It couldn't be once, without us

Well, it could I guess, but it just wouldn't have been as good. LOL.

Last Sunday, I helped out at the Walkin' N Circles Ranch sponsored ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association) ride. Lisa (of Laughing Orca Ranch) judged and her son and I came along as assistant "zombies". It was fun watching everybody ride and see all the neat costumes. (It could have been better if the wind wasn't blowing and I were riding though ;) ).

I thought a lot of the obstacles in the ride were quite challenging, especially with the high winds, but I must admit that I thought ours was fairly easy. We had the sound obstacle. The rider rode up to a rock circle or log square and had to stand quietly inside for 30 seconds. Most of the horses did great, even seeming to fall asleep but some of the horses and donkeys didn't want to step over the logs. It seemed harder for the horses to stand still than to actually be afraid of the noise. The neat thing was that Lisa dressed as a leopard and I was a zebra while her son was all camoed out like a big game hunter. We didn't even plan it. And the sound box made wild animal sounds. I think the horses were more bewildered at our costumes than the sounds. But a lot of the horses really went on alert over our "Scarey Dude" because he was blowing in the wind and there were some ghostly sounds coming from him. Afterwards, we said that we should have put Scarey Dude in the circle and then had the rider ride up and stand next to him for 30 seconds. I'll bet the scores would have been a LOT lower then! haha!!

Here are some photos from the day.

Jax and I loved watching Lisa's cat tail moving in the winds. Warning- before you begin watching the video, turn your sound down! The winds were horrendous and the video is LOUD!!! This was just a few of the riders who passed through.

It Couldn't be Once, Without Us - song: '87 and Cry, artist: David Bowie, album: Never Let Me Down

Friday Foto

Opera House

Last Friday, my son was forced escorted me to the opera, Verdi's Aida. Actually, it was 'opera in cinema' and was showing at the KiMo Theatre downtown. The theatre was built in 1927 using Pueblo Deco, a flamboyant melding of Art Deco and Pueblo Indian culture art. The whole theater is decorated with murals, colored tiles, swastikas (Native symbol), and other  symbols. It is both amazing and beautiful.

I'd posted about going to the documentaries festival and here which is how I first found out about the opera show. I have to tell you that one of the reasons my son came with me was curiosity; not to see an opera, but to see if the place was really haunted. In 1951, a water heater exploded in the lobby, injuring several people and killing one boy. It is believed that the boy still haunts the theatre.

Over the years the theatre staff have come to realize that if the performers in a show do not leave a gift of some sort that odd things will go wrong with the show, various April Fools/practical joke sorts of things. So we keep a place for them to leave gifts; toys, pictures, doughnuts, candy, etc. ... and their shows seem to go much smoother.  from the CABQ (official city) website. 

Expecting it to be crowded, we sat upstairs and this is a photo I took of the view looking up to the ceiling on the sides. There are creepy buffalo skulls and red lights giving it a completely ominous aura. 

I couldn't pass up going, especially when it was free! We both enjoyed the show even more when we realized that there were subtitles to the Italian singing and lots of close ups of the actors. I embarassingly jokingly commented to my son that this was one of the few times the men were less dressed than the women. One dancing couple came out in a gold jock strap (man) and a gold bikini (woman). The hero of the story wore only an Egyptian loincloth and an ornate neck ornament. The two lead singers divas were large women. My son commented "it isn't really over when the fat lady sings, like they say, is it?"


The story:
Aida is an Ethiopian princess in love with an Egyptian warrior, Radames. She is captured and made a slave to the Egyptian princess, Amneris, who also loves Radames. Amneris's father, the Pharaoh, offers Radames his daughter's hand in marriage, but Radames loves Aida. He also loves his country, Egypt. When he realizes he has betrayed Egypt because of his love for Aida, he turns himself in, dishonored, to face his punishment, his death. He is put in a sealed tomb and discovers Aida waiting for him in the dark. How tragically romantic!!


The costumes were beautiful and the singing was awesome. We saw the La Scala production and the encore was spectacular, with roses and roses being thrown to the actors who came out again and again for their encores. Needless to say, we were very impressed.




Opera House - song: Five Years, artist: David Bowie, album: TRAFOZSATSFM

Look around and see the friends

A couple of weekends ago I met up with some blogging friends for dinner:

Me, 'Breathe' (HorseCentric), 'J' (MorningBrayFarm), her husband, and Lisa (LaughingOrcaRanch).

