At Ease

     My week off for spring break was to be one of ease from school work.  "At ease" implies freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility) which I needed and was looking forward to.  I did have a list of jobs for around the house and farm, and some school work to accomplish.  But it was to be at a relaxed pace.  

     We left hot, dry, Illinois around 1:30 Friday and headed east to Columbus Ohio.  The trip was uneventful, but I was envious of the Indiana folks who had puddles of rain water in their fields.  We drove through some rain in Ohio and got to our destination, the Hyatt Regency, in the middle of down town.  We checked into the hotel and
                                         then with
the Army and proceeded to go for a walk and have a look around.  The Columbus Convention center attaches to the hotel.  In the photo above, the hotel is the darker building towering over the convention center which looks to be beneath it.  To the left is the view from our room on the 19th floor.  There was a Mary Kay convention and a Pro Gaming Tournament also occurring over the weekend.  Add over 600 of us Army people (soldiers and families) and it was quite a cacophony of persons.



      Saturday was a long day of meetings, with most of the information being quite helpful.  It was to put us at ease (without worry or anxiety) relaxed and comfortable with the return of our soldier.  It was to prepare us for their reintegration into civilian life, to know what to expect, and to be able to help them with this transition.  There were different break-out groups, so we were with only about 70 people.  It was nice to meet families of some of the soldiers Dan has been deployed with for almost a year now.  We are all getting quite excited about their return
                                 and will be relieved when they are home. 
    
     Daniel standing "At Easy" at boot camp the middle of March two years ago.  It is amazing to think how he has grown, what he has experienced and what he has done since then.  I will be so much more "at ease" once he is home.

     All of the army groups ate together, so we met soldiers who were back from their 3rd and 4th deployments from various countries and we heard many interesting stories and experiences.  We were quite well fed (farm breakfast, hot lunch, and big dinner).  After dinner, we went to an internet cafe to touch base with our kids (too cheap to pay for web access in the room).  We E-mailed Dan in Afghanistan, AIM Chatted with Britney in Guatemala, and caught up with Courtney on Facebook in Illinois.  It's such a small world today.

      After a big breakfast Sunday morning, little chapel service and a one hour informational meeting, we checked out and headed west.  This tangle of roads as seen from the window of the elevator lobby on the 19th floor, was not near as difficult to navigate as it may appear.  We did it with ease as Joe handled it well.   

     We drove to Carol's, seeing lots of pretty country side.  The Red Buds in bloom are my favorite.  Her pregnant ewes watched as we came in the drive.



    



      After helping with a barn repair and going for a short walk, we spent a relaxing afternoon sitting outside chatting.  Carol also showed me some exercises for my wrist because I have been unable to progress with it's strength and flexibility.  Back on the road, I almost finished the rest of my grading I had been working on periodically all weekend.  We were home by 5:30, did evening chores early, and tried a new (for us) TV show Joe had taped, called Touch. 




     Roni and Amiga at ease grazing next to each other.  The tender grass Joe recently planted in the water way is sometimes preferred over the alfalfa.



     I had been discouraged to find that we had only gotten 4/100ths of an inch of rain Friday, and zipo Saturday and Sunday.  But when I woke Monday to low 40 degree weather (after low 70's all weekend) I was really disappointed.  I boycotted the outdoors and stayed here at my desk working on my blog, E-mails, and catching up on Facebook.  I finished my grading, including recording them and entering them electronically.
                                                       

     One of our hens has become quite broody.  I have carried her back to the coop every night for over a week, took away the eggs, removed the golf ball, and even put a basket ball in her nest which she moved aside.  Nothing has worked, she continues to brood.

     Tiny had been missing since Saturday night, but had been spotted Sunday morning by Courtney and this morning by me.  I was hoping she too was sitting on a nest somewhere.  I myself have been somewhat broody.  No, not wanting to have a baby (or even grandchildren yet), but in the sense of being melancholy, pensive, and contemplative.  I guess time spent alone on the farm, especially with life bursting anew, causes one to pause
                                                      and reflect on their existence.
 
     I went outside for a little bit in the afternoon to get photos of changes around here.  Brother follows me everywhere I go.














    
     Above, he tried to take a dust bath, which didn't work too well in the dry, hard clay of our water way.  The alfalfa grows faster in the lack of moisture than the grass.  But everything is looking green. 
     Can you see brother below?


