Hello from a couple of my horses

That beautiful red horse is Gigondas, my feedlot rescued thoroughbred.  She never raced as she doesn't has a lip tattoo.  I suspect she was used as a broodmare and was culled, along with 15 other beautiful chestnuts, from a thoroughbred farm somewhere here in the west.  Anyway, at one point 16 chestnut thoroughbreds were ALL on a slaughter-bound feedlot up in WA state.  Their photos were posted online and I do believe most of them found homes.  I took her, along with Beauty, and arranged for them to be shipped down to Lancaster, where I was boarding them at the time.  They spent 6 months there, and then I found this WONDERFUL couple who have now boarded them for 6 years up in our local mountains.  They have a HUGE arena and I like to take each horse down there, lunge them, and desensitize them, and then let them loose to roll and self-exercise.  My gelding, Sunni (bottom 3 photos...) loves to run.  He has a beautiful, flowing trot.  He was a PMU baby (the "unwanted" byproduct) from a ranch in Michigan. ***PMU means pregnant mare urine.  Mares are kept basically locked up while pregnant and their urine is captured for use in premarin, for women needing hormone therapy.  Premarin = pregnant mare urine.  Their babies are the unwanted byproducts and most were sold to slaughter, since there were so many of them.  Some, however, were bought by rescues. Fortunately for him, and a trailer full of other horses, United Pegasus Foundation rescued them and brought them to their facility which they had in Hemet.  That ranch is now closed and they moved to Tehachipi.  I used to visit their Hemet ranch and unknowingly fed carrots there to Sunni and a bunch of yearlings.  He was my first horse.  I adopted him from UPF and a friend boarded him for 6 months down here in the desert.  I probably won't ever ride Sunni, although he trusts me completely.  Being a PMU baby, he was pulled from his mother, NEVER socialized, and still is fearful of many, many things.  He's just too unreliable.  It's not that he would ever purposely hurt me.  It's just that he lets his fear take over and he panics.  He's taken off several times now at the tie rack for my trainer and one time he got out of his corral while the owner was cleaning it, panicked, and ran through their barbed wire fence into a neighbor's ranch, and then stood there shaking.  Fortunately, his physical wounds weren't too bad...the vet came and said they were minor and we put cream on them for weeks, but mentally, THAT was a big step back for him.  We are just now getting him used to just standing at the tie rack (we don't tie him there) and hanging out with him.  Big ole Lucille is my riding horse.  She is an older mare, gaited, and NOTHING scares her!

Just around the desert

I took these photos a couple of weekends ago, when I was out for my morning walk.  A double storm system is moving into our area and should be here by tomorrow night.  Then, a stronger one will arrive Friday night and we might get RAIN Saturday and Sunday!  Whoo, whoo!  We really need the rain.  I threw out some cosmos, wild sunflower, and coneflower seeds Sunday morning and I've been watering them, but natural rainwater would be a welcome addition and will help them sprout, so please keep your fingers crossed that we get rain!

Spring at the horse ranch

I board my 5 horses up in Anza, at a 9 acre ranch owned by a WONDERFUL couple.  I never worry about them.  They are well cared-for!

Spring has sprung already.  The sycamores and maples are budding out.  The almond trees have blossomed.  Birds are gathering materials for their nests, including shedded horse hair.

And, yes, the horses are ALL shedding.  That's really too bad because two storms are coming through this week...one on Wednesday and a larger one Saturday.  We ALL really need the rain.  I just hope it doesn't freeze after that or they'll be cold and I don't have blankets for them...

Anyway, here are some pics from the horse ranch Saturday.

Lone Thinker

I spotted this lone thinker atop one of the rocks at Joshua Tree National Park last weekend.  Boy, would I love to be able to do that!  (although I would need some shade...)  Just to sit and think and look at the sky...wouldn't that be WONDERFUL?

Some of my favorite pics from Joshua Tree National Park last weekend

You know, every time we visit Joshua Tree National Park, I see it from a different perspective.  This time, we were focusing on the campgrounds there, scouting them out for the family.  We'd driven through a couple of them before, but now that our son has a tent, we really MAY be doing a family outing there before the summer heat hits.  I'm thinking spring break, which is the last week of March...???

Update on bighorn sheep sighting

So many people commented on the bighorn sheep sighting that I thought I would add another update.  This is the 3rd time I've seen a bighorn sheep up on Highway 74.  The first time, I noticed a crowd of people at the Vista Point turnout, so I pulled off the road to see what they were all looking at...it was 2 bighorn sheep further down the mountain.  Another time, I saw two of them grazing right off the round, around the corner from another turnout.  They weren't in any danger of being struck by a car, however, and I was able to stop and lean toward the passenger side window and snap a couple of photos.

