Horse time

It's been a while since I've done this, so here's some horse pics to brighten your spring. (Btw, I was wearing a lot of that coat on me today. It's shedding season.)

Grass is starting to grow here, so the geldings were wandering out to the grass. Unfortunately, the hay this late in the season isn't the best. Buddy has a hay cough that was bad today. That, or he has something else going on, but it's not a virus or anything like that.

In other news, I also re-covered one of my books, one that doesn't get much attention--When Angels Cry--probably because it's just a side book to the Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles and not part of the main series. Anyway, here's the new cover to look for:

The next project... leaving a legacy

I like staying busy, although life doesn't always let me do what I want.

Book 23 gets better and better. I keep seeing ways to improve it and rewriting bits and pieces already laid down in the first draft. I have around 25K words on it so far, but the foundation has to be fixed for the whole structure to be stable. I was working with an incomplete idea but those have been coming over the last week and making it stronger and stronger so that the rest, which I do have planned, will be even more grand when it's finished.

Aside from that, there's another project I've wanted to complete for many, many years... a reference book about horses for the inexperienced writer/creator or simply novice equestrians. I joined Substack to follow the Based Book Sale and recently posted an intro. Soon after, I thought about making the most of the platform, but it really isn't my cuppa. However, my next post idea was this. The problem is that my thoughts overflowed on describing my history with horses and I've only just begun.

So, when I have spare time or the characters aren't coming together for me to write on Book 23, I'll work on this as a side project. I'll see what comes of it. I may even see about querying a nonfiction publisher, but that's not a priority. I have the outline in place already and just need to fill in the details... a bullet point summary of everything equine for the novice or uninitiated. This will be a way of leaving a legacy of much of the basic knowledge I've accumulated over more than forty years with horses.

And you can thank Buddy for inspiring this. I went to see him Saturday and he was his usual charming self. Here he is doing his weird habit of sucking his tongue:

And a pic of him nibbling me to find the pocket with the treats:

God bless!

and now for a return to something different... horse pics

It's been a while, but I hadn't been doing much with Buddy over the last year, and this summer was a mess. He's mostly become a pasture pet, but I have had chances to ride here and there... few and far between. It's no big deal with him, because he's never a problem if he doesn't get ridden much.

Because of the lack of time for him, I had tried to sell him, but only to the right person, which never came. I guess he was just meant to be my pasture-pet Buddy.

I hadn't intended when I bought him to have him this long, but I just never bothered to try to sell him, and now I couldn't stand the thought of someone not liking him and dumping him in a sale where he'd end up abused or killed. He'll stay with me the rest of his life.

Here he is from this past summer with one of that big, beautiful butt from today:

The Maui hook (from the character in Moana)

He wears his heart on his stocking.

Happy trails!

Happy Independence Day!

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." - 2 Corinthians 3:17

This is my single favorite Bible quote. It encompasses everything about the faith and true freedom--from sin, from corruption, from worry about this world. In the Spirit of the Lord is a true sense of freedom like nothing else you can imagine, but it requires obedience to God. The best part is that, when you love God fully, you want to obey every edict He has set-- to please Him--and all of that is upheld in the fullness of the truth. You will only find true freedom by strict obedience and humility to God.

But... Happy U.S. Independence Day! It is still a great worldly cause to be independent of corrupt governments like what America suffered under British rule when it was founded. Many of our country's founders were Christians (read this tidbit about George Washington) and even stated that our Constitution only works in a society based on faith in God. It only fails when we kick God out of society. Those who are disappointed in this country need God more than anyone, which fits perfectly with 2 Corinthians 3:17.

Writing:

In writing updates, I had some setbacks. I really need to quit posting when I get close to finishing. It never fails that something comes up and I can't get into writing the way I should. My stage of life and chronic illnesses love to pull the rug out from my plans, along with other distractions.

Writing slowed right after my last update but in a good spot. I'm at 43K words on Book 22, but the climax got a bit more complicated than I had anticipated. I also wanted to be sure no plot holes or inconsistencies existed, so that meant a bit different action than I was expecting. I'm hoping that only about three or four more scenes are left, and those will be somewhat short as events are wrapping up. Maybe this weekend I can finish so I can go on to editing Book 20 so that can be published soon.

Horse time:

If you think writing is bad, that's nothing compared to my horse. Either we have heat, smoke, or rain for weather OR the weather is perfect but I don't have the time or don't feel good. I made it out to see Buddy recently, after three weeks away. But after nearly ten years together, I called his name and his head lifted and he looked; no other horse looked. He knows the sound of my voice. That makes me think of the gospel quote of Jesus - “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" The way Buddy responds in hearing my voice, even after some time away, gives me a different perspective of what Our Lord said. That's a discussion for another time, though.

The good thing is that Buddy is at a boarding facility in a pasture with other geldings. He doesn't have any special supplement, health, or training needs. He can be a pasture pet. Besides, someone would say something if he had a problem, but he's a pretty durable, stocky guy with very little athletic ability, which is what I love best about him.

Buddy is perfect for my age. He doesn't buck or rear. At worst, he spooks, but I've learned how to minimize that risk. I give him a calming supplement first thing before I do anything else, so it has time to work into his system. I've learned that a pad that doesn't press on his withers alleviates some tension for him (by giving him more comfort). And I found a sort of horse Tums from Chewy that sooths any stomach issues like ulcers, at least temporarily. Pain will make any horse more sensitive, especially ulcers.

When I was out this past Saturday, I rode him. I hadn't ridden in about two months, but with him, it doesn't matter. He's still just as good as the last time. It had stormed the night before (quite a night with major natural fireworks show, hail, and something like 13 tornadoes that mostly hit in fields and pastures or didn't touch down; we had rotating clouds above our house, but I was praying the Rosary the whole time and nothing hit us or the boarding facility). What rain fell at the boarding facility left the outdoor arenas wet, so I rode in the grass, not going too far down the road. Buddy is most comfortable when he can see his herd or at least horses he knows, and I didn't have anyone else to ride with. It was fun and light.

