Another Week Down...

And the circus is still in town!

The Land Lord interviewed some more people, decided they were "the ones".  He had them out for another "interview" and decided that they needed to borrow my Danger to show them around the farm.  I let him "show off" for them.  After they drove around the farm, he decided that they should come in and see the trailer.  No warning, no time to clean the house...and to top it all off, we were in the middle of dinner.  Not only did he want them to look around, he wanted me to "show" them the place.  Lovely, Chad almost popped a cork.  I just smiled and led them through the place.

As I led them through the place, I let them know that the washer, dryer, and kitchen stove were ours.  I told them that the bathroom and kitchen sinks leek, and we just put something under them to catch the water and empty them regularly.  The walls were warped through out, the wood stove was more or less burned out.  It doesn't hold heat well and you have to stay on top of it or you could have the house either 200 degrees or minus 20.  I showed them where the crack was in the front of the stove, and suggested that maybe replacing the firebrick in it could help.

We walked down the hall and I pointed out the warped wall and such.  Then they cornered me in the rear bathroom and asked me how the Land Lord was about weekends off.  I told them that Chad and I usually get the big jobs done during the weekend and work on the little jobs during the week.  They told me they like to leave for the weekend and go camping.  So I told them that the horses are less work in the summer, so they probably wouldn't have too much trouble taking a weekend or two here and there. 

I explained to them how I worked it when I was gone for a few days.  They then told me well we have to have a month off for elk hunting each season...  I said a whole month?!  Yes they leave on the first of October and don't come back until the first of November.  My first thought was that they must be throwing rocks at the damn things to need an entire month to get an elk each.  ( I guess that I should interject here, that I grew up in Northern Idaho.  We have avid hunters in our family.  I know people who only eat wild game...so I know these two yahooos don't need an entire month to hunt for food.  They need that much time because they are "horn" hunting.  If its not a trophy bull, they aren't going to put it in there sites.  Puuhlllleeease.)

I decided to skip telling the Land Lord, it was his problem either way.  Well, when they sprung it on him...he balked and now we are back to square one on the replacements.  I think he enjoys the attention he's getting from all of these strangers.  But what do I know?

Our house appraisal finally happened on Friday...we will get the paperwork today.  I can't wait...man oh, man I am ready to bale.  We still have to have the Engineer inspect the foundation on Tuesday afternoon, but its already passed the county inspection a few years ago, so I can't imagine it not passing this time...  God I hope it doesn't fail...I will probably need Prozac if it does. 

Anyhoooo  if all goes like its supposed to, we should sign our papers on either Thursday or Friday.  The paperwork says we are set to close Friday.  I am not sure these people will give us an extension...they have a fu@king cash offer on the table right behind ours....  Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.  So happy thoughts today, that the house appraises for our offer...happy thoughts tomorrow that the foundation passes WTF ever it needs to, and happy thoughts on Thursday that we are signing our paperwork a day early!  I would be SO happy if we were moving in by Chad's birthday.  But we will see...not sure, if we had stipulations on when they were to leave.  We are open to giving them a week or two to get their stuff together and moved out.  As long as I know I get to leave here, I will be fine for a few more days...but no more than 14 of 'em!  LOL!!  ( :

So now that that's off my chest...  Mindy's husband's birthday is this week, so hoping to make a quick trip to the coast to see them and the worlds cutest little boy next weekend. (After we have signed on our house!!)...oh and pick up a cat Mindy "found" and wants us to have.  She looks a lot like M-Kitty....  Unfortunately shes not spayed, hoping that there aren't any babies in the belly.  Guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it!  ( :

Rode Tari two days last week.  Caught her up on Saturday to ride and find her with a swollen knee and Fiona with a swollen hock.  Makes you wonder what the girls have been doing out in the pasture...dip sticks.  Neither was too bad, but not great either...so no riding either one of them until they have normal limbs. 

Its also fairly hot here...93.  Now I know that there are a lot hotter places, but for us, its pretty warm.  I usually don't ride much when its this hot...I just fly wipe, check the salt and water, and sweat.  Yeah, I'm pretty good at sweating!  LOL!! 

We did get a pretty good rain on Tuesday....we all appreciated it!!

So stay tuned for some pretty cute baby pictures coming to a computer screen near you!!

Baby Sitting

The Land Lord's buddy dropped off his horse and mule at the beginning of this month.  I will be feeding them twice a day until I leave.  Here are my wards for a while, Freeway the Run-a-Way and Mollie Mule.  These arent' their real names, but its what I call them.

I call the gelding Freeway the Run-a-Way because two summers ago was the first year that the Land Lords Buddy dropped off Tony, Freeway, and different mule.  Well they all got to messing around by a fence and someone sent someone else through it and by the time it was all said and done, Chad and I were woken int the middle of the night to the sound of pounding hooves.

