Prayers Please!!!

Went riding today with three friends, actually Pat came here, we rode to Sara's and picked her up, then rode to Mary's and picked her up, and just rode around our area. Decided at one point we wanted to lope, Pat and I got pretty far out front and then her horn bag went flying off, so we pulled up so she could hop off and get it. I looked back and was commenting on how cute Buck and Tonka were, two BIG geldings loping along so slowly, when suddenly Buck bucked and Mary hollered and he stopped and she didn't so we rushed back, by this time Sara was off Tonka and holding Buck, didn't know what was up with Mary but it wasn't good... I called Randy and asked him to come get her in the Jeep and we could walk her horse home, and he was on the way. Then Mary said when she tried to move she could feel bones grating, pretty sure she broke her pelvis, so we called 911. Randy got there first and thought we should get Mary down but I have always been told RULE NUMBER ONE is do NOT move the injured person, we asked her if she was able to maintain in the saddle and she said it was bad but trying to move was worse so she just stayed there, we tried to keep Buck still and he did realy well, even when the ambulance came (without siren as we had requested so as not to spook the horse). The two paramedics got out and one was a scrawny guy smaller than me, the other a 5-foot maybe woman... no way were they going to get Mary off that big gelding of hers! Fire truck came next with several more guys, none of them had ANY horse experience except the woman, luckily they were willing to listen to us... brought the gurney over slowly, introduced Buck to it, he sniffed at it and was ok, pulled it next to him but when several guys came too to try and get Mary off he sidestepped away from them. Randy was the only one tall enough but my fear was that he would hurt his bad back... however working all together, he had Mary hug huim, started easing her off the saddle, and as she came off the other guys grabbed her and got her on the gurney so he wouldn't have to bend or twist and blow out his back... we didn't need TWO people in the hospital! They said this was a first for them, they had lots of calls for horse accidents but usually the rider was on the ground, they had never had to rescue someone off the top of a horse! They insisted on calling for air-evac so as not to bounce her along the road for the hour to the trauma center, so we took the horses and headed for her place, Randy stayed with her until she was loaded and flying.

Then he went home and got the truck and trailer and came back to Mary's to get Pat and me and our horses, as it was almost dark by then and too dangerous to try and ride home. Once we had them home and put away, and the girls had pulled in right behind us to feed, we headed for the hospital.

Bless Mary's heart, the first thing she asked me was "I didn't hurt Randy did I?" and I assured her that he was fine, he was in the lobby since she was limited to two people, he had told us girls to go on in. Shortly they moved her from trauma ER to the surgical ICU and it was quiet enough the nurse let us all three in for her. She has no family here locally so they were very good about letting us be there with her. She was cracking jokes about going in a helicopter and not being allowed to fly it, and said she actually did it on purpose to get out of scooping poop so that her roommate and boarder would have to do it all...

X-rays showed a definitely broken pelvis so an orthopedist will be in to see her in the morning.

Please pray for my good friend Mary to have a speedy recovery!!!!

WOW... My Awesome Husband

Gotta tell you what my husband did for me yesterday.

He went to Walmart!

Now that may not sound like much, but once you know the whole story...

1) It was BLACK FRIDAY

2) They had tons of sales so they had tons of shoppers.

3) PTSD and crowds do not mix well!

4) The really good sale on the camera I wanted was from 5AM to 11AM and I was going riding (see yesterday's post)

5) He actually left the house before 6:30AM on a day off work - and he does NOT do mornings well...

He called me while we were still at the trail head getting ready to ride to let me know mission accomplished... and regale me with tales of people trying to cut in front of him in line... people standing in the wrong line... people trying to pay for a whole basket full of stuff at the photo counter when the cash registers up front were ALL open and had no lines...

When I told this story to some of the other gals I was riding with yesterday, they ALL said

MY HUSBAND WOULDN'T DO THAT

Oh my yes, do I feel loved :)

Maricopa Trail

Today we joined another AZBCR ride, on the Maricopa Trail. We rode from the Anthem Trailhead at 11th Avenue and Desert Hills, headed west under the I-17 and ended up at Pioneer Village for lunch, then rode back. What a good trail! Fun going under the freeway, in the creek...

And now to show off my photo taking expertise lol... first, how to cut off my daughters' heads... here are Thorn and Paint Mare...

Then I tried again and cut off the horses, so you get Lindsey and Andria!

One more try... I got the horse and person in the same picture, BUT I cut off half of Lindsey and Thorn lol.

