Summer and the Winter Solstice

Last Sunday, after playing with horses most of the day Kittee and I separated our baby Summer from her mom to be weaned. They had both been kept in the barn’s infirmary stall since the week before and their visit to the vet clinic for knee injuries. Both are doing very well, and have healed well from their injuries. During this weaning process I kept Goldie in the barn stall to continue her knee medications and give her some confinement from Summer. For a day or two they called to each other from 30 yards apart, but not so far apart as to stress either of them out by a long distance separation. Aunt Misty is keeping a vigilant eye on Summer during this separation period.

Monday was the Winter Solstice above the 45th Parallel and for a couple of days this past week we had sunbreaks that gave us a ranch sunrises around 8:30 and a sunset at 3:05 with no aurora borealis sightings. Summer's foal coat for her first Winter Solstice has been very adequate for this time of year as she is very plush and soft to touch, and has never shone any sign of shivering. To celebrate the Winter Solstice this past week I brought home some fur tree boughs from upriver Dale's but they have offered no fragrance to the house. The high note on this time of year is... now that we have passed the solstice, it sure is nice to have each day getting longer, and I will be glad when they are warmer.

Ginger, Misty and Summer behind bars

It was Tuesday or Wednesday that I let Goldie out of the barn stall, and she went nuts for about 10-15 minutes running the fence lines along the pasture that Summer was in. After she settled down a bit I haltered her and lead her to the rear pasture to keep her distance from Summer as I was going upriver to help Dale work with his ranch website for the balance of the day. Going into the riverside pasture Raji wanted to join Goldie so I let her. Together they ran, with hooves and dirt clods flying in the air for about 5+ minutes. This was the most that Goldie had run since she was maybe 6 months pregnant; she worked up a pretty good sweat with this workout. After Goldie had settled down I put another half dozen mares in the pasture with her and Raji to keep company for the while. After all of this had settled down I headed up river to work with Dale.

Thursday, Kittee took the day off and we played with horses. The weather forecast was for clearing skies, cool crisp dry air, and warm sunshine on our shoulders for the balance of the week. So our hopes were to be horseback riding maybe by Thursday noon, all day Friday and Saturday. But, our winter weather did not break… it's December, the ground is frozen, the skies are mostly gray, sometimes foggy, and sometimes flaky fog falling on us most of the past week.
Anyway, come Thursday we had an invitation to spend the late afternoon and evening with family in Pendleton at cousin Worth and LeBelva’s house.

There we found everyone doing well, Worth, LaBelva, cousin Lynn, Lois, and Lois’ granddaughter Lucy, my Aunt Pat and Lois’ mom Elsie was also there.

































































Once again LaBelva managed to spread another Xmas Eve feast, of turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salads, pies, cake, chocolates, etc. before us for our over-indulging pleasure fix. I do believe that everyone made at least two passes at the spread of food, even Kittee. Lois brought along one of her extra large huckleberry cheesecakes which Lucy and I tried to warn everyone that we thought there was something really wrong with that cheesecake, and they shouldn't eat any of it. (The problem that Lucy and I thought we found with that cheesecake was that there may have been just too much wild huckleberry filling layered on top of the thick cheese layer, on top of the graham cracker crust.) I don’t think anyone listened to our warnings, so Lucy and I ate our share of cheesecake, and maybe that of Lynn's daughters. Both of Lynn's daughters were spending their holiday weekend in Dallas, TX where they called this family gathering while driving through a Texass snow storm. As Kittee and I were leaving the party, Worth gifted us with about 10+ pounds of elk meat, LeBelva with a loaf of banana bread, fudge, and some holiday cheer. Thank you, Thank you, LeBelva and Worth.
After Kittee and I returned home we went out, fed the herds of horses, goats, and cats, and wished everyone a happy Xmas eve. We didn’t have anybody talking back to us, so not sure where that old story came from.

Xmas day we spent with the horses, goats, and seven cats. Treating everybody with extra hay and sweet grain. Again we found nobody was talking, but felt sure that everyone appreciated their treats and hugs for the day.

Saturday, we had plans to go to the movies. After feeding the horses, having an eggnog latté for breakfast we loaded up and headed for Walla Walla. We had heard a week or so ago on NPR about the new sci-fi movie Avatar . WOW!!!! This movie has a Lucas Film connection, and was previewed by Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and George Lucas. The movie very much reminded me of, but was nothing like the ET and Star Wars epics. What a movie, and quite a story in looking at (and it will jump out at you) the powers of greed pursuant the US Industrial-Military complex of our times and that of 150 years from now. If you enjoy movies with lots of action, a tender love story, an odyssey with 3D effects, YOU should see Avatar in 3D (not plain screen)… quite a trip without leaving town.

Today after a breakfast of eggnog lattés in bed, Kittee and I got up, went out to feed the herds, and for breakfast we had cups of coffee and each a nice slice of peach pie. Mmmmmm good. Thereafter we went out to fire up Blue and hookup the horse trailer for Kittee to take Derby and Nugget to the Walla Walla Fairgrounds arena for a morning ride. I did not go on this run as the cold and fog has given me too many arthritis aches and pains to be outdoors for 2-3 hours in the cold and falling fog. I stayed home and played with my Summer, Misty, Goldie and Rusty this morning.

