What's Up Wednesday

 

Another busy week! All this horsing is super fun, and I'm loving actually having stuff to write about finally. 

I got to have another lesson on Bellino this past weekend. You guys. We must have had some kind of breakthrough because I didn't get left at all. Not even once! We connected better during the flat portion of the lesson which I think for sure carried over to jumping. The fences stayed small (thankfully!) and I actually felt like I remembered how to ride. I'm a little sad he leaves this weekend. But nice to finish up on a good note anyway.  Short video below from our lesson.

Shiny had a busy weekend too! Saturday she also did a lesson. I signed up for a time with one of the short stirrup kids so we could ease into lessons. We did the flat portion outside. I was just a little not sure what to expect since I haven't actually ridden her in that enormous outdoor since last spring. But in true Shiny fashion she was the same pony I ride everyday. (She really is a reliable pony.) Then we moved inside to jump. She was fantastic! We just did some crossrails and a few small verticals. Unfortunately, no media to share though. The most fun part though was Sunday. We joined a few other girls on a trail ride around the property. I don't trail ride really ever, but have always wanted to check out the trails on the barn property. But I didn't want to go by myself (fear of getting lost in the woods all alone...). Anyway, you guys! Shiny is fabulous on the trails! She much prefers to bring up the rear, but as long as we stay in the back she just plugs along. She likes to look around and see the sights, but she's not at all spooky or rude. (Um... unless there's a grassy patch. Then she's very rude, grabs the reins out of my hands, and has a snack. Hey. She is who she is.) We were out there for almost an hour and were kind of frozen when we got back. But it was super fun!

Shiny in her happy place: bringing up the rear

Eros and I have been doing a Tuesday evening flat lesson which is a real ass kicker. There is way too much spent without stirrups. Way. Too. Much. Time. But I'm sure that will pay off eventually. Ugh. Worst. He's been great though. He did have his recheck last week with the vet and unfortunately, we did not get clearance for jumping yet. Next step is a neck injection and hopefully that will get us back there. And if not, so be it. I love this horse whether or not he can jump. There was a little bit of a horse cold going around in the barn, so doc didn't want to inject that day. Thankfully, I think it has run its course so hopefully we can get that done in the next few weeks.

Pammon is going about the same. I do think the chiro appointment helped, but I think he needs another visit or two. I did today FINALLY feel some of the old oomph in his trot, so that's positive at least. We'll just keep plugging along. 

Got to see all the ears both days this weekend!

In non horse stuff, I baked a pumpkin pie and pumpkin cookies on Monday:

Cookies are almost gone... might have to make more. Good thing I have pumpkin left over! Hahahaha! 

And lastly, in the old house problems category I found this guy in my bathtub the other day at lunch time:

Clearly Ssseth isn't doing his job. Fortunately, when they're little teenage mice like this guy they're easy enough to catch and dump outside. I'm sure he's moved back in already though. Effing mice.

That's about it from here. Did you all have a good week/weekend? Big plans tomorrow? I'm celebrating alone this year, but do plan to Facetime with my mom during dinner. I'm honestly not at all bothered to be spending the holiday on my own. I mean. I have an entire pie to myself! 

Truthful Tuesday

I spent the day off yesterday working on the trailer packing again. It should have gone very quickly, but apparently a family of rodents had at some point taken up residence in my show trunk. It was DISGUSTING! So much poop. I've never seen so much in one place. Fortunately, they only destroyed a pair of polos (of course it was the stupid expensive Eskadron climatex ones) and a pair of hind boots that I wasn't particularly attached to. They kindly left my leather boots alone. But you guys. My trunk will never be the same.
This gross photo is about 3/4 of the way through it getting emptied.

I'm very grateful the tenants had already moved out. But boy did they leave a mess. So disgusting. Everything that was washable went into the washer and everything that wasn't got scrubbed and bleached. I guess if nothing else, Covid prepared me with solid disinfecting skills?

This is after much scrubbing and bleaching. Obviously those stains are here to stay. I suppose I COULD stain it and they might blend in more. But I just went with something easier:

An extra baby pad as a liner! Tada! All better! At least visually.

I have a long list of stuff I need to replace in the trunk. Mostly items that were expired or no longer the consistency they should be... Some of those ointments and things were like 10 years old!

In other trailer news, I got the replacement keys this weekend and they fit! Woohoo! Bad news is that door wasn't actually locked, but is still very much stuck. Now that I know it's not locked I can be a little more aggressive I guess. Hey, at least I have keys now!

So those are my confessions today: I housed rodents for quite some time and still did not fix the trailer door.

The Struggle is Real: A post about the misery of extended cold temps. And how to entertain yourself despite them.

This was what I woke up to yesterday. At least the sun was out? Ugh. It was so cold, my truck stalled in the middle of the highway. So scary! Thankfully I was able to guide it to the shoulder before it shut off completely. The cause? Diesel fuel will congeal in the extreme cold. Seriously, spring where ARE you?!
Other things that happen when it's cold? Rodents will chew their way into your home. I'm not even kidding. I live in a very old house (256 years this year!) so I've come to terms that the occasional mouse family moving in. A few years back I had a terrible flying squirrel infestation. I'm talking like 60 of them living in my walls, and eventually just hanging around the house. It was the most disgusting thing I've lived through. They're nocturnal, and they enjoy making a lot of noise at night. Well, the most recent invader is, I think, a gray squirrel. I had one once before (during the flying squirrel debacle actually) so I'm somewhat learned in what to look for. This was my first piece of evidence:

I did no bite that apple. Ugh. Thankfully, I know a guy who specializes in trapping these guys. He also finds where they are getting in and fixes it. But if I had a choice, I wish it wouldn't happen at all! Critters do not belong in my house! (Unless the critter is a pug. Those are all welcome.)
Another side effect of extended cold temps? This one is very closely related to the truck incident. My farm equipment won't run. My Gator runs on diesel fuel, just like the truck. Obviously, it's not running at all. It also somehow has a flat tire. So off it went to the Gator Hospital on Monday night.

I'm attempting (not very well) to not be a complete Debbie Downer despite my disdain for the arctic life I now lead. So I've been trying to keep busy.

 Sunday was a little bipolar, and despite it snowing until late morning, the afternoon warmed up to 35 degrees. (It's a sad day when 35 feels amazing.) I decided to have some fun with the ponies and build them a snow jockey.

When it gets too cold to stay outside, I've been getting some beading projects completed too.

Shoveling snow and all the extra lifting of things that goes along with it, is a great way to stay in shape in the winter. But it doesn't really offset all the eating my feelings I do...

I accidentally went to Five Guys on Sunday evening for dinner. This one just opened not too far from where I live. It's the only Five Guys that serves milk shakes! (I'm assuming it's a test market, and I also think it's because they opened up about 1000 feet from Jake's Way Back Burger who serves amazing shakes.) So, I've been making good use of that treadmill I got!

Admittedly, I'm STRUGGLING with getting my fitness back. STRUGGLING! But I know it takes time. In an effort to ease my frustration I've been running with intervals. Run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. I think I may find that frustrating outside having to watch my time constantly, but on the treadmill it's actually great. Obviously my times are slower, but I feel much stronger and it's a lot more bearable. I plan to lengthen the run time on the intervals over the next few weeks and work my way back up to running longer distances without walking. I have that half marathon coming up in May, so I have to get to work!

So that's about it from here. The rest of my time I spend thinking and talking about how much I hate winter. What have you been up to? Do the cold temps have you down? Have you been enjoying any hobbies lately? Tell me what's up in the comments!