Oh Deer!

Scene from my yard

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I was surprised to see that it's been over 2 months. Nothing dramatic has been happening, but I've been busy--work, home and family have been keeping me on my toes. More work is the good part--I do love billable hours! Keeps the horses in carrots and cookies.

The "home" part has me close to frantic due to the prolonged spring we've been experiencing, which has been keeping the grass and weeds multiplying like this is the Little Shop of Horrors. Not only is this messy and a fire hazard, but the neighborhood deer have been emboldened by the plentiful chow. Although with all this grass, I don't know why they think they must eat my roses and tomatoes. It's now July and I should be surrounded by roses, but all I see are little stubs where the flowers should be. I never promised those deer a rose garden, but they are helping themselves anyway. My tomato plants have bird netting over them but they are eating any part of the plants that have the audacity to venture beyond the netting. All those years I spent defending the deer from my dad's hunting hobby, and this is the thanks I get.

So today I took action and marched to the local garden center, where I spent a heart-stopping amount on a concoction designed to repel the deer. After digging my little garden sprayer out of the garage and cleaning it up, I opened the container to measure out the recommended portion. Opening the bottle was a big mistake. The stench was unbelievable. It would make a suitable substitute for syrup of ipecac. After making a dash around the back of the house where there was still some untainted air to breathe, I girded my loins and approached the bottle again, measured the stuff into the sprayer and added water with the hose--knocking the seal for the sprayer into the sprayer tank, where it sank to the bottom of the foul mixture. The agony was prolonged as I fished it out, splashing the brew on my clothes and hands in the process.

Finally, I was ready to drench my roses in the protective solution. I swear the bushes leaned away from me as I approached. Who could blame them? They took their medicine like little soldiers and when I was done, I still had a vast amount of the solution left.

About the time I finished up, Laura walked by on her way to visit Dexter. She seemed in a pretty good mood until the wind shifted. Then, eyes watering and hand over her mouth, she mumbled an excuse and fled the scene. At least I know that it effectively repels neighbors.

When I fed the horses, I discovered that the wind was causing the odor to permeate the stable area and was wafting it over to the neighboring property, which has just sold and the new people are moving in. Welcome to the neighborhood!

I'll see how it works on the deer. If it keeps them away, I have a feeling I may have won the battle but lost the war. If my roses are now able to put on their usual splendid display, it will have to be appreciated from the distance of my living room, possibly with a bit of rose-scented Glade to set the mood. And I may have destroyed the excellent relationship I have had with my neighbors for the last 13 years. Although they have the same deer problem I do, and if this stuff works, maybe I can pawn off the leftovers on them.

The scent is clinging to my hands even after repeated scrubbings, making eating difficult. This could be a plus for the diet plan. It could even lead to bulimia.

Okay, okay, enough about the deer (guess I could have figured that out about 5 paragraphs ago). How are the horses doing? They seem to be doing fine, although the flies have been on the attack. Cowboy, who is allergic to fly bites, is now shrouded from head to toe in netting to give him some relief. And Dexter has a pink nose, so he gets the long fly mask to protect him from the sun.

Dexter, the Unknown Horse

We did do our video for our Parelli level 3 on-line audition, over a month ago in fact, but I haven't had a chance to even look at it, much less decide if it's good enough to submit. I started working on our Freestyle (riding) audition but Cowboy developed back problems and we stopped while he recovered. Fortunately, he is much better after acupuncture and massage. The fly sheeting also helps as he twists himself into the most bizarre postures while trying to scratch the itchy spots and that can't be good for his back.

Yesterday we went on a Fourth of July ride at Pt. Reyes. We've been riding the same 2 trails for ages but yesterday we actually tried a new trail--Greenpicker (you have to be careful when you say that). Not exactly new, we had come down that trail last winter, which was not a good experience as it was muddy and slippery and we had to lead them most of the way. But it's dry now and we went up the hill instead of down, and had a great ride! It was quite a bit steeper than our usual route but there were some level to gently sloping parts so they got some relief. They really enjoyed the change of scene--Cowboy led the way with ears forward and charging up the hill with relish. We really got to appreciate their trail abilities as they negotiated the switchbacks, boulders and downed branches in fine style. Now we know they can survive something a bit more strenuous, we can actually get a change of scene and try some of the more challenging trails.

