Let's post some embarrassing self-portraits, shall we?

It was Tuesday afternoon around 3:00. A big ole thunderstorm blew on through and, of course, the power went out at the 7MSN. Instead of getting all stressed out about the work I couldn't do and the e-mails I couldn't answer, I said to hell with it and went outside to hang out with Lucy and the boys. It was too nasty to take the good camera, so I took the new point-and-shoot – the one with all the silly pre-programmed modes I thought I would never use.

Me: Hey, Lucy. Here's a setting called self-portrait – "lets you take a picture of yourself while holding the camera" it says. Let's try it.

 Lucy: Stupid camera. It cut off my ears. Send it back.
Me: Don't be so quick to judge. I think it captured your smile quite nicely.
Let's keep trying.

And try we did. I have a bazillion pictures of my animals, but almost none of my animals and me together. 

I was determined to get one self-portrait with each of my equines where we both had our eyes open and that was in focus.

Next time I try this I should probably think about combing my hair, losing the baseball cap and not wearing a muddy raincoat. 

At least nobody stuck their tongue out this time.

Self portrait, September 2006

When life gets as wild as a Mustang

I don't think I've ever been so happy for a week to end. 

Running around in circles in a panic seems to be the new norm. 

This is not a mode in which I am accustomed to operating.

I don't write much here about the job that pays the bills and keeps me occupied during the day. Good thing. It's not very exciting. 

But I do enjoy it. Except for weeks like this when I'm running in so many different directions, I can't see straight.

But eventually everything has a way of falling into place.

There's still the unexpected event that takes me by surprise...

...and challenges me to keep things in perspective,

but as long as I remain calm and centered...

...and have you all to listen to me ramble...

...I can find comfort here when life gets out of control.

Nothing is as wild as it seems...

...because I'm surrounded by friends.

Saturday Encore ~ Bringin' in the herd

Today is National Day of the Cowboy, so it just seems fitting to share this story again, posted originally in June 2009.

I have a confession to make – there's something I haven't told you in all these many posts. I suffer from a chronic condition called punctual-osis, and there is no cure. No matter what the event, how far away it may be, or what the weather, I will arrive on time. Not a few minutes early, not a few minutes late, but ON time. Even if I try to be fashionably late, the fates will intervene and I will be there EXACTLY on time. It's a disease that I've learned to live with.

All of which is to say I arrived at the Carrizozo Cowboy Days round-up on time and was the first truck in the parking lot because, of course, everybody else hit their snooze alarm a few times.




Which was just fine with me because my Chevy got to size up the Dodge that parked next to her and try out her best pick-up lines.

And I had plenty of time to survey the scene and select the best vantage point for the arrival of the cowboys and the herd.

I'm guessing that about 150 cow/calf pairs were rounded up that morning. The cowboys worked slowly and quietly to move the herd into the catch pens. This cowboy was whistling ever so softly to keep the herd moving.

The crew tightened its circle around the herd and patiently waited while all the moms and their babies funneled through the gate. The youngest cowboy in the outfit stood out not only for his youth, but for his fashion sense.





The ranch horses were as quiet and handsome as the cowboys. They'd all been there and done that many times before, lived to tell about it, and had the scars to prove it.





What I will remember most about the round-up are the sounds and the biscuits and gravy. And the handsome cowboys. I can't begin to describe the symphony of moos. It was a loud and constant roar as the moms and babies called out until they found each other.






The round-up was held at the Spencer family's Bar W Ranch just north of Carrizozo. The current generation of Spencers is headed up by this cowboy. It was truly an honor to watch him work and lead his crew.  

Carrizozo's Cowboy Days are a celebration of cowboy culture, and I don't think you could find a better example of the breed.

The second weirdest thing that's ever happened at the 7MSN

It was 9:45 Friday night. I had yet to turn the boys and Lucy out into the pasture for the night. Smooch started barking and carrying on so I walked outside to see what was up. Hank was running around the corral being afraid of something; the burros and Lucy were in less of a frenzy but I could tell they were very worried about whatever had Hank in a panic.

It was too dark to see what evil lurked beyond the fenceline, but I assumed it was probably just a herd of pronghorns. I tossed the boys and Lucy some hay, hoping that food would take their minds off the problem. No such luck. Ten minutes went by and Hank was still in a frenzy, so I figured I'd best go out to investigate. I got my gun, hopped in the Ranger and headed down the road. I truly did not expect to see anything, mainly because it was just too dark.

I got about a quarter mile down the road and saw something large and white in the headlight beams. As I got closer, I saw there were two large white things. Then the two large white things started running. Horses! Wearing white fly sheets and fly masks. Hmm. Where in the heck had they come from? Don't they know this is the middle of nowhere?

I drove back to the house not sure of what I was going to do. My closeby neighbors are on vacation, so I called the 9-miles-away neighbors to see if they might know who the horses might belong to. They mentioned they had seen a truck with two city slickers pulling a fancy horsetrailer coming down the road around 4:00 and theorized they were the type of people to put fly sheets on their horses. That wasn't much to go on, and when we hung up, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do.

