More of the same…

I got the rest of the property by the barn all mowed, of course it will need to be mowed again in a couple of days, but it all got done. I was going to mow around the house today, but between my eyes, and the rest of my body telling me not so fast, I decided to give it a rest. My idea about making some kind of contraption to rake the stalls with the gator is still in the design process. That one piece of iron I was thinking of using is way too long. I found some grating, but can’t quite figure out how to turn it into a rake. Oh how I wish I could weld. That’s what I get for having city folk for parents. They are the most wonderful parents in the world, just not country. My poor mother had apoplexy when Pena (white boxer) came in the house with muddy feet. Of course mine were just as muddy as Pena’s, but mother hadn’t noticed that yet. I told her we live on a ranch, and mud goes with the territory. I didn’t say just like manure, and any number of other (in her mind) unsanitary things. She shook her head, and replied that she could never live here. She may be 83, and barely able to move, but she has her standards. Lucky for me she has the beginning signs of dementia, and doesn’t remember everything. There are some advantages to not remembering everything so long as you remember all the important things. Like so many elderly people she has fallen a lot, and the many concussions, and brain surgeries has left its mark. It’s hard for her, but I can usually get her over the rough spots, like muddy floors.

Tomorrow is hay day, and we play musical horses. I’m thinking of moving Little Big Man into the big pasture with Saddie, Lizzie, and Storm. He’s too little to reach either mare so there’s no worry of him impregnating them, and I want him to learn herd etiquette. He knows all of them so he won’t be too intimidated. Of course Lizzie has already imprinted in his mind forever that he does as she says so he has a head start on the “mares rule” philosophy. Since being weaned, he has been stalled next to her, and when we had all the water problems this past winter he got a first hand a taste of her displeasure. Right now Lizzie is all glossy, and rounded so she should be fine in pasture. Saddie too has put on a good deal of weight so I think she will be fine as well. We’ll see what Rudy thinks of the idea.

Stormy had a bit of an upset stomach yesterday. When I fed the night before I noticed that he hadn’t finished his breakfast, and was a bit lethargic, just what I need, a sick horse. Don’t I get even a little break? Anyway I took his temperature, and it was perfect. Well there’s a little green in his stall thanks to the rain, and I think he probably ate something he shouldn’t have. I made him some beet pulp mash, and he even turned that down so I hand fed him a bit. I listened to his tummy on both sides, and heard little gurgles after he ate a little of the mash. What I do for these horses. Later while mowing I noticed him picking at his food. Evidently I got enough in him so things got moving again. When it came time for his evening meal the mash was all gone, and he was working on his hay. Needless to say he didn’t get more as he had more than enough from the previous skipped meals. This morning there was not a scrap of hay to be seen. Whatever it was he got over it. Thank you Lord, I can’t afford any more vet bills, as you know quite well.

Everything on he horse front was calm, and peaceful so I took the day off of manual labor. I’m still having muscle spasms, but what the hay tomorrow I should be better, and if not, oh well. Too bad so sad, my body will just have to get over it. Sunday Rudy, and I will separate the two little ones, and redo the coral panels. I also have to clean out the front stall yet still. I’m not sure when I will get that done, maybe tomorrow maybe not. In addition I have to tackle the arena. There are tall weeds that will have to be pulled so little horsies don’t eat mowed weeds, and get big tummy aches.  I waited too long as now the ground is hard again. I should have pulled them when it was raining. It’s been three days with no rain. I hope this isn’t the end of our summer storms. Elsewhere in NM it’s been raining, just not here. We need more rain, if anyone is listening hint, hint, but not all at once. As I told Rudy, I want it to rain for a few days, and then dry up, then a little more rain for another couple of days, and another dry spell. Is that too much to ask for?

