Good morning! Today has started off like a typical day. It's a little strange compared to normal suburban life. I woke up to one of Spot's accidents. It happens in cold weather. He says his butt freezes shut in cold weather but then it defrosts when he's inside and that's how his accidents happen. I'm not sure about his explanation, but I do know he doesn't like to go outside in the cold. Combined with some nerve damage in his spine, he can't always feel it when he needs to head to the great outdoors. So, it's one way to wake-up-- odor de Spot.
Tried to go back to sleep for a few minutes and then I heard Rose outside my bedroom door, "Miss Domino, did you know your door is open?" Damn, must not have closed the door completely between my living quarters and the rest of the "people barn" when I was cleaning up that accident. "Miss Domino, I think Sasha is in here." Ok, ok, ok, welcome to the world for another day, Cowgirl Domino.
Since Sasha has been a barn cat, she tries to get back in my good graces and come back inside. She goes about this in the wrong way and sneaks back inside. When I veto her re-entry, the chase is on. Sasha you crafty wench! This morning was no different. I'm chasing Sasha around Sinatra decides he's going to help. He's chasing her and hissing, I'm chasing her and cussing. You'd think she'd get the message. Sinatra and I would be good at team pinning. He's chasing from one direction herding her towards me and I chase from the other direction until we catch her in the middle. The team pinning would work out if Sinatra could ride a quarter horse and herd like he does on foot. Finally, Sasha the crafty wench is out. Thanks for the help Sinatra. "No problem Cowgirl, no problem. All in a day's kitty catting, m'am."
Then, it's showing Rose how to make a "mash" for Shadow who acted like he wasn't feeling well yesterday. And, how to crush up the medicine, mix it with molasses and then mix it with the mash at the last minute to trick Shadow into eating it. Of course, last night when Shadow started feeling under the weather, Milagro started acting like an idiot. She's probably "in season" which means ovulating but it has the effect of horse PMS. Grumpy, irritable, nipping, running and bucking horse. Great!
Why does it always happen this way? Why do my two best lesson horses go out of commission at the same time? I'll have to lunge Milagro this morning to see if she can regain her composure. Lunging is a kind of exercise that looks like running in circles. It's helps horses sort it out sometimes, sometimes it doesn't. In Tar's case, it just makes him mad. He was over-lunged by a trainer I know. It shows.
Next, time to feed the indoor animals. For starters I have to give Sinatra his heart medication. For a cat, he's super easy to pill. He jumps on top of his feed container and waits. I pick him up, stick my finger with the pill down his throat, he wiggles a little, purrs, then we're done. A regular cat would have bitten all of my fingers off by now; but not good ol' Blue Eyes. Pete is not so easy. Pete is on a trial of anti-inflammatory meds. I thought he looked like he was limping. He says I'm imagining things. Well, after three weeks, the meds have made no discernible difference. Maybe Pete was right. But, I wrestled him down for one last dose this morning. Then, I fed the little feline boogers. Harlow had nothing to say, no surprise there. Time to prep Spot's feed. Two and a half cups of dry food, 1/2 a can of canned food, two pills hidden in the chunks of canned food. Spot wolfs it down, no problem. Thanks, Spot!
By this time, it's not even nine o'clock. If it were a true typical Saturday morning, this would have happened hours earlier. But today there are no early morning lessons. I'd love to have the lesson money, but after a few weeks with very little help (since the Bible College is on winter break) I'm exhausted and willing to trade the money for an hour's sleep. Somewhere in here, I also reviewed the day's schedule with Rose; answered a few phone calls; checked my email, and loved on Killer while he tried to decide if he wanted to finish his breakfast or play. Mind you, in all of this poop, cat herding, and chaos, I haven't even had breakfast or coffee yet. It's one way to live life, but it is definitely life on the farm!
There's an essential member of the crew missing today, Cowgirl Slim. She's gone out-of-town with her parents, Mama Kay and Papa Rob, to visit her adult sister and her family. I miss Cowgirl Slim when she's not here. She gets me. She knows how I want things done. She knows how I want the animals handled. She's a little obsessive-compulsive and cleans up my office as soon as she arrives. I wonder if I could clone her?
So, here's the low down Cowgirl Slim...she's 15 as I told you earlier when I was mentioning she is also the love of Chief's life. She's been one of my students for almost five years. She's an awesome rider. She became my barn baby two and a half years ago. This is kind of like an unpaid internship. It's how I learned 99% of what I know about horses. It's invaluable experience. She works her buns off and in return Chief is hers to use at will and she gets to ride a lot of extra hours. Slim was always small for her age, then she suddenly grew three feet but she only gained 10 pounds! Hence, you see how she got her nickname, Cowgirl Slim.
Well, as much as I don't want to venture out into the cold, windy day, I must. Hope most of you are enjoying this with your morning coffee still in your bathrobes! Have a good day! Talk to ya later.
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