Total Eclispe of the Full Moon

About 5:45am, last Saturday morn, I'm heading out to feed the horses, but the moon is looking really funny. It's not clouds in front of it. Oh my, it is an eclipse and it looks like it will be going total. Wow. What a gift. I had no idea there was one going to be happening.
While I fed, I kept watching the bright part of the moon getting smaller and smaller until by shortly after 6am, it was all gone. I was done feeding & got my camera and managed to get a photo.
Later on The Weather Channel, they said there will not be another total eclipse until April 2014. I am so glad I got to see this one.

It's Hard Being a Cat!--Yeah, right...

With these two, it's kinda hard to tell where one ends & the other begins.

Working Cat

Here is the Mighty Hunting Cat at work. The cat is having fun; the rodent--not so much.
The Mighty Hunting Cat's brother is pretending that he doesn't care that the other one is about to eat something.

Recent Telly Watching

From Netflix, I got the documentary movie, Buck, about Buck Brannaman. It was interesting and worth watching. I do recommend it.
Then, I taped The Cowboy Project off RFD-TV, watched it a few days later and loved it. I was surprised at how interesting and fun it was. At this point in time, there are no plans to run it again on RFD and the event's creators have yet to make a DVD of it. But they will do something, for sure. For more info, check their Facebook & website.

Happiness is....

A new, young, hard-working handyman!
And he is surely getting a lot done on the place. He has cleared the steep hill of dried weeds & carted them off and now is working on the desolate corner that we have been ignoring for years. Then he will clear behind the red barn & give the dried mustard to the horses to eat, saving himself toting it down the driveway to the pile. Then, there is more work, but I'll be out of money for awhile. But I'll have him up here a bunch when the weeds start growing again this winter. The plan is to keep things nice now after all his very hard work.
In the meantime, middle handyman is about done with the pepper trees that now look like trees again instead of large bushes. And senior handyman will be painting the red barn next month. I've been raking up pine needles & leaves from around the house, again. That tree sheds needles constantly. If I had been thinking when I planted that living Christmas tree back in 1985, I would never have put it where I did. Oh well, live & learn.

Dreamer--younger

Here is Dreamer in 1995 with her filly, SSM Dream Singer. She doesn't look that much different today; her back has lost muscle tone & has swayed some and she has some white hairs. The filly was sold in 1999 to a family in the Owens Valley.
For the Morgan folks--Dreamer is SSM Dream Fire (Ember Ethan Dandy x Ember Serene), 7/8th Lippitt, foaled late April 1983.

Horsie Conspirarcy to make me Nuts

Clarion's legs are both doing better. The swelling had gone down considerably in the probably snake bit leg and there has been no further tissue necrosis.
So, since that was doing so well, Dreamer got kicked in the front leg by Sedona. And the kick wound goes clear through the skin to underlying tissue which means I have to clean it twice a day & really watch it. I am hoping we can escape without antibiotic use, but that remains to be seen. At 24 hours this morning, it is looking good but it is too early to tell.
Sedona got moved this morning. Dreamer has been dominant over Sedona but Dreamer is getting old (28 years) & Sedona is pushing. Neither one can quite maintain dominance over the other & that makes problems. I am sure that what happened is that Dreamer went to move Sedona off some hay & that Sedona let go with a kick while moving away. It is a situation that won't get better by itself & could end up fatally for Dreamer. So Sedona got moved. She is not happy about it, but will get over it.
At least, the weather has dropped back to lower heat--mid 90's & into the low 60's at night. That makes a big difference for me when I am out there doctoring a horse!

The Late Summer, Too Hot Blahs

I'm still around, just haven't had anything to say or photos to post. The weather is hot and I've had about enough of heat. I haven't been riding for a couple of weeks and won't start again for another 2 to 3 probably.
Both handymen are back in action. Senior Handyman is putting up screening in the big gap between the barn eaves & walls as wildfire protection. He found a good place to buy the screening that is used in the security screen doors & that is what is going up. This will stop flying embers & sparks from blowing into the barn & setting the hay on fire. This is something I have wanted to do for a while but never had the spare money. I decided I would never have the spare money so just get it done. The screening was reasonably priced; the labor is the expensive part. It is nearly done. Not-So-Senior Handyman is back in action now & is working hard trimming the snow damage from the pepper trees. Yes, snow damage, from way back in February. Other things have taken priority here. He is also cleaning up the chamisa, AKA greasewood, from around the pepper trees and the pump house. That really needed to be done for fire safety.