Mowing a bit too much…

Today my body revolted against all the bouncing it endured mowing the past couple of days. I got all but the section east of the pasture up to the water main mowed. I just barely had enough gas left to put the mower away. That’s five gallons of gas, which amounts to a lot of mowing, for which my body was, shall we say not to elated. Needless to say today was spent mostly on the couch with the heating pad. My body rewarded me with constant pain in my shoulder, and periodic deep, hard, and to say the least, rather painful muscle spasms. The good news is that my leg didn’t hurt for which I am eternally grateful. It’s ok though the grounds look good. I still have the area I want to make into a dressage arena where the ground is very soft as well as the area around the house, and the one section I didn’t get to.  I’ll tackle that after I go to Ruidoso tomorrow to get one of my pain prescriptions. Wise move I think.

I have to move some of the horses, and separate Cupid, and Star. I’ve been concerned about not being able to put weight on them so I decided to measure them again. Cupid weighs about the same (666 lbs), but she is now 14.1 hands. Star has lost weight (628 lbs), and is 14 hands. Of the two, Star is the bossiest, and come to find out the finicky eater. She is also the one with the highest metabolism like her dam. Cupid’s legs are noticeably longer now, and I have every reason to believe that she will top out at 15 hands. They’re only three so they still have growing to do. I suppose their bodies got all excited about getting all those supplements I been putting in front of their noses, thus the growing spurt. It’s also summer, and since they don’t have to put on fat to ward off the cold, it’s natural for them to go through a growing spurt. Little Big Man is doing the same. He was getting to be a little roly-poly, but no longer. One can see ribs on his now lean figure. Why can’t I go through a growing spurt like that? I just keep getting wider, and shorter.  So what if I’m 60 that shouldn’t be a factor as far as I’m concerned.

Before I do anything else I have to clean out the stall that used to hold our hay. I also have three more hay filled pallets to move (moan, and groan). At least I have the dolly. We acquired it on one of our moves, don’t ask me which one, but it’s a heavy-duty dolly. It has been in the utility room for at least the six years we have lived here until I started doing all the ranch work. I pulled it out of retirement when I had numerous 40, and 50 lb bags of feed to move from the truck to the back of the barn where we keep the supplements. I should break my back when I have a perfectly good dolly? I don’t think so. Anyway I brought it down to the barn where it has enjoyed being useful again. No one likes to feel useless after all. I was just helping it with its self esteem.

We have two stall areas with a breezeway down the middle in the front part of the barn. Rudy cut the pipes on the left side stall to store our hay. One of the stalls on the right side I have turned into a storage area with saddle racks, and tool implements. The other stall on the right we keep for overflow if we need an extra stall for a horse. One day when the rains turned the area in front of the stalls to muck, Rudy told me to pull into the breezeway to unload the hay.  I discovered that not only was unloading the supplements from the truck much easier, but I had no problem backing into the breezeway. I have just enough of a stigmatism to make backing up using mirrors only difficult. It looks like I’m going straight up until I get out of the truck, when I see the error of my ways. Let’s say I’m less crocked when I back into the breezeway than I am when I back into the left side stall. In the breezeway I can open the passenger side door of the truck, and I can roll the bales off the side of the truck into the right side stall. I moved five of the pallets just to see if it would really work better for me putting the hay on the right side stall, and it was. I moved another pallet today when I bought grass hay, meaning to go back, and move the other three pallets later. That’s when my back said enough is enough. You know my body never used to complain the way it does these days. I want my old body back it worked much better.

I also have to clean out all the old hay that has packed in through the years. I can just see one of the horses going into convulsions after eating yucky old packed in hay, and they’d eat it too. I need to cover all the old piping that Rudy cut with the monster duck tape I bought last winter. It’s too heavy for regular use, but I think it will do the trick with the cut pipes. The pipes are surplus oil pipes made of Iron. They really need to be cut smooth with a torch, but Rudy has never had the time to do it, and I don’t know how to use a torch. I wish I did, there are a lot of repairs that need to be done to the pipe corrals. If I knew how to weld I could take care of them myself. Of course I’d have to get the generator going, but that’s a whole other issue.