          Click on the photo

          Here is a closer look.



     He was hiding to ambush Missy, below, who I think was on to him.







     My walk was nice, but I just couldn't get motivated to ride or do outside work.  The cold, clouds and wind deterred me. I have been spoiled by last weeks hot, sunny weather.  Maybe I was a bit tired from our big weekend in Ohio too.  Even Joe had slept in, stayed home sick with a headache and took a nap.

     Growth Group was canceled again because our leader Dean was out of town getting more opinions on his status and information on treatment options for his cancer.  During evening chores we gave Babe her tetanus booster, and while we had her corralled,
Joe cut off her ear tag.  But before we could open the back fence gate in the calf stall, she jumped over it, getting her back legs caught.  Joe quickly helped lift them up and over, and off she went.  Then he had to do a little gate repair.

     Tuesday I had an early morning dentist appointment for a filling.  To reward myself for good behavior, I bought a new camera.  And then I treated myself to a chocolate milkshake since I couldn't chew for a few hours.  Once home, my tongue, gum, jaw and even ear canal were still numb, so I opted to take a nap and sleep it off.

     The day was much warmer and sunnier... but the 25 mph winds were still a pain to deal with, so I read and messed with my new camera, trying to figure it out.  It is going to take awhile.

     


     Courtney came over later in the afternoon.  I had been riding Roni in the round pen.  Once she was done picking hooves, brushing Zorro, and working him a little bit, she decided to give Roni a try.














   


        He was nervous to begin with, so didn't listen real well... and she was a bit rusty on her riding skills, but made good progress.  Being out of riding shape, she didn't stay on long, but it was a good new beginning.



      Courtney and I chatted quite awhile, and watched the horses.  When we first let them out on the back pasture, they went cantering off.  And later when we brought them in, they ran to the barn.  Zorro and Amiga are both moving with such ease... and much better these days, that we feel their healing continues to progress.  We could barely tell they had lameness issues watching them trot around.


     We had thunder storms pass through in the middle of the night.  I finally got up at
2 am Wednesday morning because the dog was driving us nuts.  I figured I could nap, but Joe needs a good night of sleep.  I gave Kaysha a tranquilizer and she settled right down and fell asleep by my desk in the office.  Once the storms had pretty much passed, I went out and checked on the horses and gave them some hay.  Unfortunately, even though it stormed all around us, we didn't get any rain to speak of (0.13 inches).  The ground was damp in places, but not under the trees.  As for me getting back to sleep, I decided to have a hot cup of tea.  The warm beverage of comfort had me sleepy and back to bed by 4 am.

     I slept in until 6:30.  During chores, I was thinking a nap was going to be needed later in the day.  I was beginning to worry about Tiny because I hadn't seen her in two days.  I wondered if maybe she had become hawk food.  I took Roni on a nice ride mid morning, going down Brian's road to Marj's.

     Amiga watches as I brush and tack Roni.  I think she is a tad jealous.  Roni and I hung out at Marj's for awhile.  I had taken his bridle off to let him graze.  Then I worked him in the indoor arena because I wanted to work on his gaiting.  Recently, when I have tried to get him to gait other than in the round pen, he keeps pushing up into a canter.  He did very well at Marj's though.  Once done, I headed home with him.  We took a longer, round-about way, coming across 150 at Becks.  I gaited Roni a few times along the roads, and there was improvement. 

     Mid afternoon I put the horses and cows out in the back pasture which is full of alfalfa.  Amiga gets to go first, and stops to grab a bite the second she hits the green stuff.  The next three videos then show Frankie going out to join Amiga, followed by Babe who is then chased by Zorro.  And last but not least, Roni who runs to catch up to the herd.

    
      I mowed my riding path through the side pasture while Joe cleaned stalls.  He removed much of the deep layers of wet shavings. 

     When moving the trailer to unload clean shavings, we found Tiny and her nest.  It had been under the tarp, in the shavings.  Needless to say, she was not happy.












Amiga and Zorro watch Joe work.







     I herded the cows and horses in off the back pasture.  Courtney had shown me a great technique using the crop and whip that works well.  She actually showed up again, fed the horses, brushed Zorro and then we saddled Roni up for her to ride.  She improved her arm carriage and he did much better for her.  He was still nervous, but that will come with time.  She didn't ride long because she is not in "riding" shape yet. 

