New Year '09

Just a brief entry to post a Happy New Year to all and to say that since Xmas we have now entered the Mud Season of '09.

Last week we were covered with 12" of snow and everyone around here was getting pretty tired of the stuff.

Then The Chinook winds began to blow, the snow disappeared in about a day. Then for a day where we had had snow; almost all of it turned into a 1" puddle of water, now it is mud where the horses trod. Except for the places that the snow had drifted to 2' everywhere now shows grass and soil once again.

The horses have gone back into the "let's eat the barn" mode again this winter. Silly horses. Tuesday I had the siding contractor that worked on our house this past summer back out to the ranch, and had him take a look at siding our barn in metal this spring. Hopefully we can match the earth tone color of the bluff with new siding ASAP.With the break in the winter weather, my thoughts have turned to outdoor chores around the ranch this spring. From temperatures in the single digits, now nighttime lows are in the 40's and daytime highs have been in the upper 50's. We even had a couple of day of sunshine, springlike weather since Xmas.




One morning the past few day at 8:00 the thermometer outside our bedroom window read...

Actually that morning it was warmer outside at daybreak than inside our house.

Oh, it does feel good to be out from under that blanket of snow.


We are still looking for a new home for Walter. I have been in touch with a couple of pigeon organizations via the Internet this past week. I have made a couple of local contacts that might be interested in taking "him" in. We did find out that Walter was a racing pigeon, but still no idea where his leg bands come from. Today Kittee and I went down to a neighbor's place and picked up a bird cage/house for Walter to live in for the time being.

This morning Kittee as awaken by pigeon coos. As we laid in bed drinking our New Year eggnog latté, we could hear a continuing puff of soft coos coming from the guest room. Pretty neat morning serenade from the bird in the next room.

This past week Rosey turned VIII months old. This is hardly the time of year to have a photo op of a little horse in her scruffy dirty winter coat, but we have got a couple for the record.
Rosey is now over 12 hands tall. It has been very interesting to watch this little horse grow.

Amazing as this may be, for the time being Misty with all her white is the cleanest horse on the ranch.
So as we have come through 2008 all is well. I am enjoying running my school bus routes and having fun with the little ones. Kittee's law practice is going well and even in this time of economical distress, she has five new clients come to her office in the past week or so.

This past week and holiday activities have been very close to home. Last Tuesday morning, while doing nothing I bent over and strained my lower back... stopped me in my tracks. OUCH!!! So all of our holiday activities have been canceled as I shuffle my feet about 6" at a time just to get around. Back is getting better now, hope to be back in shape for next week's "let's go to work" schedule.

As we look at 2009 we are looking forward to working with Rosey and putting her into as many shows as are available locally this next year to get AHA points added to her record. I have made inquiry to find out about the Mark Rashid horsemanship clinic being held this spring near Spokane, WA, and we have a Rusty - Goldie foal on the way... due here in late May.

Happy New Year --- Dale & Kittee