Year's End

Closing out a busy year.
We got in chicken keeping this year, and our girls have grown up to be quite the big ladies. They have been laying eggs for a couple months now, and we are getting 4 to 5 eggs per day. It's more than enough for JD and me, so I have to give them away to make room for new ones each day.
The chickens are very funny. They love people! We let them roam the property when we're here, and they always run up to see us, clucking away.
I started running in the fall, and entered six 5K races. After the first three, I started placing in my age group, and have earned a first, second and third, in the last few races I ran in. It's a real sense of accomplishment at my age. Even in my 20s, I couldn't run 3 miles. Despite the snow on the ground and sub-freezing temperatures, I am keeping it up and even ran today in the wind and cold.
I did a lot of training with Sailor this summer, and even did a two-day clinic with her. She did exceptionally well, much better than I expected. We went out for trail rides a couple of times with me riding her and my neighbor Joan riding Titan. Both horses seemed to really enjoy that.
Titan's back was bothering him in early fall, so I called the vet and he got his first acupuncture treatment. He was very good about it, although Sailor seemed very distressed about all the needles. The results were amazing. He was much less back sore afterward, and the results have lasted. I think I will have him treated again in the spring.

Here's Titan's Christmas picture. You can tell he looks thrilled.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Chicks, man!

For a long time I've wanted to have my own chickens as egg layers, and on May 25, these five little Barred Rock girls arrived. It's been quite an adventured caring for them, and now they are all of 5 weeks old and last night, they moved outside into their coop. JD has been building it for weeks.

And here they are this morning in their coop. Can you believe how fast they grow? From what I understand, Barred Rock hens will grow to be about 7 to 8 pounds, so they will be big chickens that lay brown eggs. We'll have to wait until about October for that.

Their names are going to be Maggie, Maizy, Mabel, Fiona and Sadie. So far, I can only tell Maggie and Maizy apart, and maybe Mabel. I think I'm going to need a web cam to show them off, don't you think?

The horses are doing great. I took Sailor to a Tom Curtin horsemanship clinic, and we made great strides together. I'm back to riding her on the road, and my confidence level with her has gone way up. Titan is himself, which is my good old steady eddie. So now I have 2 good trail horses, which is amazing.

The Winter that wasn't

Looks like Titan is wondering what's missing from this picture taken today. Of course, it's snow! This is what my back pasture has looked like almost every day this winter. On the one hand, this has been my dream winter - temps in the 30s and even 40s, no snow to slog through, no blizzards to keep me stuck at home.
But the downside of this bizarrely warm weather is the environmental impact. Because there is no snow, the mold count never went down from the fall. In fact, according to my doctor, the mold count in this area is the highest it's been in 70 years. The result for me is an asthma condition, something I've never dealt with before. I'm on 2 different inhalers trying to get my breath back. I can't run or over-exert myself because I just about collapse. It's very discouraging.
The other downside is the tick scourge. We're already taking ticks off the dog and cats, and we're already putting Frontline on them. Usually that doesn't start until April. I shudder to think of how bad the tick infestation is going to be this year.
In another strange development, the sap has been running for more than a week or so, and JD has already made our first maple syrup of the year. It's much darker than usual, which I guess we can attribute to this weird weather.
You'll also notice Titan isn't wearing a blanket, which is usually mandatory in February in upstate NY. He's enjoying being naked on a day in the low 40s.
How's everyone else doing with the non-winter of 2012?

Ice Ice Baby

Well, it was only a matter of time before our fantasy winter with temps in the 30s and 40s came to an end. We had one warm day - Tuesday - when it rained all day. Then of course, on Wednesday the temperature plummeted, and our world froze. Everything at the farm is coated with a sheet of ice.
Since my horses have not yet learned to ice skate, this presented a problem. They spent yesterday morning stuck in the barn, while I waited fruitlessly to see if the sun might melt the ice sheet that blanketed the back paddock and pasture. By noon, that clearly wasn't going to happen.
So I got a long rope and a large barrel, and made a makeshift fence to keep them in a small area of the paddock just beyond the run-in shed. I sanded and salted thoroughly, and even even tossed around some old hay and manure for added traction.
They were able to go outside in this little area, which I hope helped their sanity at least a little bit. When JD got home from work, he improved my arrangement by making it a little bigger and sanding a bigger area.
But it was only 5 degrees this morning, and it's not supposed to get much higher than the 20s today. So my poor horses are going to be stuck for a while longer with a space not big enough to run around in. But the way I look at it, it's much better than going outside to find a tragedy.
Wish they could understand that, but there's not much else I can do.

