Thanksgiving '08

This Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, Kittee and I did not get into allot of running around nor did we have company in.

We began this holiday season with our traditional eggnog latté morning treats. Mmmmmm good stuff. These have always been quite the treat, while soaking in bed on cold holiday/weekend mornings, waiting for the house to warm up around us.

This year for Thanksgiving dinner we went up the So. Fork of the Walla Walla and had a most pleasant afternoon- evening with our ex-boarder, Kasey and her grandparents Gerry and Connie Schmeckpeper. Gerry's sister also joined us for dinner, and there we all consumed a delicious feast, with plenty of vino on the sidebar. This was a very casual dinner party, (I was instructed not to attend in Black Tie) with too much good food and wonderful company to share it with. This was our first opportunity to break bread with Connie and Gerry, it was a good time; we have now invited them to come down river and join us with a ranch BBQ when the winter weather breaks.
Kittee and I roasted our 20 pound turkey, with all it's trimmings on Saturday. It made a very good dinner for Saturday and all day today, pick, pick, pick... Mmmmmm Good!

Our weekend weather has been mostly off and on clouds/fog banks going through, with sun breaks to let us get outside with horses and do a few chores around the ranch before December/winter is upon us.
I did some more work on burning, cleaning and tilling the garden area these past few days. I was hoping to move the asparagus plants out of Rusty's keep, but all I got done on that project was to till the bed I am moving the asparagus crowns into. Hopefully this next week I will be able to move the crowns before having to move Rusty back to his keep.

Other than these little projects, we have just stayed home, relaxed, watched some good movies, "worked" /played with the horses, and Kittee her cats.


Kittee did load Derby and Nugget up this morning and took them for a ride at the Walla Walla Fairground Arena. Since it was quite chilly and foggy this morning when she left, I did not feel like going out trying to ride my horse and have my head chilled out this day; so I stayed home and when the sun came out at high noon I went out and groomed and grained horses. Everyone is now wearing a winter coat, but so far their coats have not gotten very long or shaggy. Hope this might be a sign of a mild winter to come.
After working and playing with the herd, I tilled a couple more rows in the garden, getting ready for spring of '09.

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Rosey is VI months old

Thanksgiving Day '08 was Rosey's six months old Birthday.

She now stands 12 hands tall and tapes at about 450 pounds.

She is getting to be a big little girl. Still as lovable, soft to touch,
and gentle as ever.

I will be posting more photos onto Rosey webpage
and photo album soon.

Lest we not forget Rusty.
It was just over a year ago that we made the trip to Bend, OR and bought our Adrenaline Rush. Since that time he has become such a very gentle pet stallion. Rusty has recovered from his bout with Pigeon Fever and has spent the past week - 10 days out on pasture. He is currently in our 4 acre pasture being fed hay twice a day, and grazing the balance of the day, so he is showing being well winter fed. He does stay busy pacing/prancing the fence line as he watches the rest of the herd about 200' away in their pastures. This past week we wormed all the herds (horses & goats), and blended the mare and gelding herds back together to be one for the winter.

Our Quarab mare Goldie is beginning to show to be quite pregnant x Rusty, and loving her extra rations of mare/foal grain and sweet COB. She is still the #1 Blond Bitch in attitude, right behind Shaiela being the Queen Bitch of McKuster Ranch. Horse herd hierarchy, is a very interesting thing to watch.

This has been our Thanksgiving '08 holiday weekend. Schools has been out for over a week now, and tomorrow I get cranked up again driving two buses to make my rounds. Gee, just think... we have another holiday coming at us in just a few weeks.

Happy Holidays and to all a good night.

Thanksgiving '08 around McKuster Ranch --- Dale

Used to be, one would have been enough...

This past week the weather at McKuster Ranch was gorgeous as the herds of horses and goats laid around sunning under our warm eastern Oregon blue skies. One day this past week I spent the entire day working in my AQHA T-shirt. Enough to make me wonder if global warming might be heading in our direction here in the Great Pacific Northwest, or if it is just the micro-climate of McKuster Ranch and our solar heat collector/bluff. Our clear blue skies now has the sun traveling deep in the southern quadrant with sunrise hitting our front door at 7:56 this past weekend and the last light of the setting sun leaving our front door at 3:23.