Goldie's Summer

Our Summer
Rusty's Summer

Summer at 6-months old

This afternoon we will be watching movies lounging in our home theater and drinking a beer or two, with a big bowl of guacamole and chips between us.

And that's the way it is around the ranch this past week. I am still on school holiday break for the upcoming week, with an out-of-town bus trip to make to Pendleton on Wednesday. The weather forecast for that day is snow, snow, snow.

Hope you and your have a safe and Happy New Year,
Dale and Kittee at McKuster Ranch life

Working on Labor Day

The past couple of weeks Kittee and I have stayed pretty busy around the ranch, her law practice and my school bus driving. I am still on the mend with busted ribs, and Kittee is trying to get in all the riding time that we cannot do together due to my horsey crash a month ago.

This weekend I have been working with Rusty in the round pen and his little filly -Summer- doing halter work, giving petting strokes and sharing hugs with her. Kittee has worked with Rosey this weekend in preparation for a showing in a couple of weeks, and has ridden Misty, Nugget, and Derby to keep their saddle blankets damp.





































Today while Kittee was working with Rosey in the round pen, I moved Summer’s little herd of mares and got everyone into running, hucking and bucking in the process of changing pastures. Gee it is fun to watch them do that…

Misty and Rosey enjoying the cool autumn air rushing their faces.

Yee Ha, Let'er Buck!!!
Mama Goldie and little Summer kicking up their heels

Thinking about how much fun and exercise that was.

Today we introduced Summer to Rosey, and that was a non-event with the two of them just sniffing each other and then went about their own ways. Later in the afternoon we moved boarders Raji and Sunny into this mare herd, again a non-event as we now have a two month old foal, a yearling, a two year old, and a three year old -all silly fillies- bonding with each other.

Yesterday turned into fall. Weather was partly cloudy, mild with before sunrise morning showers. Kittee and I just really took the day easy –a day of rest, with a nap- and early yesterday evening we sit up the card table for a game of cribbage. Before starting the cribbage game we pulled out the bottle of Sangria, cut some orange and lemon into glasses and had a drink of refreshing vino, which help us to decide to play a fast furious game of double solitary instead of cribbage.

We finished the day, after quite a few hands of solitary, dinner, and showers watching the rest of Yellow Submarine, which we started watching Thursday evening.

Saturday we made a quick trip to Walla Walla to take care of some business there and to watch the Frontier Days Parade. The parade was lead off by the Walla Walla Police Dept. motorcycle squad, followed by the Wal-Hi Marching Band, Indian princesses, some big fat women riding sidesaddle, pooper-scoopers with wheelbarrows, people walking their mini-horses and dogs, on and on and on, down Alder and up Main Street.


































The Master-of-Ceremonies for this year's parade and the Walla Walla County Fair/Rodeo was John Payne a guy calling himself the “One Armed Bandit” and his mule. These guys paraded through town on top of their transport/stock trailer, while the "Bandit" cracked his bull whip over the crowd's heads.

It was a rather nice affair for a beautiful Saturday morning outing into town.

Friday, Kittee had to go to jail; I stayed home and worked on income taxes. A rather non-eventful day until Kittee got home in the late afternoon and we sit out and enjoy a couple of beers, had a ribeye steak dinner and a glass of vino and watched horses romping into sunset.

During this holiday weekend we have tried our best to stop in the middle of the afternoons and relax with a root beer float while the day time temperatures are still in the mid to lower 80's. Fall is approaching very quickly around here and Round Up is just around the corner.

Last week Kittee stayed quite busy with one trial after another all week long, and I had my first full week of bus driving for the new '09-'10 school season Monday through Wednesday. Working for the school system once again we had Thursday and Friday off to go along with the Labor Day weekend.

Last weekend we got in our winter store of hay. By doctors orders I did not touch a single bale while stacking these loads of hay into store. That felt pretty good as I get older and begin to look at 20 tons of hay having to be put away… high and low into the barn.

Kittee and I still have to tarp the hay loft hay, but it is now all under roof for the winter, and that feels good.

And now last but not least, as Kittee and I was sitting out and enjoying the sunset in our backyard last weekend we noticed some new structures way out on the western horizon. We brought out the field glasses and discovered it was wind turbines encroaching from the west. The machines in this picture are about 10 miles to our west, at this point in time.

Eastern Oregon is now being covered with these machines springing up everywhere. This is not so very bad, except that 95% of the power produced in Oregon is being transmitted to the Californicators to our south, and in turn raising the cost of our power due to the incompatibility between wind and hydro power generation. This sucks as these machines take over our Oregon ecosystems. Our Oregon countryside is beginning to look like the ass-end of southern California.

Now let me get back to my tax work chores... :>(
and cuss some more.

That’s the way it is around the ranch this week --- Dale

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