This week's blog title is not in reference to puzzles, riddles, or brain-teasers; but to difficult choices that have kept me in a quandary. Everyday we are faced with choices, decisions, and dilemmas. And life itself is a confusing problem of profound and difficult things. 
Sometimes we overthink things and make them a bigger problem than they need to be. I continued to mull over several choices that needed making. I really wanted to decide on some things and get on with life.
Friday 3/18 - I had sent (on our family Facebook messenger) a photo of my sunrise, and commented on one of Mom's old sayings "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's take warning." And then Jean sent this much more spectacular photo of her sunrise.
I was going to go to the gym, but Joe had gone to town to buy fruit trees and garden veggies and was asking about where to plant them.
Rain was expected by 10am so I had not planned to go to the ranch. But, I decided a trip there was necessary to direct Joe. We put planting anything on hold and he left for home. I mucked A&Z's pasture as lightening and then thunder rolled through the area. Even the ducks and geese (can you see all four) cleared out of the pond.
Once finished, I went into the ranch house rather wet and dirty. Jean was just getting off work. A hot cup of tea and the wall gas heater warmed me up and dried me off.
It had cleared off, so I went back out to work on planting daffodil bulbs and Jean went in to town to run errands.
Two guys came out to give me a second estimate on adding a deck to the laundry room entrance and they were leaving just as Jean got back.
Joe arrived and helped me hang the horse coat hook hanger on the other side of the door. Eventually the laundry/mud room door will be the 'working folks' entrance once we get a deck built. Then these front coat and hat storage hooks will be for guest or when we are coming and going from town (not muddy).
While Jean and I were putting a new wrap on Amiga's foot, Joe started this project with the chicken coop/potting shed door. The bottom of the door needed filing because it was dragging on the floor and the door frame sill was totally rotten and needed replacing.
Jean and I had a little struggle with the hoof wrapping and both of us (and surely Amiga too) will be SO happy when we are done with this.
This is Joe's finished work. Well, it's much better than the rotten board, but too bad he didn't have a long enough 2x4. I was just glad to have the door back up before it started raining again. 
I got the fire started once I came in, which was wonderful to warm up to. And soon libations and relaxation ensued.
Patty arrived and we snacked for a bit while waiting for Courtney.
Joe and Parm were fighting over the comfy chair and settled for sharing it. And Maggie was looking for attention/lovin' too.
It was a tad after 7:00 when Courtney pulled in (in the rain). 
We were quick to dig into the meal Jean had provided. We also enjoyed the fire and conversation, so Joe, Patty, and I stayed till 9pm.
Saturday 3/19 - Joe was off for Alabama by 6:30 and Maggie and I met Jean and Courtney at the Methodist Church parking lot, where the trail head for the Seven Bridges Trail is.
It was breezy and cool, but we warmed up as we hiked the two mile trail. Courtney took a photo of each bridge as we counted them. 
We took our time walking, stopping to look at wildlife, and take photos.
We got a kick out of this sign, and if you didn't follow it's directions, you would definitely get a bump on your forehead.
Maggie had a great time, and stopped to 'smell the roses' well actually wildlife (deer we scared at one point).
We even stopped to take a rest (and photo) while we all sat on one of the several benches that are along the trail.
When I got home, I took a quick shower and packed up my cooler and was out at the ranch in under an hour.
Courtney was doing yoga stretches, and silly Maggie joined her.
I noticed the neighbor's three horses and thought it looked like they were on our drive.
Upon closer inspection, I could see they were right on the other side of our barbwire fence, which runs along the SE side of our driveway. Horses are herd animals, and these three have been coming along this fence line a lot, especially down at the barn. They really want to become a part of our herd.
It was still cold and breezy out, so we all settled in front of the fire, working a puzzle, watching Lion King, and napping, even Parm and Maggie.
It was a lovely, relaxing day.
Jean went out to do horse chores and I got Amiga's (hopefully last) duct tape boot/bandage ready and joined Jean.
