Make Lemonade

We all know the saying, 'If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.'  This phrase is used to encourage optimism and a positive attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune.  Lemons suggest sourness or difficulty in life; making lemonade is turning them into something sweeter.
Also, July (especially the 4th) is the time for picnics, parades, cook outs, watermelon, ice cream, and lemonade.

I'm actually not real fond of lemonade.  It makes me feel more thirsty, especially drinking water with lemon in it.  But lemon/ice tea isn't bad if it has plenty of sugar. 
There's also the saying “Don't cry over spilled milk.” when something disappointing has happened.  Agreeably, there’s no use stressing out over things that have already happened. 

Saturday 7/2 - This photo was taken by Jean Saturday evening on her way home from our Flossmoor house.  I always like seeing the steeple of the Methodist Church as I head down Westchester.  But notice what Jean also captured a doe and two fawns. 

I took a home Covid test to determine the outcome of my weekend.  I was not at all surprised to see a positive (not as in good, but as in I still had stupid Covid) result.  I still had lingering symptoms and it had only been six days since testing positive. 






I helped get Maggie packed up but Joe had everything else taken care of.  When he and the dog headed out for a weekend gathering at the lake house, I headed to the ranch.  I had planed to ride with Jean (as a consolation for missing out on the weekend gathering).
 

I arrived just before 9am and we were quick to get going because we wanted to beat the heat and the thunderstorm, due before noon.  Jean worked with Robbie at the mounting block in the round pen while I finished tacking Amiga. 

Amiga was not wanting to lead the way again, so Jean set off on Robbie, who was very willing.  The air was heating up quickly, as were we and our horses.  And the flies started getting really annoying to us and our trusty mounts. 

On one cul-de-sac we took, there were these ferns growing all over the trail (former roadbed).  It was very cool looking.  My earlier photo on Amiga shows how dense the ferns were.



We had a great ride, going 3.6 miles in under 1½ hours.  We did some trotting/gaiting and even a little cantering.

Once back, both our horses got hosed off. 





This shows our wash rack, looking from the barn and then from the other direction.  The wall the roof is attached to is one of the walls of the boarders loafing shed. 

Once finished, our horses got to eat tender grass for a bit and then we walked them back up to their pasture.  Zorro was so glad to have the two girls return. 

The heat and exertion (as little as it was) wore me out, so I had a cool drink (water, not lemonade) and a snack while sitting in the shade with Jean.  A breeze had picked up, but the rain never came. 

Then Jean and I got to work.  While she cleaned out the chicken coop, I hooked up the wagon and went down to the shop to get saw dust.  We then put some in the coop and the rest in our loafing shed. 

I did some mowing while Jean did other little chores like cleaning chicken feeders and waterers, hanging fly strips and re-filling our fly spray bottles.  She was in the process of watering (since it looked like we weren't going to get rain) when I headed for home.

I rested, showered, and changed, and then did some quick house cleaning just as we got hit with a torrential downpour.  We got two inches of rain in one hour.

Jean was on her way here, treating me to dinner she picked up at Cancun Mexican Restaurant.  It had remained dry at the ranch and restaurant and Jean did not hit the storm until almost here.   

We ate on the back porch (social distance and fresh air), while watching the flooded creek washing into the pond.  Enjoyable food and time were had by both of us. 
Jean took the photo of the church and deer on her way home, and this one when she got home.  She had gotten a little over an inch of rain there.  This was the calm after the storm, and before the next eruption.

Sunday 7/3 - I had gotten photos and up-dates of the Lake house from the day before,  and was feeling a little sad about missing out.  But I was really glad to see they were all having a great time.  I decided there was no use in doing another home Covid test, because I wasn't going anywhere anyway.  Tango and Maggie checking the house out. 






The humans getting things unpacked and put away in the kitchen. 

Dan and Vale having a go at the basketball shoot in the game  room. 






Little Ava enjoying a game with Dan and Patty, and later Courtney. 







Their evening meal was prepared by Ricardo and Yaneth.  It looked to have been enjoyed by all.  The Lake house party group this year included Ricardo, Yaneth, Alexsys, Dan, Val, Ava, Joe, Courtney, and Patty.   

