Yalla! is three!

Yalla! turned three years old yesterday, but I had to work, and today, I am feeling sicker than anything, spilling out at all ends, so it's been complete bed rest, until now.

Wednesday night, I went out to see the horses after dark and brought Yalla! into the barn where I tied her up and brushed her down, including her loooong tail. When she relaxes it down, it almost touches the ground.

This is a difficult time of year for grooming because the air is so static. I often feel little buzzes when I brush the horses' coats. I like to use a grooming solution or water on my brushes cut the electricity. And then I love the shiny look and feel afterwards!

I can see that she needs to be worked more. She's nervous and restless. I admit that I am extra wary of her hind end because she has a history of kicking out at people, horses, dogs, or whatever. I am happy to report that she never threatened me, but any one with a little horse sense will always be wary rather than not.

I love the color of her coat, a deep dark chocolate brown, more like black with a hint of brown on top. Every once in a while I discover a white hair in her mane or tail and I almost panic that she is still going to gray out, but black Arabians often have some white hairs in their manes and tails. The only brown she has is in her ears and flanks. Unfortunately, she often photographs browner than she really is. Her coat is so silky soft and her muzzle is velvety. She loves to nuzzle me but I am also leery of that end because I don't want her to randomly take a bite of me.

I took some pictures of her but I got a lot of dust circles in the photos. Here are the better ones.

This is a silly one.

Happy Birthday, Yalla!

Red like Jungle Burning Bright

New Mexico and Colorado forests are burning!

• The High Park Fire near Ft. Collins has killed one lady and destroyed over 100 structures and 43,000 acres.
• Little Bear Fire in south central New Mexico, outside of Ruidoso, has destroyed 37,000 acres and 224 homes and 10 structures. This is the area where Smokey the Bear was found years ago.
• And finally, the Whitewater Baldy Complex Fire where 278,000 acres have burned in the Gila Wilderness Area in southwestern New Mexico. This is the largest forest fire in New Mexico state history.

These fires are only about 30% contained. Thousands of brave men and women are working at the fire sites. Forest Fires often create their own weather and rough terrain makes access to the fires difficult. Although they say fires are good for the forests, these fires are bad for the atmosphere.

We can see the smoke in the air, hazy gray skies intermixed with our typical blue skies. Allergies and respiratory issues are rampant. I cough and cough all day long. I can only imagine what it's like down on the fire lines with the intense heat and dense smoke. Let's hope and pray they can get these fires under control soon.

On the flip side, sometimes, we get to see an awesome red sun and moon. Here is the moon one night.

Red like Jungle Burning Bright - artist: David Bowie, albm: Cat People (Putting out Fire)

Sunday Stills (6-10-12 Numbers)

This week's challenge is to photograph numbers. I drive historic highway Route 66 daily.
 

Here are our cluster mailboxes. 

I think the tree jumped in the way when I snapped this photo. I wanted to show you the cool, giant !25 sign for the I-25 Shopping area. 

This is certainly an easy number to remember. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have pursued something with my injury last year when Scout was scared by the neighbors' loose dogs and reared over backwards, breaking my ankle. I'm still paying off the surgery and doctors. After all, it happened while I was riding on a gravel neighborhood road. Oh well, I'm not the suing kind. 

For more Sunday Stills, please visit here.

We bought da wrong horse!

This is a great video from an insurance company!

Friday Foto

I just love this sign (front and back) at the Coyote Crossing convenience store in the town of Gallinas, New Mexico.

Rule Britannia!

In David Bowie's song, Life on Mars? he sings, "Rule Britannia is out of bounds, to my mother, my dog, and clowns".

This year marks Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, 60 years as the Queen of England. Recently, someone has created a graffiti style tribute complete with 'Aladdin Sane' stripes on a wall in England. See here for more details.


It is believed to be the work of the famous graffiti artist, Banksy, who had recently stenciled this picture (below) on another wall in London, incorporating real Union Jack bunting, to protest sweatshop conditions preparing for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations:


Regardless of who drew the Queen/Aladdin Sane, I love it! Long live the Queen! And Aladdin Sane (David Bowie) too!