I think we picked the most popular place to eat in the city because we had to wait over an hour for a table, but we got to spend the time talking. The funniest thing, all three of us horse bloggers had on horsey earrings, and it was completely unplanned!

The next day, I met with nine girlfriends from the "Girls' Club", a group of ex-employees from my first job. They've been meeting monthly for the past ten years or more and I join them whenever I can. My mom also worked with them so she comes to lunch whenever she's in town too.

Then, on Sunday, Lisa (LOR) and I went to audit and watch 'Breathe' (HorseCentric) ride in the Mark Rashid clinic up in Santa Fe. We met Dan and Betty (Dan and Betty's Place) at the clinic.

It was so cold and windy that when Betty offered me a blanket I happily accepted it for my lap! When 'Breathe' arrived, she greeted us all and then went to get a blanket. Thinking she got it for herself, I was surprised when she threw it over my shoulders and said that I looked cold. LOL! Thanks again, I was cold!! And she's from south Texas! in a borrowed coat!!!

 Here's Lisa, Smokey, and 'Breathe'. Smokey is the nicest little Morgan horse. He is a great representative of the breed! 

It was great fun watching them learn new things and  grow together. Under Mark's careful and attentive instruction, I think Smokey moved from kindergarten to mid school!

 Don't they look nice in this next photo?

Look around and see the Friends - song: I'm not Losing Sleep, artist: David Bowie, album: Early On

Sunday Stills (10-31-10 Halloween)

This was Halloween last year.

This year, we dressed up for work and had a fun day. Five of us, in costume, went out for lunch at Olive Garden. You should have seen the heads turning! 

This Jack-o-Lantern looks mighty tasty!

Halloween sure brings out the wild side in some people. Rowl.

Can you believe the people I work with?

The purple twins.

I even got to see Aladdin Sane (David Bowie) with some wild Jareth of Labyrinth hair. ;)

Here's Marilyn Monroe puckering up

and another model for Aladdin Sane.

Then I got a wild hair or two...(practicing for tomorrow, I guess.)

Gosh, Halloween's not over yet and I've already dressed up twice!!

For more Sunday Stills, please check here.

Oh yeah, 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Friday Foto

Innocent and wild

Several weeks ago the 12,000+ acre Ortiz Mountain Ranch, AKA the Ball Ranch was to be purchased by the NM Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department for $2.9 million from Gov. Bill Richardson's discretionary portion of the federal stimulus funds. A portion of the ranch was to be set aside as a wild horse sanctuary. Both our gubernatorial candidates, Diane Denish and Susana Martinez oppose using the federal stimulus funds for the purchase. The purchase was scheduled to go before the eight member NM  Board of Finance in October but has been tabled until the next board meeting on November 16. Richardson is president and Denish is a member of the board.

There is both strong dissension against and support for the land purchase. Some claim it will boost the economy of the small villages along the "Turquoise Trail" as a tourist draw with the wild horses nearby. Others believe we should be spending the money where it's needed more, on schools, for example.

Many believe the wild horse sanctuary will bring long-term jobs, at least a half-dozen state jobs and possibly more tourism-related employment, which is what Congress wanted the Stimulus funds used for. An economic survey estimates the sanctuary will bring an additional 30,000 visitors to the area and $3.3 million in additional business each year.

Since 1971, the BLM has managed the wild horses and burros on national forest lands with a federal budget of about $64 million a year. However, there are problems. Ranchers don't like the Mustangs because they have to share the range with their cattle. Wild horse herds can grow quickly. As a result, the BLM removes about 10,000 horses a year from the open range. Many of these are adopted out but still more live in holding pens for the rest of their lives because they are older or not adoptable.

Continuing care for these horses has caused the BLM to solicit nonprofit groups and government agencies. New Mexico officials submitted the proposal for a sanctuary for a small herd of horses and a center where the Mustangs could be trained and adopted out. If this center could adopt out 100 horses a year it would be very helpful. This combination Sanctuary and Adoption center on state land would be the first of its kind. If the state does purchase the land, the BLM will assist with the adoption center and providing the horses, and a nonprofit organization would raise funds for operating the sanctuary.

This area is very close to my house. Just last weekend, I drove past the Ranch lands on my way to a horse clinic in Santa Fe. I would so love to see a herd of Mustangs living freely out there. Maybe some of the horses from Disappointment Valley can be relocated here. We can only hope this purchase happens as planned...