The weather this past week gave me a good chance to work on cleaning up our garden area; burning off the weeds, pulling up drip tape/soaker hoses, spreading horse manure,

and working until last light making the first soil tilling for the up coming '09 garden season.

Saturday and Sunday Kittee and I went horseback riding in the fallow-stubble wheat fields of our property on the north side of the river. Derby and Misty had a grand time jogging and cantering the harvest trails on Saturday. Even though we had Sunday riding time at the indoor arena in Walla Walla it was just too beautiful in the great outdoors to take our horses for a ride inside four wall/under roof. We just don't get views like the ones below when riding in and around the city of Walla Walla.

Sunday when we off loaded the trailer, we had intentions of going to the top of Bowlus Hill. But it appeared that Derby and Misty were a bit tuckered from their Saturday of cantering in the soft soil of stubble fields, and they were not quite as eager to cantering up the foothills of The Blues this day.
So we made it easy for them and us, a little jogging, a little cantering, mostly walking and enjoying the scenery above the forks of the Walla Walla. After a 2-hour ride as we were heading back towards the trailer/the trip home, we watched a herd of a dozen mule deer running, bouncing off their toes across the field in front of us. Wish I had been set to get a picture of that.

It was one year ago today that I fired up old "Silver PU" and drove to Helix, OR around 5:30 a.m., there to meet Julie at her MidCo school bus. That was the Monday before Thanksgiving Day, the night before and that morning we were getting our first seasonal snowfall. Reminded me of WNC winter weather. As I headed for Helix that morning the wind was blowing snow so hard in places I could not tell if I was on the road or about to run out across the wheat fields. Well, a lot of bus driving has gone on since them, and this past week I got a telephone call from MidCo Bus Company in Pendleton asking if I would be interested in having another school bus to drive for them. I told them give me a day to think about it and I did.

Used to be, one school bus sitting in a driveway would have been enough in a family. Now at McKuster Ranch we have two school buses sitting in our driveway. Makes the place look like a pretty busy location with four other vehicles sitting out front of our two school bus parking lot.
So if you are heading in our direction and need to find us quick and easy, just leave Milton-Freewater on Walla Walla River Road and look for the home with allot of horses out to pastures and two school buses parked in the driveway. There is no other place on the river like this one.

And that's the way it is. Hope you and yours have a safe and happy T-day holiday weekend.

A week in the life at McKuster Ranch -- Dale

A Sunday afternoon ride

This past week the weather has been rather mild around here. I am currently sitting on a big dose of horse wormers, but with the mild temperatures we still have flies and I am reluctant to worm everyone, until we get hit with a cold weather front. Our episode with Piegon Fever seems to have passed with only Rusty, and Shaiela showing any major signs of that virus. Derby did have his days of feeling bad, and some mild swelling, but nothing like Rusty and Shaiela.

Thursday after work Kittee went by the M-F Library, picked up a couple of books and five 007 classic movies. So needless to say this was a James Bond movie weekend at McKuster Ranch, beginning with Kittee's three day weekend which started Thursday evening.

Friday I did my morning and afternoon bus route, while Kittee worked on her case brief going to the Court of Appeals. Friday evening we did a James Bond movie, with a dinner intermission.

Saturday a.m. we had our farrier Kevin here at the ranch, he trimmed all our horse, pulled shoes off Nuggett and Misty for the rest of the year. So between now and next spring everyone is barefooted as we will be riding wheat fields and the Walla Walla indoor arena.
Saturday p.m. Kittee and I put on the roof flashing kit that didn't come complete with Rusty keep run-in shed. Last winter when I bought Rusty's keep -- Nobel panel and run-in shed -- I only got part of the roof flashing kit at that time. Without much rain or snow in sight at that time, I didn't worry about it. This past week I went back and got the complete flashing kit and now we are set for the wet season roof runoff.
Late Saturday afternoon Leila came out to ride and work with her horses. Kittee built a fire in the backyard fireplace, and we just sit by the fire watching our herd of horses, Leila working with her Calvin in the round pen, while the sun set slowly in the west and the nearly full moon rose over The Blues to our east.

