Sunday, July 8, 2012

The Mystery Horse Unvieled.

I've been gone some time. I don't want to go to much into it, suffice it to say our renter is not paying her rent and we are scrambling. I don't know if we'll be facing an eviction and two mortgage payments, moving out of our lovely dream, or if this is just rough water that will pass.

But it's made it tough to write.

Still, I remind myself that is just one part of life that is difficult. Everything else is going very well. DH has mowed the entire place, and it's simply stunning. Every day we discover a tree, a frog, a feature of the land, something that makes us feel so fortunate to be here. I want to live here forever...



Like this guy, who decided he loves horse trailers.
He had the most amazingly yellow markings on his
legs, the color of daffodils.

And we found a family of birds built a nest in Mireya's bike helmet. we've moved it to a cat proof perch, and once flying lessons start will move it to a grassy area.


Hey. Got a worm? Bug? How about some grub, lady!

Every day there seemed to be a dozen things to get done. Fix the internet. Figure out trash collection. Get hay in here without paying an arm and a leg. Recycle 500 cardboard boxes.  But it's just the usual kind of stuff when you move, really.

Then, there are the other things. There really have been just two challenges. The first is the scorpions. My first night here I nearly packed my bags to leave after killing five scorpions.

I have a thing about scorpions, which you can read about here. 

But, I'm a rancher woman now, and I cow girled up and bought me some poison. Yeah, that greenie, love the planet thing went to heck in 24 hours. Now that the hordes have slowed down, I'm willing to consider less damaging methods. Unless I see a whole bunch more of the buggers. Suggestions are welcome.

The second challenge has been the burs. We have a small dog that is the mayor of bur town. She's a bur miester. Burs will leap fifty feet to embed themselves in her fur. It's absolutely incredible. We've shaved her down but I'm thinking we are going to have to go all the way down to keep her bur free. Or maybe that's just the impossible dream...


She does take her ranch duties quite seriously, though.
She has already figured out how to drink from the horse
trough and assist with hay distribution.
 But that's not why your here. Heck, that's not why I'm here! LOL.

It's the horses. And I'm here to tell you it is incredible to live with your horses. Yes, horses. First of all Sierra is riding Lily almost everyday, bareback throughout the property. They've bonded and you can see the confidence in both of them.



And while Lily is still a little tender, she is much improved. Still having challenges keeping her weight on, so I plan on supplementing with some alfalfa. 

Even Mireya is more comfortable doing horsey things.


I remember when getting her to lead a horse was filled with anxiety.
You go, girl!

And then, of course there is our second horse, a visitor for the Summer, a horse that belongs to my good friend Trail Rider, but who doesn't get much riding since Trail Rider is moving into reining. A good, solid trail horse, the horse I've coveted for a long, long time...


Woody.

Ah, yes. THAT Woody. If you just got here, you probably haven't read many of my Woody Stories. Here's a funny one from back in the Canyon the insane horse days.  I like this one too.

Woody is here just for the time being, he is TR's horse, and I'm enjoying him. He's not a pocket pony, and I am careful not to expect that from him, but we had an adventure the other day and I think something clicked. I'll write about it another time, but suffice it to say, I got a horse hug today from a big black horse.



Funny, isn't it? I'm back to riding a big black horse. Like the one I started with. Notice any similarities? Loose reins, flying shirt, little less speed, little less lean.

But it feels the same.



You can learn about Star, my first horse here.


12 comments:

cheyenne jones said...

Good to hear from you again! Sorry to hear about the issues. Good luck with that!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

So good to hear from you...sounds like there's a few bumps in the road, but the majority of life has been wonderful and new and happy. The girls look like their new life becomes them, and you...look at you, riding Woody! I remember Woody and I'm happy you're getting the opportunity to horse-sit with all the perks of riding...but no long term responsibility to weigh everything down. Just enjoy...and breathe!

~Lisa

Limo Hire Melbourne said...

Nice horse.

Anonymous said...

Glad Woody is with you for now - he looks like a lot of fun. And sorry about the other problems - hope they get worked out soon.

Unknown said...

Hope your renter comes up with the rent!

Our little dog Lydia gets stickers. The little one, they are about 2mm. She gets them in large numbers. My next trick to try is show sheen.
Lydia doesn't go up to our property on the mountain very often. When the house is finished, she will live there full time. But.... we are still working on all the permit stuff. We were hoping to get the foundation done this summer/fall before the rain starts. ha. ha.

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

Yikes. I was going to rent out my house that won't sell, because my insurance company wants someone in it or they are going to jack up my premium, but it never occurred to me that someone might move in and then not pay rent. I feel for you.

All I've used so far with the scorpions is a sprinkling or Borox laundry soap along the walls of the house near the door openings, and we've found a few dead ones in the soap. It dries them out.

Horsey hugs are always a welcome relief from worries.

Shirley said...

Hope your troubles sort themselves out soon so that you can relax and enjoy your new place, and riding. Nice that you get to have Woody for a while!

Fragrant Liar said...

Chin up, sister. It's gonna all be all right. I know it.

lytha said...

omgosh, scorpions.

well at least now you know for sure you can handle living in australia. i hope the best for you in your new place!

Grey Horse Matters said...

Except for a few not so good issues (scorpions) it sounds like this new place is a dream come true. Your daughter looks so confident and happy and so does Lily. Woody seems like a nice horse and he's gorgeous. Glad you have him to ride into new adventures with. Good luck with the deadbeat renters.

aurora said...

Sorry to hear about the undependable renters, definitely not part of the plan. Hope things turn around sooner then later. Such wonderful things happening otherwise, enjoy!

John and Regina Zdravich said...

I know how you feel about hitting a rough patch and not feeling like writing -- I went through that myself most of July. Moving is always stressful, and I hope you settle in soon. I also know what it is like to be a landlord and have a tenant not pay rent -- tough situation. wishing you all the best.