Adjusting

Life is full of changes, and with change comes adjusting to it.  As the season has changed from summer to fall, and we get a taste of winter some cold evenings, I am trying to adjust to the cold.  Mostly I just feel cold all the time and am not getting acclimated.  But I am adjusting by bundling up when outside, and even in the house.

Adjusting to the time change is another necessity, but like the cold, I just never get used to it being dark at 4pm.  The one advantage as we approach December (and once I get my Christmas lights up) is that I can enjoy them longer, because I have them on when it is dark, which will be many of my waking hours.

At the ranch; the cat, horses, boarders, and us Villhauers are all adjusting to changes occurring out there.

Saturday 11/13 - It was cold out so I decided to wait and go to the ranch later.  I also wanted to make myself go to the gym.  Susan sent this photo of Cowboy and Rio in the make-shift stalls eating their breakfast.  They are adjusting quite well.  I am glad that the boarders have worked out a new feeding schedule that seems to be working for them, so nobody has to go out to the ranch every day.  They feed the three geldings twice a day, which requires two trips, and more time than what Patty and I are doing for Amiga and Zorro, who we only feed once a day.

Jim and Joe arrived from the ranch just as I was heading to the gym.  I got through most of my usual workout, except I had to adjust the weights (10 pounds less at each of the 21 stations I do).  By the time I got home, the guys were off hiking, but they had cleared the front yard and flower bed of leaves. 


My first stop at the ranch was down at the barn, to see if Wanda had figured out how to get down off the roof.  She had.  And in fact, I watched her come down the ladder to eat, before I had even headed up it.  We built this plank (beside the ladder) for her to use, but she hasn't figured it out yet. 

 

Wanda ate most of her ¼ can of cat food down at the bottom of the ladder.  I just sat back and watched and talked to her.  I am so glad she is adjusting to her independence up in the hay loft, and now the ability to come down and explore the ranch land below.  After she ate, I watched her climb back up the ladder. 

 


Later in the day, Polly reported that while she was out in the pasture and heading back to the barn she heard Wanda meow.  She called to her, and Wanda came running from the woods, under the fence, towards Polly.  She followed Polly into the barn, stopped and turned around, waiting for Polly to pet her.  Yippee!

A photo of the now four horse trailers.  Marj will be back for her trailer and to get her horse who is at a trainer.

After feeding our two horses up in the side pasture, I scurried off to Spikes to watch the Iowa game with all of the other Hawkeye fans.   It was an exciting, narrow victory over  Minnesota. 

Not only did we enjoy the game, we enjoyed food and beverage.  Jim headed home to his hotel, Patty to her house, and Joe and I to fed our cats and dog, etc.

Sunday 11/14 - I forgot to include these photos last week.  Friday was Ava's seven month birthday.  Where does time go? 

 

And how can one little person be so stinkin' cute? 







I love the monthly photo sessions Val takes of her.  She does a fantastic job with the outfits and capturing Ava as she changes.  And this baby is such a joy to watch grow.

I was in no hurry to go out to the ranch with the temperature in the low 30's.  After playing this year's (that Cathy gifted me) Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar games for too long, I did a load of laundry and cleaned the kitchen.

When I got to the ranch, I went to check on and feed Wanda.  She was hiding under the tack room floor.  (It is built up off the ground.)  She was glad to have company and food.  



I wanted to see if she would go back up the ladder to the hay loft, and she did, when I went up with her food dish.  She ate (first photo), while I cleaned out her litter box, and then she searched for a way back down (second photo).  You can see that the ladder is much steeper than the plank.  But (third photo) she chose to go down the ladder.

I did some cleaning up at the ranch house; swept, stripped beds, and gathered sheets and towels to take laundry home.  Then I collected all the trash and recycle at the house and barn to also take home. 

Cowboy and Rio walking the fence line when I was picking up manure while Amiga and Zorro had their daily feed.  It clouded up and was looking rather gray by the time I headed for home at 2:30.  

I started another load of laundry and was playing computer games when Joe and Jim got home from hiking.

Patty sent this photo of the sun setting out at the ranch.

 


Jim didn't stay long, and once he headed for his hotel, I got into my PJ's, worked the jigsaw puzzle, and then at 4pm dark, started a new TV series (Only Murders in the Building).  Joe had started it earlier, so I had some catching up to do.  

Monday 11/15 - There was a good sized buck down back at one point while I was sitting here at my computer, working on this blog or playing advent calendar games. 


My 10-noon workout felt better than a few days ago.  Hopefully I can get back into shape before too long.