Sunday afternoon, after giving everyone's hooves a chance to settle from their fresh trimming, we loaded Misty and Derby into their trailer and drove a mile and a half, to the saddle of Spofford Hill and there rode the wheat fields. Not long after we had offloaded horses and we were tacking up our rides, the Cospers drove up with a trailer of two horses and were planning to ride the same hillside.


I asked them if they wanted to join our party, and they said nope, that their horses were a bit green and they would work with them alone on the other side of the road. So they rode off up the hill and Kittee and I rode off heading across the hill. Pretty neat place that you can ride around with your friends and neighbors, stay in sight and be a ½ mile apart.
Kittee and I were out riding for about two hours today, and had a grand time working our horses in the soft turf of the stubble fields.

Misty and I had quite a few nice across the field jogs, using the harvest road trails. Here on one of our jogs I took a picture from Misty's point of view -- of the field in front of us, and got a shot of Kittee and Derby at a leisurely jog. Misty and Derby worked up a good sweat with this afternoon's workout, and seemed to have enjoyed this outing as much as Kittee and I.

After our ride we headed back for the ranch, got everyone put back out to pasture, had our lunch and watched another 007 movie for our late afternoon/evening's entertainment.

This is mostly what is happening around the ranch these days. Feel free to come and join us when you get the chance, we are not planning on going anywhere before spring... except out to feed and ride our horses.

life around the ranch --- Dale

Fresh snow fell on them thar hills this week.

This week has been rather busy, as we are hay feeding twice a day, graining once a day, and still medicating Shaiela and Rusty twice a day for the effects Pigeon Fever (they are getting much better). This past week has definitely turned into the annual wet/mud season, and the 14" high muck boots have come out of the closet. Weather has been Oregon mild, but we have had rain and drizzle most nights and early mornings this week. Right now we are having an evening thunderstorm with a helluva light show to go with it.

Now driving the Double Deuce into town Monday-Friday, I am seeing what people have been telling me for years... "It is cold, gray, wet in College Place and Walla Walla; and you guys have sunshine and springlike weather out here at the ranch, what gives." Yep, I have told quite a few folks that are amazed at our micro-climate, this is normal for us.
It is pretty amazing, that so many days it is gray and freezing to the trees two miles to our west, through town and north into Walla Walla, while here at the ranch we have sunshine and a beautiful view of the snowcapped mountain to our east so many days during fall and winter. Again another blessing, we so much appreciate, living in our stretch of the Walla Walla River Canyon.

One afternoon this week, when we had wet and gray most of the morning, I went out to work with Rusty, just after noon, and found the geldings having a big time, just hucking and bucking round their pastures. I watched them for a minute or two and realized they were really wound-up and went back to the house and got my camera. Took a few pictures...


This is one reason Kittee and I know that a horse is not meant to live in a box. These guys are 1000+ pound creatures made to run free and graze pasture on a 24/7 basis. They are herd animals... having one is no fun, for the horse. Horses: most interesting pets to have around, and then they will take you for a ride if you wish.


It was pretty funny to watch as the geldings were running a bucking around and around in their pastures, throwing mud clods into the air, as they frolicked. The mare herd was doing a little running around but mostly watching the gelding as though they must be going crazy.

Later in the afternoon when I returned from my bus route, I went out to feed and pet the herd I found the mares hucking a bucking. Goldie and Misty were rearing, running, and sliding on the wet ground and I probably watch Misty leave the ground bucking/jumping straight up off the ground at least six times. They were feeling good!!! What a joy to watch.

