awhile ago again . . .

I got very bad news: remember Cash . . . the beautiful black mustang that was at my horse clinic a couple months ago? He died. I was devastated . . . I can't believe it. Here is a good picture of Cash and Jim. So sad. So, so sad.

The kiva at Mesa Verde beckoned to me again, so I had to go there. First, I went to Cliff Palace, and I'll post the movie . . . if I remember. Then, I went to Balcony House, which is my favorite cliff dwelling because it involves a thirty foot ladder and crawling through a tunnel, among other amenities! I also took a video of climbing up the ladder . . . while the camera hung from my belt . . . but, I watched it when I got home, and you probably don't want to see that one!

A couple days later, I went on an archeology outing, but it was just kind of "virtual" . . . Well, not really, but there was nothing there except the "idea" and the landmarks. So, it wasn't very satisfying - - as far as archeology goes - - but, it was fun. And, I did take a picture of a beautiful bug that landed on me, and a rainbow in the sky on a sunny day!

men/horses/brats

Nothing interesting to report from online dating . . . in fact, nothing interesting out there . . . so, I hid my profile again . . . which means I'm done . . . at least for awhile.

BUT, I found an interesting guy on craigslist . . . local guy, probably not a serial killer! Anyway, his ad said something about a woman who likes horses and rural life. That is pretty much me . . . in fact, exactly me! So, I wrote to him. We have many other things in common besides horses, but aren't quite in agreement with politics and religion. That didn't seem to discourage him, though. Anyway, I called him. We talked for over an hour and I don't think he asked me one question . . . it was all about him, him, him. So . . . NEXT!

I went to Cadence the other day, and I was about to walk one of the regulars . . . Justin. Justin is the one who I do the most exercises with from my book on therapeutic riding. So . . . one of the girls who was doing the side walking asked me if I knew the exercises! I said, "I wrote the book!"

When I took Moki for a walk this morning, I heard the cows mowing . . . I just love that! I cam home and couldn't get the song, This Old Man outa my head. This old man, he played one, he played knick knack on my thumb. Knick knack paddy whack, give the dog a bone. This old man came rolling home!

Then, I drove over to the horse ranch for their open house. There were a ton of people there to help . . . mostly kids, some of which I knew. I had put on some nice horsey clothes this morning because there would be strangers there looking to buy high end horses. And . . . you know . . . you never know who you're going to meet. So, my first job was to move a hose and do some watering. The hose was filthy! And . . . well, when I met hose, I became filthy, also. A little disappointing, but it goes with the territory.

After that, me and two kids were supposed to groom a couple horses. One kid, a twelve to fourteen year old would be my guess, named Angela was one of the kids. I knew the other one . . . I think her name is Corey. So, we go over to the corral and Angela says, "You two get the horses, I'll get the brushes." But, Angela was the only one who knew what the horses looked like. After trying to explain which horses they were (remember, they are all white horses with VERY little difference), I said, "How about YOU go get the horses and I'll get the brushes." She went.

You know, I'm sixty years old with mostly gray hair, and I think I probably look rather grandmotherly. Most kids treat me with a slight bit of deference. I don't expect it, but I always appreciate it. But this was so blatantly . . . what . . . I don't know what you would call it. Jennifer had talked about how a lot of the people who come to her are takers . . . well, this kid was a taker, big-time. Spoiled brat, at the very least. If she was a little older, I would refer to her as a . . . well, a female dog, if you get my drift!

The instructions from Jennifer were for two people to groom while one person holds the two horses. So, Miss Brat and Corey come back with the horses, and Miss Brat says, "You two groom, I'll hold the horses first." All I could think in my head was, "TAKER!" And a lazy taker, to boot. But, I had already decided that I wanted to groom first and hold later . . . you know, get the easy stuff off the horse and let the next person get the harder to reach areas! So, her little bossiness fit exactly what I wanted.

When I got to the horses mane, some of it was so tangled, it was going to be a real chore to get it undone. Miss Brat said we would use a scissors on the mane. But, cutting a mane should really be left as a last resort, and I told her that when she tried to hand me the scissors. It took quite awhile, but I'm good at untangling knots . . . which is what was in this mane. I got it. No scissors involved. Anyway, Miss Brat then relieved Corey and started doing some grooming, but Corey had done a thorough job and there wasn't much left. Meanwhile, I'm still working on the mane. Then, a couple other people came to help with the grooming. So, now there's five people working on two horses. Miss Brat strolls away. I found Alicia and told her that since there was plenty of help, I'd be leaving. It bummed me a little because I had cancelled a really fun archeology day to be there to help . . . and they really didn't need me. But . . . whatever's meant to be!

Hope you can get this: Hawk Movie

Hope you can get this: Coyote Movie.