Hopefully the gaps between don't go as long from this point on, but we'll see how summer goes.

That's it for now.

Have a wonderful July 4 holiday, U.S.A.!

the latest happenings, including writing updates

Summer is here. It came pretty fast, but everything goes faster as you get older.

Horsing around again

Life and weather, and dangerous smoke from Canadian wildfires (last weekend was awful!)... combined to keep me from seeing my horse for longer than I would have liked. Yesterday, I finally went to see him again. He's in a pasture at the boarding facility, has fresh water and friends and gets checked on, so I don't have to worry. He's a tough boy and knows how to cope.

I trimmed his hooves, which were just starting to get long but not terrible and had no chipping or cracking yet. The big issue was a bunch of ticks under his anus (and, I suspect, the same with other pasture horses who were rubbing and rubbing to no relief). My poor guy was miserably irritated by a cluster of ticks. They are terrible this year! I doused them and the rest of him in a strong bug repellant before trimming his hooves and managed to find someone who wasn't squeamish about ticks to pull them all off. Buddy was so relieved afterwards and almost fell asleep with no more flies or ticks irritating him. He enjoyed the process of having the ticks removed too; his expressions through it were hilarious. 🤣

I didn't ride him. I knew I'd be sore after trimming hooves, and riding after that long would only compound my soreness. I started feeling it last night and still feel achy today. I gave Buddy treats, love, and a hoof trimming. He enjoyed that. No work. He's a pasture pet, but he enjoys it and is good when I do get on. Since I'm not competing, we can take it easy. I hope to get out more regularly, but then stuff happens, some of it the same stuff that interferes with my writing.

Cats and crystals

I thought only male cats had issues with bladder crystals.

Nope.

We noticed our old girl (13 years) had bloody urine. Our oldest cat (male) as a kitten did that and had to be put on a special diet for a while, then grew out of it before developing other issues that required him to be on an even more restrictive diet. Boy cats have narrow urethras and are more prone to crystal issues. But female cats can have urinary crystal problems too. I didn't expect that. They just don't have the same trouble with blocked urethras that boys do. A blocked urethra happened to the other old boy (third oldest) several years ago, and he would yowl while in the litterbox and continually lick his sheath area. That clued us in then that he also had crystal issues, but he was already in later maturity when it became an issue for him.

Now, we have three cats who have to be on special food. Only the newest is free to eat anything... so far.

The good news is that our girl, for as old as she is, has healthy kidneys and no infection. None of our kitties are diabetic. They may not like the special foods for their issues, but they're healthier and happier than the alternative. A day after switching to the special foods given to the old boys, she was already getting back to being her chipper self (*sarcastically speaking* - she has tortitude in full!). She was playing again, instead of grumping around in pain. I expect this will clear up quickly for her.

We only knew she was having issues because of a couple of times that she urinated outside the litterbox and it was bloody. It was difficult to confirm which cat it was initially because we have four, but the boys have never gone outside the litterbox. Still, we had to wait until we could observe it so we wouldn't be paying for multiple cats to unnecessarily be taken to the vet.

We caught it and only had to change her diet. She's already doing better, so yay!

Light and Shadows

That is the title I'm sticking with on Book 22 of Forgotten Worlds. The word count is around 30K now and I'm hoping to finish by the end of the month, but that only holds up if life doesn't get in the way.

I still need to figure out a cover, but I know what would work. I just have to find the right image, or multiple images and compile it. It may take some Photoshop work to get something more representative of this story. 

Print Books

Since I read through Forgotten Worlds books 1-10, I fixed some things that I couldn't leave alone. (Book 6 was a mess, like the final edits didn't save or got overwritten until this update. I'm still beside myself since discovering that in the read-through this past year because the bad version was the one that had been available for a few years.)

I love reading my books, but I always see something to tweak. I started reading as a refresher and knew there would be some fixes. Updates have been uploaded for the individual ebooks. I just need to update the print files. I have the print collections for this series unavailable until the updates are ready. It hasn't been a big priority, since print doesn't usually sell for me, and I hate formatting those.

It's something I do plan to finish this summer, at least for Collections 1 and 2 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds. I'm still working my way through books 11-15 when I have time. Once those are done, I'll re-release Collection 3 as well.

--------------

That's all for now. I'll post more when I have updates, like a book cover.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Catturday... animals

This weekend is a weekend of reading. I hope this is the last round of edits on Book 19 of Forgotten Worlds.

While I'm doing that, I often end up now with two cats. And when the weather is nice (not this weekend), I've been getting out to ride my horse. So I have a bit of that too to share.

First up is a video of Buddy sucking his tongue, a weird thing he does once in a while. He was shedding when I was last out too. It's that season, when I start wearing a fur coat on my way home. I trimmed his hooves to start and was so sore afterwards (think power squatting for long periods of time with weights and pulls!) that I just did a little trail riding on the boarding property. He was good for that.

"My bucket is empty, Mom!"

Next up is Bilbo being a cat model this morning showing his different sides.

Big yawn

And the old man is accepting Bilbo better. These were taken earlier in the week when I was editing. Dargo curled up next to me and Bilbo wanted to be there too but respected Dargo's space. They laid next to me for an hour without any issues and Dargo was more and more comfortable with being close to Bilbo and by the end stretched out as much as he could. Bilbo has always been respectful of his elder housemates--not an ounce of aggression in him!--but they've taken time to accept him.

Not sure about this, but a good start

Getting more comfortable

Completely comfortable

Suki decided to enjoy her corner of the dining room rug this morning too to satisfy an itch on her back.

I thank God that in sending us a new cat, He sent us Bilbo. He couldn't have sent us a stray any better behaved. Bilbo has been a perfect gentleman, other than wanting to engage the old kitties in play when they don't want to play. Now that all three senior kitties have had their teeth cleaned and their mouths have healed from extractions, they're a lot less moody. But Bilbo has also been living nearly four months in our house.

That's it for now. Time to get back to editing.

God bless!

Fur babies and fun

I haven't posted about the critters in a while and have some new pics and a video to share.

