PUPPY

We picked up the newest addition to the family. Ed and I drove to the pick up location at the airport and met up with the family taking my dog's brother. As soon as we opened the crate he ran up to me.
Oh my god he was so adorable.

I put on his new collar but it's too big. I thought I had bought one that was small enough and it won't be too big for long but I was worried that he could pull out of it. I did a short walk and he didn't pee and I was worried about him getting loose so we decided to get in the car and head home.

On the way he was quiet and then started to howl. I think that he had to pee but I was more worried about him getting lost then the pee so we kept going. When we were about half-way home I felt my lap get really warm. He had peed on me. He looked at me with his warm brown eyes and promptly fell asleep.


When we got home I gave him some food which he gobbled.

the only time he was still enough for a photo

I know that I'm biased but I believe that he's the most adorable puppy ever.

d'Arcy is behaving as expected- which means that he's enthralled and has assumed babysitting duties right away. When we went outside he was trying to introduce the newest member to sticks and dropped it on him. That did not go over well with puppy so I put the stick up.

I brought him out the barn and put him in the crate I set up there. He howled blue murder and the horses were riveted. Irish wanted to go check it out. Carmen looked interested and not freaked out. I told her that she wasn't the baby anymore.

 The puppy has peed on the floor twice and pooped. Every time I go outside he's only peed once but we'll get the hang of it. Now he is in his crate howling blue murder again but I believe that he will settle. He has toys, a kong and can see us (d'Arcy and I. Ed is at Wal-Mart buying a new collar). I do suspect that it will be a long night. Tomorrow I will get out my good camera and take some shots.

Oh, what's his name?

Right. I forgot to tell you. Allow me to introduce you to Guinness.

My heart is happy. 

Similarities

Two more sleeps until our house gets significantly livelier.

In the meantime the weather has turned warm and the snow is melting like crazy.

remember my post from a few days ago where the snow was practically to the 'H'? 

the ring is still a bit soggy but it's getting there. 

Last year about this time I was writing about how Carmen seemed to be more settled and mature. I would say that this year she's 'softer'. Not as on edge or sharp. When I pick out her stall it has always been pretty easy to move her over so I could get a spot but her reactions were always sharp and fast. Now the slightest touch on her haunch and she quietly steps over.  A few times I go into the barn and she's still laying down rather then leaping to her feet. Of course she would say that it's because she's too weak from hunger. 

I love her soft expression in this photo- it's fairly typical these days. 

When I was having lunch with Carmen I was telling her that I'm starting to realize how similar Carmen and I are. It was brought home to me a month or so ago when I was walking a trail. I was trying to get in my 5 km. I had my hood up and I was in my groove striding along. All of a sudden I heard 'Hello' from the woods on my right. 

'JESUS CHRIST' I yelled and jumped sideways about 10 feet. 

I spun and looked around to see an elderly couple standing in the trees about 25 feet off the trail. 

'Oh my heart- you scared the crap out of me'

'I'm sorry. ' said the older man. He explained that they had found a geocache. I could see that he was trying hard to not laugh at me. His wife looked offended- probably at my initial yell. But heck, it wasn't like I planned to jump around the trail swearing. 

I realize that that's what Carmen does when something startles her- she jumps sideways (and likely is swearing). 

I want my opinion to be heard and I will be quite persistent. I'm okay if the decision goes differently then I think it should as long as I'm heard.  I'm pretty sure that sounds familiar. 

I often have far too many thoughts in my head. 

Carmen often has a very busy brain. 

I get frustrated if I don't understand the task or I think I'm failing. 

I'm pretty sure Carmen is like that too. 

Wait, could we both be perfectionists? 

Irish: You are both Mares, what were you expecting? 

Are there ways that you and your horse are similar?

I Get By....

Thank heavens for my friends. They are helping me to occupy myself while I count down to the GREAT PUPPY PICK-UP. Tuesday around 6 pm is when the plane is scheduled to land.

Last night we were curling and our skip was sick. I took over as skip and we were tied in the last end. I had last rock and I  had to make a shot to win the game. And I did. It was a sweet win.

