here horsie horsie horsie......

Well, I've been talking for quite a while about how I was going to be moving my horse to where I live and it's FINALLY happened. Memorial Day weekend, P and I drove down to Dayton and with the assistance of the farrier (guy who trims his hooves) we got him into the trailer. It was...not traumatic, but not easy either. The farrier had some, umm...let's call them "techniques" that he used to "inspire" Colors to go forward into the trailer rather than backwards over the fence and back into the field.

The drive took almost 2 hours because there were so many police out and well, you just can't go 70 with a 20 foot trailer w/a horse in it. By the time we got him to the new stable, Colors was drenched in sweat, his eyes were rolling wildly and he was terrified of everything. He practically fell out of the trailer...it was so sad. After he calmed down sufficiently to get him into the barn, we put him in his new stall and kind of cleaned him up a little and then after it got cooler he got put out into the field with 2 of the mares from the "herd."

Here's where I insert nerdy animal behavior observations...please don't feel obligated to read.

Horses are herd animals. Their instinct is NOT to be alone. They want to belong, but like any large group, the herd has a heirarchy. It doesn't matter how big the boss is, only that there is a boss. Horses will fight to keep that hierarchy and they will protect the ones they feel need protected. So, you really can't just put a brand new horse into a field full of 11 other horses.

SO, like I said, Colors was put into a field w/two of the mares. Their names are Lady and Abria. Lady is the boss mare. She was none too pleased with Colors arrival and immediately herded Abria away from Colors and into a corner and then went back to show Colors that she wasn't going to be having any nonesense out of him. She chased him off and anytime he tried to come near, she would lay her ears back and bare her teeth. Poor Colors just stood there after a while and looked wistfully at them like "please please please just let me be your friend!"

Lady came into heat the other day and finally decided that my pretty boy Colors was worth her time and is now allowing him to join her and Abria. I think Colors feels pretty studly and they spent a lot of time together now.

Since they seemed to be getting along better, the lady that owns the barn decided to put the mares and Colors into the other field with a couple of the other horses. There's a little mare with one eye named Lexie, a retired old man named Wendell and another Mare named Sindell. They were all fine with Colors, but one horse who apparently is not very nice to anyone decided to corner Colors and beat the **** out of him. He's got some nice teeth marks, but the barn owner "Harmony" rescued Colors and put him back in the other field to try again later.

So that's where we stand right now...it's been fascinating to watch their behavior and how they communicate with eachother. It's been a little painful emotionally and physically. It was hard to separate Colors from the other 2 that he was with in Dayton, they'd been together for 15 years and the little girl that lives there now was SO upset that I was taking Colors. And well, the physical part, he definitely stomped on my foot.

3 blessings:
That my rose bushes exploded into a riot of color this week

That he's settling in

That it's not broken

fields gardens and beaches

summer sun and grubby knees
send me straight back to my childhood
there's a certain peace to be found
sitting in the dirt
with grass tickling your legs
and the smell of healthy salty sweat
mingling with the fresh sweet breeze
makes me remember being small
and thinking that life didn't get better than
that minute right there
it got better each year
but it gets perfect sitting in the dirt
in the summer sun
with grubby knees.

perfect weekend...

off work a few minutes early friday
home to dayton to a delicious steak dinner grilled by my parents
i got to see my parents and sister
moving my HORSE TO COLUMBUS went SO much better than expected
P helped and supported me through the whole move
Lake Hope in Southeast Ohio to swim and relax by the lake
Ice Cream for Dinner
The horse settling in despite getting the $#%# beat out of him by a horse named Griffin.
Grilling bratwurst early in the evening
Godiva Cheesecake and 2 glasses of red wine by Buckeye Lake at sunset.


with...the best husband ever.


3 questions

what was perfect about your weekend
who did you spend it with
what are you remembering this memorial day?

speechless...

Wishing Snickollet much luck and many blessings in her journey.

I love fate.

It is proof that life works in very mysterious ways. Who would think that by posting a random comment on a blog...I could help someone's life? I am honored.

blessings:

being able to return the favor for someone who helped me more than she knows.
that anonymous strangers can touch eachothers lives
for all my blog friends that i've made.

My husband found out my dirty little secret....

I tried to keep it from him...I really did. I mean, who wants to bare every dirty little secret from your past???? Not this girl. Some things are best kept hidden. But, as fate would have it, I let the secret slip. And now he knows my horrible horrible truth and I will have to deal with it as best I can.

Since the secret's out, I might as well tell you all how my marriage changed forever in the blink of an eye because of my careless, careless tongue.

There we were lying in bed late at night watching t.v. **** and a commercial came on. In my sleepy state, I wasn't watching what I was saying and I idly said. You know, I've never understood the cult following that the Terminator Movies have. I mean what's so great about them? Arnold's a bad guy and he's sent to kill some kid right?

P just kind of looked at me like I was a complete stranger to him. Then....he asked the question I've been avoiding for the 6 years that I've known him. "You haven't ever seen any of the Terminator movies have you....?"

I couldn't lie! That would be wrong!

He was shocked. Apparently, I have been walking around Life missing some vital component of American Culture. I never felt as if I was missing anything, but according to him and all of the male gender (he says) I have. Now that my dirty little secret's out, I fear that I'm going to have to pay the consequences. He says that our next 3? (are there really three???) date nights are going to be renting Terminator 1, 2 and 3. *sigh*

Dear GOD people do you know what this means????

THREE. NIGHTS.OF.MY.LIFE watching ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER dressed up like a ROBOT from OUTER SPACE!!!!! OMG.

My future looks bleak.

God help me if he finds out that I haven't seen all the Rocky movies, That movie where Tom Cruise drives a race car and Nightmare on Elm Street.

So readers ;-) now that you know my dirty little secret, why don't you share yours? What CLASSICS have you been avoiding for the past 10,20 or 50 years?

Blessings:
gracious friends who tell me fun things and take me to spontaneous lunches when I was feeling "blah"
teeny bopper music- you should check out "dirty little secret" by the all-american rejects
how cute my husband looks when he gets his hair cut.



**** (don't judge me, we have a t.v. in the bedroom. I like watching the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and M*A*S*H) before bed)

backyard updates

Well, we spent the whole weekend power washing the house which was oh-so-very-much-fun. I'm tired and my thumb hurts from holding the trigger! Thus, I shall just put up some simple picture posts....If you would like to refresh in your mind what the backyard looked like before... please visit HERE. I'd say we're ALMOST at the halfway point in this new post...So much More to do. *SIGH*

3 Blessings:

The smell of marigolds and tomato plants instantly takes me back to being about 4 years old.

My amazing husband who goes up onto the roof to power wash parts of the house that no one would even notice.

That so far the swine flu in the US seems to be...not so scary.