Sunday Stills (5-27-12 Music Groups in Pics)

This week's Sunday Stills photo challenge was a fun one for me. We had to take photographs of things that  represent musical band or song names. I found it so easy that I didn't even bother with song names,  because I love music!

Can you guess the band? Some are obscure bands so you may not recognize them. Good luck.

Men at Work

 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (sorry, no real one)

 Journey or The Daytrippers

The Police

 Drive by Truckers

 The White Stripes

The Rolling Stones

Counting Crows or The Black Crowes or even The Byrds (Okay, this picture came from archives because I haven't seen any crows lately.)

Band of Horses

Animal Collective or The Animals

AFI or A Fire Inside (I actually wanted to sneak in a photo of the sun from yesterday. We have been having very smoky skies from wildfires in the Gila Wilderness and sometimes we can look directly at the sun. Unfortunately, the camera changes the colors because the sun is actually red.)

I couldn't find any Puddle of Mudd and I never got around to photographing Styx (sticks). Gosh, I could've gone on and on and on. Great challenge! For more Sunday Stills, please visit here.

Friday Foto

This photo was taken down in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on Mother's Day weekend. Besides the live deer and the lawn mowing boy statue, notice the chainsaw carved bear to the left of the big tree and the hand made chairs on the porch. Those chairs do not look comfortable! Also, there's a little white cross just in front of the big tree to the right. I wonder why? A buried pet, perhaps??

Ahhh, I do so love the little boy figure!

Educating Yalla! Tying

I tied Yalla! up to the pipe fence post today while I brushed her down. She kept leaning on the rope, testing it, and then going forward again. I worried that she'd sit back and break the old cotton lead rope so I doubled the rope up through her halter and around the pole.

 Then she began chewing on the rope. She's like a little kid, busy all the time and putting things in her mouth.

I've been finding teeth in her feeder and on the ground recently. So far, I've found two front teeth (one broken and one whole) and two molars (one broken and one whole). I'm hoping that the teething finishes by the time I start to ride her this summer.

  She was restless and pawed, while standing tied, digging a fair sized hole, when I left her standing there, while I went into the barn to do other things. She definitely needs more time being tied up. I didn't want to leave her too long so after about 40 minutes total standing time, I let her loose.

I filled the horse water and took the opportunity to spray water at Yalla! She did not like it at all. But she did keep coming back within range. I figure that, over time, she will accept it. I can spray Scout and he won't move. Of course, after he's all wet, he rolls! I did get her in a corner and sprayed her really good, at least on one side. She hated it. She tried to run out past me and I kept diverting her back to the corner. At one point, I think she considered running me down. She did as a yearling once when I tried to hose her leg off. I tripped over the hose and she ran over me. I got my face stepped on and a bloody lip. This time, I could tell that she decided it wouldn't be a good idea and I managed to get half of her very wet and the other half spotty. For a few minutes, she looked gorgeous, all shiny black, and then she also rolled in the dirt.

Later, I was sitting on the rails in her stall and she and Scout were nuzzling me as they stood along the rail. I was above them and I laid a leg across her back. She moved out of range and then came back. I did this with her several times and she seemed to get more comfortable with my leg across her back. 'Oh, how easy it would be just to drop down on her back', I thought. But I know she's not ready. Some day, but not today.

Sunday Stills (5-20-12 The Color Pink)

This week's challenge is to photograph the color pink:

I immediately thought of my header photo, a pastel New Mexico sunrise.

Daffney wears a pink collar. And she has pink skin under the white hair.

Annie has a pink nose.

I put these pink rhythm beads on Yalla! the other night when Nadia had her gorge-fest but it's a terrible photo. I meant to put them on her in the daylight and take some more photos but I forgot, so you're stuck with this picture.

Yalla! can still wear her pink yearling sized halter. It stands out on her black head, doesn't it? Note, I put it on the last hole so there is even some growing room, although I don't think her head is going to grow any more.

 I saw these quilts in the window of a quilt shop. Pretty, aren't they?

 Earlier this month, my daughter and I saw Styx in concert. It's really amazing how he's playing the keyboards backyards!

