Drought

On January 29, 2019February 15, 2019 By AveryIn Horses, Life7 Comments

Y’all. The drought has ended.

The riding drought that is. And any and all working with any horse. The universe can breathe now. We were entering into desperate waters. Desperate and deep.

See what I mean?! Nothing like your horse friends to commiserate with.

Anyway. We are still very wet and we are still getting more rain (any little bit turns the ground right back into soup with how saturated the ground already is), but we were blessed with some good sun power recently (and a lack of crazy wind and humid cold temps) that awarded us with dry enough ground to go and have some fun.

I even got quite a few chores done. By the end of the day Saturday, I was pooped having been on my feet on the move all day, stopping only for thirty minutes for a quick bite to eat for lunch.

My gal pal, Cheetah all ready to rock and roll.

She was on the sassy side, but I am sure nobody is surprised by that. We still had a great time.

Just look at that face. “Who, me!?”

Yes, you!

Who could not love that face. So cute.

I did some ground work with Lito as we took a walk to the river bottom. He seemed to be in such a good head space that when we got back to the barn, I decided to pitch him the trailer and see how he felt about it. Well wouldn’t you know he just hopped right on after me as if the last nine months of some weird developmental phase were not a thing. I will take it! I kinda felt bad we were not headed off to somewhere fun.

Therefore, I think it is past time to plan something fun soon!

I was able to get everything finished before we had a little storm after the sun went down. As tired of I am of the rain, it sure makes for a pretty picture all the same. Colorful. Dynamic. Story telling.

Pretty sunrises. I am a sucker for them. Especially on Sunday.

It was Chance’s turn for a romp on Sunday morning. He made sure he was good and dirty for me.

It appears he forgot his brain somewhere deep in the mud. As annoying as his mane insisting it point to the sky. However, we will give him a pass as he has not been worked in a while. However, he has a boot camp in store for him to get his brain fully seated back where it belongs.

Weather permitting of course.

Has the weather been keeping you down?! Do not fear, this too shall pass.

Walk in love, dear readers!

Happy New Year?

On January 3, 2019 By AveryIn Faith, Food, Horses, Life, Music5 Comments

No, no, no. Not ‘Happy New Year?’

Happy New Year!!!!!

And Merry Christmas!!!!! Since I am pretty sure I missed saying that to you before.

Yes, all of those exclamation points are more than necessary.

I hope each one of you and yours had a very merry and blessed Christmas and New Year. May the many blessings of our Lord shower upon you. Peace, love, and joy. Go forth keeping the Christmas spirit alive all year long.

Aunt M asked me the other day if I was sick or something since I had not shared any AHAmoments in a while. No, no, not sick. Just still reeling from a busy Christmas season. I have lost count of how many naps I have taken. A little tidbit about me, I do not really take naps.

I have been spending my time watching the rain re-hydrate the mud. Trying not to get mud everywhere. Watching the horses roll in the mud. Scooping poop in the mud. Watching the horses slip while walking in the mud. Not riding enough. Losing my mind a titch. You know, normal 2018 stuff.

It rained this weekend. It rained yesterday and it is raining today.

But hey, speaking of Christmas…I did a little baking. It is one of my favorite ways to celebrate and share love with my family.

Apple Cranberry Pie with Pecan Shortbread Crust.

Chocolate Spiced Rum Cake.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake.

Pesto and Prosciutto Christmas Tree and Cranberry Pepper Baked Brie.

And that was just my part. We ate well to say the least. For days.

I made Lito dress up like a reindeer a few days before Christmas. I had a good laugh…or ten. Him, not so much, but he put up with it!

I will be perfectly honest, I am still laughing! He is so dang cute, even when he pouts. There is your daily dose of cute, dear readers!

Anyway, in my opinion, the best way to close out a year and ‘ring’ in the new is to watch the sunset and be in bed ~~long~~ before midnight. Then wake up early on January first, saddle up the best mare, and strike out down the road because that is the only dry stretch of ground for miles. So, that is exactly what I did.

“Stop taking pictures, food lady, and get in here to feed us!”

My Mamma came with on foot.