We were able to get part of the horses back, but with the flashlight I saw Freeway and Tari screaming down the road at mach 10.  Not cool.  We drove around the neighborhood and major roadways for an hour, then around 2 a.m., decided to go back to bed and look when it was light outside.  We were up and at it again at 4:30 coffee in hand, only to find them standing in the neighbors hay field grazing like nothing was wrong.

Freeway has gotten out of his pasture on another occasion...and in this instance he did the same thing, ran.  Ran like a pack of wolves were in hot pursuit putting as much ground underneath himself as possible before I could get to him.  He does stop a fence lines, so it wasn't all that hard to get him caught that time...oh and he's grain broke too.  Gotta love that!

Mollie Mule was a wash out on the mule racing circuit.  I kid you not.  She is an Appy Mule, with lots of characteristics and a wee bit of spotting.  She also has a tattoo on her lip.  It takes two to look at, and so I could not get a picture for you to see, but its there.  She paces, and paces, and paces.  Haven't seen her under saddle or out in a large pasture, so I have no idea what shes like on the "outside". ( :

Last Weeks Stuff

Well, this last week has been really fun.

Got this oldy out...its from 2006.  She was soooo expressive!

Not really.  This week has been a circus.

This one is from 2006 as well!  Its not too often that I can actually catch Horse Girl being crabby!

We made yet another offer on yet another house (3 weeks ago, its set to close on the 30th of July).   Yep...this is our third one that has went past offer made, offer excepted.  This is the SECOND house that we have had the home inspection done on (got a discount from the home inspectors since we used the same people twice...a whopping $25...its the thought that counts though), this will be the second house that we will have an appraisal done on.  I have my fingers crossed that this will be the LAST house we have to mess around with and the FIRST house we will own.  Its been less than fun and the stress is ever mounting!

Gratuitous Becky shot.  Note Horse Girl scratching her big butt on the hay stack!

Of course I told the Land Lord that we were trying to buy a house, so he is trying to find a replacement for me.  Yeah, like that is possible!!  ( :  In order to find someone to "manage" the ranch, he ran an add in the Nickels Worth (Our local free to you cheap for the guy listing add circular).  It reads, Want A Farm?  Use mine.  80 acre horse/mule rancher needing manager.  Animal/farming opportunities.  And his phone number.  Apparently every "hillbilly" in North Idaho has responded to this add.  Not to worry though, he has told them to come on out and look around.  So every night when I come home, someone new is in the driveway.  It sucks.  He has promised to meet some and forgotten, had some come out and then been too busy to talk to them right away and left them standing in the driveway until they decided to just leave.  Its NOT OK.  Oh, and his hay has begun to be delivered...BUT he wants to do it himself.  Yeah, called me three times to come home early and help him so far...I said no.  I will help, but on my terms... UGH.

The Hee Haws, waiting to go eat some grass!

Then there is the matter of my cat.  M-Kitty hasn't been home in 11 days.  She is old, and used to do this kind of stuff 5 years ago, but she was usually hanging out in the barn and would come out and greet me when I was down there...no such visits.  I'm bummed....I loved that cat.

Checking the "hay cart" for the fines while keeping her butt on the hay pile.  This mare loves to scratch her rump!

Tari went to see Dr. Peters for her 30 baby check.  I saw the heartbeat!!  Yipppeeeee!  We are having a baby at our NEW house.  I can say that because we have 10 months to get the hell outta here!  ( :  I didn't see a penis, so I think that Mindy is going to get her filly after all!  RIGHT????  ( :

Scratching her side and my saddle on the fence.  This horse rubs on everything...but no clinical signs of allergies...just a busy body I guess.  Note her boots no longer match after the destruction of the right front white boot, I haven't ventured out to find a replacement...not in any big hurry!

Rode Tari and ponied Fiona Sunday.  Fiona was a dork...  Apparently her face was really itchy.  Then the saddle was really heavy.  So while I was saddling Tari she tried to lay down.  I stopped her, but she tried several more times before we finally hit the road.  My plan was to pony her up the road and around this little loop and then go to the neighbors and ride in his large round pen.  While we were riding she was good at the trot, but when we walked she was all over Tari.  Tari was spastic for some reason...so she needed some "support" and when I started helping her, Fiona would start rubbing and crowding and being a pest.  Tari then would try and bite her.  I was really wishing that she would correct Fiona's touchy feely crap with a swift kick to her chest or the like, but nooooo.  We just argued back and forth and threw fits the entire way up the road.  Then the neighbor had his tractor out reworking his drive way so we couldn't get in there and ride in the round pen, which I think would have been good for everyone, but we rode home instead. 

