No Riding for Me

The horse I ride is being spiffed up for a horse show tomorrow so he's off limits to me today. I probably could go help out but there's enough work here on the old homestead to keep me busy. Last Friday my trainer was unavailable but she told me to go ride him anyway, which I did. I carried my whip to let him know I was serious and not to try any guff with me. It worked, even though I never summoned up enough courage to go faster than a walk.

I finally got around to arranging our cold storage area so that we can walk in without tripping over stuff. Hopefully I left enough room to store the lawn chairs this fall. Fortunately, once it gets cold we don't need access in there again till spring so it can be a bit more cluttered.

I have five large hanging baskets. I can water them using a long wand but deadheading and fertilizing with a watering can requires a ladder. I bought what I thought was a nifty pulley system to raise and lower them. Of course the darn things don't work. They either extend their full length and won't raise back up or, my personal favorite, won't extend at all. I wasted a lot of time fooling around with them yesterday. Oh well, growing season is only about six more weeks.

I finally got all my perennials in the ground and have resolved not to buy any more until next year. They need a while to get established and the aforementioned six weeks may not be long enough to make them strong enough to suffer an Alaskan winter.

I think I've mentioned how we have practically no water pressure. A guy came out a couple of months ago and gave us an estimate for some kind of system involving a holding tank and a bigger pump. I got the funds together to pay for this but he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. We've left four or five messages with no response. I really, really want to get this problem resolved. I'm going to call the company again today. "Hey, I want to throw tons of money your way. Doesn't that deserve some sort of acknowledgment?"

Horse 1, Me 1

I think I mentioned that I got dumped in the dirt a few weeks ago when the horse shied. Well, he did it again Tuesday but this time I stayed on! Admittedly, it was a much smaller spook, but still...

So, I am now seeing a chiropractor. My left leg has been giving me a lot of grief and it is sometimes damn near impossible for me to mount the horse (I hate it when that happens) Turns out my left leg is longer than my right leg. I have a small lift to put in my right shoe and we'll see if that helps. I had a CD with an MRI of my spine taken seven years ago which I took to my last visit. He asked me if anyone had ever mentioned that I have curvature of the spine. I recall a school nurse had mentioned it when I was 14, but that was a long (LONG) time ago. So I'm going for adjustments a couple of times a week. I hope it makes a significant difference eventually (so far, not so much)

Still gardening. I had some plants for ground cover that I bought back in May. Our original use for them has altered so yesterday I finally put them in the ground around some perennials. Poor little plugs were so root bound that it will be a miracle if they survive. I only have three perennials left to plant so I may stop by the nursery after my chiro visit today.

Sue Kolstad is coming back to Alaska later this month so I'll probably take at least one clinic with her. After all, she needs a little comic relief amongst all those serious dressage riders. Unfortunately, I still haven't mastered posting without stirrups as she mandated. My trainer insists I'll be able to do it eventually. Uh huh.

Sticks and Stones

Just weighing in on the Paula Deen kerfuffle. I think the Food Network is over-reacting by firing her for a racial slur admittedly used years ago. Paula's about my age and I'm sorry, young'uns, but language such as this used to be somewhat common.

Polite? Never. Derogatory? Depended on the situation. Hurtful? I'm not Black but it is a term they use on each other. Does who says it really make a difference?

I think the crowd should not be allowed to sing Dixie at the Kentucky Derby. After all, it references returning to a time and place when slavery was accepted:

"The song originated in the blackface minstrel shows of the 1850s and quickly grew famous across the United States. Its lyrics, written in a comic, exaggerated version of African American Vernacular English, tell the story of a freed black slave pining for the plantation of his birth. During the American Civil War, "Dixie" was adopted as a de facto anthem of the Confederacy. New versions appeared at this time that more explicitly tied the song to the events of the Civil War. Since the advent of the North American Civil Rights Movement, many have identified the lyrics of the song with the iconography and ideology of the Old South. Today, "Dixie" is sometimes considered offensive, and its critics link the act of singing it to sympathy for the concept of slavery in the American South. Its supporters, on the other hand, view it as a legitimate aspect of Southern culture and heritage and the campaigns against it as political correctness. The song was a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln- he had it played at some of his political rallies and at the announcement of General Robert E. Lee's surrender."

Time Flies

I've been staying very busy in a mundane way. We have just over an acre of land and a lot of it has been divided into garden beds that need maintenance. It took me two afternoons just to prune the dead branches off the rose bushes next to the driveway. I've planted quite a few perennials and annuals so watering takes about 90 minutes. I single-handedly pruned the branches off and dug up the roots of a dead Canadian hemlock. I planted a lilac in its place and another lilac in a different bed. I've only got about 1/3 of the dead canes cut from the raspberries and I'm afraid the grass has won the battle in the strawberry patch. Lots of blossoms, however, so I think we'll get berries. I'm not a vegetable gardener but our next door neighbors gave us broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes so I felt obligated to plant them. I also scattered some carrot seeds and zinnia seeds that came with a pair of Playtex gloves. One of my hollyhocks is blooming, even though it's only about six inches tall and my sweet peas seem to be doing well.

The mosquitos are fierce and congregate by the back door where the dogs go in and out and sneak into the house when the door is opened. I went to eight different stores in town on Thursday trying to find one of those electric bug zappers. A nice sales lady told me she had one that worked great in Colorado but our long daylight hours make it kind of ineffectual in Alaska. She suggested getting a model that also has some kind of odor attractant so I went home and ordered one from Amazon. It should arrive Tuesday. Die suckers, die!