First, Bilbo is coming up on his third 3 in the adoption adjustment. He's three months indoors now and very comfortable with the household.

I'd say he's pretty cozy being carried, but he always was, just not quite what the pic below demonstrates. There's no way he wasn't a pet when he was younger. One person's trash is our treasure. He has a furever home now and a routine. Every night he sleeps between hubby and I near our pillows. Hubby is holding him awkwardly in the pic (carried him like this up the stairs to the main level), but the big boy didn't care, although he's usually a bit unsure when you first pick him up if you don't support his feet.

He's a big baby. And I mean BIG (for a non-Main Coon)--15 pounds of pure muscle. Apple AI suggests chartreux. He's just a mixed breed of something, but he's about the right size, base coloring, eye color, and temperament, so maybe a mix. However, I couldn't find any breeders in the area and doubt they would mix such a rare breed to produce a tuxedo like Bilbo.

And here's our old man, the other "O" boy (Dargo), who used to be the biggest cat in the house but is now second biggest and remains the oldest and the only papered kitty (TICA-registered Siamese, now Thai cat). He has health issues that are closely managed, but at his age, you expect that:

I've been playing with the different settings on my new iPhone.

I took this video this past Sunday of Buddy enjoying a post-ride treat. He was goofing off like he does with the bucket, until he noticed me recording. 🙄

I hope the video shows up. Otherwise, I took still pics too:

We had a good ride before this. It was a beautiful day (nearly 50 F), an 80 degree difference from the minus thirty-something Farenheit cold just 5-6 days earlier! We rode inside, but the good weather brought out a LOT of boarders and we had to wait for room to ride. In that wait, the calming supplement took effect, so by the time I got on, he was in a good state of mind, a complete turnaround from the roaring dragon he started as when we entered the indoor arena. Something about the western pleasure show riders training their horses was freaking him out, even though he can tolerate watching mounted shooting outside in the summer. No clue what got into him. 🤷  At least the calming supplement worked. (He's nervous in the indoor arena, so I try to stack the deck in my favor, so to speak, by doing what I can to help him calm down so I'm less likely to get hurt. Quietex II works wonders for him.)

We're heading into shedding season, so I expect my trips out will soon end up with me wearing more of his winter coat than he does.

Anyway, that's what's going on in the four-legged/fur-baby side of life.

I don't know when I'll next have other updates. I go in spurts. I've had a lot going on lately and thought I'd share with readers.

God bless!

books and cats... and horse

I'm not quite done with Book 21. It's currently at 48K words, already longer than I anticipated. PLUS, the Hashimoto's flared up right on cue to delay me finishing this project, and when that happens to the degree it did, I just can't write. I can copyedit, but my brain isn't sharp enough to remember details and the lack of sleep only compounds it. That took the whole week to recover with very little writing getting done, and what was done needed immediate rewriting. Fortunately, I think I know what caused this flare and won't do that again!

So, not where I wanted to be by this weekend. I wanted to be finished. That didn't happen.

On the other hand, I did finish entering edits on Book 5 and uploaded the minor changes. I can get that kind of work done when the combo of thyroid issues and a wonky immune system collide into a perfect storm. I can also get a lot done at the day job. Next, I need to get to work on updating the print omnibus of books 1-5 and get that back online for sale.

And I finally had the perfect day to ride my horse today. I haven't felt this much like myself in a long time. I hadn't ridden him in about 6 months, although I've been out to give him treats and do groundwork, and it was like I hadn't been off. He's twelve years old now and I've had him for more than nine of those years, so we're pretty familiar with each other. But the same autoimmune issues that interrupt my writing also interrupt my riding. Today, everything came together--weather (around 40 F and 0 wind, which was gorgeous), other riders (he's better when a paturemate is also in the arena), and me feeling good. I needed that! I'll be sore for the next few days, but it was worth it.

And for lack of sleep, that's partly on the cats. Bilbo has been deciding that he likes to sleep at the top of my head and partly on my head, which is terrible for my neck. Plus I usually have a cat at my feet. And I can end up with one or more completing the box on either side of me. The worst is when they come walking on me in the wee hours of the morning and then I can't go back to sleep. It doesn't happen every night, but with four cats, there's usually one waking me at some point, hopefully not until close to when I need to get up for the day. My husband sleeps through all of it.

Also, now when I want to write, there are times that I have two cats. I can deal with my old boy next to me, but Bilbo never wants to stay next to me. He always wants a lap, and he's still learning to respect the laptop. So, I'll call the hubby to take him. Bilbo was supposed to be his cat. I have mine.

Oldest kitty loves Our Lady of Guadalupe
blanket, or at least the fuzzy side, even more
than my pink winter bathrobe.

This past month, two of our cats had high vet expenses from going off their food and then us discovering they needed their teeth cleaned. One of them had an abscessed tooth that was extracted. They now have matching "bracelets" of shaved hair (seen in pic) where the IVs were while they were sedated for the procedures. (Bilbo's shaved hair is nearly grown out from his IV during his neutering two months ago.) The oldest two are completely back to their old selves, so things are good again.

Now, back to writing... or time for oldest's felimazole, then writing. It's been quite the week and I'm finally feeling more like myself and able to focus again.

Life is busy, but life would be dull if it wasn't.

God bless!

The saints are alive in heaven and bring our prayers before God

I have a couple of events to share that show that the saints are alive in heaven and helping us.

God the Father is the creator of everything. We might think of ourselves as renters. Everything is His, and I offer all that I am back to him, which is why I have taken down some of my books and edited others. I don't want to offend the Lord but to honor Him. (I strongly encourage writers to exclude sex scenes and incitement of lust in readers in any form as well as any expressions using the Lord's name in vain. You are leading others to sin, which is a sin for you that you have to account for in your judgment.)

