I Wont Be Posting For a Little While

Stephanie Russel 1990-2009

I lost a dear friend and loved one today - I will be gone for a bit. I lost my friend Stephanie - whom I have featured on this blog. She was the one I took pictures of last summer - featured in "What's in a Cowgirl" (click here to see) - she was the sweetest, nicest , most beautiful kid in the world with so much going for her (recently she won a couple of scholarships to pay her way through school) I am just so freaking heartbroken.....

She went on vacation with her boyfriend following High School Graduation, it was a scuba diving accident. I had just sent her a box of college supplies and a graduation present - the best I could afford. And she sent me a message on Facebook, last night telling me how much fun she was having, by the time I read it this morning she was gone.....

My Little Girl - Tim McGraw

Gotta hold on easy as I let you go
Gonna tell you how much I love you though you think you already know
I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm
You’ve had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born

Beautiful baby from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again. Go on take on this whole world but to me you know you will always be
My little girl

When you were in trouble that crooked little smile would melt my heart of stone
Now look at you I’ve turned around and you’ve almost grown
Sometimes your asleep I whisper I love you in the moonlight at your door
As I walk away I hear you say “daddy love you more”

Beautiful baby from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again. Go on take on this whole world but to me you know you will always be
My little girl

Someday some boy will come and ask me for your hand
But I won’t say yes to him unless I know
He’s the half that makes you whole
He has a poets soul
And the heart of a mans man
I know he’ll say that he’s in love, but between you and me
He won’t be good enough

Beautiful baby from the outside in
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again. Go on take on this whole world but to me you know you will always be
My little girl

Catching Up and Cutting Back

We are packing up to head out to the River for the 4th. I have taken 2 days off work and combined it with the 3rd - which we have off for a 5-day mini vacation. At my work if you don't use it, you loose it, so I am going to use it all by the first of August - when my vacation resets itself.

I am so excited to head out to the River for some camping and fun in the sun - the weather is supposed to be outstanding for once (or at least that is what they are saying now) and the dogs are about ready to crawl out of their skin they are so bored - it will be fun for everyone.

Hubby has decided to go back to school and is enrolled for Fall Quarter. This means we will be on a tight budget for a lot longer than I had originally thought. And it adds to our expenses as his unemployment will only pay for "part" of the tuition costs. But that's ok, because it means we will be better off in the long run, or at least I hope. I can see a future where maybe I wouldn't have to work, where maybe I could focus on my writing.....at least I think I can.....

School is not easy and it's already stressing him out with the Financial Aid apps, tests, registration and paper work - so he is ready for a break too. The river is nice cause there is no cell phone service, no TV service and no interest service so we are completely unplugged for the time we are there. In fact you can just barely get a radio station - so we do cheat a little bit and steal my hubby's friends' satellite radio. He works fires in the summer so he has satellite everything. We did too till this Spring when it was included in our budget cuts. Some of which have gone ok some are sorely missed....

I really miss my expensive Redkin shampoo and conditioner - I asked my hair gal which "cheap" shampoo was the best and she actually said Mane and Tail - would be it. So I am using that now. Heck I already have tons of it. I won't need to buy any till next year. It's ok....but it's really isn't as nice....sigh....

I haven't bought myself a latte since February....and it sure is tempting sometimes....

We've cut both our satellite TV and internet packages down to the bare minimum. Hubby needs internet for school so we are keeping that....but if things get tighter the TV will have to go, which would be sad because we live too far out of town to pick up the new digital signal. So we are trying to keep that as well. We have bid farewell to our satellite radio.
I have switched coffee 2 or 3 times trying to find an inexpensive brand that I like. I have settled on some coffee beans from Costco - which I like. It's called Seattle Mountain Coffee or something like that. It's 8$ for a giant bag of it - so its a fairly good deal.

We stalk sales at the local grocery stores like crazy people, but it's paying off. We usually aren't short on food. I can name off the top of my head the best prices I have seen on most foods and at what store any given week.

We haven't been "out to dinner" since my birthday.....sigh....haven't even bought any Pizza (you'd think I would be losing weight, but alas I am not really). Sometimes when we get all the bills paid and unexpected things happen like - a freakin Vet bill or my cars needs some work things get pretty tight, but we manage - even if some bill are late.

