The Start of Something New

It all started on Instagram. I was searching for new horse people to follow when I found this one girl. She trained her horses in liberty and it was amazing with what she could do with them. So, after researching I decided to try a little with Ava and just start having some fun. With all of the crazy weather going on lately and being sick off and on I don't really feel up to riding yet. Which makes practicing liberty perfect. Ava has a lot of fun (most of the time) and it is sweet to see her connection to me when we play together.

Poco

Coming when called

Donkey mare face

In other news Beju is doing really well and I absolutely love love love having him. I'm so happy that we will get to spend 15+ years together. And I'm crossing my fingers that in the near future I'll be getting another!

Sickness Brews and Beju Bear

For almost the past week I had been pretty sick. My head was throbbing, I had a fever (which I hadn't got in forever!), a cough that killed my throat, my eyes for some reason were in immense pain and looked like the eyes of the devil, I was almost too weak to stand, dizzy too, and nausea was always keeping me from eating. I literally spent days in bed barely getting up. But now I can finally get around again despite a foggy mind.

I haven't seen my pony girl for a while now and it is driving me crazy. We've been getting a lot of snow too... I hope I feel well enough to see her tomorrow.

In other news I have something to share with you all. I don't share many other aspects of my life besides horses and possibly some stuff about school but I am so excited about this and really wanted to share. For the past few months I have been obsessed with reptiles. Ever since I held an eight year old Ball/Royal python named Borris at my local Master Naturalist class I fell in love. I watched millions of videos and intently read all about their species. They were fascinating and I really wanted one but owning a snake wouldn't happen for a while due to having other animals in the house that could be eaten (chances of it even happening are slim but shouldn't take the chance)... But I still researched and learned a lot about them until I came across Leopard Geckos. My obsession grew into something more as I learned all about these little creatures. They sounded amazing and after realizing how cheap and easy they are to care for I decided to adopt one. I browsed through many breeders until I found this little guy at a great price. He is almost six months old (they can live from 15-28 years!) and is called a Jungle Morph. I named him Beju and am so excited to get him!

Beju! not my photo, geckoboa.com

Going up in Flames

Not sure if anyone has heard about the fires up here in Idaho but last night they burned around 40,000 acres in one day. In total the Beaver Creek fire has burned more than 145 square miles. We live in the area affected by the fire so last night we had quite an adventure.

Yesterday my family and I were out of town having a very mini vacation. My mom had a presentation the night before and we just thought that we would stay an extra night for some fun; and to get out of the smoke. We had a nice day and got everything done. On our way back we didn't even get but maybe ten minutes away until we got a phone call from my aunt saying that we got a pre evacuation notice for our neighborhood. The rest of the drive home was kind of a blur. When we were about half an hour away from home we got then got another call saying we need to evacuate. We bombed home as fast as possible.

When we finally got home we started packing stuff and getting all the animals in crates as fast as possible. We got everything done within twenty minutes, good timing. We then headed over to my aunt's. Only a few hours later we found out that we could return home... So, we did.

When we went home we decided to go see if we could see any flames. And boy could we!

We went to bed (at like one in the morning, so late!) but had things ready to go, just in case.

Only two hours later we heard our neighbor pounding on our door and telling us it is time to evacuate, now! I hurriedly got out of bed and looked out my window. The whole mountain side was on fire and quickly heading our way. I was freaking scared out of my mind, the wind was pushing it our way too. Quickly we packed everything and left.

My view after being woken up at 3am

Made it's way to the bottom of the mountain

Burning the mountains face

After we were settled we went back to watch the flames. It was burning up fast. What an amazing site to see.

It wasn't till 5 in the morning till I actually got back in bed and didn't fall asleep for a long time. Anyways later we went out to look at the now burned mountain, still had some flames and of course tons of smoke.

We are now back on pre evacuation but are going to stay in our "safe zone" for another night, just in case.

Firefighters are true heroes and I am lucky to know that we have such people to risk their lives for everyone else. What amazing people!

Bookish Fun

Since not much is happening with Ava at the moment I will post a little bit more about what is going on in the non-horsey world.

After much conversing I decided to drop my EMT class. Although it sounds like an amazing program I feel that it just isn't the right time. So instead I am taking a human anatomy class, literature class, and an awesome creative writing fiction class. Even though I am slightly bummed about EMTing I am ecstatic about these other classes. English and writing, to me, is so much fun and it makes me feel smart at the same time! Human anatomy will be amazing too, it is supposed to be a great class and finally I got a spot in it (the seats fill up really fast).

A bit of light reading

Times a Changin'

Spring is slowly filling the air. It may not be warm just yet but I can tell it is right around the corner. Even the groundhog yesterday predicted an early Spring. Finally Winter is coming to an end.