I am still, surprisingly, cooking from the Cooking Light cookbook, although I have restricted the recipe list to those that can be prepared in less than an hour and a half and don't require more than 5 specialty ingredients or any ingredient that will trigger hot flashes (alcohol, hot peppers, etc). These restrictions have shortened the list of eligible recipes dramatically.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I need to go find something that will kill the smell of deer repellent that seems to have permeated the skin on my left hand, and the fragrance is getting stronger as the evening progresses. The Chanel people could take some lessons in longevity from these folks. Maybe I'll wash the dishes by hand and see if that helps. Hopefully it won't contaminate the dishes.

Airborne at Trail Trials

Judging at Trail Trials yesterday turned out to be an interesting experience. We arrived promptly at 8:10 (the road in was a bit longer than anticipated) and after milling around a bit trying to figure out what we were supposed to do, finally were gathered together, given some instruction and our assignments, and our cones and clipboards, and then hung around for a long, long time. Laura was assigned to Obstacle 3, Rhoda to Obstacle 5, and I got Obstacle 9 (the last obstacle, of course). Since I had the last obstacle, I was in the last truckload of judges to be transported to the obstacle area, so it was a long wait. Finally, we loaded up and headed down the road to the next campground, where the last 4 obstacles were set up in a big parking lot. Then we hung around a bit more until the two head judges showed up and put the final tweaks on the obstacles and gave us our final judging instructions.

trying to figure out what's going on

That's a person dangling at the end of that rope!

As I was working with Sue, one of the head judges, a helicopter started buzzing around, very low. Of course we were concerned that some poor soul had gotten themselves into trouble, and about that time the ranger showed up in a big hurry, as well another trail trial person, and informed us that there was a rider down and that's what the copter was for. Since there was nothing we could do and it seemed that they already had pandemonium at the accident site, we just hovered about and worried. Eventually a second helicopter showed up, adding to the concern and confusion. Then hikers and bikers started appearing with bits of information and rumors that there was a second rider down as well, although we were also getting conflicting reports about a motorcycle accident that had brought on the second helicopter.

Obstacle 7Obstacle 8 (yes, it's an outhouse)

Obstacle 9 (my judging spot)

While all this was going on, the contestants started showing up, and we were then judging obstacles, while every so often a helicopter would buzz the area. The horses were surprisingly nonplussed about the copters buzzing overhead and they really didn't interfere with the judging very much, although sometimes we had to shout the instructions to the riders! We held all the contestants at our area, since they would have had to go past the accidents scene(s) to get back to the trailers. Finally we got the skinny. A rider's horse, fairly out of control, had reared twice while under a low-hanging branch, hitting the (helmet-less) rider's head twice. This was at Obstacle 3, which Laura was working. After the wobbly rider was removed from the horse, she informed them that she had a hereditary condition that caused occasional and transitory paralysis, and it was possible that a head injury could bring it on. It is beyond me why somebody with this kind of condition would ride without a helmet. Anyway, about that time, sure enough, paralysis kicked in and she went down, causing general panic. Although she was conscious, coherent and relatively comfortable, somebody who was understandably very concerned called for the helicopter rescue.

As this was going on, and people and horses were running amok, a young woman who was riding with her grandmother started having trouble with her horse, possibly due to the noise and commotion. She was apparently a very inexperienced rider and panicked, and was thrown, injuring her hip. The injury caused her to panic further and apparently she was on the verge of hysteria. So a second helicopter was called in.

It's possible that neither chopper was necessary and the injured parties could have been safely transported to the hospital by other means. We did get the word that both of them were in excellent condition and mostly none the worse for wear. But better safe than sorry, I guess. Those were darned expensive rides for those folks though. Check your insurance policies. Incidentally, you can join the REACH organization for a nominal amount each year ($40 for an individual, $45 for a family) and it will cover your emergency helicopter rides, so if you like to ride, especially without a helmet, that might be worth investigating.

http://www.reachair.com/membership/

So that added to an already long day. The accident happened about halfway through the riders, so we judged the first half, then had a long break while the rescue was in progress, then eventually the second half of the riders came in and were judged.

