There and Back

We have been there and back. There is Derry, NH. I didn't say anything because you are not supposed to make internet announcements about not being home. We had a housesitter anyway.

I went for a walk. Dave said:
"Take lots of pictures." So I did.

Power and phone lines are all above ground.

Japanese invasion.
DIY
Woods everywhere. If you don't pull up saplings all the time, you get woods.

Rocks grow here too. You have to keep piling them up. The fire hydrants are red. Until I saw these, I didn't even realize that ours are not.






The Library
The Post Office and the Derry Store minimart.

In Progress

My saddle doesn't fit Maggie too well. She is very flat from wither to croup, Janow had a little curve in his back.
My plan is to use the Kingston cart until the Sprint cart arrives, then sell the Kingston and use that money to get a saddle that fits better.
In the meantime, I am making this half-pad to add a little to the pommel and cantle and improve fit. Right now I just have some shims in my old Matte pad.

A Fun Day With Maggie

Dave come out too the barn with me on Sunday. He took these pictures. He actually got on for a few minutes and walked around. He said he felt "really high up."
My saddle doesn't fit her very well. I adjusted the shims in the matte pad so it's better. We are waiting for the reinforcements to be welded onto the Kingston cart. Sandro, the welder, went on vacation.

After feeling how hot black metal cart get in the sun, I am leaning more toward a sandy yellow for my Sprint cart. I think it will complement Maggie's color better too.

Red or Yellow? Help me decide!

I accidently clicked "Publish" instead of "Save," so this post is double for some. OOPS!

A lot is happening. Tons of stuff.

I need to order my Sprint cart today or tomorrow. I wanted it red.....Todd has several shades of red, which one? But really, Yellow would look good too. Dark colors can get so hot in the sun. What do you think?

I have taken Maggie two times to Roger's to drive. She is fantastic, just put to and go. I have had to borrow a cart from Roger. I have not been able to drive her at home.

In the meantime, I have a new Wintec open face bridle and a very small Equilizer girth so I can ride Maggie. My saddle is not the best fit. I am making a pad that should help. Finding a saddle that fits would be best, but how much time and moeyu should I spend when I don't plan on riding her that much?

Roger sold the KG road cart for me. I ordered a Kingston cart, really inexpensive and not well made. It arrived in a box and needed assembly. Those carts can break due to metal fatigue ion a certain place, so you have to have reinforcements welded on. Sandro at Indian Hill is going to do it for me. When he gets back from vacation.

Dave wants to go to New Hamsphire sometime this summer, so I have to figure out what to do with the animals. I want to find a place Lydia can go, she is young and very active, as well as not confirmed in house training, so she can't stay here alone, especially not with Silver.

I am trying to get Blog to Book, but the site I have been using is really bad. I can order it today, but I want to check out other sites.

I need to finish the tart cover for the carriage house, but I am not sure how fast I need to do it. If I can store the Kingston in Maggie's stall, that would be OK. I measured the door opening, but the cart is in the welding shop.

I have a lot of saddle pads on eBay right now. That is just one more thing to keep track of. But I can use the money that comes form any sales. eBay has never been my best venue. In Person has always been best. When people actually SEE them......

Jim

"Jim, his brain is gone! It's been removed surgically!"

New Toy

Lydia is NOT sharing her sheepsy!

The excitment goes on

There was a problem. With the washer. The front loading washer. It has a door gasket in the front. The gasket keeps the water from coming out as long as you don't get clothing caught between the door and the gasket.


So now I have a shirt without a sleeve and a sleeve without a shirt. The water went into the box underneath where the dirty laundry soaked it up. The wet laundry went onto the floor in the search for any water that missed the box.

There was dirty underwear in the pile. Lydia loves dirty underwear, so the underwear didn't stay in the pile for long. Every body's dirty underwear was distributed around the house.

I ordered new gasket on line and went to the Laundromat(ew) taking Lydia with me instead of leaving The Urinator home alone in a crate. She had separation anxiety every time I went in to check the washers. It was a cool over-cast day and I left the windows open and she jumped out and almost hung herself. That was a big stupid mistake on my part. I decided not to dry the laundry there, but brought it home to dry here. Wet laundry is heavy.

The new gasket came and Dave put it in and we think we found all the underwear hidden all over the house.

It's Crazy

Mary Shelley the cat wants to go from the garage, across the kitchen, dining area and family room, out the sliding door to the backyard. She does not want to go out the garage side door to the side yard.

Lydia the dog is in the kitchen. Mary Shelley does not want to go past Lydia.

I open the sliding door so Mary Shelley can see a clear path to her objective. Not enough.

I pick up Lydia the dog and carry her out of sight. Mary Shelley cannot see Lydia and so cannot not be sure she is still restrained.

I move into visible postion. Mary Shelley is still uncertain. I put Lydia down to pick up Mary Shelley and carry her out the sliding door. Lydia finds this exciting. Mary Shelley finds this stressful, so do I.

In the meantime Paula the chicken has wandered into the family room through the open door. Now I have to get Mary Shelley out AND Paula out without Lydia getting too excited.

Mary Shelley is out and I turn to Paula, who is easy but who has just pooped a gooey chicken poop on the rug. Now I have to get Paula out and get the poop cleaned up before Lydia finds the poop and begins eating it. I fail.

My life is not a reality show. I know this because I would either get a prize or get eliminated for my performance. Intstead, I have to keep playing but I don't get a prize.

Jr Naval ROTC

Joseph got awards for Aptitude and for Conduct and Bearing.

