Hullabaloo

 
This was a week of a lot of different things going on and me feeling quite busy with all the hubbub.  Mostly it was fun and games, but sometimes the busyness felt a bit frantic.  I was puzzling over some things and enjoying the shenanigans at other times.  Jean's BF visiting at the ranch house all week, a birthday party, sitting with an elderly lady, guests for hors d'oeuvres, a trip to the airport, an appointment with a new doctor, horse shopping, and bonfire were all part of the rumpus.  The pool opening and adding three days of work (5 hours each) to my already tight schedule just added to the chaos.

Saturday 5/14 - I got to the ranch around 8am because I wanted to replant more flowers where the marigolds had died.  Of course it took me longer than planned because of interruptions, and I still was not happy with two of the plants that appeared to be dying.

Then Jean and I went for a ride.  With rain maybe coming as early as 11am, we knew we needed to get going.  Wanda loves the company down at the barn, and watching the 'going-ons' with people, horses, and Maggie (who was chasing carpenter bees).

Zorro is doing much better at the mounting block.  Jean does a great job with him, as does Patty.
Once tacked up, we headed out under mostly cloudy skies, with Maggie leading the way.  

At one spot, when Maggie walked near this 'stick,' it moved.  Just a nice black snake trying to cross the road.

We had an enjoyable ride, were out for almost 1½ hours, going close to four miles.  Although Amiga didn't really want to go out on the trail at first, she showed no signs of lameness, so we pushed up into a gait several times and even cantered a little bit. 







Unfortunately, before getting back, Amiga started head bobbing.  Shoot, had I pushed her too hard?  After untacking in the barn, when I turned her to take her out to the wash rack, she acted even more lame on the front foot.  By the time we were walking both horses up to their pasture/dry lot, she was really acting sore.

We gave Amiga a Previcox and I put Swat on her belly around her teats where she has bites.

Jean had cleaned the loafing shed for me on my chore night, so I did the same for her today.  And then since rain was coming, I went ahead and did the whole dry lot.  As I came back to the house, I was glad to see Jean was relaxing with her cat and my dog. 

Home for a quick 2:00 lunch, I then headed to town, with thunder in the distance.  We still had not gotten the rain that was predicted.  I drove the SUV to buy eight trees I had seen at Lowe's the day before.  I also got three more flowers to replace the ones that were struggling in the corner garden.  By the time I was loading plants into the car, it was raining.

I was back home in just over an hour's time.  The hullabaloo of thunder and rain occurred off and on all evening, but I got the dog out for two walks when the coast was clear.  Otherwise, she stuck to the safety of our closet and was there when I hit the hay before 9pm.

Sunday 5/15 - What a great way to start the day, with an Ava up date.  I love everything about her.  The hair, eyebrows, glasses, dress, crocks, and hand full of dirt and weeds. 

I finally got back to my porch cleaning project, on my hands and knees scrubbing the wood floor boards.  This included hammering in some nails who's heads were sticking up and using a screwdriver to get pet hair out from between the cracks. 










Porch work was interspersed with laundry and cleaning the kitchen sink, which had slowly gotten stopped up.
 

And then I moved the wicker furniture (we brought here from the ranch) into place where the glass table and chairs had been.  It looked so inviting, I was tempted to get a glass of iced tea, my book, and sit here to read.  Notice Stevie was enjoying the love seat.  

Patty was just finishing up mowing when I arrived at the ranch.  Once she stopped to re-hydrate and cool off, she and Maggie enjoyed Mom's bench in the shade. 

Then, spur of the moment, Patty and I decided to trim the flight feathers of the chickens because they are starting to get pretty high off the ground and we don't want any escapees.  It went very quick and easy.

I got these last three perennial Dianthus planted where I had mostly killed the one I had tried to split two weeks ago.  The other half was not doing too well, and the third plant (a sedum) was also struggling.  

Ta dah... so now I hope I am done planting this bed for years to come.  I guess time will tell.  Hopefully, with the landscape cloth, it won't need a lot of weeding either.

