Spring Into April

We have marched right out of last month and sprung into April.  

March had come in like a lion (it rained all day on the 1st) and it ended up going out like a lamb (the 31st was a very pretty day).
 

Easter Sunday 3/31 - Happy Easter and goodbye the last day of March.  I love the cuteness we associate with Easter, but it really should focus on the Lamb of God. 

With Easter comes spring, the symbol of the resurrection, the rebirth of everything we see that is greening up and blooming.  Spring also brings the birth of new life (cute baby animals).

Rose showed up during our morning walk, the first time I've seen her since I had left for Road To The Horse.  She seemed a little more unkempt than usual, kind of scraggly, and her left eye, which is sometimes a little irritated, kinda didn’t open all the way.  She was hungry and thirsty when I gave her food and water.  After she ate, while at my desk, I saw her taking a nap in the leaves next door in Allen's side yard.  This is also a bit unusual.





 

Mid-morning, across the street, I noticed a service occurring (just ending in this photo).  I wondered if this was an Easter service, memorial service, dedication service, or an actual interment service. 

After finishing and posting last week's blog (a day later than usual because it was a short one) I made a big salad and fixed raw veggies for our afternoon Easter dinner.

Then I worked for a few hours out in the back yard.  Rose came over to visit, take a tongue bath (seen in photo), and sit and watch.  She kind of blends in with the rocks. 

I showered and was at Karen's enjoying a margarita out on her back deck by 2:15.  Two of her big cats were watching me.  They and Karen joined me once the ham was out of the oven and the rolls were in.

Carol, Patty, and Shirley arrived and soon we were enjoying a feast of all the food we each brought.  I kind of stuffed myself.

I had to leave the party early to feed my crew and then go to the ranch to do chores.  Rose was napping on the deck by the time I had walked Maggie and was heading out to the ranch.

This was the first time to keep the horses in off the pasture at night (since December 31st), so it worked out well that I didn't feed them until 6:30.  And all the chickens were already in the coop when I went to shut the big door, even though the little automatic door hadn't shut yet. 

Even though I was exhausted and wanting to go to bed early, I stayed up reading in order to let my food digest a bit more, and my stomach to empty some.

Monday 4/1 - Happy April Fool's Day.

Rose walked with Maggie and I.  Later in the morning, when I got up to get my second cup of tea and my breakfast sweets, I went and sat on the deck because Rose was out there.  She was looking better today. 






Rose did not want to join me on the lounge chair, but preferred to sit on the deck with Maggie.

I should sit out there on the nice mornings, rather than here in front of my computer.  Rose eventually conked out, and napped out here for several hours. 



Earlier in an email, Sister Jean had made a comment about her being 'solar powered.' She said on cloudy days she is not near as energized as on sunny days. I totally think that is my dilemma also.

After doing trail work Saturday and yard work Sunday, I was very sore, stiff and tired when I got out of bed.  It was gloomy, which didn't help my motivation or energy level any. 

Before lunch time, I was feeling very hungry, and in the mood for the leftovers I had from yesterday's feast.  So rather than go to the gym, I had a big salad with ham on top.  Yum!  

So to partially rectify the fact that I had skipped the gym, I took Maggie on a long, one hour walk, with my weighted vest on.  This photo was taken from the road, on the other side of Snead cannon (where the golf course crosses at hole #15).
 

Maggie and I took the new hiking trail off of St. George (Place & Drive).  It hooks up to the Seven Bridges trail, which you can see in the distance in this photo. 


I just love the beauty of our woods and all the wonderful trails.  I need to get out on them more. 






I got a little winded going up the hills, so felt like I got a decent aerobic workout during our walk. I plan to walk outside in nice weather (rather than do the elliptical at the gym) and shorten my gym time by just doing my rowing warm up, weights, and stretch and balance cool down. 

Patty and I took Amiga and Zorro out for a short ride, going down and back on our whole new trail.  Zorro led like a champ going out, but once turned around, he really rushed going back to the barn.  It was past their usual feeding time, which didn't help.  



Amiga did not act or look sore, so I was happy about that, but we still gave her a Previcox, which again was a struggle.  



Joe reported in from his poker cruise and was so excited about meeting some of the most famous poker players in the world.  I was just glad to hear he wasn't playing against them, in the higher stakes games and tournament.

Tuesday 4/2 - I had my day all planned out, and was dressed for the gym when I took Maggie for a 'quick' walk.  Well, I stopped to talk with two different neighbors so it was 45 minutes later when I was finally headed to the gym.  While there, I heard that we were under a tornado watch.  What the what?
So I altered my plans somewhat, did a great weight workout but skipped the elliptical, and hurried home.  I was soon back out the door, headed to town to shop, but to first swing by the ranch.  I shut both shop doors, all the way closed, to keep stuff inside from getting blown all over the place.  Susan and Bonnie had already shut barn doors. 