The other stalls are a mess, and I really need to start working on getting them cleaned out. I think I’ll look around the property for something I can drag with the gator to help clean out the stalls. There has to be an easier way than using a pitch

fork, shovel, and apple picker. I just have to figure it out. Oh how I miss our tractor. We only had it for a few months before we had to sell it, but boy did I get spoiled in those few months.  As soon as we get back on our feet, and can afford to buy one, I’m going to buy another tractor.  No ranch should be without a tractor, at least not one with 15+ horses.  There is this iron thing out by the arena that’s too heavy to move that just might work. Getting it out might be a bit difficult, but it just might do the trick.  I don’t now how I’ll make it work, but if I can…. I guess tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

Quiet again…

I love my parents to death, however it’s nice to have a quiet home again. Both my parents are hard of hearing. Father loves his news, and mother likes the normal stuff, but no soap operas day or night. There was no surgery for Father, as the doctors were afraid the risks were too great. His kidneys aren’t functioning properly, and if they failed it would be kaputs for Father. Mother was very relieved when we told her. For now they will continue to try medication as a form of plaque control, but his arteries are all clogged up. Too bad there isn’t Drano for the arteries, Father’s basically a walking time bomb. Like Rudy it’s hereditary, and there’s nothing he can do about it except for using medication. We’ll see how this new doctor deals with all this.  For now my parents are in their apartment, trying to unpack. I went over there Saturday, but all I really accomplished was to break down some boxes, take home some paper (winter’s coming), and take them to Wal-Mart for some shopping. It was all too much for Mother, but she did enjoy herself. Now if they would just get their phone connected things would be so much better, and I wouldn’t worry so much. I don’t really have to worry because they are in an independent care facility, but that doesn’t tell me how they are doing.

We have had an explosion of hummingbirds. The babies are now out of the nests, and drinking their fill constantly. When I came home from the hospital in Albuquerque one day, all four feeders were empty, and not a hummingbird was in sight. I filled them all, and next morning everyone was back.  There was also an unexpected visitor on the bird feeder. The poor hummingbirds didn’t know what to make of her, but a very pregnant Praying Mantis decided that the feeder was a good place to stalk her prey. I had seen her on one of the chairs the day before. Today I guess she decided that it wasn’t such a good place after all, because she has vacated the premises. The hummingbirds are very happy once again, and eating me out of house, and home.

As for the ranch, there wasn’t a water leak after all, or at least not a big one. I was talking to a woman at the feed store who lives below us, and raises goats. The water table got so low from the draught she had to put in a storage tank with an automatic on/off valve. When the pump can’t pump any more water it shuts off for a half hour, and then turns back on till the tank is full again.  This winter when we had a busted line they asked me if I wanted one, but it would have been another $200+ so I opted to wait. I guess I shouldn’t have, hindsight you know is great. I didn’t have the money then, and I don’t have it now, but the rains have brought the water table back up so it can wait a while longer. Today I left the water on all day, and I filled up the pasture tank, and when I got to the house I still had water. Of course it helps that it has cooled down considerably, and the horses are no longer drinking tons of water. Hey I don’t care why, I’m just happy I have clear water again.

It has rained nearly every day, so you can imagine what a mess I now have at the barn. Where everything was formerly brown, it is now green, and getting taller by the minute. Anticipating the need to mow, I had already gotten a new gas can (yes I finally broke down, and bought one) and I made sure it was full. I checked the battery, and sure enough it was quite dead so I put it on the charger. The tires were another issue. We don’t have electricity down at the barn so I found the air tank, and proceeded to ask Rudy how to use it. I’ve never used it before so I have a good reason to call about it. Tank in hand Rudy told me how to work it. I vowed to do at least some mowing. Everything was wet, but the tall weeds were getting ready to go forth, and prosper. I got one section done, that leaves about 3 or four sections to go (at the very least). There was no rain today or tonight so tomorrow should be a good day for mowing yet again. One section I will have to wait for several days, or perhaps a week of dry weather to mow. It’s re-claimed land that I filled with manure. Every year there is a little more vegetation, but when it’s wet, the mower gets stuck, and it’s a pain to break it free. I have to literally pick up one end or the other, I’m pretty strong but not strong enough to make it an easy task.  Lesson learned, I now wait until the ground is good, and dry before I mow. One of these days there will be enough grass to keep the mower from sinking into the mud.  Of course if I wait too long it’s a dust bowl, and I have to practically wear goggles when I mow, another lesson learned. Ok so I’m not a fast learner, after all I’m only a city girl gone native.

