Year of Extremes...so far!!

found this post in my drafts....Carolyn had to move her ponies off her property due to the Elkhorn River flooding.  Cora fell in love with Train!!!  She loved to give him nuzzles over the fence.  The other girls weren't so keen on sharing their gelding.

some crazy cloud formations happened in the summer of 2012

these 4 refugees broke into the roundpen on their last day and ate the garden that a friend and I had planted....

Wow, time has flown since December 2009.  Had a horrible winter in 2009-2010, a new job in January 2010 and an additional new job in June 2010.  2010 to 2013 were kinda blur.  Some major changes were on the horizon with my personal life.  Yes I still made time for myself and had a little fun, but riding, trailering, having fun excursions with my friends kind of took a back seat.  I found solace on the beach and enjoyed those summer days lounging in the sun with Carol and her hubs.  They have a boat and a jet ski and would always invite me to tag along for rides to cool down.  Carol even got me back up on skis which I have not done since I was in my 20's!!!  Winters were tough and I worked myself to the bone.  I spent a lot of time with the ponies, just hanging out with them.

Some lows that occurred are:  Both Newt and Stache passed away and a new cat showed up that blessed me with 4 babies.  I kept one to keep the mom happy and the others found great homes and are doing well to this day.  Cora passed away in September 2012.  That was a dark dark day.  Having older pets comes with their losses too.  Stone passed away in January 2014. He survived 2 cancer surgeries and was doing well, but his back legs just gave up.  Kitten passed away in March 2014 too.  Moj and I miss him and I was blessed to have him in my life for all of his years.  He would have been 17 or 18 next month.

Moj, Aj, Kitten and I moved away from the 'country life' and became 'citified'.  Aj did stay at Whispering Oaks during the summer of 2013 while I got my own home life figured out and somewhat settled into a routine.  Moj and Kitten adjusted immediately for which I am thankful.  Aj was moved to his new boarding home in November 2013 and again, someone upstairs helped guide me to find that perfect home for us.  The owners are great as are the few boarders that reside there too.  I have made new lifetime friends and Joe has helped me fan my flame for riding and having trust in my horse.

In January 2013, I found a great home in a quiet neighborhood.  It took a few more months of patience....yes, I learned what patience is!!, to get everything to fall into place for me to purchase and move into my new home.  Jen came back to help me move over Memorial Day Weekend.  Again, I had help from upstairs in guiding me to find this house and great friends to help me pack and move.  Thanks Sandy!!!!  Bonus with my new home, I'm 17 miles to work and I'm only 5 miles from Aj!!!!!  The neighbors are wonderful and I can still see the stars and some country life near me when I get the urge.

Pretty Paws Small Dog Grooming came into existance in January 2014.  I have started this business from the ground up and it has given me a lot of joy to see it grow.

My full time job took a change in direction and I now do payroll auditing in addition to health care reimbursement along with customer service.  The group we work with is just awesome.

Without the upkeep of a country property, I now have a lot more free time on my hands.  Travel plans and vacations have popped up more frequently.  A trip to Louisiana to meet Dana and Lisa Lou is on the near horizon as is another trip to Colorado Springs to see my sister and her family for Christmas and then the finale this year is a solo trip to Miami South Beach.  The hotel I picked is right on Ocean drive with views of the ocean from the rooms.  Snorkeling, beach, boat tours and city tours are planned.  It's gonna be a heck of a trip!!!!

Wonder what will be in store for the rest of this year and 2015???!!!!  Lot's of fun I'm imagining :) :)

Today is "Not" the joys of living in the country

Christmas 2009 Storm/Blizzard, Day 2

Today, I made sure that I went and did something to get out!! Headed to work with Mike at 5 am. He closed the office at 12 noon and we did some quick shopping..2 gallons of milk, a loaf of breat, a meat thermometer, some spices and picked up Hannah before heading home.

Just blowing snow and a lot of wind, some ground blizzards, but nothing too bad....that was until we got home.