I can never resist the baby chicks at Tractor Supply.  My shopping went quickly because there was hardly anyone out and about.  I guess they were avoiding the possibility of a tornado.  I even had time for a walk-in hair cut, and like at the stores, there was no wait.

I got an Ava up-date from Dan.  She was enjoying the day in-spite of the rain and thus far they were only under a tornado watch in Nashville, but none had been spotted there either. 







Joe reported from the Grand Cayman's.  He played in a golf tournament today, with other poker players.  Someone bought their team in a Calcutta auction.  It was a Stable-ford event (which is a form of scoring) and Joe's team won by 1 point.  So he won a nice sum of money for a day of playing.  He is seen here with the hostess of The World Poker Tour that's on TV.

Since the storms hadn't been bad (yet) and I had skipped the elliptical, I took Maggie on another long walk with my weighted vest on. 
This is the top of the #14 waterfall feature that Maggie got a drink from. 







This is a well done fake cemented dead log that hides the pipe that pumps the water up from the pond. 

We got sprinkled on before making it back home and then the storms (high winds and heavy rain but no tornado) really hit before bed and during the night.

Wednesday 4/3 - I don't know if I mentioned it, but lately I've been getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep most nights and not feeling any need for a nap.  Unfortunately, I only got four hours of sleep before I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep today.  So, I spent over three hours at my computer mostly scrolling through memes and videos on the internet.  Finally I got sleepy and went back to bed at 6am.  Then when I woke up I had to hustle to get to the barn in time for the farrier.  




I took with me, my 3rd cup of caffeinated tea in an effort to warm up and wake up.  The overnight storm had really dropped the temp. and the rain made it feel that much colder.

I took this photo of Banner, who was in the barn with the other three, while the farrier worked.  He  practically fell asleep after eating a bunch of hay.  His eyes were closed and his bottom lip really lose, but he woke up when I moved in to take his photo.  He must have had a tough night, as I suspect they all did.  


We put wedge shoes on Amiga's back feet this time, like what she has on her front, in an attempt to take some pressure off her suspensory ligaments and stifle.  We’ll see how it goes.  But the shoes are more expensive and it just seems extravagant to be paying $170 every 5 to 6 weeks for her to be shod.  I don’t even spend that much money on my shoes in a year's time. 

Patty helped me clean the Ranch house.  She did the vacuuming and I did all the disinfecting of surfaces and dusting and cleaning of bathrooms.  As I was leaving, I spotted the two Pasos resting while Banner ate and Cowboy looked on. 

By the  time I got home I was cold and hungry so had a salad and green tea. This made me sleepy, so I took another nap while reading, in very spotty sunlight on the floor in the living room.  I had a blanket also.  I had suddenly gotten a very stiff neck out at the Ranch for some reason, and was struggling with trying to relieve the pain from that, by doing some stretches.

I went back out to the ranch to do chores.  It was very windy and cold.  I fed the chickens first and got these photos of Tiny.  She's really looking pretty good with the new feathers that have come in.

She still has some feathers hanging low, seeming to want to fall out above her left leg, under her wing.
 

It was raining off and on while I fed the horses and was only 46°, so by the time I got home I was chilled again.  I had a big bowl of soup, which helped tremendously.
 

Thursday 4/4 - Daniel's Birthday.  Since I didn't take any photos, this is it for the day.  It was another day that didn't go exactly how I had planned.  I attended the morning Wildwood Stables planning meeting (open to public) and participated in the brain storming potion of it.  We had some juggling of cars and then Shirley dropped in while waiting on Patty to finish the closed session of the morning meeting before they hit the road for a little Civil War get-away.  

I had a late, big lunch, making a pig of myself because I was so hungry for some reason.  Then I had to wait and digest before going to the gym.  I finally got there at 4:00 after puttering around the house part of the afternoon.  I started on the elliptical and barely made it to the end of an hour show on HGTV.  I had gotten so light headed for some reason.  So I left without doing weights, I just didn't think I was capable of any exertion.  I hit Waggles, Food City, and got home feeling really hungry again.  I'm thinking I was a little dehydrated and maybe had low blood sugar.

Friday 4/5 - Well, spring kind of sprung backwards and we have been having more winter since Tuesday.  More (or another) winter means several days of gloomy, cool and damp weather.  According to Tennessee folklore, there can be four basic springtime winters  including; Redbud, Dogwood, Locust and Blackberry.  Some sources had actually named seven winters. 