     At dusk, Tiny joined all the girls in the coop for a change.  I had a beer and popcorn for a late dinner while watching Survivor and then went to bed.  But it was another bad night for sleep... I was not at ease.  This time it was my back hurting and pain deep in my lower abdomen. 

     I don't know where the time went Thursday or what I did with most of it... nothing productive or exciting.  Mid morning I made a two hour trip to Farm and Fleet and Wal-Mart getting food and other supplies for the critters and us humans.  It was cold and cloudy, looking like rain all afternoon, and my back was still really hurting, so I remained sessile until chore time.  Sitting
                                                     on the front porch, I worked on figuring
out my Samsung camera.  To the left is my first photo.  Many of the features are similar to my old Sony, but have different icons.  There is this new application, "Magic Frame", that puts this=>

around your photo.  There are no other choices of frames... are you kidding me, who would use this?

     We had a nice gentle rain during chores, but only got 5/100ths of an inch.  At least it washed the dust off leaves and flowers.  The ducks also
                                                     enjoyed it, having puddles along the
buildings in the paddock, which now had a thin layer of mud.  Later I tried picking the mud out of hooves when I brought the horses in for the night, but it was too painful for my back.  Poker Joe


     I took two Ibuprofen before bed, slept through the night, and felt pretty good upon rising Friday morning.  It had done the trick to put my pain at ease.  After some unproductive time here, I loaded up Roni mid-morning and headed down to Marj's.  We loaded Arboleda and Marj's tack and proceeded out to Moraine View.  It was a prefect day for riding, the woodland was so peaceful, and I had a great lesson on Roni.  Marj had some new ideas to work on and we saw quick improvement with Roni.  We taught him to walk calmly at a good distance from her horse and not "tail gait".  Hum... I wonder if riding horses (at any gait) too close to each other (head to tail) is where tailgate came from?  We stayed at a walk the whole time because it was kind of slippery on the 
                                                     muddy trails and we didn't want Roni
to get all revved up.  It was one of the more relaxing rides I have had on him.

     Once home, I ate a late lunch and caught up on Facebook and E-mail.  The mail man dropped off these two large black trunks which I added to Dan's pile of stuff he has had shipped here for his approaching return.  It gets me all the more excited.  Joe got home early so we went out to work together on some projects.  We drained the 100 gal water tank, pouring the mucky contents on all of our little pine trees out back.  The cows wait in the
shade for water.  We scrubbed and
cleaned the tank well, moved it to the west side of the barn, and then worked on the horse water tub. They too were waiting and resting in the shade.


     We got out and hooked up all our garden hoses, hoping we won't see anymore freezing temperatures.   After pork chops on the grill, we took Kaysha for an evening walk.

     I have really been uninspired to work on school work this week.  Looking at different retirement options and the possibility of choosing to retire early, has not helped my motivation at all.  Unfortunately, we are not at ease from financial obligations and worries, thus
the need to weigh this decision carefully.  I so look forward to the time when I do not have to worry about school work... ever again.  I am ready to ease myself from this responsibility, which at times can be like a ball and chain.  This photo => was an attempt at a close up shot while sitting on the front porch testing my new camera.

    Lastly, a big shout out to all US armed forces, especially the 236th ICTC.
                                                     This photo was taken Monday night
(11/14/2011) at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, as a Veterans Day Tribute.  It took 90 workers two weeks to get all of the colored pages mounted under each seat.  Each piece of card board had eye slits in them so the fans could hold up the colored sheet and watch the game through the eye slits.  Like all these individuals, I say thank you to all our military personnel and veterans.
 

Color My World

      Different colors have different meanings and moods, which actually vary among different cultures and countries.  I am not interested in the actual meaning as much as I am in the beauty, creativity, and multitude of blends of colors you can get.  It is also obvious that people come in many varieties of color too. 





     I like Maya Angelou's quote: "We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.

