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