Trying again.

This is a about a week behind now. Getting closer . . .

Back at the ranch again, I rode Dakota . . . a horse I've never ridden before . . . but, Kelsey had me on the lunge line. I finally got it! Kind of. I would be able to get her to go, and then she would abruptly stop. Kelsey said I was changing my movement. So, I had it, but lost it whenever I got distracted . . . or, I just couldn't keep up with it. I'm getting there!

On another day, I went back to the rec center. I LOVE the climbing wall. It's me and a bunch of kids about fifty years my junior! Oh, well! I love what I love. I can't be embarrassed about that when it is so fun! Then, I went into the pool area to do some "stair stepping" up to the water slide! It was a blast, too. I'm such a kid . . .

And, for more serious matters, I've decided to try online dating again. There's a site called plentyoffish.com and it's free. It's actually where I met Phil six or so months ago.

Ok, so I started online dating again. The first guy who wrote to me was an ex-seal. His profile was interesting, and his profile picture was of him holding a HUGE (loaded) machine gun. He is currently overseas as a consultant or something . . . whatever that means in the middle of a war, I don't know. He wrote and said that although we had differences, it could be interesting getting to know each other. I might have agreed except for one thing: his profile said something about tolerating animals as long as they're outside. I wrote back and said that my dog is my kid and that there is dog hair on the bed, on the floor, and on the furniture and that is how it is going to stay. Last I heard from him!

The first line of my profile is: I skip to the beat of a different drummer, I color outside the lines, and I run with scissors - - not necessarily in that order! It occurred to me that "regular" guys would probably not respond to that line. On the other hand, when I look at a guy's profile and he has said, "I'm just a regular guy," then it is very clear to me that *I'M* not interested. So . . . it's all good!

BTW (by the way), it took me so long to complete this that I'm still probably two weeks behind right now. Sorry!

Dancing cheek to cheek

I went to see the Lipizzaner stallions in Cortez, the town near me. I wouldn't have thought they would perform in a podunk town like that, but they did! Two nights, even. The show was really good . . . interesting seeing them after working with Jennifer's Lipizzans. They, or at least some of them, seemed to be a lot smaller than Jennifer's horses. They did some cool tricks, including this one really unique thing, where the horse rears up on its hind legs, and then pushes off the ground and kicks out with his hind legs so that all four feet are off the ground. Very cool. They also did some synchronized riding, which was cool.

Our dance lesson tonight was the fox trot . . . but, a new way . . . touching. We've learned fox trot before, but we've never . . . touched. So, who is my first partner?! A woman! Denise, the teacher, says, "She's not going to do the touching with you," and I said, "Good!" So, I didn't get to practice that round. Next, I had Dapper Dan . . . he's one of the crew, older, very nice. So, the way we were taught to do it is that the couple is slightly off center from each other, so basically, my right stomach is touching his right stomach, or sort of. It was kind of weird doing that with all these "strangers" . . . mostly guys that I've danced with before, but still . . . weird. I see doing that with a boyfriend or something . . . but, I was a little uncomfortable with this. When I went out with that *much* older guy a couple months ago, he danced one of the dances like this and I was very uncomfortable. I'm all for touching . . . but, it's a little uncomfortable with strangers or people that I don't particularly want to be that close to.

Oh, and we never actually danced cheek to cheek . . . I just thought that was a good title!

Nature in and out.

Moki and I just heard a terrible ruckus outside, so I opened the window to see if I could hear more. Birds were squawking all over the place, and I saw magpies flying in and out of the trees. I thought maybe their babies were crying for food. I went outside to see if one had fallen out of the nest and got a surprise. There, at the base of the tree, stood a hawk with some kind of bird in its talons. I don't think it was a magpie . . . possibly a mourning dove. The magpies were attacking it, trying to get it to go away. Then, I did something I probably shouldn't have done. I approached the hawk trying to get it to go away and leave the rest of the birds alone. I kept thinking . . . I hope the magpies know that I'm trying to help them.

A nature columnist that I used to read regularly said that you should never interfere in nature. The hawk has to eat, too. But, I kind of feel for the underdog. Well, sometimes. Anyway, upon my arrival, the hawk left his spot under the tree and flew about twenty feet away, with the bird still clutched in his talons. The magpies wouldn't let up. I approached again. This time, the hawk left his prey and flew into a nearby tree where the magpies kept at him. The magpies are still flying in and out of the tree where the hawk took refuge, and the dead bird still lay on the ground. I hope when the hawk leaves that he takes it with him . . . otherwise the killing was a waste. Sad.