Sometimes we need help in this life, and like a good landlord, God comes to our aid when we need it, more so when we honor Him and don't put the things of this world above Him. We can go directly to God, but think of the saints like the property office staff who intercede for the renter to the owner of the property--they work more closely with the owner everyday than the renters do. In that, we can ask favors of those in heaven with Him. Those in heaven are referred to as the saints (whether the deceased who have attained heaven or the angels already in heaven). They are the pure, holy* souls who have attained the blessings of the beatific vision. They love us for God's sake and want to help us. It's part of their purpose, part of the way they continue to express their love of God and honor Him.

They are alive in heaven and hear our prayers. According to exorcists, they only hear when God allows it, such as when we address them directly, including the angels. By loving the saints and letting them help us, we are loving God, just as by loving others on this world, we are loving God. The saints are closer to God. We only worship God, but asking the saints for intercession, for the help we sometimes need when we can't do something ourselves or when temptations overwhelm us, is honoring God by acknowledging those He has deemed worthy to join Him in heaven.

That's a bit of an explanation of why we pray to (ask) the saints for help. They are our heavenly customer service, so to speak.

And now for a couple of new stories of saintly intercession, although one is not yet canonized.

The first story is of a request to Blessed Carlo Acutis.

I had trouble with one of the computers I use at work--a program not working--and I had tried EVERYTHING (I know quite a bit about computers--had been the technical person for a couple of small offices and hubby is a programmer). I was so frustrated and needed to use this particular program to update our online training. I had one last option and remembered Carlo Acutis (if his family sees this, thank you). On Monday, I said a little prayer and asked this young man of our modern world for his intercession... The program worked perfectly afterwards! I made the changes I needed to make and uploaded the updates. (Carlo Acutis was a kid who liked computer programming.)

Better than that, one of the backup drives that had been giving me trouble also started working perfectly. I hadn't even asked that in my simple little prayer request. I had almost given up on it and hardly used it because it would take sooo looong to run, but I plugged it in today for an end-of-week backup. I was shocked at how fast the login for the encrypted backup drive came up and it backed up like it hadn't done since it was new.

Thank you, Blessed Carlo Acutis!

Buddy after our ride before untacking and having
his hooves trimmed. The new Wintec 500 saddles
are great saddles at a fair price; it fits us both perfectly.

And while trimming my horse's hooves yesterday, he got a bit fidgety and I asked St. Francis to keep him occupied so I could hurry up and finish (a storm was coming in). St. Francis of Assisi is the patron of animals (among other causes) and even had a horse. My Buddy boy stood still for me after that, and I finished with a little time to spare.

(We had an excellent ride yesterday prior to my trimming his hooves, but I had a little prayer to St. Francis in my heart before getting in the saddle--calming supplements don't always work on Buddy. Much of the time, he stands better for hoof trimming before I ride, although it's generally a better idea to exercise a horse before trimming so they're tired and stand better. Not Buddy. It worked out well yesterday, though.)

Throughout my life, I've prayed to St. Anthony for lost items and have had some true miracles from his intercession, but haven't needed him for a little while. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is another saint who has come to my aid. Of course, I always honor St. Joseph and Our Blessed Mother; Mary goes without saying--the most powerful saint in heaven and greater than all other saints combined, according to demons.

Those alive in heaven are always there to help us before God. Never hesitate to ask for intercession. If they don't lead us to a solution within this world, they can lead to those miracles we need, through their petitions to God on our behalf.

God bless you and keep you!

______________

* Sanctus, the origin of the word saint, is Latin for holy.

Spring is in full swing!

Spring is finally here to stay... although the weather can surprise us in ND.

After calling 811 for utility locating, we used the
flags to mark the lilacs for mowing.

We've planted some fruit trees and a row of lilacs after finally remembering the deadline for the soil conservation district and ordering them a few months ago. One doesn't think of planting in the arctic weather of January, but that's when orders have to be made to have trees for May pick-up. 

And we had a nice wet couple of weeks here. Everything is green!

The rhubarb and strawberries woke up before the last of the freezing nights were done. This morning I counted over half a dozen blossoms on my growing strawberry patch already and pulled one blossom stalk off the rhubarb (after ripping out one of the three plants to make more room for the strawberry patch to expand and because I get way more rhubarb than I need from the other two plants). And the raspberries are all leafed out now too, so blossoms should be starting on those soon.

Grapes are budding out--both survived the winter. Woohoo! 🥳  However, it appears that the vines have to be a certain thickness to survive and wake up. The smaller plant is only budding at the base, although there might be a small bud further up. The bigger plant (two years old) has clear buds about three feet up on the main vine, and that's the plant that gave us a few small grapes last year already. I'll prune dead vines and lesser vines after I see a few main trunks. I just added fertilizer to those today for the year.

This morning was pretty calm for wind, so we burned the debris in our garden from last year. Most of it burned but some was too wet, so we tossed that into the compost bin after it cooled and then soaked it down again because compost needs to be kept wet. Other years it's been too dry to burn so hubby mowed the cornstalks to chop them up instead. We didn't plant as much corn last year because no one else is really eating it. This year we're skipping corn entirely.

Hubby is tilling the garden today. We'll let that settle probably until next week and plan the layout before then. The perennials have their own section now, so that doesn't change. Hubby will have his section for his peppers (bells, seranos, and jalapeños), which are being hardened before transplanting, along with two tomato plants. He likes making his own salsa, so he's planned that out. I just need my winter onions to grow big enough to share. I love cooking with onions, so I go through a lot. 

Also, without corn taking up room in the garden, I'm planning on putting in four rows of peas instead of two. Legumes are a great rotation crop, and these sweet peas are delicious, even thawed after freezing. I put away a lot last year. This year I'm sure I'll get sick of them but will have more to share with family and friends. Other than that, it'll be a couple of cucumber plants, some of which we'll turn into homemade pickles but mostly give away to family and friends. This year I also bought holy basil seeds. I love holy basil as a seasoning and the flowers are beautiful and attract insects.

And then there's the usual pumpkin patch. We gut some for seeds, then cook and puree the flesh that we want to share with family and friends and the rest get gutted for seeds and turned into decorations. We put in the pumpkins well outside the garden because one plant can take over the garden.

So, gardening season is finally here!