Patty and I arrived at the ranch about the same time, did a few things at the house and in Amiga and Zorro's feed room, and then took Amiga and Zorro down to the barn to join the others in a ride (except Patty's hip was bothering her too much to go 😞). 

Patty had bought Zorro a new head stall (which included a brow band and chin strap, unlike his other) so was trying it on to have us check to see how it fit.  It was none too big, but should work, and he looks quite handsome in it.

Amiga waiting patiently to be tacked, tied to the forth stall (across the aisle from the other three and in which she or Zorro can use).










Polly and Yvonne had tacked up in their stalls and soon we three were ready to go. 

 

Patty had taken Zorro out in the round pen to do some work, so got photos of us.
The Three Amigos,  Blind Mice, Bears, Pigs, Stooges, Musketeers... what have ya.  

 


It was a pretty fall day with crisp air but warm sunshine. 

Our horses did well with each other, and it is always fun to go out in a group. 

Here is a map of the route we took, thanks to Polly's phone app.  In this map the trees look green, but in reality, they were beautiful fall colors. 










We took turns leading (and following) and kept at a walk because Maslo is young, Rio has hock issues, and Amiga is out of shape and also gets sore easily. 

We came across Anita's truck and trailer, but never saw her while out on the trails.  I think it's great she trailers in on her own. 










It is near impossible to take a selfie of three riders and their horses, but that doesn't stop me from trying. LOL

Patty had fed Wanda while I was riding, and got these photos of her.  In the first one, they are sitting on the steps to the tack room and Patty is petting this skittish girl (who is warming up to us). 

 





And here Wanda is on the bench in front of the tack room where Patty was sitting.  She really likes to be pet now and is fairly food motivated. 








Patty and I walked Amiga and Zorro back up to their pasture beside the house, fed them, and put out hay.  I love the reflection off their pond in this photo. 

As we left for the day, Patty took this photo of Amiga and Zorro lovin' on each other after they had been enjoying some hay together.

It was an early and quiet evening at home, with Poker Joe off doing his thing.  I couldn't stay awake past 7:30.  Ugh

Tuesday 11/16 - I had gotten up very early, so by daybreak was finished computerizing.  I ran to Food City to purchase meats for the next two weekends of 'breaking bread' with family and friends. 

Then I got to work on leaf removal from our yard. 







After blowing leaves from several of the flower beds, mostly in back, I then used the riding mower to bag them up.  I had to dump the big bag often because the leaves were so deep.  Hefting the bag over my back to carry it was backbreaking work. 


This is all the further I got, because I wanted to get some things done at the ranch.  After over three hours of work, multiple trips across the creek to dump leaves up on the other hillside, I was kaput. 








We plan to mulch more of the leaves this year, but there were just too many.  I had to get the bulk of them, but you can see that mulching has been done.

We are sucking most of the leaves up from the front yard.  

 









But notice, the two large flower beds have not yet been cleared of leaves. 

 
I finished a big, late lunch at 1:30 and then Maggie and I went to the ranch.  Mostly I just put things away, returning tools, supplies, and laundered towels to their right place.  When moving bales of hay up to the side pasture, I also started moving some big logs from the front yard down to a pile near the burn pile.  

 

Maggie went with me to the barn to feed Wanda, who was happy to see us and not afraid of the dog.  Wanda had a dog friend at her foster home.  She sure craves being pet and is quite food motivated.  

Joe had been golfing most of the day, and was at home chill-axing in his Mancave when I got home.  We watched Survivor, and seen here, Monita is interested in the action on the TV. 

 






Babe continues to seek Maggie for a warm body to curl up with.  Usually it makes Maggie nervous and she gets up, but this time Maggie stayed put and the cat enjoyed some snuggles.

Wednesday 11/17 - It was to be our last nice day for awhile, so I was out early, here at home,  to work on leaf removal.  First, before Joe left to golf, I had him help me put plastic drain pipe covers around two of our little trees that the buck have started rubbing on. 

Each year at the start of the rut (breeding season) this occurs and most of our little trees now have protection.  A Google search explains this buck behavior: Scraping antlers on trees builds up neck and shoulder muscles (they will need for sparring).  It allows bucks to release aggression caused by rising testosterone levels.  And the markings designate a buck's territory, both visually and by scent deposited from the forehead glands.

Leaf removal this time involved a rake and sheet to get leaves out of the drainage ditch and flower bed by the road abutting Allen's yard.  My project supervisor was enjoying the sun. 