Ava and I had a long ride yesterday. I would've settled for a short ride but Ava expressed much energy so we did lots. We especially worked on lead changes because that one takes a lot of her energy. She was drenched with sweat afterwards but still showed that she could have worked longer... Ava usually gets like this when the seasons change so I am not trying to think about it too much. When she finally cooled down I gave her a nice grooming and then turned her out but shortly I came back with a treat. I always surprise her with treats and never give her one if she expects it. So, although she may have had lots of go, she still ended up doing okay.

Last Friday I put my beloved ferret Wolfie to sleep. It probably was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. My heart is broken. He was the reason I got up in the morning. Three times a day for the last two years I would give him his medication in hopes that everything would turn out okay. But eventually everything must come to an end and on Friday, it did. I have barely been holding myself together, I don't feel like doing anything, I'm tired all the time, my eyes are always on the verge of tears, it is almost like torture knowing he is not there. I miss him so much. It is amazing how much things can change in just an instant. Always remember to live life to the fullest, love like you're a young teenage girl, and laugh like it will be your last. Life is too short to waste, enjoy it as much as possible. 

The last picture I have of Wolfie

I was blessed enough to have taken pictures of him the day he left me, not knowing what would be happening later. I will forever love him to the moon and back.

New Boots!

Well, they are new boots to me! My aunt had some western riding boots that she has had for a while but didn't wear them much because they were too big. So, when she came over she said that I could have them! I was really excited because I was actually looking for a new pair of boots too and now I don't have to pay a ton of money for them, so that is great. They are Ariat's, they kind of look like a FatBaby but I'm not 100% sure. They fit great and are basically new, can't wait to ride in them.

School starts in 10 days... This semester I'll be taking English 2, Pilates, and Spanish 1. It'll be a lot of work especially having to work Babe five days a week and medicating Wolfie three times a day but at least I'll be that much closer to a degree. I still don't really know what I want my degree to be, possibly something in Biology or Animal Science or even be like Oprah, have my own show and help people. It can get really stressful having to decide!

Russian Virus 'Flame'

This is a non-horse related matter. Launching tomorrow is a computer super virus that is programmed to steal usernames and passwords. I don't know how long it is supposed to last but in the meantime I'm going to keep my computer shut down until it blows over. I just wanted to let you all know, hopefully it won't affect any of us and we can go on our happy ways but for now just be on the alert. Here a couple articles you can read about it.

[click here]
[and click here]

Be careful out there! See you in a few days, I'll have some news when I get back.

Plants and Potomac Horse Fever

When I agreed to board at The Ranch I also agreed to vaccinate Ava with the PHF (potomac horse fever) shot. My BO said they ask you to do this as a precaution. The birds will poo in the horses water and if the bird ingested an insect that carried the bacteria there could be a possible chance that the horse could get it. Their water is cleaned out regularly but better safe than sorry. So, I went out and gave Ava her first PHF shot. I also have to remember to give a booster shot three weeks later otherwise it won't work, doctor's orders. If you would like to learn more about the Potomac Horse Fever here are some links to check out, or just search it on Google.

PHF- Wikipedia
PHF- Merck Vet Manual
PHF- America's Horse Daily, free download

Friday is Ava's day off so I gave her the shot and was done, she's been working her butt off this week. Starting Tuesday she has been worked everyday since then. Roundpenning, lunging, saddling, bitting, and even started to truly ride her! We had a lesson yesterday and he made us work. He gave us lots of things to work on and said we were doing well. I also asked him about moving into a shank bit and what I need to do to get there. He said I could've started that day! My heart kind of skipped a beat when I heard that. So, maybe in a couple weeks when we are used to riding more then we will start working with a shank. Exciting! We also began working on getting the correct lead and our posting trot, that gave me a huge workout. But it's a good thing, he said if you're getting a workout then you're most likely doing the right thing, haha! Overall it was a great first riding lesson. I am so happy with this move, one of the best decisions of my life, I can't say it enough! Hopefully I won't jinx anything.

In other news, I wanted to show everyone my little vegetable garden. I have growing three tomato plants, about eight lettuce, one basil, and two peppers (bell and banana). I plan to get more but we haven't made a trip to the nursery yet, but I would like more lettuce and possibly a strawberry but we'll just have to see. Does anyone else have a little garden going this year?

Also happy late Summer Solstice, it's officially Summer!

Be Back Soon!

Hey Everyone,
Just want to let you know that I have not left you all. I am about to present this big speech for school and it is taking all my time working on it. I haven't even had time to see my girl! I'll be giving it on Monday so after that I'll be able to get some more action on here. Hope you're all well and I'll post soon!

KONY 2012

This is non-horse related but I wanted to get it out there. This is a video for Kony 2012, amazing amazing thing and a way to bring peace to the world. Watch it, share it, support it, let's bring some peace!