It's also riding season. I'm hoping to have enough good days to give Buddy more of my time.

_____________

Other than that, writing is going well. Book 19 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is over 32,500 words and will have another 10-15K words on it before it's finished. It kind of turned into a mini Game of Thrones but without the debauchery and complete lack of ethics. How can I do that? Trust me, I can create a power play without sex, gore, and killing a bunch of characters. If you focus on an actual story instead of sensationalism, there's plenty you can do, especially when you still have the science fiction side of the series to consider. And there are dragons; not fire-breathing, but a type of dragon that is more plausible to the world. I hope to finish ALL THE KING'S MEN by June 1. Then I'll edit HOMECOMING and get that out... hopefully by the end of June.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

Horse time

Spring is here, or at least trying to be here. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and I spent it with my Buddy. I found out later that the world seemed to be falling apart while I was offline, but I can't do anything about it, so I'll go on living my life and enjoying the blessings God gave me.

I gave Buddy the winter off this year. I'd go out to check on him and give him treats and supplements regularly, but mostly let him be a pasture pet. He has good care where he's boarded--good hay and water and a big pasture with other geldings. I don't have to worry. I did get a call once that he had gotten out into a different pen somehow a couple of months ago, but he wasn't injured. Buddy is a pretty durable little guy (if 15 hands can be considered "little" when it's pretty average). He's built like a draft horse but without the feathers (thick fetlock hair) common to draft breeds.

The temps hit 80 F yesterday (but winter tries to come back this week)! I had to take advantage of it. The breeze wasn't an issue at that temp and in fact made the conditions perfect. I thought the barn would be packed, but that wasn't the case. It was like any summer day, a few people spending time with their horses. So, not crowded and somewhat quiet.

I figured it was time to get back on Buddy and get our first ride in after 6-7 months off. He's always been one that I could give him time off (winter) and get right back on where we left off. The only issue is his attitude on any given day, and that's not just time off. It's a Buddy issue. I'm learning that it's much worse when he has a heavy parasite load and now know that his extraordinary spookiness is one of the first signs, aside from the runny poops that come at a later point if I don't deworm him sufficiently.

This time getting back to riding was no different than any other year. He's eleven years old now and we've been together for eight and a half, so we know each other pretty well. He's my God-given life-saver. I bought him when my life was at a bad point with my health issues getting me down. He's a special case horse in personality that I knew would be ruined by most people and he's not registered and not very athletic, which means he'd have no future as a show horse. It was that sense of responsibility to make sure he didn't end up with someone who wouldn't understand his personality or ruin him that kept me hanging on when I hit a low point. That he would have eventually ended up at a kill pen was my fear. He's difficult to deal with because of his normal quirkiness. He's not a dead-head, no matter what desensitization I do with him.

Anyway, that's my Buddy. He's always been a bit unusual, but I've had sensitive horses before, so I can deal with that. Most people can't.

He enjoyed the winter off and wasn't anxious to get back to work. He saw me bring out the saddle, and I swear if he could have rolled his eyes, he would have. The look on his face and in his body said it all--"Not that again." Fat boy needs exercise. He wasn't as fat as I'd feared, however. I could easily get our normal girth on him.

I had given him some calming supplement before I tacked up, along with Platinum's Bio-Sponge in a small amount of beet pulp, since he doesn't like the Bio-Sponge much. It's helped him. I've been giving that to him throughout this past winter every time I'm out. But I wanted to see where his mind was and, after tacking up, gave him some round pen time. He didn't do anything stupid, not even when the stirrups came loose and flapped against his sides. He was looking outside a lot, although with an ear on me, so he was paying attention. He remembered how to round pen and didn't whinny for anyone; that silence is always a good sign. After the manager told me he'd worked up the big arena, we went up there to ride. I led Buddy around it once as a precaution and he seemed calm, so I mounted.

At my age, I take precautions when I'm not sure what his mind is like, especially after so much time off. The warm weather while he still has a winter coat, the calming supplement, and my prep may not have been necessary, but I'm getting too old to take things for granted and know him too well. He was the quietest he's ever been, but he showed signs of his gut being healthy too (always watch the poops). Even when we stopped in the past, he would rarely stand still. Yesterday, we'd stop and he wouldn't move a hoof. We rode and his head was long and low, not a bit of discomfort or tension or worrying about his herd or much else around him. It was a great first ride. He did everything that we've always done, although was a bit stiff in his lateral work and back to his old crookedness, so I had to keep correcting his balance.

It didn't take much for him to sweat through his saddle pad, and we rode pretty lightly, partly because he already had a touch of sweat before I even tacked up. I had counted on that working to my advantage keeping him from wanting to move too much.

Afterwards, I tried to get some pics, but he wouldn't cooperate very well for a selfie--kept looking off at another horse. And I didn't realize until I was home that I had posed him on a hill with his rump higher with his tack on, so I scrapped a full pic in his tack and I'm sharing a pic after I untacked him.

I also gave him a haircut before we rode. His mane was getting long and that gets in the way while riding. I don't like long manes, so I gave him his usual trim. He always looks better trimmed up.

After the ride

We're back in the saddle, and I'm hoping the rest of the summer goes as well as this first ride. Last year was awful. He was flighty stupid and had runny manure, and I didn't know why. Then someone told me they had their horse scoped and discovered how bad the bots were. The dewormer her vet recommended did the trick for Buddy--Quest Plus--and he settled down and his manure returned to normal. I hope bots aren't as bad this year, but at least now I'll know to keep an eye out for the signs in him.

The upcoming week is going to be terrible weather again, so I don't know when we'll get to ride next, but at least we're at the tail end of winter. I look forward to more saddle time with my Buddy again. 🐴

It's a Beautiful Day!

This was probably the last nice day we would have for a while. I was determined to get out to spend time with my horse (still have him, going on 8 years). I've had so much trouble getting out to see him this year that half the summer, it was three times a month if I was lucky. If I can get out once a week, I'm doing pretty good (although I would like to see him more often).