See full story here




Innocent and Wild - song: Move On, artist: David Bowie, album: Lodger

Bowie video day (The Elephant Man)

Born in 1862, Joseph Merrick was known as the Elephant Man. He said that when his mother was pregnant she was knocked over by an elephant at the circus, thus causing his condition. He willingly put himself on display as  a medical oddity and only lived to the age of 27, when he died of asphyxiation  in his sleep.

"He often said to me that he wished he could lie down to sleep 'like other people' ... he must, with some determination, have made the experiment ... Thus it came about that his death was due to the desire that had dominated his life—the pathetic but hopeless desire to be 'like other people'."—Frederick Treves 

His tragic life has been much documented in plays and movies. David Bowie took up the role in 1980 and refused to wear make up or props when he played him in the show. Rather, he contorted his face and body to make it appear distorted, believing that he could better portray the sensitive man inside the grotesque form.

Here is what Joseph Merrick's skeleton looked like.


Here is an interview with footage from the Broadway play. I remember when he was playing in Denver. I really wanted to go but didn't. I've regretted it ever since.






'Tis true my form is something odd,
But blaming me is blaming God;
Could I create myself anew
I would not fail in pleasing you.


If I could reach from pole to pole
Or grasp the ocean with a span,
I would be measured by the soul;
The mind's the standard of the man.
—poem used by Joseph Merrick to end his letters

Sunday Stills (10-24-10 Fall Foliage)

For more Sunday Stills, please visit here.

Sunday - Song: Sunday, artist: David Bowie, album: Heathen

Friday Foto

going round and round

I moved the round pen panels closer to the house so that the horses could eat a big patch of weeds and I put all the horses in there together. I decided Yalla! needed some "alone" time so I just put her in there alone this time. 

Normally, she is a very vocal horse, neighing at me and the other horses all the time, so I expected her to go wild, screaming her head off. She never said a word! She would run a lap or two, bucking, and then settle down to graze. Then a few minutes later, she'd do it again. But she never called out to the others who were loudly voicing their dismay at being separated. The round pen is very near our driveway now and the boys were working on cars and other garage stuff so they had air compressors and all kinds of things making sudden loud noises. I thought it was great conditioning for her. She took it all in stride. There was a bucket of water in there so I left her for a few hours while I drove to the store. When I came back she seemed even more settled. She was so good natured about the whole separation that I decided to take her for a walk before I took her back to the barn. We walked all around the neighborhood. She had a high head and was slightly nervous but very well behaved over all. I have the long walks to the pasture this past summer to be thankful for. Then I put her back with the others who were VERY glad to see her. Funny, when she and Annie were in the stall together waiting for me to feed them, Annie gave a real deep nicker to Yalla! and lifted her hind leg at her, threatening to kick her, kind of like, "don't you ever go and leave us like that!" Poor Yalla!, as if she had a choice!

Next day, I rode Annie with only the bareback pad and a bridle around the neighborhood and the back forty. I have a nice area behind my neighborhood with a large field and trees and two side roads so I can figure 8 the roads and reride the area without really backtracking. Annie was very nervous. Sandy came along and darted in and out of the bushes, having great fun. After one loop, I decided to ride in the round pen with her for a while, trotting some of the nervousness out. Then I had my son bring Sandy into the house because I could tell she was getting bored watching us go around and round. After a half an hour or so if walking and trotting with no reins (I played airplane) I decided to walk her out back again. She did 100% better. She dropped her head and really enjoyed the ride, looking around with interest instead of fear. I put her away and then I took Yalla! for another walk, all the way to the back this time. I wondered how nervous she would be so far away from home. Nothing. We got to the far back field where the horses sometimes get nervous and she just wanted to drop her head and graze on the luscious grass. Meanwhile, the horses are calling to her from the barn. On Annie's ride, Yalla! and Scout were calling out and Annie was neighing back once in a while. I scolded her each time but it didn't seem to make any difference.

