Something Had To Be Done

There has been a nest of mean fuzzy bumble bees in the barn this summer.  I was moving some things around in the loft last month and saw them.  Then Saturday, I was getting the goat feed in the bottom of the barn, minding my own business when one attacked me and stung my hand.  V and M were with us and we had to go through the barn to get away from the goats or they would follow us up the driveway.  One of the bees took out after V and stung her on her eyelid.

 She may be smiling now, but there was a lot of screaming and crying before hand. 

 She even consented to let J put some tobacco on it.  I'm glad her eye didn't swell up as big as my hand did.  And the itching, it is almost unbearable.  So last night I was with J and we had some wasp spray.  I was 100 yards away outside the barn and one tried to attack me.  Luckily, it got stuck in the hood of my sweat shirt which I ripped off and promptly stomped into the ground.

 So the next plan of action was to wait until dark, put on the bee suit and try again. 

Since there is only one bee suit, I stayed at a safe distance, the house.  J said his first spraying did some good and a lot of the bees were already dead.  He was able to move the hay bales they were between and spray the rest of the nest.  Hopefully, that will be the end of the fuzzy bumble bees for this season anyway.

Sunday Ride

The weather looked promising Sunday so I suggested that we go trail riding.  J said OK and we headed out. 

 Jessica was feeling spirited so J worked on lunging her first.  This was after I had run her around in the barn for 15 minutes before loading her up.  He got on after a bit but Jessica balked and bucked.  So back off for more lunging.

 She sure doesn't act like a 17 year old horse.  Anyway, we were the only ones at the campground to start with.  I sort of thought me missed a memo or something.  It was just 2 years ago that 48 trailers were packed in here (story HERE)

 But then a couple of more trailers showed up,  and they had a dog Two Socks.  Two Socks paid no attention to the owners calling or cajoling.  He just wanted to run around in circles with Jessica.

 As you can imagine, this did not get J off to a very good start.  But the second time up, Jessica decided to go and she was calm. 

 I got in front at one point only to be stopped by Otoelene spooking at this tree with rocks in it.  I finally got her to pass by,

 and another tree with rocks in it.  What's the deal with that?

 Then Jessica got into something stinging or biting, J never was able to see what it was.  But she took off through the brush rubbing and scrubbing and J finally had to get off and lead her back to the trail.  I had some bug spray so he resprayed her and we were off again.

 Jessica's mane is usually wild and goes on both sides which annoys J.  So I had braided it to contain it to one side.  You can see that only half of the braids are left after her scrubbing adventure.  We had a brief lunch stop where a father son pair passed by.  They asked if I could take their picture for them.

 Then back on the trails which were pretty uneventful until close to the end.

 There is a section of the trail between the river and a rock cliff.  The horses are never very comfortable through here.  J heard some commotion and got off.  There was a turkey and some little ones coming up from the river and climbing the cliff.   J thought she might fly up and startle Jessica and he just didn't feel like riding through another spin and bolt.  But the turkey never flew up and Jessica remained calm.  Better safe than sorry. 

Then the last river crossing and back home.  I was on cloud nine with Otoelene.  So glad J puts up with the things I want.  I thought it was a very nice 5 hour ride.

Some Luck (And It Is Not Good)

In the last 10 days J has had 3 flat tires, all on different things. 

 First was a blow out on the cattle trailer while it was full of cattle and on a busy interstate.  The jack wouldn't hold the trailer with it loaded but a good Samaritan stopped, went back to his shop, and brought something that would work.  J tried to pay him but he refused.  There are still good people out there. 

Then, he was checking the cattle in the bottom with the small truck, ran over a limb and had another blow out.  There was something wrong with the spare tire mechanism and he couldn't get it off.  He had to hike to the house, get the other truck, take the tire off and haul it somewhere to get it fixed.  That's when he found out our local car repair shop was closing and today was the last day.  So that meant a trip to town to a new mechanic.  

 But, before he went J helped me round up some things out of the barn for a yard sale.  There is a 100 mile sale on our road so I thought I might try to get rid of a few things. 

We had just unloaded the stuff and I was starting to clean it off when I heard air leaking out of a tire. 

  Yes, another flat.  We must have run over something around the barn.  So now he had to take this tire off, put on the spare and take them both to the shop.

It wasn't a good day today. 

Moving Goats, Or Excuse For Some Goat Pictures

The goats have  been spending a lot of time on the hill in front of the house.  There are more weeds for them to eat elsewhere so we thought we would try to move them to the fields below the drive way. 

 First we had to get them all together.

  Somehow we have managed to breed the herding instinct out of them and they just go off where ever they please, with or without other goats and sometimes without their babies. 

 But we finally got them all rounded up and heading in the same direction. 

Then we moved them to the other fields, which lasted precisely one day.  They split themselves up to the point I think some were in every field.  Oh well, as long as the dogs can keep up I guess they will be ok. 

Lucky Find

I have been casually looking for a double bed to replace the twin bed in V's old room.  As you may know, I have an attraction to Mid Century Modern.   I was in town the other day around lunch time, so I stopped at Rural King to get my free popcorn.  (Anyone else do that)  Anyway, there is a thrift store next door so I thought I might as well take a quick look.  And look what I found.  