Jean and I chatted for a bit and then I harvested some more salad greens from the garden and headed home. 

Jean has done a great job keeping it and all the flowers weeded and watered.  And look how big our tomato plant is getting.


Even though it was already 6:30, I stopped in at Wildwood on the way home and ended up chatting with Judy and Carol for quite some time.  It is always good to see and talk with saddle sisters.

Monday 5/16 - It was Amiga and Zorro's 16th Birthday and the evening hullabaloo was the only photos I took all day.

I had a good workout at the gym, finished up cleaning the floor of the porch and then went to work at the pool at 1:30.  

 


Opening day at the pool went well, except for a small computer glitch that IT had to finally come out to resolve.  It was so good to see several of the regulars enjoying the sun and 75° water. 

Patty did pet chores for me at home, so I could go straight to the ranch after work.  I had no idea how long it would take to get the pool cover on.  Well, as it turned out, I was instructed to not cover the pool so I got off work earlier than expected. 

Jean, coming from the airport with BF Katie, Patty with Maggie, and I, all ended up arriving at the ranch at about the same time.  I did horse chores for our two, Jean and Katie went down to the barn to care for the boarder's horses, and Patty got the carrot candles on the horse's cake and pre-heated the oven for pizza. 





While the pizza was baking, we had the birthday hullabaloo, singing happy birthday to these two from the same sire, born on the same night to two different dams (video).  Amiga and Zorro thoroughly enjoyed their horse friendly cake.   

We ate outside because unfortunately, Jean's drive through Covid test was still positive.  UGH!!! 
Pizza, salad, and libations were a perfect way to wind down at the end of a busy day.  


There is always a hullabaloo at 'bedtime' for the chickens, as they jostle for top rung of the ladder.  I got these photos from a video Jean took a few days ago.

When Jean closed the chicken coop tonight, she reported that as usual, only ten birds could fit on the top rung, and two were on the next rung down. 

It was after 8:00 when Patty and I hit the road for home.  I almost forgot to take Maggie with me because Patty had brought her out to the ranch.  I was up later than usual, but still had the lights out before 10pm.

Tuesday 5/17 - I had been up for a few hours, in the middle of the night, worrying about a number of things.  So before 9:00 in the morning, I went out to the ranch to check on Amiga's lameness issue.  I was worried about it being an early case of laminitis or wondered if it was possibly from her shoe nails not being set deep enough.  Bonnie and Susan were very helpful to me in this matter.

From the ranch, I went to Micki's house where I sat with Rita (her mom who was born in Muncie the same day as my Mom) to give Micki a break for a few hours. 
After Jean finished her on-line work at 11am, she and Katie did the Ozone Falls hike. 

I was home by 12:30, had lunch, and then read and took a nap on the porch swing.  Relaxing longer than intended, I then had to scramble to get the house cleaned up somewhat, before Katie and Jean arrived. 



BFs, Jean and Katie. I didn't quite get all of Maggie in this photo.



We enjoyed libations, a snack, visiting, and watching the wildlife outback, in addition to enjoying the antics of my cats and dog. 

We went to Stonehenge for a lovely dinner out on the patio.  We enjoyed the golf course view and the hullabaloo of the group of golfers sitting nearby.  Their laughter and joy was contagious. 
Jean dropped me off at home and I was soon in bed reading - nearing the end of my mystery novel.

Wednesday 5/18 - Much of my day was spent on the road, one of my least favorite things to do.  On my way to pick Joe up at the airport in Nashville, traffic came to a halt (before Cookeville) and I crawled along for 45 minutes, sure I was going to be late picking Joe up. 

Sitting on I-40, I saw this clump of grass growing in a hole that was fairly high up in a rocky cliff.  I love nature and its reminder that life is not always easy, but if we hang on, we can survive and even flourish.  

Joe's flight was 15 minutes late and he had to wait at baggage claim, so came out of the terminal just a few minutes after I had pulled in.  Basically perfect timing, but I was worried about being late for a doctor's appointment in Cookeville.  So as soon as he was in the car, we were back off to I-40.  And this time, got stuck in traffic on the on ramp because of an accident that had just happened.  Police, fire trucks, and ambulance flew by us, and soon traffic was at least moving and we were on our way.