All I have to say is, thank goodness for our Parelli horses! We saw some unbelievable horsemanship and techniques during the day. Cowboy and Dexter got big hugs and kisses when we got home. We wanted to rescue about half the horses and bring them home with us. And people just need to learn to bail before they get hurt!

All that being said, we did meet some nice people who know how to have fun. We do plan on competing now that we've gotten our judging requirement out of they way. That should be interesting--we're pretty smug about our horses right now, but I suspect we will be eating humble pie once we get them out on the trail in a competitive situation! Horses do have a way of bringing your ego down a notch or two.

That's it for now. It's a beautiful day and I have lots of outdoor stuff to do.

So much for blogging every day. I'd like to say I've been working steadily but it just isn't so. There has been some work, some business development, a bit of cooking, and lots and lots of grass....

Spring has sprung and with the wet winter and warm weather, we are awash in a bumper crop of grass. Keeping it managed has turned into a full-time job, what with mowing, weed-whacking, and managing the horses' grazing time, including putting up permanent and temporary fencing to grant them access to the grass. And since I'm mildly allergic to the stuff, the more mowing and weed-whacking I do, the more my eyes swell up and I just want to sleep.

Here are the boys enjoying some of the green stuff.

We did get to ride last weekend and the weather was spectacular. We even headed up to the top of Ridge Trail, which we've been avoiding figuring it would be too wet. It was a bit debris-strewn due to the winter storms but very ride-able. Cowboy was delighted to be doing something new and plowed forward enthusiastically. Dexter was a little less delighted but was (sort of) a trooper. He was happy to turn back though. As we were riding down the main trail (I can never remember the name of this trail, really more of a fire road), suddenly both horses squirted forward. Turns out a guy riding a bike and carrying (get this) a SURFBOARD on his back was heading down the hill toward us. Not just a surfboard, but a surfboard covered in a shimmery silver cover. Looked like a big flat shark on his back. Laura and I were both actually a little spooked ourselves. Fortunately, the bike rider was cooperative and pulled over to the side and remained motionless while we managed to coax the horse past him back up the hill, and then we were able to follow him as he resumed his ride. Following a guy with a surfboard on his back is much less threatening than having him come up on your backside!

Tomorrow we will be judging obstacles at a Trail Trial at Lake Sonoma. Getting the judging requirement out of the way so we can be in the running for competition points in future trials. We need to be at Lake Sonoma at 7:45 a.m.--not exactly something I'm looking forward to, but Laura and Rhoda plan to park me in the back seat of the car with a blankie and let me sleep on the road. With that and enough coffee on board, I might make it through.

Cowboy and I are working our way toward submitting our Parelli Level 3 auditions. I've checked off all the Level 3 tasks on the self-assessment, as well as most of the Level 4 tasks, and now we need to work on the video to turn in. Cowboy is doing great--he is such a super student and nearly always in a good mood and willing to learn. Yesterday we worked on-line in the arena. I got him jumping halfway over barrels--front feet only, then stopping while straddling the barrel, and then side-stepping toward me. He was so excited about learning this that I couldn't keep him from jumping barrels, even when what I really wanted was for him to do figure-8s around the barrels. He would go around one, head the other direction to the second barrel--and jump it. We got to do a bit of work on our communication skills to work that out. (He really doesn't look very excited about it in this photo, does he?)

I'm continuing to cook my way through Cooking Light. Still having issues with trying to cut down the recipes so I don't have weeks worth of leftovers, and not all of the recipes freeze well or even lend themselves to leftovers. Chicken Marsala was very good on night one, but was dried out by night 2. Miso Soup was okay and a good use of the leftover Miso from making Tofu Steaks with Red Wine-Mushroom Sauce and Mashed Grilled Potatoes. That was good, even as leftovers. I had made that because I had leftover Tofu from making the Chocolate Custard (also a winner), so bought the Miso for the Tofu Steak recipe, then had leftover miso, so made the Miso Soup, which called for more tofu....I may have to make the chocolate custard again to use up the leftover tofu, although I guess I could make more Miso Soup. It's not very filling, though. The Beef Stew was quite good, also good as leftovers, and last night I made Barbecue Meatloaf which was excellent. I think I can even freeze the leftovers. Next up is Black Bean Casserole, partly to use up the fat-free sour cream that the tofu steaks called for. Ingredient management is challenging, and there is a real market niche for somebody who wants to design a cookbook with recipes for singles or couples. Recipes need to make 1-4 servings, and use up any open containers of perishable ingredients quickly, maybe referencing other recipes that use the same ingredients rather than having the reader waste time scouring the cookbook for those recipes. And the recipes should make good leftovers. There's my 2 cents worth. I suppose I could have my Julia Child moment and come up with this myself, but I don't think that's where my talents lie. Hey, I'm just the idea person.