The girls are putting on weight (668 lbs), and starting to look good. Aulina is putting on a little too much weight w/o the benefit of being worked. You know what that means (all of you over the age of 30). Maybe tomorrow (if I’m not too tired), I’ll take Aulina for a little ride. I so need a ride. All this stress is for the birds.  The hills are green now, and I should be able to get some good pics of how it’s supposed to look come Spring.

Zara should be pregnant, and Sadie isn’t. We were moving girls, and as I went by Jeri Sadie’s tail went straight up in the air. Sure enough she was in. I already had Lizzie in the pasture, so I decided to put Jeri in with them. Lo & behold, Lizzie was in too. All this time she wouldn’t squirt, and now when it’s too late to breed there she is squirting, and shoving her butt in Jeri’s face. Poor Jeri didn’t know what to do so he took off with both mares following behind. Finally we took Jeri out, and put him back in his stall where he proceeded to scream at me. Enough already, we put Sadie in with Jeri, and Ibn with Lizzie in the big pasture. After three tries I’m not worried about Sadie getting pregnant, and come to find out, Ibn wanted nothing to do with Lizzie so there’s no chance of her getting pregnant either. She shoved her butt in his face, and he took off. I can’t believe these kids. I knew they didn’t really like each other but normally hormones win out, at least with all the men I know. Anyway both stallions are happy, there is little or no chance of either mare getting pregnant, and peace rules once again on our mountaintop. Thank you Lord!

Having Sadie, and Jeri together means Jeri will eat, and since they are both on supplements right now till they are a reasonable weight, it makes it easier to feed. Sadie is finally looking fairly decent, but Jeri still looks emaciated to me. It’s his own bloody fault for gawking at the girls all the time instead of eating. He can’t drop a few pounds here, and there anymore w/o it causing problems, he’s 23 after all, and no longer a spring chicken no matter whet he tells the girls. Ibn’s not much better, but he’s younger so he should start putting on weight with pasture grasses, and his alfalfa. Still it will take a while before he’s back to where he was before the girls all started going into season. We go through this every year. Next year I’m going to throw the boys in pasture with whomever it is I want them to breed to for a month or so, and maybe they won’t get so skinny. We’ll see for right now everyone is happy, and that’s all I care about. One can’t ask for much more than that, ok so maybe there are a few other little things I could ask for, ok maybe some big things, but I’ll take what I can get.

Dang those mices…

Well I solved part of my water problem. Even with closing off the barn water except when I fed I still had little water. I went down to the pump house turned off the pump for a while, and when I turned it back on it wasn’t working properly. I got water, but the pressure gauge kept going back, and forth like a yo-yo. This morning I cleaned the contacts, but only one was sparking. I should have remembered that it did this once before, but I didn’t. I opened the fuse box and lo, and behold it was chuck full of cotton batting from the insulation roll around the tank. At the bottom were a few little presents left by the maker. Dang those mices. Someone thought it was a perfect place for a nest, and it shorted out one of the fuses. Then I had to remember where the extras fuses were. We put them somewhere I’d remember, yeah right. After combing the garage I decided to look in the laundry room, and found the new ones in a box on the top shelve. Thank you St. Anthony. I put in the new fuses, and the pressure built up the way it’s supposed to. We now have good pressure, and I was able to do two loads of laundry. Whoopee!

Next I took the big step of leaving on the barn water, and for a while I thought all my troubles were over. Too bad so sad, not with my luck. Gradually during the day the water became more, and more silty, so I went back down to the barn after dinner, and turned the barn water back off. I have good pressure, but it looks like I still have a leak somewhere. I had already dug up my old fixes, and the deeper I dug the drier the ground became so I don’t believe that’s the problem. There are lots of lines going to the various water tanks, and the faucet in the barn, and naturally the leak could be anywhere. Eventually pvc joints give way, and I have no way of knowing how old the lines are. To make matters even worse, the floor in the barn is cement. If there is a leak under the flooring I’ll never know. Right now with all the rains I couldn’t find a leak anyway unless water started bubbling up from underground, and I’m not leaving the water on that long. Of course it could be the water table as well. When I fill the water buckets at the barn I still get pulsing water, not a steady stream. I guess I’ll just have to live with it for now, as I have no intention of putting in new waterlines everywhere, and I certainly can’t afford a new well, which is what we really need to do.