More noise outside. The hawk flew back to the ground to get his prey. The magpies were relentless, but the hawk managed to get away and fly up on the roof of the house. With the scene so clearly in front of me, I started getting a whole new picture. It didn't look like the magpies were defending their own. It looked like they were ganging up on the poor hawk and trying to steal his food! I defended the wrong side! Why do I keep making this mistake? If I would just listen to the advice of not interfering with nature, everything would be just fine. I can't help myself.

Then, the hawk left the roof and flew into a tree across the street. Then, the magpies REALLY ganged up on him. There were about six magpies and just the one, poor hawk who wasn't much bigger than the magpies. NOW, I had to go across the street to defend the hawk! Just getting close to the tree made the magpies back off a little. But, as time went on, they started ignoring me and going at the hawk again. I yelled at the magpies and thought . . . I hope the hawk knows that I'm trying to help it. A few minutes can certainly change an attitude, huh . . .

Finally, I got too close again and the hawk flew off with its prey still clutched in its talons. I thought it got away, but then I heard it again. The crying that I had heard earlier and thought was baby birds, was actually the hawk crying. He flew to another tree and the magpies wouldn't let up. Then, the hawk flew off again, a short glide and then he took off . . . but, unfortunately the magpies continued to give chase. They flew off way across the field, so for me, that was the end of the story. Trying to do the right thing, I blew it again! Oh, well. Hopefully THIS TIME I've learned my lesson.

On the nature inside . . . about a week and a half ago, while I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, a cute little brown face peered out at me underneath the washing machine. I had a mouse! In the house! I went out and bought a plastic "hav-a-heart" trap . . . the kind of mouse trap that doesn't kill them. Then, I didn't see or hear from him for almost a week, so I was going to return the trap thinking he had moved elsewhere . . . and perhaps the cats next door got him. But, no. One morning I noticed his calling card all over my kitchen! Bummer! I set the trap, and caught him that night. I heard him chewing during the night, and worried that he might chew through the cage and escape . . . but, he didn't. He was waiting for me next morning. I took him in the car and had planned to drive him about three miles away. But, the way that I went . . . I turned and was worried that as "the crow flies" or more appropriately, as "the mouse walks," it might not be three miles. So, I kept driving. Then, there were houses near all the possible places, so I kept driving. NINE miles later, I had still not found an appropriate spot, and I was done looking. I found a quiet intersection, and even though there was a house kind of across the street, I had come to the end of the line. I opened the cage and the little mouse jumped out and ran away.

I got home and thought . . . one mouse in a year and a half . . . I'm not going to go to the trouble to clean this plastic trap and just have it sit around for another year. So . . . I threw it away. Big mistake. A couple days later, I hear something at night again. Oh, no! Not again! I bought another plastic trap and set it out in the kitchen. No go. I changed bait. Nothing. But, I knew he was still around because I could hear him at night. While I was in the bathroom, something brown and fast scurried past. I moved the trap to the bathroom. I thought I heard him in the trap, and thought, success! But, I was still afraid that he could chew his way out, so I put the trap in the bathtub, and closed the glass doors. A little later (still not sleeping), I realized I heard no sounds, so I went back to check on the trap. Upon closer examination, there was NO MOUSE in it! Bummer! I was so hoping. I put it back where I had it, and less than an hour later, I DID have a mouse.

Next morning, I loaded him in the car, and took off. I have this thing . . . I like to keep family circles together. In Maine, we had many mice over the years, and we always turned them loose in the same place . . . to keep the family circles together. Thompson Island! Anyway, so this morning I realized that I had to drive nine miles to release him in the same spot as the other one. Road construction . . . right before my release spot! There were some big tractor things close to my spot. I pulled over anyway, and did the deed. He ran for his life. Hopefully, he'll find his family. I drove home . . . another life saved.

Pretty close to current

That last post was from about a month ago . . . except for the last part about plentyoffish!

So, since then, I've had lots of horsey experiences and lots of dancing. One day, in the jumping arena, I sat on Katrina for fifteen minutes without being able to get her to move! I guess I still don't have the sitting thing right. I wasn't allowed to kick her. I forgot about clucking. But, it was a frustrating fifteen minutes, I'll tell ya that!

On my way home from Durango after the first Cadence Therapeutic Riding day . . . I remember that because I had my camera with me . . . I saw a very unique nature picture . . . a coyote pooping! I stopped the car to try to get a picture, but I was going fast and by the time I stopped, I was about a block ahead of him. I didn't think backing up on the highway would be prudent, and I didn't think the coyote would wait for me in his own kodak moment! Ah, well. There goes my future as a nature photographer!