As I was sipping tea and computerizing, I got word from Jean about her disrupted night and frustrating incident.  One of the neighbors on Eli Ford set off some big fireworks from 1:30 - 2am.  It had the horses scared and Jean quite upset.  How inconsiderate of people. 

I got to the ranch about 8:15 and Jean and I soon saddled up our horses.  This time Jean was going to ride Zorro.  Seen here, Bonnie was trying out the ortho-flex saddle Courtney and Jean use when riding Zorro. 

Robbie was most unhappy to be left behind, and she was running the fence line as Jean and I rode off on Amiga and Zorro. 

Camera war with Jean.  This is a cool looking patch of a lichen/moss (the white stuff) that can be found growing in many spots throughout the Glade.

Amiga was willing to lead the way with Zorro, but later decided she should be following him.  I worked at getting her to go forward ahead of Zorro, so it wasn't her 'making the decisions' but then did let Jean lead much of the time, trying to make it seem like my idea and not Amiga's.  I was not in the mood (mentally or physically) to 'fight' Amiga about this so didn't work with her on it much.

We had a great little ride, only going two miles in 42 minutes.  We did quite a bit of gaiting and tried a little canter at one spot. 

The three horses were happy to be back together again. 
I rested a bit, enjoying the hammock in the shade. 

Once I got my mucking chores done in the dry lot, I went home to get some daily and weekly chores done around the house. 

After left overs for a very early dinner, a nap, and shower, I went back out to the ranch.  We had a sister face time at 5:30, with me on Jean's computer.

Jean and I then went for a walk in the neighborhood to see if anyone was setting up for more fireworks, and to ask them to be considerate of our animals and us and not set them off at 1:30am. 

We had a great chat with our immediate neighbor, who Jean initially suspected, but discovered they too were as put out by the commotion the night before as Jean had been. 

At the end of Eli Ford we had the pleasure of spotting this owl who flew by and landed on a dead branch of this tree.

We opened the gate to the front pasture so the horses could move out there and away from scary fireworks whereever they might be shooting off at.  I didn't stay long and headed home before dark to get a good night of sleep. 

Monday, July 4th, Happy Independence Day.  I did a home Covid test, and it was going to be a happy day for me... I could now come out of quarantine.  Jean also reported that the night was not nearly as disruptive out at the ranch. 








I enjoyed an update of the lake house group's fun day they had the day before.  They spent much of the day pontooning. 

Alexsys with her mom, Yaneth.



Captain Joe.
(He is Captain Morgan's friend, I mean, Captain Morgan is his friend.)





Here is most of the crew (Ava, Dan, Yaneth, Ricardo, Patty, and Courtney). 

And the other two (Alexsys and Val). 

Ava especially had a good time and really enjoyed the boat ride. 

And she really had a great time swimming in the lake.  It was reported that the water was the perfect temperature. 

Everyone enjoyed the water and some of the 'big kids' had fun on the slide. 

Food and drink, and plenty of sunshine were also enjoyed by all.

I'd like a Mike's Hard Lemonade please. 😁

This last photo was actually taken Monday morning as everyone was packing up and getting ready to head their separate ways. 

 

Jean and I had planned another morning ride so I got to the ranch at 8:30.  This time I rode Zorro and Jean rode Robbie.

We ended up riding for an hour and 45 minutes and going a total distance of 4.7 miles.  Both our horses (and us too) were hot and tired when we got back to the barn. 










We had hit some new roads for Jean, Robbie and Zorro. 

 
Both horses did fantastic.  I only got one photo of Jean and this one (video).  While she took several of Zorro and I.

We each took turns leading.  When one horse would kind of bulk, not sure it wanted to continue in front, the other horse would step right up and take the lead. 

Zorro is such a sweet boy, and can be pretty good lookin' too. 

At three different times Robbie hopped over 1- a section of tarp, 2- a puddle, and 3- a downed tree... and Jean did a great job staying on, with each of her little 'jumps'. 


Jean rinsed Robbie off while I gave Zorro some grass time.  Then we took them back up to the paddock.  Amiga was so glad to see her two equine buddies. 



I was planning to do a few things out at the ranch, but after cooling off and getting food and drink, it was getting late and I needed to get home to attend to needed chores there.

After three hours here, I went back to the ranch.  Patty was helping Jean with chores when I arrived down at the barn yard. 