Riding Mr. T.

Titan was kind enough to pose for me yesterday after we took a mid-afternoon ride. The weather was super - sunny and about 45 degrees, which is as good as it gets up here in northern New York in January. The two of us are coming along as partners. He is learning what I want and seems to want to please me. From what I've gathered from riding him, he was never ridden with any finesse or equitation skills. He neck reins like a dream, but leg cues are somewhat mysterious to him.
We've been working on simple transitions, like going from a trot to a walk. At first, he would continue trotting even when I cued him verbally and with my seat that his gait should change. Yesterday he was getting it, becoming consistent at slowing to a walk when asked. In the spring, I'm hoping to find an instructor who will come to my house to give us some lessons to refine these skills. He also needs help with collection, which is apparently something that has never been asked of him.
He's such a good boy, so pleasant and best of all, so unflappable. Learning new skills at 16 years old has been a little challenging for him, but he is trying. I can tell when something is new to him, because he furrows his brow like he is trying very hard to figure out what I want. I get the feeling he was always told he did everything perfect. Now he's being told that while his old ways were OK, he has to work a little harder to step it up to the next level. Without anthropomorphizing, I think his feelings get a little hurt when he is corrected. I make sure to praise him profusely every time he gets something right.
His papers from the APHA arrived the other day, so now he's officially mine! I'm looking forward to some great times with this big guy.

A tumultuous year

Top: Noble
Bottom: Titan & Linda

As 2011 winds to a close, I need to reflect on the major changes in my life.
First, I said good-bye to my 13-year partner - my first horse - Noble, who passed away on May 5. This was a heart-wrenching decision, but she was in extreme pain and her heart was failing. Being able to orchestrate her passing helped. Her entire family and even some close neighbors were with her, and I was able to spend time with her after she was gone. We led Sailor to Noble's body so she could examine it, and it was touching to watch her check her friend so gently and thoroughly. Because Sailor was allowed to draw her own conclusions, she did not panic or get distressed at the loss of her friend. All in all, it went as well as something like this can, and I am comforted in the knowledge that Noble had a good death. She is buried on our property, the land that is her namesake, where I know she runs free for eternity.
I spent the next 2 months training Sailor and riding her about 4 times a week, and she was coming along beautifully. Just as I realized that her training was where I wanted it to be , she was injured in a very routine round pen exercise. She was laid up until September. That was the end of my summer riding.
With Sailor on stall rest, I couldn't bring in another horse and risk getting her all riled up. After she seemed mostly recovered in mid-September, I began my search.
It was a discouraging and often frustrating experience. Most of the horses in my price range were basically untrained, or needed extensive work. I found one I liked, then the owners reneged on selling her. I made an offer on a very nice gelding (whose price was listed as negotiable) only to be told that the asking price was firm.
Just as I was about to give up, I got a phone call from someone who knew I was looking for a nice, settled trail horse. She told me about a man who just returned to the area from down south, and who was selling all his horses because he was getting on in years. He had one left - a Paint gelding who was his wife's trail horse for the past 13 years.
The first time I rode Titan, I could tell he was a very 'zen' horse. Even the noise of trucks and heavy equipment nearby didn't fluster him. He just exuded confidence and serenity. I called the owner that night to say I would buy him.
So Titan has been living here since Oct. 29. We had a long stretch of warm late fall weather, so I've had a chance to ride him many times. He's the easiest horse I've ever had - I just go out to the pasture, and he comes to me to be tacked up. It's been a wonderful experience with him so far. There's a part of me that thinks Noble found him for me. And if I hadn't waited, I wouldn't have purchased him, because until 2 weeks prior to trying him out, he was in South Carolina. The strangest thing is, he looks much like Noble - a sorrel horse with a white blaze. Only Titan, at 16 hands, is much taller.
So life goes on, as does my horse adventure. I'm looking forward what 2012 has to show me!