My riding lessons have been going well. "My" horse was entered in a three day jumping show last weekend so I rode Thursday morning instead of Friday afternoon. I know darn well he is leery of the far side of the arena so I avoid riding there. For some reason I was feeling confident so I started long reining him over there. He spooked right and I fell off left. The base of my spine is still a little tender.

He had Tuesday off since he'd been jumped quite a bit plus participated in a clinic on Monday. I was headed to the barn Friday when out of nowhere a mallard hen and her tiny ducklings appeared in front of me on the road. I slammed on my brakes (fortunately no one was behind me) and they proceeded to start to cross. Then a big truck traveling the opposite direction threw them in a tizzy and they scattered every which way. I just sat there until I saw them off to the side of the road. I didn't see any roadkill on my way home so hopefully either they made it to the other side or gave up trying.

Heard Joan Baez singing, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down the other day and it has been running through my head ever since. Move on Virgil; I'm tired of hearing your name.

Ignore Previous Entry

Spring/summer has arrived with a vengeance. We went from naked trees to buds to full-blown leaves in about a two day period.

I didn't get to ride last week. My trainer wasn't going to be available on Tuesday but told me I could go ahead and ride if I wanted to. When I got to the barn the horse seemed lethargic and not his usual cheery self. I turned him loose in an arena and instead of rolling, he laid down for about 5-10 minutes. He never does that. He also turned down carrots so I knew he wasn't up to par. I gave him a good grooming and put him away after calling his owner to let her know what was up. Turns out he was running a temperature and at one point she thought she might not be bringing him home from the vet's. They think he picked up a ground contaminate from wild geese that had landed in the pastures. Anyway, he got meds and this week seems back to normal.

I spent Saturday and Sunday at the hunter/jumper horse show. It was fun but I decided to stay home Monday and start working on potting up plants and weeding. Yesterday I had just finished zippering up my half chaps when my trainer called to ask if she could move me from 2:00 until 4:00 as she'd had a flat tire that needed fixing. No problem. I just changed out of my riding clothes back into jeans and worked in the yard. Just as I was stepping out the door for the later lesson my trainer called to say she was running about 20 minutes late. Okie dokie, I'll give the horse an extra good grooming.

So, I get to the barn, let the horse loose and start to gather up tack. His bridle is missing. I knew she'd used it on a different horse at the show Sunday so I called her to let her know. She told me to look in her trailer as it must have gotten left in there. I couldn't find it. I decided to go ahead and groom the horse, saddle him and walk him around in his halter. Did I mention it was uncomfortably warm during all of this? 4:30 rolls around - still no trainer. I am dying from the heat so I untack the horse, put him away and go find a shady spot to wait for her. When she finally showed (after 5:00) I told her I still hadn't found the bridle so we both go to the trailer. Turns out it got put in a cubby on the opposite side of the trailer than the main tack area I had been looking in.

She had already postponed her next lesson to make time for mine so I got the horse ready, mounted and proceeded to have a lesson in the scorching heat. I think my brain was fried. I couldn't seem to remember how to do anything, although apparently the horse was covering for me as she kept saying how well I was doing. Maybe muscle memory? I know I didn't consciously do anything. There was another woman in the arena so I tried to stay to one side. She kept wandering into "my" area and I kept having to detour to avoid bumping into her horse. Anyway, did I mention it was hot? I don't think the horse liked it either because my trainer asked if there were bugs around his ears or if he was just twitching them in irritation? Unfortunately, it was the latter. When the other woman left the arena with her horse, mine did a little crow hop - I didn't fall off! He apparently thought that if the other horse was getting to leave he should be able to get me off his back also. Little did he know that there was another rider waiting in the wings for him.

I drove into Anchorage to have lunch with a friend today and then worked in the yard some more. As usual, I've purchased too many plants so am over planting all my containers. My hanging baskets won't be ready for pick up until next Wednesday. The nursery had told me to call three or four days in advance but they got slammed all at once due to the late spring and are taking longer than usual to accommodate all their customers. I plan to work in the yard all day tomorrow, ride Friday and then attend dressage shows in Anchorage this weekend.

What ever happened to the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer?

Record Setting Snowfall

Ah yes, another first; snow starting yesterday and continuing today. Normally, Memorial Day is our big weekend for putting out plants. Last Saturday was warm, I had the windows open and was contemplating taking advantage of some coupons I had for a local nursery. It wasn't getting below freezing at night and surely I could safely start hardening off the tender young plants. The one thing that stopped me was that supposedly it is safe to plant once the leaves on the birch trees are as big as a squirrel's ear. I haven't even seen a glimpse of green yet. Then the temperature kept getting lower and I decided not to risk spending money on something just to have it killed off by frost. The forecast called for snow later in the week and darned if they weren't right for once. I did see several robins earlier in the day when it was still raining. I bet they're ready to fly south again.

I had switched over to my summer riding boots and my feet were cold yesterday for the first time ever, despite having on wool socks. On the positive side, the lesson was great and I got some extra riding time since the person who normally rides after me had canceled. My trainer put the horse on a lunge line and had me practice sitting trot both with and without stirrups. Surprisingly, I do better without stirrups; I think because I sit deeper in the saddle.

The first show of the season is supposed to be next weekend. Several events to be held over both this and last weekend have been canceled because the arenas aren't dry yet - one is being used by geese which should give you an idea of how wet it is. Good times...

Don't Fruit the Beer!

I just saw a commercial for a canned margarita made with beer. Come on, Budweiser. Don't stoop to this.