Just before I had left home, the farrier called and said he could look at Amiga between 11 and 12:00.  So I lined up Patty to hold her for him.  Chris ended up putting new shoes on her.  I am hoping this solves the current lameness issue.  Then at chore time, Jean took this photo.  Amiga has been scratching at the hitching post and really scrapped herself up.  Ugh.

My dermatologist appointment went well, which I was actually early to, and I was relieved to learn that the big spot that had formed on my back over winter was just a Seborrheic Keratoses growth, like many smaller ones I have, and nothing to worry about.  Getting old ain't for sissies, nor is it glamorous. 

We stopped at Food City on the way home and then I had a beer and leftover cheesy chips for an early 4pm happy hour, and also finished my mystery paperback novel.  

I just needed to unwind after the hullabaloo of the day's drive and anxiety of being late while caught in traffic.  It all worked out, but at the time was very nerve racking for me. 

Rose was napping over on Brian's grinder pump lid.  The silly girl. 
I ended up taking a little nap out on the porch swing.  So then at my usual bedtime, I wasn't ready to fall asleep. 

Thursday 5/19 - The predicted rain and thunderstorms was removed from the forecast overnight, and it ended up being a very nice day, even though it was mostly cloudy. 

Stevie's right eye had been scratched by Styx a few days ago.  I was glad to see that the antibiotic ointment I was applying twice a day was helping.  She was now able to open her eye, although it was still quite sore. 

While I was at work at the pool, Jean reported that Amiga had further hurt herself, scratching at our hitching post (Amiga had left chunks of hide on the post).  Jean and Katie treated Amiga's open wounds and then covered the posts with plastic so Amiga won't be able to do more damage to herself.

My morning working at the pool went without complications.  It was a small crowd due to the overcast skies and cool breeze. 

Meanwhile, Jean and Katie went for a long ride at Wildwood stables.  They later reported enjoying the sweet horses and beautiful scenery. 



I rushed from the pool when I got off work and went straight to the ranch to get my tack cleaned and packed to go to Celtic Rose.  Finally Jean had tested negative for Covid and we (with Katie along to also give us input) were on our way to make a decision about Robbie.  In this photo, Jean is helping me tack Robbie up with my saddle. 

The saddle fit very well.  Then I rode Robbie in the arena to see how it felt.  It is going to work nicely.
 

 





Next Emily did a little lesson with Jean, showing her the cues for riding Robbie. 

And then Jean got more instruction on cuing Robbie from up in the saddle herself.  In addition to pace and direction, they worked on collection, softening, flexibility, and responsiveness.  Jean looked good on Robbie, and liked how Robbie felt and responded.

  






And so we decided to adopt Robbie, not just because she is such a sweet horse with good training, but because she needs a new person.  Her previous owner (an acquaintance from Wildwood who I rode with a few times) passed away in November, and Michelle has been looking for a good home for Robbie.  It was Jesse's last wishes. 

While Jean finished up her lesson, I payed Michelle the adoption fee and we did the paperwork to complete the process and make it official.

As often happens with horse people (especially us girls) I chatted too long and we then had to hustle to get back to the ranch and do chores.   

Joe was finishing up mowing and before long, had a fire going.  Patty came out and joined us and we enjoyed a simple dinner, libations, reflecting on life, and laughing at memories.

Friday 5/20 - For me it was a day of work, but for Jean and Katie, it was a day of play.  They went Honky Tonkin' in Nashville.  Talk about a hullabaloo, there is always craziness going on downtown there. 

I worked out at the gym, came home and worked in the yard for an hour, and then went to the pool for paid work.  

Because I wouldn't be getting off until after 6pm, Patty offered to do chores for me.  Not only did she muck the loafing shed and feed our horses, she cared for Amiga's wound and gave her Previcox.  She sent these photos (before and after the ointment) to show me how Amiga's injury looked.

I came home to hungry pets and went to bed early.