Last Monday In June

After this wet week we needed a drier day to ride. The rivers and creeks were still high and standing water in yards and fields. Since the Saturday before, when we lost power, to this Saturday we've gotten 8 inches of rain - in one week. Barely got the grass cut before the rains came again.

It didn't take long before KC lost a shoe, not even to the first creek crossing. The mud is deep and his feet are atrocious, and the shoe is lost to the ages. The day is beautiful, humidity way down, cool in the shade. There are not too many people out in the park, but it is not deserted.

We run into club friends on the trail on the other side of the South Branch at the confluence. They dare us to cross, and of course we do, because that's the kind of people we are. It is not too deep there anyway, but the water is fast. When we reach them on the other side I tell them this is why people don't like to ride with us. I know KC can swim and I can see the bottom. My toe got wet, and he never did have to swim. We visit with them for a while, catching up on the doings in the park, and then we go our separate ways.

We are headed to the Woodstock Inn, and see friends there, too. Some how it is getting late, and he's in a hurry to leave. He's putting on KC headstall for me, and rush hour traffic is making it difficult for me to cross the road. When I reach him he's putting KC rope halter away, and I climb up on Skip. I'm going to ride Skip back to the trailer! and he gets on KC and off we go.

I'm riding BigRed!

I will admit that I laughed all the way back to the trailer. Skip is so much fun, with his flying lead changes and big canter, like a rocking horse. I hadn't been on him since probably 2010, so this is momentous for me. KC was a good boy for him, although he is gimping a little with losing his shoe.

Rain, And Then Some

He got an email from our tenants that the pond pump was not working. They didn't know what the problem was, but either way we must take care of it or the neighbor's yard will flood. And it is raining today.

All the events scheduled at the horsey club are canceled, no breakfast ride, no moonlight ride. Ironically this would have been the first 'moonlight' ride that actually had a moon in years, but we won't see it because it is raining. A lot.

The spring house has water up to the brim and the pump is not working. It is dead. We go to the BigOrangeBox to find another and now it is coming down in sheets, water is ponding on the roadways. We decide to have lunch instead of continuing working on the pump, AccuWeather says it will ease up after 2:00 p.m.

He has his long waterproof riding coat on, but is on his chest, on a board, with his arms in the pit, which is full of water. He uses another pump to purge the spring, then installs the new pump. It has resumed raining cats and dogs. We're both soaked. Mission accomplished.

Power Man

The power crew came out on Monday to address the downed line, which had exposed wire. They repaired this and put it back on the house, but the clevis is still not right and the wire is still hanging off of the house.

Change of Plans

We had plans for Sunday: I was going to paint the ceiling in the bathroom, he was going to finish installing the wainscot and hang the door. None of those things got addressed.

Today I hauled sticks and limbs to the burn pile, and he installed a new microwave because the other one got fried. It was blazing hot, too.

We've lost other 'appliances' that include the DVR set box, a power pack for the living quarters trailer, a stereo receiver, and like that.

Hurricane Bill

We got some rain, a little bit of thunder and lightning. I left the horses in until later in the evening after feeding. They seemed happy to be in during this storm, so all was good. Then the power went out, and some lights flickered, and the clocks were flashing, and electric car honked. He ran downstairs to say the basement was taking in water at the door. The power was out so the sump pump in the stair well wouldn't be working. Neither would the wet vac, right?

He kept trying to flip the breakers, but it kept blowing. I could see that the neighbors had electricity, it was just us. I opened the front door and one of the maples had topped itself onto the electric line, and pulled the clevis out of the house. Darn!

He called the power company and they promised to send someone out, around 11:00 p.m. He was here before that, and restored our power, but the line was still on the ground, under the tree limb. The apple tree got hit, too.

Rainy Day

Finally cleared out after 7 p.m., but barely cooled down.

Street Cleaners, Inc.

Flag Day!

Rained overnight, but started heating up before it was 8 o'clock!

I wanted to get a couple things done before we got out to ride, got up early enough, but time evaporates. I did manage to paint the bathroom door and spread manure. The manure spreader was an issue, because of the bees that had nested in a muck-bucket, in long-forgotten hay that had been picked up and placed there. The hay had even started to sprout and grow. I dumped it and they came out! Yikes!

I spread manure while he showered, he made breakfast while I showered. I finished putting the second coat of paint on the new bathroom door, and got the boys out of the field and into their halters. Away we go!

I'm now using a saddle that he bought many years ago and barely ever used. I had given him the saddle pad and a bridle to go with it. The bridle was never used and is drying up to dust. The nose band is shot and I threw it away. I had thought I'd use the bridle, but decided against it. The saddle is more comfortable than when used last weekend. I think I'll keep using it.

Hot and humid, we chose to go to Sykesville, Beck's, because it is a shorter ride and mostly sunny. There is some road riding, but all in the shade with opportunities to drink in the spring heads and creeks coming down into the South Branch of the Patapsco River. The river smelled like 'Downey' from the water treatment plant. Lots of people swimming up stream from there. We need to do that some time!