I was so happy to have Andria here for a couple of days, and to get to go for a ride...

I Am Thankful For...

...my wonderful husband Randy.

...three great daughters.

...my faith in God and having found a place, Midweek Fellowship at The Valley Remnant, where I am comfortable expanding that faith.

...my little ranch and the critters on it who make my life so rich.

...having a job, even though it often interferes with my "real" life.

...having found AZBCR and met so many new riding buddies and good friends.

...all the beautiful places to ride in this great state of ours.

...this rain which we so badly need.

and

...a FOUR-DAY WEEKEND

...M&Ms ;)

What are YOU thankful for?

Weather Update

IT'S RAINING

IT'S POURING

BUT MY OLD MAN AIN'T SNORING :)

I GOT OUT OF BED

AND MADE SURE CRITTERS WERE FED

UNDER COVER ON THIS WET DRIPPY MORNING

Turkey Day Is Coming

And I have been getting LOTS of e-mails with cute stuff. As in yesterday's post lol. Here's my favorite pictorial offering...

Actually kind of appropriate since today was a real TURKEY. Had an appointment with a client, who has cancer, but got a call yesterday that she took a turn for the worse and was hospitalizec. So instead of her coming to the office, off to the hospital we went. It was very uncomfortable :( and I felt really bad for her family as this is most likely their last Thanksgiving with their mother/grandmother but here's the thing... she was a heavy smoker all her life and what she has is MOUTH cancer...

Not that I would wish such a horrid disease on anyone, and I know there are lots of people that never smoked that still get cancer... but it really made me thankful that I have never smoked!

And then I feel bad because I feel more sorry for the family than for the woman...

Getting Ready...

...for Thanksgiving, I thought I would share this funny story that was shared with me. So this is not me talking...

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick.
She told my sister that she needed something from the store. When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven. She removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven. When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird. With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, 'Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant bird!'
At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry. It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!
Yep..................SHE'S BLONDE!

Not What I Planned...

But I did get SOMETHING done today. My goal was to finish the dog pen... I've been working on it for two weeks. First rototillered it, then lined it with railroad ties, then wheeled about a billion wheelbarrows of mulch and made a layer, and finally I have been doing the top dirt layer - one wheelbarrow at a time, I use a screen and cull out all the rocks (which I am dumping where we get mudholes in the driveway when it rains), then wheel the screened dirt into the dog pen, then sprinkle grass seed on the mulch, water it good, cover it with dirt and then water real good again. If I am lucky I get 2-3 wheelbarrows a day, most days I only get one, but a smallpiece at a time I have been getting it done. Inthis picture you can see in the front where I haven't finished yet.


But in the first sections, in the back, LOOK! GRASS!
Anyway my goal this weekend was to FINISH the dirt in the dog pen, and then hang out with my critters and take some pictures. But I got a call from our boarder Chuck who said he adn his son were available Sunday to help put the shades back on the pens their horses are in (see the shades were set up for minis so too low for the big horses and we had to take them off and re-do them, and hadn't gotten it done yet... and they are predicting rain later this week!) With their help we knew it would be much easier so...



HURRAY!!! Thanks Chuck and Matt!!!!!

I did catch a few shots of critters on my way back up to the house... Rocket


Sherman

OK guys you have to BACK UP if you want pictures lol... this is Rocket and Sherman again with Shasta's head on the left...


John Henry inspecting the water hose... mama is never far from him!

Actually even though I didn't get the dog pen done, we did get lots of stuff done this weekend AND had some fun as well... couldn't ask for more :)

Sorting... Sorta!

Today I went to a "sorting kickoff" over at Brandi Lyons'. Yes that is John Lyons' daughter... she has a place not too far from us. They actually had Rick Lamb (who is on RFDTV? if I remember right) out there filming a spot, with him "learning" to sort... it didn't occur to me until I sat down to blog this that I should have gotten pictures of Brandi and Rick for y'all... I don't watch TV so it's no biggie to me. No really... I haven't watched TV/cable/satellite in almost 7 years... January is the "anniversary". So if you see that segment, look for us LOL we might POSSIBLY be on TV. And I won't see it... Anyway back to the sorting.
My friend Fawn and her husband David.

My friend Lisa having a talk with Maggie the Mustang.


Melanie's first time sorting on her gaited horse DD, and that's David again.

My friend Cyndi and her gelding Thunder have a lot of experience moving cattle...

