Kick It!

There are several meanings for this term.  People use it in place of the word 'hanging out.'  It is also internet slang for chatting or texting.  It can be used in reference to getting rid of a bad habit, addiction, or a disease like cancer.  Kick it can mean to perform in an impressive manner, especially musically.   

Kick IT is said when someone is on bad terms with an IT technician and wants to hurt them.  We can kick the bucket, kick something to the curb, or kick around an idea.  And kick it even refers to dancing. 

Working with horses, we are aware they may kick it if they feel threatened or annoyed by another horse or animal.

Saturday 9/24 - I was up early already worrying about our morning trailering plans.  I wish I could kick the anxieties I have with trailering Amiga.  I was also frustrated with my desk laptop and ready to kick it to the curb.  I finished last week's blog using my travel laptop. 

Joe and Mike took care of themselves once they were up.  After going to Food City for breakfast, they met Jean and I at the ranch and helped us with loading Amiga and Robbie (which went smoothly and efficiently).  We off loaded at the Amherst Trail head.  Amiga took three slow, short steps back before deciding to explode off the back of the trailer.  I guess this is progress. 


The first photo shows Mike behind us after we were tacked and ready to ride.  We rode around towards Marie's house.  She came out to see us. 

This second photo was taken right after Marie kissed Robbie. 




It was perfect riding weather, although had started out a little cool and rainy.  Several photos were taken along the way. 

We rode for two hours and 15minutes and covered six miles of back roads. 

 









We came back by way of Eli Ford road and dismounted halfway down our driveway because both our horses were tired and acting a little tender footed on the gravel.

Zorro and Cowboy were glad to have us return, and came to greet us as we walked by. 




We un-tacked at the barn and finished closing up the trailer Joe had brought back to the ranch and parked for us. 

Zorro and Cowboy were hanging out in the shed, just kind of waiting for the mares to be brought back into their pasture. 




Amiga had a good roll and all four horses enjoyed the afternoon in the front pasture together. 







Jean and I had a very late lunch, took advantage of some R&R time, and worked on the jigsaw puzzle. 


We then got to work doing chores (it was my night to muck and feed). 


I also did a few odd jobs.  At one point I jumped in my car to run tools down to the shop and it wouldn't start.  Nuts, not again.  (Would it help to kick the tires?  No, that was just done to see if they had enough air in them.)

Jean had braided Robbie's short mane (that sticks up like a zebra) to get it to go back and lay flat on her neck. 

  
I never made it home to shower.  Patty came out shortly before the guys arrived with dinner from Food City.  It was a beautiful night.  Perfect for a bonfire.  And wonderful to sit and watch the horses and sun set.  We don't ever see the sun disappear from the horizon (because of trees) but the sky does turn some amazing colors. 







I tried my car again, in case sitting like last time would give the battery a chance to recharge.  These hybrids work differently.  But, no luck.  It was making ticking noises and some lights worked (like check engine) but I couldn't get the windows up. 

Jean got the fire going and we were soon sitting around it eating dinner. 

 
Dark descended, and we enjoyed chatting about days gone by and future plans. 

We made one last effort to try to get my car going.  Joe and Patty had looked up a U-Tube video for starting a dead Prius.  The 12 volt battery was under the back seat (we decided not to mess with getting to it) and the hybrid battery was under the hood. 

Getting the car to start up was to no avail.  And by the time we gave up, the check engine light wasn't even coming on. 

I went and got a tarp from the shop and covered the car with it, to keep possible rain out of the opened windows.  Maggie and I rode home with Joe and Mike.

Sunday 9/25 - Joe and Mike left for Nashville before 9am.  The 'good news' for the day, was that Dorchester pool was closing for the season.  We'd been having troubles with cloudy water, and the last six days of September were to be rather cool.  I was glad I didn't have to worry about getting to work in the afternoon.

I started laundry, guest sheets and towels, and after an early lunch, went to the ranch.  We girls had planned to clip chicken wings, so Patty picked Maggie and I up. 

We got started on the chickens as soon as we got out to the ranch.  We had to do some chasing around, but clipped every chicken, we think.  We just cut the very tips of the first (about ten) flight feathers on one side, and that keeps the girls 'grounded' - no escaping over the short yard fence.
 

After all the commotion of chicken wrangling was over, this gal got back to laying an egg.  She almost acted kind of broody, quietly settling into the nest for quite awhile. 

I had other chores and things I wanted to get done and as usual they took longer than expected.  Susan was willing to give me a ride home later in the day, so I told Patty to go on ahead without me. 

