Making Friends!

I've lived in Tucson for almost an entire year. It's been kinda hard to make friends. I tend to be shy around new people, and I like to "know" people for awhile before I decide if I want to be friends...sorta like a kicked dog. I've come up empty on the easy ways, work and the barn. I hardly ever even see anyone else at the barn, and the people I work with are just people to work with. Sure, there are lots of way to meet new people, but I haven't even made an effort. This year has been too hard, and I haven't been willing to add to that with potentially sketchy 'friends'. 

Pro tip:  Avoid cookery classes

Generally speaking, it's been fine. Between Truby, Haiku and Sara, (plus my husband!), and the out of state friends I keep up with online/texting, I haven't felt like I needed to find a local friend. But...sometimes it would be nice to have someone to hang out with, you know? 

Truby is tired of being my only friend.

When my in-laws came to visit, they hit it off with the people that have the Airbnb where they stayed. They're great people, so we've all become friends. And, as luck has it, one of them is about my age! We're both compatibly weird, and have both been hoping to make a friend in Tucson without much luck. 

This week she came out to visit Truby for the first time. It was a beautiful day. A nice breeze, a little chilly, and lots of weak, winter mid-morning sun. The horses had eaten breakfast and settled in to munch their hay contentedly. New friend, Natalie, is one of those people that's always loved horses, but mostly from afar. I was excited to share a morning of Truby Time with her! 

Looks foreboding up in the mountains...but nice in the valley.

Hello, new friend! Are those...cookies????

Yay! Cookies <3 <3 <3 

My new favorite picture of Truby.

I do like to see my pony drink...

Natalie checked to see if she could bring some apple slices for Truby, so those two immediately became besties. We had a lovely morning of loving on Troob, taking her for a little walk, chatting, and just enjoying the day and each other's company. It was great for both of us to have some Truby Time to escape the stresses of daily life. 

Now it's Christmas Eve. I survived the holiday insanity at work, even ending on a good note! Today went easily and quickly. I get an extra day off for Christmas, which means FOUR WHOLE DAYS OFF!!! I'm really excited. Husband and I don't usually do much to celebrate holidays, and this year we're far too far away to spend it with any of our biological families...instead we're enjoying Christmas dinner with our new friend family! Otherwise it will be a quiet week to relax and enjoy my furry friends. And my new human friends as well. I hope all of you have the Christmas you enjoy - whether it's a quiet day at home, a raucous day with friends, or spending time with family. Merry Christmas! 

And a Happy Hanukkah from cats past

No cats were harmed during our holiday celebration 

I'm a cat professional. Honest.

Rainy Days and Frustrations

It rained recently. The last time it rained was August. AUGUST! That's a long time to go without sky-water. There's definitely a feeling of timelessness out here. The days are much the same - it's sunny, never many clouds, usually warm or hot. At night (now) it gets quite cold, but in general, every day is so similar to the last, I don't really notice time passing. No changing of the seasons, no big weather changes, nothing to mark the passing of time.

So the fact that it's almost Christmas doesn't really registrar. That it's been four months with no rain...I mean, if I count on my fingers, or look at a calendar, wow, time has passed! But it doesn't feel like it.

Anyway, it was supposed to start raining around 2 am on Sunday morning. I was so excited, I thought about staying up all night - or setting my alarm to wake me so I could enjoy the rain. (Yes, I totally did that with snow back home!) Since I work through the weekend, I knew I could never stay up, and that waking up at 2 am just to see rain would be a bad idea when I have to be up for work a few hours later. So I went to bed and hoped to see rain when I awoke.

At 2:15 am I woke up to the beautiful sound of rain falling! It was a good steady rain, and I enjoyed listening to it as I drifted back off to sleep.

While it rained in the valley, it snowed in the mountains! In both the Catalinas (shown above) and the Rincon Mountains, it snowed above 6500 foot elevation. I believe the Catalina mountains got at least 6 inches! There's even a ski resort up there. Really!

But down in Tucson, we got a cold rain, and lots of it! I think about half an inch over two days of on and off showers. Trust me, out here, that's a lot. 

Sunday morning I got a text from the ranch owner. Apparently a rather filthy and naughty Truby got tired of waiting for her breakfast, and pushed through the gate as they opened it to wheel the haycart in...and went to share Rhett's hay and shelter.

Uninvited breakfast Truby.