I had to go down towards the shop to 'fetch' Amiga, and rode her back up to the side pasture.
Notice how dark and cloudy it was.
Amiga rarely cooperates for photos, and today was no exception. It is so hard to get her looking at the camera with her ears forward.
When Zorro came running up, realizing Amiga and I were headed to their loafing shed for dinner time, he got Amiga revved up. 
We three pitched in to cook dinner together. I had the easy job of green beans. Courtney baked the chicken and Jean made her yummy mashed potatoes with sauteed onions. So delicious. 
We continued relaxing around the fire, working the puzzle, Courtney knitting, Jean doing cat/dog tricks, etc. 
I don't think any of us wanted our time together to end.
Courtney and I both left just after 8pm. I had cat chores to do when I got home but was soon in bed. I was sound asleep when Courtney texted that she was home (at 9:58).
Sunday 3/20 - The Spring Equinox - good riddance winter and hello spring.
It was a quiet, lazy Sunday morning. Once I got up from my computer, I had a bunch of things around the house to 'catch up' on, so I set to work doing that. 
I
ate an early lunch and was at the ranch just after 11:00. My main item
of business was to plant all the garden plants Joe had bought. Most went into the raised bed. Notice how green the grass is getting.
Seen here, left to right and top to bottom -
two red peppers, rosemary, and sage. Then lettuce, kale, and a different lettuce. And finally lettuce and cilantro. Parsley from the year before was in the other corner. 
The two tomato plants went into big pots, one on each side of the chimney.
After Jean had a late lunch, we went down to the barn to take Amiga and Zorro for a little ride.
Jean working with Zorro at the mounting block. Watch out Wanda, don't get stepped on.
Amiga's boot bandage had come off during the night, so I decided we were done with hoof (actually sole) care and that hopefully the hole and void under her sole where the abscess had been had healed from the inside out. I did ride her with her two back boots on in case she was tender footed.
We had a lovely ride. Zorro was a little high strung/nervous to begin with but relaxed and settled in to a calm walk. The trails out back are quite new for him and other than Patty riding him around the ranch last Thursday, he hasn't been ridden in three months.
Jean is very patient with Zorro (and with me 😜) and does a great job with him on the ground and in the saddle.
We took turns leading and following which was good to help build Zorro's confidence. These two Pasos are definitely quite 'buddy sour' and feel safest when close to each other.
Polly was tacking up Rio when we got back to the barn, and the three neighboring horses were hanging out right nearby. From what Jean and I could tell, they are three geldings and one of them looked fairly young.
I did my horse chores and gave the new transplants a little more water. Jean and I chatted a little bit, while working on the puzzle. We discussed chicken fencing and decided to just get hens and buy a rooster later if there seems to be a need for one.
I was home by 5:20 and had a big salad for dinner and a quiet evening with Joe still out of town.
Monday 3/21 - I was up in the middle of the night from 1:30 - 4:30, but managed to get 90 more minutes of sleep before getting up at 6am. One
of my biggest conundrums is deciding whether or not to get a second
horse, and if I do, how to incorporate it in with the other horses on our
ranch.
Do you see what I saw? Not the split double wide mobile home eye sore, but down by our pond.
A Great Blue Heron.
I was out at the ranch at 9:00 to meet the farrier at 10am. He and Patty both came down the drive together just after 9:30. Good thing I was early. Zorro got trimmed first. 
Then just as Chris was starting on Amiga (seen here with Patty holding her) the septic pump guy pulled in up at the house. I handed Amiga off to Patty and rushed up to the house to instruct the septic guys.
Once Chris was finished and leaving, the septic truck came down the drive towards the barn, to pump out the porta-potty. I had missed out on watching both Chris and the septic guy, to gather information. Patty filled me in on Amiga, and the septic man said the ranch house has a 700 gallon tank that will need emptying every 4 to 5 years. He said having the gray water separate was very helpful to the septic system. 