I hauled at least ten loads to clear most of this bed.  I was also enjoying the music (video) of the roofers who were working a few houses down.

It is difficult to tell how many leaves were removed in this before and after shot, because more leaves continued to fall with the wind we were having.

After lunch I was off to the ranch, with Joe right behind me.  He trailered the mower out and worked on leaf removal from our side yard, where lots of leaves have been collecting.  In this photo, he is re-loading to take the mower home and then pick up wood shavings for the stalls. 

I got grass seed planted in the two tree stump spots.  First I filled with more dirt, raked, and then threw out the seed.  Finally, I covered with straw.  In this photo you can see the pool tarp fairly well secured (Joe had added metal grommets).  There is an exercise ball underneath to keep water from collecting on top of the tarp. 

This photo was taken from the kitchen window and shows where the second stump was.  You can also see the new Leland Cypress I planted ten days ago to the far right.

If you zoom in on the above photo (which I did for you) you can see our driveway in the upper left.  I can see vehicles coming and going down our drive when at the kitchen sink. 


I still had about ⅛ of my 25 lb bag of fall seed left, so I went out to the side pasture to sow the rest of it on more of the bare spots.

Zorro would not leave me alone and followed me around everywhere.  What a pest.  I am sure he thought it was his grain.  


This is a view of our front yard cleared of leaves. 


After watering the new trees and all the grass seed I could reach with the hose, I cleared the rest of our gardens and pots of their plantings.

This is the side yard between the house and side pasture (thus its name) where we keep Amiga and Zorro.  It had been totally covered in leaves, but Joe did a great job sucking them up with the mower.  

Joe brought a load of logs to the fire pit in preparation for our party and bonfire.  Patty arrived early and helped with chores and party preparations.

And about 4pm people started rolling in.
My phone was dead, so on the charger in the house, where I then forgot it (left it there overnight).  

It was a cool, crisp, full moon night; nearly perfect for a bonfire.  Because everybody but Joe were riders, the conversation mostly revolved around horses as we shared snacks, enjoyed libations, and conversed.   



It was nice sitting by the fire, although a tad windy.  There were 14 of us total, with some coming later or leaving earlier, so there was always room around the fire pit.

Thursday 11/18 - I felt lost without my phone and couldn't do any blogging in the morning without all the photos I had taken.  Rain moved in by 9:00 and the temperature dropped all day long.

I started laundry, had a good weight workout at the gym, showered and came home for lunch.  Then I went to the ranch to get my phone and feed Wanda.  I also got the snacks and drinks leftover from the night before to share with the 'kids' coming this weekend.

Babe on the dog bed and Monita on the tower.  Babe looking cold, but is a beauty.

From the ranch I went to town to shop.  The rain had stopped but it was still cloudy, cold, and gloomy.  I hit six stores and still made it home before dark.  I was glad to get into my PJ's early.  I also enjoyed my new warm winter slippers.  Joe and I watched Survivor with the fire going. 

Friday 11/19 - It was cleaning day.  The sun was shinning and it was pretty out, but it never made it up into the 50's.  

I only venture outside a few times for dog walks, and I made a trip to Food City. 

Joe helped me move the puzzle table so more can sit around it, and put a leaf in the dinning table.  He also always does the vacuuming.

I brought Maggie's other bed out from the bunk room storage which she enjoyed until one of the cats (this time Monita) stole it. 

I was doing some deep cleaning, and worked up in the balcony for quite awhile because it has been neglected.  I took down the cats' play tent and that really opened up the space.  There was also lots of cat hair, plenty of stray litter that sticks between the toes, and even two old barf spots I had not known were there.

I did three loads of laundry including sheets and towels and a small delicate load of some items that have been set aside waiting to be washed. 

I made guest beds, and got our bedroom ready for Dan's family.  Below is a look at the blinds in the bathroom that were absolutely filthy.  They don't come clean with dusting, so I washed them.  You can see my progress at the top and what I was dealing with (at the bottom that was not cleaned yet).



Another big, time consuming project was scrubbing our shower and cleaning our bathroom.  It is another space that only gets a quick wipe down, so there were mineral deposits and soap scum (charged calcium and magnesium particles present in the water that react with soap to form an insoluble substance) that I tried three different cleaners to help remove.  Elbow grease always seems to be the most effective. 

I worked at cleaning (and organizing) until 7:30.  There was a little down time here at my computer before bed, which was upstairs in the smaller guest bedroom, since our bed was made and ready for Dan, Val, Ava, and Tango.