 A mid century modern double bed in what appears to be walnut complete with side rails and slats.  There are a few scuffs and scrapes, but noting a little Liquid Gold and Old English couldn't handle.

And the even better part is that it was marked $20, but they were having a 75% off all furniture sale!  Five bucks, I'll take it.

30 Day Draper

I've been riding Draper for about a month now.  I usually manage 3 - 4 days a week.  She is doing wonderfully.  I haven't had a chance to ride outside much except for around the barn and barn lot.  But that is teaching her a lot of steep up and down and to not rush going downhill.  

She is getting more consistent every ride.  But she is resisting rein pressure some, so still lots of work there.  I almost had a wreck the other day when she tripped at the lope, pulled the reins out of my hands and wanted to start crow hopping.  Luckily, she has a good voice Whoa, and stopped after just 2 or 3 steps.  

Her trot is pretty springy, I think she may be more suited for hunter than western. Thank you E for the in focus video.

Day Trip - The Breaks

 J, E and I had a great day trip to the Breaks Interstate Park yesterday.  It is " A 5-mile gorge, plunging to 1650 feet, in this “Grand Canyon of the South.”

 We stopped at the visitor center first.  They had a documentary type film, some artifacts and lots of taxidermy.  Then, with map in hand, we took off to check out the hiking and overlooks. 

 The hiking was pretty easy.  They also had a self guided nature trail which was very interesting. 

 E brought along her camera, binoculars and notebook to jot down any birds she saw. 

She found several of these cute little guys.  

It is an eft, the juvenile stage of a newt.

 It had just rained so the sky was gray, there was a little fog and the humidity was stifling.

But the views were still stunning. 

I enjoyed reading the informational signs. 

 I think this is probably the most iconic overlook with the horseshoe river bend and tower rock formation.

 I liked J's pose next to the carved graffiti. 

I'm not sure I would compare it to the Grand Canyon, but it was spectacular in its own right.  It is hard to imagine what Daniel Boone must have seen when he was searching for a way through the mountains and came across the Breaks.  There was a vast virgin Poplar tree forest that was logged out in the early 1900's.  The trees were 200 feet high and up to 7 - 8 feet in diameter.   The Yellow Poplar Lumber Company built a splash dam and dynamited boulders out of the way in order to use the river to move the trees out.  The walnut trees had already been selectively harvested in the 1800's for the Singer Company. 

Anyway, there is lots more to do and see there. I highly recommend visiting. 

This Week's Wreck

J is a checker.  He spends a lot of time with the cattle just checking.  But it can really pay off.  He can pick out one that is just starting to feel bad and treat it sooner.  And sometimes he can find problems before they are catastrophes.  

 Who would think a couple of trees could be a problem.  But when J was driving through the field to check the cattle he found this...

 Yes, that calf is stuck between two trees.  J had already tried pushing it out on his own before he came back to the house to get his chainsaw.  He said he needed me to help but I think it was just to get some pictures. 

 The poor thing had already rubbed a sore on his hip. 

 So with chainsaw in hand, J went to work.

 The two trees were sort of connected higher up so it didn't fall.  J just cut a wedge out and we pushed it over far enough for the calf to escape. 

He wobbled off, got a big drink of water and found his mom.  J said he would have felt crushed if he had found the calf dead there.  Glad he checked.

Just Kit Sunday #138

Kit Kat hasn't been going to the old barn much lately.  Then new dogs hate him and act like they would tear him to pieces if he got near them.  The goats have been staying up this way too.  So smart cat that he is, Kit just doesn't go that way.  But the other day, he did follow J to the barn, and promptly got trapped there by Jewel.  

 There is lots for him to do in the barn, so I am sure he wasn't bored. 

 Lots of places to explore. 

 And some new friends to make. 

Well, anyway, I let him hang out down there a couple of days before I rescued him.

Coupon Saturday #13

Haven't done much couponing for a few weeks, but there was a Tide digital that I didn't want to pass up.  Since Dollar General did away with the $3 off $15 that could be used on any day, I have to wait until Saturday to use the $5 off $25.   I don't go to town on Saturday very often, but J needed me to do some banking for him.  So I took the opportunity to do a little shopping. 

 This was my first and best deal, $1.90 + tax.  Savings of $26.

 Then I needed some milk, so not as good but still not too bad, $6.10 + tax, savings, $21.50.  I had a coupon for paper towels that I thought would give overage, but it didn't work, so I didn't get them and replaced it with the milk so thus the higher out of pocket. 

Then some miscellaneous stops at Rite Aid for the free tooth paste, and Family Dollar for $0.50 Tide and $1.50 Persil.  Did anyone else realize that they no longer made Wisk.  I had a bottle that I only used on stains because it was expensive.  It was getting empty so I was looking for Wisk coupons of which there are none.  So I googled Wisk and found they replaced it with Persil.  I may be awhile before it makes it into the front of the rotation.