By 2:30, new snow was falling and things were starting to look ugly. We already had to break through the snowdrift forming across our driveway and it certainly isn't going to be any better as the night goes on. This thing will be at least 4 ft deep or better before it is over tomorrow afternoon :( Mike braved the elements and brought up 4 sledfull's of firewood to stock the garage again. Good dry hard oak that burns like coal once it catches. We are praying that we don't lose power tonight or tomorrow with the 40 to 50 mph winds that are forecasted by 6 am. I supposed I should fill some water containers for the horses, but we can always melt the snow for them on our woodburner. It would be warm :)

I finally headed out at 4:30 to care for the horses and cats and to catch some photo ops before it got too dark out.

Enjoy

not the best pix off the cell phone camera.....

this is the field to the north of our barn....you can't even see the snowfence from the snow blowing over it and across it!!!!

our driveway that is in the process of being drifted shut!!!!!! grrrrrrrrrr

Newt and Beans behind him....never did let them out of the tack room today. Don't think they were too disappointed either

"Princess" is NOT happy!!!!!

Peeking around the corner to see the snow blowing and drifting......

our circle drive is drifting shut too...just snowblowed this open last week...guess I'll be back out there yet again.

Moj

Winter's Officially Here Day 1 of the 'Big Storm'

I don't think that any Bluebirds will be using this nest box anytime soon.
I really liked how the ice formed around the seed heads. Made for some very pretty pictures.

The BFLWM has been talking about this storm now for over a week. So far I've heard 10-12 inches, 12-14 inches, 40 mph winds, 50 mph winds and that this 'blizzard' will be nearly as bad if not as bad as the storm that hit in January of 1976. Geesh! I hope not!! That was a doozie from what I remember, lots of drifts, happened on my birthday, and we were snowed in in Bennington for a few days.

So far, they have been right. We had freezing drizzle on 12/22/2009, turned to rain the next morning but quickly changed to freezing rain/sleet as the day progressed. We are lucky that the temps stayed right at 32 degrees all day and did not drop. It's still sitting at 32 at 7:00 pm. Check out these pictures that I took earlier in the day....when I had to get out of the house before I went crazy!!

The ice was at least 1/4 inch thick by then. The trees were creaking and cracking, just hope it doesn't get worse and start dropping branches!!

The 'poor' White Oak didn't drop it's leaves. Made for pretty pictures though

Moj looking for the 'barn kitties'

Off and running...the boy doesn't quit!!

Stone checking things out. He doesn't get too excited anymore.

This tree caught my eye as I ventured down the driveway. Looked pretty all covered in ice.

We aren't sure exactly what is going to happen on Christmas Day here, we are planning to have family out, but with 12 to 14 inches of fresh snow falling and winds of up to 40 mph gusts, that may just drift our lovely driveway shut, once again. No matter how many times Mike & I go out with the snow blowers, that wind is just going to drift it shut again.

Ah, I digress though....family, food, togetherness is what Christmas is supposed to be about right? Food. For those that know me and the friends I hang/ride with, you should know that food is the least of our worries. You will NEVER go home hungry after riding with us. :)

Here is the menu that is being planned for Christmas Day ...just be prepared, there will be tons of left overs to be taken home by everyone.

*Prime Rib that is at least 10 lbs or more!!

*Turkey

*Ham

*Shrimp Dip....to die for!!!!!

*PW Sweet Potatoes

*Deviled Eggs

*Corn Casserole

*Crescent Rolls

*Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

*PW Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap crust and caramel topping...YUMMY!!!

*Pecan Pie

*Fruit Pie

Did I mention that this is just for 6 people, yes, only 6 people!!!!! My Sister and Brother in Law decided that it would be nicer to spend Christmas in New Mexico with my Dad instead of 'back East' here with me. Probably better as the boys would probably get 'lost' in the snow drifts that will be coming :)

Stay tuned for more pictures over the next couple of days!!! I'm sure that I will be suffering from 'Cabin Fever' and will need to be doing something outside to burn some energy!!

Time to go check on the horses and make sure they've got enough hay for the night.

Oh!!! I will be leaving the house tomorrow...told Mike that I am going to work with him for a few hours :) Moj gets to come to and terrorize the people at the office.

Winter Storm December 2009