During the month of March, it's typically a Redbud Winter when it gets below freezing, because the Redbuds are in full bloom.  The Dogwood Winter occurs when the Dogwoods are blooming, usually around the middle of April. 






So, I guess this is a Redbud winter because they (the pink trees) are still in full bloom where as most Dogwood aren't fully covered in white flowers yet. 





The Locust winter is in early May, the Blackberry winter is in mid May, and there can be a Whippoorwill winter in late May (which has also been called Britches Winter).  Seen right, Roger's Redbud is very pretty yet the two Dogwoods beside and behind Brian's are only partially bloomed.  Below, the Dogwood in Brian's front yard is actually farther along than most of them.

This morning it was so cold, we even had a few snow flurries before 7am.  I hope this IS the last of winter we see and experience, cause I am sick and tired of the cold, damp weather.

I dropped by and chatted with Karen, fed Patty's cats and then hit the gym from 12:30 - 3:30.  I had a great workout and was thankful to be back to my old self. 
After an early dinner, I packed and prepared to be gone for four days.  Meanwhile, Karen took care of the over-nighters who arrived at the ranch and Courtney shuttled Mary, Jack, and Tito from the airport to her house where Joe's truck was parked, that they then drove to the ranch where they will be staying for a week.  

Pros And Cons

It seems like everything in life comes at a cost.  There are so many parts of life that involve (or have) both advantages and disadvantages, positive and negative, easy and difficult, ups and downs, good and bad, etc. 

Often we have a choice and can weigh our options before deciding on something.  But more likely, it is just part of life and we have to accept it, deal with it, and live with it.  Like death and taxes - some unpleasant things can't be avoided.  I love going places, but I hate to travel.  I love being home, but hate playing 'catch up' after being gone.

Monday 3/25 - Monday I was busy trying to get as much done on my Road To The Horse blog as possible, while also unpacking some of my suitcase and cleaning up the kitchen.  And then Joe sprung on me that we were having guests coming for three nights.  And I immediately balked for some reason.  It’s really not that much work and it’s a good excuse to clean the house.  But making beds, extra cleaning, getting groceries, etc. would cost me more time.  I love having company, enjoy their presence, so just need to deal with the down side of it.  I'm sure I was feeling a little grumpy because I felt burdened with too much to do.
In this photo, Monita was being her usual distracting self, knocking all the cat toys from the tower cubby onto the floor.  As difficult and problematic as having four house cats can be, I wouldn't change it, at least for now.

I finally had to stop and get to the gym so I could get back home by 1:00.  Well I ended up cutting my workout short so that I could get done in time.  But as it turned out, our ride was cancelled.

Karen had drop by to pick up our chainsaw, and said she’d help me with yard work when she came back to return the saw. 

We worked outside for an hour, but the wind was so bad, we quit early.  We were losing ground trying to get the leaves raked up because they kept blowing back.  But we were able to get some bushes trimmed, sticks picked up and this bed and part of the front bed cleaned up.

Joe and I watched Survivor, to catch up from last week. 
 

Tuesday 3/26 - The wind increased and got very strong overnight, and was accompanied by rain and thunderstorms.  Glad nobody was parked in this spot.

I took to the task of blogging most of the day, a good rainy day activity and a chance to get it done.

I love watching the wildlife outside my window, but one of the downfalls is when I see injured or sick animals.

Well, at 8:30 I noticed a racoon wandering in big circles as if lost or confused (sick or injured, possibly from the night's storms).  It kept falling over with apparent neurological damage in addition to an apparent back hind injury.  Several times it was in the creek, tumbling over, and I thought it would wash away or drown.  It’s struggle was so real, and lasted so long, it was heart wrenching and made me sick, anxious actually. 

The racoon eventually made its way towards Allen’s bridge, and disappeared for a while.   I hoped it had found a safe spot to rest out of the rain.  A little later it reappeared and continued staggering around and falling.  I took this (video) and posted it on Facebook.  The comments I got lead me into action, to call for help.  But then the racoon had disappeared again.

I kept an eye out for it all day while sitting here blogging and even went looking for it two different times, during a lull in the rain.  I never heard or saw motion anywhere as I walked around in the woods.   

My sun room/ office/cattery does not warm up on cloudy days.  It was so cold, Styx had her tail and toes tucked under her.

It was still raining when I left to do chores.  By the time I was ready to feed the horses, it had cleared off, but boy was the paddock mucky and the horses dirty and wet (video). 

When I got home, I put out corn since the rain had stopped and I looked around for the racoon again.  No signs of it.  My little crab apple was blooming though.

