The phrase "scratch where it itches" became famous in Iowa when Hayden Fry said it in reference to taking advantage of as many opportunities as available (playing football). Hayden became the Legendary head coach for the University of Iowa, turning the Iowa football program into a winner after decades of losing. He coached from 1979 to 1998, being hired the year I graduated. Each year as the football season kicks into gear, I reflect fondly on my years in marching band, playing my saxophone out on the field and cheering from the stands, at the Iowa games.
Therefore, we have both been inflicted with tons of very itchy spots all over us. And so I (and Jean) keep scratching because it (temporarily) relieves the itch.
Saturday 8/13 - Joe set off early to go get a load of square bales of hay. Handling hay will often irritate my arms and be itchy, but only for a little while, unlike the irritating chigger bites that seem to last forever.
I went to the gym, but had limited time because I wanted to get to the ranch by 11:00. Several of the weight machines had been replaced by new ones, so I tried some out, but did not have time to figure out each of them (that were quite different from the old ones).
This is Harley, our neighbors (near the end of Eli Ford) dog who hangs out along our lane. She is very sweet, and seems rather lonely, but we have discouraged her from entering our property.
I needed to be at the ranch 'before lunch' to meet with Dave and Kevin to go over plans for an additional shed in our front pasture. (They built our deck and put the roof up for the little loafing shed in the corral.)
While waiting for the builders to come (sometime before lunch they said), I worked on trimming the cypress trees and volunteer saplings and pulling some weeds. I tried to avoid the poison ivy.
Once Dave and Kevin came, I took a break and Joe, Jean,
and I meet with them to talk best design idea and exact placement of the
structure.
Then, before Joe left with the trailer of mulch, he helped me down at the pond so he could take the kayak home in the trailer.
With this past rain, the pond has filled back up to it's usual level. I had 'parked' the kayak on the shore out of the water. Look how much of it was underwater now. 
I headed in the kayak to the duck house with a bucket, hand rake, and can of spray paint. Using the rake I pulled all the old, dirty straw (lots of egg shells and a dead baby bird) out of the house and into the bucket. Then (seen in this photo Jean took) I went to the shore and handed off the bucket to Joe, for the bag of hay. 
I was wearing Jean's boots which made it a bit awkward to maneuver inside the kayak. 
Then once the house had the new hay in it, I spray painted the ugly green Styrofoam with a dark brown color. I forgot to take a photo of the finished job. I think it looks much better.
I worked back out on the drive and cleared one more load of tree branches, but still have a ways to go. 
Then I got Amiga and practiced a little trailer loading. Joe had pulled the trailer out so there was room to work and we felt it was secure enough to practice on even though it wasn't hooked to the SUV.
I fixed a mediocre dinner with the leftover grape weenies, adding noodles and kale.
Joe and I watched two more episodes of Only Murder in the Building.
Karen and I met Jean at the ranch at 9:45 and got Amiga, Zorro, and Robbie to go for a ride. Karen tweaked her shoulder while trying to get Zorro's cinch just a little bit tighter. She rode around in the yard to see if her arm could handle a trail ride, and decided against it. We helped her get Zorro un-tacked and back out to pasture and then Jean and I hit the trail.
Maggie was our scout and she actually covers more distance than us, going out and coming back as we go down the trail.
Robbie has been jumping water puddles and logs on the trail, so Jean was working with her here to calmly step over this tree. This gave Maggie a chance to rest and catch her breath and Amiga practice at standing still. Luckily, the dog is able to cool off some and get a drink in the creeks and puddles.
We had a great ride, covering 4.3 miles in just under two hours. We came back home down Ava Way and in through the front gate. 
Jean got this photo of Amiga and I up near the house before we headed down the drive to the barn, and I took this (video). 
Robbie checking out the rusted stock tank that has collected rain water from this little loafing shed roof.
After getting un-tacked, I worked with Amiga at the trailer again. She did very well the first try. I tied her to the outside of the trailer and then Jean loaded and off loaded Robbie, who also did a great job.
I loaded Amiga again and was going to have Jean mess with the butt bar, but a horse fly started bugging her (video) so we waited just a bit.
Once we got rid of the fly, I had Amiga calmly standing on the trailer while Jean rattled and swung the butt bar behind Amiga. She got tense a couple of times but did not try to bolt backwards off the trailer. We called it quits there, on a very good note.
We had a 1:30 late lunch once back up at the ranch house. I had planned to do more work on the drive, but still had chores to do and was a tad bit unmotivated.
So I had a beer and worked two 100 piece puzzles with Jean. Carol came by with a mini refrigerator she didn't need and we unloaded it. We'll hang onto it in case the one in the tack room needs replacing.
Zorro is scratching where it itches in this photo, taken after they had been fed and were closed in to the paddock area for the night.
Maggie and I left for home at 5:30. I had several chores to do so it was 7:00 by the time I was showered and relaxing at my computer.
Monday 8/15 - A peaceful morning was had, here at my computer. Monita can barely fit, sleeping at the top of this cat tower.
I set two chairs and a blanket out at Mirror Lake Blast on my way to the gym at 10:00. There were already many chairs set up. It was going to be a big crowd for Jake Hoot. 
I took extra time at the gym, figuring out each of the new weight machines. Two of them gave me some trouble, not knowing how to best position myself to get a good workout while not straining anything.
Up to the bucket from the bottom of this photo is what I had weeded. You can see how weedy it is past that point. 
I completed the bed between the sidewalk and house, but this is all the farther I got on the other side before it was time to get ready to go to Mirror Lake Blast.
Patty, Shirley, Jean and I got to the Blast plenty early because I had miss-read the start time. Oops. But it was nice to have some time to chat before the music began. 