Cyndi and Pamela switching out.

Meet Maggie the wonder dog. She is amazing! Melinda can control her just by words and/or hand motions and she is an awesome cow mover. And she STOPS when Melinda tells her too. The funniest thing is if anyone else tells her to do anything, she looks to Melinda to see if it's ok.

My friend Fawn took some pictures too for the AZBCR website and I jacked a couple so I could be in my own blog ;)

Katie and I guarding the gate.

The cows were pretty rank (new) so NOBODY got a good score, even the folks that do this all the time. That's why I say "sorta" lol. But we had fun... Any day on a horse is a GOOD day!

A Mini Visit

Today some friends helped me take the minis to one of the care homes in Sun City West. I brought my camera but left it in the Jeep until the last few minutes {sigh} but there was still one resident outside (well, ok, TWO because she had her dog Oscar with her) so here are a few pictures...

Mikey will appreciate these first few... we are TRYING for a nice group shot...



a little better...


Holly is just watching the comedy of errors as ONE person tries to make TWO donkeys go where we want them...


FINALLY! Shirley has Foxy, Rose has Sunshine, Elaina has Holly, and Fawn has Betty Jean and baby Madeline.

Oscar gets a pony ride :)

...and his picture taken with Madeline. I'm not sure he liked either one!


Fawn's husband better watch it...


Madeline, after standing around on grass for about an hour, finally figures out that she can actually EAT this stuff! Yum...


And one shot of me :) this is how we load a baby donkey in the trailer...

A Few More Cute Pictures

Debby asked for more pictures... it's so hard right now because I leave for work about sunrise and get home about sunset... hopefully i can get some better shots this weekend but here are a few to keep you going :)
John Henry gets a few minutes out with his mama...

Lucky Peggy Sue, she about has her figure back already! And look at the ears on that boy!!!

Madeline wanting to know why I am taking pictures of THAT BOY and not HER!

I tried to get a picture of everybody in the "garden", I had to RUN away from them and then turn around... they were coming right behind me! Madeline is the dark one on the left, Clementine out front with Ellie Mae right behind her, the big gray behind is Betty Jean and then spotted Becky Lynn in the back

This is Madeline watching John Henry... sorry this camera is so weird, when the light isn't good and it doesn't flash it is always blurry...

Dog Obedience School Winner

'nuff said...



PS wonder if they could teach HORSES to do that????

Meet John Henry

OK last night while I was sitting watching the new foal to make sure he was nursing, I was running names through my mind and asking him what he thought his name should be... nothing seemed right and then "John Henry" popped into my head. When I went inside I told Randy, and when I went back outside I told Lindsey and she said "That's weird, while I was sitting here I thought his name should be Johnnie" but she also thought that if she told me that I would say it was dumb, "Johnnie the Jack" lol. Then today I had a phone message from Mary who said that ever since I called her about the foal last night, she had been thinking "Henry" and her comment was "What the heck kind of name is that?" but I called her right back and told her about me and Lindsey so I figure he was telling all of us that his name was John Henry so it is already on the application for his papers :)

It's just weird because Mary and I also both got "Clementine" last spring... and we both got "Elsie" for her pup which turned out to be Chelsie which we both like better... and although I got Matilda for the last foal she kept saying no... and when I came up with Madeline she liked it too!

Here are some daylight pictures Lindsey took...

The Stork Is On A Chocolate Kick!

Last night, just to be safe, I locked up Becky Lynn and Peggy Sue separately for the first time, as from Friday to Sunday Peggy Sue's udder had doubled in size... I really didn't think there would be a foal for another week, and was not surprised to come out in the morning and see her with a big belly still. Off to work I went, and didn't even hurry home because I had a couple of errands to run, including stopping off at my friend Mary's to pick up some feed she had picked up for me since we rode so long Sunday we didn't get to the store before it closed. Telling her about the donks, she commented "Maybe there will be a baby when you get home" and I said "No, they usually have their foals at night, and besides I think it will be next week"...

Get home and carry stuff in the house and change clothes and grab my headlamp because it is pitch black out and I have to go feed everybody. As always I run my gaze (and light lol) over the pen as I walk by... there is Clem and Ellie Mae, then Betty Jean with her foal Madeline, then Becky Lynn and Peggy Sue and - wait a minute, Madeline was back over there - swing back the light and yes she still is! Swing it back and WHAT is THAT standing by Peggy Sue????? I am grabbing for my phone and it's not in my pocket so I rush back inside and grab it and I am dialing Mary as I run out to the pen, so I can tell her SHE WAS RIGHT! Peggy Sue had her foal after I left for work, out in the big pen with everybody else, which is a first for me. Lift that tail and it's a boy, dark all over like his mama despite his daddy being spotted...