I transported extra hoses down to the barnyard area because we need them to reach from the spigot all the way to the corral.  I got a siphon going and started draining that tank. 

Then after also draining the old rusty stock tank which catches the rain coming off the boarders' shed roof (because rain from the gutter was really eroding the ground) I got it set up so it would drain continuously anytime rainwater collected in it.  When the tank overflows, it was still washing away the gravel and dirt.  I sent this photo to Patty to ask how to use the ratchet wrench to get the plug out of the tank.  Finally I was able to screw in one of the soak-er hoses (I had tested both up in the chicken yard) and was done. 

As soon as Susan was ready to go, I put the corral tank cleaning on hold, grabbed the cooler of stuff I had taken out of my car (not knowing how long it would be out of commission) and we left.  While Susan and I were en route for home about 4:30, we got hit with a torrential downpour.  Jean reported (and sent a video and photos) that it hailed out at the ranch but that the tarp stayed over my car. 

  



This second photo, also from her video, shows the three horses under the trees.  I guess the hail hitting the metal roof of the sheds was too noisy for them. 

It looks to have been a rather large amount of hail, and the pellets were fairly sizeable.  This seems an odd time of year for it to be hailing. 

Getting home well before dinner time, I started back in on laundry, and finished up two more loads during the evening. 

I took Maggie for a walk after the rain and she had had her dinner.  I decided to get a photograph of Brian’s Redbud which is really full of berries.  And here’s a close-up since a comment last week said it was hard to see the berries in the photo I took. 








Joe and Mike had gone to a Titan's game, and stayed the night in Nashville.  So I had a quiet evening at home and ended up going to bed quite early, appreciating the flannel sheets I had put on our bed.

Monday 9/26 - This is Jean's photo, a much better close-up of our cute little frog friend.  I woke up and took my thyroid pill and could not get back to sleep so I got up a little after 2:30.  I was playing catch-up on this blog on my computer.  After two cups of tea I did start to get a little sleepy so took a 90 minute nap.  When I woke back up I had to hustle to get the trash out to the curb in time (8am) for the garbageman.  I took Maggie for her second walk and had a third cup of tea, although it was decaf.  These cold mornings I really like my hot beverages.

Joe took Mike from their hotel, to the airport and on his way back from Nashville called to see if I could meet the Triple A guy (Frank) at the ranch.  I reminded Joe that I didn't have a vehicle.  LOL  So once Joe got home he picked me up and we went out to meet Frank at 11am.  Frank recharged the battery the same way we had tried the night before but he must’ve had a better connection.  To make sure we didn’t need a new battery, Joe drove my car to Frank’s shop and I guess it started up fine and they decided the battery was OK.

The new shed was built for Robbie, but our two Pasos love it and seem to have taken it over.  Joe and I were preparing for a group of ten horses that would be staying overnight, so I scrubbed the stock tank in the corral, refilled it, and mowed some of the tall spots in the corral.  I picked up sticks, cleaned up manure, and did a little more mowing.  Joe put some electric fence across our metal gates so that the horses could not fraternize with the boarded horses down at their paddock or with our three horses up at our dry lot. 



The round bale was finally light enough to move, so Joe and I scooted it over to the other side of this aisle-way where it no longer blocks the shavings or barn tools.

For some reason I was kind of dragging (night of interrupted sleep) so I hung out with Jean in the ranch house and we finish the puzzle. 














I took these photos when Jean went out to feed our horses.  Zorro is following her (in the yellow circle) and Robbie is making her way in to the paddock (in the red circle).

Amiga, who had been down by the pond, slowly made her way in.  You can see Robbie and Zorro in the aisle while Jean is going into the feed room.  They often kick out at each other, so Amiga is smart to keep her distance and wait her turn. 

We are still working at getting Robbie (seen in the aisle here) into her side of the shed.





Jean had to leave for choir and since Joe and Patty would be coming back later to take care of the overnighter, I went home.

By the time I got home, I got a text message saying Joe had accepted an 'emergency' request for another overnighter.  A lady with one horse and a burro (a small donkey with long hair).  So we would be putting them in the round pen. 

Joe met the lady with the two equine first (7:30) and lead the way to the ranch.  Then he went back to the interstate exit (8:15) to escort the two trailers with the ten horses.  In this photo Patty took, the burro was not wanting to get off the trailer. 
 

Tuesday 9/27 - Again it was another tough night for sleep for me.  After my 2:00 thyroid pill and glass of water as usual, I couldn't get back to sleep.  I was wondering about the overnighters and thinking of several other things.  Jean sent this photo first thing when she got up, of our horses looking at the big herd across the fence.    

