Here Comes the Rains Again

Happy Monsoon Season! I'm running a week behind. It's actually the first day of summer, but let's face it, it's almost always summer in Tucson. Monsoon Season runs from June 15 to September 15, and is when we get most of our rain. The storms we got were actually the remnants of Hurricane Bud, so not technically not monsoons, but any rain that falls during that time period counts as monsoon rains, so we got off to a record start. Yay, Bud!  

Friday afternoon, waiting for Bud

I went to the barn after work on Friday, hoping to get a little Truby Time before the storms came through. I needn't have worried, a gentle but steady rain fell almost all night in Saturday morning, but didn't start until later Friday evening.

Truby and I went for a short little ride to enjoy the cool temps (in the 80s!), feel the breeze picking up, and feel the excitement of a Big Storm Coming. I didn't want to feel it TOO much, so we stayed in the safety of the riding ring.

I was pretty disappointed. I was expected big storms, not gentle pitter patter rain. When I woke up Saturday morning, I got the storms I wanted! A huge thunderstorm went right overhead, with heavy rain, big thunder, and blinding lightning. Even better, it was over by the time I had to leave for work.

Some more short heavy downpours and another thunderstorm blew through later that day, and by afternoon, they were gone. It was hot, sunny, and humid.

Truby seemed to have enjoyed the rain, judging by her muddy coat on Sunday! She's not enjoying her new flysheet though. The flies are really bad, and in the last few weeks Truby's gotten really itchy. So I got her a super fancy flysheet. It's helping, but she's not thrilled.

Loves it. Its great. Yup.

I had to get a CT Scan on Monday, so I lost the early part of this week to barium. I had to drink a couple pints of that nasty stuff, which made me feel dizzy and nauseated. Luckily that's over with, and I'm probably fine, but I felt pretty lousy until that stuff worked out of my body. I even went TWO DAYS without visiting my princess. Spoiler alert - she's fine!

HOT

It's been quiet over in Trubyland. The desert is really heating up. The last time it rained was the end of February, so it's also incredibly dry. Humidity is in the single digits.

This sign is located a little past the entrance to Truby's community. Last year the Burro Fire started by some kids shooting cans not too far from here.

I saw a coyote crossing the road when I went to get the video. I got a surprise when I got back in my car though...doesn't he look like he's a kid posing for tourist photos?

Smile!

I hastily rolled up the windows when he walked OVER TO MY CAR

He was kinda scrawny and sketchy looking. The coyotes in the Cebadilla neighborhood are usually plump and sleek. Still, it was a neat encounter! At least...until he headed right over to my car. I'm pretty sure he would have jumped in given the chance.

Truby is handling the heat just fine. She has a nice shady turn out area, and she loves her cool, airy stall and her fan. She also loves her attached run. I often see her dozing happily in the sun! 

Flies are getting really bite-y. 

Last weekend we went for a little bareback ride on the Backyard Trail. The first time we did that I dragged the mounting block out to Kilo Turnout, and got on there. That was months ago. We've handwalked many times since, but haven't ridden out. This time I got on in the ring, walked around the barn and through Kilo. Truby was a little jazzed up, but was great! She walked at normal speed on the trail and we enjoyed ourselves. 

Going on an adventure!

On the way back to the barn

Begging for watermelon 

We're definitely in the red, maybe getting some purple

The next few days are supposed to be insanely hot and dry. But this weekend tropical activity "Bud" is going to bring some rain! A lot of rain, hopefully. We're expected to get "exciting" storms Friday and Saturday, and much color temps. I have to work those days, but I'm still really excited! 

And Life Goes On

Despite the fact that Sara is no longer with us, life continues on. Which is good, of course! The day after I dragged myself out to the barn first thing. Well, second thing. I had to mope around first. The heat of summer worked in my favor for once. As much as I wanted to just lay around all morning, I knew I had to leave the house before it got hot. Yay?

Single boot in the desert. Weird.  

I grabbed Truby, tacked up, and we headed over to the trail. Truby seemed happy to be out and about. She's almost at her normal walking speed when I'm riding her on the trail. Last time we went out by ourselves we walked to the first corner of the Loop, which goes right behind our barn. It also has a little turnout in the corner. So last time I used the turnout and we just had a short ride. It was a great little plan at the time, but I figured it might come back to haunt me.

And it did! We approached the corner, Windy and Cowgirl started whinnying, and Truby expected we'd turn around and head back. Instead I headed north to continue up the Loop, ready for resistance. Which I got, as Truby tried to turn around and go home instead of directly away from home. When I corrected her, she actually kicked out/crowhopped against my leg. It was kinda funny - she was mad!