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Today I met up with my good friend, Karen at Bits N' Bridles tack shop. They were having an Anniversary sale. I found a few things that were clearly needed in my life:

I always buy bell boots for Irish when they are on sale since he goes through them like, well like a horse that has to wear bell boots all the time.

I fell in love with the saddle pad. It's not that I have a saddle pad problem, it's just that this one was so nifty. I loved the air dry quality and the reinforcement where there billets go was a nice touch. I think the it will look really snazzy on Carmen this summer.

It's hard to see, but there's a fly bonnet there too- the ears were stretchy and I thought that would be better. Irish's bonnet is getting pretty worn. The boots were great- I have to wear rubber boots but when I'm working for a while in the barn they are not comfortable. These are Noble Outfitters and after wearing them once I love them.

The puppy toy was inevitable and the owner threw in the treats as a gift to the new dog. I love local service.

After the retail therapy we went for lunch and had a great time catching up. I then drove back home to play pickleball. This time there were others there and I got to play some 'real' games. I was nervous at first because I only tried it last week and I'm really not any good (not yet anyway). But everyone was kind and helpful and patient with my mistakes.

The weather has been gorgeous the past few days and my ring only has a shallow layer of snow. If this continues I might be able to start working Carmen again.

So rather then spend the day waiting for time to pass and lamenting on not being able to ride I managed to have a fun and busy day.

I should sleep well tonight. Now just 2 more nights after that....

Waiting is Hard

When I die the message on my tombstone- assuming I have one which is not certain because I think I'd rather be scattered in the roots of a tree but I'm getting off topic- 

anyway I am pretty sure it will not read 'She was known for her incredible patience'. 

Frankly, it's much more likely to read 'it seemed like a good idea at the time'. 

So as I wait for snow to melt I'm trying to distract myself with plans.  I'm driving myself nutty with'will I do this clinic? or should I go to (insert name of friend)'s place? Is there a trail riding clinic I can attend? What about Joanna, is she coming back? It would be fun to have a fun show. .... and on I go.  I want to get some poles to incorporate pole work into our work. Where do you get those anyway? Has anyone used PVC pipes? 

I've been spending time grooming Carmen and practicing braiding. With her long mane I need to make sure that I know how to do a running braid. She's enjoying these sessions. 

"H" is for "help"

it's not as bad on this side

I can live with not riding (well sort of) but the lack of exercise is starting to tell on Carmen too. She's gained too much weight. This is what happens when you spend all day standing at the hay net and not moving around. She doesn't like snow but is getting better about going out in it. I've cut and cut her feed. Her hay overnight is practically non-existent. I've taken her blanket off to see if that helps burn some calories. It's been warmer and I'm pretty sure she has enough insulation! If it rains I'll put on her rain sheet. I'm hoping that this will work.

Here's the other thing I'm waiting for:

I was having trouble hearing back from the breeder and was getting quite frustrated. The kennel has moved to another province and she was having internet troubles. I think we have ti worked out and if all goes according to plan this little cutie will be in his new home on Tuesday. I've arranged for time off work (as one co-worker described as 'paw-ternity leave').

And yes, we think we have a name, we're just waiting to see if it 'fits'. Once it's confirmed I'll let you know. This is my first puppy since d'Arcy was a baby 12 years ago. I have a crate almost ready. It will  not work for his whole puppy hood but it will do until I get a larger one.  I'm trying to find one second hand but we'll see. I have a pen set up in the barn too. And making plans for puppy classes, socializing, etc.

This snow better keep on melting or I may start building an indoor all by myself. At least that would keep me occupied until Tuesday.

if you're expecting me to cooperate with these plans you better stop calling me fat.
And give me more cookies. 

Snow Horse

Carmen: What a beautiful and warm day. I'm glad that the servant took our blankets off- I was too warm in mine. Maybe spring is coming after all. I think I'll have a nap. 

zzzzzzzz

*slamming door*

Irish uh Oh here she comes. 

She's not thinking to ride is she? The snow is still too deep! 

Let me look- hmm, nope she has that black bag that holds the weird box she likes to look into. We should be okay. 

Oh good. As long as she doesn't expect me to go into the deep snow. 


Where's she going? 

Out into the paddock. With her black bag. She better be careful- the snow is deep in places out there. 