Horses doing good. Clarion has 3 troubles right now and 2 are mysteries. I am not sure if it is wishful thinking or not, but I think I see some improvement on one mystery. If the other mystery is indeed snake bite, well, that is just going to take a lot of time.

Ah, well, this too shall pass.

The '59 Caddy Septic System

I was chatting with a friend the other day. He's a realtor & told me a story from the late '90's. He had sold a place and the buyer's bank required a septic system certification. After fruitlessly looking for the thing with shovels, a backhoe was hired in & started digging. He got a call to "come see this!" and saw the most amazing septic tank ever seen.
A previous owner of the place had dug a really large hole and pushed into it a 1959 Cadillac--tail fins and all! Then the waste material pipe from the house was run into the Caddy's trunk, the windows rolled down and the whole thing covered back over. The solids stayed in the car and the liquid flowed out the rolled down windows.
Ingenious, yes. Up to code?--not hardly!

Snubbers Lives On!

This photo was taken Feb. 1987. Snubbers (Ryegate Nubbinette) is on the left. Her daughter, SSM Bessie Nekomia (by Quietude Westward) just had a filly! A full Lippitt filly to carry on the line. Bessie looks a lot like her dam; I haven't seen her in person since she left here back in '99 (or '98 I don't recall for sure), but I've seen photos and she still looks a lot like Snubbers. Snubbers looked a lot like her dam. Bessie's two colts have the look also. I'm sure that this newest filly will also have the look.

I am so very pleased.
I still miss Snubbers. She passed on Dec. 2009.

The Reindeer Dog

So I'm opening my store yesterday morning and a very pretty and elegant little dog trots by, with no collar or leash, followed by her person, a guy in a motorized scooter chair thing. The dog was something I don't often see--a Basenji cross. I'll note here that my family got a Basenji back when I was in 4th grade, which was the early '60's, when these great dogs were still rare in this country.
This dog had the red Basenji color with Basenji white points, short Basenji hair, and Basenji look. She lacked the wrinkles in the forehead and her tail was not curled tightly over her back but was Basenji shape & length. She was shorter then a pure Basenji and not as deep. I figured her for a Basenji Chihuahua cross, which I have see often on Petfinder; someone in So. Calif. is breeding this cross.

I approached the guy and commented on how pretty his dog is. He beamed. I then asked what sort of dog is it? He proudly replied "She is a reindeer dog."
Pause, while my brain attempted to comprehend this fact.
I guess I looked puzzled because he then added "Think of the color of a doe in the forest. She is the same color."
My brain still could not grasp this. So I said "I asked because she looks like a Basenji cross to me."
He got huffy and said "She is a Reindeer Dog!"
I decided that this conversation had run its course and told him again how pretty she is and how she so obviously enjoys going out with him. He beamed again and said what a great dog she is.
As I walked back into my store, I said to myself, "Reindeer dog, my foot. I still say she is Basenji/Chihuahua cross."

Crackers

Crackers, my Amazon parrot, died Sunday morning. In typical bird manner, he showed no sign of illness until he was extremely sick, and then died shortly after.
I've had him 18 years and do not know his age. He was given to me by someone to whom he was given because they did not want him anymore. He came with no information.
It wasn't supposed to end this way. He was supposed to live a long time yet. I'll miss his raucous ways: the way he would make the dogs howl by squaking in just the right tempo & pitch; the way he always was happy to talk with me; the way he muttered "ruck you ruck you ruck you" under his breath (he came with that); the loud cries at both ends of the day; the way he imitated the ravens; and all his other things.
Fly free, my friend and enjoy being with other parrots, eating your favorite foods, making dogs howl, and talking with humans when the mood hits you.

Happiness is

having both my handymen running the Swisher string mowers in the weeds. They got a lot done & now I can actually see my property, instead of 3-4' high mustard.

