A disappointment...followed by some excitement!

Well, it seems that I have hit a bit of a roadblock in the construction of the mini arena. Darn it! I hate roadblocks! I like to pre-plan and have everything go according to my plan. No deviation. I mean, that's totally realistic, right?! ;)

I don't think this is a major roadblock, it just means I may have to wait a little bit longer 'till I'm able to see my plan come to fruition.

Here's the deal. We're having some excavation done around our property...mostly gettting some brush cleared in order to create some extra pasture area. Also, we need to have our "yard" scraped so that I can put down sod...right now, it's just growing a lovely mixture of pasture grass and weeds. Whatever came up on it's own after our house was completed and the excavation was done at that time. I've just been mowing it to keep in somewhat under control. But that's been two years ago now, so it's time to get this yard buttoned up (before & after pics will be posted as it progresses...hopefully soon...gotta git 'r dun!)

Anyway, my plan was to have these excavators also work on the arena area. I've been workin' hard, putting boards up for a retaining wall, since I knew we would need to bring in some fill. Well, the first time I went over everything with our excavator, the boards weren't in place yet, so it was hard for him to tell exactly how much fill was going to be needed. Now that they're installed, it's clear to see that it's gonna need quite a bit! You can see here just how much.

The final grade of the footing will be probably about 6 inches from the top of the top board.

This particular guy specializes mostly in the brush clearing and does not have the proper equipment to get this area built up and compacted properly. He did say he could give me a referral, so that's cool, but I'm bummed 'cause I have a feeling it's gonna be a bit more pricey than I had anticipated after getting his initial quote! Although, it's probably gonna be pretty close to what I was guestimating in my own mind before meeting with him. Either way, I'm regrouping now. I hate regrouping. ;)

Oh, well I'm sure it will all work out!

The "excitement" part was coming home today to see the day one progress on the brush clearing! Here's a before pic of our tree line...

And here's a couple of pics from today! Not a way huge difference, but I'm totally excited to see how it looks when it's all done!

Furthermore, today is the first day in a long time that I've dared to venture into our woods by myself. You see, I got a little "lost" one time and it was absoutely terrifying for me. It's really quite ridiculous, because I had not even strayed that far from my trail, but at the time we hadn't done any clearing...it was before our house was even built. Plus it was August and everything was full of leaves, making it all that much harder to see where I was going.

I was up at the property by myself and decided that I wanted to trek back to get some pictures of our creek. I'd been back there before with my hubby and thought that I could surely find my way around no problem. Well, I forgot to leave myself a Captain Crunch trail and about 20 minutes into my adventure I realized that I was totally turned around. Uh-oh. To make matters worse, it was nearing 8:00 and the woods were starting to get a little dim. Crap. I didn't know what to do. I called the only neighbor I knew at the time to see if someone might be able to come yell at me from the tree line. No answer. Oh, man...now what?

The woods got darker & darker and I got more & more panicked. Finally, I realized that my only hope was to send up a "get me outta here!" prayer. Well, God must have a soft spot for directionally challenged ding dongs 'cause right after my plea of desperation I decided to just walk forward, instead of from right to left. Pretty soon, I saw a familiar cedar tree and realized that I was really not far off of my trail. Unfortunately for me, the path I took back was full of nettles and sticker bushes. And I was in shorts and crocs. Oh my goodness...what kind of kuntry gal am I?

By the way, here's a pic of about where I was when I got "lost". Keep in mind that at that time my surroundings were much more dense. Still...what a sorry excuse for a kuntry gal!

So, you can imagine my excitement today when I realized that I could hike down to the creek and keep my house in sight the whole time! Sweet! Here are some pics I took on this adventure. I absoutely can't wait to blaze some trails through here with Caspian!

A fern springing to life...a true indication of spring time!

Not to get all "twi-hard" on you guys, but doesn't this totally look like a scene from Twilight? It's like a whole different world back there! Maybe they'd be interested in using my woods for filming! Hmmm....might have to have my agent contact Summit about that.

Okay, now it's sights like this that makes me question why man even tries to replicate Mother Nature's creations. We're never gonna live up to her skills!

I'm totally guilty of it, though. Here's my "replica".