There is good news, the grass is finally growing, and things are beginning to look green again. I have to call the pasture girls to come in, and eat since for some strange reason they prefer fresh green grass to yucky oat hay. Eventually they mosey up, and munch on the hay. This actually worked to my advantage when I took the little ones out of pasture. Star came first (she’s always first), and I had no problem putting on her halter, and leading her out while the others brought up the rear. She was such a good girl. I put Aulina in Lizzie’s stall, and opened up Aulina’s paddock to include most of the paddock of Sadie’s stall. Sadie, and Lizzie are in the arena. Star went right in. The stall is next to the stall Star was in as a baby, so there were no issues. Next came Cupid. She just munched hay while I put on her halter, and she led out quietly. She’s never been in a barn stall, and halfway in she stopped eyes wide. She didn’t act up she just wasn’t sure about this big house with a cement floor. I coaxed her forward, and seeing Star in the stall helped. Then I had to coax her in the stall while I kept Star from coming out. Both were very good girls, and I gave them some grass hay along with their supplements.

I love these bloodlines. All our babies are such sweet horses. Now every time Star hears me she sticks her head out the stall door. It doesn’t matter if it’s feeding time, or whether I have goodies or not. She just has to greet you. Seeing her in the stall I can see how much of Sadie is in her. She has the same elegant long neck, the same head, and super refined features. She’s Sadie in miniature. She still has growing to do too. Her head is too big for her body right now, and she has no real body mass. Sadie is slight built also. I’m going to try to work all four kids in the round pen for a little each day, that is after my parents get settled in their new place. There’s so much to do with them I don’t have time to do much with the horses. It really makes you appreciate people who have devoted their lives to caring for the elderly be it their relative or not. Mind you I am treasuring my time with my parents, it’s just exhausting leaving little time for anything else. They won’t be here for that much longer, and I need to take advantage of the time given me. My brother doesn’t seem to appreciate that. Someday he will understand only then it will be too late. He has a new family now so I guess it’s ok, only he is missing so much.

So the long, and the short of it is that I may not post for a few days. I’ll keep Father here until after the surgery, that is if their furniture ever comes. If it does come I’ll take Mother to Roswell, keep Father here, and then take Father to Roswell after his surgery. I’ll try to get some stuff done here, like today I actually managed to clean two stalls, Sadie’s, and the girls. It’s hard enough cleaning a stall with one horse constantly at your back, but two is a real challenge. Star just had to be right on top of me, and then there was Cupid because if Star was so curious there had to be something interesting to see. Kids, always underfoot. I’m getting attached to Star all over again, and if this lady takes her, I’ll start missing her all over again. That’s what these horses do to you.

I almost forgot, along with green grass the rains have brought hummingbirds, lots of humming birds. I’m filling two feeders a day now, and boy do they get upset when one of the feeders goes dry. Big Red has also brought some friends. Instead of one Red, I have at least three or four. Mother, and I sit and watch them, and their antics. The trees are full of hummingbirds, and there are at least four or five at each feeder (I have four of them). My camera isn’t quite up to the task of photographing hummingbirds. Hum, I just had a thought, I could do a video, and maybe pull a still off of the video. I just ordered a new cord so hopefully I will be able to download my videos. I have quite a lot of footage I haven’t downloaded yet. Then too that means I will have to edit the videos, Oh well there’s no rest for the wicked, and the good don’t need it, so I guess I’m going to have a lot of work to do.

When human affairs displace horsey affairs…

This time I have a good excuse for not writing for a while. Sometimes when human affairs displace horsey affairs one has to stop and take care of those events first. This has been one of those times. My parents are elderly, duh, I’m 60 after all. They live in Tucson, AZ, and we live in NM. In February my father had a heart attack (first in 30+ years), and it became quite evident that my mother couldn’t be left alone anymore. She has numerous health issues, not the least of which stem from several concussions, and brain surgeries. She ended up in the hospital twice, and in rehab for nearly a month from a fall she sustained while Father was in the hospital.  Since we are at about 7,000’ she cannot come live with us, so the next best thing was to have them move to Roswell or Alamogordo, preferable Roswell. They found a facility in Roswell, and last week the move began.