I decided to grab a couple of halters and see if I could catch them and pen them up somewhere for the night. When I walked back outside, they were standing behind the house. Alrighty then. I closed the gate at the end of the driveway and now they were safely contained. I fed and watered them, then got out my flashlight to see what I was dealing with – a mare and a gelding. I should mention that by now, Hank had calmed down, though he wasn't at all interested in going over to the fence to check them out. I think he's afraid of the fly sheets.

I called the state police asking if anyone had reported two horses missing, but no one had. Then I got in the truck and drove around for awhile, thinking I might run into somebody looking for their horses, but I didn't. I sure hope this mystery solves itself in the morning. I'll post an update whenever I get it figured out.

***

Update: The horses have been reunited with their frantic owners. I went out on the Ranger this morning and followed their tracks. All hoofprints led to a horse trailer down the road. Their owners were horse camping and had set up a hot-wire corral, which the gelding (an off-the-track thoroughbread) broke through, taking the mare (a Dutch warmblood) with him. (Good guess, AutumnSkyRanch!) The owners were relieved beyond measure to learn they were safe. I love happy endings.

Ho hum, just another spectacular New Mexico sunset...

...made even more spectacular because it was 55 degrees when I took this photo on Thursday night, the ninth day of December, when it should have been more like 30 degrees.

Solar-heated Water Trough product review

I learned about solar-heated water troughs several years ago, while working at a horse rescue. I put one on my wish list but never got around to buying it because of the expense ($500 plus shipping). After last year's obscenely cold winter, I finally bit the bullet. I was tired of spending a dollar a day for the electricity to operate a 1500-watt stock tank de-icer. My expectation is that this new solar unit will pay for itself ... eventually ... if George and Alan don't destroy it first.

Officially called the "BT Sun Tank," the unit is manufactured by Pine Ranch Products in Utah. I ordered mine from Country Supply on September 10 and it shipped 11 weeks later. Why it took so long is anybody's guess.

The tank must be set up on level ground, facing south. The solar collector panel is allegedly shatterproof, but the manufacturer suggests building a wire fence around it for protection. I set up mine a few inches inside a corral panel, knowing full well that George and Alan would try to paw it to death just to hear the noise.

See this round thing? It's an insulated float that bobs atop the surface of the water. 

The animal has to push it with his nose to get a drink. 

I'll move out of the way and let Hank show you how it's done.

Hank and Alan figured out how to use it in no time at all.

George took a little longer.

Of course, as soon as I set up the tank, the weather got freakishly warm so I wasn't able to thoroughly test it.  But Wednesday at dawn, when the temperature was about 24, there wasn't a speck of ice to be found. The unit is guaranteed to work down to minus 20 degrees.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the Sun Tank, and I'll sleep better knowing that the electric meter isn't spinning out of control all winter. I hope it's as durable as the manufacturer claims and that it will last a very long time.

But here's the part that bugs me. As I look at the unit, I can't help but wonder why it costs so darned much. It shouldn't. It's just a bunch of plastic - no fancy mechanical parts, no high-tech wizardry. And the workmanship is sloppy; for example, there are gobs of sealant sticking out from around the solar collector panel and some of the screws that attach the bucket to the housing are misaligned. It looks like something I might have assembled in my garage.

And the instruction manual? Don't get me started. Click on the image if you'd like to read it. Call me a graphic design snob, but a $500 product should come with something a tad more professional.

As far as I can tell, this brand is the only solar-heated water trough on the market. Maybe if they had some competition, the price would go down and the workmanship would go up. It's a great concept, just not a very good value.

Stumped

Hank is a licker. He'll lick anything – fences, your hand, your clothes, you name it. After he eats a treat or his grain, he'll go over and lick the pipe in his stall for a few minutes. It's as if he's pushing the flavor into his taste buds so he can savor it. He's been doing this for all the years that I've had him so I've ceased worrying about it, but it's still got me stumped.

Me: Hank, leave George alone! He's not hurting a darned thing.

Hank: He's too close to my stump.

George: Kiss my ass.

August in December

If the weather was crappy in your neck of the woods this weekend, I apologize for this post.

I took the pictures below around 9:00 on Sunday morning. I was wearing shorts. I'm not sure what the weatherman says when "unseasonably warm" just won't do, but I'm sure he was saying it this weekend.

I set up a solar-heated water tank for the boys on Saturday, which I'll show you later in the week. Meanwhile, I'll leave you with this picture. If you roll your mouse over it about a hundred times, you'll get a sense of how much Hank enjoyed slurping out of his new toy.

It was so windy on Sunday...

Post processing: 1. Remove sensor dust spots with patch tool 2. PW's Boost action at 68%

How windy was it?

It was so windy that all seven outdoor family members took shelter on the leeward side of the barn 

and I got them in the same picture.

It was so windy that George and Alan had to entertain themselves with whatever toys they could find.

It was so windy that I gave in to their demands, served supper a little early,

and ran back in the house to fire up the woodstove, clean the camera, apply more chapstick, 

and drink wine...and not necessarily in that order.