are ready.  For now they are up to two 1.5 hour stretches.  

I've been working on fixing fences and I, for the first time ever, have all of the fence lines mowed before the grass is knee high!  w00t w00t!!!  LOL  Usually I start the spring with good intentions about keeping the field mowed so the electric fence doesn't short out, but I get lazy/sidetracked with other things. 

I am also alllmmosst done cleaning out the front hay storage area in my barn.  That area is not only for hay, but seems to be my catch-all for all the stuff that doesn't have a permanent home - rain sheets, coolers, and random tack bits that don't fit Fred, etc.   I just need to finish putting away my winter blankets and give the area a thorough sweeping/dusting/de-cobwebbing, etc and it will be ready for this year's hay.    It feels great to get some of these spring cleaning chores done!  

Still here...

I've been having a hard time sitting down to put together even a simple post.  I'm fine, my family is fine, my job is fine.  But the world as a whole - not so fine.  And man it is hard/scary/stressful/ etc etc watching things unfold. 

I'm trying to see this time at home as a gift and while I'm not up to any major DIY projects or anything, I've been spending a lot of time at the barn.  Which is at my house - don't worry - I'm not travelling to see my horse.  I'm torn up that so many people can't see their horses right now and I'm super grateful that I can.  I feel guilty and lucky all all at the same time. 

I've been doing a lot of stuff with Fred and even Copper has some news to share with you guys (he always tells me to not forget him on the blog! lol).

So, seeing as how this one won't have a lot of substance, I'm just going to do a list with a few pictures and notes here and there.

1. My friend was able to have the vet out for the 45 day ultrasound on our mare.  The vet confirmed everything with the foal is looking good!  Woot.  300 more days to go? 

2.  Fred managed to hurt himself and got a big cut/puncture wound on his jaw. I tried cleaning it thoroughly, but it still got infected.  *sigh*  He was due for his vaccines right at the same time, so at least the vet call was 2 birds with one stone.     It is fine now and all scabbed over and almost healed up.

**  warning - gross photo **

ewww...it was about the size of my thumb

2.  With spring arriving in these parts, we also get a lot of birds. Geese move in to the back pasture and we can hear wild turkeys all over the place, but rarely see one at my house.  Well, I can now scratch that off my list! A lone turkey wandered in to the horse's paddock and Copper ran it out of town!  lol  I was scrambling to get my camera, but didn't make it in time. 

The turkey came back the next day, but all it took was a glare from Copper and the turkey gave him a wide berth and kept moving on to greener pastures. 

That's right buster, keep moving. Copper, probably.

3. I went to Costco for supplies and they had a lot of cheese balls.  I took this picture for Stacie!

tasty pandemic snacks!

4. I took some time to get copies made of memberships, registration papers etc and put it all in a binder so I could find it.  I also cleaned up a lot of random papers and finally finished my taxes.

2020 calendar with shows...hahahaha...sob

5. I've been working Fred almost every day since I've been working at home.  We started with handwalking up and down the laneway and some lunging now that my ring is allllmmmmooooossst dry. 

Checking out the hood

The fun adventure has been taking Fred for walks in our neighbourhood.  I was a little worried he would be spooky, but since there is almost no traffic, he has been great.  We do 3-4 kms a few times a week.  

6. Cat pictures. Cause I got nothin' else! lol

A boy and his cat nip stuffed corn chip...

toe floof maintenance

I hope everyone is staying sane during this tough time!

Gratitude in uncertain times (blog hop)

I'm always on the lookout for blog topic ideas, so will gladly grab a blog hop idea and run with it.

Liz at In Omnia Paratus did a blog post on things she is grateful for in these tough times we are all experiencing...  I thought I would play along, as thinking positively helps me process all of the difficult information out in the world.

Things I'm grateful for:

* My job and my hubby's job are letting us work from home.  Having our steady income in such a huge relief right now.

* Living in the country:  I can go outside, breathe some fresh air, get some exercise, check on my boys, all without seeing another human being.  Pretty awesome all the time, but extra awesome right now.