Everything would have been fine except Father ended up in the hospital again, this time because of his gall bladder. He had surgery, and everything went well except for these two huge blisters on his legs. It seems that the compress packs used to keep him from getting clots in his legs rubbed, and left this wonderful little present of huge blisters, which of course got infected. Back to the hospital he went. Mother not wanting to be left out, fell trying to show a cabbie how to fold her walker. This time she landed on her tushi, and hit her back against a metal pole. Thank you, now she has a broken rib on top of everything else. My brother (who is doing quite well these days) can’t get time off to help deal with his parents so my husband took a week off so he could rent an RV to bring both parents to Roswell.

Even that turned into a disaster for Father in his wisdom decided to forget to take his medication, throwing his heart into conniption fits, and back to the hospital he goes. I think subconsciously they really didn’t want to leave. Ok they didn’t want to leave, but you do what you have to do, and they needed to be closer than 500 miles from me. Of course they wouldn’t release Father from the hospital in time to come down with mother, so poor Rudy had to make two trips. I felt so bad for him, and so grateful all at the same time. His parents are deceased so he would do anything for mine. I won’t deny that he was quite miffed at my brother, but that’s another story.

Finally both of my parents are here. I’m still working with Ser-Haat during all this, and suddenly we start having water problems. Perfect, I have company, and no water. Ah the story of my quiet life in the country. Evidently some of my fixes during the winter months didn’t quite last. Yes I have to dig everything up again to find where the leaks are. I’m going to scream if it turns out to be the pasture water ( the pipe I finally cemented in), but I don’t think so only because I turn the valve off when I’m not actually using that line. Well I can turn off the main at the barn, and turn it back on when I’m feeding. That way the waterier’s will fill so the horses won’t go thirsty, and my well will get the rest it needs to deliver water the rest of the time. Fixing the line is low on the priority list after running my parents around, and getting hay, prescriptions, oh and food too for us humans.

Sunday I discover that Father has to see a doctor on Monday, nothing like a lot of notice. I call the cardiologist I was referred to, and he can see him at 3:30, great, and not so great. It’s and hour and a half to Roswell. Father says he’s feeling fine, and wants to go by himself. I finally relent, give him directions, and we leave by two to take him to the gas station. That should give him plenty of time right? Wrong. I also give him a map with directions, and phone numbers. The biggest mistake is I give him my cell so he can call 911 if he has a problem on the way. He’s 87 after all. Yes I said 87. I get a call when I’m feeding only to find out he has just arrived at the facility where he will eventually live. That’s at 5:00. Wonderful. Freda (a most gracious woman) is taking him to the hospital where his new doctor is on staff so he can get him some medication, which got left at the house. How did that happen you ask. Well you see Father put everything in his bag, which I picked up, and loaded, into his car. I didn’t know that the small bag next to the trash I had to take to the dumpster, had all his meds in it. Yes things do keep getting better.

Ok he’s at the hospital, so he’s safe. I ask Freda to be sure that he calls me, and she told him to be sure to call her once he got to a hotel as well. Time goes by and no word from Father. I do get a call from Freda asking if he has called to which I reply no. Now we are both frantic. She calls the hospital, and they tell her he has gone. I keep calling my cell (he did answer it once after all) to no avail. Finally around 10:00 I find the hotel he’s in. He doesn’t answer the phone, but the desk clerk says he’s there. Ok now I can go to sleep, provided I can sleep that is.