Hopefully 2019 will bring more ride time for me and my dun duo. It might just be after winter before the rain slows a little. Only the good Lord knows! And you know what? It is all good! Eventually, my riding will be back to normal. Until then, the horses are being horses. Doing what they do best. So, I am going to take this time and focus on myself. Be present.

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Here is to 2019.

‘Rise with lifted eyes’ every day. Ride more when you can. Worry less all the time. Focus on the journey and the path and allow it to create your momentum. Live in the moment and see the light and blessings around you. Do not ‘live on the surface and in between the lines.’ Go find the ‘deepest part of you’ and let your heart fight for the truth.

You are not flying alone.

Cheers, y’all!

Go walk in love, dear readers.

Amusing

On September 24, 2018 By AveryIn Horses, Life7 Comments

Sometimes, I find myself amusing, and I am not talking about funny as in laughing at my own jokes. Although, ha, there is that. I do do that.

Maybe not as amusing as the faces this guy makes.

I spent the majority of this weekend crossing chores of the list at the farm. Literally, all day Saturday. I did not sit and stop until after 6 PM.

First I mucked the barn out and spread the manure which was a feat given all the rain we have been getting. Then, after that, I decided to actually clean the inside of the barn. You know, actually sweeping all the dust and cobwebs off the walls and then hosing everything down. Just on a whim. Which left me covered in dust and cobwebs thinking I had spiders and other things crawling every-which-where.

Somewhere in there I also cleaned the feed room, moved the cows up to the horse pasture, and put more flags on the electric fence. I drove to town to run a couple errands and grabbed a cherry limeade from Sonic because I felt like it and thought it would be nice to have while I did some mowing when I got back to the farm.

I hopped on the mower and my cherry limeade promptly fell out of the cup holder within the first five minutes. After stopping and staring angrily at the wasted nectar and contemplating going inside for a beer, I laughed at myself and kept on mowing.

Finally, I brought the horses in after they ran around like sillies in the slightly cooler, rain threatening air. I hosed off Apache, sprayed everyone to ward off the bird sized mosquitoes, put some shavings in the stalls, and fed everyone before going inside for a much needed shower, cocktail, and dinner.

Sunday morning greeted me with this beautiful sunrise as I fed the horses, a promise for the day to come.

It was a very pretty morning on the farm once everything woke up. It felt like fall with a cool breeze! I lingered over coffee with my Mamma as we watched the four new calves bounding up the terraced horse pasture with their mothers before I set to cleaning and straightening the house.

I quickly mucked out the barn and unloaded my tack from the trailer from last weekend, since you know, I did not do that last weekend. Then I cleaned the tack shack as I started to gather things together for my upcoming trip with Lito. Side note, he saw me holding his shipping halter, pricked his ears, and walked up to me. I swear he looked excited like it was time to go somewhere. Unfortunately for us both, we still have to wait a couple of weeks.

Anyway, I looked around, thought for a second, and made the important life choice to fit in a ride instead of cleaning tack before I had to leave. Life is short, kids, choose the ride. The chores will wait. AHAmoment.

Bareback on the Cheetah Beetah while ponying my Lito. We had fun, but Lito had the most fun trying to play with me. Silly kid.

This is about the time I find myself funny. Don’t you just love how I finally get around to the point?

I do all of that and then come home and can not bring myself to do any of the mountains of laundry or cleaning that needs to be done. I can barely even motivate myself to unload my stuff from the car. Which, I made myself do and then also too clean out my storage closet in my car port. The closet that has basically nothing in it. Still no laundry.

I would rather wake up at 5:30 AM, like I did this morning. Take a shower, take Darcy out, start a load of laundry, go get coffee (because not only can I not do the laundry like a normal person, I can not go to the store and have milk on hand like a normal person. BUT I got to see that big, beautiful moon! Anyone else see that?), talk to friend H on the phone during her morning commute, and then hang up that load of laundry. This is often how I end up doing laundry, one load at a time, at the last minute, and early in the morning. This is how much I dislike it.

I sat down after all of that to finish my coffee and was ready to go back to bed after realizing I needed to get dressed and go to work.

I actually talked to another old friend, N, this morning who laughed at me for my early morning charade and wondered for the umpteenth time how we are so different and can still be friends. What can I say, I am just that way!