Took my afternoon coffee break outside this afternoon!

* Universal healthcare and being a Canadian.  I don't want to get political or anything here, but I'm very thankful and grateful for our health care system and I'm crossing fingers and toes that I don't need to use it during this outbreak! 

* Internet - even my sub-standard country internet.  It is allowing us to stay connected with work, friends and family and sign up for as many streaming services as I can! lol

We even stream cat videos on youtube!  

* My furry critters:  the cats and dog aren't used to having us home, but I'm sure they don't mind the extra cookies and attention.  The horses seem to like the attention too!

My morning coffee routine.  My legs are under this pile!

* The changing seasons: spring is on the around the corner in this part of the world... I think being able to get some fresh air and watch the outdoors come back to life after our winters is one of the best things about this place!

I always get a pair of geese in the back pasture. Fred, as security mgr, had to go investigate this am.

* All of the workers in every field out there bringing us services and health care to keep things running!

* Memes and other cool content being posted right now! 

uhh yeah...this is a problem! lol

Emma had an awesome post today with a bunch of great memes.  And I've been listening to Patrick Stewart read Shakespeare, listened to Sheryl Crow, Garth Brooks and other artists.

Laughter is crucial for me right now, it sure helps with the anxiety and information overload out there.

Treat Yo'self - mega edition: continued!

So this is part two and hopefully the final instalment of me spending all of the money I've been trying to save!  LOL

Me lately!

A few months ago, a friend approached me to see if I was interested in a partnership to breed her mare. I was thrilled that she asked me, as having/raising a foal has been on my bucket list before I even knew what a bucket list was!  

Also me.

We make a good team since a) we both have the same first name (lol) and b) she has the mare and doesn't like to show, but I do want to show.  So we agreed we would each go away and do some research on studs we were interested in.  In the end it came down to a halter stud who is actually a paint!  We were originally looking for something double registered (AQHA, APHA) so we'd have more breed show options, but we were able to get a special rate on this stallion that was on our short list.  We signed the contract and sent it in this week, so it looks like I'll be half owner of a foal in 2021, if all goes as planned.

Baby daddy!

And the other big, unplanned purchase this week is a new-to-me used truck!  I already had a truck, but it turns out it had a huuuuggge mechanical problem caused by modifications the dealer made, which were not disclosed to me.  Long story short, the dealer bought the truck back and I had about 5 days to find a new vehicle.

I thought about not getting a truck (cheaper on gas!) and then found a truck and sorta fell in love.  Yep. With a truck.

It is a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 and has heated seats (which is awesome when you live where I do!) and lots of other features.  It has a towing package with trailer brakes all installed and everything. I have two trailers I can borrow whenever I want, so a big goal for 2020 will be learning to drive with a trailer! *Gulp*  I've driven my friend's rig once or twice on short hauls, but I want to get my skillz up next year so I'm comfortable on local hauls.

Swwweeeettt!!!!!

I know all of  this spending seems quite a bit out of character for me - I've been pretty careful about not spending - but at least most of it was planned and within budget.   I was already making truck payments, so this new one is around the same amount, so it isn't a shock to our budget. The stress of doing all this vehicle stuff in a week?  That is a different story...  Stress aside,  I'm very grateful that I am in a position to do all of these things right now, as you never know what life will throw at you!

What about you guys - any big purchases planned?  Are you saving up for anything? As for me, I'm back to saving...well, right after my trip to DisneyWorld with my Mom in a couple of weeks...  I'm also going to go check the couch cushions for change and hope to find a $20 in a pocket of  a winter jacket!  Edited to add:  I found $15 in change in my old truck when I cleaned it out. Counting that as a win!

AE Bloghop: 12 Tough Questions

Things are fairly quiet around here this week.  Alberta Equest has 12 tough bloghop questions that I thought I would take a crack at. 

Q1:  What hobbies do you have outside of riding?

People have hobbies outside of horses?  Whaaattt? I like to read (moreso in the winter) and I like to dabble with watercolour painting. I’m not very good, but it is kind of relaxing.  I also like photography, but I'm not super dedicated to getting better, but every now and again I get some good shots.  