Well I'm not following her! Not without carrots and I don't see any. 

******

Irish:  what on earth is she doing- rolling up the snow? 

Carmen: go check it out. I would but I'm a lady. 

Sigh. We can watch her from here. 

can you see Irish? What is she doing?
I'm not sure- she may have lost her mind

*******
Carmen: I can't believe that she's completely ignoring us. I can't take it anymore let's go see what's she's doing! 

Carmen: what on earth did she make? 

Irish: I think that it's a snow horse? 

Really? Let me see! *sniff* doesn't look much like a horse to me. Maybe it's modern art. 

hello little horse

Ha! I think it looks like you! 

Very funny. I'm going to fix it for her. 

um, horses don't look like this

first of all the hind quarters are all wrong

and don't get me started on the front! 

Irish: Now you did it- you knocked off the head. Let me help you

Carmen: I think we might be making it worse

 It's kinda fun to play with....but these servants are weird. 

Tell me about it young one. You have no idea....

"it wasn't me it was Irish who wrecked it, I told him not to"

Boredom

Remember when I said that I was giving the horses February off?

Yeah.

Well.

I have to keep reminding myself of that.

From last year

The truth is I can't ride anyway- the snow is too deep.

But I want to.  After all it's been three whole weeks. 

And because the weather is cold I can't really be outside. There's too much snow to even snowshoe- it will need to pack down.

Today I was bored. I cleaned the stall, the barn, the tack room, scrubbed the buckets and then returned to the house.

yes I am a hardcore BTVS fan

So bored that I even contemplated doing housework.

I can recognize a crisis when I have one so I put a plea out on FB to save me from myself.

My friend Heather saved the day by suggesting I try this game called 'pickleball'. It's a tennis like game played with large 'ping pong' type rackets.

I like to try to learn something new every year and I hadn't figured out that was yet so this seemed like a good idea. We arranged to meet and she showed me the ropes. Heather teaches Grade 1 so she's a great teacher and very patient.

Turns out that it was a lot of fun. I quite liked the game and I signed up for 10 passes. It will help me stay in shape and out of trouble until the snow melts.

What do you do when you can't ride? Do you get bored?

The Things We Do For Love

Let me start by saying that Ed and I are not really into Valentine's. While I am a fan of celebrating love, I am a believer that what happens on one day a year does not define whether someone loves you or not.

Sometimes though there are exceptions. Like today.

Yesterday we were hammered with a blizzard. Three times we cleared a path to the barn only to find it completely obliterated the next time I went out. Mostly we cleared it for d'Arcy- with his hind end these days he can't really deal with deep snow anymore.

I remember when he could bomb through the snow. 

This morning I had to carve a path to the barn again-the snow was up to my thighs. I never even questioned what I was doing. While this is the weather that makes me long for an indoor I am happy to have them home rather than worrying about them at a boarding facility and feeling guilty that I can't help the BO.

you can see that the wind has made deep drifts and then nothing.
The path I carved is deep- the ground slopes towards the house which
makes the photo deceptive

 After feeding the horses I went back into the house to load up on caffiene. Ed used the tractor to clear the paddock so I could let the horses out. A strand of my fence had come undone as well and I had to trudge through the snow to fix it. When Ed had the small paddock cleared I let them out. They moved around the small area snorting and trotting. I then started to work on clearing a rough path to the bigger field. It took a while while Irish supervised watched closely 'hurry up!'

not sure if you can see the path but for perspective the fence posts are over 4 feet

After a quick inspection Irish ran out to the field. Carmen decided to carve her own path through the drift. 

I think that Carmen might be learning to enjoy snow: 

She was pretty adorable prancing up to me and then stopping to look at me wide eyed with snow on her nose (sorry no photo or video). 

Wow, this is a lot of snow. And it's kinda fun! 

As Ed continues to plow out the driveway and I am getting ready to go back out and shovel I am struck by what we're willing to do for the creatures we love. I am not alone. My FB feed is full of updates shovelling snow and getting the horses out. 

If it's not love then it might just mean that we're crazy. And that couldn't be it. 

I am sure that Irish and Carmen appreciate it. Right? Right?