After brushing our shedding Pasos, we turned them out in the front pasture. Back up in their side pasture, Patty helped me get a siphon started so I could drain the stock tank. Then I washed it out well. I had grabbed the stall bucket of water to clean the ends of the hoses off before screwing them together. At this point, Amiga came in from the front pasture to get a drink. 
The bucket on the ground was all that was available for her at the moment. She was fine with that.
Just as I was ready to start filling the stock tank, Zorro came in looking for water. He made do with what was left in the bucket.
I felt bad that both horses were pretty tender footed, trimmed a bit too much?
I worked in the yard with more gardening and decision making on plantings.
My project supervisor kept an eye on me. This is where I decided to plant the cherry tree. It will be miraculous if it survives. Rural King gave it to Joe free when he was buying seven other fruit trees. It was the only cherry they had left, but had come out of its pot and the roots were all exposed. 
Maggie took breaks to play with her jolly ball and I stopped for more water, a snack, and to chat with Jean.
At one point I noticed a horse laying in the loafing shed, so went out to see if all was well. 
It was Amiga, and she was just resting with Zorro standing watch. It made me concerned that her feet were really bothering her. Jean said she would give them both another Previcox at feeding time. 
Zorro is so sweet to watch over his sister. 
I finished up, watered a few more transplants, and put all my tools away. I had been at the ranch for over eight hours. Jean head off to chorus practice and I home to feed Maggie, the cats, and myself.
Tuesday 3/22 - Again I was up in the night (well, got up too early - at 2:00) and this time did research on how to help buddy sour horses and read about other herd dynamics. I gave a lot of thought to how another horse would be manageable and the affect it would have on the chore schedule. I was also in a quandary about the big round bale of hay we had in A&Z's pasture. It seems moldy in spots.
Jean sent me this photo of the flowers while Parm was on his daily walk.
Jean also sent this photo later, of the trench Crab Orchard utility was digging across the driveway to get a water line to Jim's second house.
It was supposed to be another pretty (and warmer) day, but the wind really picked up at sunrise (video), and was strong for most of the day.
Having missed the gym last Friday, Saturday, and yesterday... I hoped to get there this morning. But not having near enough sleep, I kind of crashed and took a nap from 10-1:00. Sheesh!
I basically laid around the rest of the day, reading, with the cats and dog following me to various spots. It was actually warmer out on the porch than in the house. And I took another short nap. 
Joe got home at 3:30, having dropped in on the ranch first, to check things out and do a few chores.
I was still feeling sickly so Joe went to the store for me and even filled my car with gas. I went to bed earlier than usual, hoping extra sleep would help.
Wednesday 3/23 - The rain started before midnight, and came down pretty hard with some strong winds, but I only woke briefly with the noise and fell right back to sleep. I woke and got up at 4am, having gotten over eight hours of sleep. And I felt much better than the day before. Jean sent this photo of our horses standing out of the wind, but in the rain.
I pushed myself through my normal workout, that was a lot more difficult than usual. But considering it had been a week since my last workout, and that I had felt so bad the day before, I felt accomplished for getting through it.
I spent three hours on a trip to town and back, hitting several stores. I took this photo to send Jean, of me leaving the Walmart parking lot, enjoying an impulse purchase I made during a weak moment.
After unloading supplies at home, I loaded up the dog and headed to the ranch with other supplies.
While Jean did chores down at the barn, I worked at this puzzle she started last weekend. I also heated up some dinner for us.
About the time we finished eating, the wind finally died down. Our light and motivation (and my eyesight) made working the puzzle difficult.
I was home by 7:30 and in bed an hour later.
Stevie was giving me the 'skunk eye' because she wanted some lovin' and I was kind of ignoring her. When I went to take a photo of her loathing expression, she averted her eyes and actually looked like a sweet kitty. So next time your cat is being a jerk, pull out your camera and maybe they'll straighten out.
Joe and I had planned to plant fruit trees out at the ranch, but were waiting for it to warm up some. I was going to transplant the Sago palm neighbor Roger had given us, because it's resin pot was cracked and falling apart. But I quickly decided that it would be too big of a task, and I didn't really have a good pot for it. I did trim all the dead fronds off though, so it was ready for transport to the ranch.
