[QtrBel]

We'll go tree hunting this weekend. Now that we're also screening from developments going in it may be a few very non traditional trees. Still deciding. I'll be doing cuttings from the thorny rose from hades to put along part of one fence line and am thinking of getting my hands on some Flying Dragon for another.

I baked a ham to leave for a certain person that was instructed to put it in the fridge before bed do I could take a chunk home and out of spite he didn't. Then he didn't eat any of it. Burns me up. He also stuck it in the second fridge so I didn't find it until last night. Money is too tight for that kind of waste.

With a lame lease it looks like I'll be getting plenty of ride time with child on our own. I'm looking forward to it.

The kids have been "excitable" which has been trying. We've done so well so far with few incidents I'm hoping we come back to a more settled situation. Ready for the Christmas break.

 

[walkinthewalk]

1. I am also still trying to “eat down” Thanksgiving leftovers and DH STILL brought me a meatball sub that I didn’t want🤯🤯. Half of that is in the fridge.

2. We spent two nights in the 20’s, last night was mid-40’s so we are crawling our way back to more average temps.

3. The swelling on Duncan’s chest is almost gone but the tick bite marks are taking their sweet time to heal. He gets one more dose of Excede & a steroid Saturday. My animal control neighbor said she will hold Duncan for me if she doesn’t get called out. I told her I need someone with a calm demeanor— her NOT DH. Duncan can get jiggy when he sees a needle and I’m not as steady as I used to be, to try this on my own - getting old is the absolute pits🤯🤯

4. I think the charger cord for my IPhone & IPad is bad. Neither one will charge. I’m hoping the car charger works - if it doesn’t I will have to make a trip to town. It’s Friday - payday- people are shopping that don’t normally come out —— people that only drive twice a year——

5. I am more excited for December 21st than anything else. It’s the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year. Days will start getting longer 🤠🤠

6. No new pictures, I’ve posted this before but maybe everyone will forget, lol. It’s my Flashback Friday picture of Sonny, my Arab/Saddlebred who was always getting out, lollol. He he was out on his own; he crawled under the fence in the dry creek bed😳😳.

The 1959 Rambler behind him was my winter beater. Nobody in NE Ohio drove their good cars in the winter if they could help it and the more “beater” the car was, the more impressive as long as it ran good. That old girl didn’t have much in the way of a heater and I carried antifreeze with me all the time, it it got the job done until spring, lollol

I love my sorrel, chestnut, and bay horses😍😍

 

[QtrBel]

5. I am more excited for December 21st than anything else. It’s the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year. Days will start getting longer 🤠🤠

I notice this more and more as I get older. My body feels it both in December when I start feeling more alive and June when I have to fight shuttering down.

 

[Caledonian]

Our weather has been grey. We had thick fog at the start; it lifted on Tuesday to give us tendrils of it creeping across the fields before it blanketed the land again. The rest of week, including today, has been a mix of mist, light rain, low cloud and darkness. It's 7C/47F.

I'm with @walkinthewalk and @QtrBel , I'm really looking forward to the light returning. It's afternoon here and lights are needed in the office, house and on the roads. It was dark by 3.30 yesterday.

I had Wednesday off work as it was St Andrew's Day, a bank holiday, it's not one I usually take but I've leave to use up before the end of the year. I spent it at the yard shivering while I waited for the farrier to get done. I couldn't motivate myself to ride because of the weather and mud.

I'd fire training yesterday, which meant an hour in the classroom and the rest a practical. It was an eye-opener as I thought that the fires we'd be putting out would be small - bucket-sized, but no, they were larger than me! The teacher kept saying, 'it's a safe environment' and I kept saying 'this isn't part of my job for goodness sake!'

I'm working Saturday and Sunday. Saturday will be a long one, I've a network get together and talk in the middle of the day so I can't retreat to my office, and Sunday will be a 'fun' Christmas event. I may have to dress up.... we'll see, they'll need to catch me first !

While ponies will be involved on Sunday, I won't get to the yard to see my usual bunch until Monday at the earliest.