I resumed blogging and then just after 5:00, the fox came through, and stopped and did a very cautious triple take down by the Mountain Laurel.

After the fox left, I went down to see what had alerted it.  The raccoon was laying there, between the laurel and the pond, breathing shallowly, its feet twitching occasionally.  I called the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

Of course TWRA was closed for the day, so I left a voicemail on their emergency contact number.

I did the usual dinner routine with pets and people and finally got a call back from a TWRA officer after 6pm.  While telling the officer everything that had transpired today, I walked down to be sure the racoon was still alive.  But it was gone.  I looked around but could not see it anywhere.  The officer said it sounded like distemper and to call if I saw it again.




After disconnecting, I continued looking for the racoon.  And then I saw it, in the pond, dead.  Very likely it had drowned.  The poor thing.  It had looked so peaceful resting nearby in the sun, less than an hour before. 

I couldn't deal with it's body tonight, but knew it needed to be disposed of.  At least it's struggle was over.

Wednesday 3/27 - Mike arrived a little after 2am and I was unable to get back to sleep, having woke at 1:15.  So I got up and worked on the RTTH blog for about four hours.  I finally thought I could get back to sleep and knew I needed more, so I laid down about 6:30 and did get two more hours.  About the time I was getting out of bed, Joe had a big cowboy breakfast fixed for the three of us.  What a great way to restart the day.  





The boys headed out just before 10:00 to golf and play poker and I wouldn’t see them until the following morning.  After a late visit to the gym, I bought groceries and then went to the ranch to do chores.  On the way I took this photo of another lot, completely cleared for a new home construction.  I can't believe FFG is letting contractors take out all of the trees!  The pros and cons of development.
 

Once home, I buried the dead raccoon.  There was a big hole by the pond, so I put it in that and filled it up with dirt I dug up from the woods across the creek.  RIP.








While walking the dog at 8pm I took these photos of the new lights shining on the columbarium across the street. 



You can see in the first photo, the string of lights from our garage.  Light passes under this sign and comes in our big front entry window, but it also hits you right in the eyes as you are going up the driveway.  In the second photo, seen from our side of the road, the lights all around the burial wall shine past the wall and into your eyes from every direction.  We are now getting light from them, in our master bathroom window.  I am not pro lights when they are so bright and pointing up.   

Thursday 3/28 - I woke up at 1:25am, when Joe and Mike got home.  I couldn't get back to sleep, hearing Joe in the Mancave watching Jeopardy, and also thinking about several things on my mind (some were things to remember to do, others were problems to solve, and also I was anticipating some future fun stuff ).

I ended up getting out of bed at 2:30 and sitting at my computer, starting this blog post.  Blogging each week has its pros and cons.  It does take up way too much of my time, but I do enjoy it and it's benefits, and like having an account of some things I want to remember.  It was another four hours being up in the middle of the night.  I did get two more hours of sleep when I went back to bed.  But then the morning was half over when I got up the second time.  Wow, seen in photo, Styx got on Mike's lap.
 

The next four photos were all taken within one minute.  It's the cats, in order of age, enjoying the day's sunshine.

Stevie on Maggie's bed in the living room.

Joe left to move a car and Mike hit the road for his next destination.  I started the laundry of his sheets and towels. 








Monita on the big platform/tunnel box in the living room. 
I worked on ranch and horse business here at my computer, did some cleaning chores, and had a big salad for lunch.

Mama Styx behind my computer on the squishy cat pad Courtney knitted.
I ran to the ranch to feed chickens, make the guest bed out there, and check on Amiga.  On my way to catch her, I decided to walk our new trail (which I cleared of fallen branches as I went) and then I returned, walking across the back pasture.  Brooke was already feeding the horses.  Amiga's limp was much less noticeable.  And Brooke (like I have been) had troubles getting Amiga to take the Previcox. 

Babe on top of the cat tower by my computer.

Greg and his wife Gilda had arrived by the time I got home, and they were enjoying a beer on the back deck (and the boys a cigar). 

The three of them left on a driving tour of the Glade and I popped into the shower.

I met them and the girls at Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant.

This is us (clockwise - Greg, Gilda, Shirley, Karen, Patty, I and Joe) with our piles of food.

Greg and Gilda decided to sleep at the ranch, and once Joe got home from showing them the way there, we watched Survivor before I went to bed.
 

Friday 3/29 - Good Friday.  It was a pretty morning and a gorgeous day.  The pros of some spring days, when there is no wind, rain, or cold front.  Monita, seen in this photo, was ready to 'spring into action,' to attack, cause trouble, or harass someone. 