Sunday Stills (6-2-12 Blues)

This week's Sunday Stills challenge was to show photos of the color blue. Here are my choices:

A peacock's head and neck is such a bright blue. I just love the crazy feathers on his head.

The "eyes" of a peacock are a special shade of blue.

Water always reflects the most refreshing shades of blue.

Here is my mom's dog, Tobey, looking incredibly cute under a blue blanket.

Here are some blue, blue skies behind a tall, almost leafless tree.

 How about some blue clouds and blue mountains on a cloudy evening in the ranch lands of southwestern New Mexico?

And lastly, my Simba, from a few years ago. I always loved this picture of him with his blue eyes enhanced by the blue wall.

For more Sunday Stills, please visit here.

RIP Terra

I've known for a long time that my dear little Terra cat has been declining in health. Age will do that. After all, she was 17 years old. Last year, I lost her brother Simba to kidney failure. Thursday night, I looked around the house for her, thinking it strange that she hadn't come over to sit with me and I found her laying in her litter box.

That's just not normal. During the night, I heard her throw up several times and, in the morning, she was sitting in the bathtub, erect and still as an Egyptian cat. Two hours later, she was still sitting in the same position. She hadn't eaten any of her canned or dry cat food since Wednesday night/Thursday morning. I knew she was failing.

I dreaded taking her to the vet. And I didn't want to take her alone.

In recent years, I've taken Gunnar, Daisy, and Simba to the vet to be put down, all by myself. I lost my sweet little Buddha dog to the coyotes last year when I let him out the door for a pee and he took off with Sandy. I could hear him yipe but I couldn't get to him in time. And now, Terra.

I made an appointment with the vet for the afternoon and went to work. I tried to work but it was so hard concentrating. When I got home, I immediately looked for Terra. She wasn't in the litter box or the bathtub. She was curled up in the laundry basket, so sweet, but I could tell that she wasn't any better. I picked her up and off we went.

As soon as we stepped out of the house, she began wailing. I was tempted to just go back to the house and leave her to die in her own way, but we were leaving for the weekend and I didn't want her to curl up in some corner of the garage where we wouldn't be able to find her. My son drove and my mom sat next to him in the front, while I sat on the back seat cuddling my precious cargo, who only let out an occasional meow.

Recently, she had begun balding. She had a big "hot" spot on her chest and tufts of hair flew around the house constantly. I wanted to take her to the vet to see if there was any kind of medicine I could give her for her hormone imbalance but I thought that it was probably part of the kidney failure. She had been making very large pee spots in her litter box in the last several months. I knew the vet would advise me to let her "go", so I waited until there was no quality of life left.

Earlier this week, Terra had caught a mouse in the garage. She would lay her prize out by the door so that we would see it and praise her. Unlike her brother, who often ate his catch and just left "parts", she always left the entire body for us. A few weeks ago, she caught two in one day.

Whenever I sat down, she was in my lap. She could sit for hours as she watched me type on the computer or snooze while I watched my TV movies. She especially loved watching Youtube videos with me. At night, she curled up next to me, in my bed. This past winter, she would often go under the covers and I would wake up from whiskers ticking my face. The tips of her ears were always so cold!

The vet weighed her and evaluated her condition. Alarmingly, her weight was just six pounds, three ounces! I remember when she weighed eleven pounds. He told me what I expected to hear, that it was time to let her go. We took her to the back room and he laid down a big, soft towel. He injected her with a sedative and left me with her so I could say good-bye. My son didn't want to stay with us so he went up front to wait with my mom. She was so still already that it was hard to know when the sedative took effect. Her breathing was slight and her eyes stayed open, unfocused. I whispered to her, calling her name, hoping she could hear me, as she drifted off to sleep.

M son came back into the room and stroked her for a while. Then the vet came in and suggested that it was time. My son said that she was strong, holding on, but the doctor said, "no, this was only a sedative. She hadn't been given the "shot" yet".

We left her laying on the towel, barely breathing, to go back to the waiting room. I settled the bill and just a few minutes later the doctor handed my son a cardboard box. We took her home and buried her in the area where all the rest of our previous pets have been laid to rest. We threw a bunch of pine cones into the grave, hoping that one day, a tree would grow.

My sweet little Terra, rest in peace.

Friday Foto

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.