So Much For Claiming I Post Weekly....

I claim on my facebook that I update my blog weekly...but it's been a week and three days since I last posted...*sigh* :P

We were really hit with a snowstorm the Friday (the day after) I last posted...I think it was the most snow I've ever seen at once in my life...over two feet of heavy snow everywhere. It snowed over the course of three days and left everything looking like this: (The view of our driveway)

Doesn't it look like Narnia? ;)

I have a three strand fence...Can't you tell?
We get as much snow as we do because we're outside of town in the "mountains". At the barn where Daisy is, there wasn't nearly as much snow...although some areas were pretty bad because of drifting. I had a snowday on Friday.

I used to post pictures of my barn cats all the time...so I figured I'd put some updated ones up.
My baby boy, Groenemeyer.

And Miss Genevieve.

Snow above the barn roof...

And the barn altogether. Because of all the snow we got, Daisy didn't come home...She'll come home as soon as the property is good enough to walk on :P. In town the snow is melting and it's muddy, but it's melting slowly at our house. I'll definitely need to put a new bottom line on the fence at some point... :-/

This is sorta backwards timewise, but just before the storm I went trail riding and got this shadow shot :)

Then last Friday I went with Lydia (Click here to see her blog) to the farm she boards her quarter horse at to see a newborn foal and watch Lydia ride...here is Momma mare, "Queen Jean"...I love this photo:

And then Momma and baby, yet to be named.

My computer died, as I said, I got my dad's "old" (2 year old) laptop to replace it...I'm still working out kinks. I need to set up allll my old iTunes playlists, I have to figure out how to connect my FLIP video player to the laptop without having the laptop shut off because of it, and how to download an MP3 without having the laptop shut down...as well as figure out how to get my pictures back and be able to put together the video of Lydia riding on Friday...*ugh*...this is all so complicated. Luckily my older brothers are skilled in the PC area. :) Thanks, guys!

Sooo, on to riding. I've still been riding. Last week on Tuesday I did a little jumping, then on Wednesday I rode for an hour and 15 minutes, doing a lot of jumping, and I jumped bareback Thursday. My course was SMALL. A ground pole, a raised ground pole (cavalletti), a vertical...I have no idea how high...2 feet? A crossrail, less then 2 feet, and that was it...The Tuesday Daisy's jumping was bad. She only got through the vertical once without knocking it...she also mysteriously started coughing on Tuesday so I didn't jump much because after a few times she had a mega coughing fit so I stopped. Wednesday was great. She jumped really really well, she ended up rushing towards the end, but generally she was good and she jumped (at least the "big" vertical) round and she didn't knock it often. She was such a good girl. :) Thursday I didn't have much time and ended up going bareback and ultimately jumping...which was crazy because you can imagine my form bareback... ;)

Friday I didn't go to the barn, and yesterday I rode Daisy and Bubba. I rode Daisy first and because I skipped one. day. she had a fit and wouldn't listen at all the first ten minutes... I eventually got the dressage crop/whip/whatever and knocked some sense into her, made her sidepass the length of the arena; that got her attention. After that she was an angel, of course. :P
Riding Bubba was amazing yesterday...I'm riding him again in Fair, as aforementioned...I would post a pic. of him but seeing as how I lost them all I'll post links to two posts involving him:
http://cdgagudl.blogspot.com/2008/07/congratulations-jean.html <- Stuart Horse Trials 2008, when Jean and Bubba had 2nd place in the Novice Division. Bubba was an INCREDIBLE event horse. The best. (from my Mom's blog)
http://ridingdaisy.blogspot.com/2009/07/sundays-horse-show.html <- Umm...Last, I believe, event of Bubba's career, July 2009.

Soo I rode him yesterday and worked on the free walk...and moved on to a free sorta trot, and then canter (although that was not with a loose rein). He was awesome! Best ride ever on him.

Today I rode him and Daisy again. I rode him first and was exhausted as usual at the end, but it was a good ride, too. We worked on bending.

Rode Daisy...due to time limit I didn't ride long, and I worked on some side pass and pivot groundwork, as well. :)

Jean pointed out that the more I ride on the bit with Daisy, the easier it will be to teach her free walk...I totally didn't think of that. Sometimes I need obvious help ;)

It's been in the 30's the last two days, which is nice...Daisy is no longer blanketed :)

Annddd the thrush is coming back in Daisy's hinds full-force because of the warmth...I'm going to buy what Michaela suggested, the Mustad Thrush Buster... :)

That's it for now...sorry for the sudden long post! ;)

Sunday Stills Challenge: The Letter "C"

This week's challenge, the letter "C", was relatively easy...I just stepped out the door, looked around, and took "C" pictures...not good pictures, but the subjects do start with "C"...