Since he was out in the big pen I can't tell if he has pooped, and I need to make sure he is nursing, and since Peggy Sue doesn't like my headlamp she has left and Betty Jean is all over him and oh my what if he bonded with someone other than his mother... you can imagine how my evening went. I was on the phone with a dozen people, including my boarder who thankfully was there that afternoon and put to rest my fears of a "stolen" baby, she said Peggy Sue was right there with him the whole time. She didn't see him nurse but wasn't watching all the time, and I hadn't seen him, so when Lindsey got home I made her sit with him while I spent a little time with Randy before his early bedtime, came back out and she hadn't seen him either, so I sat out there until I finally saw him nurse (and there was obvious baby poop in the pen by that time too) so all was well... and I finally got to go to bed!

New Trailer!!!

Yup and I am so excited! See we have two gooseneck horse trailers, a big one with living quarters and a small one with a dressing room for day rides or vet trips etc. But since buying the Jeep we plan to sell one truck and I do NOT want to have TWO trailers that can only be pulled by trucks if we only have ONE truck...

After the truck brake fiasco a couple of weeks ago, I was going on a day ride and since the truck was unhooked from the big trailer anyway, and I was only hauling 2 horses, I just hooked up to the small trailer. Lo and behold my friend Sabrina noticed immediately, and she is looking for a trailer like that... AND she has exactly what I want, and was going to sell it to buy her new trailer... so long story short WE TRADED. We are both thrilled and wow it was so easy.

So without further ado, here is our "new" trailer...





Our maiden voygage (other than bringing it home empty) will be a mini visit this coming Friday :)

A New Home For Eve

Eve went to her new home today... she is going to live with her half-brother Jester and a bunch of mini horses. When we delivered her, they all came running to see what new thing this was in their pasture, and of course there were the squeals and kicks of adjustment, but all in all they did very well and by the end of the day there was mutual grooming :)

Affirmation?

Yesterday I was having a hard time dealing with the fact that I had hit and killed a dog in the road with my vehicle. I got lots of support from friends and fellow bloggers and it really helped!

Arriving home I saw a small dog dead in the road in front of the neighbor's house. Last thing I wanted to do after what had just happened to me but I went to look and it had a collar. I was pretty sure it was their little girl's dog, although it was pretty hard to even tell it was a dog by then. They weren't home yet so I cleaned it up best I could so she wouldn't see it, and left mom a phone message. She called me back a bit later and confirmed, and said it was going to be a tough night around there... apparently they had arrived home and missed the dog and were out calling for it before she checked her messages. Hearing that I was SO GLAD I beat them home... bad enough for the little girl to lose her dog, without having to see it like that! And somehow it makes me feel better about "my" dog - whoever hit the neighbor's little dog did not stop and neither did a WHOLE BUNCH of other people... I am so angry AND so sad, I don't know what to do with myself... I just cannot fathom the "human" race sometimes.

Warning - Graphic

Last night on the way home, I hit a dog. In 31 years of driving I've never hit anything except one bird (and about a jillion bugs) - not even a rabbit. And I'm sorry but I need to work through this. No pictures but if you can't handle the words please exit now.

We live on a 55-mile-an-hour road and there was no one in either direction as far as I could see. It happened so fast... she shot out of the bushes on my right and it was:

See the dog.

Move my foot.

Hit the dog.

Hit the brakes.