Because of the busyness of my life, I had been thinking the last couple days, "Lord, should I sell the horse? Is that what you want me to do?"

Then, I have today. Gorgeous! Almost 60 F, no wind, fairly dry outdoor arena. I had the best ride in a long time! He was so good and flexible, and we still had daylight afterwards, so I trimmed his hooves. He stood almost perfectly for me and I trimmed exactly as I wanted to for the winter. His hooves look good and he's not sore on soft ground.

So, I think I know the answer to my prayer--keep my boy and enjoy what I can of him when I can. He's in a pasture with room to roam and is plenty fat and sassy (although more frequent riding would fix that). He's not lacking for anything.

Buddy from late October 2023, after much of the snow
melted from the Oct. snowstorm.

It was a beautiful, inspiring day. And I had even gotten some writing in before going out to play with him.

Now that I'm home and cleaned up and getting ready to return to writing, I remembered something I had seen some time ago. It's uplifting and fun and pretty well sums up how this day made me feel.

Even better -- I came home to find that Amazon had resolved the ratings bombing of my book! 🥳

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Have a beautiful weekend!

So close to done (so I took a break to have some fun)

I'm excited to say that Book 17 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is currently over 43K words and just two short scenes from being finished. If all goes well, I might achieve that by tomorrow.

I had a great writing streak Friday and Saturday with over 4K words getting written on this project. With all that momentum, one's creativity can get a bit drained and need a moment to refresh.

And since the weather ended up being so beautiful, I went out to play with my boy. I haven't posted horse pics in a while, but I still have Buddy. He's been at a boarding facility closer to where I live than my parents, but it's been exactly what he needed. I get out to him regularly, although not as often as I'd like.

This past weekend, there was an event at the facility, so I waited until today. I could have gone yesterday, but I was really on a roll with the writing and with the event, I figured one more day would be worth the wait. I ended up arriving after most of those who had hauled in for the event had left. The outdoor arena was open, so I was able to do whatever I wanted. (While there, I found a horseshoe with nails still in it and took it out so no one steps on it. One of the horses at the event threw a shoe.)

And I remembered to get some pictures after we rode. Buddy is ten years old now, and fat on a good pasture. The drought of the last two years is over and clearly he gets plenty to eat. I could work him harder, but I'm not as young as I used to be.

Watch for an announcement on the completion of the first draft of Book 17 soon. Once that's done, I'll give it a read through and then start editing Book 15, which I hope to publish by the beginning of September.

a horse update

I haven't mentioned my horse here in a while. Buddy turns 10 this year and I've now had him for 7 years as of October 2022.

Spring 2022, still a bit fuzzy with
what was left of his winter coat

He has come so far in the last year that I'm more excited than ever to work with him this spring. He's been such a flighty boy, but since this past summer, around a year since I brought him to a boarding facility closer to me than my parents' farm, he's really settled down. Most horses hit that between 3-4 years. Buddy--9 years. Now, he's going on 10 and is finally in that good spot mentally.

I've been told that he's become quite the herd boss, which takes some confidence, even chasing around new horses or lower hierarchy horses in his pasture gelding herd. I've noticed he's not so afraid of things anymore, even going up to something that he's not sure about to check it out. But he has his moments still, especially when air pressure drops. All horses get stupid in the head to some degree when the air pressure drops.

Buddy will never be a fancy show horse, but he gives me 110% of his effort... except when I ask for a right lead. Every once in a while, he doesn't want to step under and then has to give a little buck when I ask for the right lead. It can't be too easy, right? Aside from that, I've always said that he makes up for his lack of athletic ability in what he has for heart.

His dressage work took a huge leap forward since one riding lesson last summer in particular that reminded me to let go of my fear of a runaway, which is unlikely with him but has happened to me. I had to let him go forward. That helped him a lot in stretching through his topline and relaxing under saddle. I just have to remember to let him move forward and turn him on a tighter circle to sit him down if he gets too fast.

Now, I think he's ready for something new. I wanted to do this last year, but couldn't find the saddle in stock, which is just as well. We clearly still had some issues to work out in our dressage work.

Some people spend thousands of $$ on gaming stuff. Me (and any equestrian)... new saddle. Riders collect saddles like gamers collect controllers, headsets, and chairs. However, I don't need many saddles when I have a Wintec, now two (my old first dressage saddle and now a new general purpose for jumping and groundwork), since they're adjustable to most horses by changing out the gullet plate. The problem is when you have a very wide horse. Putting in the extra wide plate is quite the wrestling match with the saddle.

I also have my high-end dressage saddle (not adjustable) that I bought for a previous horse almost nine years ago and which also fits Buddy, by some perfectly random chance. Saddles never fit the same horses the same way and this did require a teeny bit of thin shim padding on a special half-pad to fit him right, but otherwise it's perfect for him.

I just bought my second Wintec, a general purpose, which arrived today, and I've finished the wrestling match of changing the gullet plate to what I know fits Buddy. I look forward to starting him on some jumping this spring. I hope it builds his confidence even more under saddle and that it helps him think more about sitting back on his haunches, as well as adjusting his stride, although the dressage work and our trail riding does much of that already. Mostly, the jumping will add some change to our riding and something to help his confidence go further, as well as mine. I haven't done any hunter/jumper work since switching to dressage over fourteen years ago. It will be fun to get back to my beginnings in english riding. I'm not as young as I was back then, so this will be interesting.

This summer will be a new adventure with my horse.

the view from the saddle

Most of Buddy's herd,
still a ways off from me.

I haven't reported on my horse for some time (months!). We made a change last summer in which I moved him closer to me from my parents' farm to a boarding facility. It's been a very good experience for him. He's in a pasture with a large herd of geldings, so he has plenty of freedom to roam and other friends for company and play. But it's a big pasture and can take me a while to reach him when he's at the far end (about a half-mile walk) as he was today. I'm glad he was out today in the pasture, though (maybe not so glad by the end of summer). The grass is starting to green up and he needs that. Hanging out near the barn end of the pasture eating the old hay isn't good for him, especially with better alternatives springing up.