So I'm getting to play with the horse a bit and am cooking light but my personal fitness program has been sidelined. And now I have the sore hip and back to prove it. My plan is to pick just a handful of the exercises I was doing that I can get done in 10-15 minutes a day instead of the 30-40 minutes the full program takes. Something is better than nothing!

Did an interview for the Horse Journal on Saturday with the nice folks at Black Sterling Friesians. What beautiful horses! And they had a 1-day-old foal when I got there. They don't breed their horses, it belonged to a boarder, but it was so cute! Check out their website at www.blacksterlingfriesians.com to see some gorgeous equines.

Okay, I need to go do some errands and mow some grass now. Bye.

Finally, today we got out for a ride! Went to Five Brooks at Pt Reyes and headed up the mountain. Today our theme was Thresholds, and we vowed to honor our horses' thresholds by allowing them to work them out. When they were uncertain or fearful about absolutely anything, whether we could figure out what they were worried about or not, we stopped and worked with them until they were confident again. Which made for a very slow start to the ride, but it paid off with happier and bolder horses at the end. Cowboy, in general, is a much bolder horse than Dexter, so he has fewer thresholds but they tend to come with more drama. Dexter tends to just slow down and act uncertain, but you better pay attention, because if you ignore the signs, you get an explosion when he just can't take it anymore! Anyway, it was a good ride, the weather was warm and the horses were happy.

Cowboy was a bit "up" for a lot of the ride (too much grass!) and threw a hissy fit in the trailer when we backed down the driveway. He hates to go backwards, and expresses his displeasure by kicking the trailer with his left hind leg. Today he was really going to town, and we rewarded him by letting him stand in the trailer while we took Dexter's fly mask and leg wraps off, and then brushed him. He finally stood quietly in the trailer but was clearly miffed. We unloaded him and led him and Dex back to my place, carrying all my gear back to the stable. I dropped my duffel bag in the pasture right outside Cowboy's paddock while I put Dexter in his paddock, then put Dex's halter in the barn. Laura was leading Cowboy and had him in his paddock when he spotted the duffel in the pasture. High drama! Clearly it did not belong there and was a major threat! He hit the end of the rope and ran around snorting and staring at it. I went out to retrieve it while Laura handled him--about the time I reached it, he just couldn't take it and launched into one of his most spectacular bucking episodes yet--and I have seen that horse BUCK! It was quite a display, with Laura and I laughing hysterically at his hysterics! We finally shut him down, since it seemed he was just going to launch higher and higher until he reached the moon, and I brought the object of terror into the paddock with him. At which point, he stopped, walked over to it, sniffed it, and then completely lost interest in it. Clearly, it was just an excuse to blow off some steam.

Can't wait to talk to Jess and find out what's going on with her horses! And see how her broken arm is doing. Sounds like Miss Lena is going to be getting some rehab.

Still working my way through Cooking Light. The other night, I tried Chicken with Lemon and Olives and must say, this is a winner. Very tasty. Since I saw "Julie and Julia" again, I feel I must make the Cooking Light version of Boeuf Bourgignon (sp?) so tonight I picked up stew meat and red wine and will be cooking that up tomorrow. I'm going to expand from Main Courses into Side Dishes and Desserts and will keep you posted. Picked up ingredients for Chocolate Custard (made with tofu, can't wait to taste this one) and Baked Tomatoes. At least I'm eating a lot better.

Again with the rain today! Seems like it will never stop. We've gotten out riding once in the last several months. Yesterday the boys got their toenails trimmed so no trail riding this weekend. I've been trying to get out in the arena at least, and work toward my Parelli Level 3 (which I am committed to achieving this summer). Cowboy is enjoying the spring grass and is full of energy, which can work for or against me! I certainly don't have any trouble getting him to move. Getting him to shut down is another matter. He's looking good, though. His topline is improving and he's nice and muscled up. His hooves are doing fabulously well barefoot.