Preparing for a sad event

It's finally springtime, and the horses have new green pasture upon which to graze. But the joy of spring is overwhelmed by what I must do quite soon. Noble took a turn for the worse over the weekend, and is having significant difficulty moving her legs. The vet came out on Sunday, and said her circulation is poor, meaning her heart is failing. So I am in the terrible position of having to plan her passing. I want to bury her on our property, and it would be much easier if all the plans are in place before she goes down and can't get up.

We have some logistical issues with fencing and gates that I hope can be dealt with. Much of our property is on bedrock, but I think I have located a spot where the excavator will be able to dig. Making these phone calls makes the whole thing so real, it's hard for me to even process. But she is 31 years old, and has led a full, good life. Buying this place was my gift to her, so she could live out her final years in peace and dignity. She has had that.

As my first horse, Noble means more to me than I can express. The best way to explain it is that she gave me my childhood dream of having my own horse. Through much of my adulthood, I had resigned myself to the fact that this would remain a dream. Noble gave that dream wings, and we had adventures together that will forever remain part of me.

Please think of me as I go through this process. I know it is part of what we sign on for when we assume the care of animals. But saying goodbye to my partner is proving to be one of the most challenging trials of my life.

The brutal winter of 2011

So it's been a while since the last post in August. What a difference a few months make! It's late January, and we're in the throes of the coldest weather in about 10 years. Yesterday's low at my house was -20F. Nearby in the town of Hebron it was -32! Horsekeeping in these temperatures is a challenge, to put it mildly. I'm thankful for heated buckets inside and out, and I'm sure the horses are too. We've also had a lot of snow this year, which makes moving around the paddock tough for Noble and Sailor. They're doing their best, but I know they get bored and frustrated. I'm going through a lot of hay, because they're getting extra to help keep them warm. Today things are supposed to let up a bit - the temperature might get into the 20s! And that's on the plus side. Yesterday's HIGH temperature was 1.

I've had an equine chiropractor out twice for Noble, who injured her left hind/hip on a ride last October. I was originally told by the vet that it was her stifle, but another vet in December said the problem was in her hip. So she's had two adjustments, and is doing better. She's 30, so I was afraid she might not make it through the winter if she didn't get help. Good thing she's a tough old girl!

I'm including some pictures taken this week.

The Long Shadows of August

Today was a perfectly glorious day here in upstate New York, with low humidity, sunny skies and temps in the mid 70s. But there's no mistaking that summer will soon be leaving us. At noontime, I looked out the kitchen window and noticed that the tree shadows spilled across the driveway. I was shocked to see such long shadows when the sun is at its highest point of the day. But such is the cycle of the seasons. I'm just happy to squeeze as much enjoyment as I can out of the nice weather that is left.

Alexandra visits Noble Ridge Farm

My six-year-old grand-niece, Alexandra, arrived on Sunday for an overnight with us. She loves horses, so of course she had a couple of riding lessons on Noble, who was wonderful with her. We visited the new foals on my road, picked wildflowers, walked in the woods, and finished up with a shopping trip to a local western store. Aunt Linda went a bit crazy with having a horsey little girl to buy for, so Alexandra went home with a new cowgirl hat, very bling cowgirl boots and socks with pink horses on them. She went home yesterday wearing her treasures, and according to her mother, only takes them off to go to bed. She's a real delight and a joy to be around. However, I did learn why women over 50 do not have babies! I was exhausted and slept like a rock last night.

New Life!

                                   Eva at one day old

Looking at my previous blog pictures, I realize how long it's been since I posted to this blog. It's now August, the dog days of summer, and we have two new residents in the neighborhood. About three weeks ago a filly was born to my neighbor's TB mare, and last week, another mare at her place gave birth to a little colt. Both foals have the same sire, a Trakehner who stands at 17 hands, so they will both be big. The filly's name is Eva; the colt is Edouardo. They are both gorgeous and full of themselves. Interestingly, Eva is very confident, independent and very curious, while Edouardo is more timid and likely to stay close to his mom. It's fun to watch them learn more every day.

                Edouardo at 2 days old

Buddy's back to normal

Here's JD and Buddy heading off to the woods for a hike. The cone came off Buddy's head on Friday, and he is ready to rock 'n roll. Today's temp was almost balmy compared to the past 2 days. It was about 21 degrees when this picture was taken. It's been highs of single digits recently, so the 20s feel pretty darn good.