Today was a beautiful day, except for the chilly breeze. In a couple of months I'll be wanting that breeze, but for now, it added a chill on what would have been a perfect day. Nevertheless, Buddy was a good boy, where he used to be a snorty freak on days like this.

He's come a long ways in just the last year alone. This spring, I finally buckled down and started asking for more forward and more attention to shoulder-fore. Now, he's picking up the canter from a trot within a step or two of my asking. No more taking lots of set up or running into it. He's so much better balanced, and it shows.

The view from the saddle
is magnificent

I also figured out why he's always so jumpy and fidgety--something missing in his diet. He needs a complete multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. It's a long process how I figured that out, partly by accident and observations that clued me into the issue. When he's on green grass, he's always calmer than on dried grass or hay (which is leeched of nutrients by the curing process and just by aging). I also noticed that when I changed his sweet feed treat to a complete feed, I had a calmer horse about an hour later. I added some Grand Vite to his before-ride treat and that hits him with more of what he needs immediately for a much better ride. He gets the rest after we ride, along with some digestive supplements and beet pulp. It's made a HUGE difference for him.

And that has made a HUGE difference in his training. He's finally reaching more of a solid dressage first level, although now he's so out of shape that we can't work too long yet. His muscle tone is gone right now and he's a fat boy. (He's pretty stocky / solidly built, but one can see the hay belly and the lack of muscle in his hindquarters.) And after our big spring snowstorm, he quit shedding like he had been, but I'm seeing signs that it may pick up again soon. I hope to have a sleek, shiny boy in another month.

I'm going to try to ride more often this summer, which is what he really needs to overcome his lack of confidence in new situations and to build up his strength to advance his dressage work. He isn't a fancy mover nor very athletic (and certainly not built for dressage), but I know I have the skills from all my years of experience and training to help him become something that he wouldn't otherwise have the chance to be. He's already come very far since I bought him as a youngster broke by horse traders to make a quick buck at the auction six and a half long years ago (he's now 9), when I was looking for just a simple little project horse to play with after giving up on the showing. I bought an ugly duckling (in terms of movement) and with proper training, am transforming him into the swan that was hiding inside. If he can be transformed, any horse can be with dressage training. It's exciting to see this sweet little guy blossom into his potential as an adult horse!

The shadow shows me on his back.

Fall is here

While the kids are starting school across the country and getting ready to start in our local school district, the weather is changing. The dog days of summer ended over the last couple of days. Autumn is coming on time, just in time. We finally had rain this past week to make up for six week of drought--everything did come went around us. We live in a town that is a vortex of rain going around. It's just odd... until the wet season comes; then nothing stops it. The inch of rain that we had over the course of a couple different storms this past week soaked right in--the ground is still mostly dry despite the rain. It's needed that badly. It will be nice to see our lawn green up just in time for winter. This is the opposite of last year, which was far too wet.

The daily highs are cooling down from 90's to 70's too. Normally when this happens, the animals get a little friskier. However, Buddy seems to have settled down. I haven't ridden for four weeks, but today was a good ride. We're combining dressage work and reining work now to get him thinking more in tune of balance but also rollbacks to turn a cow. He seemed a little edgy with the cooler day and wind but actually handled himself quite well. We had a good ride without him freaking out from the kids cleaning barn or playing and the small flatbed in the middle of the grassy area where we work.

When we took a little ride around the feedlots, things were a little different. Still, he's come a long ways from a year ago. Getting past the quonset to head to the feedlots was a little challenge, but he didn't freak out like he used to. And going around the feedlots wasn't much of a concern. He never called for his friends the whole time I had him away from his herd. It helped to have the donkey with us, but even when his herd was calling for them, he didn't reply. That's a HUGE improvement in his behavior that has come on this year.

Afterwards, I rewarded him with a little extra feed, which the donkey kept trying to steel. She's figured out how to tip his bucket, even when it's not quite in easy reach.

Jewel follows us all over, even right back to the pasture. She's a little attention whore.

When I turn Buddy back to his herd, I always give him a little rub down. You'd never know he was head-shy when I bought him five years ago. He LOVES having his ears, eyes, and poll rubbed and will yawn, blow/snort, and shake his head with a big sigh of pleasure. If I don't give him that little reward, he gives me a look that I swear is meant to shame me for forgetting. Spoiled but worth it. He'll be starting to get fuzzy soon enough.

Our cats are spoiled too. They're a little more active on cooler days. On hot days, they'd just plop on the deck like they'd melted. On cool days, they're more attentive and watching the activity in the yard. Jack jumped over the gate to get to the stairs and go down today. We caught him in time, but it was startling. He doesn't usually do that. We put him inside, where he cried and cried to go out then. He must have seen something he wanted to check out. Dargo, however, just likes to lay outside in the fresh air and doesn't cause problems. Suki sometimes jumps up on the rail.

It was an interesting day with our animals.

not today but too cute not to share

horsing around - midsummer edition

Today was a good day to see my boy. I haven't had many good days like this--either the weather has been crappy or I've been dealing with chronic fatigue issues. I haven't been out to ride in two weeks, but I started a new medication that has given me back my focus and energy. And in the two times I've been out to him since we helped sort cattle, I did manage to resolve some issues with Buddy.

I've confirmed that the reason he's always been so difficult is because he has tummy issues. I suspected it, but after seeing a small but noticeable difference in his behavior after giving him Smart Digest Ultra before I work with him, I tried adding a couple of other supplements. The best combination seems to be the Smart Digest Ultra and Aloe Vera pellets (also from Smartpak). So far, the two times I added aloe vera, he turned into mister mellow, as a horse of his type should be.