My first one wasn't actually taken outside...this is my model of an edible cell.
No, I'm not enjoying Biology this year... :-/

It was pretty annoying to make...but there it is...it's a Cell, with a Cell wall and Cell membrane and Cytoplasm and Chloroplasts...lots of "C's" (in case you want to know, it was made with a brownie)

Each year, a place pretty close to where I live hosts the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials. All entrants to the event (which has included Jean for summer 2007 and 2008...at least, those are the summers that I went, too) receive a Cosequin bucket with merchandise...I got one of the buckets :) I love them. This one is pretty faded, but...another "C" for Cosequin (Cosequin is a VERY good, VERY expensive join supplement for horses)

Next "C": Cats.
Miss Genevieve tonight...a little bleary-eyed...

And cat number 2...Groenemeyer...who came home today sporting (for the first time in 2 years) battle wounds...wonder what animal he was hunting! :P his nose is scraped up, and so is his paw and the base of his tail...I put some antibiotic ointment on...he'll be fine.

And, last but NOT LEAST, I made a video of my CROSS COUNTRY jump schooling I went to last weekend with Daisy-Mae! Our first one!
I know, it's not actually a "still"...so that's why it's not the main part of the post. Feel free to watch it, if you're interested...and I apologize for the *terrible* quality, I'm not sure why the quality got so much worse after the video was saved on my computer... :-/...I'm not a tech geek, so it'll take a bit for me to figure that out... :(

Check out more subjects with the letter "C" at Sunday Stills!

Macro Monday: The King

I've neglected to feature one of my barn cats (actually, both...if Genevieve holds still long enough, she can be next) lately, so here is Groenemeyer (aka, to me, "The King")...named after Herbert Groenemeyer, the German singer, in honor of my Uncle Volker, who died January 18, 2007... --------------------------------------------------
Yes, I realize the last pic isn't actually macro. :) See more Macros here!

Genevieve and Gronemeyer

Gronemeyer -> <-Genevieve

I'm going to write about Gronemeyer and Genevieve because I didn't really ever cover how we got them sooo long ago and because I have nothing else to post about...

We originally had one barn cat, Gronemeyer #1, but we didn't know what we were doing, so he disappeared one day and didn't come back.

We moved on to these two. We found out about them from a free kittens ad in the paper. I called the people and they said their kittens had disappeared and they'd call us when they got back (lol...). Well they called while I was in school the next day, and my mom was in town, so my mom went and picked them up. We didn't have a cage with us, so the people made us a "cage" out of an old litter box plastic container. The cats were SO small. We let them loose, and they both ran right away under the floor of the tack room and didn't come out. I was afraid they'd die there and ew...but thank goodness Mr. Gronemeyer is such a sucker for food. :) I put wet food outside on the floor of the tack room, and he came out (of course) and went to eat and I stuck him in a cage. But Genevieve doesn't fall for just anything (like food). She came out, though, because she was lonely, and I caught her. For the first week, she shook really hard when you picked her up. She was SO tiny! Gronemeyer was always pretty good about being picked up. I personally think Genevieve was the runt of her litter, because she was smaller and frailer then Gronemeyer for the longest time. What cute cats, though. We had to keep them locked up for 2 months to keep them safe. If the barn door was open so Daisy could come in, they were in a cage. If the barn door was closed, Daisy had to be either in or out and they ran free. They played in Daisy's pile of hay when she was eating, and cleaned up Daisy's extra bits of grain, too.

The day we let them out was very exciting. The world was already snow covered when they stepped out for the first time.

We had them fixed last February (I think...) when they were still pretty small. We had them spayed and neutered at Habitat for Cats, which does it for just $35 for stray or outdoor cats (barn cats). They were kinda funny in the car ride home---still all drugged up ;-). Now they are happy cats...Gronemeyer still gives us a scare now and then, leaving and/or getting into cat fights...but he's always ok. They've both gotten stuck in trees...I recall a day where I walked down the driveway calling and meowing (the neighbors already think I'm weird, so it couldn't really get worse ;-)) trying to find them, and lo and behold, they were "stuck" in trees, side by side.

Genevieve is the motherly figure to the cute but slightly dumb brother. She'll be waiting on the saddle rack in the barn when it's time to come in, and when I carry him in (he doesn't go in himself..he's always roaming) I hold him up to her and she always licks him twice on the forehead. They sleep together at night and to keep warm, too. And they are both quite the pros at killing nasty creatures-snakes seem to have "disappeared" and moles and chipmunks don't last long here. :D

Those are my two little babies, now almost a year and a half old...idk if this post was really necessary but it was still fun. :)

Have a good week, everyone! I'm still meaning to post a vid. of Daisy sidpassing over poles, but it just hasn't happened so far...