Buddy is now completely legal. He has his license, he's been micro-chipped, neutered, and has received just about every possible vaccine available for dogs. We've been working on training, and he is a quick study. He's excellent with the "sit/stay" and "come". I'm working on "down," which has some resistance. He is also coming along with crate training, and will run right in the crate when I say "kennel." We're working on keeping him in for a few minutes while we're in the room with him. Hopefully we will be able to secure him in the crate if necessary. The trainer comes back on Friday, so we'll work on some issues, and discuss when he will be ready for agility. She (the trainer) has already started agility classes nearby, and I'd love to get him into this. It will be a good "job" for this very busy dog.

The Buddy saga continues

Life continues to be an adventure with our new Golden Retriever, Buddy. He was neutered last Tuesday, a procedure that should have been a non-event. However, Buddy took exception to having stitches in his privates, and succeeded on removing some of them, setting his recovery back. So on Friday he was back in the vet's, where he received staples to hold the whole thing together. He's on an antibiotic because he got the incision infected, and has to wear a cone on his head so he won't attack the wound. The cone causes him high stress, and so to calm him down, he has to take Benadryl. We tried valium, but it had no effect.

We were also supposed to put an antibiotic salve on the incision, but Buddy was so terrified of having someone touch him there (he's a little paranoid by now) that he bit JD when we tried to put some on the incision on Saturday night. So JD had to go to the doctor's and get an antibiotic for his wound. Now we have to take Buddy to the vet every day so they can treat it, since we're not interested in any more bite wounds.

The conehead thing stresses Buddy out so much it is hard to get him to relieve himself outside. The whole thing has turned into such an ordeal, I'm wishing we never had him neutered. We're now looking at a minimum of another week before this is healed. I don't know if any of us will last that long. JD is still sleeping on the couch to keep Buddy company at night. We can't let the dog upstairs, because that has become the cats' sanctuary. They refuse to go downstairs if the dog is around.

So here we are, a crazy conehead dog, two frustrated cats and two exhausted humans trying to survive this madhouse in the middle of winter.

More snow pictures

It's a regular winter wonderland around here...

Heavy snow on trees

After the big snow

Noble says "there must be grass under here somewhere...

Sailor takes time out from digging in the snow.

New family member

Christmas was hectic as usual here, with us hosting JD's family on Christmas Eve, and my family on Christmas Day. My mom (on a little hiatus from the nursing home) spent Christmas night at our house. It was great having her here, and considering what she has been through in the past year, it was nothing short of miraculous. But, taking care of a nursing home patient is a tall order, and it was very high maintenance to care for someone who needs help dressing, bathing, etc. The joy she felt made it all worthwhile, though.

After she went back to Bennington, VT (where nursing home is), our life got permanently turned upside down on Sunday, Dec. 27 when we adopted a 3 yr-old Golden Retriever. We got him from my brother-in-law, who apparently didn't want him anymore. The pup is a gregarious individual named Buddy, who has had no obedience training whatsoever, and very little life experience outside his house. He really has turned our house upside down - the cats have been living upstairs and have not come down. I moved all their necessitities to our upstairs bathroom. Buddy stands at the bottom of the stairs (which now has a gate across it) and gets all excited just to watch them. Lacey, our mom cat, sits on a ledge next to the stairs and hisses at him to try and get her point across. But Buddy never gets the message.

Tomorrow morning he goes to the vet for shots and a checkup. I am also scheduling an appointment for neutering, because he is still intact. I'm hoping that will take his hyper-ness down a few notches. Then we'll start some obedience training. So far I have managed to teach him sit, but he needs a lot more than that. I've also ordered a crate so he won't destroy the house when we're not at home. He's already bonded to us and gets separation anxiety when we leave him, so the crate will be a necessity. He's a good dog, and very smart, so I think it will all be worth it.

My sick kitty

After a couple of weeks of trying to convince myself that there was nothing really wrong with my cat Freya, I finally decided to call the vet today. She had a serious fever of 105.1 about 3 weeks ago, that required a 3-day hospitalization. After a week of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds, she was doing much better. But she never really got her mojo back. Typically, she's ready to go out first thing in the morning and start her day. But she has been very quiet in the morning, sometimes not even getting up to eat for more than an hour after we awake. When she did go out, she came back after about an hour and collapsed. So today we went back to the vet, who examined her carefully.