The new Physical Therapy seem to be helping..........a little - it's only been a week and half on it so I am still hoping it will work. I haven't heard from the doc on my bone scan....yet. I think that if the bone scan shows that he can't do any injections, and the new PT doesn't help I will try to settle my claim with the insurance company and try to settle for enough money to provide myself with alternative care for my back for possibly the rest of my life. And move on. That's my plan anyways - to move on, and accept things for the way they are.

I thought I would post some pics of my animal pals - they have all been taking full advantage of the summer.

There are still no horse shows in my immediate future. Stretch has not sold, although one party remains interested. I am doing everything I can help get him sold. Except riding - which my new PT still says he'd like me not to do (wanted to give the therapy a chance to work, then I can go back to riding or so he says).

I have sold some horse items and some show clothes and that helps out financially some what. Nothing like selling an actual horse would.....sigh.....

Pat munching away at my folk's place in the small pasture. He is gaining weight and is looking nice!



Pat and Stretch, who is quickly becoming quite chunky - so he is now on limited pasture time - the boy is not real happy about it either - he can really pout.



Kaiser on his pillow inside. I just love it when they lay like that, it's so cute.



To prevent Roper from getting the "Go-Nut" (green rubber donut) Kaiser will put it in his food dish while he is eating....



Roper - pouting in the grass about the "Go-Nut".



Ah HA! Finally he has it back! What a nut case - they crack me up!



Rope sleeping like shrimp.

Some of our Local Wildlife

We get visits from all kinds of creatures at our place.

I never get tired of this picture - this is the sun coming up off my back deck.



My little black cap (I have no idea what this bird is only that he likes to hang out at my feeder)



Same bird.



My Quail - we like having them around in the yard but will still hunt them in the fall. There is more than enough to hunt. A ton of them died this last winter in the deep snow - people quit feeding them and they couldn't get away from predators. Roper is good at finding them in the field in the fall. I think they are beautiful.



And tasty.



Red Tailed Hawk - he also likes the Quail.



The smaller of the two Great Horned Owls that hang out at our place.



This weekend we got a visit from a Moose. Just beyond the pasture.



She comes through almost every year.



The other weekend we took a last minute trip up to Lake Roosevelt to check the water levels and ended up doing some fishing. On the way there I saw the only purple Truck I have ever seen.



How cute - I wonder if it belonged to a girl. Actually I kinda hope it belonged to a girl.



Here is where we come around the corner and can finally see the Columbia River (AKA: Lake Roosevelt Recreational Area).



Lookie what I brought home!



A river Walleye! My favorite fish to eat. He messed with my line for while before I could hook him. Nevermind my medicine bottles in the pic...



20.5 inches! That is a nice Walleye! Me and Hubby cooked him up as soon as we got home. Second biggest Walleye we've caught out of there - Hubby has me beat by a 28 incher he caught a couple of years ago.

Cowgirl Waterfall Adventures

This is what it's all about - County Living at It's Best!

A couple of weeks ago Hubby and I headed up to a lake back behind our house. When the weather was really hot - we worked our butts off all day getting house work done and then when we finished up, we threw our gear in the boat, hooked up to the truck and took off for the lake.

It's called Horse Shoe Lake - of course because of it's shape. It's also a "no-wake lake", so you can't run your boat fast enough to create a wake behind it - or you could get a big fat ticket. So we take our little fishin boat. One of few things we've agreed not to sell to help pay bills.

This lake is fairly high in elevation and surrounded by steep hill and cliffs of granite. There aren't many cabins....but I'm sure there will be soon. Seems like you can't have a lake anywhere that's not completely encircled by cabins anymore - one after another after another.

There is a waterfall where a creek enters the lake - although you can't see it from the boat launch you can hear it. It's a local secrete hang-out in the summer. You see, a lot folks in my small little community (although I work in town we do not live in the city) are poor. Not just broke like us, but really poor.

But don't tell them that - because they don't know they are. They have more fun, live more, laugh more and love more than most people who are well off. And they are happy. Here at the falls, all you gotta do is swim or float in on something to get here and it's loads of fun - it's always a party. Lots of kids, adults, and everyone between. You don't have to pay a dime to enjoy the lake or the waterfalls, so it's a popular place.

I will talk more about the falls later - but I just wanted to mention the adventure started here. We hit the mouth of the creek, then floated up stream to the falls, tied up the boat up, unloaded the beer, cracked a few open and sat in the water relaxing while soaking in the sun and heat. Our neighbor, Davon, was up there so we hung out with him shooting the breeze when pretty soon he got an idea to hike up stream to see the other falls (there are two additional sets of waterfalls up stream).

