Cuddles

We haven't seen Sofie's cat, Cuddles, for a couple of weeks now. He was one of the three kittens we adopted last April. Sofie hand raised the kittens and they are all very tame and sweet. We will miss Cuddles.

Outfitting Poncho and QT

My friend and horse trainer, Betsy, and I went to the Saddlery in El Cajon to find saddles and halters for Poncho and QT. We found 2 saddles: a western treeless and a Western flex-tree. We also bought new halters for all four horses.

Poncho

Q.T,

Peanut

We lost our last Arabian horse, Peanut, today. After about a month of treating a sore leg it was determined she had cancer. Peanut was 29.

New Horses

We have two new horses. They belonged to an older couple (our age) who couldn't keep them because of illness. So, with our vet as a go-between, they gave both horses to us because we could keep them together, which was what the people wanted. Betsy and I picked up the horses on Friday. It rained all weekend, which gave our two horses, Doc and Peanut, time to get acquainted with the new horses, Poncho and Q-T. They live across the barn aisle from each other---Doc and Peanut on the left and Poncho and Q-T on the right. So far, so good. The horses are older--20s, but so are we so it's a good match.

Q-T with owner, Candy

Poncho with owner Bob

Precious 1

Precious 1 as a kitten in 2012

Precious 1 has been missing for 4-5 days. We found remains of a cat in the corral on Friday. I think it was her.  We are very sad.

Christmas

We had a very quiet Christmas, just the four of us: Mom, Dennis, Sofie and me. But we had lots of cookies, pizza on Xmas Eve, and a ton of presents for Sofie.

 

 

Precious 2

This photo was taken October 29, 2018, just before Halloween. That was the last time I saw Precious 2. I used to call her for breakfast and dinner and she would come running from the north end of the house. She had staked out the fireplace as her territory after we took in two feral cats from the border at San Ysidro.  Precious 2 was the sweetest kitty.

The feral cats, Jackson and Toby, are safe and sound in the cat house. They could leave like the other cats do any time they want, but I believe they think they won the lottery and have no intention of leaving.

In the photo below, the two feral cats are on the shelf in the cat room. Jackson is on the left and Toby on the right. 

Sofie

In May 2018, our granddaughter, Sofie, came to visit us while her adoptive mother, Susie (Dennis's niece) was undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Susie passed away September 20, 2018, and Sofie now lives with us full time.

Almost a Year

Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I've posted to the blog. I blame my back surgeries--my last one was. in December 2017. It's been so difficult to recover from 3 back surgeries. I hope this is the last one. Of course I can't remember everything that's happened over the year, but as far as the ranch goes:

We lost two cats: Bob-B (over 20 years old) and Little Bug. Losing Bob-B was especially hard since he was the last of the first cats we had at the ranch. And Little Bug was a stray who strayed into the ranch and was here for a few years. He was barely touchable even after all that time.

Bob-B could sleep anywhere.

Sammy (left) and Little Bug on greenhouse roof.

Little Bug in 2013

Bob-B when he was young. He passed away in the spring of 2018.

Pumpkin Passes

August is beginning to be my least favorite month. Last August we lost Shalla and today we lost Pumpkin (Reseda), at 31 the oldest of our two rescue Arabians. It's been a little over 2 years since we brought her and her stablemate, Peanut, home. I think she had a good two retirement years here at the ranch.

Pumpkin and Peanut grazing in the pasture, Nov. 2016

Shalla

Shalla passed away 8-3-16.

Movie Tuesday

Ricky and the Flash. Okay, the reviews aren't great, but we liked it. Meryl Streep is surprising and fun to watch playing in a rock band. A mother and wife who left her family to pursue her dream of becoming a rock star, Ricky is called back home to help her daughter through a difficult time. Lots of family drama, lots of music.

Pumpkin after 2nd Bath

Pumpkin showing off her clean mane and tail

Pumpkin and Peanut Get a Bath

Pumpkin (Reseda) and Peanut (Resora) got a bath today. We have more information about these horses now. Someone who has foals from these mares provides us with photos and pedigrees. From the pedigrees we now know that Reseda is the oldest at 29 and Resoro is a mere 25. We are going to continue to call them Pumpkin and Peanut because they are sweet names for sweet horses.

Here are some photos of their bath experience.

Betsy combing Peanut's forelock

Peanut

Peanut

Peanut & Pumpkin grazing

Ribbons for Doc

Here are Doc's new ACTHA ribbons. He thinks they are swell...and edible.

Getting Ready

Yesterday I went to my primary doctor to get a certification that it was ok for me to have the spine surgery. He wanted me to have a carotid artery surgery so this morning I made an appointment. I was lucky to get one right after my MRI appointment. Luckily, they were both in Rancho Bernardo. The MRI was 40 minutes long, starting at 2:30 p.m. and the test was at 4 p.m.

The MRI was no problem, probably because I've had so many I can practically sleep through them. The carotid artery test was easy, too. It was a sonogram and it was over quickly. The technician said he didn't see any problems. Yea!

I got home about 5:30 p.m., just in time for a nap.

Movie Tuesday

Today we saw Southpaw starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, and Rachel McAdam. Rotten Tomatoes says 83% of viewers liked it--and so did we.

New Bedroom Doors

Here's a picture of our new bedroom doors. I love the color.

Day 3 - The Vet Comes

Pumpkin and Peanut seem to be getting along very well. Today, the vet came to look at their teeth and give them a once over.

Turned out they needed their teeth floated--no surprise. They got their vaccinations, too. They vet thinks Pumpkin is in her late 20's, maybe 28 or so. Peanut is probably in her 20's, too. If Peanut is Pumpkin's daughter (they look so much alike), the vet thinks Pumpkin must have been around 3 when she had her, they are so close in age.

Both of these horses are flea-bitten grays. Gray horses are more susceptible to malanomas. Peanut has a great many of them. The only thing to do is to watch her. If a malanoma seems to be compromising her life, then we will have to do something.

Here is Pumpkin getting her teeth floated. She is leaning because of the sedation.