     Irish Green Saturday- Hope you all had a great St. Patrick's Day.  Not sure why it is a time to wish folks luck (luck of the Irish).  I know a 4 leaf clover is lucky, but was unsure about the horse shoe so had to look it up.  Whether you hang a horseshoe over your door with the open end up or down does make a difference.  Open end up means you'll collect lots of luck, open end down means you're spreading it to those who pass beneath it. I guess I should flip this picture 180 degrees and share the luck.  I think turning the Chicago River green is over doing this whole theme.
                                                           I worked on
  last weeks Blog post most of the morning.  Just as I finished it up while eating my lunch, Lisa called inviting me to join her and the boys for a ride at Moraine View.  I got dressed, loaded tack, brought the three horses in off the paddock, loaded Roni and got to the park in just over 30 minutes.  It was perfect riding weather, maybe a bit hot actually.  The trails were mostly dry, and things were just starting to green up.  Notice how green our field has gotten.

     Lisa's boys are great little horseman.  They enjoy themselves and are funny... so it was a joy to ride with and watch them.  Again I kept Roni behind Lisa's horse in an effort to slow him down.  He spent most the ride alternating between revved up and semi relaxed.  Several times he started doing the Classic Fino gait, moving his feet real fast but making little forward progress (Mark was right in front of him). But he did great going through creeks, up and down hills and stepping over dead logs and branches.  He really rushed when he figured out we were headed back to the camp ground, so once back, I had Roni gait around, and also do circles, zig-zags and serpentines.  He had
                                                     really worked up a sweat during the
ride and this made him even worse.  Once untacked, I used a bucket to pour water over him and wash off the worse of the sweat.  He held very still for this.  As he cooled and dried, I walked him around and let him nibble on grass.  He really thought he was lucky to get sweet clover, even if it wasn't four leafed.

     I added our flannel sheets to the laundry I did and put cotton on the bed.  I also packed away the electric blanket.  Next I need to wash and stow winter coats.  I had to shut windows because it looked like it was going to storm, but nothing ever panned out.  I was too tired to accomplish any other useful tasks.

      Rainbow Sunrise Sunday turned into a yellow sunshine day.  I worked on lesson plans until we left for Church at 11:00, going to the late service.  Courtney and Mike came out to the farm while I was eating lunch.  We chatted briefly while Courtney brushed Zorro.  He really loves getting his ears scratched.


     Then Joe and I headed to Moraine View with dog and horse.  Joe and Kaysha relaxed while I gave Roni a good brushing, lunged him and got ready to ride.













     The four of us headed off into the woods.  Joe ended up jogging, so I had to bump Roni up into a gait several times to catch up with Joe & Kaysha.  They turned and headed back to camp but I continued riding a while longer.

      As I got back to the camp ground Lisa called.  She and the boys were coming to ride.  So I tied Roni to the trailer to let him rest and cool down. 





     Then we were off for another ride.  I think I was on him for a total of almost 3 hours.   He actually did better when we were by ourselves, just Roni and I.  He did better today than yesterday, so we are making progress.

     After chores, dinner, and a shower, I was too exhausted to do anything but check e-mail and Facebook. 

     Black and White Monday- It started out gray and cloudy, and I even got rained on while driving to school.  But the sun did emerge and it ended up being a beautiful day. The snow-white flowers of narcissus in our yard.




     I usually give Roni Mondays off, but since we didn't have Growth Group and Roni gets a three day weekend off, I decided to ride him.  I just wanted to do some light work, keep it simple and keep it short.  I ended up riding bareback and was only on him 40 minutes.  When I had him gait in the round pen, I felt like I didn't have great control without my stirrups, so once going out into the pasture and around the perimeter of our property, I only let him walk. 

     The black and white bovine like to walk along the fence line with us sometimes.

     Riding Roni up the drive for home was the most difficult part for him.  He really wanted to rush.  I had to stop and back him up 5 or 6 times.  But he finally got the message, "walk only".  Walk vs gait is black and white to me, but may be kind of gray for Roni.  

     White cherry blossoms to the right and the pear tree below is also loaded with white flowers.








     Black on white, Missy takes time to smell the flowers.










     The chickens and ducks like to seek shelter from hawks and rain or shade from the hot sun under our black and white (the horse trailer)...


...while black cat (Missy) goes up to the rafters in the barn for safety.  We have a new cat hanging out in the barn yard, but it is too wild to get near to.