These ten are near the end of their journey to a new home from the west coast to the east coast. 

Shortly after sunrise, their people were preparing to load up their horses. 










The horses had congregated down in the corral, I am guessing to get fed. 

And soon, they were all loaded and ready to go.
Meanwhile, in the round pen, these two were waiting for their person to get them loaded and on their way. 

 






I had gone back to bed for a bit, and woke at 6:30 with 90 more minutes of sleep accomplished.  But I didn't feel well rested.

Now that the pool is closed for the season and I have more time, I would like to kick it up a notch with my workouts.  So I went to the gym with this idea in mind.  Well, lack of sleep and being preoccupied with other obligations seemed to complicate things.  I had upped my weights or number of reps where doable, but then only did half the machines (taking an hour to do so).  I ended up quitting early, with the plan to do the other half Wednesday morning.  I stopped at the Center to turn in my pool keys, the pharmacy to pick up more thyroid pills, and Food City to buy groceries.
   

The only two photos I took today were of Jean and Maggie.  Wanda had also been there with them. 

I went out to the ranch to clean up after our overnighters.  The corral was in fairly good shape, but I did drain, scrub, and refill the 100 gallon stock tank.  While it drained I mucked the round pen.  And while it filled I cleaned up around the barn and tack room.  Then I got word we had more overnighters coming the following day.  Ugh, hoses and water tanks are a hassle and we need to rethink this some.  Actually they are supposed to supply their own water buckets, so we should just remove the big water tank.

While up at the ranch house chatting with Jean, working through ideas and plans for our horses and both the boarding and overnight business, I helped turn over puzzle pieces for our next jigsaw work of art.

Joe and I watched the two hour episode of season 43 of Survivor and we both went to bed early. 
 

Wednesday 9/28 - Patty with Maggie and Wanda down at the barn mid-afternoon.

I have NO IDEA what I did most of the morning, but I didn't get to the gym until 11:30.  I spent an hour doing the other half of my workout from yesterday.  I have been bothered by a catch in my shoulder and a pinch in my elbow for several weeks now, so wasn't able to increase my weights on the machines that antagonized them. 

After a very late lunch, Maggie and I went to the ranch.  We headed straight down to the barnyard area where Bonnie, Susan, Yvonne, and Patty were.  It is enjoyable to chat with the girls, especially when it isn't about obstacles and logistics with the boarding aspects of the ranch.  Sometimes the concerns feel like grumbling and it wears me down.

I did some last minute stuff to get ready for the overnighters and for the trailering Jean and I were planning to do Thursday.  I cleaned the port-a-potty and tack room and hauled two hoses back up to the house. 

The overnighters were quite late.  Joe left for poker and Patty and I waited for the arrival of our 'guests.' 

Finally Oscar arrived with the four polo 'ponies' he was transporting for his boss.  Apparently he had had two flat tires on the trailer, causing the over three hour delay.

When he had pulled in, he let his little dog out of the truck.  After relieving itself, the dog chased Wanda up this pole in the barn.  Bad doggie. 

Patty took care of the paper work and payment and I helped Oscar with the unloading, walking two of the horses to the corral.  You could tell they were glad to get off of the trailer. 








Patty gave Oscar directions to hotels and restaurants and after he parked and unhitched his trailer, he left. 

  
Patty and I were not too far behind him, heading out the front gate.  Later when Jean went down to check on Wanda and the horses, she took this photo.  All was well. 

The dog, cats, and myself had a late dinner.

I went down back to discard a bunch of sticks in the woods on the hill across the creek, and took this photo.  Lots of the sand that had been removed and dumped on the hillside (to clear this end of the pond), has now washed back into the creek.  Oh well, I have given up worrying about this problem. 
 

Thursday 9/29 - I woke after five hours of sleep and got up at 2am knowing I wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep.  I did my blogging from Wednesday while Babe was playing in the wall units overhead. 







I took several photos, but they didn't really come out because of lighting. 

After an hour nap, I was back up when the sun rose.  I made eggs and cheese for a healthy breakfast with my second cup of tea. 




By 8:30, Joe and I were both in route for the ranch.  He re-educated me on how to hook up the trailer, having me do all the steps.

Then I put Cowboy (selfie of me leading him) out with our herd of three in the front pasture. 

We are all 'tickled' at how well these four get along with each other. 






Next I set to work draining and cleaning the stock tank.  Once again I had to haul two hoses down from the house and they got all tangled up once more. 