Then, on Tuesday night, I had a meeting to go to. Afterwards, driving home around 9:00, the sky was so bright from the moon that I decided to ride. (I think that my having two cups of coffee at the meeting contributed to my restless mood too.) I hurried out to the barn and bridled up Scout. I climbed on his back using the pipe rail fence and we rode around the neighborhood bareback. He was amazingly calm! I rode around the round pen with him for a while too, walking and trotting, and then we rode back out. All the way out, to the side roads. The night was so bright I could have read a book. I love riding at night! In spite of the others calling to him from the barn he stayed calm and relaxed during our whole ride, never making a sound. There is a long strip of grass near the big pasture and the side road that we cantered down. It was heaven. I think we rode around for a good hour or more.

Going round and round - song: Always Crashing in the Same Car, artist: David Bowie, album: Low

Disappointment Valley

I've been catching a couple of films a night at the Duke City Documentary Festival.

Wednesday night I saw Genetic Chile about genetically modified seeds and the related issues. With the exception of the United States, almost all countries worldwide do not allow GMOs (genetically modified organisms) We don't even know what harmful side effects can happen. Monsanto is the primary supplier, actually the sole, think monopoly, provider of these seeds. New Mexico State University has a huge program researching the production of GM seeds. Foods are not required to be labelled so unless we specifically buy organic we don't know what we are eating. There are issues of seed drift and cross pollination contaminating the organic crops so it is predicted that in the not-to-distant future we will only have GM plants. SCARY!!!

I also watched Lost Angels about LA's homeless people on Skid Row. Many people are there for all different reasons: mental illness, drug abuse, loss of jobs, preference. Yes, some people choose to live there. They don't want a roof over their heads. There was a huge "clean up" where the police arrested thousands but they really need more support services.  If you take them off the streets where do they go? Many mental institutions closed down in the eighties. It can cost $60,000 to imprison someone but only $6000 to feed and shelter them. The problem is that the low cost housing is being eaten up by high dollar condominiums.

Thursday night I watched Erasing David. This was a great film about a guy in England who wanted to see if he could disappear off the radar of today's society for 30 days. There are hundreds of databases and cameras recording everything about a person all the time. He asked for Amazon's file on him and received a 1/2 inch thick stack of papers telling him lists of all kinds of things, like everybody he's ever sent presents to. By the second week he was extremely paranoid, realizing that the only way to disappear is to hide in the woods. There is no way to function in society without revealing personal information. Every site visited on the internet, every transaction performed anywhere is recorded, hopefully for legitimate use. Identity theft is a huge problem nowadays.

Then I watched Flamenco School. The University of New Mexico has a huge program on flamenco dancing,     The National Institute of Flamenco. It was very interesting to learn all about this beautiful dance form and to find out that this film was made locally was a big plus.

On Friday I managed to go see Disappointment Valley. This documentary film documents the struggle of the West's legendary wild horses. The film focuses on the stallion named ‘Traveler’ and the activism to release him to the wild after the roundup. Wild horses have long symbolized freedom, individualism and the free spirit of America. The documentary delves into the reasons behind the roundups and current impacts on western public lands by oil, gas, mining and corporate cattle grazing. From the website: TheAmericanWildHorse.com

It was an emotional film including footage from helicopter roundups, holding pens, and slaughter houses. I signed a letter to our Congressmen which will be hand delivered next week by Pony Express. They will be riding their Mustangs with a bag of letters to show the public's interest in preserving America's heritage, the Mustang.

I was surprised to see how healthy the Mustangs are in the wild, fat and alert, with glossy coats and healthy hooves. It's when they are put in the BLM holding pens that they get scarred up and skinny. Once they did a round up of 39 horses and then forgot about them. All the horses died of dehydration.

It's our tax dollars, hundreds of thousands, that are being spent to decimate the wild herds in favor of mining and cattle grazing on preserved lands. We, the American people, need to stop it.

From the American Wild Horse website:

Fight for the rights of the wild horse in America:

The American people need to call:

The Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar (202-208-3100)

Director of the Bureau of Land Management Bob Abbey (202-208-3801)

Please phone President Obama and demand a moritorium be placed on all round up and removals of America's Wild Horses and Burros. (202) 456-1111 whitehouse.gov

Thank you very much for your time and concern

Sunday Stills (10-17-10 Cars)

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is cars.

Sometimes my house looks more like a parking lot than a driveway. It's called having 5 drivers in the house.

This is what can happen if you're not careful while driving.

And this is when you can't drive, engine problems.

Here's my Lola, my FX45, my baby.

I just love this photo from my archives!!!

For more Sunday Stills, please check here.

Sunday - song: Sunday, artist: David Bowie, album: Heathen