Happy New Year

Well it’s a new year, I’ve l made my resolutions, oh the dreaded resolutions, , still have my trees up, just been to lazy to take them down, and now I am really contemplating what to do next. I think this is the week for me to really think about some changes, to figure out what I want to do and to just get to it, wow 2010 !

So...If I don’t call them resolutions instead if I call them goals then maybe I will actually keep some of them. Lets see, I plan on calling home more, emailing more, writing more letters and card, I love getting cards and letters in the mail so maybe if I send more I will get more.... riding more, playing more, creating more , painting more, writing more and reading more. That’s a lot of mores but none of them are very hard and all of them will make my world a better place. That’s the plan lets see if I can stick to it.
Well then, I have a full week ahead of me, I will make my list but, and this is a big but, I will get done what I can and not worry if something prevents me from getting it done, there is always next week, I mean as long as I am accomplishing something, anything, then all is good and I will just continue the list.

So this week.... I really do have to take down the trees and put the decorations away, I cant believe I am admitting this out loud but do you know I still have most of the original boxes for most of my ornaments and some of them go back to high school, each ornament comes off the tree, goes in its original box then gets put into a container, that my friends is why it takes me so long to put everything away, and why I always put it off....why do I do this to myself ? I have a long list of things to get done this week, but I don’t wont to bore you all with it, I just need to get to it.

I do want to wish all of you a very happy, healthy, wonderful new year. I hope your dreams and wishes all come true. Stay positive, laugh a lot and do the things you want to do. Stay in touch with loved ones, find old friends, make new ones, let the past go and move on. Have a great 2010 everyone !!!!!

Facebook

I have joined a few web sites, social networks, blogs etc... I belong to art sites and horse sites and sites that I am really not sure what we do. The internet has been a powerful tool for me, I have my own web site for art, I sell on different sites, I buy on some, I talk on some, I learn on some, I hover on others. I have joined and quit, gotten confused and lent a helping hand. Its very frustrating at times and very very fun other times.

Well I am thinking facebook has become one of my favorite sites. I started there out of curiosity but it has turned into the most wonderful way to stay in touch. I have friends and family all over the place and now I can see what everyone is up to with a click of the mouse, its been just great. More recently I have been able to connect with people I went to school with and that’s been a blast.

Now some of my “friends” don’t understand that they actually need to write something in order for all of this to work but that’s ok they are just behind the times, perhaps they will catch up. But everyime I see a new face I just love it. I even have friends that I have never met in person but we “met” on other sites and just followed each other.

Well I just really wanted to thank all my friends and let you know I am loving being there and although I might not talk to everyone everyday I am thinking about all of you. If you have not yet joined what are you waiting for you will be so surprised how quickly and easily you will connect and reconnect with family and friends. Go on join!!!!

Tittle Change

Well ok then I decided on “I’m Just Saying...” Its something I say almost daily and usually in a sarcastic way, LOL but the title now covers just about anything I may want to write about. Briefly I changed it to Life at Barking Dog Ranch but decided I wanted it a little lighter. Not to say I wont change it back....

Thanks fo the input everyone !!!

Name change

Well as you all know I cant sit still or leave well enough alone. The title of this blog has been bothering me, I did it in a hurry and at first I thought I would use it for everything, art, horses and life but as it turns out I am using a separate one for my art so I need to get rid of that in the title. I have been agonizing over this for a bit and still cant come up with anything I really like so I am going to list a few ideas

I keep going back to Life at Barking Dog Ranch since that name has been a part of my life for many years but I have a few other ideas as well let me know what you think good or bad

Life at Barking Dog Ranch

Fragments

This end up

Just me

Its just me

Over here

I’m just saying

Thanks talk to you all soon

Backing out of the stall

Had a great ground work session with Quincy, it was short but oh so wonderful. Yesterday Quincy knocked Vicki over barging out of the stall, my fault I have not worked with him and he is starting to do the old Quincy things again. So I have decided that everyday no matter what I have to do something of him, even if its only for 5 minutes, no exceptions!!! Yesterday was really good, I did some back up and some circling, he went twice around at the walk before I had to encourage him, for us this was really good. I also made sure he was at my shoulder when I led him, not a few steps behind like he has been doing. Don’t get me wrong leading him has become a joy in fact he leads better than the others but always a few behind. I was very happy with the out come.