Normal is over rated anyway. Life is too short not to laugh at yourself. AHAmoment.

Walk in love, dear readers, and go laugh at yourself!

Tie Dye

On May 24, 2018 By AveryIn Dogs, Life6 Comments

By now, we have all figured out that my little Darcy dog, so pretty and innocent looking, is quite the opposite at times. She is a scrappy thing. She eats everything, and I mean everything. It is very un-Setter like of her. She is more like, say, a Labrador in that way.

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I have already told you how she found and ate the horse treats on Friday. This is not a new thing and she has done it since she was a puppy. Growing up around horses does not really make this fact a surprise. She actually eats pretty much everything a horse eats. Treats, apples, carrots. Feed. Hay. You name it.

Then I am sure none of us have forgotten that ill fated time when she ate a bunch of pig drippings and oil along with copious amounts of dirt and gravel. That was not fun for dog or human alike. Luckily, all is well that ends well, as they say.

There was also the time when she ate a bunch of mushrooms in my parents back yard when she was just 7 weeks old. Knowing this was not the best thing that could happen, I did some research and called the vet. They suggested I pump her stomach with hydrogen peroxide to make her throw up. That seemed a titch, shall we say, extreme for a 7 week old puppy, so I opted for the conservative observation route. She showed no signs of poison, even if she did look a little stoned. I have seen her eating mushrooms other times back there and she gets that same goofy, droopy look about her.

Then there was the tie die time. I know what you must be thinking and luckily for all involved it did not involve her shredding and eating tie dye fabric from the 90’s after eating mushrooms in the back yard. However, it is just as indelicate.

She was a little bit older than the mushroom incident by this time and I was kennel training her, so when I would go to campus for class, I would have her stay in the outdoor kennel run.

I spent one particular morning preparing for class, so Darcy was hanging out with my Mom and my Nephew, H. They spent some time coloring using a fun set of four, giant crayons before H’s attention was grabbed by something else and they went to do whatever that was.

Leaving Darcy and the aforementioned giant crayons innocently unattended.

I came downstairs with my backpack, put Darcy in her kennel, and headed to campus for a few hours. Upon my return, I walked into the house to find 4 half chewed, giant crayons on the floor. “That is odd,” I thought to myself and I walked outside to the kennel to let my dog out.

Assuming Darcy was the culprit and not H, I kept a close eye on her. The next day I went about my usual and put her away in her kennel as I headed to campus, leaving my Mom with instructions to keep an eye on her.

I rushed home after my classes were finished and the first thing I saw was red. A very RED pile of poop. My first thought, rationally of course, was, “MY PUPPY IS DYING!!!…Although…She sure looks normal and quite pleased with herself. She would.”
As I got closer and had a better look at the evidence, I saw more. More color.

To my amusement, she quite literally had tie dye poo. Red, green, yellow, and blue. Very much like a shirt I probably would have worn in elementary school. I shook my head, laughed, and let her out to play. Thankfully, that was the end of that episode and I am pleased to report she has not eaten another crayon.

Brings a whole new meaning to tie dye, doesn’t it?

I sure am glad that fashion fad is over.

Walk in love, dear readers!

Monday Wisdom

On November 6, 2017 By AveryIn Life6 Comments

Psst. The Monday work day is over, so here is a little something for you. A little funny and a little cute.

Monday wisdom from the world of Petunia, as I see it.

Petunia is the wisest and smartest donkey. She has me trained, clearly.

Here she is. Playing a good game of ‘Where’s Petunia.’ Unassuming. Or so she wants people to think.

Calling to me like a beacon. Her ears as radars. Sure, I’ll just walk out there. I have fed everyone else. Heaven forbid she go without.

“No need to come in at feeding time. The girl will come to you and bring you the little, measly offering of a single alfalfa cube that she calls dinner.”

“Be cute and act like you do not need the offering. Stand there picking and choosing from the all you can eat buffet. Then, when she finally gets there, arm stretched out and reaching for you…

steal the alfalfa cube and take off galloping and bucking to the barn.”

Petunia, the wise one.

Find the humor in all things.

