Stampede!

February 5, 2023

Hello again,

Well, I got a good lesson this week with the horses.  Long story short, I was out in the pasture with the dogs and the horses stampeded us and ran us all the way back to the gate by the barns.  They had been really pissy all week and spooky, snapping their heads up out of the feeders at the crack of a branch, ready to kick it into high gear and run at any point.  Full moon was tonight, on Sunday, and it was really bright all week leading up to the weekend.  The coyotes are mating and running around the hills here, wreaking their usual havoc.  They killed four of the neighbor's days-old calves the other night, not too far from their house full of people and dogs.  Returning from the post office just the other night, maybe an hour before dark, I saw a coyote cross the driveway and very non-chalantly work his way from the pond on the property towards the hills a little farther to the north.  So, whether or not the coyotes are what caused the horses to be acting agitated all week long or not, that's my guess.  Along with all the dogs that run loose around here...nothing big enough to take down a horse, but big enough(or numerous enough) to harass the shit out of them.  So, Friday after work, I was wondering if the horses had eaten all of their hay from the morning's feeding and figured they were out on the bigger, 100-acre piece that we only let them on one week out of the month, so the dogs and I walked out to the feeders to check.  These are on the smaller, 60-acre piece that is right along the frontage road and it's easy to go check the feeders, walk along the frontage road towards the ranch road and then cut back over the hill to come out at the barns and houses.  We made it about 100 yards from the feeders and saw that the horses were there, milling about, still nibbling on leftovers from the morning.  I've never let the dogs run around loose in the pasture before, but have had them meet the horses through the fence many a time, so I slowly proceeded to see what would happen.  About 100 feet away, suddenly the horses all broke into a trot and started running towards us.  A little bit later, Blossom & Rosie, mother and daughter, started sprinting towards us as the tip of the spear, making slashing motions with their front hooves along the way.  Willow was the furthest away and immediately turned tail and ran back to the barns at high speed.  I could hear the boss's dogs barking at her about a minute later and knew that she had made it there.  Ela started moving with me and Rui as we were walking at a very brisk pace back towards the gate, but stopped to do a few loops near and around the horses and nearly was trampled.  She fled to the inside of a big juniper in the first instance and then, after a second occurrence, found an even bigger tree to hide in.  Then, she took Willow's lead and started running back to the barns, but only just fast enough to stay ahead of the horses while still being able to snag a few horse turds on the way out.  Rui, the oldest and fattest of the dogs, was hustling his ass off and panting and race-walking, glued to my side, as a sea of horses was swirling around us in a very agitated manner.  Once, I stepped out and waved my hands to make them give us some more space, but it only succeeded in me nearly getting mule-kicked in the face.  It was from Nanette, who really likes me, and it was a good five feet away from my head, but clearly she was encouraging me to get my dogs out of there.  So, finally, after just a couple of minutes that seemed like an eternity, we were back on the other side of the fence, catching our breaths and all looking at each other and then back at the horses, faces covered in sheepish grins, as the horses snorted and stomped around in the dirt, before turning back to the water troughs to regroup.  We often go on some rather long walks after work, but neither I nor the dogs had any more interest in going anywhere and just headed back to the house to crash.  Later, when I did feed the horses, I just drove out quick and chucked a bale of hay in each feeder and sped back off, without even interacting with them, just to let them know that I was not pleased that they almost trampled us.  They got the gist of it, but I'm sure we'll be back to best buds this week again!

Otherwise, our gas station-buying fever has abated, as we neither have the money to throw at it nor are we sure that we really want to buy a gas station.  I applied for a job in town at a corporate outfit, only to be turned down for something that I was immensely qualified for.  However, I answered the questions with too much verve and experience and only drove home the point of what an individualistic, free-thinking, good-in-a-pinch kind of guy I was, only to be told that there was a corporate manual that answered everything and a supervisor right above you to let you know if you didn't do it right.  After rattling off all of my programming and computer skills, I was frowned at and then patiently asked if I would be able to fill in fields on an Excel spreadsheet and if I knew how to compose a letter on the computer.  Once I shook off the initial feeling from being turned down, I quickly grew ecstatic and couldn't even begin to dream about working for corporate, so, it's back to the drawing board...but, the boss's house looks like it's never going to be done anyway and there's hundreds of hours of landscaping that needs to be done afterwards, too, so, why not?  I must have been crazy for applying!

Ok, now it's time for another big batch of pictures from the ranch this week.  First up, ten different shots of the cats in all of their chaotic, frenetic, joy-inspiring insanity: first, an artistic shot of Chelly lying on top of the door; then, Ebony sneaking through the big juniper in front of the house; next, another two shots of Chelly on the door, the first with her kittens all watching; then, Misty Gish up on the loft railing, followed by two shots of some of Zia's kittens doing the same in front of the stained glass, and then Franny Freckleface peering down on Zia from above; lastly, two shots of Chelly going out for a walk with me and the dogs.  Next, five shots from work, showing what I was up to this week: first, a big cleanup in the garage, as we prepare to get it ready for the boss to start moving things up there before they spread to the rest of the house when it's finished; then, my job all week long, helping the electricians with about 90 LED lights that needed their metal stems cut down before being reinstalled at their shorter lengths...I got a lot of work in with my hacksaw!  Finally, a moment of zen at the water troughs where I am spoiled by the views that surround me.

Take care.