I totally dig having a waterfall and pond in the backyard (or makeshift backyard right now), but it's ironic to me that I built this when I have a "real" one just a few hundred feet away! And the real one puts mine to shame! But, the real one doesn't have goldfish! Acutally this one doesn't yet either. But it will! Like everything else around here, it's a work in progress. ;) Once it's done (if ever!) I'm gonna post a "how to" with pics. Just in case anyone else wants to be a Mother Nature copy cat like me. :)

Easter 'shrooms

Well, here I sit stuffed like an Easter basket after a very food filled Easter Sunday. ;) My day started with breakfast at my house with my mom and step dad. It was really nice to have them up...my hubby is on the road right now, so it was really fun to have someone to cook breakfast for! Even better that it was them and that it was Easter breakfast! I made home made orange julius' (omitting the raw egg...yuck) and Pioneer Woman's Sleepin' in Omelette. Oh my gosh, that stuff was AWESOME and got rave reviews. You definitely gotta try it sometime.

Then, it was off to church and then back to the kitchen to make stuffed mushrooms for a get together at my in-laws.

This is the recipe I shall share with you now.

At the risk of looking like a PW wannabe I'm gonna include pics 'cause it's so much easier to illustrate the process this way...

What you'll need:

• Some 'shrooms (I usually get about 1/2 bag full)
• 1 small container of your fav. dip (I use bacon & onion)
• 1 box of Stove Top stuffing (I use chicken...but it's up to you!)
• Bacon bits (optional)
• Italian cheese (NOT optional) ;)
• Butter baby!
  Cooking spray
• 9x13 baking dish

Here we go!

Begin by cleanin' those 'shrooms...to expedite the process, I really love this vegetable wash. Just stick whatever it is that you're needing clean in a big bowl, pour a little of this on top and then add water. Let 'em soak for just a little bit, then swoosh them around to remove the loosened dirt n' stuff...

Then, just throw those babies in a colander and rinse 'em off...the solution rinses off really easily and doesn't leave any residue behind. See?

While these are draining you might want to start setting out the rest of your ingredients. You will want the butter to be a bit soft...

Okay, next up (once these are done draining), you're gonna start popping the stems outta each mushroom cap. Just throw them away, or if you have a couple of ravenous dogs that won't leave you alone when you're cooking, feel free to play a little game of "mushroom stem catch it" with them.

Okay, moving on...once all those stems are off, you're gonna start scooping out the 'shroom caps. As you scoop, go ahead and stick these "innerds" into a bowl, along with your package of dry Stove Top.

I've found that the best utensil for scooping is a teeny tiny metal measuring spoon, like this one. A regular spoon just doesn't work for me.

Oh, yeah...right about now is when you probably want to pre-heat your oven. 375 please. Don't be like me and forget...I always do that!

Okay, back to scooping...here we go...

After all these babies are gutted, plop them into your sprayed cooking dish and then go ahead and add a little spoonful of the dip to each cap.

Then, even though your dip has bacon (unless you've strayed from this recipe and chosen a different kind), I like to add some bacon bits to the top of the dip. Oh, yeah...BRING ON the bacon.

The next step is to spoon some of your stuffing mix on top of the dip and bacon bits.

Almost done...

Next, sprinkle with the mandatory italian cheese (or just mozerella if you're not into four cheese).

Last, slice up a few pats of butter and place all over the top of your creation. Then, pop into your preheated oven (you remembered right??) for about 20 minutes.

If you have a watchdog on hand to keep an eye on your leftover stuffing, that's perfect...you never know, you might want to cook it up for a little snack. Lucky for me, Cabela doesn't mind helping to keep Caleb away...

Okay...pretend 20 minutes have gone by. Here I am placing my 'shrooms into my handy dandy Pampered Chef carrier given to me by my sister in law.

She's the one who requested that I bring these mushrooms today. To me, stuffed mushrooms seem more "Thanksgiving-ish", but when she gave me this carrier, it came with the condition that I must bring these mushrooms to each and every potluck style family function. ;) I totally felt like a pizza delivery boy with this in my car, but it sure kept them hot for my half hour drive. Great invention in my opinion!

