Time Out

After last week, I needed to take a time out from my busy routine.  It was time to slow down just a bit.  I needed a brief suspension of activity, a recess, a break, a time out.  

 


Wait!  Time Out!  What is that in the woods?  A photo Betty took last week during our final trail ride, that I forgot to include. 

Saturday 6/7 - I tried to finish my blog, but was just too far behind after being offline the whole time we had been camping.





I was hoping to get out of work or go late, but the forecasted rain did not materialize, so I was on my way to the pool at 9:10.  
It started out cloudy but ended up being a very nice day, so I was surprised we hadn't had more people.  




Meanwhile, on the 'home front,' I was getting family updates.  Britney's cat Lupe looking out at two of the farm dogs, who were looking in.  







Courtney at the park with Ava, to give Dan and Vale a break, and Ava some one-on-one time.  

I put in a full shift at work, but the rain was coming, so they postponed the Utopia Band concert for the night.  Once home at 2:30, I blogged the rest of the afternoon and did some laundry. 

We did get a thunderstorm and a few evening showers.

Sunday 6/8 - I was up in the middle of the night, but got my blog finished and posted.  After a short nap, I showered and dressed for Church.  The service was very pleasant outside with a moderate breeze, that would sometimes billow; perfect for the sermon about the Holy Spirit and breath of God.

The big talk in TN today and this past week was about the Zebra Ed, that they finally caught this afternoon, in Christina TN.

 
The runaway pet zebra was on the loose for more than a week in Tennessee and became an internet sensation (through social media) in the process of the hunt for, and his safe capture.  Ed had been spotted and filmed running along Interstate 24, crossing it several times and forcing deputies to shut the roadway.  He then escaped into a wooded area and had not been seen for a few days.  Later there were several sightings that people posted to social media.  Ed was filmed trotting through a neighborhood, running through a field, etc.  And then came the memes.  





Here is a sampling of a few of the many memes on the internet.  I included the Waffle House one for Britney and Juan Carlos.  All these memes reminded me of the Bernie Sanders/mittens memes.  People are funny. 

Knowing the rest of the day and evening would be busy, I rested out on the deck and read.  I have noticed that Rose has been looking a bit scruffy and seems older all of a sudden. 
I was almost late for my afternoon shift at work because I was nearing the end of my exciting mystery.  
I was surprised the pool was not busier, although several threatening clouds did drift over during my five hour shift.  








From the pool I went straight to The Grove, where Utopia was already playing.  I only missed the opening song.  Patty, Shirley, Micki and I sat in our usual spot.  



The band was good, but not as fantastic as they used to be.  They have a different lead singer and have changed their play list - not much Motown anymore, and now with slower songs, not great to dance to.  I took this photo while they were playing 'Dancing In The Moonlight.'



We all enjoyed ourselves and had a good time.  





Above, Cleet, an aerobics instructor at the Wellness Center, is always out on the dance floor, whooping it up with the crowd like she does in her Zomba class.  

Linda Sue really goes to town out on the dance floor.
Micki and I did a lot of dancing also, and even Patty and Shirley came out for a few songs.

With only a 90 minute time out today (reading on the deck) I was pooped out by the time I got home at almost 9pm, but still had to do evening pet chores.

Monday 6/9 - The four boys were in the lower paddock, enjoying the shade, when I got to the ranch at 7:30.  I couldn't find Wanda, well she didn't come for breakfast, which concerned me.  

 

But when I saw this wood duck with her four babies, wandering through the barnyard, I decided it was a good thing Wanda wasn't around.

I got the fly masks on three, but needed Rico to come up to the upper paddock to eat his feed and get his fly mask on.  










Thankfully he did come up and once I finished chores I headed to the pool.   It started out sunny and I had the usual morning exercisers.

It began clouding up at lunch time and by shift change the skies were looking ominous.  And Mirror Lake Blast had been canceled.  I came home and finished my book.  A storm system did pass through, with some strong winds but then it cleared off.  Look at all the golfers on #17 out our back window, after the rain.  

Joe and I watched the 2011 movie, The Mechanic, a thriller about a hit man.

Tuesday 6/10 - After a good full body workout (except I didn't do aerobics- elliptical) I ate lunch on the deck, and started a new book for a short time out.  Also, I noticed that Rose has a sore leg and won't put weight on it.  
I worked in the yard, having lots of leaves to still rake up, but got side tracked by weeding and trimming shrubs.  I had to tie Maggie up because she kept going after chipmunks.  




Karen picked me up at 3:45 and we went to the ranch to go for a ride.  Look at the pretty hydrangea and balloon flowers.  Patty was there so we chatted and messed with chickens and garden before taking Rico and Zorro down to be tacked up.

