Ringin' In The New Year doesn't start on the first of January, New Year's eve is actually the time to get all geared up for the beginning of the next year.
At the ripe young age of 68, I have rung in many a new year. In recent years, the new year has begun while I was in bed trying to get some beauty sleep, as if it might help me. LOL
Mostly, for the ringin' in of the new year, I wanted to keep our horses safe. In the past, the fireworks have been traumatic and caused great fear, running to escape, and an occasional injury. So for this year's celebration, I planed to stay at the ranch for the night, and invited the ladies to join me if they liked.
Sunday 12/31 - After chores, I got a fire going in the fireplace and had Karen take a photo of Patty and I in front of it. It was toasty warm. 
We had to include Maggie in a photo as well.
I made Bear Creek creamy potato soup with cheddar cheese and bacon added, which we enjoyed.
Then we started on a quiet game of Horse-opoly.
Patty was our banker and I had the highest roll of the dice so went first.
I rolled a nine, placing my riding boot piece on Paso Fino, which I immediately bought for $110.00. It coincides with Connecticut Ave on the original Monopoly and is the fifth cheapest horse on the board.
I was off to a good start in the game but Patty soon started getting very lucky, landing on lots of horses she bought, and she hit "Pasture" (three times before we quit) which was equivalent to Free Parking. Each time she collected all the $ we had been depositing there with Farrier, feed, Vet, and other bills. I got stuck in the trailer "Jail" for awhile, but Patty rolled doubles on her first try to get out when she was sent there. Karen fared worse than I, landing on Patty and my horse properties and never acquiring much wealth. She had to pay me for my Paso Fino almost every time she went around the board, because she kept landing on it.
Our cute little ranch house as seen after dark.
Susan dropped in after her dinner party and chatted with us for awhile. We called Patty the winner and put the game away. Later, (I think about 9:30) after Susan left, I went down to give the horses more hay. We had decided to keep them closed in the paddock for the night. Patty slept on the futon out by the fire and I hit the hay (at 10pm) in the guest room.
Monday 1/1/24 - Happy New Year!!
Maggie woke me at 12:03am, coming into the guest bedroom. So I got up to see if fireworks going off had upset her. There was nothing anywhere. I decided it must have been a few short boomers that didn't even wake me up. .png)
I was back up at 5am to open the gate for the horses who had been contained in the paddock as a safer spot for them if fireworks got crazy. This photo (from a video) shows Banner following Amiga out through the gate.
Patty didn't wake up till after 6am, so I started this jigsaw puzzle while I sipped tea.
Patty left after 8am and Bonnie dropped in before 9:00. I was still waiting for it to warm up more before going out to muck the paddock. 
And truth be known, I was really enjoying working the puzzle. This is how far I got before calling it quits about 10am.
I went out and scooped a wheel barrow load of manure from the paddock so Karen wouldn't have as much when she does chores tonight.
Wanda was glad to see Maggie, who had her jacket on because it was still quite cold out.
I took a hot shower as soon as I got home, got back in my PJ's and sipped a third cup of tea.
Other than caring for Rose, I never left the house the rest of the day. A nap, computerizing, and housekeeping things completed my day.
Joe grilled hamburgers on his new griddle top grill but returned to his Mancave for more football once we were finished with dinner.
Tuesday 1/2 - I have four fingers with cracks that I have been 'babying' and treating with healing ointment. But they still hurt terribly, throbbing and keeping me awake at night. Working with my hands out in the cold or with soapy water makes the cracks worse.
With a high of 42°, I opted to stay inside all day again. I did complete thank you notes and get a package ready to be mailed, which Joe took care of for me. I was engrossed in this jigsaw puzzle so didn't get to the gym until almost 3:00. Getting through an arm, ab. and elliptical workout took two hours, and was a bit of a struggle much of the time. Ugh!
Patty sent this photo of Wanda perched on this fallen tree right outside the paddock fence. She said Wanda sat there and watched her muck.
I hit Food City on the way home from the gym and heated up leftover potato soup for dinner. Joe and I watched two episodes of Suits. The first was a little confusing because there were all these 'flash backs' but they did answer a lot of questions that earlier episodes gave rise to.
Wednesday 1/3 - I spent a few morning hours working on the jigsaw puzzle. I’ve come to realize that these puzzles are a lot more fun when you have someone working them with you. You can chitchat, help find pieces for each other, and just enjoy the whole process together. By yourself, there’s really no one to say look what I did, to share your joy of finding a difficult piece. However, Monita is un-welcomed company.
I worked to get all the stamps completed, but now I'm left with all of the white edge pieces and the white connecting pieces between the stamps.
I had to hustle to eat and get to the ranch by 1:15, where I met Joe to move manure and put a round bale out in the back pasture. Zorro, Amiga, and Cowboy watching as I opened the gate for Joe to drive the tractor through. I think they were hoping for an early dinner.
I think they recognized the feeder and were wondering where the hay was. They followed us back into the paddock and hung around while we moved several loads of manure behind the dam.
I decided to feed the horses a little early, thinking it would be difficult to get them in once they started in on the hay. So I got the feeding process started while Joe switched tractor attachments and got a round bale from the shop. While the horses ate their grain, we got the round bale set up inside the feeder.