This one, however, was right next to the highway and was ready to leap out onto traffic.  And, yesterday, cars were zipping up the mountain, on their way home to San Diego, so yes, I did try to discourage him/her from the direction of the road.  I hope it worked.  There have been at least two bighorn sheep struck by cars in the last year.  Both were higher up on the mountain, but, with our drought, I believe they are coming down here, especially to the golf courses, looking for water.  There sure isn't any up in the mountains.

Here's my first shot of the bighorn yesterday and another one I snapped.  There was a car behind me, but that driver had also stopped to see the sheep.

Bighorn sheep sighting~Our World Tuesday~021814

On my way down the mountain road today, several cars in front of me were slowing down.  I thought it was an accident, but, right next to the road, I spotted a bighorn sheep.  Actually, it was too close to the road.  I stopped, grabbed my camera, and shot away.  Then, I put the camera away and screamed, "GIT!" as loud as I could.  I was afraid it would wander out onto the road and get hit by a car.  It took two "GIT"s to get it to move, but it did move away from the highway and back down the mountainside.  Our World Tuesday for February 18, 2014.  Be safe, wild one...

To visit Our World Tuesday, please go to:  http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/

Senior Pass!

Yes, that's me getting my senior pass at the Cottonwood ranger station at Joshua Tree National Park.  Hubby was there to record the moment!  :-)  Nice lady at the counter.  I like this ranger station.  It has lots of shirts, hats, postcards, maps, and information.  If you go to the park, be sure you stop here and ask for maps.  Oh, and bring plenty of water and sunscreen.  It can get hot in the park.  I made sure I had my backpack full of water, snacks, hats, and sunscreen.  It was about 76 degrees yesterday and by afternoon, it was hot!  There are NO stores in the park, except this ranger station, so bring whatever you need.  Also, make sure you have a full tank of gas as there are NO gas stations in the park.  You should fill up in either Indio (if you come in the Cottonwood entrance) or Joshua Tree (the city) if you come in from the west.  Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley have plenty of places to eat and buy groceries.  Indio has a Target and WinCo at the Jackson Street exit.  After that, there are a few gas stations, but not much else.  Chiracco Summit does have a market and gas, but that's further east of the park.

Belle campground, Joshua Tree National Park

Belle was a pretty campground.  It has 18 sites and it is $10.00 a night...vault toilets.  The sites were well spaced and had a picnic table, BBQ, and fire ring.  Very nice.  Hubby and I might camp there, but again, we were looking for a spot for the grandson and his family, so back to the road we went.

White Tank~Joshua Tree National Park, Part II

Next we drove through the White Tank campground.  This is another small campground, with only 15 sites.  Again, they were clean and fairly well spread apart.  Vault toilets and $10.00 a night, with a 14 day limit.  However, this still isn't what we were looking for, so we kept driving.

Joshua Tree National Park, Part 1

I've been bugging hubby to take me over to Joshua Tree National Park to get my senior pass and today he FINALLY got up out of his chair and off we went.  It was a cloudy, dready day, not really a good day for photos, unfortunately, but we went anyway.  I did adjust my camera settings to take into consideration the gray sky and most of the photos came out pretty good in spite of the fact that we didn't even get to Cottonwood Springs until about 10:30 a.m.  We stopped at the ranger station there at Cottonwood Springs and I purchased my Senior Pass for $10.00, signed it, and off we went through the park.  Our son had asked us to check out the campgrounds, so we drove through every one of them except Black Mesa and Indian Cove.  He has a tent and we've been talking about doing a family weekend at Joshua Tree.  But, with a 5 year old, (our grandson), we wanted to check out the campgrounds and see what facilities they have.  The only two campgrounds with water toilets are at Cottonwood and Black Mesa (which we didn't see today, but we've seen it before...)  We didn't have him with us today, but we do need to consider his needs...

I also wanted to see how many campers were boon docking before the park entrance.  There were a few trailers, but not that many, considering that it was a holiday weekend.  The campgrounds, however, were ALL full...every single one of them.

We started with Cottonwood Springs.  Unfortunately the road down to the parking lot was closed, for some reason.  We weren't impressed with the campground, however...NO SHADE at all.  And, the spaces were too close together.  Not great for a 5 year old.  It has 62  sites and 3 group sites.  The fee here is $15.00 a night and yes, it does have flush toilets.

So, on we went...

Flowers~Today's Flowers~021614

After my 2 hour walk yesterday morning, I drove over to the Desert Springs Marriott to see what was going on over there.  I hadn't been to their flamingo pond for some time and the birds were all sleeping.  There was a white crane and a white heron at their waterfall.  The flowers over there were all blooming and were covered by water, so off I went, taking photos like a tourist!  I sure did enjoy viewing them!  Today's Flowers for February 16, 2014.   To visit Today's Flowers, please go to:   http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Took a LONG walk this morning

I went out walking for a couple of hours this morning.  Yes, can you believe it?  It's so nice not to have bronchitis this year!  And, my endurance is way up, too!