Karen came out a little later, and she and Patty helped me with taking measurements up in the side pasture, so we can figure the best placement for a two stall shed. 

It was too hot for a bonfire, so Patty cooked our brats and hotdogs on the grill. 

Shirley arrived and we soon ate.  It was a nice little social gathering, and we enjoyed the meat, Jean's homemade potato salad, and Shirley's home made peach desert.   

Later we did start a fire.  It's always nice to sit around and tell stories, even though it was a bit hot so we didn't sit too close.  Then when the fireworks started (over past the power line), I went out to check on the horses whom we had put out on the front pasture. 

I had to use my flash to take their picture.  The three boarded horses can be seen farther back on the other side of the electro-braid fence in their pasture.  I think they all got near each other, safety in numbers.
 

Tuesday 7/5 -  Our 42nd anniversary. 

I hadn't gotten home until 10:30pm, so was late to bed and slow to rise.  I had lots of photos to put on this blog from the weekend, so that took awhile. 

These two little dear ones came by later in the morning.  Their mom can be seen in the background, down on the oasis. 










I didn't get to the gym until almost noon.  My workout went better than expected, after being off for eleven days, and sick for a week.  My muscles were well rested and could handle the weight, but I fatigued quicker. 

I had a late lunch and then kind of crashed.  I woke from a nap needing to use the restroom, and ended up with diahrea the rest of the afternoon and evening.  Ugh. 

We got word from our nephew Ben, that he had completed his Walk Across America. From Boston MA, down the Appalachian Trail, across the south, TX, and desert, up the Pacific Crest Trail, and ending in Mendicino CA. Ben walked for Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention.  What an accomplishment!
 

Wednesday 7/6 - I was out at the ranch a little before 8am and went to get Amiga right away.  Robbie was wanting to join the two Pasos who were in the shed, and someone had knocked the fly spray off the hook.

I wanted, and needed to do more work, one-on-one, with Amiga, and wanted to beat the heat.  Jean works every weekday morning, so it was just Amiga and I. 

 


I hand walked Amiga through the back gate and then got on her in the woods using the tree stump mounting block.  She looked back at the barn, I turned her head towards the trail, gave her a little ask with my legs, and she willingly left the barnyard area and went down the trail.  Yay! 

I was so pleased with how Amiga did during almost all of this ride.  She got 'stuck' a few times, wanting to take the turn on the trail that would get us back to the barn quickest, but did not ever put up much of a 'fight' and continued down the trail going farther from home. 
And as I often do when there are no other riders, I let her graze.  In this photo we are next to some of the big, scary pipes, as a way to de-sensitize her to different things. 

We took the little path off Marmaduke and peeked in on the property at the gate to Jim's back pasture.  In the distance you can see our loafing shed to the left, a bit of the ranch house in the middle, and our wood fence around part of our side pasture, the yellow looking (un-mowed) field. 

I turned Amiga off Marmaduke just past the Eli Ford dead end and we went down our street to our private drive (Ava Way). 

Jean was on her 15 minute break and took these photos of Amiga and I coming up the drive. 








And here is a (video) and photo from it, that Jean took of me riding Amiga down the aisle way between the front yard and the front pasture.

Once un-tacked, I hosed Amiga off and then returned her to the dry lot with her two buddies.



Joe was already working, putting a wheel on a gate to make it easier to open and close.  Then we worked together to muck the very wet loafing shed out (from Saturday's downpour, that never did dry out).  We unloaded the remaining shavings from the trailer, and now need to get more. 

While re-hydrating, I helped with a puzzle in the air-conditioned house to cool off.  Then I headed to work at the pool.  First day back in eleven days.  It was busy and hot, but I was thrilled to be back at the pool.  And we actually got shut down 30 minutes early because of thunder. 

I got this photo from a video Jean sent of Wanda purring while getting some lovin'.  You can see the left side of her face is still a little swollen.

Once home, I ran over to Brian's to visit with the Irish, who have been here two weeks now.  They are a lovely and fun lot of folks. 

I could not stay awake while here at my computer, so went to bed before 8pm.  I tried reading for a bit, but didn't last long.  My view just before turning the lights out.
 

