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Monthly Archives: August 2007
A quiet weekend… finally
The only things on my schedule this weekend were hoof trims for the barefoot horses and Pax’s obedience class. Then I decided to cancel Pax’s class. I haven’t had a chance to work with him “on the road,” and that just sets him up to fail in that environment. Rather than put him through it — and lose three hours of my Sunday — I just decided to drop the class. That meant that, other than 45 minutes trimming hooves, my weekend was all mine.
And I loved it.
I’ve enjoyed my social forays this summer — I don’t want to imply otherwise — but it’s time for me to return to my non-social ways. We had two people come to the house this weekend — one of the kids from across the street who cleans my stalls for me and Christina, the hoof trimmer. Both work for me. Both are nice people and require little from me. (I hold the horses and chat while Christina trims. All I have to do is pay Edhic!) And yet I found myself terribly annoyed that they were there. I’m tired of being social.
Next weekend Leslie is coming up, and I’m treating her to a facial on my monthly “Spa Day.” Can’t say I’m anxious to clean the house this week, but I am looking forward to her visit. She is, theoretically, the end of the summer obligations. We usually go to the fair in September, but I just realized that the Monroe fair is this weekend, and I don’t know if I’m up to a trip down to Puyallup. We may have to miss the fair this year….
Showing off Guin
Lynne, my boss’s boss, loves horses, so I invited her and her friend Christine out to see Guin. I tried to arrange for Leslie to be there or Monica or Kyra, so they could do some training and make the visit more interesting, but in the end it was just me and Kalisa (not that I ever mind a visit with Kalisa).
Guin was filthy — so dusty you left a handprint on her if you touched her — and the ladies wanted to groom, so I suggested they bathe her. They thought that was fun, and Guin was much more impressive looking when she was clean. After we bathed her, I turned her out in the little arena, and they got to watch her canter around and buck and act foolish. Good news — she wasn’t limping at all.
The ladies brought tons of apples and carrots, and we walked around the pastures and visited all the horses. I was glad Kalisa was there, because she knows all the names and the stories behind many of the rescues.
It was a low-key visit, but the ladies seemed to have fun. I like it when people admire my horses, and I like Lynne a lot, so I also enjoyed the visit. After the ladies left, Kalisa and I rounded out the day with a two-hour lunch and gab-fest at the Hub. Nice day!
Field trial at Carlson’s
I twisted Kalisa’s arm today until she agreed to go with me to Carlson’s in Fall City to watch a field trial. We stopped for lunch first — her first experience with Small Fryes (which she loved) — and got to Carlson’s in the early afternoon. They were on the fifth and final series.
We saw the test dog run, and then stayed for three or four others. It was a water triple. Two of the lines were pretty straightforward, but the third line was close enough to the first to suck the dogs off mark. Fun to watch them figure it out — or even to see the handling. These dogs were clearly well trained and loving their job.
Carlson’s is a great location to train, and it’s not that far from where I live. I’m fortunate to have a plethora of different field training locations nearby, if I decide to pursue any field training with my pup.
A day on Vashon Island
My friend Lesa from work invited the team out to her house on Vashon Island today. Dave and Staci piled into my car, and after a lonnnnng wait for the ferry, we got there around 2. Oh my God — I can’t rave enough. The house is incredible. The gardens are incredible. The views are incredible. The food was incredible. Lesa’s husband was incredible. Need I say I had an amazing time?
We spent most of the day sitting out back, amidst the plethora of hummingbirds. Adorable little things. We laughed and chatted and had an absolutely grand time. Lesa is a terrific hostess (and a wonderful friend). I was sorry to leave, especially since Dave and Staci were forced to go at the same time, but I had to get back to feed the animals.
I can’t remember if anyone took any pictures. If so, I’ll post them. It was an incredible day, and I hope she invites us again!
Weekend update
Leslie was supposed to come up this weekend, but we got our signals crossed. We tried to reschedule to Monday and Tuesday of this week, but Monica and Kyra couldn’t get the money together. Bummer. I was looking forward to seeing her!
I’ve decided to bring Guin home at the end of the month. I still love Eden Farms, but with my job, I haven’t had time to get out there to see her, much less work with her. I moved her out there so Kalisa and I could go riding together, but that hasn’t happened and since we’re both working, isn’t likely to. So it seems silly to pay $300 per month to keep her there.
I’m planning to go to a local field trial next weekend with Kalisa. I’m thinking about the pup-to-come, and so I want to watch some field dogs. She has a retriever with a pro trainer, and he might be running next weekend, so that would be a bonus. I want her to go with me regardless though. When we chat with other people I don’t want to discuss curlies or clicker training, because both will be ridiculed at a field trial. She’s a Lab person, so she can provide all the expected answers.