Q2: What is your boarding situation?  Are you happy with it?

I have my horses at home, so mostly happy, yes.  With our winters, an indoor would be life changing.  However boarding out is kind of pricey around here, so we make do.  All the guys get the winter off to just eat hay and relax.

Winter - not much going on but a wicked sundog (see the rainbows on either side?) as the sun sets

On a nice winter day, the horses like to run around.  The black pony is gone, thankfully. He was a hellion.

Q3:  What's on your horsey-related wish list?

• BoT quick wrap boots for Fred, in green of course
• Custom name halter for poor, neglected Fred
• New cowboy boots
• A foal out of my friends AQHA mare (this might actually happen in 2020!)
• Bucas zebra fly sheets
• new name plates for the stalls 

Singles ad:  LF: tall, studly AQHA, must be successful in show career, colour not important

Q4: What is your most expensive horsey-related item?

I guess my truck…?  I don’t have much tack these days with showing halter.  All of my riding gear is older and not that valuable any more.

I can harrow now without having to ask someone to help me!

Q5: What was the hardest horsey-related decision you've had to make lately?

Again, I’ve been lucky here.  The toughest thing this spring was deciding not to try and show Fred. Having a broken ankle and very little money certainly helped me decide.

From last year

Q6:  What's something you feel you can't live without in your routine?

Hmm…I’m pretty flexible here.  I can’t think of anything essential that I couldn’t sub for something else.

Q7: What's on your horsey-related calendar for the rest of the summer year?

Not much...  One fall fair with the cowboy obstacle group, some planning sessions with my friend to look at potential Baby Daddies for her mare and a long-shot of attending QH Congress in October.

Q8:  What is one thing you would willingly change about your horse?

Poor Fred, but I’d give him a nicer head if I could.  

Definitely cute, but maybe not the best for the show ring where they judge only on appearance...

Q9:  What is something you most want to improve on with you and your horse?
Ugh, this is hard.  I’m not riding at all right now, so I don’t know what to write. I guess consistency.  I like being consistent with working the horses and my feeding/grooming routine.  I’ve been unfocused and unmotivated this spring/summer so my goal for the fall is to get some basic routines established and then go from there.

Q10:  What has been your [current] horse’s most severe injury?

Again, I’ve been so lucky here.  Although, Fred is only 4 so there is lots of time.  I guess the most serious that needed vet attention was a puncture wound on his front forearm.  I feel like I dodged major injurie(s) when he got stuck in the electric fence this summer.  He just stood there waiting for me to come and get him loose.  All he had was a bit of rope burn, but it could’ve been sooo much worse.

Q11:  What do you feel your biggest downfall is as a rider?

Only one?  Hahaha – lack of consistency?  Also, short legs, not a lot of natural feel and/or talent.  Maybe this one needs a Q11a: What do you feel your biggest strength is as a rider?  And for that I would say a willingness to learn and keep trying.  :-)

Q12:  What feeds your motivation?

Alberta Equest – this is a super hard question!!   I’ve been having a heck of a hard time lately with motivation.  Emma wrote a great post about this that gave me a bit of a jolt.  I need to remember to be grateful to have horses in my life, since I just love them so much.  12yo Laura would be in awe of the house and barn and horses (not that it is that fancy...but comparatively) that I have now. I'm actually living part of my childhood dream.   I sometimes get lost in thinking about points and money and the fact that other people that have more opportunities than me. 

13yo me riding in a parade - at least I have a better hat now and this one looks like it is on backwards. omg.

Ok - I found another pic - too funny to not share!  I think this is right after I got my pony for my 12th bday -  she is still at our friend's place in this picture.  I'm in rubber boots!  My Mickey Mouse sweatshirt is on point though.  lol

1986, thanks to my Moms mad scrapbooking skillz...

Working on motivation, consistency and gratitude will be a big part of my fall/winter downtime this year.  I can’t expect any positive showing outcomes next year if I don’t put the work in now.