 

[younghorsetrainer]

I finally decided to start joining the discusions!
I am baking a nice roast chicken for lunch. I love roast chicken!! With loads of garlic, onions, lemon juice, rosemary and melted butter brushed over top with sale. 😋😋😋
I will make chicken broth and then soup with that broth, chicken nuggets and maybe some chicken and rice for another day with the scraps that aren't used up with the nuggets and soup.

Yesterday there was a big rain for like 15 minutes that did nothing except blow a lot of leaves off the trees for me to rake up, ( the eucalyptus trees loose leaves all year round and stay green all year round but loose more when it is hot weather here) and wet the top of the ground. Lol not what the pasture needs. Or the garden. Today it is cooler than usual only 20 *C and cloudy with occasional mist and then occasional sun for like 10 seconds. The weather here is sometimes very sketchy. I plan on cutting some firewood for camping and maybe thinning out my corn. I should get out and train Nevada but am a little lazy to train a lazy 2 year old lol!

Maybe tomorrow I will go for a nice ride and see the neighbors horses as they are " wild" and like company. Castillo doesn't like their company at all ESPECIALLY when his mares are present!
Wednesday I went for a nice evening ride, the sun sets at 7:45 and rises at 5:45 ish so the nights are short and the days long and usually 30 C.
Here are some pics from Wednesday's ride and from earlier Wed. as well.

Mittens is the name of the beautiful kitty!! She is due to have kittens any day. She is a first time mother if she has kittens and is only a little more than a year old.
Of course Luna being marey to Comet!
One of the herd bulls just got up from a nap.
And riding in the pasture and through a grove of eucalyptus that is very common around here

 

[aubie]

I finally decided to start joining the discusions!
I am baking a nice roast chicken for lunch. I love roast chicken!! With loads of garlic, onions, lemon juice, rosemary and melted butter brushed over top with sale. 😋😋😋
I will make chicken broth and then soup with that broth, chicken nuggets and maybe some chicken and rice for another day with the scraps that aren't used up with the nuggets and soup.

Yesterday there was a big rain for like 15 minutes that did nothing except blow a lot of leaves off the trees for me to rake up, ( the eucalyptus trees loose leaves all year round and stay green all year round but loose more when it is hot weather here) and wet the top of the ground. Lol not what the pasture needs. Or the garden. Today it is cooler than usual only 20 *C and cloudy with occasional mist and then occasional sun for like 10 seconds. The weather here is sometimes very sketchy. I plan on cutting some firewood for camping and maybe thinning out my corn. I should get out and train Nevada but am a little lazy to train a lazy 2 year old lol!

Maybe tomorrow I will go for a nice ride and see the neighbors horses as they are " wild" and like company. Castillo doesn't like their company at all ESPECIALLY when his mares are present!
Wednesday I went for a nice evening ride, the sun sets at 7:45 and rises at 5:45 ish so the nights are short and the days long and usually 30 C.
Here are some pics from Wednesday's ride and from earlier Wed. as well.
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Mittens is the name of the beautiful kitty!! She is due to have kittens any day. She is a first time mother if she has kittens and is only a little more than a year old.
Of course Luna being marey to Comet!
One of the herd bulls just got up from a nap.
And riding in the pasture and through a grove of eucalyptus that is very common around here

welcome nice pictures. what itts all about. Any other lurkers, now is the time. Join in

 

[boatagor]

I always want to jump on one of these and miss out so I guess today is as good a time as any!

I had an interesting week. 5.5 years ago, I got bit by a tick and ended up with an allergy called Alpha Gal. It makes you allergic to mammal meat, and sometimes other mammal products. Luckily I could still have dairy, but I had to avoid pork, beef, deer, gelatin, etc. Last year I was cleared to eat beef again, and this past Monday I was finally cleared to eat pork after 5 years. We had a lot of pork this week, lol. I'm so happy to be done with that and hopefully I can avoid any more tick bites that might make it come back!