We had a nice late afternoon ride, but hit another downed tree and had to turn around, so that shortened our distance.  


No other photos were taken today but Patty shared this one she took of a Blue Heron by the pond in the lower paddock.   

It was nearly 6:30pm by the time Karen dropped me off at home, so the cats and dog got a later dinner, and so did I. 

I started giving Rose canned food, since she is too injured to be able to hunt.  I fear this may be the beginning of her demise.  A trip to the vet is out of the question and I wonder if I am prolonging the inevitable, but I want to give her a chance.

Wednesday 6/11 - I was back out at the ranch for chores at 8am.  The day was warming up quickly and the boys were staying in the shade of the lower paddock.  I had to walk down to get Rico who spends the night with the boys and is confined in the paddock with Zorro and Amiga during the day. 






Once I was done feeding and mucking for the Pasos, and Joe had finished hauling away the manure pile in the upper paddock, we went out back on the trails, with chain saw and large clippers, to remove the downed tree and clean up some other areas.  



Patty arrived just as Joe and I were getting back to the barn.  We fetched Zorro and Rico and went for a three mile ride.  Both boys were moving kind of slow, but the leisurely pace was okay by us.  







Not many photos were taken.  We finished with the horses well before 1:00 and then I did a little prep work in the corral before tonight's overnighter.  I also worked at cleaning dirt out of the window boxes I plan to take down because the wood is rotting.  

I had a big late lunch/early dinner out on the deck and Rose hobbled over for some canned food.  And then I headed out to the backyard to rack up leaves.
 

I spread out piles of mulch that Joe had dumped a few weeks ago and was prepping the beds for more.  I need to transplant some of the Japanese Spurge that is growing into the walking path and get it to spread out in the areas I want it.  Below is how things looked from the other side of the creek when I quit at 7:15.  

I did a good scrubbing in the shower because I had picked up a few tiny ticks while cleaning up leaves.
  

Thursday 6/12 - I decided to postpone the gym until tomorrow since I wouldn't make it there the three days following.  I was going to get a good 'yardwork' workout.

By 8:30am, Joe and I started in, he with the chainsaw, and I hauling tree limbs.  We removed a completely dead Leland Cypress (was in the now bare spot right next to the fairly dead cypress in this photo).  




The fairly dead cypress will need to come down soon and then I need to figure out what to plant; fast growing, shade loving, trees/large bushes that will make a good natural screen from Brian's house.  

Then we took down a large redbud that has gotten too big and is crowding the dogwood in my front bed.  Again, I hauled away tons of branches.

Joe did not want to tackle this second, larger red bud that was also really crowding the front bed because he needed to get going to golf.  So, using a ladder and the large loppers, I cut all the limbs off of it.  

 

This photo was taken from the same angle after I got done.  Now you can see the pine trees and ornamental shrubs the redbud had been blocking.  I'll need Joe to remove the rest of the trunk.  Below are two more before (left) and after (right) photos.
 

I had really gotten distracted by tree trimming but still had a few hours to work on leaf removal.  





I needed a short time out to rest and eat, and read my book on the back porch swing.  But I was soon back outside, raking up and hauling away more leaves.  








Joe had brought five loads of mulch down from the pile in the driveway, but I had to weed the path before spreading them out.  Rain had not been in the forecast, but it got very cloudy and dark and I ended up scampering to complete spreading mulch out.    

I had intended to ride Amiga before evening chores, but the two hours of a steady light rain stopped that plan.  In fact, I had to finally go out in the rain to do chores.  Just as I was finishing up with the horses, the skies cleared and the sun peaked out, and then it got humid.  You can see all eleven of our chickens in this photo.  The younger ones are almost as big as the older hens. 

I did quite a bit of reading before bed, because my new James Patterson book was already getting good.

Friday 6/13 - The nearly full moon was shining bright as I walked Maggie, in the otherwise dark morning at 4am.  I managed to pick up some poison ivy along with a few more tick bites yesterday, so was itchy when I got out of bed this morning.
I shut off my computer and headed to the ranch at 7:30.  All four boys were in the front field when I arrived.  I went to get Rico first, before he might go all the way down to the barnyard with the other three.  It looked like it could rain and I debated putting on fly masks, but ended up doing so after feeding and mucking.  

 
I was at the gym by 9am, and put in a full weight workout, but again skipped the elliptical due to time, energy, and hunger.  

We had a worker quit at the pool, so were asked to fill in for him when possible, until a replacement is hired.  So I worked the afternoon shift.






Thankfully a storm blew in a little before 5:00 and I was able to close early, and get home to organize for a quick trip to Nashville over the weekend.

Horse spooks can be a scary thing.  This is a funny video clip of different horse (spooks).  When riding, you have to be ready for anything, because they will do it.