Luck of the Iricks

We need some four leaf clovers down here... it's snowing!!!

Spring is Almost Here!

Blogs lapse. It's only natural for them to do this. If they are lucky, they get revived. Let's see if we can breathe some life into this one.

This winter was very tough. We had an incredibly long era of sub-zero nights and frigid days. I was lucky to have Donna here to help me break ice and carry water to the horses. The snow piled up and then lapsed into an endless cycle of melting, snowing, melting, snowing, which sent us scurrying to create drainage away from the pens and stalls, lest the animals find themselves living on a sheet of ice every morning. Just when it would get drained and partly dry it would snow again. We became one with our rubber boots.

Neighborhood gossip: 1)Cowboy Jeff was replaced with a young couple on the Gosney Ranch. I met her when their horse came to join my herd one day. I tried to invite them to dinner, but they are elusive like the rest of the canyon residents. 2) I found a reason to hold my mean-tempered neighbor in higher esteem: it turns out that she is about the only person ornery enough to pregnancy test some of the wilder cattle in this area. When the guys are worried about those wiley beasts, they call Barbara. It's good to put ones unique talents to work. 3) My reclusive neighbors who don't want me to mention them or where they live lest they are hunted down by psychotic enemies have survived another winter, surprising everyone. Finally 4) Ruby, our wonderful mail carrier, died on Christmas Day. I didn't hear about it until February, but her hubby Fred is driving the mail route these days. I seem to recall that Fred is in his mid-90's.

Donna was here for a couple of months. It was a hard time for us because of the cold and because what I had to work on was bookkeeping. Like many people, Donna has no love of numbers so she didn't like it. We quarreled a bit which is very unlike us. Finally we dissected the situation and realized what the problems were. With that we rededicated ourselves to our friendship and the rest of her stay was wonderful. When it was time to leave, I drove her home to Vancouver with Raven, who she bonded with. Now Raven is a fancy city cat who rides in Donna's Miata and strolls around Kitty Boutiques in her collar and leash.

Joshua was here for February, spending his 20th birthday in the company of two middle-aged women (me and Donna). Well, he learned a lot about the physical world while he was here, since he started out his stay with virtually no experience dealing with it. He transitioned from not knowing how to even sweep a floor to knowing how to bake bread, handle horses, use a wheelbarrow and shovel, and do a bit of woodworking. He grew muscles! During his last week he almost single handedly cleared the paddocks of the winter's accumulation of horse poop, scraping it up as it thawed out. It was a much appreciated effort. His visit came to and end while I was driving back from Vancouver.

Most recently Taishaw and Adam dropped by for a short stay. All too short! They are on their way to Homer, Alaska, where they want to relocate. Truly adventurous souls who found ways to help me without being asked or needing direction.

With such a hard winter, Navajo City Roadhouse business slowed to a crawl. John had to let his staff go and forge on with just himself and my brother, Phil. Donna spent a lot of time working over there. I kept working on the books, trying to get a loan package together. Things are coming back to life as that part of the oil patch starts to get passable. John came into possession of a map of the oil well locations in the area -- thousands of them surround us. He is now intent on coming home and operating a small cafe here in Largo Canyon. We'll have to see how that idea plays out.

I saw the first sign of sprouts today along the southern wall of the building. A flock of robins came through. I heard a fly buzzing. It's already hot in the greenhouse. The horses are shedding. Yep, it looks like we pulled through another winter.

Down at the Old School

Summer is finally winding down and I am looking forward to the return of winter. A wet year brought a proliferation of mosquitoes, which kept us in the confines of the weed free zone of the school grounds. With the morning temperatures hovering just above frost, we are now venturing out into the canyon on daily horse training excursions. The nights might be cold, but the days are glorious.

Zsanett is my training assistant. She was born in Hungaria, which has a long history of fine horsemanship and wonderful horse breeds. The circumstances of her youth prevented her from realizing her inherited proclivity for horsemastership, infact she may have never even touched a horse before her arrival here, but she is making up for lost time with a passion and enthusiasm that is intoxicatingly infectious. She and Paisley seem to have bonded.

As for myself, over the summer I have been bookkeeping for the Roadhouse, surveyed the Lincoln National Forest for rare thistles, wandered around Chaco Canyon, and continued my quest into the equine mind. Gardening, like this blog, was on a back burner this year.