Me and Hubby have hiked upstream before but we didn't really know what we were doing and the going was tough. Davon is a Native, born and raised in the area and knows all the cool trails and spots so we jumped at the chance to go - just by luck did I have my camera in tow. To get to the trail we have to climb to the top of the Water Falls and from there - is where the climbing really began.

Just a pretty shot of a tree and the sky - encase anyone was wondering...yes....there are PLENTY of trees left in Washington, there always has been.



Basically we had to climb to the top of one of those ridges surrounding the lake. The trail we were on disappeared once we started up the ridge. From then we were just following Davon.




Once we got up out of the thick brush we traversed across the side of this ridge, it became very hot and dry.

I noticed alot of little bones laying around and decided this must be an area where either an eagle or a large owls feeds. Of course it might also be near a coyote den which would also explain the bones.



Here are some bones I found on a rock - looked like a beaver. Check out the teeth.




A small cliff we climbed down (me with the help from hubby, the trip wasn't kind on my back) - we used a large crack in the rock for hand and feet holds. (Keep in mind we were all clad in swimming suits and freakin sandals - looking back I'm like "were we high?" but at the time while doing it - seemed like the most natural thing to do) none of us had any trouble and set a nice pace covering 3.5 miles rather quickly - under an hour.



After crossing the ridge we started to see all these caves and places were old glacial activity had stacked giant building sized boulders on top of each other and then you could see where at one time the creek ran through and washed the dirt out from underneath.



Old washed up stump - helps prove my theory.


A look inside one. Kind of unnerving - there are literally thousands of pounds of rock above you here.



Here is some more evidence of water erosion inside another cave.



Here is Davon - who crawled in one cave and came out another. He's been playing in these rocks since he was a boy and knows all the tunnels and caverns. They run for miles along this creek and the lake.


Then we came to the first waterfall - we actually passed by another one but will visit it on the way back. This is Dovetail Falls. Isn't this beautiful?



Husband posing for a shot - should've had him take my picture. Doesn't look real big here but he's actually standing on a hill in front of the Falls so it makes them look smaller.




But they were plenty big and steep. Do you see thing in this picture?



Look closer.



Closer.



That's right! There is a cave under the waterfalls - complete with a rock bench where you can just sit and watch the thousands of gallons of water spill over you making such a noise that your chest rattles with the thunder of the water and it fills almost your entire mind. My mind knew I was safe - but my body thought I was going to drown - I had focus and work though that to make myself breathe. In a way it was very cleansing - sharpened every thought, all my senses - were tuned and alert and yet I was relaxed and at peace. I crawled back from our spot from under the falls feeling refreshed and new.



Here is Davon's friend Chris coming out of the waterfall. Sorry no pictures of inside the cave under the falls - it's not real super camera friendly.... Hubby went under the waterfalls too - and felt the same way.



Here is a little snake we flushed out of the cave under the falls - he was not happy we were in his cave. Honestly he didn't have to leave - the only one in our group afraid of snakes is my Hubby, Mr. Manly Man, go figure. I like snakes - they are amazing creatures.



We also did a little rock jumping while we were climbing around. I passed on most of the activity to spare my back which was already bothering me from the days walking and climbing. Notice how deep the water is when you play the video....



Isn't this just beautiful? I mean - really, the light, the Falls, having Hubby by my side. I'll be darned if having him home and spending all the extra time with him isn't making me fall in love with him just a little bit more. Seems like we are finding again what drew us together in the first place.



Here is the view down stream from Dovetail Falls - the going get really super steep again.



This video shows Dovetail Falls first, and also I will pan down Hidden Falls - named for the fact that it's a set of waterfalls that is almost completely hidden under a large rock slide. Now if I were feeling 100%, if my back was good, I would've joined the other guys to climb through the network of caves to get under those rocks to see the hidden falls.....I was so bummed out that I couldn't ((pout)). But you can see a little bit of the water and hear the falls...



And then we arrived back at the bottom of the set of Falls that dumps into the lake. It's called Exley Falls.



This place is named after and dedicated to Burrill Exley that loved this land and was kind enough to leave it to the Fish and Department who have kept it open and free to the public as that was Burrill's wishes.



You can climb on and access each of the 3 pools of water that marks each stage of this waterfall. You climb up there as I have many times, climb into a pool, shimmy up to the wall of water, lean back and let it run over your body. It's just awesome. And perfectly safe as long as no one knocks a rock loose from the big swimming hole directly above the falls.



