Memorial Day

Today as Memorial Day has progressed, I've been reminded of family and friends who have fought in various wars over the years.  We started doing some geneology research over the years and found out that my Grandpa Wilson had an ancestor who played role in the Revolutionary War. Then later on we discovered that my Grandma (Boyd) Larson had at least 4 relatives who all served in the Civil War not long after having immigrated to the United States from Norway.  

Grandma Larson later married Thomas Clarence Larson who served in World War I. Grandpa Larson never saw action in the war. He served his duty at a training station here in the States.

My Grandpa Wilson served overseas in World War II and in some very dangerous situations we later discovered.

So today in honor of my two Grandpa's I'd like to thank all of you who have served our country and remember those who never returned. I'd also like to take a moment to reflect back and think about the other casualties of war. We should take a moment to remember the horses and dogs who have been lost during war.  There is a fitting memorial to the lost horses located at the U.S Cavalry Museum in Ft. Riley, KS, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a memorial to the military working dogs.

To all my fellow Veterans, thank you.

Trying new things

Today I decided to test out the dressage saddle that I got from my sister. I've never really ridden dressage and I have no formal training at all in the discipline, but it was nice to see how it all feels. Unfortunately if I want to continue trying to ride dressage, I'm going to have to haul the Bug almost 2 hours away to find any decent trainers.  I can just see Bug doing just about anything you ask her. We went out on the trails for almost 2 hours and rode about 5 and a half miles in that saddle. That was for me to get used to the feel of it all. Bug just took it all in stride and off we went.

Friday Ride

Today was GREAT! It was Baby Girl's first ever ride on the trails and she did awesome. There's nothing better than having a nearly perfect first time ride on the trails. That first rabbit that popped up out of the brush and ran off did spook her a tiny bit. She wanted to rush the walking down hill the first few times, but overall no one could ask for a better first time trail ride. Her injury is getting better and she's not sore any more. The swelling has also gone down and all that's left is a small lump and the cut is still healing. So good news all the way around.

Jazzy dog likes to come along on the rides and  she runs almost double the miles I ride.  Then she comes in and goes to sleep.  Her favorite sleeping position is shown here.

I had to sneak up on her to get this photo. I've been trying for almost a year to catch a photo of her sleeping like that. But every time I tried, as soon as I'd move, so would she. Finally tonight, I put the camera right beside me all ready to go and managed to catch her. 

Postponed Due to Injury

Yep here I’ve been waiting all day long to catch up Baby Girl and head out on a training ride, but she was also busy today.  I don’t know what she did, but I came home to this.

  I have absolutely no clue what she’s gotten herself into but this one is quite a wierd injury.  I can’t feel any items stuck in the wound like when Topper ( AKA the Money Pit) got that stick stuck in her shoulder.  Baby Girl is quite swollen and sore so that eliminates our rides for a while.  After hosing and treating her wound I caught up Booger Butt for some basic ground training.  Since Topper got a 2 hour ride yesterday and Baby Girl is on injury layup, poor ole Booger Butt is going to have to work a little on his ground training for a while.  Then I took some photos of Booger Butt's Spots. Can you see his eagle wings and his petroglyph big horn sheep? 

Sunday Scenes from the Saddle.

Technically it’s not a  scene from the saddle,  It’s a snapshot of my GPS track overlaid on an aerial photo of my 7 mile trail ride today. 

Testing new Video camera

I"m testing out the new video camera. Trying different settings and such. Here's a few of the better ones so far.

Garden Mulch

Since we cut our own trees for firewood, we also get a lot of bark shed from the logs to use as a mulch. 

I collected a bunch and went to work on some weed infested areas. 

 

Can you even see my little current bush?

Look there it is finally able to peak through the weeds.

Bluewater Lake State Park Now Bans Horseback Riders

Bluewater Lake State Park has been open to horse back riders for many years and has an extensive trail system away from the lake. This year they have banned all horse back riders completely. If you have ever ridden the really beautiful trails on the State park lands or have been wanting to take a trip over there to check them out, you will now be kicked out.

We the local riders have not been given any answer at all as to why the trails have been closed. Please consider calling the Head of NM department of State Parks and ask why horseback riders are suddenly banned. Although the Riders have been banned, they still allow the local rez ponies and the cattle to roam over the park grounds.

State Park Contact Information:

Bluewater Lake State Park

P.O. Box 3419

Perwitt, New Mexico 87045

Phone: 505-876-2391

And

New Mexico State Parks

1220 South St. Francis Drive

Santa Fe, NM 87505

P.O. Box 1147

Santa Fe, NM 87504

P: (505) 476-3355

or 1-888-NMPARKS

(667-2757)

F: (505) 476-3361 

Here are some of the views from trails around the lake

Farm and Ranch Related Discussion

If you haven't heard about any of the new food safety bills and their effects on small farmers and ranchers, you should check out this video.

Bye Bye Tree

Hello firewood! 

I was busy today taking out this tree and a couple more dead or nearly dead ones around the property.

Not only did we take this tree out for the firewood it will provide, we also took it out so that we could fit in a new portable shed in that area. So here's the first stages of cleanup. 

After we finish cleaning up that firewood, we will level the area and lay in a course of gravel and set some bricks for the runners of the shed and then soon we should have a nice new shed sitting there.

Saturday Scenes from the Saddle

Topper Thursday

Finally got photos of Topper and our ride today.  She's doing very well especially considering that the wind was blowing like 35-40 mph for most of the ride. At least it was warm enough to ride in a short sleeve shirt. Wind I don't mind nearly as much as the cold. Tomorrow, it's Baby Girls turn again then Saturday I'm hauling the Bug over to my friend Linda's and we are going to ride down by the creek to get in some water crossing practice.

Monday ride

Well here in NM, if you don't like the weather, just wait and it will change. Yesterday we had all that snow on the ground. Today the only snow left is some little bits on the north side of the house. So today was riding day again.

May snow 2

The Afternoon:

May Snow

I don't think I'm riding today!  Photos taken at 8 AM

and today's forecast

 Today...Windy. Scattered rain and snow showers in the morning... Then numerous thunderstorms with rain and snow showers in the afternoon. Snow accumulation 2 to 4 inches above 7500 feet. Total snow accumulation 3 to 5 inches above 7500 feet. Highs in the 30s to upper 40s. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph increasing to west 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 40 mph.

Derby Day Ride

Well the weather held off and let me get in an early afternoon ride today.  See all those black clouds behind me? The prediction for the day on weather is only 10% rain. 

Only in New Mexico can you see partly cloudy skies and snow or rain. It didn't  snow very hard, and we had some open blue skies and sun but we also had some snow.  I finally got Keith to take some photos of me on The Bug just before we headed out on the trail.  We rode two hours and probably covered nearly 8-9 miles.  Even though she's much fatter then she's ever been, she's still quite fit. We walked most of the way, but we went up hills, down hills, over logs and wove in between trees.  We did a good warm up jog down before we got up into the trees and hills.  The Bug was still feeling good to go when we got back to the house. I cut the ride short because I don't want her getting over worked at the moment. I'd like to get her a bit thinner and more fit before we go on any longer rides. 

We got home just in time to clean up The Bug right before the Big Race. I got to watch another totally awesome ride by Calvin Borel on this years Derby winner Super Saver.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be worse than today so I don't know if I'll be able to get in a ride, but I'm hoping the weather man is wrong about it tomorrow.  I'm hoping I'll be able to ride Baby Girl tomorrow in the arena.