 Here's the whole band, all six members, on stage together. They had some really neat visuals behind them while they played and they played GOOD! We had a great time that night, my daughter and I.

Of course, when one thinks of pink, they often think of flowers.

For more Sunday Stills, please visit here.

Ruidoso Road Trip

Last week, I told you that, for Mother's Day, my mom and I drove down to Ruidoso to see the Hubbard Museum of the American West. The museum was hosting a special traveling exhibit on Lechuguilla Cave. I posted the photos of that exhibit here. In this post, I will show some more photos of the museum.

But first, we had to drive for over three hours, past windmills, both old and new.

Ruidoso is the home of many Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing and breeding farms. Look at these magnificent metal gates!

This is an overview of the lower level of the museum. They had all kinds of horse transportation with placards describing eachof them.

This sidesaddle has a "slipper" stirrup and a horsehair girth, interesting.

 Some of the saddles were available for test rides. The McClellan cavalry saddle was not at all comfortable. This is the first time I've put my foot in a saddle stirrup since I broke my ankle. The McClellan stirrups were longer than the western saddle's.

They had a buckboard in the children's area that I just HAD to climb aboard.

 This pretty coach is known as a surrey.

Isn't this Native American beaded horse collar just gorgeous?

I loved this little chuckwagon complete with fold up table, cabinets, drawers, and a coffee grinder attached to the side.

This was a children's hearse, very sad.

Here, you can see a sleigh in the foreground, a black doctor's buggy, and a small covered wagon.

This saddle cover was used by the Pony Express riders for mail delivery. I guess they didn't deliver many catalogs in those days, huh?

Isn't this coach pretty? I do so love the color yellow.

This was a mine exhibit complete with the board showing the miner's tags at the right. When a tag was missing from the board, they knew the miner was still down in the mine.

This horse had such a silly expression, "leaving so soon?"

Yes, we had a long drive home.

Friday Foto

I looked out my window and saw...a three legged horse???

Nadia's BIG adventure

This morning, I decided to let the alpacas graze around the barn, partly because I am down to my last two bales of hay

and partly because I know how much they love to browse and explore outside of their stall and paddock. It's fun to watch Sophie Rose pronk around and jump in the air with her neck all twisted around and her head sideways.

I left them wandering around in the area outside of the barn and went to work. Midday, I called my son and asked him to water the animals and move the alpacas back to their stall and paddock. I also asked him to turn Nadia out with the other horses for some exercise. I usually keep Nadia separated from the other horses because she is such a slow eater and I'm trying to put weight on her.

A few hours later, I received a call from my neighbor, Lisa. The only times she calls me is when bad things have happened:
when my newborn foal went missing,
when Annie had a blowup with the horseshoer,
when the neighbor's horse was killed,
and now...what was wrong?

She said that Nadia was wandering around outside of the arena and in her yard, without any halter, so she wondered if anyone was watching her. I do let Nadia graze loose sometimes but I am outside with her, watching over her. I thanked her and called my son.
No answer.
I called my daughter.
No answer.
I called the house phone.
My mom answered. She said my son had gone out to the horses and then he had driven to town. She called my daughter over to the phone. I asked her to please put Nadia away.

I called Lisa back and thanked her for letting me know.

This evening, when I got home from work, I went out to feed the horses and, much to my dismay and apprehension, Nadia was locked in the barn, with her stall door wide open. (The stall door won't always latch if the door is slammed shut and Nadia is expert at pushing doors open.) She had had a feast! Every morning, I prepare a couple of cans of beet pulp with water for the next morning's feed. She ate the whole bucket full. I had a pound of alpaca feed and corn in a bucket, sitting on the chair. She ate all of it. I had several unopened bags and one open bag of complete horse feed leaning against the barn wall.

She didn't get into the unopened bags (Thank God!) but I don't know if she had any of the opened bag. She looked like a stuffed pig!  All I could think about was that I hoped she didn't colic.