Thursday 7/7 - We got hit with a thunderstorm about 6:30am.  I unplugged my computer when one lightening strike was a little too close for comfort.  And we got pounded with rain.  Jean sent this video, saying she was getting the same storm out at the ranch and that the horses had chosen to stand under a tree rather than in the loafing shed. 

  

 





Our little creek in back, seen through my rain streaked office window, was flooded. 

Dorchester pool was closed for the morning, so I did not have to go in for my shift.  But then it ended up clearing off.  The pool had been partially drained for some maintenance, so it would still be closed during my shift. 

I decided to take advantage of the 'time off work' and get started on the chicken fence at the ranch.  When Jean was delivering hay to the horses.  Robbie saw it as the 'food wagon' and headed over for a taste. 



Our silly horse was quite persistent about getting a bite to eat, even after being shooed off by Jean.  Meanwhile, Zorro just looked on, and decided not to interfere. 








Joe and I worked about 90 minutes on the chicken fence.  We wanted to give them more room to run and make the fence more permanent and add a gate.  Once the sun came out after all the rain, the humidity shot up and it felt quite hot out. 

The new fence will run parallel to the whole back wall.  We are keeping it narrow, and hope with the trees (and wall), a hawk can't swoop down and get any chickens. 

 

It was thundering in the distance as a storm was rolling into the area.  We quit at this point.  You can see the old fence in the distance, with the yellow stakes.

As I was finishing picking up tools, rain started, and the girls were heading back into the coop.    

I left in a torrential downpour, but as I neared home, the sun was shining.  Our weather patterns can be so weird and unpredictable.

I had planned to either go shopping or to the gym.  It was already 3pm, so I decided not to make the trip into town, and instead, had a great workout.

Jean sent this photo while doing chores down at the barn.  Notice the rain coming off the roof over the wash station and little Wanda sitting under it to stay dry.  She is so cute.  

I had a protein filled dinner (left over 100% beef brats, re-fried beans, onions, and cheese) for dinner and then Joe and I watched an old 1981 movie, 'Thief.'  For a thriller, it moved kind of slow much of the time. 

Friday 7/8 - I was on my way to town by 7:30.  I hit the three stores I needed, and then went straight to the ranch to unload plants, feed, and a few more fence posts.  I had used the SUV to transport a tree, and Joe came out with the dog in my car to switch out vehicles.  He had gotten an invite to golf, which took priority over helping me with fencing.  Go figure, LOL.  So I was going to do plantings. 

Above is the red flowering crab I put in at the far end of the chicken run, to have one more tree to give them shade and protection from hawks overhead.  This second photo is of the new azalea, to replace one that had died.  It is flowering, but the other two aren't.  I think they need fertilizing possibly. 

All the pansies in the flower boxes had succumbed to the heat, even with Jean watering them everyday.  I knew it was a matter of time.  So I planted these petunias in their place. 

I had to take cover in the house during a pop-up shower and once just to cool off and re-hydrate. 

After getting everything planted, I mucked the loafing shed and dry lot.  I also dismantled most of the former chicken fencing with the hopes to finish the project Saturday. 

In this photo, you can see where the old fencing had been (the taller grass line).  I moved it closer to the coop to temporarily contain the chickens while we redid this end of the fence line.  We are re-using most of the welded wire, but needed room here to put up the new, more permanent fence. 

Jean had gone into town for her weekly shopping trip, and arrived back about 3pm with carry out dinner.  We had part of the meal for an afternoon snack.

We hung out, worked the jigsaw puzzle, and I even took a little nap.  A mid-afternoon beer will do that to me, especially when I am sleep deprived, which I was.

Just after Jean went down to do chores for the boarders, we got hit with a heavy downpour.  Wanda once again takes shelter from the pouring rain.  Smart kitty.  I waited for it to lighten up before going out to feed our three horses. 
 
 




We came in, dried off, and had the rest of our KFC for dinner.  The rain had stopped and the low cloud coverage could be seen coming over the mountain top and drifting into the valley.  Jean took this photo and I the second one.




It was neat to watch the cloud move over the mountain and down the other side. 

I waited for the chickens to put themselves 'to bed' in the coop (7:24), closed their door, and headed home with Maggie. 

Poker Joe got home just after I turned my reading light off at 9:00.