My Camry Replacement

Last November I had a bit of a disagreement with a deer concerning who had the right-of-way, which resulted in my Toyota Camry being totaled.

A few months ago I thought I was going to buy my dad's Sequoya, since he really wants a Tundra.  The only problem is that nice used Tundras are hard to find at a reasonable price (they just do not ever depreciate) and a new one would be difficult for him to take good care of since he works down a pretty rough dirt road.  So, he's decided to wait until he's retired and then go ahead and splurge on a brand new one.  On the flip side, I was driving the Sequoya back and forth to school and while I loved the vehicle, being a poor college student, I needed something a bit better on gas mileage.  Dad and I talked and decided he'd take the Sequoya back and we'd look for a more fuel-efficient Camry replacement for me--most likely another Camry.

Saturday I was relaxing at home since I had gotten everything I needed to do done before the weekend, but my weekend plans got postponed.  It was nice not to have to do ANYTHING, but then I got a call from Dad.

"I found your car."

"You did?  What is it?"

"A Lexus."

"Stop joking."

"They're holding it for you. I'm coming to pick you up--meet me in Pratt in an hour."

We got to Wichita and Dad was right--there was my car!  While it is five years older than my Camry was (which is the ONLY reason I could afford this car), it has 90K less miles and is in PERFECT condition.  I can't believe this was on a used car lot.  It certainly wouldn't have been there for long!  Thankfully Dad has done a lot of business at the place so they were happy to hold the car until I got there and the business part didn't take long.  Soon I was driving my "new" car home!

I hadn't had a chance to test drive it--I had taken Dad's word for it as I needed to get home before it got dark (my new chicks were outside for the first time), so as I merged out onto the highway I was so pleased with the performance of the car that I started giggling uncontrollably.  I was absolutely giddy!!

Not bad for a 12 year old car, eh?

The car had Lexus dealership service sticker on it, so I called to ask them about the service records on the car.  The guy looking up the records said, "Wow, they REALLY took care of this car!"  Hopefully I can avoid the pheasants and deer and keep this car in mint condition.  

Oh, and that means Sophie isn't allowed in it, either.  

Homegirl knows the truck is all hers, anyway :~)

My passionate pursuit of perfection,

~J

Goodbye My Friend

Sunday afternoon, my companion of 14 years, my loving, sweet boy Harley passed away.

I had actually planned on attending my first endurance ride this weekend, but it was cancelled due to the weather.  Otherwise, I may not have been home.

I had just gotten home from washing my "new" (used) car (more on that later) and walked in to find Harley seizing and struggling to breathe by the entry door.  Looking at him I knew that he had only minutes left--a trip to the vet was futile, especially with it being Sunday evening.  No one would be able to get to him quickly enough.  

I placed him gently on the chaise by the window and quickly put the dogs out in their pen.  I came back in and spent Harley's final minutes with him, telling him how much I love him, letting him know how thankful I was to have him in my life.  He let go quickly once I was with him and passed peacefully.  Eventually I found the energy to place him on his favorite cat bed, wrap him in a sheet and bury him in my shade garden in the back yard.  

He was old and had been slowly losing weight over the past couple of years, so this wasn't completely unexpected.  It certainly didn't make things any easier, though.

Harley has been with me through so much through the years.  He's lounged in many a house....

He's put up with many a new furry companion....

He helped me maintain order and civility through the household....

I admit he didn't exactly approve of everything that I did....

But at the end of the day, all Harley ever asked for was to cuddle up in a blanket with me and purr me to sleep.

He and Charlie have been the two old men of the house for as long as I've been divorced.

It's so odd now to be in the house without him.  I'm not sure how long it will take before I stop seeing him out of the corner of my eye, or have to stop myself from calling for him at feeding time.

Harley was most definitely a big part of my life and now that part of my life is gone.  As sad as I am, what I feel most is gratitude.   I am so thankful to have had such a special animal be part of my life for so long.

 I love you, kitten.

~J

Familiarity

There's something to be said about familiarity, especially when it comes to horses.

I've had all three of these horses for most of their lives.  Albeit Bambi and Fabian have had other owners and Paula was in a disastrous lease for a year, but for the most part, we've been together long enough that we're all pretty much used to each other by now.

And it's really kind of nice.

For example, all three of these kids will load up into my two-horse straight-load trailer without hesitation.  All three are easy to clip and bathe.  All three actually like being fly-sprayed (and insist on it every non-winter day).  All three know the blanketing routine.  All three have a solidified vaccination and deworming schedule.  I know the hoof-history on all three and know when I trim them that they know what my expectations are.  In other words, we all get along pretty darned well here.

Such are the advantages of familiarity, just like when Paula turns that big ole white butt to me...

...I know she isn't threatening me--she just wants a scratch.

Sure, familiarity isn't exactly the most exciting thing since sliced bread

But there is a lot to say about knowing the crowd you're with, and them knowing you.

~J

Post-Vet Report = Less Stress!

Yesterday I took two of my three horses to the vet.  Did I mention he drives a BMW?

Actually, he really doesn't, but he probably could afford one off me by now.  I don't mind, he's a good guy, I just wish my horses would make it so I wouldn't have to see him so much.  The gas companies love me, too, since he's a full hour away.  But sometimes you have to take a little trip for the best....