We are very busy the next few weekends with Christmas parties and various schmoozing. The husband took a new job this year that is going to result in more socializing than I am used to. I am not looking forward to it. We have family coming in to participate this weekend, and then next weekend will be traveling to OH to do the same type of thing there. I'm very much a hermit these days, I don't like to leave my house at all, so I'm dreading it. My husband says I will end up enjoying myself so I hope he's right.

I'm going to look at another horse on Monday. I had looked at a mare at a kill pen rescue and scheduled a PPE for her, but I had a feeling I just couldn't shake that she wasn't "the one" and decided to pass. So I'm continuing my search. I don't need a second horse right now, I can take my time and wait a few months as we get our place ready, but I'm sure we all know how that goes lol. This gelding is young, but seems to have a lot of trail experience and the right personality, so I will see if I like him. If I could boil down what I truly want without compromising, it would be a 14-14.3h paint or QH gelding with trail experience, and that's this guy. We will see!

The weather is not cooperating for us to get anything done here, though. It rains every few days, which makes our newly cleared area a mud pit, and then as it's drying up, it rains again. They're calling for rain all next week, too. It's pretty frustrating but we typically do have rainy winters so I should have expected it. I really want to get my horse(s) home, but I need to make sure I do it right and they're not living in a foot of mud, so I will go as slow as needed. Also the husband thinks we need a tractor to do any of this work, so we will probably be buying one of those before doing too much as well I guess that's the tradeoff, I get a new horse and he gets a new tractor lol.

 

[ClearDonkey]

I inherited my Grandma's fake Christmas tree when she passed. We just put it up last night in our living room, but SO wants a real tree. I so badly want to be a two tree household, so a two tree household we will be! I'm going to move my Grandma's tree to a different room so the live tree can take center stage in the living room. I'm thinking that my Grandma's tree will go into my office or maybe our front sitting room, who knows. This is our first Christmas in our house, so we are hoping to go all out with décor!

@walkinthewalk I'm glad Duncan is feeling better! That swelling was HUGE!

@younghorsetrainer I am envious of your beautiful landscape!

I went on a water treatment plant tour yesterday with work. My town was originally home to GM plants that this water treatment plant served, so the control panels are modeled after Oldsmobile handles as the control levers and the hanging lights are modeled after hubcaps.

There was also beautiful murals by Frank Cassara and Charles Pollock representing the life, death, and invention that water brings.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[ksbowman]

Gosh everybody great pictures. We went to the lake last weekend with my oldest daughter's family and had planned to do the lights at Silver Dollar City but, it rained most of the day so we went to the Native American museum and did the scenic enclosed golf cart tour at Top Of The Rock. It has 27 sets of man made waterfalls and is a really nice tour. My wife has native American blood so she really liked it. I can't believe how many artifacts they have.

 

[ksbowman]

This was also the start of getting rid of the latest barn kittens. So far rehomed 2 and more this weekend. @walkinthewalk I had a a 59 Rambler Rebel station wagon and it was a great car. We had two inches of rain and it's been so muddy I only rode once so Ki has had an easy week. Too early for supper plans but, I'll figure out something.

 

[SteadyOn]

Happy Friday! And it is a happy one for me here, as I had a brutal head/chest/throat/eyeball virus (not COVID though) that made everything goopy and sore and knocked me on my butt for close to a week. I've been over the virus itself for a couple days now, I think, but my throat is still feeling very dry, and my energy levels aren't back up to normal yet. And I've had an acne breakout from being so rundown. Just need some additional time to heal.

During that time, I didn't see Elle for a full week, and haven't ridden her since Tuesday of last week. I didn't want to bring this thing to the barn, and I also didn't have the energy to make the drive and to do much for her.

Wednesday though, I made it out! Hooray!! I wasn't feeling up to riding yet, and frankly wanted to just have some fun with her after so long. She had a good roll in the indoor, after being damp from being out in the gross weather, and mooched for some cookies.

Then we just ran around together at liberty a bit (while I wheezed along with my angry lungs), and she had a bunch of energy. So I set up a single small jump that she blasted over a few times. I turned it into a one-stride (at least by my so-so estimation). But while she did one-stride it a few times, she also FLEW over it as a bounce both ways a number of times, too. This horse, at 25.5, continues to be a wonder!!