Dexter's former owner Terri came to visit him on Friday. Terri was permanently injured as a result of a fall from Dex. One of those accidents that could have happened to anybody but it went horribly wrong. She still loves Dex, though, and it's a privilege to be one of his guardians for her.

"Julie & Julia" is now on one of the movie channels so I got to watch it again. That's the movie that inspired this blog and I enjoyed it as much the second time I watched it as the first. Julie Child was such an inspiration--enthusiastic, energetic and persistent, with high standards. I am still cooking my way (slowly) through the Cooking Light cookbook, which calls for far less butter than "Mastering The Art of French Cooking". So far I've tried Gruyere, Arugula and Prisciutto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Shallot Sauce (I was exhausted by the time I got done reading the name), which was delicious, especially the first night. Not the best dish for re-heating. Serve it with company and eat it all the night you cook it. Then I tried London Broil with Texas Toast and Red Onion Jam which was pretty good. Tex-Mex Lasagna was a definite winner, easy to make and quite tasty. For portability, I tried Roasted Red Pepper Spread Sandwiches, which are roasted red bell peppers and cucumber in a light cream cheese spread. It was okay but there is a lot of cream cheese, not my favorite texture on a sandwich. Then last night I made the Brined Lemon Chicken which was just darned good. I've never brined a bird before, although I hear it's the way to go with the Thanksgiving turkey, and it really did tenderize the chicken and gave it a yummy flavor. Salty? yes, but I happen to like salt, so it worked for me! It was stuffed with shallots, lemon and garlic and, as a bonus the kitchen smelled wonderful. I may brine the turkey next November.

I'm a published author! My article came out in the Spring edition of Sonoma County Horse Journal. And I have an assignment for the next issue. I've been wanting to write for decades and never pursued it so this is really exciting for me. Maybe someday I'll actually get paid.....

Patches' Excellent (Non)-Adventure & Tech Troubles

Although Spring has sprung and we have had bouts of beautiful warm weather, it has turned freezing cold and rainy again. The boys are huddled in their blankets. No riding, just work and trying to stay warm.

I am in technology heck, with my desktop computer on the verge of death and my windows laptop close on its heels. Lack of memory seems to be at the root of the problem, and I can certainly identify with that. My desktop, 7 years old, has had issues since its conception and I have decided to pull its plug. The laptop, I am hoping to revive with added memory and tonight I plugged in an additional 1Gb chip, more than doubling it's previous capacity. I wish it was as easy to fix my brain. I have to say, I can see the difference--in the laptop, not in me. My memory is still feeble.

After 7 years, upgrading the desktop has been an adventure and it's not over yet. The friendly folks at Dell were (not too) sorry to inform me that, yes, I do need to get a machine with Windows 7 and because the (not too) friendly folks at Intuit have put out the word that they will not support any version of QuickBooks except 2010 on Windows 7, I needed to get the Professional version of Windows 7 because it has the capability of running a Windows XP window (or something like that). And the old Microsoft Office suite I have will not run on Windows 7, so I had to upgrade that as well. So I ended the conversation $1300 lighter although I did qualify for the 1-year interest free financing. The computer arrived on Tuesday as I was getting ready to go to a client's. The FedEx driver was kind enough to bring it inside the house, and I left the door open for him as he moved the boxes. After he left, I realized that I had not medicated Patches the cat, and then realized that Patches was nowhere to be found. Panic set in. I searched high and low, under the furniture and outside. No kitty. Panicking even further, I reluctantly called FedEx and eventually got a real live person, who seemed a bit bemused and put me on hold for an eternity. When he came back on the phone, he told me he had tracked down the driver, who had pulled the truck over and ransacked it looking for the cat, who of course was not on board. I thanked him profusely and let him know where to deliver the prodigal feline should she show up. Still frantic, but unable to do anything about it, I left for my client ( by now, about a half hour late) and then realized, about 2 miles down the road, that I had not actually seen the cat at all that morning, which meant that she was still asleep under the covers (yes, yes, I let the cat sleep under the covers with me). I had looked UNDER the bed but not IN the bed. So I was able to work with peace of mind albeit much embarrassment, and sure enough, when I got home, Patches was waiting for me. I really need to send a very nice note to FedEx but I'm just too embarrassed.