Stay the course and know that humans are not the top species.

Enjoy the sunset on your way back and do not tell the men when they get back from the deer stand.

The end! I hope you had a chuckle at my expense!!

Walk in love, dear readers!

Tuesday Toodles

On May 16, 2017May 16, 2017 By AveryIn Dogs, Life5 Comments

What day is it today? Tuesday? Yes, all day. Today is Tuesday. When and how did that happen? Overnight. Right. But what happened to yesterday?

Yesterday was a typical Monday recovering from the weekend. Harder than normal because Middle Sister, K was still in town and I did not want to miss a minute. But, miss the last minutes I did because I have this adult thing called a job. The day was quiet and by most accounts slow when I think of it.

After work, I had a dinner and drinks get together with friends. I made fudge brownies from scratch topped with a little dollop of cream cheese frosting and spears of strawberries, all arranged on a fluted red cake stand. Naturally, I did not get a picture so, use your imagination. I brought the leftovers to the office for everyone else to enjoy. In theory. There are not enough other people here to eat them fast enough before I cave and have one! OK fine, several. They are in bite size pieces! And have fruit on them!

Anyway, it was a later evening than I had intended and this morning came all too fast. That seems to happen more and more these days, despite my body and brain always waking at basically the same, unnecessarily early time.

I say that, I actually like waking up early as I have mentioned before. I just could have used more sleep last night.

I tried to take some cute, quick pics of my Darcy girl while I was having my coffee. She could not sit still for them. Mornings are just too exciting. And when I come home. And when anyone comes over. Or walks by. All times are exciting and happy for the Doolittle Darcy dog. Be like Darcy, I tell myself. Especially when I am tired and headed to work. Dogs are so great for so many reasons. AHAmoment.

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This weekend was busy with Mother’s Day, birthday, and family activities. Shout out to my wonderful Mamma and Grandmothers. They sure are something and have made me into who I am today. So many sacrifices they have made for us kids.

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Aren’t they something???

These are all pictures of pictures. Is that today’s version of a vintage photograph? Mother hides from the camera these days and I have no idea why. She is so pretty! She is probably reading this right now. Isn’t she pretty?!!!? The second to last one, there on the pinto, is her mother. The last one is my father’s mother. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, biological or not, human or not. We are blessed to have you!

For your laugh today, look at what my father is holding in his hand.

Yes, that is a rock.

Walk in love, dear readers!

Saved From Monotony

On January 24, 2017January 24, 2017 By AveryIn Life, Music2 Comments

You know how sometimes your everyday work life (or just regular life) can get somewhat monotonous? Where it feels like you are doing the same thing over and over and it kinda drags you down? You have a hard time getting out of that groove when you try to switch gears?

I would not say that my work lately has felt like that, per se, but today it definitely has. Or could have felt that way. Here is the good part, it has been a great day and I will leave work feeling great. I did not even notice the monotony! Let me tell you why.

OK, so last week I was listening to the sons of Haggard. Merle Haggard. That would be Ben, Noel, and Marty Haggard. You should check them out if you have any interest in great music in general, great country music specifically, or their father. It is also really fun to hear Merle in them. Genetics are so cool that way. Anyway, that is what was pushing me through my work week last week and it carried on into yesterday.

Naturally, today I started just listening to Merle. I am by no means new to his music, but listening to him makes my soul smile every time. I can not quite tell you what it is. It is some combination of his life story and the story behind his songs, the talent, the subject matter, the tonality of his voice, his expression when he sings (hey, thanks YouTube), and some unknown factor. He was also seriously funny. Impersonations of other artists was a regular thing at his shows. He mixed up the arrangements with different instruments. Golly, can I just gush over his voice. I also have to confess that the young Merle Haggard was quite the handsome one. Just me? Oh well.

The point of this story is that I found myself smiling and laughing all day today while working. I did not even notice I was doing it until I laughed so hard that I worried I was disturbing people. I am laughing at myself right now just thinking about it. Music often helps me focus while at work and also makes me happy. Duh. (I listen with headphones on as to not get distracted by people walking by, and so I can listen as loud as I want without disturbing others.)

This is my favorite time frame from Merle I think (at least today):