I would be appalled at my horse's bad manners, but I don't blame her. Truby doesn't have any shelter in her turn out area. Just a little sun shade, that's basically useless. And it's starting to get cold at night. It's still in the 60s and 70s during the day, but once the sun sets, it's getting down into the 40s and 30s. And it feels a little chillier than the actual temp, since we usually have a fairly consistent breeze. That's a big temperature swing! Truby's not grown as much of a winter coat as usual, just enough to be fuzzy, but nothing extravagant. And how else do horses keep warm? Eating and digesting forage. The grass in the front pasture is basically gone, and the 1 large flake of hay morning and night just isn't enough. Desert folks are super stingy about hay it seems. 

So I imagine Truby was cold, wet, and hungry, and tired of waiting for food, dammit! She's fed last, which also doesn't help. So while I don't approve of the bad gate manners, I'm giving her a pass this time.

(Also, back to looking to relocate. It's really hard finding what I want out here. Always looking.)

Am I sneaking my horse extra hay? OF COURSE NOT, I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING. I do find it super frustrating that everyone seems to be on the "one flake twice a day" wavelength. Not just where Truby is, but, like, everyone. I don't get it. I even talked to my vet about it (not Cookie Doctor, a different vet). She told me that's what everyone does here, and there's no higher rate of colic or ulcers than anywhere else. I'm not sure I'm buying it though. And as someone that has a horse with ulcer issues, it stresses me out to think how little forage Truby is getting. Her weight and body condition is fabulous, she's not having ulcer issues. But...I worry. And I want the best for her. And having grown up with grass and pasture and hay and round bales...it's really weird.

Enough with the hay rant. Truby has thoroughly been enjoying the rain because it makes mud. And she looooves to play in the mud! I've been making sure to curry it off every evening, so her hair can fluff and keep her warm. And each day, there's a new layer to brush off!

It brushes off easier than 'real' mud, at least.

The last of the storm

A nighttime visit. And by nighttime, I mean 6:30pm.
It's dark out here

Doctor Cookie Visits!

Since the last visit from the vet, I've made some changes with Truby. First off, I go and feed her her supplements every day. I had issues all summer with her not necessarily getting her supplements each day, plus, when she did get them, she had the tendency to swap meals with her buddy Cherry, since pasture feeding sucks. So now I go and feed them every day. I know they were fed, and I know TRUBY ate them. Plus it gets me out to see her everyday!

I added in a joint supplement, as well as an amino acid supplement, which claims to be good for helping horses develop muscle. It was cheap and had good reviews, so I thought I'd see if it helped.

Will be cute for snax

I was pleased that Truby seemed to look better 2 weeks or so after the vet visit. Of course, it was mostly due to the fact that she had enough hoof grow out to protect her tender little tootsies. But she continued to look happier in general and walk more freely. Sometimes I'd look at her think  "wow! You look great!"

But then...sometimes I'd look and her and think she was still off. Something, somewhere was wrong. And I couldn't really put my finger on it. So I called the Cookie Doctor and had him come back out, because who  needs money when a Truby might be ouchy? 

This is how hoof supplements work, right?

So Cookie Doctor came out. We talked about what I was doing with Truby and what I'd noticed. And how I might just be a hypochondriac horse owner, but maybe not. He looked Truby over, and had me walk and trot her up the driveway. I was thrilled to not trip and fall on myself, but Truby thought trotting was stupid. 

Then we did some flexion tests. Cookie Doctor would flex a limb, then have me trot her across the arena, do a tight turn, and then he would take the rope and trot Truby so *I* could see her move, without having to do the test twice. Love that.

We hit the jackpot with her right hind fetlock. As soon as we started moving I could hear the lameness and feel the resistance through the lead rope. I thought it was dramatic, and he scored it a 4 out of 6. The pain and stiffness up in her stifle areas are now thought to be caused by compensating for her painful fetlock. Her first few steps of those tests were off, but she quickly worked right out of it. 

Before every test, while he was explaining what we were going to do, the vet gave Truby a horse cookie and a rub on the forehead. After each test was complete, he'd give her another cookie. He told me that he knew he was going to cause her pain or at least discomfort, and he didn't want her to think he was doing it to be mean. Since Truby lives for cookies, she didn't hold a grudge for long!

I love you, Doctor Cookie <3 

At one point, he apologized, and walked back to his truck.

He had run out of treats and went to get more.

So, we know where Truby's really hurting. But why, and what do we do about it? I, of course, am fiscally irresponsible, and decided to have him come back out and do some x-rays. I really want to know exactly what's wrong, rather than assume it's just arthritis. Which is pretty much where we're at. 

I'm concerned that she has arthritis that bad, and that suddenly. Is is because she really aggravated it during her hitching post disaster? Or is it just really bad and now my princess pony is a cripple? Or do we have a fracture or chip? Ringbone? Ankle gremlins? 