It happened faster than I can type this. Heck I'd bet money it happened faster than you could read it. A couple of seconds in either direction for either of us and I'd have missed her. But I didn't. Heard that thump and already slamming on the brakes and pulling over, I stopped. No lights coming in either direction so I knew I could take a few seconds to muster up my courage for what comes next. There is no way I can drive away, I HAVE to go back and make sure it's not suffering. Deep breath, check again still no traffic and flip a U-turn, the headlights light the dog and it is upside down, twisted like a pretzel with legs in the air, moving like it is still trying to run but in slow motion. Oh God no, I can't handle this... but I pull past it and flip another U-turn and pull off the road right behind it, grab my phone and get out of the Jeep. The dog somehow got itself laid on its side... did it think I was going to run over it again? I'm afraid to touch it and get bit so I am talking to it and fumbling with my phone, trying to dial Randy, I know he can talk me through this, but I keep messing up dialing, pushing the wrong buttons, I am crying and my hand is shaking. Two cars pull over, one in front of the dog and one stopping in the road next to where I have pulled over the Jeep, and amazingly I know both of the women, neighbors, the moral support is so welcome. One wants to move the dog off the road but the other and I say no, it is obviously hurt badly and we don't want to cause it any more pain. No reaction when she tried to touch it so I crouch at its head and lay my hand on its head, I just keep saying I'm so sorry and the dog, we can see it's a female, lays calmly and looks at me from a blue eye. There is blood oozing from her nostrils and abrasions on the other side of her head and face, her other eyelid is torn but I can see a yellow eye there. She has lost control of her bowels and it's obvious it won't be long. A few people drive by and slow down but the second neighbor waves them off and they go on. My legs are cramping terribly so I change to a kneeling position, when I take my hand off her head she struggles so I touch her again and she is calm. I just keep my hand on her head and keep talking to her, I'm so sorry sweetiepie, please go fast...

And she is gone.

I drive home in tears, first thing in the house is go sit on the kitchen floor and there are 7 puppies in my lap, they seem to know I need them. One daughter sits next to me and puts her arms around me. The other, still angry at me over other issues, merely asks what kind of dog it was and when I say it doesn't matter, it's dead now, she walks away. Randy fills the empty water dish and several of the dogs leave to drink, but a couple stay with me. I get a grip on myself and get up.

Randy holds me, says "are you ok?" I tell him I have never hit anything but a bird, and I really don't know how to deal with this. "It's not your fault" he says, and intellectually I know that. She literally ran out RIGHT in front of me. There was nothing I could do.

I need to go to bed but I know I won't sleep. It's like someone keeps hitting instant reply in my head. See the dog move my foot hit the dog hit the brakes. The headlights moving over the oddly shaped creature in the road as I turn around. See the dog move my foot hit the dog hit the brakes. My hand on her head, her blue eye looking at me as the blood drips from her nose. See the dog move my foot hit the dog hit the brakes. Darci is cuddled next to me and I have one hand on her, and the other held in Randy's. See the dog move my foot hit the dog hit the brakes. Oh dear God how many times will I hear that thump?

I must have slept because I woke up this morning with my head swimming from a bunch of weird dreams about all kinds of different dogs doing different things. I can't really remember the dreams, I just know there were lots of dogs. I did not dream of the dead dog but as soon as I wake up the instant replay starts again. I must have made a sound because Randy reached for my hand again.

The animals need to be fed so I get up and get moving. Periodically my eyes fill with tears. I love them all so much. Why didn't that dog have someone who loved her enough to keep her safe?

I really hope there is not a family out there wondering what happened to their pet. But in realistically, based on where we live, in all likelihood the poor thing was dumped. Maybe she ran out because she thought I was her family coming back for her after all? Maybe she was running from one of the packs of coyotes that roam the area? A quick end on the road might be better for her than a slow starvation out in the desert or making some coyote a meal, but somehow that's not very comforting to me since I am the one that hit her. Really, though, the person that killed her is the person that dumped her out there to fend for herself. We see it all the time out here and if you found me through Mikey's blog you have already heard the stories of the dogs she and Wade have rescued... Randy and I have talked all this through, last night and again this morning. He is a great comfort to me. I know in my head it was not my fault. But my heart aches. And I am still having a really hard time dealing with this.

So if you made it this far... thanks for listening.

Words of Wisdom

Saw this yesterday and just had to spread it around:

Pay no mind to those who talk behind your back,
It simply means that you are two steps ahead.

Veteran's Day

Thank you.

To all who have served our country in the past, in whichever branch of service, during peacetime or conflict.

Thank you.

To all who serve our country now.

Thank you.

To the families of those who serve, for having to make do without them while they serve.

Thank you.

I got this link to a video in an e-mail recently... I hope I can get it loaded here properly...

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/mental-health-2.html

Three Brothers

Just had to share this cute picture of my boys that my boarder shot a while back and just sent to me...

That's Sherman in the back, Zeus on the right and Rocket peeking over his shoulder on the left... yup all we have to do is water the trees and the dogs dig nice cool beds in the mud {sigh}

Wish I'd had my camera the other day when I left for work... all 3 boys were sitting in a row on the front porch watching me leave...