I kept her walking though, and she reluctantly continued up the trail away from home. She was definitely tense though. She wasn't quite a giraffe, but she did have her head up and back in a way where I had no connection to her at all, and if I needed to use my reins I was going to have to shorten my reins to about 3 inches and do weird things to make it work. Yeah, no fun. I gently urged her on with mild seat and leg and voice. After a few hundred yards I hopped off. We'd overcome our tantrum, I'd proven my point. Rather than continue until we ran into a problem, I decided to avoid it all and walk. While I know I can ride bad behavior, spooks, and tantrums, I really DON'T want to. With a capital DON'T WANT TO. It's slower, but the baby steps Truby and I take work and are better for my wussy psyche. Oh, to be young and dumb and limber again! Still, it works for us.

Truby expected that we would head straight home, and sulked a bit when I continued along the Loop. After a few hundred yards, she perked back up and we enjoyed walking the rest of the Loop together.

Posing with a flowering Saguaro

My plan is to continue this way, slowing increasing how far I ride before switching to walking. I'll also work the tricky line of staying on as long as possible vs hopping off before a problem brews. I don't want Truby to think I'll get off if she's tense or spooky, that would be a terrible thing for a horse to learn! I also think I'll add getting back on when we get back to the trailhead and reriding areas she feels safe on. We'll see how it goes. I'm still really excited that I can go ride the trail with Truby - I don't mind taking it in tiny steps.

This cactus is on the Loop. It looks like a shy little girl 

hugging herself .

This morning she offered me flowers

Spring blooms have faded. The prickly pears are done flowering, except for a few shaded cactus. The creosote bushes have long lost their blooms. The desert is starting to look hot and dry. And then the Saguaros start to flower. The blooms are located on the crowns, and saguaros can be really tall. My favorite shy Saguaro offered me a beautiful gift at eye height. Thank you, prickly friend. 

Last year at Sabin Canyon

Last year again. Miss the big puffy clouds!

It's drrrrrrry right now.

When we got back to the barn Windy and Cinco galloped up to meet us. Cinco for fun, but Windy seems to have some separation anxiety about Truby. At least Truby seems to ignore it most of the time. Truby and I split a Gatorade to rehydrate a little, and I hosed Truby off. She enjoyed a good roll in the sand after.

I love watching her roll, she has so much fun!

The rest of last week was a mix of grieving for Sara, and trying not to fall into a depression. While I don't feel guilty or remorseful about letting her go, I do miss her. So I'm taking the time to feel sad. She may have been a little cat at only 8 lbs, but she's left a huge hole in my life. But it's okay, and it will be okay. Haiku hasn't noticed any changes. In fact, once we left that day, it's like all memory of having a cat in the house were erased. I think I'd rather go through the grieving process with all the hurt and sadness than completely forget Sara ever was. Still, it must be easier to be a cute little dog than a person! 

Sara's ashes came back and I settled her with my mom. Years ago we scattered my mom's ashes like she wanted, but I kept some to bury with her horse. I thought they would want to be together. Unfortunately I wasn't able to bury Delta and Mom's ashes are still with me. Sara lived with my mom for a number of years, and they loved each other. It's good to have them together again. Silly, but it helps. 

Hanging out together in the afterlife...or at least my curio cabinet! 

Truby being silly at twilight

Goodbyes

Hear the whistle blow,

It echos down my soul

It's something I have always known,

Nothing sounds so sad.

A cry to the unknown,

The fundamental sigh of all who've gone this way before.

Lay me down to sleep

Come and comfort me

I'll sleep in peace

In a house of broken dreams.

I'm old enough to know,

that dreams are quickly spent.

Like a pouring rain on warm cemement

Or fingerprints in dust

Nectar on the wind,

Save it for tomorrow and tomorrow lets you down again.

Lay me down to sleep,

Come and comfort me

I'll sleep in peace,

In a house of broken dreams.

Give me the reasons to go on

Soften the sorrow that shatters and bends

and mend

broken dreams

Sentimental hearts, hungry for the past.

Penniless at the wishing well, memories will last.

They cover certain scars

Acquired in daily grind of being what we are.

Lay me down to sleep,

come and comfort me

I'll sleep in peace, 

in a house of broken dreams

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good journies, little cat. You were the best friend anyone could ever want. You made my life better each and every day. Thank you for an amazing life together. 

Enjoy your next adventure - I'll see you soon enough. 

Lyrics borrowed from Mark Heard "House of Broken Dreams"

Bad Ponies Make Me Make Good Decisions

Me? Naughty? Never!

