I've Got My Horse Home!

Mindy and I made our trip to Southern Idaho last week, and boy have we had a good time!

Now the problem is getting all of that fun is how to relay it to my blog!  (0:

We left my house on Friday morning and drove Highway 95 the entire way.

This route took us through Lewiston where our parents just happened to be grocery shopping...

So we met up with them in the park next to the Flying J.

We got fuel, food, used the rest room, checked the horses that Mindy was hauling, visited with the parents, and then hit the dusty trail!

We got to wish them a happy 40th wedding anniversary too!

We tried to plan a party for them, but dad said  we'd better not or we'd be in hot water...

We hosted surprise party for their 25th and it took mom years to forgive us.  She hates surprises...but that's another story!  (0:

We made really good time, from the time we left my house and the time we arrived we were "on the road" for 7 hours...

This of course includes our little family visit, fueling up, and stopping to eat lunch.

It was also a route that we don't really travel all that much so there was a lot to look at!

We found Mike's employers ranch easily and dropped off Mindy's horses while meeting up with Erin, Mikes girlfriend.  We also saw Mike, but he was working.  They were processing 800 head of steers.  Those steers were there a week early, and were going to be followed by another 400 Saturday morning, that were to be processed on Sunday.  So this did indeed cut into our planned riding time.  We had originally planned to ride Friday evening, twice on Saturday, stopping for lunch and the Belmont, and then another two ride day on Sunday stopping for lunch, and with us leaving on Monday morning.

Real life on this great planet, nothing really ever goes as planned!

Our revised schedule ended up being loads of horse talk and only riding on Saturday and us leaving on Sunday morning.

We parked the horse trailer in Mike and Erin's drive way and set up camp.

As Mindy put it, we're gonna Hillbilly Up your Neighborhood.

To which Erin replied, you'll fit right in!

And oddly enough we did!

Mike and Erin had Fiona and Pima in their back yard...how perfect is that??

Pima is a paint that ain't and he's had her for a while, I can remember her from when he lived near me, BEFORE I met Chad...  So over 11 years.  Her sire is by Pima Country, I think, but it could be her dam is by him... I cannot remember anything else about her breeding.  (0:

OOPS!!

So when Erin said we'd fit right into the neighborhood and no one would think it odd she was right.  

AND on the first day we were there, we saw the neighbors being served a warrant by the Sheriffs Dept.

Erin said it happens from time to time there, and that last month, their 13 year old daughter was taken away in hand cuffs and hasn't been back since.

Odd part, is that the mom is a nurse, and the dad is a professional too, no one could remember what he did.  They have a nice house, a large motor home, two new cars, and a 4 year old at home... But it's a chaotic place with plenty of police activity.

The next morning ( it was about 11:30, so you could say early afternoon.  We were on our way "home" for lunch) one of their neighbors was pulled over by the Sheriff's Department, both of the passengers were arrested and their car was hauled off...

They said that more than likely it was a DUI for the driver, and that it's not uncommon for them to be good and drunk by 9:00 am on any given day...

Oh, small town life at it's finest...

But you know what, our presence really didn't even garner a sideways look...

Matter of fact, everyone smiled and waved as they drove past!  (0:

We did however pack a lot into our time there and we had a pretty good time to boot!!

Good Fences

I'm slow posting because Kase likes to help...and when he sleeps I've got a million things that I try and smash into that nap...  It also makes me slow to unresponsive when I get questions in my comments area.  

So, I find it pretty funny that while walking the kid and the dogs yesterday I looked down my fence line from the old rail bed behind the house and saw this. (Looking at the picture below, you are looking from my house towards the rail bed.  You can see the corner of my fence line and it running to the left. I was actually standing "there" when I saw "this"!)

You may have to enlarge this picture and look at the wires from the bottom up to really see what I'm looking at. (Fingers crossed you can, because it's a cell phone photo!)

If you're still struggling to see it, look at the picture below...

This pisses me off.  

These are not the neighbors that the horse intruders entered from.  This is the neighbor that the first AND second owners of this house had trouble with...or so the neighborhood gossip goes.  So far it's been fine for us.  It's a man and his wife and his mother.  I don't think that they have kids, but I could be wrong... They do have dogs, two beautiful Rotts.  We chat occasionally, and are friendly I suppose.... 

Anywhooo, this is the fence line I share with them.  They have a no climb wire fence and then we have our fence...  I'd say we've got a 2-4 inch gap between the two fences... 

The Hee-Haws and Horse Girl lay on the fence during the spring, so I turn on the fence to remind them that they need to keep on their own side of the fence.

When I brought Fiona home, I was wondering why Horse Girl had her head on the top wire and just figured that Chad had unplugged the fence...  But no, my neighbors decided to ground out my top wire... So they could feed the horses treats.

How do I know they are feeding treats?  

Because they have ever since I've moved in...

Do I love it?  No.  Do I worry about it?  Kinda.  Did I make sure that they know NO grass clippings?  Yep!

So we finished out walk and then went to the gate and walked down the fence line and took my wire off of the tee-post.

Their ground spot was 3/4 of the way down the fence line... Way away from my house, the barn, where I water my horses, where I feed my horses, and far enough away that you can't hear the snap when you're outside.

Ugh.

Not sure what I'm going to do about it...

Right now I have the boys in the "Jenny Craig For Men Pen", but they won't be in their for ever...

Then I guess if they don't check to see if it's still grounded out, Granny's gonna get lit up.

Our property only has no trespassing signs on the front- top of the driveway and then at the back, where the rest of the driveway would be if we ever finished it.  Neither side has signs.  Mostly because I never really thought about it being necessary.  And the one side is completely fenced!

Now obviously, I think a bit differently, but I'm 99% sure that our motorcycle neighbor and his buddies wouldn't cross over.  But this mysterious horseman, they are trouble!!  LOL!

Never a dull moment I suppose!!

If Only This Would Fit On A "Normal" Sized Piece Of Cardboard....

I'd have it posted on the back of our property AND in a few different places on the West side of the property that's yet to be fenced:

Thank You For The Heart Attack That You Gave Me This Morning!

My Heart Really Wasn't Pumping Enough Blood,

But When I Saw Your Horses Shod Hoof Prints Going Up My Driveway, 

That ALL Changed.

 I Was On My Way To Work When I Noticed Them,

And Then HAD To Back Down The Driveway To Check My Horses.

The Pounding Of My Heart Deafened Me, And Drown Out Those "Regular" Annoying Voices In My Head!!

And The Adrenalin Coursing Through My Veins As My Mind Raced REALLY Did More Than The Coffee I'd Consumed Early Did!

It Was Amazing!!

And Those Two Nags Dozing In The Trees At The Back Of The Pasture, Have NEVER Been So Beautiful!!

Thanks So Much!!

Happy Trails!!

I honestly have no problem with anyone riding through, but goodness did my heart stop!

After work I looked around to see where they came from, looked like they actually passed through my neighbors motorcycle course and onto our place...but I'm not 100% sure.

That I'm not too crazy about them riding through the neighbors, I don't want him to think it's me!!

He's a super nice guy, and I see him from time to time...

Since it's never happened before, I hope if he did notice the tracks he didn't think it's me! 

Good fences make good neighbors, so we'd better get on it I supposed...

When we have time...

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