I will probably never get home delivery again. When UPS delivered my saddle a few months ago, they left the note on my door stating that they were sorry they missed me. I arrived shortly after, and determined that those tire tracks were fresh, and stalked the driver until I found him around the corner. I blocked him in the driveway of his delivery and forced him to dig out the saddle and put it in my car. I guess I need to look into DHL for delivery service as they are the only company that I don't seem to have some sort of humiliating experience with.

Anyway, I am still working on getting the new computer set up. Being stuck with dialup has been a thorn in my side (really big thorn) for years and it is festering more all the time. Turns out that dialup is so obsolete that new computers, including the one I just bought, don't even have modems built in. A real problem since they won't do ANYTHING without internet access. So I had to research and order an external modem, which arrived today and I haven't had time or fortitude to deal with. Also, although you can run that parallel XP program with Windows 7 Pro, it doesn't actually come with it. You have to download it, along with some other utilities, from the internet. All 500 MB of it. Even with a modem, that is pretty much impossible. BUT, it turns out that the wireless card that I use with my laptops actually works with the new computer, so I was able to download XP last night.

One last hurdle is that my printer doesn't work with Windows 7 without downloading the new driver, so I was going to tackle that next. But it may not be necessary since, as of this morning, the printer seems to be on strike. Everything seems to work except that all the copies and printouts come out blank. No error message about low toner levels, although that cartridge is getting elderly. Now I have to see if it is a toner cartridge problem, or if that printer is so attached to the old computer that it has no will to go on without it.

I hear that working out problems keeps your mind active and puts off the onset of senility. At this rate, I will never be senile although the problems might drive me insane.

It's been a while since the last post. I've been working on getting some professional certification, which is now done (yay!) and also, Spring has sprung and so have the weeds.

Yesterday was my birthday and I celebrated by taking Cowboy to a Trail Trials clinic at Skyline Park in Napa. Laura and Dexter were also there. Laura and I had a great time. The weather was gorgeous, the people were nice and the horses performed reasonably well. Not sure the horses enjoyed it as much. Dexter is always unhappy when he's out of his comfort zone, and Cowboy was feeling rather full of himself and the clinic did not move nearly fast enough to suit him. I've been trying to keep weight on him by feeding him corn oil and beet pulp and it is giving him a bit of an attitude. The clinic was also held in a very grassy area and I was not letting him graze with wild abandon, which made him quite angry at me. So I was dealing with a hot horse all day. But we still made it through all the obstacles reasonably well, although we did back through one at hyperspeed. He was even trying to rear several times, which is new behavior for him. Bucking is his favored form of expressing anger, so the rearing was a bit different. I believe we got that one straightened out in short order.

I'm still working on fitness and diet. Although I stated at the beginning of this post that, unlike my "Julie and Julia" inspiration, I would not be cooking my way through anybody's cookbook, I did buy the Cooking Light cookbook and I'm going to try as many recipes as possible to save myself from fast food and popcorn dinners. The other night I made Gruyere, arugula and prosciutto-stuffed chicken breasts with caramelized shallot sauce and it was delicious. Interestingly enough, I bought that cookbook based on reviews stating that the recipes usually used ingredients that most people have on hand. Don't know about you, but I rarely have gruyere, arugula, prosciutto or shallots on hand, although now I do. It was kind of fun working with a lot of new ingredients, but I think I'll look for some recipes that involve less shopping. The problem with cooking for one person is that most recipes, including the ones in this book, make from 4 to 8 servings, so you have to either cut them down, freeze the excess, or eat the same thing several days in a row. If you cut them down, it's often hard to find the ingredients in the small amounts needed so you wind up with excess (like now, I have a lot of leftover Gruyere, prosciutto and shallots). Not that extra Gruyere and prosciutto are a hardship! I'm sure I'll find a use for them. The next recipe on the list, once I've eaten my way through the chicken, is London Broil with Texas Toast and Red Onion Jam. Yum, yum!