Plans for this weekend, so far, are just to work (now seven days a week again until Christmas, ugh), and try to make up for lost time with Elle and get a rhythm going again with my riding. It's been a long road to finally settling in some where, and she still needs some time, I think, to know that she's really REALLY staying at this place. But it's all been worth it in a roundabout way.

ETA: I too am looking forward to the longer days again, blecchhhh. The darkness and gloom just drains the life out of me, I swear.

 

[Txshecat0423]

Good morning all! Hope everyone has recovered from Thanksgiving and is doing well.

I don’t know what supper will be…something with ground beef. The weather here has been so up and down… we want comfort food when it’s cold and then it gets back up to the high 70’s and stew and chili don’t sound good anymore.

 

[dogpatch]

Our weather has been grey. We had thick fog at the start; it lifted on Tuesday to give us tendrils of it creeping across the fields before it blanketed the land again. The rest of week, including today, has been a mix of mist, light rain, low cloud and darkness. It's 7C/47F.

We live fairly near the edge of a steep declivity, about 300 feet to the bottom, where there is something of a marsh/wetland. The slopes are all clad in fir trees and our little clearing is surrounded by them. Our property slopes down the middle and drains a fairly large area before the runoff plunges over the side and down to the wetland. At certain times, tendrils of fog creep up the slope and lay in the low part of our property. This is the best at sunrise, when beams of sunlight may flash through the fir trees and ignite the fog, making it glow.

When the fog tendrils come skulking, we always say, "Oh no! Here come the pirates!" LOL! That is in memory of a silly old 1980s movie called "The Fog". Only it wasn't really pirates, it was lepers whose ship was deceitfully lured onto the rocks in a storm so that they could not form a colony nearby. Their spectral, zombie-like remains came out of the sea in a glowing fog to wreak their revenge on the deceitful town 100 years later.

Now isn't this a whole silly post? LOL! But beware the fog comes creeping 'cross the fields!

 

[PoptartShop]

Happy Friday. Morning was off to a rough start:

I was supposed to wfh today, but had to come in suddenly because of a hearing to prep & all - however, I ended up spending over 2hrs in traffic to get to work (which normally takes like only 30-40mins tops) because 95 was shut down, there was apparently a carjacker and it turned into a huge cop car chase, helicopters, etc...it was insane. I don't know the full story yet, but gosh.

So I get to work 2hrs later, after sitting in all that mess, & turns out the hearing ended up getting rescheduled for next month. Like, WHAT! ALL THAT! And I could've just stayed home! LOL.

But I'll probably leave work early today, just a rough start to the day, but I'm alright.

Nothing planned this weekend! Supposed to rain tomorrow, but Sunday if it's nice I shall ride my horse! Haven't ridden in a few weeks. I was sick with a cold for a week & a half, then we got so much rain, so it's just been miserable & chilly, muddy, all that.

I honestly haven't even thought about Christmas! Guess I should start...lol

 

[dogpatch]

This week I have been shepherding my hubbins through knee replacement surgery. He is both very obedient to doctor's orders, and very determined to get back on his feet, so with that combination he's already making great strides, so to speak!

But it's been a few weeks of madness for me with schedule seriously disrupted by appointments and things that have not gone particularly well! LOL! I'm hoping for a break from errands and appointments in the coming weeks.

My little trip back in time on @ksbowman's driving thread has got me thinking about maybe playing a little on a low key basis with laminitis-recovering Dixie, and maybe even Laddie. Dixie's recovery is almost 7 months on and still growing out the damage, but has been pain free for at least six of those months. I want to start walking with my husband when he's ready to start his daily walks again. Try to shed this invasive old-lady mindset.

The weather is trending toward the cold and stormy La Nina winter forecast. There's a little frozen precipitation on the ground right now. I've been trying to get the winter tires on my truck since the first of the month but the new rims they keep trying on the tires keep rubbing and must be taken off again. Today I go in to have the tires mounted on the stock rims and hopefully get most of my money back on four figures worth of new rims.

