Corral Inspection

The horses are still down on winter pasture at the base of the mountains.  Eating grass.  Sleeping in the sun.  Being lazy.

It's driving us nuts.

We looked over their corral a bit to see how long we will need to wait for enough snow to melt off so we can bring them back up here.

The hay we bought and stacked last season seems to still be tarped and dry.

Hay Okay

The corral itself has some clear ground.

And some drifts.

But the most interesting find was this.

Those are moose droppings next to my size 11's.


Man, is Ranger going to be pissed.


Bill

Yo! Ga!

 Today, when Juanita and I got up, there was 4 inches of new snow on the ground and it was 22* out.

Yup.  It's spring.

This time of year, when we still don't have the horses up here, our activity levels have been down for too long.  So our fitness levels have dropped accordingly.

Juanita got an over-sized yoga mat from her mom for her birthday earlier in the month.  She has been using it much to the entertainment of the cats and dog.  This morning she shamed me into trying some "poses".

In what I consider an amazingly short period of time, I mastered the "sitting duck", the "shrieking infant" and the "road kill squirrel".

I think my follow up exercise program will consist of 12 ounce curls tonight.

Bill

An Unusual Weekend

As lodge owners, we tend to work when other people are off.  Summers and weekends are when people tend to want to get away, and they come stay with us.  So it is a rare weekend we don't work.

This weekend had Juanita's birthday and our granddaughter "Autobot's" birthday.  So we took no bookings for the weekend and spent it doing family stuff.

First, we had a joint birthday party for Juanita and Autobot on Saturday.  Carrot cake, ice cream cupcakes, and assorted snacks at Juanita's mom's house.

Heap-O-Family arrived.

 All 4 of our kids showed up, all of the grand kids, except for the 2nd oldest who has moved to Kentucky (miss you C-Man!), Juanita's mom and the great-grand son were also in attendance.

The youngest granddaughter holding the oldest great-grandson.

After the party, we went to Autobot's gymnastics state meet in one of the Denver suburbs.  Level 8, age bracket 15 and up.  Must have been 150 or so girls.  It always amazes me how little trouble, noise and drama there is in the girls gymnastics meets.  They are like... people.

Upon entering the gym, I found this sign-

An unfortunate set of sign placements

I decided to forgo any trips to the snack-bar for beverages so I wouldn't risk a guest appearance on youtube.

The meet went well.  Sorry for the terrible pics-  I just have a point and shoot, and *flash* is forbidden. (Something about blinding people while they are doing really crazy stuff being rude.)

When all was said and done, Autobot ended up in the top 5 in all events, and taking first place in "all-around" in state.  She advanced to regionals.

It cracks me up that her head is almost the same level as places 2 and 3.  She's not exactly a giant...



On Sunday we went to Autobot's little brother "Kyzer's" state gymnastics meet in a Boulder suburb.

Some public art down there makes me much happier than it should.

The meet went well for the kid.

I kind of like this shot.

The blur under the flag is a spinning person...


When all was said and done at THIS meet, the kid took 8th place over all.  He also advanced to regionals.

After attending 2 state meets in as many days, I find I have a new best friend.

May I introduce...



Stadium Seat.

(Oh yeah, and happy birthday Juanita.  I guess YOU really are my best friend...)

Bill

Almost Spring Spa Day

The skies were blue.

Actual Picture of Blue Sky  (I wonder what I was TRYING to get a shot of)

 

The horses were very itchy and fuzzy and losing their winter coats.

You really can't see the mat of loose hair on these horses in these pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every one pushed in for a good brushing.

ME.  NOW.

 Washoe had a good set of "dreads" going.  Juanita got them out.  Mostly.

By the time we were done, we had quite the field of hair.  I'm sure the birds in the area will be delighted.

Drop something, Washoe?

How embarrassing.  It's like a rabbit exploded.

Another good day rubbing the hair off of the horses.

Bill

It's Good to Touch

B-   Finally, the horses have been moved to a pasture we can get to.  They're standing clear out there by that house.  That's a good quarter mile away from us in this field, Juanita.  Let's see if we can get their attention...

B-   HEY YOU GUYS!

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP

B-  COME A RUNNIN!

CLAP-CLAP-CLAP

B-  TREAT!

R-  omg-omg-omg-omg-omg-omg-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG!

R-  Hi Beel.  Do you got any waffles-treats?

B-  Hey 'ya Ranger!  You were the last one here.  All of the other horses beat you.

R-  I have short legs Beel.  You said something about treats?

B-  Opps, sorry.  Here you go, my friend.

Munch-munch-munch

B-  Say, you guys all look pretty good!  Okay, a little muddy and scruffy, but at a good weight.

Munch-munch-munch

B-  All of your hooves look pretty good  Just a little long.  We'll trim them next month.

Munch-munch-munch

B-  That's all you guys get for now.  But we'll see you in another couple days, now that we can get to you.

R-  Do not touch the wire when you leave Beel.  It will bite you.

R-  When you come back again more waffles-treats would be good.

B-  You bet, buddy.