You can view one of my proudest moments, captured in video, at The Hinny Whisperer

Yrs,
JRW
ps. There is so much to gossip about that to post even one item would be opening a flood gate where a million things of equal interest and priority would consume my fingertips, leaving just a bloody mess on my keyboard. If you want the gossip, show up here with a bottle of merlot and a long evening to contemplate the starry night.

The Evolution of the Barn

 
 

Despite the monsoons, I've been able to keep working on my new barn. The upper wall is alternating PVC panels, clear and opaque... not what I wanted, but what I got and it will definitely work. I have been working inside today, setting the posts for the tie-stalls.

Early July 2007

 
 
 
 

Just a few photos to entertain you.

Letters in my Outbox

Here are a couple of letters I wrote today:

Dear Faye,
If you are coming in June, I will be there to pick you up. Will you be doing the gardening project in Albuquerque???

If we have from June to get you in shape for the great mountain adventure, then no worries!!! For some reason I thought you were coming in July, then it was going to entirely depend on your fitness upon your arrival. The thing is that we are at 2000 meters above sea level here and the project is at 3000 meters (well almost). You will have to make a lot of red blood cells to get enough oxygen.

I am so glad that you are coming in June also because then I can take you to the big Indian powwow that happens near here in July. It is called the Little Beaver and is on the Jicarilla Apache reservation. I love to take guests to see the dances.

I don't take a sketch book to the field with me, though it would be kind of nice, now that you mention it. I never take the time to sit down long enough though.... it's always vast distances to cover and not enough time. I can see now that this is a mistake on my part..... I will have to think about that.

Send me the details of when and where you want me to pick you up.
Yrs,
Patricia

Dear Richard,
Good to hear from you. I just got back from a rare plant survey at Pueblo Pintado..... long drive!!!! Tomorrow I go again to Chaco because I have someone that
wants to hike the back country. It just isn't safe to go where I am headed by oneself. The Park Service is providing an assistant. Last time I took Chica and a Park Service guy went with Donna and I, Chica found a badger to chase!!!! Donna and I have seen many rattlers out there, but the real danger is that it involves some moving around in the big rock cliffs where it can be tricky to get up or down, or back out. Need my rock jumpin' buddy in that country.

Denise made it back from California with two horses.... one that she plans to have euthanized. John and I planted the corn on the Largo. I haven't swept all the fresh dust out of the building yet and the dining room has been invaded by moths. YIKES!!! I did wash the dishes a couple of times since you left but only a couple.

Donna is having severe problems with her son. It is so traumatic for her.... first time she ever just said "no"!!! Tough love is hard, but I think that there is no hope of anything else working.

When I was out and about, I stopped off at the Counselor Trading Post, which is now owned by the Navajo Tribe. Nothing was different than from when it was owned by the McDonald family. But there was a note on the door written by my neighbor. She is looking for someone to come down Largo Canyon and help take care of her mother a few days a week. I figured that i would stop by the ranch and offer to help until they found someone, but knowing that my neighbor doesn't like us one little bit, hoping she would get over it. Anyway she told me that she has to have someone she trusts and that wouldn't be me. Well, that's a relief because I didn't really want to spend my time doing that, but I wouldn't not help a neighbor in need. If she changes her mind, my offer is to trade her three of my days for one of hers, where she has to help me with Cisco. Three because a mustang is more dangerous than an elderly mother and she will have to provide her own horse for her to ride. We'll see what happens.

Other than that, I am glad to be home... think I'll head out and train a horse.
Yrs,
JRW

When you are all alone in the canyon

Everyone has expressed some concern that I might be feeling exceptionally lonely now that the guests have cleared away. No worries!!! I rather like it. I can sing outloud and eat peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast. The animals don't mind me singing at all. I sing real songs and then I make up songs.

We had the big wind yesterday. It tore off some branches from the cottonwood trees. They landed in the corral where the donkeys have been enjoying the bark. It must have split the trunk where there was a little cavity because I looked up and saw a squirrel peering out of the break. He looked inconvenienced by it all.

If it's your birthday, hey, I hope you are having a happy one!

Yrs,
JRW