Got a surprise at the horse ranch yesterday!!! :-(

So, I had enough energy yesterday (thank goodness!) to drive up to the horse ranch.  I was wiped out last weekend and didn't even make it up there for a visit with the herd.  I hate it when that happens, but when you are 62 and you've fought kids DAILY for 5 days at school, by most Saturdays, I'm totally exhausted!  However, I'm feeling pretty dang good right now and my energy level is pretty high.

So, up I went.  But, first I dropped off a load of some of the palo verde wood from the dead palo verde by our driveway and some acacia wood for my friend Barb, who lives in Pinyon.  Boy, I thought I was having a rough time!  She looks extremely tired and she is already worn out.  That's what happens when you have a computer lab for 27 kids and only 1 computer works!  I took her a care package from Whole Foods:  some nice scented foaming hand soap, a couple of boxes of organic Risotto, and some oatmeal/raisin cookies.  I'm worried about her.  I'm not sure she is going to survive the school year.  Remember, she was out ALL last year because of a back injury when she borrowed the janitor's golf cart and it overturned on her before school.  She had back surgery, but this is something different.  She's tired.  She's overwhelmed.  She's getting NO support from admin...some of you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Anyway, she needed more wood for her wood-burning stove, which is her only source of heat.  I stopped there for an hour, then continued up to the horse ranch.

It was a breezy autumn day...perfect weather.  UNfortunately, the battery in my camera was DEAD.  KAPUT.  ZERO.  NADA.  ZILCH.  (Al, you know how frustrating that can be, right?)  So, I took a few pics with my cell phone.  Trouble is, when I'm out in the sun with that dang thing, I can't SEE a thing!

Anyway, I let Gigondas, my big red thoroughbred mare, out into the arena, since it has been a couple of weeks since ANY of them have had a turnout.  Oh, and I fired my trainer.  She really wasn't doing anything new and wasn't pushing the horses to learn new things.  She was just collecting a check.  How disappointing.  So, I'm going to have to do it now.  Oh, boy!

Anyway, when Gigondas is done with her R&R, she always stands quietly next to the gate (see what a GOOD GIRL she is!)  So, I looked over and there she was, standing by the gate quietly.  I'd given the rest of the herd some pellets and she knew she would get some, too, if she came OUT of the arena!  I took her for a short walk and discovered a snake skin over by the hay stack, so I called the owner over for a look.  It wasn't a little snake skin, either!  I was LONG!  ACK!  With 4 dogs on the ranch, SNAKES are NOT ALLOWED!  I've had a couple of gopher snakes come out of the water faucet hole and the first time, I SCREAMED and the ranch owner came running over with a shovel to kill the snake.  Oops.  Now I just put my hand over my mouth.  I mean, it makes no sense to kill a non-venomous snake right?  Especially one that will eat the damn mice that chew on my saddles!

Next, I let Quad out for a romp while I unloaded 5 bags of pellets.  It was much too windy to take out Sunni and maybe today I can drive back and do Scout, Lucille, and Sunni...(I'm hoping, at least!)...

I have to meet out daughter up at the Living Desert Reserve this morning.  She wants to go for a walk (with the stroller and little Ellie), so I'll take photos up there and then see how my energy level is after that.