With the electricity flying around outside this evening, flashing our backyard bluff, I am signing off; Good night

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Stardate 110908

Sunday
Last evening we had quite a T-storm pass over the ranch. Lightening was sending fire across the sky, and once we had a double barrel blast of thunder that sounded like two cannons going off just outside the house. The house shook, most of the windows in our house rattled. What a storm, not allot of rain out of it though.

Just before the storm hit last evening I checked the ranch email and found that the NWQHA club "mud season's" indoor arena riding has started and that arena would be available today. Hip Hip Hooray!!


Kittee and I started the day rather early, she went out to feed horses, I prepared a hardy ranch breakfast. After breakfast we both went out and tended to horses.

Today turned out to be a very pleasant day, starting with rain and then a few on and off showers, but the temperature was in the mid to upper 50's and Kittee and I cleaned the mud off Misty, Nugget, and Derby, loaded them in their trailer, and headed for the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds indoor arena. We had a pleasurable almost 2 hour ride until one of our NWQHA member got thrown from her bolting "green broke" horse. After that our riding time was just about over so most folks dismounted and starting loading their horse to head home.

It is good that arena riding time has come just in time this year to keep us in the saddle, while it is getting cooler and much wetter around the area. While Kittee still has a hurt shoulder, I think she is more comfortable riding in the controlled environment of the arena than out on the open trails. We both ride this arena without riding vest as hitting the sandy dirt, would be nothing like landing on hard turf... would not be fun, but would not be hard.

Happy Trail,

life around the ranch this week--- Dale

November's Gold

The activities at McKuster Ranch are beginning to wind down with the advent of November, and it appears the wet season has returned. Most everyone in the horse herd is covered with a nice coat of dirt/mud. Most of the Cottonwoods on the river are now in gold, the Sugar Maples in our front yard are mostly bare of their golden leaves as we have had rain and wind the past three days almost stripping these trees. These maple leaves must be sweet as the goats and horses love to eat them as soon as they blow into the pastures. Warm temperatures the past few days have made a very pleasant Indian Summer in northeast Oregon.

This past week was the closing week of our '08 trout season here at the ranch/ Northeast Oregon. Because of the activities around having a new foal this year, Kittee dislocating her shoulder, we did not even purchase a 2008 fishing license to fish anywhere other that our own backyard this year. The two blog entries that follows this one gives details of those two afternoons of fishing I had on Wednesday and Friday, as I finish off this season.

Rosey turned VI months old this past week. She has been weaned from her mom for about 2 weeks now and she is doing very well on her own, with Aunt Misty at her side most of the time.
Rosey is still just as sweet, and soft a pet as every, even though she is a bit more muddy these days. Her coat is starting to look a bit winter shaggy, she is putting on a winter hay belly, as are most of the other horses here, and she has a few skuffs on her face since she has been living on her own. All in all she is still a most adorable little horse, and it is a joy to hug our baby.















































Rosey still spends much of her time taking small naps while out in pasture, but also enjoys hanging out with Raji her yearling Arabian filly buddy.

We still have three of our horses, Rusty, Shaiela, Derby showing Pigeon Fever, but their abscess wounds are greatly improving, as they are being medicated twice a day with a good dose of sulfur drugs. Today as I was washing Rusty's abscess wound I was holding his head in my arm, and he like Rosey showed complete relaxation and confidence that everything was alright. It is neat to have this kind of rapport with a stallion.

It was last weekend we did have a couple of very nice afternoon horseback ride up Cashe Hollow Road, and I rebuilt the front porch which Kittee had taken off the front of the house before it was re-roofed and new siding applied this summer. This past week I worked on putting gutter guards on the gutters at the back of the house... putting the finishing touches on the outside of our house.
You might notice from the photo below that even the late afternoon sun adds a golden glow to the house.
So with plenty of hay in the barn most of the outdoor projects completed around the ranch we are about set for winter, with the exception of bringing in more firewood. I have been making arrangements to gather a couple of cords of wood and hope to have that project completed by the middle of November.

Happy Trails to you until we meet again.

a week in the life at McKuster Ranch --- Dale