The next day I spend sleeping, and visiting with Mother. We are both tuckered out. Freda keeps me up to date on Father who still has not called me, and I don’t worry so much. I also call the moving company to find out what has happened with their furniture. I’m generally a very nice person, however when I get riled watch out. It seems the person handling the move is no longer there to which I reply good, and even though I spoke to him at length about the move that has now become a medical nightmare, he neglected to put any of that information into their system, and she informs me that it could be the 8^th before their furniture gets there. I was livid. Poor child, all she could say was I didn’t know that, and I’m sorry. The long, and short of it turned out to be that I have no clue when their furniture will arrive, I have an elderly mother who cannot be at 7,000’ at my house, and a Father who is I don’t know where. She says she will note everything into their system and let dispatch know that the delay is causing a medical hardship. Wonderful, we’ll see how much good that does.

Wednesday I decide that I have to bite the bullet, and take Father’s meds to him in Roswell, no he still hasn’t called me, and yes even though I have called him he hasn’t answered his phone. Mother insists on going with me, which will be hard on her, but she is sick of staying at home. If you knew my mother you would understand. Off we go in the jeep, no I’m not supposed to take the jeep on long trips, but it’s the only way I can take Mother with her oxygen. We get to Peachtree only to find out we have lost Father again. It seems that he checked out of the hotel Why am I not surprised? We finally locate him at the doctor’s office getting ready to take a stress test. Mother is a little confused, but I keep her laughing while we wait in the lobby for Father. Finally the nurse tells us to go to the other lobby where Father is now waiting to see the doctor. Good Mother gets to see Father. Since she has been so ill, and he has become her caregiver, she has become very dependent on his presence. Who says marriages can’t last forever?

I go outside to get something, and when I come back they take me to his room so I can hear what the doctor has to say. Gee I wonder if it has anything to do with their ages? Well the stress test showed that a portion of his heart isn’t getting the circulation it should. The doctor doesn’t even have to explain, after seven stints with Rudy, I know exactly what he is going to say, and he does. Actually I interrupt him and tell him that he’s going to want Father to go to Albuquerque for a cath, and when they find the blockages they will put in however many stints they need to. I told him I knew the drill. So now I get to pick up Father in Roswell (an hour and a half drive), and take him to Albuquerque (a three and a half hour drive), and drive back to Capitan when I have difficulty driving half an hour to town.  I wonder if I can get some super pain pills from Doc Seidel? On top of that I just got a schedule for next week when I’m supposed to be working. Isn’t life wonderful? Now you know why I want to get back to work, and take a vacation from my soap opera life.

I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but somehow I’ll figure it out. During all this I do tend to the horses. Ser-Haat is solid on getting the little white English blanket on, and off his back. Sadie is not, I repeat not going into her heat cycle, so I’m pretty sure she’s pregnant, and best of all, I have someone interested in Star, maybe Storm, but probably Star. She’s an elderly (if you can call 72 elderly) endurance rider looking for a small Arab to start. I think Star will be just the ticket for her. She wants a horse she can bond with, and Star is if nothing else a very affectionate little girl, always has been. I have to get her to the barn so I can start getting her, and Cupid back to normal weight. If she had some meat on her she wouldn’t look so tiny. The Lady is from Silver City, and wants to come out this month to see her. We’ll all keep our fingers, and toes crossed, and say a bazillion prayers. I really need to sell all three youngsters. I haven’t put Ser-Haat up for sale yet, and I won’t until I can get him over his fears. He’s getting better, but still has a long way to go. He may be good with one blanket, but whatcha wanna bet he freaks with another different blanket. After that he will get the plastic bag, and whatever else I can dream up. Then, and only then will I put a price tag on him. I don’t want someone else screwing him up because of his fears. A heavy hand will ruin him at this point in his life.

It’s very late, and this child has had a very busy day. I’ll take my pain pills, and make nicey nice with that wonderful invention called a bed. I have another full day coming tomorrow, and I want to make time to spend with Little Big Man. Every morning, and every night when I feed he looks at me with his sweet eyes wondering if I’m going to play with him. I give him skirtches, tell him how much I love him, feed him, and leave him. He’s so sweet, and soft I feel guilty not spending more time with him, but not only have I not figured out how to put more hours in the day, but I can’t find the energy to fill the hours I do have. This “O” thing is a bear’s patut, and I am not pleased about it at all. Stay tuned for the next chapter of this soap opera, and I’ll try not to wait so long until I write it.