First, I walked out to the far pond at the city-owned golf course.  We (citizens) aren't allowed on the golf course.  It is reserved for PAYING MEMBERS only, but there are some nicely maintained dirt roads above and along it.  So, we morning walkers take those roads.  There's a lovely pond at the end of one road and you have to skirt the golf course to get to it, but the reward is well worth it.  I did that loop, then went down and did my regular loop, followed by a trip to the Desert Springs Marriott, where I took photos of the flamingos and some of their flowers.  It was a good morning.  Came home and got some photos of the birds at my thistle feeder out front!  :-)

The rest of the day I spent at the Rancho Mirage public library where I found a book, "On the Trail of Genghis Khan" about one man's 3 1/2 year journey across Mongolia.  It is written by Tim Cope and, while I don't normally enjoy first person books, his writing is so engaging that I don't even notice the first person.  I'm interested in his tales of horseback riding.  And, it didn't take many nights for two of his horses to, er... "wander" off!  I think it will be a very entertaining book!

Here are some pics from this morning.

I love the view of sprinklers in the morning

I took these photos a couple of years ago.  Most of the golf courses here in the desert use reclaimed water.  I don't know about this one, but I'm sure they do, too, especially in our current drought.  I haven't seen the sprinklers at all this year, but then, I haven't been out walking like I was a couple of years ago.  Last school year, I had bronchitis ALL YEAR, from Labor Day, until mid-May.  I was finally over it by Memorial Day.  This year, I've been (...so far...) FREE of bronchitis!  :-)  YEAH!  (...doing the happy dance), but I haven't been out walking and that is really ONLY my fault.  I keep saying it's because school starts 30 minutes earlier, but I could STILL get out and do it.  I may head over there this morning for a walk...the day is young.

I'm very touched

I just wanted to say that I've read the comments so far today and I'm very touched.  You guys are THE BEST! I don't know anybody here personally, but I feel like we are a family.  Thank you all for your heartfelt birthday and Valentine's Day wishes!  I really DO appreciate them!

Today went pretty well at school, too.  I had 5 kiddos absent, so I only had 25 today.  It was "free Friday" at the Riverside County Fair and Date Festival and I have a feeling a couple of them went to the fair.  The first Fridayt is always free.  In case you want to go, it runs for the next 9 days.  There are booths, exhibits, livestock, and rides.  I used to go every year, but then it got so darn crowded.  I don't attend anymore as I have other things to do (like go visit my horses) and frankly, I can't stand the crowds!  I also don't attend the Los Angeles County Fair, which is in September.  I few years ago, another teacher and I went for the day, and all we did was walk around and look at stuff in booths.  It was underwhelming.  And, it was HOT and parking was a LONG way away!  Frankly, I'd rather be somewhere with some scenery and my camera!   :-)

I try to get out on the weekends and then post my photos for the next week every day, but, since I was SICK all last weekend, I didn't take even one photo.  I stayed home in my pajamas pretty much all last weekend.  I'm feeling better now (I'm back to drinking my green smoothies), so this weekend I should be able to GET OUT.  And, hubby is off the entire weekend, as well, and the weather is nice, so I'm sure we'll go SOMEWHERE!

A couple of other bloggers talk about the paperback books they read.  I thought I'd mention that I'm very fortunate to have library cards at the Palm Desert public library as well as the Rancho Mirage one.  Rancho Mirage tends to have newer books and you HAVE to be a resident of either Palm Desert or Rancho Mirage.  The Palm Desert library is a county library satellite (it's on the College of the Desert campus) and I can request books from ANY library in the county so be sent there.  I'm currently reading The Lost City of Z, War on the Run (the story of Richard Rogers)...I have two ancestors who fought in this Revolutionary War campaign, General Stark and his son, and they are mentioned in the book.  I'm also reading a book about the contributions of the Scots-Irish in early America, since both my maternal grandmother and grandfather had families that were Scots-Irish.  It's nice being able to request books from any library in the Inland Empire and receive it in a few days!  I also frequent the Idyllwild library and I LOVE their sales rack there!  I've bought cookbooks, childrens' books, and fiction and non-fiction books there for very reasonable prices (either 25 cents or 50 cents or a dollar for hardcovers).  I know a lot of us still love the feel of a book.  I'm one of them.  Hubby has a Kindle and I've only read part of one book on it.  I still like to hold a book in my hands and read it.  How about you?

Some pretty flowers from a couple of years ago.  Not really sure what the wildflowers will be like this year...sigh...not enough rain.