Alrighty then, it's getting late now and as I type this Caleb is coming in the computer room to tell me that it's time to go cuddle on the couch. Doggie mommy duty calls!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Skywatch Friday no. 39

I took these shots one chilly late winter/early spring morning. Can't remember which season we were in...it was right on the cusp...but I do remember it was darn cold! I love how the mornings are starting to warm up a little now! Happy Friday to everyone!

Wacky Weimy Wednesday

Like any crazy dog mommy I have TONS of pictures of my dogs taking up my hard drive...so I've decided that from here on Wednesday will be dedicated to my canine companions. Unless I run out of material...which I HIGHLY doubt will happen. We'll start with puppy stage...'cause in my opinion there's nothing cuter than a baby Weimaraner. ;) So here's your first Wednesday dose of Weimy!

Here we have Cabela at her first vet appointment. This was actually a pretty significant day for us, as we found out on this day that Cabela was gonna need some extra special attention.

When we first decided that we wanted to get a Weimaraner, we did our research on breeders and found one fairly quickly that we really clicked with. Right off the bat, they seemed very responsible. They had an application process and a waiting list, which impressed me, as I could tell that their main priority was getting their puppies placed in the right home.

As part of the application process, the breeder asked us what our priorities were for our future Weimy; i.e. male/female, hunter, all-around family dog, preferred color, etc. We decided that in a perfect world we would prefer a blue female who showed good hunting instincts and had a good temperment to be a family dog. Then, the waiting game began, as this was in June of '06 and the next available litter would probably not be until October of '06.

FINALLY, October came around and on October 15th I got an e-mail saying that Cabela's litter had started their entrance into the world. The first e-mail was at around 11:00am and they continued throughout the day as the puppies arrived. By about 8:00pm, it looked like all of the puppies were out and that we were out of luck...no blue girl! Bummer! We would have to decide...grey female or blue male? We figured we'd think on it a day or so. Well, turns out we didn't have to make that decision! When I got to work Monday morning there was a new e-mail from the breeder saying "Dottie Delivers"! My heart leaped in my chest and I thought, "no way, another puppy?!" That's exactly what it was! Our little blue girl was born at 3:00am, hours after what seemed to be the last viable birth.

The miracle of this story is that the breeder had gotten up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom and while she was up she heard Cabela's mommy licking...she rushed over to the whelping pen just in time to see Cabela pop out, heavily encased in the birthing sac. If she hadn't been there just in the nick of time, Cabela probably would not have survived.

You can imagine how touched we were by this story and how lucky we felt that this little girl had made it...we felt like she was meant just for us.

Cabela was the runt of the litter and the breeder fussed and fussed over her, making sure she was healthy and gaining the right amount of weight, etc. Well, even with all that special attention, accidents can happen. One night, Cabela got underfoot and her doggie momma stepped on her. The breeder told us about it right away, but it appeared that all that happened was just a nick out of her skin.

Before we picked up Cabela, she underwent a routine vet check and got a clean bill of health. However, the breeder recommended getting our own vet check within a week of pick-up, in order for them to honor their guarantee. When I brought Cabela in for her thorough check, our doctor discovered that her left elbow did not seem to be formed right. He ran a couple of x-rays and noticed that her right shoulder was also abnormal. HOLY COW...now what?! I was devastated. Turns out Cabela's mommy had done quite a number on her!

I couldn't even think straight, so my husband called the breeder and of course they felt horrible. They offered us our money back and another dog, promising to take Cabela back and care for her. The more we thought about it though, the more we were determined to keep her. After all, she was our special girl, meant just for us. We couldn't turn our backs on her just because she was hurt.

So that was that. Cabela is here with us for the long haul. She has a special fancy doctor in the big city that she sees once a year to check the progress on her joints and we're just gonna take it as it comes. She brings so much to our lives that we have never once regretted the decision to keep her.

Even though we decided to keep her, the breeder made good on their guarantee and promised another Weimy at no charge. When the time came to get a friend for Cabela they put us at the top of the waiting list and that's how Mr. Caleb came into the picture!

So there's Cabela's story...I promise that future Wacky Weimy Wednesday posts will not be this long-winded! ;)

The "horse eye"

It has recently come to my attention that everyone who's anyone in the horsey world has the infamous "horse eye" picture posted somewhere in their online musings. The first "horse eye" picture I saw was taken by my good friend Patches and I was really impressed with the creativity of her shot! I wanted one of my own, but at that time I didn't have my horse yet...so I tucked the idea away, but don't think I forgot it! Then, as I became immersed in this blogging world, I noticed that many, many more people had a "horse eye" picture or two posted to their blog. I also really liked this one taken by Bush Babe. Hmmm...time for me to get to work!