Boy Scout Camping on Mt Hamilton

People of Wal*Mart

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Finally Settling

After two days of frantic pacing, Maggie is finally settling down. She is eating and resting. I tried walking her but she was too stressed and kept walking into me. I tried Janow's harness on her for fit. It's too big. Getting it on was tricky because she was antsy and pawed the whole time.

It was hard for her, coming from a large herd in pasture to being all alone. Horses are herd animals and being alone is hard for them.

I only tried it on because someone in SoCal on carriage driving list had a Smuckers synthetic small pony for sale at a great price. I needed to find out if I should pursue this one. Turns out that not only is the cob too big for Maggie, but the woman with the small pony harness actually needs a cob size. I'm sending her the Zilco, we are trading straight up.

Maggie is here

She's here, in one piece, in quarentine. I don't know for how long. Different vets have different recomendations and they are changing.

More rumor than fact

There were more rumors than facts last night and I panicked. It didn't help that search engines are stupid and that some idiot spammed equine herpes virus-1 with a photo of their horse.

Lots of people said "You shouldnt have gone any where." I didn't, she left Monday, hours before the news went out on the west coast.

Someone else said: "Just don't let anyone come on your property." Great, I board. There are 196 horses there. I don't have control.

And somebody else said: "You probably need a Coggins test." Duh.

So, she will cross into CA this am at about 11:00. Due to arrive in Milpitas for 14 day quarrentine that is more important for everybody's comfort than actual disease control.

And Now for some Lydia:

Rumors

Now there are rumors that the California borders may be closing, but I can't find any specific up-to-date info. Maggie is supposed to cross into CA at about 11am tomorrow.

Quarentine!!!

Maggie is on the way.

But.....

There is always a butt.

She will arrive in Milpitas on Saturday. Indian Hill is not allowing horses to come onto the ranch. Even if they live there and just went for a trail ride down the road.

Maggie got on the truck Monday, when the virus was rumors, far away, and reining horses only(or cutting horses?)

There is good news. The owner of Indian Hill owns other property up the road. Maggie will stay there and be the only horse for 14 days of quarantine. I will have access.

This will give us time alone to bond. No house warming or nosy people.

And then...........

Dave said he wanted a dog, so we went to the shelter and looked at pit bulls and Chihuahuas. Then we went to a different shelter and saw more pit bulls and Chihuahuas.


We selected Lydia, labeled as a one year old Chihuahua Pekingese mix. She is now taking over our house. We think she is Doxie, not Chihuahua. Her body is too long, she is too interested in smells and her eyes aren't bulgy enough. She is a peek-a-dox.

Joseph was ecstatic. He asked Dad why we got a dog. Dave said:
"Mom wanted one."

She has tattoos, by her spay scar. You can sing the song............

Maggie is comming!

Maggie got on the horse transport yesterday.

Vineyard Classic CDE

My son and I went to the Vineyard Classic Combined Driving Event in Woodland CA. We volunteered for two days and camped in a tent. It was fun. He gets the hours counted as community service. I don't think my body could hold up to competing in a CDE!

I didn't take pictures. boo hoo

Porder is as typo

I meant to type 'order.' My typing is mostly typos. I have to go back and fix them. Sometimes I miss. The nerve impulses travel down my left arm and my right arm at different speeds. If I type with two hands, that means trouble.

I went to Kokovoko Farm in KY to shop for a pony. go here for Kokovoko Farm I had read/heard that the Gotland temperament was great, so I went to see for myself. You guys saw the pictures I took while I was there.

Maggie is the pony I chose. A 9 year old mare trained to drive singles and pairs and ride. Unflappable and attractive. She is 13.2, slightly larger than the average Gotland, she is a Gotland Sport Pony with a thorcheron mare somewhere in her pedigree. I am not very experienced at driving, so unflappable, trained, and with a few years on is a good thing.

Her fancy name is Kokovoko Magnolia.

She has a new departure date of May 17th. This is actually a good sign. When you are transporting horses across the country, things can happen that you did not plan on. If my pony is in the trailer, I would prefer you take the time to deal with things rather than push on as scheduled no matter what.

Eagerly Awaiting Maggie

Maggie is due to arrive here between the 15th and 20th. It's a long trip from Kentucly to California, and the departure date depends on other trips the trailer is making.

I ordered some stuff for her, including a halter plate. I know Janow's bridle will not fit her. The pony ones at Kokovoko were mostly on the last holes, but Janow's is a horse size. The rest ofhis harness is cob size, so it may for Maggie, or at least parts of it will. I will porder the new parts I need when I order the bridle.

In the meantime I ordered a cob size Wintec bridle. My tack storage gets too hot in the summer to store leather, so synthetic is good.

Maggie is trained under saddle and Joseph has expressed an interest in riding her. I may ride her too. She is calm enough that there may not be a problem. Janow was never totally calm. He was laways prone to Lipizzan Leaps that were hard on my back, so I stopped riding him. Maggie doesnt do this.

Eagerly awaiting Maggie........

Pre-purchase Exam--"Pass"

Leslie driving Maggie, Truman breaks trail.

Maggie's pre-purchase exam was very good. Now I have to arrange to have my new pony trailered from Kentucky to California.

Kokovoko Farm

Bed and Breakfast near Corinth, KYFresh eggs and fresh homemade bread. Wool fiber in every stage from sheep to spinning lessons.
...and ponies for carriage driving lessons.

Kokovoko