And after he put his tongue over the bit when we were sorting cattle early in June, I tried a couple of different bits. The advice I found online was to allow room for the horse's tongue. The bit I was using (which he put his tongue over) allowed that, so that didn't seem right, especially when I put a curb in his mouth with a roller, which doesn't allow any room for the tongue, and that quieted his mouth. So, with my instructor's advice, I tried a double bridle. He didn't like that, but he did go nicely with the bradoon of that combination. Today, I put just the bradoon on his regular bridle headstall. He was fantastic! The bradoon is a loose ring, narrower snaffle than my other snaffle mouthpieces, and it's a special alloy and straight, not curved for tongue room. He was much quieter with his mouth than I've ever experienced (except in the sweet iron curb with the roller, which quieted his mouth a lot also). I think that, in Buddy's case, He needs the bit to be as flat and still as possible, and the special metals of each of the bits that quieted his mouth probably played a part also.

I'll stick to the bradoon for this summer, along with the two supplements before we ride, and see if I finally found what works to turn him into the trailriding horse I've been trying to train him to be for nearly five years, and turn him into a true cowhorse, complemented by our dressage training, which we will continue. My only worry is that if he gets excited, the bradoon won't be strong enough to stop him. We'll see.

I also started taking out the fly sheet I bought last year but never used. I decided to put it to use this year. I can't leave it on him when I'm not there because of the danger that he could get tangled and get hurt (not to mention the trashing of the sheet and my money down the drain), but I can let him wear it and have some relief from the flies by taking it with me when I go to catch him in the pasture and let him wear it on the walk to the barn or, like today, after we ride and I let him graze a while just to spend more time with him. It's a closed front sheet, so I have to put it on over his head, but he's so smart, he loves having it on after just the first time, which wasn't bad either. He already knows it means relief! Buddy is super smart though. I wonder how long until he's sticking his head through the neck opening on his own when I hold it up ;)

Later this month, he'll finally get his annual dental work done. That was postponed due to coronavirus.

Western lite

I cannot comfortably spend any length of time or hard riding in a western saddle. I don't know why, but my right leg starts to kill me, especially my ankle. However, I can sit in my dressage saddle all day, which I did on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for some hard riding. I'm calling it my western lite saddle.

What western riders may find unbelievable but dressage riders will not (or they might if they've never chased cows before) is that I can stay with my horse turning a cow better in my dressage saddle than I ever did in a western saddle, and I grew up in a western saddle. I feel closer and more "plugged in" to my horse in my dressage saddle than in a western saddle. And, as I pointed out to my BIL, the knee rolls on my dressage saddle are just as good for stabilization as any swells on a western saddle.

I was on the ranch Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this past week helping my family sort cow-calf pairs for different pastures. Buddy had some moves! And I was right with him in my dressage saddle... all day (5-6 hours each day) three days in a row. We didn't work as hard as my sister and brother-in-law, but we had our moments. Besides, I'm older, and I also find that not getting the cows or calves excited the way they do usually results in less escape attempts and, as a result, less trouble.

The only trouble I really had, since Buddy LOVES working cattle, is that he got his tongue over the jointed mouthpiece of his pelham bit a few times and I had to get off to drop the bridle to fix it. If you've never had it happen, the joint will poke up under the tongue and bother the horse when that happens. Buddy tossed his head, until I fixed it. But he didn't stop doing it. So, I came prepared on the last day. When he did it again, I switched to a western bridle from a past horse I had, a low port sweet iron curb with a copper roller. It took him a while to accept it, but once he did, he quieted his mouth and didn't once get his tongue over that bit. Given this, we're going to try a double bridle, using the curb as a means to keep his tongue down while I ride primarily with the bradoon (a snaffle that is the primary tool of riding with a double; the curb being there only for refinement). I learned to use it on my last horse, a powerful and big warmblood who had an exuberance that could take him away from me in just a snaffle. With both horses, I had used pelham bits for some control when I could, but now with Buddy developing this new tongue talent and the curb having stopped it, I don't have much of a choice if I want to train him properly. I may not be able to go back to just a snaffle, but time will tell.

Buddy just had to make things difficult.

Thanks to my sister, I have some pictures of us at work.

Getting a pair sorted. We need to keep this kind of
forward in our dressage work!

Taking a group down the alley to the loading chute
to be hauled to one of the pastures Tuesday.

Ponying my sister's horse back to the corral after
a long day of work Tuesday. She took the pic
while driving the Ranger and leading her donkey.

In the corral at the end of the day Wednesday,
Buddy waits in his western bridle to move
cow-calf pairs to the pasture down the road

It's been a long time coming for Buddy to get to this point in his training, but it's a process. Dressage work has prepared him well for doing this. He had his good and bad moments, but those good moments made the moments of being ornery excusable. A few times, he sat down like a cutting horse to turn a cow, and I stayed right with him in my dressage saddle. However, he still gets intimidated by them looking at him and especially when they approach him. A few cows were chargey and needed caution near them. Those cows behaved with two riders coming at them. He's gaining confidence, but that can be unraveled quickly with a bad experience.

Buddy absolutely loves moving cows. He does NOT like being held back, which is funny considering he can be such a chicken. For example, he will snort at and try to get away from strange footing, but when it comes to cows, he doesn't think twice about muck or piles of dirt; he wants to chase a cow! He likes having a job and once he learns the routine, such as with sorting cows, he really gets into it. It's a lot of fun working with him.

In looking at the pictures, I see myself sitting crooked and don't know if it's the ground angle, the stride point, or me. I plan to get together with my instructor for a lesson this summer to fix things. It's been too long.

ps--Because I was so exhausted after these long days, I haven't gotten as much writing done as I wanted, but it was worth it. The writing will catch up, hopefully this weekend.

pps (6/7/20)--This is 100 miles round trip each day for me, which is one reason why I only see my horse (and family) on average 1-2 times a week besides weather factors and timing (no indoor arena like boarding stables, only the wide outdoors). And for anyone who thinks this looks romantic, I can only say NO! There's nothing romantic about farm/ranch life; it's the hardest work you'll ever do. (It takes a special person to work this hard (and harder!); family farmers/ranchers do it for the love of their independence and providing essential products for life, and they love the land and are the best stewards of those resources because their livelihoods depend on it.) Horses, humans, and dogs alike were beat at the end of each day. Thank goodness for sunscreen, or we would have been beet red and swollen of sunburn besides.