A few nights ago when I was out working on the mini arena, Caspian was feeling especially photogenic and allowed me to snap some "candids" of him. Although, he kept insisting that I get only his good side, and would turn his head at the last minute. Despite this slight lack of cooperation I was able to get a few different angles. I lucked out on this one; the sun was setting behind him and I love how the glowing light is coming through his forelock. This next one kinda reminds me of an eagle eye...

Ok, let's continue...

Wait a minute! WHO is this imposter?!

Ah ha! It's Caleb! That sneaky little bugger always has to worm his way back to the center of attention! Oh well, he makes a good subject for pictures too! In fact, he's one of my favorites. But shhh...don't tell him that...a little friendly competition builds character!

Skywatch Friday

I'm so excited about this new blog page I found called Skywatch Friday. I came across it after checking out this page, which I found when looking at this page. Whew...this blogging thing is overwhelming sometimes! Anyway, I'm really glad to have found this page, because I'm a total astronomy nerd and am facinated by all things celestial! Besides my animals, the sky is probably my favorite thing to photograph. That being said, here are my photos for Skywatch Friday number 38! Hope you all enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

These were all taken one night back in January...that's Venus that you see by the crescent moon. I was especially entranced by the sky on this particular evening...my pictures really don't do it justice!

...reflects back on my days with Chopper

I had a recent request from my new friend Pony Girl to post a few pictures of my childhood appy, Chopper and I am more than happy to oblige! In fact, great minds think alike, because on that very same day, I had picked up a bunch of pictures from my mom's house, thinking that it would be fun to show some childhood riding pictures. I'm still going through the archives, but here are a few that I've found. Eventually, I'm hoping to get a lot of these on CDs...man, are we spoiled with digital photography now, or what?! ;)

First up we have me riding bareback around our pasture...I think I was six here. He was such a good boy when I was a wee little youngster. Isn't it funny how horses just seem to know when they're in charge of a little one and that they better be on their best behavior? 'Cause trust me, he wasn't always this compliant!

Such as here, where we have a picture taken during my hunter/jumper wannabe days. He had had about enough of our "jumping course" and decided it was time to scrape my pre-teen butt off of his back, with the help of some low-hanging Douglas Fir tree branches. Well, that's what he thought he was gonna do, anyway. I sure taught him! Wasn't the funnest way to end a ride, but I stayed on (with this gnarly tree branch for company) and my mom took this picture to prove it! I remember this day well, just like it was yesterday...even though it was more like sixteen years ago. Man, I'm getting OLD!!!

Last up, we have a photo taken by my mom of us frolicking in the field. I'm not really sure what I was doing here, but I do know I was lookin' pretty snazzy in my equestrian get up. Who gets dressed up like this to ride around their pasture? Me at twelve, that's who! I was the epitome of "equestrian chic"...just like the people I saw in my horse books. Only, the coat I have on is my mom's work blazer...she was so sweet to go along with my charade! ;)

Well, I think that's it for now...stay tuned, though, because I'm sure I will be adding more as I sort through the archives. None of these photos show Chopper from the side and that's a sight you gotta see! He had the funniest mane, it stuck straight up like a Zebra's! I also know that there are a few pics somewhere of my mom at a western pleasure show with him that I really love.

For now, suffice it to say that looking through these pictures has again reminded me of how LUCKY I was to grow up with a horse in my life. Sure, I had moments where I wanted to live in the same neighborhoods as my friends and "hang out" after school, but looking back, I am so thankful for what I had instead. A steadfast friend who was always ready for a hug after a hard "pre-teen" day at school. A loyal companion who taught me the value of both patience and persistance....and....a big fat pain in my butt who gave my arms a constant work out, which in turn helped me to master the 23 second arm hang on the Presidental Fitness Test in sixth grade! Hey, don't laugh...that was a major accomplishment for a kid who ran a seventeen minute mile! ;) P.S...I still loathe running. Sprinting, I enjoy, but jogging...bor-ing!