Here some smaller wading pools below that the kids all love. Little baby trout, blue gill, and perch minnows like to swim and hide in these pools. The kids love chasing them around - making dams with the rocks and just being kids.



It's just a really neat spot. We try to make it up there as often as possible.

There are also these - do you know what this is?

This is a Dragon Fly Larvae - click to enlarge - you can see they make their homes out of little rock and glue them together. They stay in this form called a naiad (that is, nymph) - for several years, at least the bigger ones do anyways. Everyone around here calls them Periwinkles - like but not as in the snail. If they grab a hold of you they can pinch but don't bite.

On the trip back to the boat launch.



Davon and his other friend, notice their Redneck canoe paddles.

We hit the boat launch in time for me to do some last minute fishing while we were waiting our turn to load up. And I hooked this Blue Gill - they are pretty colored and taste good, but there is not much meat on these babies. They like the warmer water this lake offers.


What perfect end to a great day!

Stretch in the Raw

So there are some people interested in Stretch - who have actually had more than one conversation with me! I'm excited! They sound like excellent homes with knowledgeable horse people. One person is local - who would use my trainer. One is really far away but really has the best interest of Stretch in mind, after a couple of conversations with her I am judging her to be a very honest, nice, lady.

Buying a horse from a distance is always tough so I sympathize with her.

One family I am familiar with wants a consistent horse to keep her in the show pen - she's had some ups and downs with horses, and health issues that have kept her from the show pen. I can also sympathize with her.

So we'll see what happens. I really hope I can work something out with one of them - they sound like awesome homes. One of the many things keeping from blogging.

Some shots I took to show people what Stretch looked like, minus tack.

Eeeeek! He's naked!




Here is he turned out - he said "Hi Mom! Pardon me if I don't stop eating...."

Patrick ran and hid again. See below - my mom's mare and no Patrick.



Here is again - gained a little weight - looking all stacked! Man I just love the way he's built! Just wish his tail was longer (it got chewed by a horse in the stall next to him at the trainer's barn).



Me: "Seriously - Hold STILL this time!"



Stretch: "Fine.......can I have some more grass now?"

Stretch: "Remember - grass - I wanted more grass?..."


As a side note - did any of you see this on the CMT Awards the other night? Talk about cute! I am not really a Rap fan as you might imagine, but this is just so darn cute. I love Taylor Swift. You'll want to pause my Music Player if you haven't already.

Back Update

Just a quick update on my back.

It real hasn't gotten any better in a long time.

I am still jogging (not running) and doing some other exercises.

I still am not sleeping well. The longer I sleep the more it hurts when I get up.

So after hitting a few road blocks with other specialists (who wouldn't see me or would see me only to tell me they couldn't help me, and in a sly way, imply that I was lying) I found a specialist who would not only see me but have a plan of action to help me.

I have some different drugs that I will try as soon as I get paid again. I will be seeing a new Physical Therapist, one that specializes in back injuries. I will also be getting myself a "bone scan" and based on the results of the bone scan he will decide on further treatment. The cause of my pain could be coming from a couple of different issues only one of them is treatable with injections - if it turns out to be one of the other things, I will still be exploring PT and maybe some alternative methods of pain management until I find something that works. If it turns out I need injections then that's what he'll try and see if it eliminates the pain.

I am just glad I am seeing someone who not only believes me but seems to care about helping me get better. Plus I gently reviewed what had happened while meeting with the other specialists and he said that it was sad that they have to act that way but most surgeons have a very high opinion of themselves, they think they are very important, just ask them...(me: he, he, he) Ok so Dr. Long scores major points with Stephie by making fun of the jack ass doctors.

I have my fingers crossed that this path will lead to some pain relief - maybe some real sleep, maybe a more active (normal for me) lifestyle void of pain pills. Maybe....

More on Equine Reading

Earlier this spring I won Oregon Sunshine’s book drawing. And so I was soooo excited when I got this in the mail just before I left for my Nashville so I could read it while I was traveling.

The book I picked was The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle.

I just love getting these packages in the mail.

I love the cover.

I was familiar with Aryn Kyle as she was featured in “The Best Of American Short Stories 2007” I sometimes pick up those “Best of Books” as there can be some really good stuff in them. She wrote a short story called "Foaling Season" – which she used as a springboard for this book.