I got a "rocket stove" this week and have had a lot of fun learning how to cook on it. I expect to get a little more adventurous with it over the weekend. The rocket stove is a neat little outdoor cooking device that appeals to my inner "prepper" lol!

 

[JCnGrace]

Happy Friday!

I need to go to town sometime today or tomorrow thankfully for just a quick trip. It's still up in the air about whether or not hubby's friend is coming down this weekend to fix the garage door. One minute he's coming the next he's not and then back on, etc... That has been going on all week.

Monday I have to get a tooth pulled. Boo! Hiss! Sometime between now and then I plan to make some tacos because it might be a while before I can eat anything crunchy again. LOL Anyway, I'm so not looking forward to that. Fingers crossed I don't get a dry socket like I did on 2 of the wisdom teeth extractions. We are stocked up on canned soup and ice cream.

 

[Caledonian]

@dogpatch - Not a silly post at all! Beware the creeping fog!! It's dark now and misty with light rain. I'll be peeking out through my blinds into the trees for the rest of the night LOL !

I remember that film. Like all good celts we've no end of myths about what could be waiting in the fog 👻.

I'm inland, but given that it's an island, very few places are that far from the coast - half an hour at best, an hour or two at worst. I'm surrounded by hilly land with fields and woods; mountains, moorland, estuaries and the sea further out. The haar/fog was coming in off the north sea. It looked great when it broke up, like white fingers creeping through the landscape, although the sun didn't manage to break through. Visibilty on the roads was awful though and riding just too dangerous in most places, the tracks were holding thick patches.

@PoptartShop - I've friends who organised their Christmas in spring and summer. I don't know how they have a christmas-focused mind at that time of year. I'm a last minute person too, I'm only just thinking about cards, wrapping paper and smaller presents. I did buy a few emergency presents for when people surprise me though.

 

[dogpatch]

Just got back in from giving Dixie a little front hoof touch up trim.

Not much to do with the winter growth slow-down but it still made me hopeful. All the ugly, tattered, dead white line has now pretty much been replaced with creamy "lamellar wedge" which is a kind of disorganized "scar" tissue that the hoof lays down to try to keep the hoof together in a crisis. As it slowly shrinks in width, it will become true white line and the healing process should be fairly complete. The wedge is fully connected to the sole now, and there is just a hairline of disconnection showing between the toe walls and the wedge. The disconnection originally went all the way around the quarters. The quarters are now pretty much fully connected. So I think we are in "mop up". I got to rasp off a bunch of ugly flare this morning. There is about an inch of old wall to grow down to the ground. Dixie is going to wring a full year out of the healing process I think! That inch is about 3-4 months' growth.

 

[dogpatch]

@dogpatch - Not a silly post at all! Beware the creeping fog!! It's dark now and misty with light rain. I'll be peeking out through my blinds into the trees for the rest of the night LOL !

I remember that film. Like all good celts we've no end of myths about what could be waiting in the fog 👻.

I'm inland, but given that it's an island, very few places are that far from the coast - half an hour at best, an hour or two at worst. I'm surrounded by hilly land with fields and woods; mountains, moorland, estuaries and the sea further out. The haar/fog was coming in off the north sea. It looked great when it broke up, like white fingers creeping through the landscape, although the sun didn't manage to break through. Visibilty on the roads was awful though and riding just too dangerous in most places, the tracks were holding thick patches.

@PoptartShop - I've friends who organised their Christmas in spring and summer. I don't know how they have a christmas-focused mind at that time of year. I'm a last minute person too, I'm only just thinking about cards, wrapping paper and smaller presents. I did buy a few emergency presents for when people surprise me though.

LOL! I wondered if you should be worried about dead Roman soldiers, but I it sounds like you have many other ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties to worry about!

I have visited Australia during the Christmas season in the past. It was definitely curious to see northern hemisphere winter decorations festooning the shops. But if it invokes the spirit of the season, then that is probably all that's important!