     I cooked corn beef and cabbage for dinner.  It had good flavor, but the beef was a bit tough  because I didn't give it enough cooking time.  I was too hungry to wait. 
                                                          Some cooking instructions (like
long and slow for corn beef) are black and white... there is no gray area here.  I kept the beef cooking in the crock pop another hour after we were done and hoped the left over beef would be more tender, which it was.  We were missing a chicken at bed time, which I searched for, but with no luck.  It is one of the Partridge chicks from Carol last spring.  I hoped the hawk or new stray cat didn't get it.
      
     Red Rose Tuesday-  I bought this little Tea rose on sale after Valentine's Day.  Britney will recognize its pot.  Tuesday's Spring equinox heralds the end of a winter that wasn't.  “Vernal equinox occurs when the sun crosses the celestial equator and night and day are equal."  The record high for this date was 77degrees back in 1921  while the record low was -2 degrees back in 1923.  Today's high of 83 was a new record.  The low for today was only 60 degrees.  So far this month, we have only had 0.6 inches of rain which occurred over a total of 6 different days.  Cripes, it has been so dry, hot and windy, what little rain we have gotten didn't
                                                     even dampen the ground.  Today's
Spring equinox heralds the start of the season, even though it feels like we have sprung into summer.

     None of my red tulips are up yet, so I had to use these pink peach blossoms for the day's theme.  Don't let those gray clouds fool you, they brought no rain.  I did notice a red- winged black bird in this photo.  Looks like the cows invaded his territory. 
     I found this old wren house in the
pear tree that has some red paint still.  Reminds me I need to clean out and hang up several bird houses.  Another job for Spring Break.

     I had planned to ride, but with winds at 30 mph I decided Roni and I could both use a day off.  I had ridden him seven days straight.  By the time I put away groceries and filled water buckets, I sat down here and just surfed the net.  Didn't have the energy to do anything productive.  Joe and I took the dog for a nice walk after dinner.  The wind had died down somewhat.  I am beginning to think we live in Camelot...  it has been so nice out.

     A darn cute barn kitty following me around while I was trying to find a red flower to photo.  We were missing three chickens when I shut the coop for the night.  I found them all sleeping in the barn and carried them each back to the coop.   The duck girls have been staying out late catching bugs under the barn light.  They didn't want to go into the coop either.
                                                Grape Hyacinth Wednesday- It was as 
warm as Tuesday.  Many more flowers are blooming such as this purple/pink phlox.












     The Vinca, also called Periwinkle after its bluish lavender color, is doing quite well out in my rock garden.

     I had my usual weekly riding lesson.  Marj rode Roni first this time, but he was not listening to her cues and started misbehaving.  So we put the side pull reins on and lounged him awhile.  He straightened up and did better for Marj, and by the time I got on, he wasn't too bad.  He and I do have a wonderful bond which helps him to relax with me.  But it also helped that Marj had worn him down. 
    
     Joe helped me with chores once I got home, trying to coax the cows in off the back pasture.  I turned the horses out for a few hours after their dinner, letting them have the whole paddock along with the cows. 




     Joe had taken down the tarp in the corn crib and I opened the doors to let the air through.  Amiga was checking it out.
 


     Roni is often seen grazing alone, but he always has the others in sight.





     Golden Retriever Thursday-  We were to have scattered showers off and on throughout the day, which we did while I was at school.  But the showers were off or scattered before they got to our neck of the woods and I arrived home to dry ground.  Day's total rain was 2/100ths of an inch.




     Kaysha is a goofy dog.  Reminds me of how the kids have been behaving at school lately.  Ha ha ha.




     Once home I started in on weekend jobs, preparing to be gone over the weekend.  Laundry, dishes, pack, clean, pet care note, and finishing this Blog, were all things I worked on. 
A golden moment between Amiga and Zorro.

     The daffodils have really taken off in bloom.  And with their golden colors, they are like a jolt of spring sunshine. I appreciate how they dress up the yard.






















     I have not seen the yellow cat since Wednesday when Abbey had chased him up the tree by our deck.  She can be a ferocious little de-clawed house kitty. 

     Red, White and Blue Friday- Can you see our flag in this picture?  If you click on the photo, it will enlarge.  Looks like the wind was out of the south.  Today starts my one week Spring Break which I really need and am very thankful for.  As soon as I get home from school, we are going to hustle out of here for the Yellow Ribbon Weekend.



    


     We will be attending the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program with many other military families.  I am not going to post details now, because it is actually classified information.  But I'll tell you all about it in next week's post.