I had to go to a western-type general store in Cortez to get a new saddle rack for Cadence. I'm the closest, so I got the job. I'm not a talker, but I did manage to ask the manager if I could have a discount since I was buying for a non-profit organization. First he said that it was going on sale in a couple weeks, but when he looked it up, it wasn't. Then, he told me that if I came back on Tuesday, I could get the senior discount of ten per cent . . . for sixty-two years old and up. I told him I wasn't sixty-two. I think that embarrassed him! So, he looked up what it was on sale for the last time, and gave it to me at that price! Score!

On another day at the ranch, I had to walk Linda, a green mare (green essentially being barely tame, in this case . . . although she's gotten into being brushed), into the arena. She had taken off on somebody a day or two before, so it made me kind of nervous. Alicia opened the gate for me and told me to do a half-halt (which is kind of a slowing down) before we entered into the arena. I did it and I was nervous, but kept control of Linda the whole time. And I wasn't scared! At least, I think this was the time I wasn't scared! And it's been better ever since.

Later, we went on a short trail ride and managed to get Katrina to trot without clucking. When we got back, I lunged Alicia on Jeeter . . . Jeeter is a green stallion. Now that was scary. But having completed it, it gave me a lot more confidence. It also made me feel good that Jennifer AND Alicia trusted me to do that in the field. In the arena is one thing - - it's contained, but the field is this huge open area. So, that was a great experience.

And yet another day, a high school girl named Alli was there. She and I caught and saddled (English no-tree saddles) PJ and Painted Lady. I've ridden PJ before, so I thought she was the one I would ride today and Alli would ride Painted Lady. But, as it turned out, Alicia rode Painted Lady and I lunged Alli on PJ. I didn't feel like Alli had control, so whenever PJ looked distracted, I pulled a little on the lunge line . . . I probably shouldn't have . . . but, I did it for my own benefit. If PJ got away from Alli . . . then I would have to handle the situation and I wasn't sure if I could at that point. So . . . whatever. Then, Alicia took PJ and I was to get on Painted Lady. I was a little leery because I thought she was more horse than I was ready to handle in the field, but Alli said that she and PJ were like the same horse and that she preferred riding Painted Lady anyway. So, up I went and Alli had the lunge line. But, she was more like leading me around than lunging me, and Jennifer didn't say anything, so I guess that's what she wanted her to do. But, I didn't feel like Alli really had control of the situation and I didn't trust her, so I was pretty distracted and not able to do what Jennifer wanted me to do. Plus the wind was blowing, so with my A.D.D. (attention deficit disorder), I could barely understand what Jennifer was saying, anyway. (And I just had my hearing checked and it's perfect . . . so, this is definitely a case of ADD and not hearing loss!)

In the meantime, PJ, the horse that I wanted to ride and the horse that Alli had just gotten off of, BUCKED while Alicia was riding her! So much for that!

One morning as Moki and I approached the house after our morning walk, I saw a big coyote in the field across from the house. He was pouncing on something and wagging his tail! It was the coolest thing! I ran home to get my camera and upon my return he was still there. He looked and wandered off, but I did get some footage.

Last of the old . . .

Sunday - The leader of the trip to Farmington a few days ago was Gail. We had to leave early because some of the people on the trip were getting tired. So, I called Gail and asked her if she wanted to go back to see the rest of the petroglyphs. She said yes! So . . . back we went. We saw some really awesome petroglyphs and had great conversations, as well.

But, the bummer is that my camera broke for no particular reason. Oh, well.

By the way, I can't remember if I ever finished the thought, but I didn't get Jennifer's brother's place. It was already taken. Whatever is meant to be . . . I look at finding a place like I look at finding a man . . . I'm already really happy with where I'm at, so I don't mind waiting.

By the way . . . I'm starting to feel like I should start looking again. In fact, you know how I read health stuff all the time? Well, I do! Anyway, I just read that if you have a "significant other" (that's how the article put it), that you are at less of a risk for cardiovascular disease! So . . . I'm thinking of signing back up for plentyoffish.com.

More pics . . .

See those lines coming out of the petroglyphs in the first picture? They're called "power lines" . .. I don't know if that's their official title, but that's what the people I was with called them. See how they're even coming off the guys fingers? Isn't that cool? I don't think anyone really knows what they mean.

That's me sitting in front of a small cave that people probably lived in about a thousand years ago. There are petroglyphs on the rock wall behind me.

The third picture is the most interesting . . . although not visually. What you see . . . or kind of see . . . has been done with a chisel. Why? Because some Native Americans believe that these petroglyphs (some of them) still have a lot of power. So, when a family member becomes sick, they go find the petroglyph that they think is causing the sickness, and they destroy it. Although it destroys wonderful petroglyphs that are like a thousand years old (or so), I find it fascinating. It also makes me happy that they are keeping to their own true spiritual practices instead of being indoctrinated into following "Western-type" religions.