Anyway, I had Bambi preg-checked.  I was tired of changing my mind from day-to-day on whether she was pregnant or not.  I had cancelled plans to visit friends, I had stressed and mulled way too much and I needed to know for sure whether she was holding out for finals week just to test me as to how much stress I could actually handle.  Horses, especially broodmares, are cunning like that, right?

After she explosively poo-d ALL over the vet (for which I profusely apologized like an embarrassed mother) he told me he couldn't feel anything, which was such a big relief!

When I bred Bambi 11 months ago I assumed I'd be in a much better place than I am.  Who would have ever guessed I'd be a college student once again? Finals are in two weeks, I need to get my job applications in, and to be honest, I just want to spend time with the horses I have instead of worrying about a foal.  I feel like I'm in a good place right now as it is.  I'm proud of the fact that at any moment anyone can walk onto my place and see my horses have proper basic care--they are fed, wormed, sheltered, vetted, vaccinated, and have their feet done--which in reality is more than what a lot of people (even "show people") can say.   Some might be disappointed in me because I can't afford fancy trainers or expensive shows, but these three home-grown kids of mine don't care because their bellies are full and they know they are loved.  I know the rest will come with time, and they don't mind :)  After the last two horses I sold and having their breeders come down on me so hard about it (even though I gave them away/sold them to better homes than I was able to provide, which was exactly my reason for selling them--trying to do the right thing) I'm pretty sure if I ever do get another horse it will be another rescue.  Making an "unwanted" horse happy and healthy again is so incredibly rewarding.  I miss that.  As it is though, for right now, three is plenty for me.

Anyway, back on course, I also took Fabian in to see the doc.  He has two sarcoids under his eye that he kept opening up and as a result they would double in size each time he did.  I tried a variety of home remedies but the same thing--breaking them open--would happen, so it was time to take him in for more aggressive measures.  The vet recommended freezing them.  He'll have to have several treatments but after the first they already look SO much better!  I am a lot less worried about those now, too.

This picture was before treatment.  Poor kid just acted like he didn't feel that good.  He's sort of a big baby like that....

This was Fabian's first trip to my current vet, so he was a little anxious, but then things really got wild when the vet's mini-stud got out and came right for Fabian.  Fabian thought that it was a little horse-eating-horse!  To Fabian's credit he listened to me very well, as scared and jumpy as he was, and I actually used Fabian to lead the little stud back into his pen.  Fabian could have kicked him into oblivion but he was such a good boy and just followed my instruction.  He's not the bravest horse ever, but he really does try!

After all this, I told Paula she'd better not get hurt or sick for a long time.  I only have a two-horse trailer!

Bambi is back in with her buddy Paula and I decided to use the "nursery" as Fabian's private eating area, since he gets chased around by his mean ol' sisters.  He seems to love it.  He insisted that I pet him for at least ten minutes this morning plus he demanded two big hugs.

As I said, Finals are in two weeks, and with no sleepless nights waiting on a foal in my future, I feel all the more confident and excited about getting through to having the summer off!  Of course (hopefully) I will be working, but I am so looking forward to working with these three and maybe trying some new forms of competition with them, on top of getting a lot of work done on the house and the farm.  This is going to be a great summer!

My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades,

~J

It's a Twister! A Twister!

You might have heard that Kansas had a slight weather-related happening over the weekend. This event hit the county I live in particularly hard.

Fortunately, because my county is also sparsely populated, very few people were effected.  I have heard of one homestead in particular basically being destroyed, but true to form the wonderful people in this area all pitched in to help clean-up. 

Kansas had 97 tornadoes on Saturday.  Very few people were even injured and none of them seriously, thankfully! 

My farm, through complete luck, was spared.  I went to Wichita with Dad and we got caught under a cell on the way home, so while that was kind of hairy we made it home safe and sound.  

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who weren't as lucky as we were.  There were some terrible losses in Oklahoma simply because a siren didn't go off.  Tornadoes are terrible, sometimes deadly things and all we can do is our best to be prepared and be safe.  I hope that this marks the end of our "tornado season" so we can move on and enjoy our beautiful spring weather!

~J

Chicks!

I can't believe I haven't updated my blog in so long!

I know, I know.  Don't give me that look!

So many exciting things have been happening.  I will be making up for lost blogging time quickly because I have so much to post.  I decided to start with the cutest ones first: my FIRST homegrown baby mutt-chicks!!

They are out of a Rhode Island Red hen and by an Easter Egger rooster.  I have no idea what the right way to state that is so I'll just use horse-lingo and hope the info gets across the right way.  The hen hatched out her eggs--her first try, and I got nine healthy chicks but unfortunately lost two that I tried to keep with her, so the remainder are in the brooder to keep them safe.

I mean, a chick has cute as this really needs to be spoiled, am I right?

She's showing off her drumstick....

Here's Rusty, the proud papa.

And Helen, the proud momma.

I actually don't know if they're that proud.  They seem fairly oblivious, but I'll just assume, if they knew what was in the brooder, they'd be pretty darned proud.

So for tonight, that's the last peep out of me,

~J