Bloggin' Out,

A Tribute to Genevieve and Groenemeyer

One year ago, I think around the sixth of October, my mom came back from Germany and we went and got two new cats for the barn; a second try, after the first kitten died (got hunted or something). We tried REALLY hard with these new cats. We kept them inside the barn for I think 2 or 3 months-they never set a foot outside. That was hard work, locking them up so Daisy could come in, etc...then we let them out for the first time. Since then,(many animals including but not limited to chipmunks, moles, birds, frogs, etc, have been killed) every single night they have meandered back home to get their canned food and get locked up in the barn. Genevieve will normally be there first and then after about 20 minutes of on-and-off calling, Groenemeyer comes, too. They're the sweetest cats on the face of the Earth. The first two days that we had them, they hid underneath the tack room floor and wouldn't come out...well, Groenemeyer would come out for canned food, the little pig, but Genny was still afraid of us. She used to shake when you'd pick her up. Not anymore! She purrs just as much as her brother. They're both just a little over a year now, and I thank God for them everyday. They're so wonderful. Anyway, this is so cheesy, here are some pictures....recent and old...

In case you're interested, some old cat-posts:

The Barn Kittens
Kittens and Chickens

Here are a couple from my mom's blog, too:

Curiosity Kills the Cat?
A Horse, a Girl & Her Cats
Cats Play

There are more on my blog but I don't feel like finding them and you probably won't look anyway :-P lol.

Miss Genevieve

Well, I made a post once about Groenemeyer, so I decided to do one on his sister, Genevieve. Genny is an awesome cat-I think of the two, she's my personal favorite, although I love her brother, too. She's more loyal, she hangs around at home, and more sensible. REALLY. He's just kind of a "head in the clouds" cat, who will love anyone, but will leave during the day and not come back until a few hours later. Genevieve, on the other hand, comes running as soon as you call, and purrs really loud as soon as you pick her up. We used to have a gray tiger cat named Puppi, who died in 2006, and Puppi never really liked me...she was shy, and very nice once you got to know her, but she didn't really let me get to know her. Genevieve has just about the same personality and looks as Puppi, and it's like having her back again, except this time, she likes me. She and her brother make an odd couple-he's kind of dumb, and risky, and she's there to kind of tag along and get him out of trouble, or watch the trouble take place from a safe place...anyway, I hope you don't think the slide is toooooooooooo long...Enjoy! Summer is here for me, now!

4:42 PM

BTW, you can make the pics go faster by clicking the plus sign ( + ) and scroll your mouse over each pic and read the captions, too!

Random Pictures, Out of Order-A View of Today

These are just some pictures I took today....really random, and way out of order-and a lot of them. Sorry I haven't posted in so long...btw, I have no idea why this underline is here, sorry :-p.^^That picture up there(these: ^^^^ mean up) is of Daisy sleeping in the sun. This is the second time recently that we've seen her sleeping out behind her barn-I didn't have her stall open today, so she couldn't go in, so she slept outside. SO cute!

^^Genevieve on a tree we knocked down last summer. She uses it as a bridge over our stream. The picture in the top corner is of her at the base of the tree-I just combined them to save picture space. Isn't she so sweet?^^

^^Early morning on Red Gate Ranch (aka, the Little House in the Forest)...I was up at 7 this morning, which is 'painfully' early for a Saturday, because....well, I'll explain below.^^

^^Gronemeyer hiding in our woodpile-the cats take this place as the perfect place to hide from Abby, the dog.^^

^^Daisy ate her fill of trees today...^^

^^Curious little Miss Daisy....^^

^^This was taken after a ride, when she KNEW she was getting a treat. Isn't she funny? Sorry about the bright sun in the back round.^^

^^Genevieve (Genny) TOTALLY took advantage of the sun, and slept on the tarp that covers our wood. In the cropped pic. in the corner she's rolling. I think she's just so adorable...is it just me?^^

^^^SO, here's why I got up at 7 am instead of 8:30 or 9.:
The last few days we've had a fox at our house around 7 every morning, wandering. This is a problem because the cats kept on climbing through the 'holes' in the roof of the barn, sliding down the side, and playing outside when it wasn't light out yet and the door wasn't open. NOTICE: The door wasn't open so they wouldn't get out! It worried us because we already lost our dear little Grenuie whom we had end of last summer, and I already love these two so much....so today we(my Dad and I) covered the holes with chicken wire; no more getting out so early. I was up early because I had to let the cats out-I had closed them into a cage so they wouldn't get hurt until the wire was up. I took advantage of the light sun and took pictures...^^

^^Wiring from inside.^^^

^^^Just a cool picture of Daisy taken through the stall door-the door and wall is so dark, it made it look like a framed picture...^^

^^It was cold today. If you enlarge the picture you see Daisy's breath coming out of her nose... I went riding at around 9:30. It was a nice ride, but very, very cold. ^^

So, that's about it...sorry for the long wait for a post, and for the amount of photos...Tomorrow is Easter, the day Jesus rose!....man, he's a cool Man.

Anyway, enjoy the holiday! I'll try to post soon, but I can't promise anything....