I am happy, Truby is back to her cheerful self, she's moving much better, just the odd step now and again. Basically I have a content horse. But...something is still wrong. So that has me worried. I'm looking forward to seeing what's going on with that leg! 

Pre-appointment grazing on a sunny afternoon. 

Achievement Unlocked: Desert Wildlife

I'm moping around with a head cold today, so let me tell you about THE COOLEST THING EVER that happened a few weeks ago!

I got off work a little early, and was debating whether or not to stop by the barn on the way home, or wait until later in the day. I finally realized that if I went home first, I was probably going to sprawl on the sofa and never move again. Better to go in the middle of the afternoon and avoid the sofa temptation.

When I drove up, I noticed Truby standing in the middle of the gate area between the ring and the front pasture. She was perpendicular to the fenceline, looking into the neighbors property. It was a really weird position to be in...but she seemed normal, and gave me a little whinny and walked right over when I pulled up, so I shrugged and chalked it up to "horses are weird".

I gave her her supplements and a handful of grain, and hung out with her while she ate. Just petting her and looking her over. Truby was munching away, and I was leaning on her, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and smell of warm horse. I glanced idly over into the neighbors field, wondering what Truby had been looking at earlier.

And then.

Then I saw it.

Just sitting the the grass.

Right on the other side of the fence. Totally chill.

A bobcat!!!!!!!!!

Even though Tucson is a good sized city, we have a ton of wildlife that is perfectly at home wandering the streets and trekking though yards. The washes crisscross the city and allow wild animals like coyotes, bobcats, javelinas, etc to travel all around without having to worry about humans or cars. It's incredibly common to have wild critters knocking about your trash cans or playing on your patio (so I'm told!)

I was really disappointed when I first moved here. It took me weeks to see my first wild critter - a road runner - out in the wild. Finally, after about 6-7 months of living here, I saw a coyote trotting down the road. A few months ago, my husband and I saw a pair of javelinas crossing the road while we were out walking one morning.

But my dream has always been to see a bobcat in the wild. I know that bobcats will stalk around houses, and even bring their kits out to play poolside at people's homes. Clearly these wildcats are not shy!

So you can imagine how excited I was to finally see a bobcat, in the wild, and super close up! I was torn between watching her as long as possible, and running back to my car to grab my phone. (Bad logic: I'm just going to feed Truby, I don't need to bring my phone. That would be silly!) I watched for a bit, then hustled over, grabbed my phone, and hustled back.

going places, doing things

Stalking ground squirrels 

It was almost unreal to watch a bobcat, maybe from 50 feet away. She was strolling through the pasture, pausing now and again to stand perfectly still, staring at the ground. I assumed she was hunting ground squirrels, and could hear them rustling under her feet. And she was SO CLOSE!

I want to hug her so bad!!!!

I got some video too, but blogger won't let me upload...I'll try and figure out how to get it up sometime when I'm not super sick. 

So, I'm watching this bobcat, and internally squeeing, and stalking alongside her as she travels through the neighbors field to the wash behind the ranches. and I feel something bump my shoulder.

hi! We're watching bobcats do bobcat things! Yay!

Yup. Truby was tiptoeing behind me! Apparently this is our thing. It was interesting though - none of the horses seemed at all concerned about the predator strolling along the fence. Granted, horses are probably too big for a bobcat to attack, but you'd think they'd at least be worried. Nope. Only Truby seemed to even notice the bobcat, and while she enjoyed watching, she didn't seem at all concerned. Just interested.

annoyed at me for taking too long to line up the perfect shot

Hi Kitty! I'm Truby, let's be friends?

I watched until the bobcat wandered out of sight, probably headed home via the wash behind us. It was the most incredible experience I think I've ever had. It was just so close! And so relaxed! Had the fence between us not been wire mesh, I probably would have done something really stupid, like get waaaay too close, and maybe try and give it a hug. She was so chill it was really tempting! It's probably a really good thing that fence is mesh...

P.S. do not hug bobcats

even if they had cute wittle ear spots and a wittle nubby tail!

 

My cat, Sara, is a Highland Lynx, and one of the early breedstock.
HLX cats have quite a bit of American Bobcat in them, which is probably why

it's so tempting for me to want to snuggle actual bobcats.
Since this is probably a bad idea, and my health insurance sucks, 

I instead only snuggle  my little bobcat Sara. 

Sara thinks this is great, and purrs and purrs and purrs. 

P.S.2. Do NOT attempt to snuggle wild animals! 

And if you do, don't blame me, kthanx.