We rode through Sykesville, crossing the bridge onto Main Street, cutting through the parking lot and on to the sidewalk. Captain decided to relieve himself in the parking lot, and we rode through town, turning at Sandusky and crossing the road, through the next parking lot to the Police Station, where we like to tie up.

I had a delightful salad, a nice break of catching up and entertaining each other.

On the way back the proprietor of the store in the parking lot where Captain had relieved himself earlier came out to admonish us for shitting up the parking lot. She had seen us earlier, so she knew which horse did it.

Bathroom Project - Getting There!

Ta-da!

Vanity installed with faucet.

Bathroom door also got painted, twice.

Color!

Bathroom painted - Pale Honey

Ride Time: New Look

Today we rode to the Woodstock Inn, just the two of us. It was a day filled with wild life! and a timed bike race. Sounds like my kind of anxiety and excitement!

It was hot and I was trying out the 'new' saddle, which is a saddle that he's had for years but barely ever used. It fits KC pretty good and I need to adjust some things on it to make it better suited for me and my style of sitting on the horse.

We parked on the horsey club's drive way. The horsey club was having an event and is off limits today. We came down the hill to Cub Run, under the bridge and walked down the creek. Where you leave the creek to enter the trail was a snapping turtle. And she definitely saw us!

We saw lots of bikers/hikers/walkers and dogs. One GSD pup was a delight! We stopped to chat with them and their young daughter got the opportunity to touch KC. He noticed that she had a small dog in her arms and we all know KC really does not like dogs, in the 'stomp the dog' manner of don't like dogs.

After we got past the pipeline on the 'white' trail the bicyclists started showing up, wearing numbers. We did not impede their travels, yielding to them instead of the way it is supposed to be. We allowed the boys to rest, eating grass, then moving along quickly before pulling over again and letting a dozen more riders get by.

While hurrying along a stretch where the trail goes left and right but ends up in the exact same spot, I usually take the right because I can get some speed up and he usually takes the left because he wants to beat me to the junction. I beat him to that point but a limb is hanging down, so while I'm ducking I realize we are going to travel right over a Rat Snake in the path! There's nothing I can do about that at this speed but we did manage to miss him and most of him was in the grass, but he hears me yelling and then he sees the snake too!

We pass the pit stop tent for the bikers and KC is looking at all the cookies and muffins and walks right up the bikers. No problem here!

There are plenty of horses already tied up at the hitching posts, but the $10 beer buckets don't start until 2:pm, so we wait. We see a friend's husband there, he said they just left and he is going to drive back to the event at the horsey club. We visit for a while and some of the riders come out and clear a hitching post for us to tie up.

We run into another friend on his wife's motor bike

He was letting me know that he is the sole survivor of the original club members that built the club house at the recent passing of a club member.

On the way back, it is now pretty darn hot and we try to stay in the woods but end up in the open meadows near the nunnery, Bon Secours. I can feel my arms sizzling and KC is soaking wet. My pants are wet, too. We come into the meadow behind the nunnery and can see laterally into the next meadow with the creek ravine between. I can see a doe with a baby, she's eating tree leaves and the fawn is stumbling behind her. She has not seen us as we are still a long way away, but at the same level. As we approach the bottom of the hill she sees us and crosses the path at the top of the hill. The fawn does not follow her. We water the horses at the creek and travel up the hill.

The fawn is fresh, its joints seem too big for his limbs. He is unsteady on these stilts of his and turns back and crouches under the Barbary bush. He's no taller than a red fox. The doe is across the meadow, in the tree line, looking back at us and we travel between her and the fawn. I offer my congratulations to her.

Weeds Whacked

While he sanded the mudded drywall joints in the upstairs bathroom, I weed whacked the entire pasture fencelines. This took nearly all day. We have a great weed whacker, which we have had for at least fifteen years. Shindaiwa T2500, commercial grade. Highly recommended, unfortunately the company was bought out and the new product is not as hardy.

The string is not on a spool, you have to cut the strings and knot them into the head. This thing cuts trees down. It also cuts poison ivy and I splattered myself with a pretty good dose.

We Have A Winner

The Belmont Stakes enjoyed beautiful weather, sunny and clear. And now we have a Triple Crown Winner! American Pharoah does it!

Hot Shoes

KC was being more of a 'nudge' then he normally is. He was crossing his legs, leaning on Sara and letting his penis hang. Frigidity. I said it seems like he needs to pee. All of a sudden he pees a 1/4 cup, splat onto the rubber mat. She said bring over the muck bucket. I said he'll never use that! Let me walk him out into the grass, into their 'pee spot.' She said no way! So she finished trimming the nails and I walked him out to the pee spot. He peed more than a gallon! and with incredible velocity plus gas, too.

I was right!

June's Arrival

June came in the wee hours with a thunder and lightning show, with rain. We really did need the rain. That set the weather pattern for the entire day. It was hot in the morning, and rained later in the day, then rained overnight. The buckets show we got over 4 inches of rain.

Inside work is the order of the day, and all the mudding of drywall has been completed.

Everything is taped up and mudded and the stinkbug population is practically nil. Running out of ways to get into the house.