I guess summer is officially here in Tucson. The last few weeks have been crazy windy, which is really weird, because the wind is HOT. I've never really experienced hot wind before coming here. Breezes, and wind, are cool. Or cold. When it's windy, it's cooler than it would be without the wind. Often, by quite a bit. But out here, the wind is just as warm as the air, and while there is a slight cooling effect by movement, it's not...refreshing. Trust me, it's a little hard to explain, but it's weird. 

I haven't been doing much with Truby, just saying hi and some brushing. I find myself in an odd place, subconsciously separating myself from  all my pets in preparation for letting Sara go. I spend quite a few sessions with my awesome therapist to recover from deaths. My mom, of course, but also that of my beloved cat Crack, and my mom's horse, Delta, that I inherited. Ever want some bad ass guilt? Make the decision to euthanize your deceased mother's horse! I learned that we subconsciously distance ourselves from those we're about to leave. People may be crabby in the days before they die, or even the bickering before a kid leaves for college. We try to protect ourselves by pulling away, so the loss isn't so great. I immediately think of grouchiness, but increased sleeping, which Sara is doing a lot of these days, or sudden interest in a hobby or new friend are also ways to distance. To protect. I find myself doing that with Truby and Haiku, as well as Sara. So I've been working on making sure I positively interact with everyone everyday. Death is weird. 

Crack, one of the Best Worst cats ever. I LOVED her.

So today I headed out, midmorning. I knew better. Almost 11 o'clock is too late to do anything, at least for the next 6 months. It was "only" in the low 90s, but the SUN. Oh, man. The sun out here is brutal. There's just So Much of it. And it's intense. I can't handle much, and actually get hangovers from more than an hour of full sun (even if I'm shaded, like in the barn). I rarely ever drink, but I still get to enjoy a sunny hangover if I'm not careful. Yay.

My intention was to grab Truby, brush and tack up as quick as I could. I had on a sunshirt, and figured we could do a quick little trail ride. Truby's in a cute little herd of herself and two young Arabians. They're turned out in the very shady mesquite field, so they're quite content out there together all day. When I got to the gate, they were near the far end, but as soon as I opened it, they came galloping up. Well, I should say Cinco and Windy came galloping up. Truby relunctantly cantered over. 

Why are we running???

 The Arabs are pretty cute, and they regularly gallop around for fun. Just for a few minutes here and there. They just decide to run around, do a lap and then go back to hanging out. Truby thinks this is some kind of bullshit. Truby does not run around for fun. Truby eats carrots and gets pets and takes naps for fun. Even if she's been cooped up, or is wound up about something, and NEEDS to run, she's galloping around with this look like, 'why am I running? I could be eating!' Truby would be quite happy to eat pretzels and watch Netflix all day with me. None of this running for fun nonsense.

They need a name. The Terrible Trio? The Truby Three?

The only thing I don't like is that the Arabs have a lot less Personal Space issues than I do, so sometimes they gallop quite a bit closer than I'd like. It's especially awkward in the mesquite turnout, since there are so many trees, it can be hard to see what path they're going to take. 

So I rescued Truby from her athletic friends, much to her relief. Windy, the little buckskin mare, immediately starting neighing for her. Like, go hang with Cinco, don't start crying for Truby! Of course, as soon as we walked in the barn Cowgirl started her desperate nickering at Truby. She was really vocal today, almost stallion like in her urgent nickering. Sheesh.

Those two kept it up while I brushed Truby, and Tru even returned a whinny now and again. I was a bit concerned about the urgency the girls were talking. Truby had been in heat this week, so I guess that has something to do with it? Although Cinco wasn't clingy, and the other two geldings weren't screaming for her. 

I decided that with all the hollering going on, it would be a bad idea to try to ride. Maybe if we were going to do some ringwork, but to go off on  the trail? I could just envision the mares screaming and racing around. Perhaps a good training challenge, but not ideal for a quick trail ride. I gave Truby some carrot chunks, put some flyspray on and turned her back out. It seemed like the best idea.

Windy desperate for Truby's return

Truby: Listen you whippersnappers. We are NOT running again!

It really was for the best. I had already been out for too long. I came home, drank a ton of water, and took a nap. Had we gone for our trail ride,  I probably would be having a sun hangover instead. The trail, Truby, and I will all be there later. We can go out another time. Perhaps Super Early in the morning. (4 am is the coolest time of the day.) Truby being the coolest pony in the barn, and everyone's need to have her attention saved me from myself today. Thanks, Truby! I should probably give her more carrots...

Truby: I SAID, NO MORE RUNNING!!!!