I got to the ranch ahead of Joe, put sole paint on Amiga and Zorro's sore hooves, and then turned them out. I then got organized and set up for tree planting. Notice our project supervisor by the pool.
We were going to put six of the fruit trees along the yard fence, on the driveway side. The seventh, an apricot, would go in the yard near the cherry. I dug up the sod and then Joe dug the hole for each tree.
Joe grew tired of (and maybe a little impatient with) me perfecting the holes he had helped dig, and making the ideal peat moss/soil mixture to use in the holes. So he went to town to get gravel and pick up the Sago palm in the trailer. When Joe returned, we set the palm just outside the front entrance (photo taken at end of the day), blocking the view of the red pipe sticking out of the ground.
Jean came out to help with gravel dispersal around A&Z's loafing shed where we had put some last fall. But it needed more because it still gets too muddy.
Hang on Jean, as Joe moves the SUV to the other side of the shed. 
Ta da... much better. 
And it seems the horses approved. (photos taken later, at feeding time.)
Next I wanted gravel in front of the chicken coop door
where I had planned to put a big rock we had, as a stepping stone to the
entrance.
Quickly I decided the rock was too big, and would be good at the bottom of the deck step to the yard. So Jean and Joe put gravel in the trench made by rain off the roof, while I prepared a spot for the rock blocks that had been here but were all cattywampus from erosion by the rain off the roof.
We used the tractor to move the big rock (seen in photo below) off the gravel that is in
front of the laundry room. Now it is out of the way for where the deck
will be built. 
Jean had planted the herbs I bought and watered everything.
I got back to work planting fruit trees, Joe headed home with Maggie, and Jean went down to do chores for the boarders. I was out of energy and a little sore in my gluteals/sciatica, plus it was getting late, so I didn't quite finish here along the fence. The six trees are in the ground but there were still two piles of sod.
Looking back as I left the ranch, the sun was setting, but still hitting the distant mountain. It is hard to see in either of these photos, but there is a line of fruit trees (2 pear, 2 apple, and 2 peach). They will be pretty here and hopefully provide us with some good eatin'.
I could barely sit on my sore butt for the 18 minute drive home. And I still had my cat chores when I got home.
Joe and I watched episode two of Survivor.
Friday 3/25 - Today's conundrum, gym or chicks? It ended up being a 'chicky' day. Because the temperatures were dropping over the weekend, it looked to be a better day for buying and transporting baby chickens. So I postponed the gym for tomorrow, and went to town to buy chicks, in addition to a few more supplies needed for them. 
I arrived at the ranch about 12:00 with nine chicks (3 Rhode Island Reds, 3 Araucanas, and 3 Hybrid Easter Egger chickens). I left my car running with the heater on (outside temperature was 45°) while I set up a second heat lamp with the red bulb I had bought. Then I put the box of chicks in the brooder. 
While they warmed up and got acclimated, I filled their food and water. I soon noticed that they were moving away and staying out from under the heat lamps. I set up the new thermometer I just bought and discovered it was way too hot (125° in the brooder) right under the heat lamps. I raised the lights higher up, but it was still too hot. Also, one light started acting persnickety. So I removed it altogether and lowered the one remaining red light a little lower. Once I felt I had the temperature stabilized between 90
and 95°, I started work on planting the last tree (apricot) in the
yard. 
I periodically checked in on the chicks, and all seemed well. However, because we were to have a cold weekend (especially the nights), I had Joe bring out our large space heater. This would keep the building temperature warmer. I set it at 60°. 
I got the tree planted, some sod put in, and watered everything we had planted yesterday. I mucked A&Z's dry lot and then moved all the rest of the sod to the big dirt spot around the former gray water dump zone.
Jean arrived back from town. I fed A&Z while she unloaded groceries, and then we gathered in the chicken coop, with our libations, and watched the babies. Jean held a few of them for less than a minute each, just to say hello.
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