Earlier in the day, I had thought about riding after dinner. Well, with a horse potentially busting her guts, I figured I'd ride her a while and see if that would help her digestion and maybe, keep her from colicking. I put her in a bridle and bareback pad and I added the pink jingle bell/rhythm beads I received as a gift some time ago. I put on my sweatshirt (it's cold at night- 39F most mornings) and my orange reflector vest and we headed out into the black night. We stayed on the gravel neighborhood roads and we walked and trotted, clip-clopping and jingling all the way. She is such a perky little mare when ridden. She pricks her little ears forward and moves out in a very animated stride. It's hard to believe she's 29! Back at the barn, Scout was trumpeting and Yalla! was neighing frantically, the whole time we were riding around.

I rode Nadia a half hour or so and I could hear her pass gas a couple of times. She was moving out well so I decided that she should be okay.

We went back to the barn and I brushed her down, picked her hooves, and put her away. Then I wandered over to the other horses to say "hi." In the past, when I presented the rhythm beads to Yalla! she didn't want them near her. Tonight, I pulled a trick from the movie, War Horse. I put them around my neck and let Yalla! sniff them. She grabbed them with her teeth and I was afraid she'd break the beads. I pulled them away from her, then I put them over her head, on her neck. I thought she'd take off and run but she never budged. Well, she did step back and they jingled, but she didn't seem to mind at all. I put them and took them off several times. She fidgeted, when I draped them over her side and swung them around her head to tail, but she stood. Good girl! I can see that she's growing up. During the time that I was with the other horses, I could see that Nadia was okay, so I hoped she would continue to do so.

I intend to sleep with my window slightly open tonight so that I can listen for any disturbances in case Nadia does have problems. Hopefully, all will be well. (fingers crossed)

update: all is well this morning. I gave Nadia a flake of hay rather than her usual complete feed pellets.

Underground of Enchantment

 This weekend, my mother and I decided to take a day trip south to visit a museum in Ruidoso, the Hubbard Museum of the American West, which is currently hosting a traveling exhibit of Lechuguilla Cave. This cave is located near Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico. There are more than 117 known caves, formed by sulfuric acid eating away at the limestone walls.

The special inner rooms of Lechuguilla Cave were only recently discovered in the 80's, when people noticed winds in the cave, and got special permission to dig in the rubble flooring. Because of the fragility of the formations, and the size of the cave, Lechuguilla will probably never be opened to the public.  The cave is still being explored. It is already 130+ miles long and is the seventh longest cave in the world. 

This museum exhibit included the following photographs with 3-D viewers that really enhanced the already stunning photographs. 

They said I could take pictures, so I did. Click on photos to bigify. The green borders are the photographs of photographs, showing the walls behind. 

 Here's the Misery Hole entrance.

The museum also showed a video and I took a few screen captures. I love the skeletal look of this rappelling caver.

Here is a map of the cave. It is still being explored by scientists and cavers with special permission. The photos in his exhibit were taken over a ten day excursion. 

Here is another caver descending the cave walls. The dark borders are screen grabs from the video and not nearly as clear, sorry.

Doesn't it look like he's standing inside a geode? 

 Here is one of the internal pools. The water is clear and pure, uncontaminated by rain water. 

The following photo shows the little 3-D viewers mounted on the wall under the photos.

Isn't this formation stunning?

And look at this one, just like a sugar confection.

The drapes and chandeliers of aragonite are just amazing.

Such delicate formations, unbelievable, isn't it?

Check out these "eggs".

I think the Buddha in the Throne Room is my favorite.

Upside-down mushrooms? Look closely at the straws and droplets of "water".

 Here are some more of the very beautiful and delicate formations of gypsum and aragonite.

There is a person in the bottom right of the photo which gives you an idea of the size of some of these formations.

Many science experiments are being performed in the cave. Live bacteria have been found in the walls.

Just look at this pool of water with it's "lily pad" like formations.

I really like this photo. In the video, the light went down and down the tube, lighting it up along the way.

So there you go, a tour of the very special, magical, and mystical Lechuguilla Cave. I hope you enjoyed it. I sure did.

Soon, I hope to post photos of all the different saddles, carriages, and coaches we saw in the main room of the museum... and the rest of our Mother's Day road trip to Ruidoso and back.