The Huffaker Brothers played the first half hour and then Jake played until 8:30.
The crowed was a little slow to get up and dance, but partly, the music was a little slow for dancing.
Jean and I weren't shy about getting up and having some fun moving to the music. 
And before the end of the concert, the dance floor was packed. Everybody was having a good time.
This is just a section of the hillside that was covered with people in their lawn chairs.
Michelle sent me this photo of me with the Huffaker Brothers (her grandsons) in the back ground.
Once home just before 9pm, I had some chores to take care of. And I was still wound up when I got into bed, so read till 10:30.
Tuesday
8/16 - It was to be a nice cool day so I had planned to work in the
yard in the morning and then ride with Jean in the afternoon. Well, I
spent a little too long here at my computer, and did some inside jobs,
so it was almost 11:00 by the time I started weeding and mulching outside. 
Before I could get all of this section of flower bed finished, it started sprinkling. Why does the weather man seem to NEVER get it right. These three photos are all I took today, because it is about all I got done all day. But it took me a little over three hours to do because there were so many weeds. The trailer still has more mulch in it, so I will continue work on the bed in front of the house. At least that section isn't as weedy.
Scratch where it itches means to satisfy an urge to do something. To indulge in a desire or satisfy a need. It encourages us to work hard at trying to make the important things in life important. So, was it more crucial for me to get rest, than to ride? My real desire is to ride more often, but it takes effort and motivation to catch my horse, saddle her, ride her, and then un-tack and care for her.
Wednesday 8/17 - I got to the gym early (8:30am) and had a decent workout. My car was on empty (the last 14 miles) so I ran to Weigle's and then Food City.
I had two hours to work in the yard, so first used the electric hedgers to trim the bushes in front. Once all the brush, old leaves, and some weeds were cleared from the bed, I added mulch. I also used the weed whacker to edge along the block boarder.
The front of the house is looking better, but there is still a lot more yard (flower beds) that need work.
It was time to get to work, so I quickly walked Maggie, packed a dinner (salad), and went to the pool.
The computer and phone went down about 3:30 and IT came out to fix it, but the problem was with the provider, so I had to do manual sales and couldn't log out the sales day or clock out my shift.
Rose was waiting on the drive by the trailer when I arrived home a little after 6pm. She accompanied Maggie and I on a quick walk.
Then Rose (seen here at her feeding spot under the deck), Maggie, and my four house cats all got fed.
Thursday 8/18 - I went to the pool early thinking I would have to catch up my POS with yesterday's manual sales, and close out that shift, before opening up today's. Well, the internet and phone were still down. So with my extra time, I worked at setting up for the party we were having in the afternoon. We had lots of customers come in early and I was scrambling with manual sales receipts. Then finally, the phone and internet came back on and I started getting a bunch of calls about the party, while also working at entering all the manual sales slips into the computer. I was all caught up by the time Mike came and he took over the register while I helped Donna and DJ set up their equipment. Then I clocked out and joined the fun and games, partying from 2 - 4:00.
By the time I dried off and helped Mike put away a few tables, it was nearly 5:00 when I got home. Then I went right to work on finishing weeding and mulching the bed along the front of the house. I got the trailer emptied of its contents (seen above) just as Joe arrived home from his trip. Maggie and Rose waiting patiently for dinner in this second photo.
Jean sent me this photo of our three horses coming in for dinner. Zorro was leading the way, with Robbie in the middle, and Amiga bringing up the rear.
I have been enjoying my book, Run Rose, Run, co-written by Dolly Parton and James Patterson. So I read until bed time.
Friday 8/19 - I did not sleep well because I was worried about the infusion of Reclast I would be getting. The worst part of my morning was stopping for a doe and two fawn and watching the oncoming car not stop and hit one of the youngsters, sending if flying over the hood and landing flat on the road. I was SO mad and horrified. I started to get out of my car to see what I could do, but the fawn got up and hobbled three legged off the road to join up with it's mom and sibling. 
I was at the medical center just under an hour and the actual infusion only took 20 minutes. Then I ran some errands (returning a couple of items and buying plenty more stuff - mostly horse and household things).
I had time for a leisurely lunch and rest on the couch while I read. Then I packed up and headed to work at the pool. 
It was a quiet shift at the pool so I stayed in touch with Jean, Joe, and Patty who were sending me photos of the work being done out at the ranch. Patty had successfully hung the shades in the sun room out there, which can be closed to keep it cooler on warm days when the sun is shining in.
And Joe was helping Dave and Kevin with construction of the additional shed we are adding to our side pasture. Our agar makes post hole digging go so much faster.
Patty had chores tonight and Jean had left before 5pm to get Jan and go to the fair where I would be meeting them later. 
It was easier for Patty to feed at the usual locations, and just keep an eye on the horses around the construction site. 
After their dinner, Patty moved the horses to the pond side of the pasture, giving them hay and water there.
The predicted rain for the day never occurred, but it did keep clientele low at the pool. And everyone had left by 5:30, so I was able to get off work early.
I had time at the fair grounds to look around some of the exhibits before the horse and mule show started. I always love watching the baby chicks hatching.
Jean took this wonderful photo during the warm-up time. This is what the County fair is all about, (father and son) family time.
The first event on the schedule was the parade with all the kids getting a ribbon for participation. So many young, cute cowboys and cowgirls.
There were 21 events on the schedule, so lots of horses
and mules were seen.
The racking horses amazed us the most, with the
speed and smoothness at which they moved.
This is Callahan (Michelle's step son) on Monte (a horse Yvonne trained).
It was a beautiful night but started to cool off and I was feeling chilled. Come to find out, it was the beginning of symptoms from the Reclast infusion I had gotten.
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