I brushed and did hoof care on Amiga while she was in and then turned her, Banner, and Cowboy out in the paddock from their 'feeding' stations (stalls).
The three 'amigos' went right to work on the hay but there was nowhere for Banner to get in. So I moved Amiga around by Zorro. 
Banner was reluctant, but then finally started eating. And look at Zorro with hay on his head.... so typical of him. 
While keeping an eye on the horses, I mucked the paddock (there was only one wheelbarrow load), de-iced the water tank, filled the heated water buckets, filled Amiga's hay feeder and stall water, and fed Wanda.
One more photo angle of the four eating together. I had taken all these close-up feeder photos within about ten minutes of each other, while I was in the back pasture watching and monitoring the situation. 
Once finished with chores, I took this photo as I was leaving to go up to the ranch house. I noticed that Cowboy had gotten his fill and then moved off into the field, while the other three kept pig-in' out.
I dropped some things off in the house, cleaned up all the Christmas stuff, and then fed the chickens. Looking out at the round bale from the yard, I noticed Cowboy moving back in towards the hay. 
So Banner was moved back off of the hay. Poor guy. He needs to be more assertive, yet then the herd dynamics gets tense and kicks and bites can get any of them hurt. I am glad they work things out calmly, but feel bad for Banner being on the bottom of the pecking order. 
Driving home from the ranch, I was 'stuck' behind a very slow truck (going 30 in a 45) and when he turned onto Weschester, I decided to drop in on Wildwood Stables instead of creeping along behind this slowpoke. Besides, I was interested in checking out these three Paso Finos who had been given to the Standing Tall program. They had just been turned out with the Wildwood herd, so I was unable to get a close look at them.
Polly and then Carol and then Sharon showed up, so it was great visiting with them.
Thursday 1/4 - I don't have much to show for or talk about for the day. I did get all the stamps on the jigsaw puzzle connected, and now just have the edge to do. I have decided to listen to the news while working jigsaw puzzles. Well, news of the Perry High School shooting was just breaking. Little was known and newscasters were making all these conjectures as to what happened. I could see how rumors and misinformation arise.
I was thinking I should listen to music instead of news.
I did make it to the gym for a few hours, accomplishing a mediocre workout. I also started taking down Christmas decorations, but was just piling them on the balcony. I need to sort and organize them before I stow them away.
Joe and I watched two episode of Suits and here is Mama Styx at bedtime.
Friday 1/5 - My Facebook feed reminded me that today was the nine year anniversary of Maya dying. This photo was taken a month before she came down with FIP (feline infectious peritonitis). It is a fatal systemic coronavirus infection and a leading cause of death in young cats for which no effective preventive or treatment is available. This was a very sad day in my life and I still morn the loss of Maya who I fondly remember and dearly miss.
I continued with Christmas clean-up until noon and left for the ranch after lunch. Our six hens are doing well and seemed to enjoy the sunshine.
From the ranch house I could see that all four horses were cooperatively gathered around the bale of hay, eating away.
I had planned to brave the cold (which really wasn't that bad) and go for a ride. When I got Amiga from her spot at the round bale (Zorro came too), I was quite surprised to see how much hay had been eaten in just two days. .png)
I started out riding the opposite direction I usually go, and quickly saw that the dirt roadway had been cleared and was much easier to navigate. A four-wheeler trail was very apparent, so Amiga and I followed it to it's origin (video). 
Farther up the 'road' we got to the pile of crap on Beachwood that is blocking the entrance to Chestnut Hill. My sister Cathy's GPS has brought her down this road twice (two different years), thinking she could get out of the Glade onto Chestnut Hill. By the looks of it, this will never be an opened road.
At another place in our ride, I saw a mess of white up ahead on the road and thought it might be trash or ashes (sometimes kids have parties back in these boondocks, including fire, bottles and cans of alcohol, etc.). But this was just the feathers of some unfortunate bird.
Once home, I slipped out of barn clothes and into gym attire and went and did an hour on the elliptical. Doing more riding and exercising plenty are at the top of my to-do list, but not considered New Year's resolutions.
Showering at the gym had me home at almost 6pm. Poker Joe was gone and I did my usual evening routine.
Mama Styx looking at me from the cat shelf behind my desk at 7am. Rain had started overnight, and continued through the morning.
I spent several hours with more Christmas clean-up. I took down all of the decorations from the fireplace shelves and replaced them with my usual safari theme. Most of the stuff on the hearth was also removed. I proceeded to organize most of what I had piled up and put it into various bins and I got the balcony completely cleared off of clutter.
I had left the mantel in winter fashion.
It was 2pm when I finally got to the gym. I worked up a sweat, elevated my heart rate, and wore myself out before the 4:00 closing time. But I didn't feel like I had accomplished that much. I was just pooped out from lack of a full night of sleep and having gotten lazy and lost conditioning over the holidays.
Joe's friend Tim met him at the ranch (after a ten hour drive from Georgia) and they enjoyed beer and cigar around a bonfire.
Once home, Joe grilled a late dinner of hamburger and hot dogs. I ate a second dinner but soon went to bed, too tired to join the guys for the Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texas football game.
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