Fiona would like for me to point out that she was sweating though, and that kind of sweat makes a girl itch.

We were out for an hour too bad it wasn't two, maybe three.  Guess we win some and we loose some!  I've gotta get that Fiona thinking like a "big girl" rather than the baby.  I am just not sure how to do that....yet.  I really do love this crazy filly regardless.  Tari is a gem too.  Horse Girl, shes special as well!!  And my oh, my how special are those donkeys?  ( :    (Would hate to leave anyone out!)

For The Record AND Before I Toss This Post It Note Away

When my sister arrived home after her trip to the NBAHA Super Show in Las Vegas this June, her trip log (I thinks the term to use...maybe meter..) on the truck showed the following

***3281.2 miles traveled
***190.4 Gallons Of Fuel Used

Just in case anyone was interested!  ( :  If you ask her if it was all worth it, I am sure she will say yes!  As she has talked several times about next year when we go.  Crazy Cowgirl!

Family Fun, The Last Part

The Wrap Up

Does this mule make my butt look big?

No this is not proper attire for being in the pasture.

But I really wasn't planning on being in the pasture when the fun and games started.

Becky made sure to leave her mark, just to teach me a lesson.

Poor ol' Becky mule is starting to slow down and REALLY show her age.

So Chad and I let her be manner less...

...and abuse us.  We know its her last summer.

Maybe she does too, because she has been really touchy feely in the last 2 months.

Taking every opportunity to do what we are doing.

Even trying to play with the soccer ball.

Kage was played out, so he was good with the old mule stealing his ball.

He is happy to share...this time.

Wilson?????

I Can Die Happy Now

Last Sunday afternoon, Charmayne James said I had a very nice horse....

Never mind that she said she loves all horses.

She said Tari was a very nice horse. 

Right after we made our last "run"...she gave me some final instruction to think about and said, "You have a very nice horse.  Keep practicing."  I of course smiled, shook her hand, thanked her for the best time EVER, and chocked back a few tears of joy/pride as we rode out of the arena.  Never mind we loped, didn't run...had the wrong lead on the second....switched to the correct for the third...then we went back to the backside of the first, picked up the correct lead and re-ran the last two barrels...they were a little ugly...oh, well!  That's why we go to clinics...to learn!!

I think I'll keep that compliment close to my heart for a few years.

In all honesty, this was the BEST clinic I have ever attended.  Charmayne is a real person, who had the drive to succeed.  She is a great motivator and is able to make you feel like you can take the world.  She likes everyone and puts on a clinic that makes you feel like your best friend is helping you.  She told us to wake up everyday and be a better/kinder person than we were the day before.

Her staff rocks as well.  Heather, her right hand woman is the bomb.  A wee bit more on the wild side, but friendly and helpful.  I learned more about my horses teeth and how my horses teeth tie into her entire well being and happiness than I would have ever imagined.  Randy the Equine Dentist absolutely loves his job, loves to teach, and was willing to help any way he could.  He even offered to take post dated checks if someone couldn't afford their horses work in one shot.  He was busy working all three days...  Tari needed some work, but due to the fact that we were only at 27 days gestation....I got a card though....for later... I also learned a lot about horse nutrition and chiropractic care.  It was an all around great clinic.

If one is ever in your area, audit it at the very least, even if its for only a few hours.  It will be one of the best experiences of your life. 

Oh...and, Wyatt would like you to know, that...  Charmayne James said his Aunt Nikki had a very nice horse!!

Family Fun, Part Three

The Background Games

It actually all started with the Hee Haws, but they were at the bottom of the field...

and these guys were closer to the action at first.

Fiona wasn't happy when Chad shunned her, so she took it out on poor little Scarlett!

She pushed the mule around for about 15 minutes.  Circling her up and pushing her all over the place...

This is a game that Fiona finds entertaining most days....

Notice the other game taking place in the back of this picture.

You never know what you are going to see at the farm...

Being Fiona's play toy isn't cool...

...but its the life of a mule!

And just like that...the donkeys shenanigans stops Fiona's play.

Everyone loves a good chase!

Jack Jack in the lead.

The little turds weave in the herd.

And out of the herd.

Then some tussling.

And more tussling.

Followed by even more running!

And some good Ass chewing to finish things off!

Missy felt inspired by the Hee Haws games.

And since Fiona have moved on, Scarlett was free for some nipping.

And more nipping...

And more...

Scarlett finally yells WTF!

So Missy tries to whisper "it" into her ear!

No dice...now Scarlett gives Missy a love nip.

Missy retaliates...

Scarlett tries another angle.

Oh, the sisterly love...I can feel it from here!!

Most everyone got into the act while we played in the top of the pasture!!  We're one big happy family!  Or as happy as a "mixed" family can be!