Patty showed up to work with Zorro, and had a nice little ride on him.  And Bonnie and Susan came and mucked out their whole paddock area while I mucked all the manure from the four horses that had been in the corral. 




Zorro and Patty were lookin' good.  I think he was a bit animated, wanting to get back with his herd.

Once done with the hose, I was very careful to wind it up neatly in the back of the gator (which we are so glad to have back) so it would not get tangled.   

I don't know why I thought I would have time to go up to the ranch house to rest a bit, but it was getting close to 'go' time, so I just grabbed a PBJ for lunch.  Little projects and jobs always take longer than expected.

Jean and I trailered Amiga and Robbie to Celtic Rose to ride with Jan and Cash.  Trailering causes me so much anxiety.  I keep thinking the more I do it, the better it will get.  I don't like the off loading process or pulling the trailer down the road. 

I drive slowly on the the narrow, windy roads here in TN, but then the tailgaters make me nervous.  And while unloading horses, the possibility of Amiga shooting back into the butt bar (or under or through it, both of which she has done) and her always rushing off the trailer when told to step back, really makes me uneasy. 

Well, just about everything went better than expected and Jean and I were both quite pleased with our horses.  Granted, there is always room for improvement.  As you can see from this app. that both Jean and Jan use, we were in the saddle three hours and went 5½ miles.  You can also see the windy, curvy path we took through the woods. 






Jan was telling us about some of the obstacles used in the competition on these trails the weekend before. 

At the pond, the rider had to pickup a portion of fish food and ride to the edge of the pond and feed the fish.  Look at all the pretty Koi that were looking for food when we stopped by. 

The fish made Robbie a tad nervous, but Amiga was totally unaffected. 

  




Cash was very excited and happy to see his old friend Amiga.  She did not show near the enthusiasm, but I know she recognized him and immediately let him into her space.  She was taking in his familiar smell.

I too was so happy to see and ride with Jan after such a long time.

Jean and I were curious as to how Robbie would act, being on her old stomping grounds.  But rather than wanting to see her 'old friends,' she was much more concerned about keeping Amiga within sight.









After 90 minutes out on the trail, we rode for another 90 minutes around the barnyard area and in the arena.  The large 'kick it' ball was used for just that and I was able to get Amiga to push it around.  She also did the big teeter-totter.  Only getting a little scared when it rocked to the other side when her weight shifted over the midline. 
 

Robbie and Jean practicing the mounting block.

I wish I'd taken a photo of both our horses standing at the trailer when we tacked and un-tacked.  They both did such a nice job.  No pawing, prancing, or pulling... just calmly standing there. 

The trip back to our ranch went smoothly.  On the way down the drive, Zorro came running up the pasture to greet us and then followed us all the way down to the barnyard area.  What a silly boy.  This photo is from a video Jean took.

This got our two girls excited, so off loading Amiga was a little worse than when backing her off at Celtic Rose.

By the time we had the trailer cleaned out, parked, and a few chores done for the horses, I was done for the day.  I think my exhaustion was from all the worrying and lack of sleep.
   

Friday 9/30 - Wow, the last day of September.  Unbelievable!  We have been enjoying beautiful fall weather.  But I would like to kick winter to the curb and go from fall, straight to spring.  It already feels too cold out for my liking.  In this photo, Monita is reacting to Styx getting too close. 

I woke at 3:30, after seven hours of sleep.  I decided to do the gym Saturday since rain was predicted that day.  I wanted to get out in the yard to get some much needed work done while it was nice out.  Well, I don't know where the morning went, and I ended up taking a two hour nap, till 12:30.  And I still didn't have the gumption to work in the yard.  Ughh! 

Maggie and I made it to the ranch at 2:30.  Jean was in Knoxville all afternoon so first off I checked on the horses and filled their 30 gal. water tub.  I mucked our sheds and paddock and watered some plantings on the front side of the house.  I also did a few things down at the barn. 

There was a strong wind coming out of the NE, right into the new shed, so I closed the back window.  With rain coming, I didn't want it blowing into the shed. 

Jean arrived home just as I was finishing up outside so we had our weekly 'kick it' - sit, chat, and libations since Poker Joe is gone on Friday evenings.  In this photo, Parm is on the Halloween decorations box in the sun and Maggie is watching guard out the front door while I was working on the jigsaw puzzle. 

It was getting dark when I headed for home and the cats didn't get their dinner until 7pm.  Now Stevie was sitting on the Halloween box.  With September ending, I am ready for October, to kick it off with lots of riding.  I am not looking forward to all the leaf raking however.