When I read "Foaling Season" I remember thinking that it was good – she was good. A little rough, but good. I thought that it was a tad over dramatic and fairly dark as the foaling season is usually an exciting and beautiful time at almost any farm. But I remember liking the story and thinking with some more practice she'd have it down and would out there with a bestseller.

Imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw that “bestseller” sitting on the book table at Costco a year and half later. But alas, my book budget is now about non-existent so I left Costco without the book. So a little while later when I won the book drawing it was one of the first books that sprang to my mind.

I have to say that it is as good of a read as I had hoped. The story is great, it just ropes you in and doesn’t let you go. The horse details, while good, were still a little over dramatic and erred on the dark side of things – but it went along with the main characters mood at that time so you have to take it all in context with the whole book.

She involved horses a great deal in the book and yet the book is not “about horses” it’s about a girl and her family who happen to be in the horse business. You do not have to be a “horse person” to enjoy this book at all. But I believe it is a true treat if you are a horse person doubly so if you have any experience in the show world.

It was nice and refreshing to read a book that actually had “horse showing” in it and did not give it the Disney or Saddle Club treatment. That did not treat horse showing as a thing for the rich only or as a tool to mend a broken heart, or save a horse, or whatever some starry-eyed authors have dreamed up in the past.

I grew to really like the characters in the book – they are portrayed not as good or bad, but as human. Capable of both good and evil. If you are looking for that good horse read for the summer, this is it right here, go online and pick it up if you haven’t already read it.

Just as I finished “The God of Animals” I was equally surprised to find another amazon box in the mail – but I tore it open before I took any pictures of it…. And found another book from Oregon Sunshine – called “Nights of Rain and Stars” which I have only just started to read… but I am sure I will enjoy it. It was a bonus book! THANK YOU! As I have mentioned, my meager book budget isn't allowing for new book purchases so a bonus book means I will have something to read this summer.

I also wanted to take a moment here to finish reviewing:

Wild Horses and Rodeo Rocky By Jenny Oldfield.

These two books are great reads for a younger audience (I'd say from 8 - 15 or so). As an adult I was impressed with her scene descriptions in both books – painting a living picture in your mind of the character’s setting.

The first one (Wild Horses) is the beginning of the Half Moon Ranch series so there is some explanation of the main character’s family in there that is missing the other one – so if you want to know more you can go back and read the first one. It centers around two friends who are leading a trail ride but one becomes stuck in a canyon with some wild horses – one of the horses is injured. Of course he is a stallion and of course the girl helps him gaining his trust in the process. It’s like the Black Stallion for girls. The book is a good read and although some things in the book are unrealistic such the dealings with the Wild Stallion – they are things we all wished we could do when we were younger and that’s what makes it a good book. You know if it took her years to tame a Wild Stallion it wouldn't be nearly as exciting.

The second book “Rodeo Rocky” is slightly different but again deals with a Wild Stallion – this book touches more on ranch life through the main character again the girl Kristie Scott. The details are great and the read moves along quickly, and there are no moments where you are bored. Again there is some questionable horse training – but again I think it’s what we’d all like to be able to do when we were younger so, and it is a fictional book after all, so it didn’t bother me that bad. And like I said before if it took years instead of weeks to tame and train a Wild Stallion - the may not be as interesting.

It’s about the lead character, Kristie Scott, who attends a local Rodeo and basically rescues a Wild Stallion by buying it and bringing it back to the ranch to train up to use in their “Dude String” and the adventures she has in the process.

I really enjoyed both of these books and am sending them to my friend Cheyenne (14) for a review. I will let you know what she thought about them too. I know several of my horsey friends who have a hard time finding “good horse books” for their kids to read and I have no problem recommending these. There is no underlying political message that is trying to be conveyed here – it just good stories about kids and horses. The kind they can go reenact outside while they play “horses” – the kind that makes them actually like reading.

I would also like to add a good note for this book "Some Horses by Thomas McGuane". Although it centers around Cutting and Reining and Cow Horses a lot – it was a good read. It is a collection of essays about Tom’s journey through the equine world, the different horses he’s had and what they mean to him and what horses mean to humans in general.

There is no mystery – but in a way it is a love story. Again Great Summer reading take it to the beach or lake with you. Tom has a way with words that make his writing seem almost like poetry at times – for all of you out there in Blogger world who are writers – I highly recommend reading this little book. I found myself highlighting whole sections of his writing.