I got to the gym by 11am.  I guess I am on the M, W, F plan this week.   

Then Patty, Karen, and I met at the ranch and went for a lovely ride.  I couldn't tell if Amiga was sore or not.  She seemed a little off, but also was a tad feisty and revving to go.  

Patty led the way to help keep Amiga slowed down, but then Zorro was moving out fairly fast.  When we got to the tree across our path, it had fallen down more and Patty could not get under it.  So we turned around and went another direction.

Cowboy, back at the ranch had been calling out to us and walking along the fence line where we rode the trail through the woods along it on the other side.  He called out to our horses several times.

I split off from the other two to take Amiga back, so as not to make her too sore.  Then I got on her bareback to see if I could tell which leg she was favoring.  And she actually felt fine.

Cowboy was glad to see us return.  When the other two got back, Patty rode Zorro around in the barn yard because he had rushed home.  Which horse is 'consoling' the other in this photo?   

I gathered some laundry up at the ranch house, fed and watered the chickens, and headed home. 

After dinner, I proceeded to waste time here, watching videos (horses, dancing, and comedians).  I was enjoying the down time, but could have been more productive.  There are many pros and cons of the internet. 

Saturday 3/30 - I was all caught up on this blog, so didn't spend much time doing it.  So, I had the opportunity to get back to some of my puzzles that I usually play every day.  I couldn’t get one single group of Connections, did poorly at the New York Times mini crossword puzzle, but I did get Wordle in four tries.

Banner and Amiga milling around the paddock.





I left for the ranch shortly after 9:00 and Joe and I cleaned out the chicken coop once he got there at 9:45.  We used the riding mower to pull the wagon that we had put all the chicken manure in.  





Then we headed back to the trail we’ve been working on and finished clear cutting it, moving dead logs (trees that had fallen and were in the way), cutting (with poorly operating chainsaws) smaller trees that were crowding the path, and trimming overhead branches that were too low to ride under. 









I discovered that the white thing up in the tree I saw by Jem's field, was in fact a deer blind. A very old, rickety deer blind.  I tried to remove the ladder from the tree, and it is encased in the bark, like the tree has grown into the ladder.  The new trail passes fairly close to the base of this. 

Once we got all the chainsaw work completed, I dismissed Joe and he headed home and I continued raking and clearing the new trail better. 
This photo was taken from Jem's red gate, at the back corner of his pasture, looking down the old four wheeler trail that a big tree has fallen across.  You can see Marmaduke (that we can ride this trail down to and out onto) in the distance.  

The newest part of our trail goes along, near the fence line of our back pasture and Jem's field, paralleling it and Marmaduke.  It comes out onto this four wheeler trail (from the left in this photo), right after the big log, and you have to step across that old landscape timber (circled in blue) to enter the new trail.

This is one more view, from the new trail, showing how it bends around and joins the old four wheeler trail at the landscape timber (again circled in blue).  I have left the leaves on this section of trail so it is not as noticeable from the four wheeler trail. 

I hadn’t planned to ride, but really did want to try out the new trail in its entirety, however I didn't have riding boots with me.  But when Karen texted, asking about riding, I decided to go, and just ride bareback.

These two photos were taken from a video Patty sent when she was doing chores later in the day.  She said Amiga just looked a little stiff on her back right leg.   




Karen got to the barn before I had gotten back from trail work, and thought Amiga looked too sore to ride.  We decided it might be best to rest her today so I massaged more liniment ointment on her back right stifle and we tried to give her a Previcox, but that did not go very well.  It has been a problem lately because she keeps figuring out that it’s in the yummy treats and snacks we're giving her and she spits it out.  





Having an easy keeper (horse that gets fat, too easily), and one that tends to get lame pretty often, and one that’s very smart and has figured out when we’re trying to sneak a Previcox into her mouth, can be one of the downsides of horse ownership.  But all the pros outweigh the cons and I am so lucky and blessed and happy to have my sweet Amiga. 





I got home mid afternoon, and read and napped in the sun for 30 minutes.  Joe left for Nashville to catch an early flight Sunday morning, and will then be going on a poker cruise for five days. 

Maggie and I took a long walk after dinner.  I went up the Library Trail and came back by way of Druid golf course.  This is the driving range, now with raised sections.

Directly behind me (from the first photo) is the beginning construction of a small building that looks to have plumbing in it (a snack shack or rest room?).

Below, a big rock slab in the front yard of a house we passed. 






The pros and cons of living on 'rocky top,' it is difficult to plant things, but the rock formations are beautiful.

It was 8pm and dark by the time we got home from our walk.  I was pretty tired from the day's activities, so got in bed and read awhile before lights out.