Domenigoni Trail Ride

The weather was perfect for this ride, which raises money for Diabetes research & children's camp. There were about 150 riders, sent out in 3 groups, although the first two groups merged together at the lunch stop. The ride is 10 miles with 3 rest stops, and wanders through the Domenigoni Family land and some MWD land also. All this land is normally closed.
The following photos are a selection of the 55 or so I took. I took lots of pictures of individual horses that caught my eye but am not posting those here. The photos are in order from the start of the ride to near the end.

Domenigoni Charity Ride, Pt. 1

The west dam of Diamond Valley Lake.

One of the stock ponds hidden in the hills.

Domenigoni Charity Ride, Pt. 2

Three of the Mounted Sheriffs that rode.

Domenigoni Charity Ride, Pt. 3

Yes, that horse is standing all by himself, completely unattended. He did that at the two rest stops our groups overlapped. Very well trained to stand tied without being actually tied.

My Eyes are Filled with Wildflowers, Part 1

These were taken near a friend's place in an area that burned last summer.

My Eyes are Filled with Wildflowers, Part 2

Wild Water Tastes Better

Here is Autumn Wind preferring snowy, icy wild water to his clean tub water in the barn.
I like this photo for the tongue & the drips.



Circles of water---


Icy and good.


Drips from the lips

In the barn, during the snow

SSM Spirit Seeker, mournfully saying "I'm wet." To which I replied "You have a nice selcection of stalls here (the 3 geldings have two stalls & the alcove which opens to the arena which they can roam) so it's your own fault you got wet."


Dreamer (SSM Dream Fire) and Beans (SSM Cloud Fire), being older, get the run of the asile way and a stall. The stall opens to a small pen they use as their bathroom. Dreamer will be 28 in late April.


Lil' Red, close up.


The TWH mare, Sedona, in her stall.

More Snow!

Woke up Saturday, Feb. 25 to snow. There was about 2 inches on the ground. During the day, it snowed off and on. These photos were from the heaviest snowfall, which happened in the afternoon. Because it kept melting back some, we never did gain more then about 2" accumulation; but a whole lot more kept coming out of the clouds.

SNOW!!

I went outside Sunday morning to see this--4" wet, heavy snow that had fallen overnight. At an elevation of 3000', we do get at least some snow most years. But this was the best snow in several years.




And here is Lil' Red watching me take photos.

Spring is Coming

1987--Lippitts in the Snow

This was our big Feb. 1987 snow. On the left is Snubbers (Ryegate Nubinette) and on the left is Robbie (Heathermoor Rob Rita). Snubbers was 3 at the time and Robbie was 4.
I like the snow on Snubber's ears!

A Sunny Day--finally--but not warm

It wasn't warm, but the sun was out. So I invited the cats out into the yard (I open the door, call "Cats Outside!" and get out of the way.). This is Summer Clouds, aka Mr. Dominant, also aka The Big Guy.


Notice the collection of stuff starting to accumulate on him as he rolls.


And more stuff. A lot of the leaf debris did make it into the house.

Rain & Snow

The storm this past Sunday night into Monday gave us the closest snow we have had this season. There was snow on Cauhilla Mtn (5500') but none on Little Cauhilla Mtn. (5000'). Close, but so far. But the snow was heavy on Mt. San Jacinto, San Gorgorino, the San Bernardino Mtns & the San Gabriels. Lots & lots of beautiful snow.
As to rain, yeah we got some. This is a La Nina year, where So. Calif. has colder then usual temps (yep, that has happened) and less rain (nope, that has not happened yet). So far in Oct. Nov. & Dec. I've measured about 14.5 inches. We had a freak heavy rain in mid October to start the season. Then unusual rains in November, then December really cut loose. During the "Pineapple Express" sequence of rain, we got 8.5 inches in 6 days. This was not a record, but close. Back during an El Nino year in the 90's we got 9 inches in 4 days. However, we did get a new record for 24 hours--4 inches from noon Tuesday to noon Wed. beating out the old record of 2.5 inches in 24 hours.
Yeah, lots of wonderful rain to soak the ground and recharge the wells.
Now, if only we can get some snow at my place!