Good news was she has no fever, and all vital signs were good. But her breathing had a little "squeak" in it, and the vet believes that she has asthma. She had a serious respiratory illness during the summer that caused a nasty cough, and it's possible it damaged her airway. Having a serious fever probably knocked the stuffing out of her, leaving her weakened. So she got a steroid shot to help relieve the inflammation. I hope it works. She is functional, but just not herself. I've had lots of cats, but this is the first time I've had to deal with asthma. I hope we can get her by this, because she is a cat that just loves life and likes to live pedal to the metal. We'll know in a couple of days if the shot worked.

Gorgeous sunset

Here's what the sunset looked like from my front yard on Wednesday, Nov. 11. It seems like the sky is on fire.

Today I did a groundwork training session with my Appy mare, Sailor. She did really well - and so did I! This is our third session within the last week, and I push her a little farther each time. It's been a while since I trained her all by myself, so it's a confidence builder for me too. She is so bright, she remembers mostly everything. But she is not a confident horse, so I have to work on inspiring her to have confidence in me. If I can conquer that, I believe I will be able to ride her again. She is a horse who wants a strong leader, and I have to prove to her that I am that person. When she believes in her leader, she is a wonderful horse to ride.

Catching up

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted on this blog. Life has been eventful, although not in a great way. On October 16, I was notified at work that my position was being eliminated, and therefore they did not need me anymore. Of course nothing could be further from the truth - there was still plenty of work that needed to be done (with a full slate of events). The real situation was that the guy who was brought in to be "Community Connection Coordinator" (a made-up title to create a job for this loser) was threatened by the fact that I knew he was a fraud whose M.O. was to do NO work. To cover up for his lack of doing anything that resembled work, when the s**t hit the fan, he would throw the blame on me. Needless to say, I would not stand for this, and immediately notified the general manager that this guy was lying and what the real truth was. The bad news for me, was that while the rest of the staff knew this guy was bogus, the G.M. thinks he walks on water. So I became a liability to the Mr. Work Avoider, and a major threat to him. In addition, he has worked there before, and I had already been told that he will want an assistant - a much younger, cute assistant - preferrably under 25 years old. So I certainly didn't fit the bill. I was forced out, given severance pay, and sent on my way without even being able to say goodbye to any of my coworkers. It was a shameful and disgusting way to treat someone who gave 110% every day for three years. I won't be going to the Northshire Bookstore again for any time in the future.

In other not-great news, I didn't win the election for the Town Council seat. I worked my tail off campaigning, going door to door to 1,000s of homes. Unfortunately, being a Democrat in a Republican town was a huge disadvantage, combined with the fact that I have only lived here for 4 years. In a small town, I was viewed suspiciously. The really irritating thing is that of the 2 guys who got elected, one did absolutely no campaigning, and his entire platform was that he has lived in the town all his life. I don't know him, but I've been told that he is a slacker who can't hold a job and is very lazy. Oh well. On the plus side, I made a lot of new friends and had a wonderful group of supporters who worked very hard for me. So all in all, it was a great experience.

A few days before the election I was asked to stand in for our county Democratic chair at an informal meet and greet with NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. It was a thrill to meet her, and get my photo taken with her. She's a real fireball, and a nice person. Here we are at a restaurant in Queensbury, NY.

Busy Busy

Even though I'm on vacation, life has accelerated for me as my campaign for Town Council kicks into high gear. Last night I had to forgo my riding lesson to attend an interview with the local Labor Council. It was a grueling interview in front of about 8 union presidents. I thought I was going to a social "meet and greet" so was unprepared for this. The other candidates ahead of me made formal presentations, and I was totally unprepared. What a nightmare. I was grilled about my beliefs about unions and organizing. When it was over, I thought I would never get endorsed. But I got called by the Council president today, who said I was unanimously endorsed. So I must have done something right.

Tomorrow I go door to door on my street to say hi and let the neighbors know I'm running. I wave to my horses in my travels, and hope to ride again soon.