Today I thought lets do something different. I decided to back him out of the stall, now I know what you are thinking, that’s easy and you have done that before, but wait, this stall had a drop down of about 8 inches so what that means is that he has to step up 8 inches to get out. I asked him to back and had to work on getting him straight and keeping him that way, this became an added bonus for us to work on. Once he was straight I asked him to back and as soon as he hit the board he stopped. No mater how I asked he just stood or came forward or stepped to the side. We just started over again and again and again... I was getting to the point that I thought maybe this was to much for him but just as I was thinking this he turned and looked at his back end and started to lick and chew. Ok we are getting someplace, I asked a few more times before I thought maybe if I lifted one hoof up and out, I walked to his back end lifted a hoof and placed it out of the stall then walked to his head and asked him to back.( Should have thought of this sooner) He walked forward, I tried the other hoof and this time he just stood licking and chewing, he did not walk backwards but he did not walk forward either and he licked and chewed. I gave him a minute to think about it asked again and he tried then stopped but still did not bring the hoof back in. The next time hooray he backed out !!!!! I told him what a good boy he was and let him stand part way in part way out. He licked and chewed again then I asked him to back he went right out.

Fixing the stalls in on the top half of our to do list, now I am thinking maybe not so fast this is kind of cool, LOL.

Look what the Dogs Draged in !

We love taking the dogs for a hike, they love being able to run play and hunt. Bill, he is really quite the hunter always bringing home moles and gophers, go Bill!! Sometimes they spot a deer and off they go then Joel has to go off into the woods to get the dogs, not always happy about it as we know there are other creatures in these woods, some we would rather never ever come across. We figure we are safe during the day as its mostly night time when the sun goes down that we hear the sounds of the wilderness, but you never know.

So the other day we decide to go for a hike and fortunately I grabbed my camera, just hoping to take some pictures of the dogs and nature. So we are walking, Joel and I talking, I take a picture here and there, the dogs are doing what dogs do, it was cool enough that we were all enjoying our hike. When all of a sudden the dogs stop, not moving a muscle, the hair on there backs go up, Joel and I stop as well not sure what is going on. Then just as suddenly Bill bolts off into the woods, Lucy right behind him, Joel an I look at each other not sure what to do. This is different than other times somehow we know its not a deer or bunny this is big! We can hear them running but they get fainter and fainter as they get further and further away from us. I can see the look on Joel’s face he is thinking I’m not going in there and I am thinking each man, woman and dog for them selves I want to bolt but in the other direction.

Its so quiet I think even the birds have stopped breathing..... time passed very slowly..... but then we heard it, a soft rustle, a twig breaking, heavy panting, the dogs were heading back, but wait, something is different I cant figure out what the sound is...... oh my!! I cant believe my eyes I know I must take a picture but I cant I just cant move, out comes Lucy, out comes, Bill, out comes oh my oh my oh my could it really be, has Bill and Lucy done what great men and women over the years ben unable to do, have they captured Big foot can it really be.....



Ok so my attempt at fiction may not be very good but I had you going there for a bit, LOL Hunting for big foot has been a long time joke in our family, Joel and the dogs, what ever dog we had at the time have always gone hiking in hunt for him. When I saw this cement casting I knew I just had to get it for Joel, yes its ugly but come on how fun. Joel will find a very good place for it, perhaps hidden on a trail so when we are on our hikes with the dogs we will see it and think fondly of the dogs that have passed before us. Hope you enjoyed my story, hope I have not scared you away.

Parelli training pays off

This is my latest discovery on the parelli learning adventure.

I have a left brain introvert who to say is a handful would be an understatement, we have come a long way but have so much further to go. Here is what has been happening....

First I should explain the layout of the barn. It has stalls all down one side and stalls and tack room, washroom etc.. down the other. The isle is extra extra wide with a dirt floor, you can actually ride in there if you would want to. So what this means is the horses can not just go in and out of there stalls but in and out of the barn. Its awesome!!!

Ok so the section that has the hay also has a gate across it to keep the horses out of it, else it would be a feast. I was throwing hay one day and they were all in the isle, I grabbed some hay and walked out to spread it around, when I turned to go back and close the gate Quincy was in there eating. He not only had opened the gate wide he had walked under and through the tarp that hangs to keep the rain out if the big doors are open. Now before parelli I would have shooed him out and shut the door, but instead I just walked in told him he was a good boy grabbed more hay and continued doing what I had been doing. I gave him some time then walked in and asked him politely to leave, he did!! Well this kept happening he would just wait at the gate for me to walk out and he would swing the gate wide and go in.

Now, I can stand at the gate, I don’t even have to go in and ask him to leave, he always does. I gave him a choice instead of a demand I let him play and make a decision and the results are incredible.

Because of the move we made and everything else that’s been happening I have really neglected the horses but now that things are getting to normal that will change. I have decided to take the riding part out of the equation when it comes to this horse and just concentrate on the ground work. We will see what happens. If someday I am able to ride him again that will be great but if not its ok I will learn from him and for him and the other horses will benefit.