Archive for the ‘Images Captured’ Category
Just This
I am short time to write for today. Why am I short time? I have returned to putting in hours at the day-job. I have been unsuccessful in finding something closer to home, so I have returned to what I know and do best. Unfortunately it is an hour’s drive away from home. Fortunately, my return has been warmly and gratefully received.
In place of any words of wisdom, or descriptions of my follies, I will share another image from the batch I took at dusk just the other day. Here is Cayenne…
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What The?
Yes, it’s time again to play everyone’s favorite Relative Something guessing game, “What?”. If you are new, the rules are simple: don’t cheat. All you need to do is study the image and conjure up what you think it could be. When you have your guess, and not before, you click on the image to have the full view revealed. Enjoy this diversion from everything more important that you should be doing, and guess your best!
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Animals Update
I feel like the horses have been getting short shrift of air time here lately, probably due to the severe winter weather we’ve been enduring of late. Most days it is all business down at the barn, getting hay and feed distributed before my exposed flesh starts getting burned by the cold air. Pulling out the camera in the cold and dark just doesn’t seem to happen. Of course, the fact that the flash quit working on my favorite pocket camera might have a little to do with that.
I did recently snap this shot at dusk, prior to entering the barn to feed them. That is Cayenne in front of Legacy, and if you look close, you can see Hunter peeking out from the edge of the overhang of the barn. Legacy has played hard-to-get when we attempt to adjust his blanket and I’m beginning to think that he thinks it looks cool that way. He reminds me of a teenager who wears his ball cap sideways or lets his pants hang low.
They seem to be doing well despite the harsh conditions. It is such a treat to watch them when they are prancing and dancing around in the snow. We haven’t been picking up after them in the paddocks as diligently as we used to, and now the snow is covering a lot of their piles of manure, so I have resigned myself to it being a muddy, wet manure mess out there when spring finally rolls around.
Meanwhile, I have been having a lot more interaction with Delilah during the time I’ve been home during the week. Since it was so cold, I let her stay indoors with me, and since the cats just sleep on the bed all day, I put up a gate to the bedroom and then give Delilah freedom to move around the house.
We have developed a game of chase in the house where I run after her in laps around the spiral staircase. Last night, she even initiated the game and invited me to chase her around past the kitchen counter, in front of the fireplace, back to the kitchen, around and around again. I run as fast as I can, pushing her to work hard, but I run out of breath well before she tires of the game.
I tried to get her to wear boots that Cyndie bought for her feet, and she was very nice to let me get all 4 of them on her before we went out on the coldest day. After I got her ready, I still had to get my boots and coat on, and she stood totally still while I got ready. I think she was freaked out about trying to walk in them. When I was ready, it took some coaxing to get her to move, and then she clop, clop, clopped her way to the door.
Outside, she instantly appeared to be trying to run out of them, and it didn’t take her long to succeed. I thought it was nice of her to try, but I am guessing they won’t get much use beyond that first attempt.
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Cold Images
I am thrilled to present a photo that Cyndie sent me, taken with her iPhone yesterday morning on her way up to the house from the barn, after feeding the horses:
That sun dog hung around for a long time after sunrise for us. On her way down to the barn, despite an excruciating headache from a sinus infection, she called me and told me to get my camera and take pictures of the sunrise. I was skeptical that I would be able to get a workable shot looking directly at the sun with my little pocket camera, but I gave it a try. This is my version from about a half-hour earlier than hers:
Just the night before, I had been trying to capture how the setting sun was illuminating all the icy branches of the trees. None of my attempts were able to match what I could see with my eyes, but I did end up with a sunset shot that I like a lot.
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While reviewing the sun dog shots from the morning, I realized I had captured the sun setting on our horizon the very evening before. I think they make a nice pair.
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Happily Thankful
I dug in the archives to reclaim the image I used last year to express Thanksgiving greetings from our new home. Now edited, to show this years date, here is the start of year-2 at our new home… We are truly thankful.
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Necessary Medicine
It is very rewarding to see our dog, Delilah, loving the snow with such gusto. She buries her face in it! Sadly, we are making her sick with the medication to treat her Lyme infection, as the antibiotic is upsetting her tummy. There is a life lesson in that, isn’t there? If we are too timid about enduring some necessary hardships, we shortchange ourselves from ultimate results we seek.
The relatively brief period of gastric distress is worth dealing with to rid her of the infection that is causing her to be intermittently lame. She’s a trooper and is handling it well. For some reason, she seems to prefer to throw up indoors. I was trying to get ready to take her out before bed last night in the extreme cold, and thus struggling to get boots on, hat, jacket, gloves, plus my head lamp, while she started gagging. Half way through getting my stuff on, I’m running into the kitchen to get a paper towel.
Nothing of substance was coming up, but she kept trying. I’d hastily get a boot on, and then turn to wipe up after her, now rushing even more to get the rest of my stuff on so I could take her out. I left the last spots to be wiped up later, and we headed out the door. Outside, she seemed completely fine. After a very short time out in the cold night air, after she both peed and pooped, I invited her back in. At the door, she started to choke again. I quickly reversed direction and offered her a chance to stay out a bit longer.
She walked around the yard, nosed the snow, but seemed otherwise just fine. Back to the door, and a bit of a gag. Maybe being in the house makes her sick to her stomach?
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Beauty
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beauty
indescribable beauty
is freely available
to everyone
who chooses to notice
the way light
paints
every day
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Safe Haven
There are several ways the horses have shown us they feel okay with the new situation they find themselves in here at Wintervale Ranch with us. They have always been very friendly with people who have stopped by to meet them, approaching the gates and interacting well.
They frequently move in close to graze alongside us when we take up a project near the fences.
They are getting along with each other very well, and appear to be a great little herd together. A few days ago, as Cyndie worked with one of them in the round pen, the other three kept vigil close by.
Whenever two are removed to go for a walk, the other pair call out with a whinny over being separated and left behind.
On Monday, I was toiling away on shoveling a drainage channel around the first paddock when I glanced up and discovered that three of the horses were laying down out in the big field together. Dezirea remained standing to serve as lookout while the others enjoyed a little down time. That is a great way to tell the horses are feeling safe here.
Relative Something 